[4th Singapore Short Cuts] 1st Week

The Singapore Short Cuts is fast becoming a popular fixture in the local film calendar, with the (free) tickets for today's session reported being snapped up within 3 hours on the Monday of ticket release. Having seen the preview almost two weeks ago, the wait for the festival is finally over, and today's selection of 5 shorts, while seemingly all being set in and around the HDB flat (or have scenes in them), they couldn't be more different from one another.

Flat Dreams - Eva Tang
The opening short of the festival, Flat Dreams actually consists of 3 short films titled Flat, Neighbourhood Watch, and Void Deck. I thought the first two shorts were fine and highly enjoyable, with the first having Yeo Yann Yann performing a sultry dance in a bustier. If I'm right, Yann Yann (881, Singapore Dreaming, The High Cost of Living) will feature in another short in this festival. Flat was somewhat fun, with a man lamenting his wife's runway flat chest, and allowing his imagination run wild, while Neighbourhood Watch focused on a young boy's imagination to amuse himself, all done through the narrative voice provided by Lim Kay Tong (Perth).

At the same time, the second short acted as a joint to provide a connection between the entire three shorts together, and in its make believe world, will have surely reached out and inspired everyone to take a look back into what we did with our own, when we were the young boy's age. The third story following the plight of an unemployed elderly lady, was to me, the least interesting of the lot, maybe because of its abstract moments which I cannot identify with. It had a highly fantastical element towards the end, but you can tell that I was in joy when the end credits started to roll at that point.

You can read more about this short through its website here.

Zo Gang - Jacen Tan
From the writer-director who brought us the Internet cult hit Tak Giu, and Zo Peng, comes his latest short film Zo Gang, translated to mean "Go Work", which unlike most of the films in today's lineup, is a light-hearted comedy which will strike a chord in every aspiring creative person in the local movie or music industry. You can count on Jacen's brand on local humour to bring that smile to your face, and its breezy pace, coupled with nuggets of funny jabs, make this a definite crowd pleaser.

Bedroom Dancing - Sun Koh
Probably the most eyebrow raising of them all (or for that matter, including all the local shorts put out to date), giving today's session the R21 rating, as we get to enter the bedroom of a copulating couple and observe them getting it on, uncut. Based on the true story, which you might have read in the news about a man being arrested for masturbating in his own flat, this is Sun Koh's fictionalized account of that true event.

Very daring, very bold, and to paraphrase her, this indeed pushed the boundary a little, and seeing it unscathed, does bode well. Stars Sunny Pang (Perth, and was featured in last year's National Day Rally by the Prime Minister), it does make you wonder if what you've done in the privacy of your own home, stays private and actually is none of anyone's business. With HDB flat units separated with cardboard thin walls, and flats being built so close to one another these days, do we need to add a thick curtain to prevent others from peeping in? (The weather's already too hot by the way).

Yesterday's Plan - Ryan Tan

The scene is all too familiar, especially for those with nagging moms, whom you wish for them to shut up at times and leave you alone for some peace and quiet. A boy who's been lambasted by his mom for being a good for nothing, seem to have his patience tested time and again. The nagging grows incessantly irritating, and the boy reflects his displeasure physically. But what I liked about it, is how short it is, to the point, and addresses the issue succinctly, given that you're primed for an explosive showdown - blood is thicker than water, and there's no shame in asking for forgiveness, nor to show appreciation.

A Suicide Symphony - Deng Kalie

At first this was almost all over the place, with a man and a woman in their own apartments wanting to commit suicide, but to no avail. They meet, and seemingly leave plenty of room for a potential relationship, until the final dark revelation. The short did seem to drag on for a while in some rather indulgent moments, before that turn of events that satisfies the draggy build up, before, to my horror again, lapsing back into indulgence. I thought there were moments enough to end the film where it should, to make it tight, but it felt a need to want to fully explain itself. Sometimes there's no need to, and an audience can be trusted to connect the dots themselves. A work of potential, but execution pretty left much to be desired.

