Bug (M18)
Ashley Judd/Michael Shannon/Harry Connick Jr/101 minutes
The award-winning play makes the leap to feature film under the direction of William Friedkin, best known for helming the seminal horror flick, The Exorcist (1973).
So it’s worth noting that he calls this the “most profound and disturbing film” he has made.
Friedkin explores here the “mask of sanity” which he proceeds to rip right off in a terrifying descent into the heart of madness.
Judd plays Agnes, a waitress living in a rundown motel, and Shannon is Peter, a shy drifter whom she hooks up with.
But there’s more to Peter than meets the eye and things begin to unravel, innocuously enough, with him discovering a bug in bed.
It’s nice to see Judd going for a meatier role after the string of rote thrillers she had been churning out.
And Shannon, who reprises his stage role, so fully inhabits the character that he seems to be Peter even in the making-of interviews.
As the film builds towards its climax, the two actors tap into an ecstatic hysteria that is both magnetic and disturbing.
The extras include a discussion with Friedkin on his film-making career as well as an audio commentary by him.
While some of the comments are a literal description of what’s unfolding onscreen, you also get the director expounding on the themes of Bug and “the thin line between good and evil”.
(ST)

Sunshine
Danny Boyle
Cillian Murphy/Chris Evans/Michelle Yeoh/Hiroyuki Sanada/107 minutes
After the enchanting fable Millions (2004), director Danny Boyle takes to outer space with this sci-fi horror film.
In the year 2057, the sun is dying and a team of astronauts is sent on a mission to re-ignite it and save humankind. We pretty much saw what Hollywood would have done with such a script in Michael Bay’s special-effects extravaganza Armageddon (1998).
But Sunshine can be thought of as the anti-Armageddon. Boyle uses the silence in space to great effect and has also assembled a cast which actually acts instead of merely posing.
The generous extras include deleted scenes and interviews with the cast and crew, including a playfully bantering Yeoh.
There are also two commentaries.
Boyle’s is enthusiastic and engaging and he reveals the touchstones that influenced Sunshine – Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), Andrei Tarkovsky’s Solaris (1972) and Ridley Scott’s Alien (1979).
The other commentary track is by The University of Manchester’s Dr Brian Cox, the scientific consultant for the film.
The most comforting fact gleaned is that the sun has enough fuel to burn for five billion years, not 50.
And also, it’s a misconception that one would explode unprotected in space; one can in fact survive up to 30 seconds in such a case. That’s good to know.
(ST)

Pleasure Factory
Film-maker Ekachai Uekrongtham has more than sex on his mind in this exploration of the Geylang red-light district.
He is interested in the connections forged between the pleasure seekers and the pleasure providers but it would have helped to have stronger characters anchoring the story in the first place.
We are presented with three interwoven stories dealing with different facets of the world’s oldest profession – prostitution.
The first sees a national serviceman (Loo Zihan) seeking to lose his virginity. He gets his more experienced buddy along to help him navigate the back alleys of Geylang but finds the girl (Xu Er) he wants on his own.
The second story has Taiwanese actress Yang Kuei-mei playing a jaded prostitute who initiates her daughter into the trade.
The third is about an encounter between a young flesh peddler and a tattooed busker.
The problem with having multiple stories is that they often feel underdeveloped. The last is the weakest and barely leaves an impression. There seems to be a danger of this story-telling device being overused with Eric Khoo’s Be With Me (2005) and Wee Li Lin’s Gone Shopping (2007) both taking a similar approach.
It’s difficult to empathise or care for Factory’s characters when you know little about them and the problem is compounded when you have so many different characters.
The second story at least has a sense of intrigue about it – who exactly is the character played by Thai-born heart-throb Ananda Everingham, and why is he following the daughter around?
It also has Yang, whose emotionally wrought performance would have benefited from some context of the mother-daughter relationship.
As it is, her grief feels abstract and distant.
The first story arc is the strongest, and Ekachai imbues what could have been a bawdy ritual with an unexpected sweetness.
Much hinges upon the performances of Loo and Xu as they communicate and connect prior to, and through, sex.
While the performances are a little raw, both actors handle the bedroom scene admirably and convey the awkwardness and touching tenderness of a sexual encounter.
Unfortunately though, the film as a whole just doesn’t quite measure up.
(ST)

