Who Killed Cock Robin
Cheng Wei-hao
The story: Ambitious society reporter Chi (Kaiser Chuang) gets into an accident and finds out that his car was involved in another incident nine years ago – a fatal one that he had witnessed. As he digs deeper into that old case, he finds that many questions remain unanswered.
Taiwanese director Cheng Wei-hao (The Tag-Along, 2015) has a very dim view of human nature. Everyone is looking out only for himself or herself in this movie.
That can make for a darkly compelling study of morality and consequences. Too bad this is not that film.
It is too convenient how everyone and everything is so neatly connected here, from Chi’s mentor, newspaper editor Chiu (Christopher Lee), to his colleague Maggie (Hsu Wei-ning) and even the mechanic who repairs his car.
It does not help matters that director Cheng seems to be a fan of surprise revelations.
The effect of piling on twist upon twist is to have the viewer totally wrung out and exasperated by the end.
The more viewers learn about what happened nine years ago, the less things make sense, including why Chi would want to look into the cold case in the first place.
A needlessly gruesome scene thrown in for shock value in the finale serves to further sour the viewing experience.
(ST)
Wednesday, March 29, 2017
Goodbye Mr Loser
Adrian Teh
The story: In the present day, struggling musician Yi Bai (Ian Fang) attends the wedding of his former high-school crush Xiao Wei. He ends up drunk and makes a fool of himself in front of his wife Ah Hua (Hoon Mei Sim) and their friends. He gets a chance to do things right when he is transported back to 1999 and finds a way to become rich and famous – but at a cost. Originally a hit 2015 Chinese comedy, which was based on a 2013 play of the same name.
This is a cut-rate version of youth comedy romance You Are The Apple Of My Eye (2011), one complete with ersatz celebrities. Though to be fair, they managed to get an impersonator who can pretty much pass off as a young A-mei.
For the most part though, this feels like a cheap knock-off that never quite passes off for the real thing. The jokes are of the lame and lamer variety and the story has a whiff of the familiar about it. Indeed, the Chinese film was accused of pilfering from the 1986 American movie Peggy Sue Got Married.
At least Mediacorp actor Fang acquits himself well enough. He is committed to his role, whether that means commanding attention in a classroom with his outrageous actions or donning dreadlocks as a professional singer.
Malaysian singer-actress Hoon is quite fun as the feisty Ah Hua, but really, there is little that is fresh or surprising about how Yi Bai’s relationship with her develops.
There is one cute idea here as having travelled back in time, Yi Bai realises that all the hit songs he knows have yet to be written in 1999, a fact that he uses to his advantage.
Director Adrian Teh (The Wedding Diary, 2012) also has something to say about cherishing one’s true love, but really, you could see where this was going right from the start.
(ST)
Adrian Teh
The story: In the present day, struggling musician Yi Bai (Ian Fang) attends the wedding of his former high-school crush Xiao Wei. He ends up drunk and makes a fool of himself in front of his wife Ah Hua (Hoon Mei Sim) and their friends. He gets a chance to do things right when he is transported back to 1999 and finds a way to become rich and famous – but at a cost. Originally a hit 2015 Chinese comedy, which was based on a 2013 play of the same name.
This is a cut-rate version of youth comedy romance You Are The Apple Of My Eye (2011), one complete with ersatz celebrities. Though to be fair, they managed to get an impersonator who can pretty much pass off as a young A-mei.
For the most part though, this feels like a cheap knock-off that never quite passes off for the real thing. The jokes are of the lame and lamer variety and the story has a whiff of the familiar about it. Indeed, the Chinese film was accused of pilfering from the 1986 American movie Peggy Sue Got Married.
At least Mediacorp actor Fang acquits himself well enough. He is committed to his role, whether that means commanding attention in a classroom with his outrageous actions or donning dreadlocks as a professional singer.
Malaysian singer-actress Hoon is quite fun as the feisty Ah Hua, but really, there is little that is fresh or surprising about how Yi Bai’s relationship with her develops.
There is one cute idea here as having travelled back in time, Yi Bai realises that all the hit songs he knows have yet to be written in 1999, a fact that he uses to his advantage.
Director Adrian Teh (The Wedding Diary, 2012) also has something to say about cherishing one’s true love, but really, you could see where this was going right from the start.
(ST)
Wednesday, March 15, 2017
Vampire Cleanup Department
Yan Pak Wing and Chiu Sin Hang
The story: Tim (Babyjohn Choi) is an aimless young man whose life takes a strange turn after an unexpected encounter with a vampire. He escapes unscathed despite getting bitten and finds out about the existence of a secret government unit called the Vampire Cleanup Department. But when he meets the human-like vampire Summer (Min Chen), he decides to keep her safe from annihilation.
Vampires in the West are sexy and seductive in shows such as Buffy The Vampire Slayer (1997-2003) and True Blood (2008-2014), but they are seen as either comic creatures (New Mr Vampire, 1987) or hideous ones (Rigor Mortis, 2013) in Asia.
This movie tries to have it both ways. The big baddie is an odious and immensely powerful creature while Summer is more like a cute amnesiac than an undead corpse with a mean bite.
Before long, Tim (a suitably earnest Choi) finds himself falling for a creature he is supposed to be exterminating.
While romance has been successfully worked into the likes of Buffy and True Blood, it feels like a distraction from the main event here – namely, the taking down of vampires.
A savvier tweak is imagining vampire-slaying as a government job which opens the door for jokes about bureaucracy and red-tape.
The department is thinly disguised as a cleaning squad complete with sweepers wielding brooms.
The idea sounds promising, but the execution feels a bit of a stretch, especially with the broom-sweeping moves used to take down vampires.
Unless there exists a variety of vampire which resembles litter on the ground, I am not convinced they would be of much use in actual combat.
Another point of interest here is the number of veterans in the cast. Fans of classic Hong Kong movies would be happy to see the likes of Chin Siu Ho, Richard Ng and Lo Mang in action.
(ST)
Yan Pak Wing and Chiu Sin Hang
The story: Tim (Babyjohn Choi) is an aimless young man whose life takes a strange turn after an unexpected encounter with a vampire. He escapes unscathed despite getting bitten and finds out about the existence of a secret government unit called the Vampire Cleanup Department. But when he meets the human-like vampire Summer (Min Chen), he decides to keep her safe from annihilation.
Vampires in the West are sexy and seductive in shows such as Buffy The Vampire Slayer (1997-2003) and True Blood (2008-2014), but they are seen as either comic creatures (New Mr Vampire, 1987) or hideous ones (Rigor Mortis, 2013) in Asia.
This movie tries to have it both ways. The big baddie is an odious and immensely powerful creature while Summer is more like a cute amnesiac than an undead corpse with a mean bite.
Before long, Tim (a suitably earnest Choi) finds himself falling for a creature he is supposed to be exterminating.
While romance has been successfully worked into the likes of Buffy and True Blood, it feels like a distraction from the main event here – namely, the taking down of vampires.
A savvier tweak is imagining vampire-slaying as a government job which opens the door for jokes about bureaucracy and red-tape.
The department is thinly disguised as a cleaning squad complete with sweepers wielding brooms.
The idea sounds promising, but the execution feels a bit of a stretch, especially with the broom-sweeping moves used to take down vampires.
Unless there exists a variety of vampire which resembles litter on the ground, I am not convinced they would be of much use in actual combat.
Another point of interest here is the number of veterans in the cast. Fans of classic Hong Kong movies would be happy to see the likes of Chin Siu Ho, Richard Ng and Lo Mang in action.
(ST)
Beauty And The Beast
Bill Condon
The story: For plucking a rose for his daughter Belle (Emma Watson), Maurice (Kevin Kline) gets imprisoned in the Beast’s (Dan Stevens) castle. Belle asks to take her father’s place and finds that the castle is under an enchantment as the silverware and furniture come to life. What she does not know is that time is running out and the transformations of the castle’s residents – a one-time prince and his palace staff – are in danger of becoming permanent.
The 1991 version of Beauty And The Beast was the first animated film to be nominated for an Oscar for Best Picture and, in 2002, it was selected for preservation in the United States’ National Film Registry for its cultural significance. It was a major box-office hit with US$425 million in worldwide takings and is beloved by a generation of filmgoers.
In other words, this is a huge title to live up to and, despite the effort, this live-action remake never matches up to the original.
First, the good news.
Casting is one area in which this film fares quite well.
After her turn as Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter wizarding films (2001-2011) and now this, Watson seems to have cornered the market on book-smart and feisty young women. And Stevens (Downton Abbey, 2010-2012) imbues the prince-turned-Beast with magnetism through his voice alone. Meanwhile, Luke Evans has fun as the vainglorious and boorish alphamale-about-town Gaston, who has his eye firmly fixed on Belle.