***
LtoR: Jacen Tan, Tay Bee Pin, Sun Koh, Ryan Tan, Zhang Wenjie
Present today for the Q&A session after the screening of the shorts were Jacen Tan, director of Zo Gang, Tay Bee Pin, producer of Flat Dreams, Sun Koh, director of Bedroom Dancing, and Ryan Tan, director of Yesterday's Plan. No representatives from A Suicide Symphony was present unfortunately.

Zhang Wenjie (Moderator): Maybe you can introduce yourselves, and tell us how your film was made, and how it all started?
Ryan: Mine was a short film project in school. It's a personal film for me, and and I actually casted my real mother in it. I wanted to capture how for some of us, everything in life is monotonous, so the film was shot in a straightforward manner, in 1 take.
Sun: I made the "banging" film. It's based on a true story, and the film is my reaction to that story.
Bee Pin: This is Eva's (the director) film, and unfortunately she's unable to join us as she's in Beijing.
Jacen: Like what it's said in the booklet, Zo Gang was conceived one afternoon. Initially I had plenty of ideas, but thought why not combine them into one?

Q (for Sun Koh): How did you cast for your film?
Sun: Basically two points. One, who is willing to do it, and two, the body type. I know this sounds shallow, but don't you agree they look like a "healthy couple", and not the typical perfect skin, glossed up models. They are friends, and they trusted me, just as I trusted them.

Sun Koh then commented that she loved Ryan's film, as it reminded her of the story of her life, the eat-sleep-don't do anything routine, and it's a classic case between her and her mom.

Q: How do you see Singapore short films evolve in the next couple of years, especially with the onset of digital technology and citizen journalism?
Ryan: More people can watch films online, but whether they want to pay for it is a different story. Just like how this screening is free, but the good thing about it is that more people can watch them if it's free.
Bee Pin: This is the first short film I produced, so I'm new to this area.
Sun: It depends, but I remain optimistic.
Jacen: It's 2 sides, from the filmmaker sense and the general audience, who can find it easier or cheaper to make films.

Q (by Loo Zihan, for Sun Koh): How was the response of the general public and the authorities, and how did you get around censorship?
Sun: I think a little bit of pushing the boundaries does help. I didn't think about censorship when I made the film. My main question at the time was whether it can be shown here. If it cannot, it's ok, and I shouldn't be too bothered by it. Maybe because it's a short film and so it probably can't do any harm. Sex is good, violence is bad! (chuckles) After the making of this film, 3 months later, the actress Grace got pregnant - no, nothing to do with Sunny! (chuckles again) Sunny's wife was expecting too, so it is a pro-family film!

Q: How did the audiences generally react, the difference between the local and foreign audiences?
Sun: The local audience tend to gasp "It's not censored? It's R21 without cuts?!", while the foreign audience were more amused, "you mean you can't wank yourselves in you own home?" This is only the second public screening of Bedroom Dancing, and I guess MDA approved it, given that it was passed as R21 without cuts.

Q (to Jacen): I heard you're doing a documentary next?
Jacen: I'm trying to do something different, and if an idea comes along which is workable, I'll do it.

Wenjie (to Jacen): The ideas and comedy in your films are quite unique. How much of it is improvised, and how much of it scripted?
Jacen: The ideas come observations of everyday life, and those that can be used in a movie, will find its way there, like the Blair Witch Spoof. I'll usually write the dialogue, but leave it to the actors to say the lines in their own way.
Q (to Jacen): What's you day job?
Jacen: It has something to do with web video.

Wenjie (to Bee Pin): Flat Dreams is actually 3 very short films in 1 short film. How did this concept come about?
Bee Pin: Flat Dreams was written and conceptualized by Eva Tang. I'm in a production house, and was shown the script by Eva, and thought it was an opportunity for me to do the film.
Wenjie: Were the sequence of the short films deliberately placed in that order?
Bee Pin: The first two followed quite closely to the script, while the 3rd one, we did the audition, casted the actress, and actually changed the script a lot. We were pleased to have the elderly actress on board, and her day job was actually distributing flyers.