The Black Eyed Peas - Black, Blue & You Tour
Singapore Indoor Stadium
How does a band dispel those pesky break-up rumours? Simple. Just deliver a stomping good show.
That was exactly what The Black Eyed Peas did at their gig on Monday night.
The concert started with the well-known opening theme for 20th Century Fox movies as searchlights swept dramatically across the excited capacity crowd of 8,000.
And then the guys pranced onstage, strutting, rapping, singing and playing off one another on hits such as My Humps and Shut Up.
Boasting an easy, infectious energy, they struck up a quick rapport with the crowd. Shout-outs of “Singapore” were met with thunderous response.
They also had fun filching some classic guitar riffs, including Guns N’ Roses’ Sweet Child O’ Mine and The White Stripes’ Seven Nation Army.
This goofy playfulness lies at the heart of their appeal. And it extends to newly minted pop star Fergie’s sexiness – which is PG rather than R21-rated, and explains the throngs of children and teenage fans at the show.
She did her solo numbers, such as Glamorous and Big Girls Don’t Cry, wearing a tiara and a cheeky cheerleader costume. “I put on my little girlie outfit for you,” she teased.
It’s precisely her solo-career success that has fuelled rumours that the hip-hop collective is headed for a break-up, though all the members have embarked on their separate projects.
will.i.am turned the endless speculation into a joke, attempting the question “Are the Black Eyed Peas splitting up?” in a variety of mock accents.
The answer was a definite “The Black Eyed Peas is never gonna break up”.
To prove that individual successes were no threat to the group, will.i.am performed I Got It From My Mama from his new album, Songs About Girls.
Taboo and apl.de.ap had their solo turns as well, and everyone had a chance to shine.
The satisfying encore featured three classic Peas anthems – Pump It, their breakthrough hit Where Is The Love? and Let’s Get It Started.
As the crowd danced away and sang along enthusiastically, it was clear that the Peas had ignited a party in the stadium.
(ST)

Sammi 2007 Show Mi World Tour
Singapore Indoor Stadium

Sammi Cheng is ready for her close-up again.
The Hong Kong entertainer had taken a two-year hiatus from showbiz and in that time rumours raged that she was ill. In front of a capacity crowd of 7,500 last Saturday, the 35-year-old proved that she was more than well. She showed her mettle with an energetic concert that lasted a little over two hours, including two fast-paced medleys that saw her dancing her heart out.
She declared to her adoring fans who were mostly in their 20s and 30s: “I’ve crossed the road, and from tonight, I’m going to make a fresh comeback.”
She was clearly in her element.
The flair for the dramatic was there, particularly in the opening Cantonese number Only You Cannot Be Replaced, her version of on-again-off-again beau Andy Hui’s hit.
She crooned it blindfolded and clad in an elaborate concoction of black and silver, and whipped off the short bob wig and the blindfold at the end of the number.
In between songs, she shared the importance of her family to her and revealed that they have a habit of writing letters to one another. It was her father she wrote to when she came to a crossroads in her life and who first learnt of her decision to take a break when she “didn’t know what to do”.
It was her way of connecting with the audience though it sometimes came across as choreographed patter, complete with accompanying music.
Unscripted, she was playful and funny and had the crowd eating out of her hand. She invited two fans to go up on stage to sing along to her songs and joked that she would pick only the plump girls so as to make herself look thinner.
Her special guest, Singaporean singer Stefanie Sun, was also teased for being “bamboo- stick” thin. Cheng had made a rare appearance at Sun’s concert in Hong Kong last year.
Apart from singing two duets with Sun on Mandarin songs Meeting and Green Light, Cheng kept largely to a repertoire of Cantonese songs, with crowd-pleasing hits such as Can’t Let Go, Beware Of Women and Beautiful For Life.
She also went through several hair and costume changes, including blonde-streaked red long hair and a cropped metallic harlequin jacket.
But it was the simple elegant numbers, a black dress and an all-white pantsuit, which made the greatest impression.
While her voice was a little ragged on some of the faster numbers, her smooth alto shone on the ballads.
She fed off the crowd’s energy and owned the stage as if she had never been away. No wonder the audience was impressed and cheered her on with their screams and enthusiastic waving of light sticks.
This was one worthy comeback.
(ST)