Some attempt has been made to tweak the problematic storyline of a female prisoner falling for a violent captor by making the Beast a tad more petulant than, well, beastly, and somewhat glossing over her loss of freedom. However, the fact remains that Belle is being held against her wishes.
The supposedly “openly gay” character controversy is just a distraction and, if not for the media coverage and threatened boycotts, you probably would have been none the wiser as to the sexual orientation of Gaston’s sidekick, LeFou (Josh Gad) .
And now we come to the musical numbers, a big reason for the success of the animated film.
Watson looks good and can carry a tune, but she cannot compare with the animated Belle, who looks and sounds like a dream, thanks to animators and the voice of Broadway actress Paige O’Hara.
Be Our Guest, the house-and-dinnerware version of the Under The Sea big ensemble number from The Little Mermaid (1989), is staged here with computer-generated imagery razzle dazzle that is meant to impress, but the animated sequence has greater charm.
Even for a minor role such as the playful young boy/teacup Chip, the animated version simply has more character.
At every turn, one is reminded of the superior 1991 film. It is hard to fully come to grips with this version, when one keeps flashing back to another movie.
Just because this is a tale as old as time does not mean it has to feel like deja vu watching it.
(ST)
Bill Condon
The story: For plucking a rose for his daughter Belle (Emma Watson), Maurice (Kevin Kline) gets imprisoned in the Beast’s (Dan Stevens) castle. Belle asks to take her father’s place and finds that the castle is under an enchantment as the silverware and furniture come to life. What she does not know is that time is running out and the transformations of the castle’s residents – a one-time prince and his palace staff – are in danger of becoming permanent.
The 1991 version of Beauty And The Beast was the first animated film to be nominated for an Oscar for Best Picture and, in 2002, it was selected for preservation in the United States’ National Film Registry for its cultural significance. It was a major box-office hit with US$425 million in worldwide takings and is beloved by a generation of filmgoers.
In other words, this is a huge title to live up to and, despite the effort, this live-action remake never matches up to the original.
First, the good news.
Casting is one area in which this film fares quite well.
After her turn as Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter wizarding films (2001-2011) and now this, Watson seems to have cornered the market on book-smart and feisty young women. And Stevens (Downton Abbey, 2010-2012) imbues the prince-turned-Beast with magnetism through his voice alone. Meanwhile, Luke Evans has fun as the vainglorious and boorish alphamale-about-town Gaston, who has his eye firmly fixed on Belle.
Some attempt has been made to tweak the problematic storyline of a female prisoner falling for a violent captor by making the Beast a tad more petulant than, well, beastly, and somewhat glossing over her loss of freedom. However, the fact remains that Belle is being held against her wishes.
The supposedly “openly gay” character controversy is just a distraction and, if not for the media coverage and threatened boycotts, you probably would have been none the wiser as to the sexual orientation of Gaston’s sidekick, LeFou (Josh Gad) .
And now we come to the musical numbers, a big reason for the success of the animated film.
Watson looks good and can carry a tune, but she cannot compare with the animated Belle, who looks and sounds like a dream, thanks to animators and the voice of Broadway actress Paige O’Hara.
Be Our Guest, the house-and-dinnerware version of the Under The Sea big ensemble number from The Little Mermaid (1989), is staged here with computer-generated imagery razzle dazzle that is meant to impress, but the animated sequence has greater charm.
Even for a minor role such as the playful young boy/teacup Chip, the animated version simply has more character.
At every turn, one is reminded of the superior 1991 film. It is hard to fully come to grips with this version, when one keeps flashing back to another movie.
Just because this is a tale as old as time does not mean it has to feel like deja vu watching it.
(ST)
Wednesday, March 08, 2017
Songs Of Love
Phil Lam
Loveaholic Vol. 1
C AllStar
On Phil Lam’s sixth release, there is sweetness and tenderness on ballads such as The First Breakfast and on the chart-topping Romance. The Vancouver-born, Hong Kong-based crooner is equally persuasive in English on Missing You and All I Have Is You and in Mandarin on the upbeat Do You Know.
Definition Not Found gives a lexicographical spin on the theme of loss: “Can’t find the definition for love, you’ve been cruel of late/Can’t find the definition for love, you think I’m nothing.” Stop Breeding takes a dim view of our times: “This era forces us into extinction/As we kiss with so much dread.”
On their eighth release, C AllStar offer a varied look at love as well.
Professionally Heartbroken 30 Years is the ultimate sad sack love song: “Use yesterday to divine the future, still won’t be loved next year/Wanted by no one, cared for by no one, loved by no one.”
A different kettle of fish is the cheeky Bromance: “Waiting for orders in a crisis, spurring the horse to full speed, battling with bro through the night/The way men love, only men understand, sweetness comes from silence.”
It definitely casts wuxia films in a different light.
(ST)
Phil Lam
Loveaholic Vol. 1
C AllStar
On Phil Lam’s sixth release, there is sweetness and tenderness on ballads such as The First Breakfast and on the chart-topping Romance. The Vancouver-born, Hong Kong-based crooner is equally persuasive in English on Missing You and All I Have Is You and in Mandarin on the upbeat Do You Know.
Definition Not Found gives a lexicographical spin on the theme of loss: “Can’t find the definition for love, you’ve been cruel of late/Can’t find the definition for love, you think I’m nothing.” Stop Breeding takes a dim view of our times: “This era forces us into extinction/As we kiss with so much dread.”
On their eighth release, C AllStar offer a varied look at love as well.
Professionally Heartbroken 30 Years is the ultimate sad sack love song: “Use yesterday to divine the future, still won’t be loved next year/Wanted by no one, cared for by no one, loved by no one.”
A different kettle of fish is the cheeky Bromance: “Waiting for orders in a crisis, spurring the horse to full speed, battling with bro through the night/The way men love, only men understand, sweetness comes from silence.”
It definitely casts wuxia films in a different light.
(ST)
India has an image problem.
When I mentioned that I was going there for a holiday, the response was often, “Really?”, followed in the same breath by “Why?”, as though I had just announced that I was going on a dumpster-diving tour.
Part of it has to do with how the country has been portrayed in popular culture, from reality television game show The Amazing Race (2001 to present) to the movie Slumdog Millionaire (2008).
In a reminder of how powerful such images can be, a friend could recall the culture shock the participants felt in season 4 of The Amazing Race in 2003. They landed at Mumbai airport to an overwhelming reception of aggressive touts and later had to deal with the human crush of overcrowded Indian trains. At one point, someone was crying and exclaiming that it was all just too much to handle.
While it is exciting and exuberant, Slumdog Millionaire is also about the less savoury aspects of Indian society, such as street children getting blinded to become more effective beggars, and the deplorable conditions of slum dwelling. In one indelible scene, a child jumps into the communal toilet pit and emerges covered in human excrement.
In some of these depictions of India seen through foreign eyes, there has almost been a fetishisation of the worst aspects of its culture and society. A paper (A Content Analysis Of The Portrayal Of India In Films Produced In The West) published in The Howard Journal of Communications in 2005 makes the point that this is not new.
In a sample of 24 randomly selected films about the country produced from 1930 to 2000 in the United States or Britain, it was found that “India was consistently portrayed as backward, uncivilised, savage and traditional”.
It added that it was “common to find portrayals of dirty roads, dusty streets, unclean waters, overflowing sewers, marshy streets and spoilt food apart from the presence of garbage, depictions of noisy locales or overcrowded places (especially bazaars, trains and stations) in scenes depicting India”.
One way of getting a more balanced view of the sub-continent is to see how it depicts itself in Indian movies, from the fantasy of Bollywood musicals to the realist works of the late feted film-maker Satyajit Ray.
A more recent example would be The Lunchbox (2013), which serves up a portrait of modern India rooted in everyday life. As a housewife’s carefully prepared lunchbox makes its way to a lonely widower by mistake, via the feat of logistical wonder that is the food delivery system in Mumbai, director Ritesh Batra cooks up a moving tale about human connection and hope.
Another way is to travel to India and see the place for yourself.
There is far more to the sub-continent than can be contained in film and TV shows and even a short trip of five days proved to be eye-opening.
My itinerary packed in sprawling and beautifully decorated palace complexes in Jaipur, an impressive fortress and a massive mosque in Delhi, and that magnificent monument to love and fidelity, the Taj Mahal. Even with the guide playing up expectations, saying no one walks away disappointed, the sight of that sophisticated white-marbled feat of 17th-century architecture against the blue sky was spectacular.
Also, no small point, this – the food was delicious, with mouth-watering curries, tender tandoori meat and fish, fragrant naans and moreish snacks to devour.
Meanwhile, it is worth remembering not to gobble up everything one sees in cinemas and on TV just because it is served to us in a convenient little package.