Q: In order to remain optimistic, is there anything specific that the public or organizations can do to help filmmakers in general?
Sun: I realize that one has to help oneself, and to obtain help from friends. The Singapore Film Commission (SFC) could help to grant filmmakers, through SFC, a non-profit status, so when we are raising funds, these funds go through SFC to give patrons a tax deduction. In a way, to give patrons back, rather than with the expectation that their investments must yield a decent ROI, like a business. However, I don't pretend to know the business of films, but as with businesses, there's always the expectation of an ROI.

Q: The context for the content of your films are quite local. What are your thoughts on your films travelling overseas?
Ryan: It's good to get others exposed to our brand of humour, and we're not expecting them to get it each time. For themes which are emotional, I believe that's quite universal.
Sun: I think Zo Gang is incredibly funny. If you tell a joke, some will find it funny, some will not. (To Jacen) How much does it cost to make Zo Gang?
Jacen: 0
Sun: And if it costs 0 cents, why not make it, knowing well that you can't please everybody.
Wenjie: A number of these films have actually travelled to film festivals overseas.
Sun: I think the mentality is different overseas. They are generally more curious, and want to try to understand where you're coming from.

Q: When making the film, do you make it with the mindset it's for the local audience, or thinking about the overseas audience?
Jacen: Most of the issues are universal in a way, so many can understand them. Today's films have been set in the HDB flats. We live in HDB, so we make films within the HDB setting.

Wenjie (to Ryan): Your film is done in one take. How many times did you actually shoot it to get it right?
Ryan: My mum messed up quite a lot. Everything the actors did was not told to the other beforehand, in order to capture their initial reactions. It's my first time directing a short film, and this was done a total of 3 times.

Wenjie: What's your next project?
Ryan: There's nothing on my mind now. I'm serving NS, but I might want to do something again.
Sun: I'm in the midst of post production of Lucky 7. It's the fruit of the independent filmmaking movement started here, with directors taking on crew positions, and it's a humbling learning experience.
Bee Pin: Ask Eva! We're currently involved in a project with 3 female directors from Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore, and it's a reflection of South East Asia on film.
Jacen: I'm doing a documentary about the Kallang Roar, and hope to complete it in a few months time. You can check out Hosaywood for more details!


Photo Credits: Richard Lim

***

Tickets for the 2nd week will be distributed on Monday. Make sure you head down to the Museum early to collect them!

Ratatouille

You Got a Friend in Me!

The Pixar juggernaut continues! I've always been enthralled by the movies that Pixar puts out ever since Toy Story, and through the years, Pixar has built a brand of trust amongst movie goers, with quality storytelling using animation as a tool to tell them, not because it's cool to do things through the medium, but that it adds a certain powerful, believable dimension, with stories rooted to universal themes, yet jazzed up by the structure in which it's told. The Incredibles ranked amongst my favourite so far, but writer-director Brad Bird has topped that with Ratatouille, a story about a rat, and probably the most mature of the Pixar stories to date.

One of the rare successful rats in the animated genre is Mickey, but Remy here (voiced by Patton Oswalt) has more character, and with that photo realistic quality to him, will give Mickey a run for his money. It's a class act story about a rat who dreams of being somebody, of wanting to follow that dream in becoming a chef in Paris, and is undeterred by his size, and well, form, even though in any kitchen, the last thing you want is a rat in it. And to realize his dream, he forms a symbiotic friendship with bumbling Linguini (Lou Romano), a garbage boy who just joined the restaurant which Remy's idol, the late renowned chef Gusteau (Brad Garrett), founded.

It's a story about the tussle between friendship and family, with the latter providing an added emphasis, and you'll happen to just about find a familiar chord to it. Remember the time when your folks frown upon the friends you keep, and how sometimes, through their good intentions, unwittingly stifle your hopes and desires? Or how family becomes that obstructing stone on the pathway to success, or being taken for granted to provide for greedy, unabashed family and so-called friends? Ratatouille explores these and more, though they're kept veiled and subtle for the narrative to move on, and never provided a dull moment for kids and adults alike.