The Post-birthday World
Lionel Shriver
This is a literary equivalent of Sliding Doors, Peter Howitt’s 1998 film starring Gwyneth Paltrow as a character whose fate hinges on whether she catches or misses a train.
In Shriver’s book, the pivotal event is a birthday celebration.
Illustrator Irina McGovern, who is in a long-term relationship with research analyst Lawrence Trainer, goes down one of two paths. In one, she kisses Ramsey Acton, snooker star and ex-husband of a former friend at the party.
In the other, she resists the impulse.
So is this a moralistic tale of how she ought to have stuck by her man or a tale of female empowerment and emancipation from a stifling relationship?
Both actually. In the last third of the book, the writer spells out what she’s gunning for. “The idea is that you don’t have only one destiny. ... But whichever direction you go, there are going to be upsides and downsides.”
What you get is an exhaustive and sometimes exhausting excavation of the emotional minutiae of Irina’s relationships with the two men.
The novel’s structure sets up lots of interesting parallel situations where the same event is viewed differently by Irina because it is coloured by her different actions in the two worlds.
Still, the idea that all destinies are equal rings false. After all, the writer has chosen two very specific scenarios to present to readers but there can be only one ending.


If you like this, read: Time’s Arrow by Martin Amis
Amis uses the concept of time travelling backwards to evoke the horrors of the Holocaust anew.
(ST)

The Eric Moo Singapore Concert 2007
Max Pavilion, Singapore Expo
In his third concert here in five years, Malaysia-born, Singapore-bred singer Eric Moo came up with a nifty way to sum up his performances here.
Speaking to the crowd of about 6,000, the 44-year-old singer said: “I don’t hold a personal concert. Rather, it’s an unspoken pact of meeting every two years and you are the true masters of this concert.”
Indeed, the audience, made up of people in their 30s and older, had grown up listening to Moo since his debut in 1983. Some of the nostalgia-seekers even had their kids in tow.
The straight-talking singer, who is now based in Beijing, added: “Every time I come back to hold a concert, I’m asked if it’s the same as last time. Is there dancing? A moving platform? Fireworks? No, because you are not here to see that. I know you are here for me.”
The crowd responded with cheers and he made good on his promise of delivering “good music, good songs and good memories”.
Dressed in a black suit over a white shirt and sporting a shock of blond hair, he delivered the goods.
His powerful voice could still thrill and he seemed less prone to oversinging now. Age and maturity have taken the place of youthful brashness, and this made hits such as Too Foolish and the Hokkien track, Call My Name, more moving.
He also had an acoustic segment featuring his xinyao (Chinese folk-pop songs) pieces.When his fans sang along, he quipped: “The fact that everyone can sing these songs means that you’re not young either.”
Still, he did a great job in turning back the clock. He was aided by the multi-coloured lighting, so reminiscent of variety shows of the 1980s, and retro stage effects including the use of a bubble machine.
His guest stars were Fang Wen-lin and Chiu Hai-cheng, his 1980s label-mates who sang in the group Fei Ying. The three shared an easy rapport as they reminisced about their salad days.
But the night belonged to Moo. He raised his arm in triumph at the end of the show and made a pact with the audience to see them again in two years, declaring: “It’s a great thing for friends to meet up.”
The crowd couldn’t agree with him more.
(ST)