(ST)
When I mentioned that I was going there for a holiday, the response was often, “Really?”, followed in the same breath by “Why?”, as though I had just announced that I was going on a dumpster-diving tour.
Part of it has to do with how the country has been portrayed in popular culture, from reality television game show The Amazing Race (2001 to present) to the movie Slumdog Millionaire (2008).
In a reminder of how powerful such images can be, a friend could recall the culture shock the participants felt in season 4 of The Amazing Race in 2003. They landed at Mumbai airport to an overwhelming reception of aggressive touts and later had to deal with the human crush of overcrowded Indian trains. At one point, someone was crying and exclaiming that it was all just too much to handle.
While it is exciting and exuberant, Slumdog Millionaire is also about the less savoury aspects of Indian society, such as street children getting blinded to become more effective beggars, and the deplorable conditions of slum dwelling. In one indelible scene, a child jumps into the communal toilet pit and emerges covered in human excrement.
In some of these depictions of India seen through foreign eyes, there has almost been a fetishisation of the worst aspects of its culture and society. A paper (A Content Analysis Of The Portrayal Of India In Films Produced In The West) published in The Howard Journal of Communications in 2005 makes the point that this is not new.
In a sample of 24 randomly selected films about the country produced from 1930 to 2000 in the United States or Britain, it was found that “India was consistently portrayed as backward, uncivilised, savage and traditional”.
It added that it was “common to find portrayals of dirty roads, dusty streets, unclean waters, overflowing sewers, marshy streets and spoilt food apart from the presence of garbage, depictions of noisy locales or overcrowded places (especially bazaars, trains and stations) in scenes depicting India”.
One way of getting a more balanced view of the sub-continent is to see how it depicts itself in Indian movies, from the fantasy of Bollywood musicals to the realist works of the late feted film-maker Satyajit Ray.
A more recent example would be The Lunchbox (2013), which serves up a portrait of modern India rooted in everyday life. As a housewife’s carefully prepared lunchbox makes its way to a lonely widower by mistake, via the feat of logistical wonder that is the food delivery system in Mumbai, director Ritesh Batra cooks up a moving tale about human connection and hope.
Another way is to travel to India and see the place for yourself.
There is far more to the sub-continent than can be contained in film and TV shows and even a short trip of five days proved to be eye-opening.
My itinerary packed in sprawling and beautifully decorated palace complexes in Jaipur, an impressive fortress and a massive mosque in Delhi, and that magnificent monument to love and fidelity, the Taj Mahal. Even with the guide playing up expectations, saying no one walks away disappointed, the sight of that sophisticated white-marbled feat of 17th-century architecture against the blue sky was spectacular.
Also, no small point, this – the food was delicious, with mouth-watering curries, tender tandoori meat and fish, fragrant naans and moreish snacks to devour.
Meanwhile, it is worth remembering not to gobble up everything one sees in cinemas and on TV just because it is served to us in a convenient little package.
(ST)
Wednesday, March 01, 2017
Sometimes The Great Yoga Sometimes Speaking In Tongues - Yoga Selects Live
Yoga Lin
Fans who missed Taiwanese singer Yoga Lin’s post-military service comeback gig at the Esplanade on Feb 3 will want to buy this release with a mouthful of a title. It is a collection of tunes from two of his tours, 2014’s Speaking In Tongues and the ongoing The Great Yoga.
Several are covers that were also performed in Singapore, including a loose-limbed take on British band Blur’s cheeky headbanger Song 2 and a persuasive version of singer-songwriter Sandee Chan’s Useless Umbrella.
There is also plenty of material here that would be new to those who were at the Esplanade concert.
He covers the late Chang Yu-sheng’s Missing You and singer-songwriter Cheer Chen’s Little Dust, leaving his distinctive personal stamp on each interpretation.
His own hits get new leases of life with different arrangements, such as the use of the vocoder to give Runaway Mama more of an electro- dance feel.
Another surprise here is the English track, Never Been In Love Before, better known as the title song off his third album, Perfect Life (2011).
One of the more compelling live albums in recent memory.
(ST)
Yoga Lin
Fans who missed Taiwanese singer Yoga Lin’s post-military service comeback gig at the Esplanade on Feb 3 will want to buy this release with a mouthful of a title. It is a collection of tunes from two of his tours, 2014’s Speaking In Tongues and the ongoing The Great Yoga.
Several are covers that were also performed in Singapore, including a loose-limbed take on British band Blur’s cheeky headbanger Song 2 and a persuasive version of singer-songwriter Sandee Chan’s Useless Umbrella.
There is also plenty of material here that would be new to those who were at the Esplanade concert.
He covers the late Chang Yu-sheng’s Missing You and singer-songwriter Cheer Chen’s Little Dust, leaving his distinctive personal stamp on each interpretation.
His own hits get new leases of life with different arrangements, such as the use of the vocoder to give Runaway Mama more of an electro- dance feel.
Another surprise here is the English track, Never Been In Love Before, better known as the title song off his third album, Perfect Life (2011).
One of the more compelling live albums in recent memory.
(ST)
Wednesday, February 22, 2017
Queen of Queens
Miss Ko
Make It Real!
GBOYSWAG
The title of Miss Ko’s new album sounds like typical rapper braggadocio.
Then again, she does have something to boast about as she was the first hip-hop artist to win the Golden Melody Award for Best New Artist for her debut Knock Out (2012).
But it also points to her roots as the Taiwanese-American grew up in Queens, New York.
Her third album finds her in fine form and ready to reclaim her throne. Her comeback to naysayers who nitpick over her Mandarin: “Did win a prize, wrote a song for A-mei/I’m not your idol, I’m your idol’s idol”. She then raps smoothly in English on Started From Scratch: “Never settin limits/representin for da women”.
There is a less combative side of this queen as well.
She rails against an inferior offering on Pizza, but also waxes lyrical about the perfect pie. Athletic Shoes Centipede finds her in a playful mood as she raps about her beloved sneakers. Everybody Ride gets into the groove with a piano riff and an invitation to hang out and chill.
It is a more varied album compared with the party-hearty vibe of GBOYSWAG’s album. This is the debut of Taiwanese outfit Magic Power’s DJ Gu Gu and it does not stray far from the dance-floor and radio-friendly electro-pop formula of the group.
He raps in English as well and on Make It Real, he offers to: “Talk n talk n share them thoughts/Maybe chill out for a while.” But I would rather listen to Miss Ko.
(ST)
Miss Ko
Make It Real!
GBOYSWAG
The title of Miss Ko’s new album sounds like typical rapper braggadocio.
Then again, she does have something to boast about as she was the first hip-hop artist to win the Golden Melody Award for Best New Artist for her debut Knock Out (2012).
But it also points to her roots as the Taiwanese-American grew up in Queens, New York.
Her third album finds her in fine form and ready to reclaim her throne. Her comeback to naysayers who nitpick over her Mandarin: “Did win a prize, wrote a song for A-mei/I’m not your idol, I’m your idol’s idol”. She then raps smoothly in English on Started From Scratch: “Never settin limits/representin for da women”.
There is a less combative side of this queen as well.
She rails against an inferior offering on Pizza, but also waxes lyrical about the perfect pie. Athletic Shoes Centipede finds her in a playful mood as she raps about her beloved sneakers. Everybody Ride gets into the groove with a piano riff and an invitation to hang out and chill.
It is a more varied album compared with the party-hearty vibe of GBOYSWAG’s album. This is the debut of Taiwanese outfit Magic Power’s DJ Gu Gu and it does not stray far from the dance-floor and radio-friendly electro-pop formula of the group.
He raps in English as well and on Make It Real, he offers to: “Talk n talk n share them thoughts/Maybe chill out for a while.” But I would rather listen to Miss Ko.
(ST)
Sleepless
Baran bo Odar
The story: Las Vegas vice cops Vincent Downs (Jamie Foxx) and Sean Cass (T.I.) rob a shipment of cocaine belonging to casino boss Stanley Rubino (Dermot Mulroney), who has promised it to the vicious mobster Rob Novak (Scoot McNairy). Vincent has to return the drugs when his son gets abducted. Meanwhile, internal affairs agents Jennifer Bryant (Michelle Monaghan) and Doug Dennison (David Harbour) are on his case. A remake of the French film Sleepless Night (2011).
It has been more than two years since Oscar-winning actor Foxx’s last film, the family-friendly musical Annie (2014). Too bad his return to the big screen is this snoozefest that left out the thrill from crime thriller.
Is Vincent a dirty cop or an undercover cop? Somehow, the question is not very interesting when clearly, he is a super one who can run, jump and fight on despite getting knifed – the occasional wince is all he seems to suffer.