Pixar's animation continues to astound, and provide inspiration to the many 3D animators out there - they have always set new benchmarks for others to follow, and I think they're on top of their game with the excellent animated portrayal of Paris, the kitchen, and of course, the rats, with that touch of photo realistic quality to it all, which does wonders to the food presented. Amongst the food, I like the crusty breads best - you can almost feel the texture, and the rustling sound is just to die for. And the cheese, you can just feel it melt in your mouth. Mmm mmm!

The story's adversaries might be familiar - a mean boss Skinner (Ian Holm) and a mightier-than-though food critic Anton Ego (Peter O'Toole), but it's the latter, despite his shorter screentime, that does its best to chill, and it was such an obvious jab with making him English. The comedy's here top notch, not necessarily relying solely on slapstick to bring on the laughs, but possessing many sly moments throughout as you root for little Remy and his escapades, less so for Linguini though, who comes off as that perfect loser in life.

Ratatouille is a perfectly delicious offering worthy of that Pixar stamp, and definitely gonna be a crowd pleaser. I'm not sure why the delay in getting it released here, and having to suffer watching poor quality animation along the way. But the wait is well worth it, and I bet everyone will be pleasantly surprised indeed, with all the ingredients coming together for that wonderful presentation, that tastes and looks just wonderful. Despite the overkill of trailers, pre-screening warnings to turn off your mobile phones, etc, continue to put your trust in that little rat Remy, and savour what Ratatouille has to offer. No regrets - highly recommended, and another contender for my top movie of the year listing.

Ratatouille is preceded by the trailer for the next Pixar movie Wall-E, and a short Pixar featurette titled Lifted, about two aliens and one of their attempts in passing the Alien Abduction course. Stay throughout the animated end credits for a little coda at the end.

Rush Hour 3

I Can Scream Louder Than You

Should movies make money, then the Hollywood rule of thumb is to make another, and another, until the franchise runs out of steam. The original Rush Hour was a Jackie Chan vehicle of sorts to break into Hollywood, and it made a lot of money with the mis-pairing opposite Chris Tucker in a buddy cop movie formula filled with action and comedy. Rush Hour 2 was made 3 years later and made even more money, but it took 6 years for the second sequel to be made, and 9 years for the entire trilogy to be done (pray tell, will there be another sequel?)

Is the franchise tired? Probably, yet probably not. Face it, it's Jackie Chan, and most of his films (with the exception of missteps such as Around the World in 80 Days) make Hollywood studios smile. You can rely on him to deliver the goods in any action comedy, but age unfortunately has caught up with him, not to mention as well the safer-than-safe minimal risks that studios in the West tend to take with its stars. The action sequences in Rush Hour 3 look a bit tired, tame, and very uninspiring, and what Jackie Chan can probably still do, has been whittled down to sequences that are just a pale shadow of what could have been.

Which leaves us with the comedy, thankfully still having its moments especially for those punchlines which deliver. Tucker again gets most of the snarky lines, and a target for those politically incorrect jokes, while dishing some of his own. If there's any hint of rudimentary character development after these years, is that his James Carter, besides having been relegated to traffic duties, managed to "half-chinese" himself, and no longer is that helpless cop who without his gun, can't kick a ball for nuts.

The plot is no rocket science, and in fact, the previous two movies just had something which could coast along from scene to scene, providing a platform either to get our heroes Lee (Chan) and his brother-from-another-mother James (Tucker) into fisticuffs, or provide something for laughs. The first had a kidnapping of a Chinese Consul's daughter which the duo had to investigate in the US, while the second brought them to Hong Kong on the trail of a counterfeiting scam. The third pits the detectives against Triads, and brings us full circle with the return of that little girl in the original movie, who's now all grown up, played by Chinese starlet Zhang Jingchu.