Cheer Chen A Piece of Summer Concert 2007
Singapore Expo’s Max Pavilion
It took a while for last Saturday to transform into a hot summer night – entertainment-wise.
Two years after her last concert here, Taiwanese indie darling Cheer Chen, 32, was back to kick off proceedings alone with her guitar to perform Coffeeshop In Chiufen.
The decision to fill the first half of the set with slower numbers meant that it took some time for the near-capacity crowd of over 3,500 – mainly students and people in their 20s and 30s – to warm up.
Even her hit track Lonely Without You was delivered in a low-key manner, albeit with a touch of whimsy provided by visuals of the Slow sign painted on roads.
Still, it was difficult not to surrender to her soft-spoken, tentative banter and vulnerability of her vocals and lyrics.It helped too that Chen, in a white dress over jeans and sporting a floral head garland at the start, gave new twists to the songs.
Enemy, which was originally guitar-backed, was now accompanied by a steady drumbeat.But Chen upped the tempo with the English-language track Sentimental Kills, ironically one of the weaker songs in her oeuvre.
The crowd got to their feet during a muscular performance of In My Closet and stood on their seats when Chen mingled with the audience during the playful Female Star.
When the wistful Travel Is Meaningful came on, true-blue fans donned their array of helmets as did Chen and her band. She had previously said that she was often inspired while riding on a motorbike.
Chen let her songs do most of the talking over the three-hour show though she briefly explained the title of the concert. “It’s not just about one summer but it’s the best part of life and I hope it’ll always be summer for you.”
Which was why her fans chorused for encore after encore.“It’s so rare to come here, I don’t want to leave either,” said Chen, basking in their adoration.
The sixth and final encore came unexpectedly after the main lights were turned on and people were filing out of the hall. As Chen crooned Breezy You, you, too, wished that this one glorious summer night would never end.
(ST)

Notes On A Scandal
Judi Dench/Cate Blanchett/Bill Nighy/92 minutes
The plot could have been lifted straight from the tabloids – an attractive art teacher has an affair with her 15-year-old student. But this is only one of two obsessions that the film, based on Zoe Heller’s novel of the same name, draws you into.
When Sheba Hart’s (Blanchett) secret is inadvertently discovered by her colleague Barbara Covett (Dench), she is at first relieved that the latter won’t squeal on her.
But that’s because Barbara is weaving her own web of deceit and treachery. Dench is all purse-lipped and steely-eyed as a repressed lesbian, but she also conveys the desperate loneliness of the character.
Blanchett’s role is more nuanced. She is excellent as a woman drowning in insecurities, grasping at affection and floundering in indecision.
The featurettes offered some morsels of interesting information, such as Dench’s ability to quickly get into and snap out of character.
Director Richard Eyre’s commentary was disappointing though. The admiration for his actors and the scriptwriter was clear but hardly makes for riveting dish.
(ST)

My Name Is Earl
Jason Lee/Ethan Suplee/Eddie Steeples/Jaime Pressly/624 minutes
Who would have thought that Jason Lee would find mainstream success playing a redneck low-life?
The former professional skateboarder’s first starring role was in Kevin Smith’s comedy Mallrats (1995) and he continued to act in several of the director’s films.
It seemed though that his appeal would remain cult, if fervent. All Girl Summer Fun Band even wrote a song called Jason Lee.
It took an unlikely TV series about ne’er-do-well and petty criminal Earl J. Hickey to turn Lee into a star.
After concluding that losing his winning lottery ticket was the result of bad karma, Hickey resolves to right his long list of past wrongs.
The path of true repentance never did run smooth but nobody expected it to be this hilarious.
Lee is deadpan funny and surrounded by an excellent supporting cast – Ethan Suplee as slow but sweet Randy Hickey and Jaime Pressly as Earl’s shrew of an ex-wife.
The audio commentaries were disappointingly blah, though you learn that creator Greg Garcia appears in the pilot episode.
Much better was the commentary done by the mothers of several cast and crew members for the Mother’s Day episode Dad’s Car.
There’s also a behind-the-scenes feature and an alternate-reality pilot in which Hickey’s epiphany is to screw those who have previously screwed him over.
The best measure of how strong the series is though, is the fact that even the deleted scenes are funny. Now that’s gold.
(ST)