There is a mole thrown into the proceedings as well though the identity of the snitch is unlikely to surprise anyone.
As is the case for too many generic crime flicks, the police are shockingly inept and Monaghan’s (Source Code, 2011) character is both annoying and ineffectual.
The ludicrous final act manages to rope in Vincent’s ex-wife (Gabrielle Union) before things are neatly resolved.
The French-Belgian-Luxembourg original premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and was well received. Did something get lost in translation?
(ST)
Baran bo Odar
The story: Las Vegas vice cops Vincent Downs (Jamie Foxx) and Sean Cass (T.I.) rob a shipment of cocaine belonging to casino boss Stanley Rubino (Dermot Mulroney), who has promised it to the vicious mobster Rob Novak (Scoot McNairy). Vincent has to return the drugs when his son gets abducted. Meanwhile, internal affairs agents Jennifer Bryant (Michelle Monaghan) and Doug Dennison (David Harbour) are on his case. A remake of the French film Sleepless Night (2011).
It has been more than two years since Oscar-winning actor Foxx’s last film, the family-friendly musical Annie (2014). Too bad his return to the big screen is this snoozefest that left out the thrill from crime thriller.
Is Vincent a dirty cop or an undercover cop? Somehow, the question is not very interesting when clearly, he is a super one who can run, jump and fight on despite getting knifed – the occasional wince is all he seems to suffer.
There is a mole thrown into the proceedings as well though the identity of the snitch is unlikely to surprise anyone.
As is the case for too many generic crime flicks, the police are shockingly inept and Monaghan’s (Source Code, 2011) character is both annoying and ineffectual.
The ludicrous final act manages to rope in Vincent’s ex-wife (Gabrielle Union) before things are neatly resolved.
The French-Belgian-Luxembourg original premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and was well received. Did something get lost in translation?
(ST)
Collide
Eran Creevey
The story: Americans Casey (Nicholas Hoult) and Juliette (Felicity Jones) meet and fall in love in Cologne, Germany. He swears off crime to win her over, but decides to do one last job for Geran (Ben Kingsley) to pay for her medical expenses. This pits Casey against the dangerous drug kingpin Hagen Kahl (Anthony Hopkins).
This romance in the guise of an action thriller works in both respects, thanks to the casting and director and co-writer Eran Creevy’s (Welcome To The Punch, 2013) sly sense of humour.
In a running joke, as Casey gets into one car chase after another, he gets his hands on a sweeter and swifter ride every time he totals his current vehicle.
Neither cop nor superhero, he is an ordinary man thrust into extraordinary circumstances because of love. This makes him a sympathetic character the audience roots for as he relies only on wits and reflexes to fend off squads of killers equipped with a barrage of firepower.
Hoult makes a convincing action leading man here after outings in superhero flicks (X-Men: Apocalypse, 2016) and romances (Equals, 2015). He has an easy-on-the-eye physicality and he makes all the running, dodging and high-octane sequences believable and exciting.
Jones has much less to do here beyond adding to her chameleonic credentials after having enjoyed both critical (The Theory Of Everything, 2014) and box-office successes (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, 2016). But she has a great reaction shot in a scene where she expresses her incredulity that no woman before her has said “I love you” to blue-eyed hottie Casey.
And as seasoned scenery-chewers are wont to, Oscar winners Kingsley (Gandhi, 1982) and Hopkins (The Silence Of The Lambs, 1991) have fun here, the former as a Turkish mobster whose brains have been fried by drugs and the latter as a ruthless criminal cloaked in a veneer of respectability.
(ST)
Eran Creevey
The story: Americans Casey (Nicholas Hoult) and Juliette (Felicity Jones) meet and fall in love in Cologne, Germany. He swears off crime to win her over, but decides to do one last job for Geran (Ben Kingsley) to pay for her medical expenses. This pits Casey against the dangerous drug kingpin Hagen Kahl (Anthony Hopkins).
This romance in the guise of an action thriller works in both respects, thanks to the casting and director and co-writer Eran Creevy’s (Welcome To The Punch, 2013) sly sense of humour.
In a running joke, as Casey gets into one car chase after another, he gets his hands on a sweeter and swifter ride every time he totals his current vehicle.
Neither cop nor superhero, he is an ordinary man thrust into extraordinary circumstances because of love. This makes him a sympathetic character the audience roots for as he relies only on wits and reflexes to fend off squads of killers equipped with a barrage of firepower.
Hoult makes a convincing action leading man here after outings in superhero flicks (X-Men: Apocalypse, 2016) and romances (Equals, 2015). He has an easy-on-the-eye physicality and he makes all the running, dodging and high-octane sequences believable and exciting.
Jones has much less to do here beyond adding to her chameleonic credentials after having enjoyed both critical (The Theory Of Everything, 2014) and box-office successes (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, 2016). But she has a great reaction shot in a scene where she expresses her incredulity that no woman before her has said “I love you” to blue-eyed hottie Casey.
And as seasoned scenery-chewers are wont to, Oscar winners Kingsley (Gandhi, 1982) and Hopkins (The Silence Of The Lambs, 1991) have fun here, the former as a Turkish mobster whose brains have been fried by drugs and the latter as a ruthless criminal cloaked in a veneer of respectability.
(ST)
Wednesday, February 15, 2017
Love Contractually
Liu Guonan
The story: Katrina (Sammi Cheng) is a nitpicking taskmaster of a boss who has issues such as claustrophobia and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Xiao Bo (Joseph Chang) is a former paratrooper turned courier who ends up as her assistant because of the attractive salary. He later learns that he was picked to be her sperm donor.
Perhaps the best thing dating couples could do during this Valentine’s season is to avoid this rom-com, which contains neither genuine romance nor comedy.
There is only plenty of nothing between Hong Kong singer-actress Cheng (Blind Detective, 2013) and Taiwanese actor Chang (Eternal Summer, 2006) to sustain this annoying debut feature by Chinese director Liu Guonan, which turns maudlin in the last stretch.
At 44, Cheng looks good enough to pass for a 35-year-old. Unfortunately, her character is a cold and cheerless creation that audiences will find hard to warm up to, even when she gets saddled with a sob story of a backstory that is meant to evoke some smidgen of sympathy.
The sunny Chang is the lone bright spot, but his character is just ridiculously perfect – man enough to save Katrina from a crazed employee and good-hearted to the point of being self-sacrificing.
And yes, he has also experienced tragedy in his past – essentially an excuse for him to have something in common with Katrina and also to set up the over-the-top ending.
Nothing else sticks here. Not the lacklustre storytelling, not the desperate use of France as a scenic backdrop and, above all, not the forced romance between Katrina and Xiao Bo.
(ST)
Liu Guonan
The story: Katrina (Sammi Cheng) is a nitpicking taskmaster of a boss who has issues such as claustrophobia and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Xiao Bo (Joseph Chang) is a former paratrooper turned courier who ends up as her assistant because of the attractive salary. He later learns that he was picked to be her sperm donor.
Perhaps the best thing dating couples could do during this Valentine’s season is to avoid this rom-com, which contains neither genuine romance nor comedy.
There is only plenty of nothing between Hong Kong singer-actress Cheng (Blind Detective, 2013) and Taiwanese actor Chang (Eternal Summer, 2006) to sustain this annoying debut feature by Chinese director Liu Guonan, which turns maudlin in the last stretch.
At 44, Cheng looks good enough to pass for a 35-year-old. Unfortunately, her character is a cold and cheerless creation that audiences will find hard to warm up to, even when she gets saddled with a sob story of a backstory that is meant to evoke some smidgen of sympathy.
The sunny Chang is the lone bright spot, but his character is just ridiculously perfect – man enough to save Katrina from a crazed employee and good-hearted to the point of being self-sacrificing.
And yes, he has also experienced tragedy in his past – essentially an excuse for him to have something in common with Katrina and also to set up the over-the-top ending.
Nothing else sticks here. Not the lacklustre storytelling, not the desperate use of France as a scenic backdrop and, above all, not the forced romance between Katrina and Xiao Bo.
(ST)
Wednesday, February 08, 2017
Humorous Life
Kenji Wu
Never mind that Taiwanese singer- actor Kenji Wu is no A-list star – 17 years after his debut, he is a seasoned singer-songwriter who still has fun with music, but it no longer comes across as gimmicky.
This is a far cry from his earlier records such as First Creative Album (2004) and The Kenji Show (2005), in which it seemed as though he was trying a little too hard (on the song Wu Ke Qun, for example, he imitated a gamut of singers, from Jay Chou to A-do).
Aptly, he sings in the title track: “Life is full of ups and downs/It’s perfection to experience it yourself.” It is a collaboration with Chinese singer LaceDoll incorporating jazz and rap as they contemplate the vicissitudes of life.