Zhang Jingchu follows in the footsteps of fellow compatriot Zhang Ziyi who starred in the previous sequel. But unlike Ziyi, Jingchu's role is sans martial arts, despite her character being a kungfu instructor. It's unfortunately a purely flower vase role, though she looks more fleshed and healthier than her druggy role in Protege. Yvan Attal's supporting role as a French cab driver is actually more of a scene stealer - listen out for those jibes at America, though it's a little of a cop out how that eventually plays out. Some of the more totally insane moments involve those deliberate lost in translation moments, which are the more enjoyable moments in this movie.

Rush Hour 3 is similar in structure with its predecessors, and it does seem a tad familiar at times in the way the story gets developed, with only a change in locale, now set in Paris. It's basically an attempt to reunite the two stars in order to make another dent in the box office, so though they're back, this movie can't be taken all too seriously. It plays out like a cartoon for adults, though the local distributor decided to edit portions of the French revue scene to obtain a rating that everyone can go to.

If anything, stay behind for the outtakes, which triumphs over the main offering, hands down.

Tower High Battle


war hu yeah what is it good for absolutely nothin.
war hu yeah what is it good for absolutely nothin say it again y'all.
war hu good god what is it good for absolutely nothin listen to me

war I despise cause it means destruction of innocent lives
war brings tears to thousands of mothers eyes
when their sons go to fight and lose their lives.

I said war hu good god y'all what is it good for absolutely nothin say it again

war hu oh oh oh lord what is it good for absolutely nothin
listen to me war it aint nothin but a heart breaker
war friend only to the undertaker oh war

is an enemy to all mankind the thought of war blows my mind
war has caused unrest within the younger generation induction then destruction
who wants to die

oh war good god (background hu) y'all what is it good for absolutely nothin
say it say it say it
war hu what is it good for absolutely nothin listen to me
war it aint nothin but a heart breaker
war it's got one friend thats the undertaker oh

war many young mans dreams made him disabled
bitter and mean life is much too short and precious to spend fighting wars
these days war cant give life it can only take it away oh

war hu good god y'all what is it good for absolutely nothin
say it again
war hu woah oh oh oh lord what is it good for absolutely nothin listen to me
war it aint nothin but a heart breaker war friend only to the undertaker

peace love and understand
tell me is there no place for the other day
they say we must fight to keep our freedom
but lord knows theres got to be better way oh

war (background good god yall) hu what is it good for do tell yes
say it say it say it war hu (background good god y'all)
what is good for stand up and shout it nothin

The Bourne Ultimatum

Bourne, Jason Bourne

Move aside Transformers. Retire John McClane. Matt Damon is back as the best of the best prototype secret agent-assassin Jason Bourne, and his Ultimatum wins the best action movie of the summer, hands down and without a single thread of doubt! Loosely based on the Robert Ludlum novels of the same name, the movie version starring Damon in the titular role, have already established itself as serious, slick, and got almost everything right in the spy movie genre. It owned James Bond, and in my opinion, possibly one of the best franchises out there.

Though the poster of the movie had Damon in a pose resembling Mark Wahlberg, the Bourne series is clearly the movies that boosted Damon's bankability as an A-list star, as we follow with much interest how Jason Bourne suffers from amnesia from Identity, to being hunted down and out for personal revenge in Supremacy, before coming back home to discover the background and truth of his identity in Ultimatum, which for some parts, had Wolverine styled flashbacks into a highly top secret project within the depths of the CIA.

In this cat and mouse game, he becomes both the hunter and the hunted, interchanging between the roles as he tries to outwit the slew of assassins coming after him, since he's accused of committing treason and being the source of a leak. He's been on the run for three years, and there's no letting up, no thanks to Noah Vosen (David Strathaim) from the CIA, out for his blood, and who reports to someone who might hold the key to Bourne's own past. It's suspenseful action from the get go all the way to the end, and once it grips you, there's no letting go. The adrenaline you get from watching Ultimatum, is simply an indescribable feeling of joy for any action junkie out there.