Mercury Rev
Baybeats 2007
Esplanade Theatre

For a while, it seemed like an art installation show. A series of images – a happy dog enjoying the breeze in a car ride, two women whispering excitedly into each other’s ears – flickered on stage, accompanied by musical snippets.
Then it became a succession of album covers from artistes including David Bowie, Talking Heads and The Chemical Brothers, as if in contemplation of Mercury Rev’s place in the musical universe.
All this before the American indie band finally took the stage. Frontman Jonathan Donahue, 41, proved to be a charismatic presence as his lanky,clad-in-black frame pranced about the stage.
Deeply absorbed in the music, he was an energetic conductor, rousing the rest of the band with dramatic flourishes in numbers like The Dark Is Rising from All Is Dream (2001) and a cover of legendary singer-songwriter Bob Dylan’s You Gotta Serve Somebody.
And that raggedy voice of his was a poignant contrast to the lush wall of sound his fellow band members constructed.
Even though the introduction to the show pointed to the band’s roots in composing for experimental films, the songs performed were mostly from their last three albums.
Deserter’s Songs (1998), their critically acclaimed breakthrough, received the greatest airing over the 100-minute, 14-song set.Donahue and company saved the best for last as they offered their biggest hit Goddess On A Hiway for the encore after the rapturous 600-plus audience gave them a standing ovation.
The singer was clearly in a happy place even though he revealed that he had to forfeit his customary glass of wine here before going on stage.
More significantly, he surrendered himself to the soundscapes with quotes like“Your mind is not yours alone” flashing across the screen and hinting at the enigmas of life and the universe.
Occasionally, the audience was stunned by glaring stage lights (not to mention the deafening volume) – which could conceivably be interpreted as our collective blindness in the face of such immense existential questions.
In any case, the lights framed the band members in visually arresting silhouettes.
One particular image sticks in the mind – Donahue standing precariously on one leg, attempting to find balance and resolution before plunging fearlessly into a new song and a vista of wonder and majesty.
(ST)

first day of volunteer work. had to report by 9am. was assigned to cleaning crew - basically went around the private accomms (swedish homes) and cleaned floors and bathrooms. went out under cat and cleaned with H, T and M.
lunch was pitiful affair from kugen (neighbourhood supermart) - cling-wrapped bread with sorry-looking piece of lettuce and thinnest slice of ham (7 SEK).
dinner at volunteer's kitchen, only 40 SEK and better than yum yum - pork with cous cous and mashed potatoes and apple crumble for dessert. cook is E, from spain. had earlier met his sis I, from barcelona.
found to dismay that our 2-week housing was this place i'd delivered mattresses and pillows and comforters to. bare bones extension with unfinished chipboard floors and walls. kinda like a human trafficker's halfway house. with a large monitor lizard as a pet.
general accomms with its hostel style bunk beds looked more appealing.
reluctantly spent a night there on assurance they would look into it the next day.
did not sleep a wink. heard knocking at one point, thought it was from upstairs until J answered 'yes?' turned out another lodger had been locked out. then J's phone went off and i thought it was 7am but it was only 4.