Another breezy number is Shandong Lass, which has the feel of a folk ditty as Wu sketches a portrait of a rural girl who discovers that city life can be lonely.
Among the handful of radio- friendly ballads here, Losing Speed stands out for its memorable melody and lyrics, which liken his state of mind to driving in the night: “Braking suddenly/Memories shimmering on the streets/I crash head-on into loneliness.”
The closer, Pulling Radishes, is a poignant collaboration with Taiwanese indie musician Yorke Tsai that ponders what happens after happily-ever-after: “Is the prince still doing well, how is the princess faring/If you’re not a prince, how do you live?”
Is it a reflection on his own status in the scene? He might not be pop royalty, but he can still put out music worth listening to.
(ST)
Kenji Wu
Never mind that Taiwanese singer- actor Kenji Wu is no A-list star – 17 years after his debut, he is a seasoned singer-songwriter who still has fun with music, but it no longer comes across as gimmicky.
This is a far cry from his earlier records such as First Creative Album (2004) and The Kenji Show (2005), in which it seemed as though he was trying a little too hard (on the song Wu Ke Qun, for example, he imitated a gamut of singers, from Jay Chou to A-do).
Aptly, he sings in the title track: “Life is full of ups and downs/It’s perfection to experience it yourself.” It is a collaboration with Chinese singer LaceDoll incorporating jazz and rap as they contemplate the vicissitudes of life.
Another breezy number is Shandong Lass, which has the feel of a folk ditty as Wu sketches a portrait of a rural girl who discovers that city life can be lonely.
Among the handful of radio- friendly ballads here, Losing Speed stands out for its memorable melody and lyrics, which liken his state of mind to driving in the night: “Braking suddenly/Memories shimmering on the streets/I crash head-on into loneliness.”
The closer, Pulling Radishes, is a poignant collaboration with Taiwanese indie musician Yorke Tsai that ponders what happens after happily-ever-after: “Is the prince still doing well, how is the princess faring/If you’re not a prince, how do you live?”
Is it a reflection on his own status in the scene? He might not be pop royalty, but he can still put out music worth listening to.
(ST)
The Lego Batman Movie
Chris McKay
The story: Stung by the realisation that Batman (Will Arnett) does not regard him as his greatest foe, the Joker (Zach Galifianakis) hatches a devious ploy that will unleash a plethora of notorious villains and monsters on Gotham City. In order to defeat them, Batman needs to learn to work with others, including Robin (Michael Cera), police commissioner Barbara Gordon (Rosario Dawson) and his butler Alfred Pennyworth (Ralph Fiennes).
This new animated feature should appease movie fans who loved the animated flick The Lego Movie (2014) and are impatient for its sequel scheduled to be released in 2019.
It is chock-full of that familiarly irreverent tone, non-stop wisecracks and, of course, the inventive use of the humble Lego brick to conjure up buildings, monsters, explosions and everything in between.
The jokes start early with Batman critiquing the opening film logo sequences – and never stop coming.
It helps that the self-aware film-makers are happy to take aim at themselves and others. There is even a dig taken at the much-reviled Suicide Squad (2016) in which villains are recruited to fight other villains.
The line-up of monsters is a hoot, a who’s who of top cinematic nasties including Voldemort from the Harry Potter films, Eye of Sauron from The Lord Of The Rings and flying monkeys from The Wizard Of Oz. It is always cool to see what characters can be achieved simply by using Lego bricks.
Arnett, best known for the television comedy Arrested Development (2003-2013), reprises his brief role as Batman in The Lego Movie and his deadpan, growly delivery remains spot on.
The buoyant cast includes Cera, yet another Arrested Development alumnus, as the irrepressibly cheerful orphan unwittingly adopted by Batman/Bruce Wayne; Galifianakis as a villain with an identity crisis; and Fiennes as the loyal and wise butler/friend.
For all the silliness and mayhem, this is a movie that asks smart, pointed questions about the superhero genre: What is a superhero without his nemesis? In the case of Batman, a lonely man with attachment issues, shunned even by the rest of the Justice League.
Also, given that he has been at his job for such a long time, why does Gotham City remain crime-ridden? A most valid observation.
The Lego Batman Movie gleefully sticks a pin into the self-inflated pomposity of tortured superheroes and overblown superhero flicks and then tops it off with a sublimely ridiculous ending.
(ST)
Chris McKay
The story: Stung by the realisation that Batman (Will Arnett) does not regard him as his greatest foe, the Joker (Zach Galifianakis) hatches a devious ploy that will unleash a plethora of notorious villains and monsters on Gotham City. In order to defeat them, Batman needs to learn to work with others, including Robin (Michael Cera), police commissioner Barbara Gordon (Rosario Dawson) and his butler Alfred Pennyworth (Ralph Fiennes).
This new animated feature should appease movie fans who loved the animated flick The Lego Movie (2014) and are impatient for its sequel scheduled to be released in 2019.
It is chock-full of that familiarly irreverent tone, non-stop wisecracks and, of course, the inventive use of the humble Lego brick to conjure up buildings, monsters, explosions and everything in between.
The jokes start early with Batman critiquing the opening film logo sequences – and never stop coming.
It helps that the self-aware film-makers are happy to take aim at themselves and others. There is even a dig taken at the much-reviled Suicide Squad (2016) in which villains are recruited to fight other villains.
The line-up of monsters is a hoot, a who’s who of top cinematic nasties including Voldemort from the Harry Potter films, Eye of Sauron from The Lord Of The Rings and flying monkeys from The Wizard Of Oz. It is always cool to see what characters can be achieved simply by using Lego bricks.
Arnett, best known for the television comedy Arrested Development (2003-2013), reprises his brief role as Batman in The Lego Movie and his deadpan, growly delivery remains spot on.
The buoyant cast includes Cera, yet another Arrested Development alumnus, as the irrepressibly cheerful orphan unwittingly adopted by Batman/Bruce Wayne; Galifianakis as a villain with an identity crisis; and Fiennes as the loyal and wise butler/friend.
For all the silliness and mayhem, this is a movie that asks smart, pointed questions about the superhero genre: What is a superhero without his nemesis? In the case of Batman, a lonely man with attachment issues, shunned even by the rest of the Justice League.
Also, given that he has been at his job for such a long time, why does Gotham City remain crime-ridden? A most valid observation.
The Lego Batman Movie gleefully sticks a pin into the self-inflated pomposity of tortured superheroes and overblown superhero flicks and then tops it off with a sublimely ridiculous ending.
(ST)
Monday, February 06, 2017
A Midsummer Night's Dream
Dionysus Contemporary Theatre/ Huayi 2017
Esplanade Theatre Last Saturday
Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream is a play that tackles some rather weighty themes, including the nature of reality and illusion, and the arbitrariness of attraction.
But it does so with a light touch and a cloak of fantasy and comedy. However one chooses to interpret the play, it is one trippy adventure.
Director Olivia Yan of Hong Kong’s Dionysus Contemporary Theatre taps into that playful, surreal essence for this adaptation.
Story-wise, she sticks quite closely to the Bard’s version.
The Fairy King Oberon (Anthony Wong) and Queen Titania (Candice Yu) are squabbling over who should have a young boy.
In a fit of pique, he casts a spell on her that leads her to fall head over heels for the first creature she sees on waking up.
That turns out to be Bottom (Franky Mcnugget), an actor who has been stuck with the head of a donkey.
The mischievous sprite Puck (Huen Tin Yeung) uses the same potion to meddle in the affairs of four young lovers: Lysander (Alex Lam) and Hermia (Kate Yeung), who long to be together against her father’s wishes; and Demetrius (Angus Chan), who wants to marry Hermia; and Helena (Rosa Maria Velasco), who is besotted with Demetrius.
The use of Cantonese dialogue, while generally retaining the English names, immediately gives the production an exotic feel.
The lines switch between formal and colloquial Cantonese, so it feels both comfortingly familiar and detached at different times.
In one memorable scene, Helena and Hermia descend into a catfight in which they hurl insults about each other’s bust size and it plays out like an exaggerated Hong Kong comedy film.
The stage is kept uncluttered, with a few pieces of props, such as a large rock and a ramp, to delineate the space. It means the costumes, lighting and sound are key to transporting one to a realm of magic and fantasy.
Costume designer Tsang Man Tung must have had a field day coming up with the diverse looks, from neon-coloured-circus-acrobat Puck to the skivvies the four lovers run about in to the regally ostentatious raiments of Oberon and Titania.
Wong is feathered and cocky as the Fairy King while Yu has an imperious presence as the Queen and also as Hippolyta, who is marrying Duke Theseus (also played by Wong) in yet another strand of the tale.
Kudos to Huen for a lithe and limber performance and to Mcnugget for a fearless one, wearing a pair of underpants with an obscenely large bulge as the transformed Bottom.
But it is Velasco who leaves the deepest impression as she makes one really feel the desperation of Helena’s situation.
Her Helena is funny and sympathetic instead of merely being an object of ridicule or pity.
In a story filled with fairies, magic and outsized drama, she keeps things real.
(ST)
Dionysus Contemporary Theatre/ Huayi 2017
Esplanade Theatre Last Saturday
Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream is a play that tackles some rather weighty themes, including the nature of reality and illusion, and the arbitrariness of attraction.
But it does so with a light touch and a cloak of fantasy and comedy. However one chooses to interpret the play, it is one trippy adventure.
Director Olivia Yan of Hong Kong’s Dionysus Contemporary Theatre taps into that playful, surreal essence for this adaptation.
Story-wise, she sticks quite closely to the Bard’s version.
The Fairy King Oberon (Anthony Wong) and Queen Titania (Candice Yu) are squabbling over who should have a young boy.
In a fit of pique, he casts a spell on her that leads her to fall head over heels for the first creature she sees on waking up.
That turns out to be Bottom (Franky Mcnugget), an actor who has been stuck with the head of a donkey.
The mischievous sprite Puck (Huen Tin Yeung) uses the same potion to meddle in the affairs of four young lovers: Lysander (Alex Lam) and Hermia (Kate Yeung), who long to be together against her father’s wishes; and Demetrius (Angus Chan), who wants to marry Hermia; and Helena (Rosa Maria Velasco), who is besotted with Demetrius.
The use of Cantonese dialogue, while generally retaining the English names, immediately gives the production an exotic feel.
The lines switch between formal and colloquial Cantonese, so it feels both comfortingly familiar and detached at different times.
In one memorable scene, Helena and Hermia descend into a catfight in which they hurl insults about each other’s bust size and it plays out like an exaggerated Hong Kong comedy film.
The stage is kept uncluttered, with a few pieces of props, such as a large rock and a ramp, to delineate the space. It means the costumes, lighting and sound are key to transporting one to a realm of magic and fantasy.
Costume designer Tsang Man Tung must have had a field day coming up with the diverse looks, from neon-coloured-circus-acrobat Puck to the skivvies the four lovers run about in to the regally ostentatious raiments of Oberon and Titania.
Wong is feathered and cocky as the Fairy King while Yu has an imperious presence as the Queen and also as Hippolyta, who is marrying Duke Theseus (also played by Wong) in yet another strand of the tale.
Kudos to Huen for a lithe and limber performance and to Mcnugget for a fearless one, wearing a pair of underpants with an obscenely large bulge as the transformed Bottom.
But it is Velasco who leaves the deepest impression as she makes one really feel the desperation of Helena’s situation.
Her Helena is funny and sympathetic instead of merely being an object of ridicule or pity.
In a story filled with fairies, magic and outsized drama, she keeps things real.
(ST)
Huayi 2017: Yoga Lin Live
Esplanade Concert Hall/Last Friday
After waiting more than four years for Taiwan's Yoga Lin to return here for a concert, his fans were impatient to hear him live again. There was clearly much expectations, not to mention pent-up emotions - tickets for the 1,600-seat Esplanade Concert Hall gig sold out quickly.
Lin sure lived up to expectations in a thoroughly enjoyable show that hit all the right notes, proving that his one year away from show business to serve his mandatory military stint had done nothing to diminish his fine instrument of a voice.
Over the course of a close to two-hour-long concert, he rocked out, crooned and glided into his falsetto range effortlessly. He had his fans spellbound with silence one moment and then roaring with approval and up on their feet the next.
His latest record, Sell Like Hot Cakes (2016), was his fifth studio album of original material. Rather than focusing on that, he drew substantially from his discography - Fiction (2012), Perfect Life (2011), Senses Around (2009) and even his debut Mystery Guest (2008).
Even though the lyrics were not displayed as they usually are on monitors, fans chorused along and even chimed in perfectly on the last line of Wake Up: "I've been sleeping really badly, it's best if you move in."
One of the most moving moments came when Lin sang the ballad The Early Sunset, originally written for a fan who had died after a car accident. Accompanied by the plaintive strain of a cello, he conveyed a palpable sense of loss and devastation: "I didn't give you wings, why do you want to fly."
He could have just ticked off his sizable number of hits and his fans would have been satisfied. Instead, he chose to cover songs by others as well, demonstrating his chameleonic musicality and leaving his inimitable stamp on them all.
Rene Liu's Cheng Quan (Step Aside) took on an elegiac quality and built up to an emotionally overflowing finale. He also had fun with British band Blur's cheeky headbanger Song 2 - he strummed on an acoustic guitar to launch into the tune before blowing the track wide open with a full band accompaniment.
Given the time constraint - the concert was billed as 90-minute long - Lin did not spend too much time talking. When he did, his offbeat sense of humour came through. Noting that he could see everyone clearly when the house lights came on, he added: "I can tell that everybody washes their face well."
And when he found out that only a handful of fans had started listening to his music only in the past year, he quipped: "I guess that means I've been pretty popular."
He might have meant it ironically, but there was no doubt he was indeed popular. After the show, it took him an hour to autograph CDs for the line of about 500 fans which snaked about the venue.
(ST)
Esplanade Concert Hall/Last Friday
After waiting more than four years for Taiwan's Yoga Lin to return here for a concert, his fans were impatient to hear him live again. There was clearly much expectations, not to mention pent-up emotions - tickets for the 1,600-seat Esplanade Concert Hall gig sold out quickly.
Lin sure lived up to expectations in a thoroughly enjoyable show that hit all the right notes, proving that his one year away from show business to serve his mandatory military stint had done nothing to diminish his fine instrument of a voice.
Over the course of a close to two-hour-long concert, he rocked out, crooned and glided into his falsetto range effortlessly. He had his fans spellbound with silence one moment and then roaring with approval and up on their feet the next.
His latest record, Sell Like Hot Cakes (2016), was his fifth studio album of original material. Rather than focusing on that, he drew substantially from his discography - Fiction (2012), Perfect Life (2011), Senses Around (2009) and even his debut Mystery Guest (2008).
Even though the lyrics were not displayed as they usually are on monitors, fans chorused along and even chimed in perfectly on the last line of Wake Up: "I've been sleeping really badly, it's best if you move in."
One of the most moving moments came when Lin sang the ballad The Early Sunset, originally written for a fan who had died after a car accident. Accompanied by the plaintive strain of a cello, he conveyed a palpable sense of loss and devastation: "I didn't give you wings, why do you want to fly."
He could have just ticked off his sizable number of hits and his fans would have been satisfied. Instead, he chose to cover songs by others as well, demonstrating his chameleonic musicality and leaving his inimitable stamp on them all.
Rene Liu's Cheng Quan (Step Aside) took on an elegiac quality and built up to an emotionally overflowing finale. He also had fun with British band Blur's cheeky headbanger Song 2 - he strummed on an acoustic guitar to launch into the tune before blowing the track wide open with a full band accompaniment.
Given the time constraint - the concert was billed as 90-minute long - Lin did not spend too much time talking. When he did, his offbeat sense of humour came through. Noting that he could see everyone clearly when the house lights came on, he added: "I can tell that everybody washes their face well."
And when he found out that only a handful of fans had started listening to his music only in the past year, he quipped: "I guess that means I've been pretty popular."
He might have meant it ironically, but there was no doubt he was indeed popular. After the show, it took him an hour to autograph CDs for the line of about 500 fans which snaked about the venue.
(ST)
Wednesday, February 01, 2017
Between
Sun Shengxi
This is supposed to be the album sandwiched between Chinese-Korean singer-songwriter Sun Shengxi’s debut Girls (2014) and the upcoming Women.
It is no mere placeholder though. There is an au courant R&B vibe to Moving On and a welcome spunk in songs such as He Isn’t Worth It.
She works with a wide range of collaborators, from author Four One and photographer Avril Hsiao on the lyrics, to reggae musician Matzka on the duet Lost On The Way. Yet, the record feels cohesive.
A highlight is Don’t Panic, which delivers a gentle exhortation over a breezy melody: “Don’t panic, please don’t panic/Just relax a little/Don’t panic, please don’t panic/Give yourself a break.”
She makes sure listeners are too busy grooving to the track to freak out.
(ST)
Sun Shengxi
This is supposed to be the album sandwiched between Chinese-Korean singer-songwriter Sun Shengxi’s debut Girls (2014) and the upcoming Women.
It is no mere placeholder though. There is an au courant R&B vibe to Moving On and a welcome spunk in songs such as He Isn’t Worth It.