bangkok airport
a shrine in the middle of the tarpaulinned terminal. the ramp down to the waiting area was just clogged.
happiness was getting bumped up to premium economy where meals were served in courses and seats reclined more. actually needed to stretch to reach seat pocket in front of me.
unusual that no visa form was required for sweden. passport control room was badly designed - too tiny and the lines were just a mess.
the foreign exchange guy in the baggage claim had migrated from singapore when he was 8.
received P's sms and bought a round-trip ticket to stockholm central bus station to meet her and J.
happily dumped the backpack in the locker and went for breakfast. coffee and raspberry muffin (40 SEK each) in a pleasant square with the nobel museum.
walked past royal palace enroute to vasmuseet - 1600s ship which sank on maiden voyage and salvaged in the 1950s, also peek into social life in the 17th century.
met up with D and Q around 2 after very good lunch of meatballs and iced tea (118 SEK).
had to take subway to bus stop to catch bus to hallstavik and then from there to herrang.
dinner at yum yum (95 SEK) of sausage with rice. only time we ate there.
first night accomms in a quaint little cottage ('for our daughters 19 and 17') with horses in the field next to us.

Midnight Cowboy (M18)
Dustin Hoffman/Jon Voight/113 minutes
This 1969 movie is the only X-rated film to have won the Oscar for best picture.
By today’s standards though, the film is almost sweet and naive, like the character of Joe Buck (Voight), who comes to Manhattan to hustle. Though he is quickly outfoxed by the denizens of the city, he never loses his aura of innocence.
At heart, the film is about the relationship between Buck and Ratso Rizzo(Hoffman), a small-time conman – the friendship and love between two desperate and lonely people.
Hoffman’s transformation from the clean-cut Benjamin Braddock in The Graduate(1967) is impressive and Voight turns on the aw-shucks charm as Buck.
There is also a tender and believable chemistry between the two leads.
Still, there’s no denying that the film has aged. What was technically groundbreaking and thematically provocative is no longer so.
Which is where the DVD extras come in useful by setting the historical context of the picture and giving a sketch of director John Schlesinger, who died in 2003.
But, for a two-disc special edition, the extra garnishings are simply too paltry.
(ST)

Dreamgirls (PG)
Jamie Foxx/Beyonce Knowles/Eddie Murphy/Jennifer Hudson/130 minutes
This adaptation of the Tony award-winning Broadway musical by Bill Condon features meticulously-reproduced song and dance routines from the 1960s and1970s, spanning the gamut from doo-wop to disco.
But in spite of that, or perhaps because of it, the movie feels sluggish. The musical numbers put a brake on the narrative instead of moving it along.
Loosely based on music superstars The Supremes, the movie features a bravura performance from Hudson as Effie White, a talented but prickly singer who gets dropped from the group.
Beyonce, on the other hand, doesn’t even get a chance to bust a lung until late in the movie with the song Listen.
The DVD extras include extended and alternate versions of the musical numbers as well as a music video of Listen.
In the unlikely event that you’re not sated by the movie itself, these should do the trick.
The most interesting of the lot is an alternate version of Steppin’ To The Bad Side sung by three male characters, a welcome change from the numbers sung by a trio of women.
There’s also a snappy account of how ambitious record executive Curtis Taylor,Jr (Foxx) will do whatever it takes to get his music onto the airwaves.
(ST)

Petropolis
Anya Ulinich
Is the Russian emigre novel shaping up to be the latest literary trend?
On the heels of Marina Lewycka’s well-received A Short History Of Tractors In Ukrainian and the recent Two Caravans, comes Petropolis.
The protagonist of this highly readable debut novel is the biracial, Jewish and prickly Sasha Goldberg and we witness her coming of age as she makes multiple escapes over the years.
The first from her dead-end Russian hometown, the second from the life of a mail-order bride in Arizona, and the third from de facto house arrest by her wealthy benefactress.
At the same time, Anya Ulinich, herself a Russian emigre, has more on her mind than the adventures of her spunky heroine.
The title of the book refers to the poem of the same name by Russian poet Osip Mandelstam, which was about “the death of a great city”, Petrograd, during the Russian Revolution.
The city in question in the novel is the tragic Siberian town of Asbestos 2, its disintegration an icy accusatory finger directed at the ills of the Soviet system.
Given that Ulinich immigrated to the United States when she was 17, the book is no doubt an impressive achievement. Still, there are moments of studiedness in the phrasing which hint at the fact that English is actually her second language.
It also has to be said that Ulinich is not one for loose ends. You are even given an update on Sasha’s boyfriend when she was 14 through an encounter several years later.
But despite the penchant for resolutions, Sasha herself remains oddly elusive and you never fully get a grasp on her.
A pity really since you know she’s led a fascinating life and it would have been nice to know her better.
If you like this, read: The Amazing Adventures Of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon (2000, $23.10 without GST at zakoola.com)
Among the shimmering strands that make up this gorgeous tapestry of a book are marvellous escapes, epic love, comic books and questions about identity and self-worth.
(ST)