She works with a wide range of collaborators, from author Four One and photographer Avril Hsiao on the lyrics, to reggae musician Matzka on the duet Lost On The Way. Yet, the record feels cohesive.
A highlight is Don’t Panic, which delivers a gentle exhortation over a breezy melody: “Don’t panic, please don’t panic/Just relax a little/Don’t panic, please don’t panic/Give yourself a break.”
She makes sure listeners are too busy grooving to the track to freak out.
(ST)
Journey To The West: The Demons Strike Back
The story: The monk Tang Sanzang (Kris Wu) is on a journey to India to obtain sutras. He is accompanied by three disciples – Monkey (Lin Gengxin), Piggy (Yang Yiwei) and Sandy (Mengke Bateer). Along the way, they encounter a nest of vicious spider demons, a petulant king (Bao Bei-er) and his minister (Yao Chen), who has a dangerous belief in doing as he pleases.
This is billed as the sequel to Journey To The West: Conquering The Demons (2013), but there are actually quite a few changes from the earlier film.
Hong Kong’s Stephen Chow only writes and produces here, and leaves the directing to Tsui Hark (Detective Dee And The Mystery Of The Phantom Flame, 2010) instead.
The tone of the film is a tad less silly, but there are still comic elements that are signature Chow, such as the exaggeratedly drooly Piggy and old women who are supposed to be exhausted 16-year-olds.
More jarring is the overhauled cast.
Idol singer-actor Kris Wu makes for a better-looking Tang, but Wen Zhang was more affecting in the earlier film. Monkey, Piggy and Sandy are also played by different actors, though the impact is less marked in their case as their faces are hidden under heavy make-up.
The source material – the classic Chinese novel Journey To The West – merely serves as inspiration here and the film-makers take lots of liberty with the story.
That is not necessarily a bad thing, though Tang behaves in a rather inconsistent manner, particularly in his relationship with Monkey.
What makes the film entertaining is the inventive use of computer- generated imagery (CGI).
Tsui piles on the effects and, more importantly, lets his imagination run riot in conjuring up landscapes, creatures and battles.
There is a forest of deformed and menacing trees, a crazily colourful kingdom run by a child-like monarch and an epic showdown involving four buddhas, a giant Monkey and a demon who looks like a mechanical toy. Oh, and a poisoned Sandy gets transformed into a giant fish the gang have to lug around and keep wet.
There is a wild and joyous abandon to the film-making that calls to mind Tsui’s early work, Zu Warriors From The Magic Mountain (1983), which memorably featured flying stone elephants. He has not lost his touch when it comes to making fantasy take flight.
(ST)
The story: The monk Tang Sanzang (Kris Wu) is on a journey to India to obtain sutras. He is accompanied by three disciples – Monkey (Lin Gengxin), Piggy (Yang Yiwei) and Sandy (Mengke Bateer). Along the way, they encounter a nest of vicious spider demons, a petulant king (Bao Bei-er) and his minister (Yao Chen), who has a dangerous belief in doing as he pleases.
This is billed as the sequel to Journey To The West: Conquering The Demons (2013), but there are actually quite a few changes from the earlier film.
Hong Kong’s Stephen Chow only writes and produces here, and leaves the directing to Tsui Hark (Detective Dee And The Mystery Of The Phantom Flame, 2010) instead.
The tone of the film is a tad less silly, but there are still comic elements that are signature Chow, such as the exaggeratedly drooly Piggy and old women who are supposed to be exhausted 16-year-olds.
More jarring is the overhauled cast.
Idol singer-actor Kris Wu makes for a better-looking Tang, but Wen Zhang was more affecting in the earlier film. Monkey, Piggy and Sandy are also played by different actors, though the impact is less marked in their case as their faces are hidden under heavy make-up.
The source material – the classic Chinese novel Journey To The West – merely serves as inspiration here and the film-makers take lots of liberty with the story.
That is not necessarily a bad thing, though Tang behaves in a rather inconsistent manner, particularly in his relationship with Monkey.
What makes the film entertaining is the inventive use of computer- generated imagery (CGI).
Tsui piles on the effects and, more importantly, lets his imagination run riot in conjuring up landscapes, creatures and battles.
There is a forest of deformed and menacing trees, a crazily colourful kingdom run by a child-like monarch and an epic showdown involving four buddhas, a giant Monkey and a demon who looks like a mechanical toy. Oh, and a poisoned Sandy gets transformed into a giant fish the gang have to lug around and keep wet.
There is a wild and joyous abandon to the film-making that calls to mind Tsui’s early work, Zu Warriors From The Magic Mountain (1983), which memorably featured flying stone elephants. He has not lost his touch when it comes to making fantasy take flight.
(ST)
Wednesday, January 25, 2017
Power Station 20th
Power Station
Flow
Winnie Hsin
In their earlier days, Taiwanese duo Power Station were known for rock ballads filled with angst and soaring vocals in hits such as Heartless Love Letters, which is found on this new two-disc album. Two decades on, the pair have matured and their most memorable new songs are the more measured mid-tempo tracks.
The opener Mi Tang (Potion) possesses a tenderness in lines such as “She uses warmth to heat up a bowl of potion for me, how fragrant”.
Despite its title, Zha Yao (Dynamite) starts gently and even the chorus is unhurried: “You are the dynamite deep in my heart/Why are these memories so overbearing/Don’t know when they will explode/ And blow everything apart.”
That said, Power Station have not lost their explosiveness and edge. They still have plenty of energy, judging from songs such as the Minnan-Mandarin track Next Station. They remain a relevant music force and that is no mean feat after 20 years.
Taiwanese singer Winnie Hsin has been around even longer and yet the 54-year-old’s crystalline soprano pipes have not diminished since her debut album, Lonely Winter, was released in 1986.
The album’s Mandarin title, Ming Bai (Understand), seems to hark back to her best-known work Ling Wu (Epiphany, 1994), but she has no intention of resting on her laurels.
If her awakening in Epiphany was a bitter one (“Ah painful realisation that you were my everything”), the parting shot in the title track here is a more empowering manifesto: “I can afford to love/I can let it go.”
First single My Dear You, which has been scaling radio charts, mixes lush strings with her deftly modulating voice: “My dear you, missing you/I wish you were here with me/You have to walk part of the way to realise that being safe and sound is the greatest happiness.”
It feels as though one is hearing from a good friend after a long absence.
(ST)
Power Station
Flow
Winnie Hsin
In their earlier days, Taiwanese duo Power Station were known for rock ballads filled with angst and soaring vocals in hits such as Heartless Love Letters, which is found on this new two-disc album. Two decades on, the pair have matured and their most memorable new songs are the more measured mid-tempo tracks.
The opener Mi Tang (Potion) possesses a tenderness in lines such as “She uses warmth to heat up a bowl of potion for me, how fragrant”.
Despite its title, Zha Yao (Dynamite) starts gently and even the chorus is unhurried: “You are the dynamite deep in my heart/Why are these memories so overbearing/Don’t know when they will explode/ And blow everything apart.”
That said, Power Station have not lost their explosiveness and edge. They still have plenty of energy, judging from songs such as the Minnan-Mandarin track Next Station. They remain a relevant music force and that is no mean feat after 20 years.
Taiwanese singer Winnie Hsin has been around even longer and yet the 54-year-old’s crystalline soprano pipes have not diminished since her debut album, Lonely Winter, was released in 1986.
The album’s Mandarin title, Ming Bai (Understand), seems to hark back to her best-known work Ling Wu (Epiphany, 1994), but she has no intention of resting on her laurels.
If her awakening in Epiphany was a bitter one (“Ah painful realisation that you were my everything”), the parting shot in the title track here is a more empowering manifesto: “I can afford to love/I can let it go.”
First single My Dear You, which has been scaling radio charts, mixes lush strings with her deftly modulating voice: “My dear you, missing you/I wish you were here with me/You have to walk part of the way to realise that being safe and sound is the greatest happiness.”
It feels as though one is hearing from a good friend after a long absence.
(ST)
It is time for the annual Chinese New Year sweepstakes – the winner could walk away with millions of dollars, whether in the Toto draw or at the box office, where there are four festive titles in battle.
Hong Kong action star Jackie Chan is a regular fixture of the season. In action-comedy Kung Fu Yoga, his latest attempt to claim the holiday crown, he and director Stanley Tong pull out all the stops to appeal to just about everyone.
It highlights exotic and glamorous locations around the world, from the ice-and-snow landscape of Iceland to the over-the-top luxury on display in Dubai.
The diverse cast includes Bollywood beauties Disha Patani and Amyra Dastur, yoga goddess Mu Qimiya, dashing Aarif Rahman and singer-dancer Lay Zhang from South Korean boy band Exo.
In order to tie all these disparate elements together, the story is something of a stretch.
Chan plays archaeology professor Jack, who is keen to track down the lost treasure of the Indian kingdom of Magadha.
However, the lengthy exposition of an ancient battle plays out like a none-too-involving computer game and the references to Indo-Sino friendship feel too much like pandering to a potentially large Indian audience.
Missing is the appeal of Chan as the scrappy underdog who triumphs against the odds – nowadays, he tends to be treated respectfully as the undisputed top dog.
But even a top dog will grimace and cower when he finds himself next to the king of beasts – a highlight of Kung Fu Yoga sees him stuck in a car during a high-octane chase scene with an actual, not CGI, lion. Chan is a hoot as he tries to gingerly placate the pi**ed-off cat.
A joyous Bollywood dance extravaganza aptly wraps up the proceedings. It might not be part of Chinese tradition, but it is celebratory.
The most ostensibly festive entry is The Fortune Handbook. Mark Lee plays a fortune god-in-training who meddles in the affairs of lazy Soh Hock (Christopher Lee) and his industrious brother-in-law Hao Xing (Li Nanxing).
Prosperity, the importance of family and bak kwa are key themes of this holiday season and they are all here in this work from director Kelvin Sng (Taxi! Taxi!, 2013), but the end result is far from savoury.
Bak kwa gets quite a bit of play because Christopher Lee is the ambassador for a certain brand – and so does green tea, which Vivian Lai even breaks from her character as Soh Hock’s wife to promote.
While product placements in a film might be a necessary evil, a film-maker knows his work is in trouble when his characters laugh more than the audience – hearing laughter on the screen is not the same thing as watching a funny film.
The most entertaining thing in the movie is Christopher Lee’s performance as the vain, hairspray-toting Soh Hock, which at least feels a little fresh and different.
At first glance, the other local festive film, Take 2, seems to be a rather curious offering, given that ex-cons trying to move on is not exactly the most obvious Chinese New Year topic. But the theme of starting afresh does fit in with the notion of new beginnings.
It is a pity that debutant director Ivan Ho, who was scriptwriter for Ah Boys To Men 3: Frogmen (2015), cannot quite decide if he wants to do a drama or a comedy.
Ryan Lian (Long Long Time Ago, 2016) has potential as a brooding leading man in what could have been a moving story of how a jailbird father redeems himself in his estranged son’s eyes.
But he is surrounded here by discordant notes, from Dennis Chew in a number of cross-dressing roles to Chen Tianwen as a crazily flamboyant nemesis to a bizarre soundtrack of European songs.
There is yet another contender for the Chinese New Year box- office crown and that is Journey To The West: The Demons Strike Back, which opens on Saturday.
The final festive offering is from Hong Kong funnyman Stephen Chow, a proven box-office magnet here like Chan is.
The prints will be arriving just in time for its sneak previews on Friday and opening on Saturday, but the movie likely will not need good reviews to boost its takings.
Its predecessor, Journey To The West: Conquering The Demons (2013), was a hit even though Chow did not act in it – he co-wrote, produced and directed it.
He has even less involvement this time around – only a producing credit. Yet his name is still prominently featured in the trailer.
Now that is star power.
(ST)
Hong Kong action star Jackie Chan is a regular fixture of the season. In action-comedy Kung Fu Yoga, his latest attempt to claim the holiday crown, he and director Stanley Tong pull out all the stops to appeal to just about everyone.
It highlights exotic and glamorous locations around the world, from the ice-and-snow landscape of Iceland to the over-the-top luxury on display in Dubai.
The diverse cast includes Bollywood beauties Disha Patani and Amyra Dastur, yoga goddess Mu Qimiya, dashing Aarif Rahman and singer-dancer Lay Zhang from South Korean boy band Exo.
In order to tie all these disparate elements together, the story is something of a stretch.
Chan plays archaeology professor Jack, who is keen to track down the lost treasure of the Indian kingdom of Magadha.
However, the lengthy exposition of an ancient battle plays out like a none-too-involving computer game and the references to Indo-Sino friendship feel too much like pandering to a potentially large Indian audience.
Missing is the appeal of Chan as the scrappy underdog who triumphs against the odds – nowadays, he tends to be treated respectfully as the undisputed top dog.
But even a top dog will grimace and cower when he finds himself next to the king of beasts – a highlight of Kung Fu Yoga sees him stuck in a car during a high-octane chase scene with an actual, not CGI, lion. Chan is a hoot as he tries to gingerly placate the pi**ed-off cat.
A joyous Bollywood dance extravaganza aptly wraps up the proceedings. It might not be part of Chinese tradition, but it is celebratory.
The most ostensibly festive entry is The Fortune Handbook. Mark Lee plays a fortune god-in-training who meddles in the affairs of lazy Soh Hock (Christopher Lee) and his industrious brother-in-law Hao Xing (Li Nanxing).
Prosperity, the importance of family and bak kwa are key themes of this holiday season and they are all here in this work from director Kelvin Sng (Taxi! Taxi!, 2013), but the end result is far from savoury.
Bak kwa gets quite a bit of play because Christopher Lee is the ambassador for a certain brand – and so does green tea, which Vivian Lai even breaks from her character as Soh Hock’s wife to promote.
While product placements in a film might be a necessary evil, a film-maker knows his work is in trouble when his characters laugh more than the audience – hearing laughter on the screen is not the same thing as watching a funny film.
The most entertaining thing in the movie is Christopher Lee’s performance as the vain, hairspray-toting Soh Hock, which at least feels a little fresh and different.
At first glance, the other local festive film, Take 2, seems to be a rather curious offering, given that ex-cons trying to move on is not exactly the most obvious Chinese New Year topic. But the theme of starting afresh does fit in with the notion of new beginnings.
It is a pity that debutant director Ivan Ho, who was scriptwriter for Ah Boys To Men 3: Frogmen (2015), cannot quite decide if he wants to do a drama or a comedy.
Ryan Lian (Long Long Time Ago, 2016) has potential as a brooding leading man in what could have been a moving story of how a jailbird father redeems himself in his estranged son’s eyes.
But he is surrounded here by discordant notes, from Dennis Chew in a number of cross-dressing roles to Chen Tianwen as a crazily flamboyant nemesis to a bizarre soundtrack of European songs.
There is yet another contender for the Chinese New Year box- office crown and that is Journey To The West: The Demons Strike Back, which opens on Saturday.
The final festive offering is from Hong Kong funnyman Stephen Chow, a proven box-office magnet here like Chan is.
The prints will be arriving just in time for its sneak previews on Friday and opening on Saturday, but the movie likely will not need good reviews to boost its takings.
Its predecessor, Journey To The West: Conquering The Demons (2013), was a hit even though Chow did not act in it – he co-wrote, produced and directed it.
He has even less involvement this time around – only a producing credit. Yet his name is still prominently featured in the trailer.
Now that is star power.
(ST)
Wednesday, January 18, 2017
Dear Paranoia
Andrew Tan
Make-up artist-turned-singer Andrew Tan remains best known for the hit ballad Queen, the title track off his 2010 debut album.
It is a pity – the Malaysian has a rich and sonorous set of pipes, which you might even call a handsome voice.
Dear Paranoia is a concerted effort to improve his fortunes with radio-friendly material about being in and out of love that showcases his vocals.
His falsetto is effortless in Internecine (Ju Shang), which features a brooding piano melody and a soaring chorus. Blue Love Theme (Hao Ai Hao San) plays to his strength as an emotive singer.
Taken as a whole, though, the album relies too much on love ballads.
It could do with more numbers such as the title track, which revs up the tempo in a welcome change of pace.
The dance-tinged Dear Paranoia blossoms into a surprisingly joyous refrain as he declares: “I insist on continuing to sing/Until the end of time.”
Tan might wish to note that perseverance is not enough. The choice of songs is crucial as well.
(ST)
Andrew Tan
Make-up artist-turned-singer Andrew Tan remains best known for the hit ballad Queen, the title track off his 2010 debut album.
It is a pity – the Malaysian has a rich and sonorous set of pipes, which you might even call a handsome voice.
Dear Paranoia is a concerted effort to improve his fortunes with radio-friendly material about being in and out of love that showcases his vocals.
His falsetto is effortless in Internecine (Ju Shang), which features a brooding piano melody and a soaring chorus. Blue Love Theme (Hao Ai Hao San) plays to his strength as an emotive singer.
Taken as a whole, though, the album relies too much on love ballads.
It could do with more numbers such as the title track, which revs up the tempo in a welcome change of pace.
The dance-tinged Dear Paranoia blossoms into a surprisingly joyous refrain as he declares: “I insist on continuing to sing/Until the end of time.”
Tan might wish to note that perseverance is not enough. The choice of songs is crucial as well.
(ST)
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