New Season
Kym Jin Sha
First thought on seeing the Singapore edition bonus best-of disc: Does she have that much material? The answer: Not really, as it comprises tracks from her previous two albums Unbelievable (2006) and Air (2005), neither of which left much of an impression.
Alas, there’s nothing very distinctive about album number three either, filled as it is with lightweight, lacklustre fare. Besides, isn’t the 23-year-old lass too old to be singing A Girl Blooms At 18?
This is not the kind of consistency an artiste wants and there's nothing here for her to stand out in the sweet stakes.
(ST)

Five In The Black
Tohoshinki
Their moniker, Rising Gods Of The East, is a good indication of this boyband’s ambitions.
Not content to ride the Korean wave sweeping the Asian region, the five lads are releasing their second Japanese album in an effort to conquer this large market.
What is on offer here is consistently enjoyable K-filtered-through-J pop,with the requisite repertoire of dance tracks and ballads. The unrelenting slickness can be too much to take in one sitting though.
The DVD of the de rigueur tightly choreographed music videos includes the hit Rising Sun from their previous Japanese album Heart, Mind And Soul.
(ST)

Best ~ Bounce & Lovers
Koda Kumi
You can’t help but admire the efficiency of the Japanese pop machine.
Koda Kumi was named by Japan’s Oricon charts as last year’s best-selling artiste, a feat she accomplished with a steady stream of singles and albums.
She’s constantly in the public eye and ear with something new. Her second single for the year is due out at the end of this month.
This compilation takes the straightforward approach of collecting her ballads on disc one with the dance track music videos on the DVD disc.
Her slightly husky voice holds up well on the songs, with Towards Tomorrow a standout. This only bolsters the theory that any Japanese song with the word“sakura” in it can do no wrong.
Disc two sees her flaunting her moves on her dance hits in a succession of bra tops and hot pants. Female sexual empowerment or exploitation as usual? Your call.
(ST)

Hollywoodland
Allen Coulter
Adrien Brody/Diane Lane/Ben Affleck/Bob Hoskins/126minutes
Hollywood in the 1950s was a town filled with glamour and glitter. Not surprisingly, there was a dark side lurking just beneath.
The deeper private detective Louis Simo (Brody) digs into the death of TV’s Superman George Reeves (Affleck), the more dirt he uncovers and more questions are raised over whether it was suicide or murder.
The movie also tracks Simo’s journey of redemption, which is played out in contrast to the downward slide of Reeves.
Affleck picked up the best actor award unexpectedly at last year’s Venice Film Festival. In fact, he was so sure he did not stand a chance that he left the festival before the awards were announced.
He took a gamble, portraying a charming, handsome actor who has to come to terms with the fact that he would never make it in the movies. But it was Brody and the always reliable Lane, as Reeves’ sugar mummy, who left deeper impressions.
The DVD extras include deleted scenes which are, for a change, complete scenes instead of snippets or out-takes.The featurettes were refreshingly non-gushy, though there was potential for greater depth in the coverage of old Hollywood. It would also have been nice to have a clip or two from Reeves’ Superman series.
(ST)