With tight links to the earlier movies, it pays if you have watched them prior to this, as Bourne maneuvers his way to find out who he is, and at the same time, build on the trust already established with his previous hunter Pamela Landy (Joan Allen), who becomes his off the record source of help from the inside. Julia Stiles returns too as Nicky Parsons, and fans of Stiles will be glad with her slightly expanded role here providing that tinge of sexual tension between herself and Jason Bourne.

The action scenes marked a slight departure from its predecessors, but for the better. The close quartered fisticuffs combat in the earlier movies have rather been quite a hallmark, as Bourne dispatches his opponents with hard hitting series of punches and kicks, and contained what is probably more realistic human to human fights which doesn't seem choreographed given its realism. But having too much of a good thing becomes a repetitive bore, and thankfully, such scenes are kept short and sharp, and few and far between. What is excellent here, is how Bourne utilizes more of his smarts to outwit, outplay and outlast his opponents, and those sequences in England and New York are testament to that - smart, adrenaline pumping, thrilling, and at the end of it, you can't help but to cheer!

Like any self-respecting spy movie, Ultimatum had its fair share of jetsetting locations in Europe clocking up frequent flyer miles. Nothing beats having to go to new location after new location where the story takes you, and being a man on the run, this is but part of standard protocol. And the movie can't be complete without the complimentary car chase sequence, and this Paul Greengrass directed installment could possibly have one of the best I've seen in recent years, with the car as a battering ram, and everything going boom and bang right at your face, directly to the camera. I reckon if watch on the IMAX, you'll probably start to cower and shield yourself from the flying debris.

The Bourne Ultimatum is a winner, and a fine wrap up of the franchise should it choose to end at this point. Besides the ending of Smokin Aces, the ending here will also be one of my personal favourites, as it cunningly showed everything coming to full circle, and with Moby's Extreme Ways, the theme song used in all the Damon-Bourne movies, comes blaring through the speakers, it's just plain sweetness...


Extreme Ways by Moby
Extreme ways are back again
Extreme places I didn't know
I broke everything new again
Everything that I'd owned
I threw it out the windows, came along
Extreme ways I know move apart
The colors of my sea
Perfect color me

Extreme ways that help me
That help me out at night
Extreme places I had gone
But never seen any light
Dirty basements, dirty noise
Dirty places coming through
Extreme worlds alone
Did you ever like it planned

I would stand in line for this
There's always room in life for this

Oh baby, oh baby
Then it fell apart, fell apart
Oh baby, oh baby
Then it fell apart, it fell apart
Oh baby, oh baby
Then it fell apart, it fell apart
Oh baby, oh baby
Like it always does, always does

Extreme songs that told me
They helped me down every night
I didn't have much to say
I didn't get above the light
I closed my eyes and closed myself
And closed my world and never opened
Up to anything
That could get me along

I had to close down everything
I had to close down my mind
Too many things to cover me
Too much can make me blind
I've seen so much in so many places
So many heartaches, so many faces
So many dirty things
You couldn't even believe

I would stand in line for this
It's always good in life for this

Oh baby, oh baby
Then it fell apart, fell apart
Oh baby, oh baby
Then it fell apart, it fell apart
Oh baby, oh baby
Then it fell apart, it fell apart
Oh baby, oh baby
Like it always does, always does

Hostel: Part II

Anywhere But My Dick!!

Between the first Hostel released last year and its sequel, there have been countless number of torture porn movies released, like Turistas, Captivity, Wolf Creek, and the likes, so much so that audiences these days (or fans of the genre) bay for more blood to be spilled, the gorier the merrier. In that respect, Hostel Part 2 failed to live up to its predecessor's success in sticking to the blood, gore, violence, drug and nudity clauses that have become staple, and instead, opted for a perceived balance with its earlier film, which made it turn out to be a yawn.

Like Kill Bill Vol 1 and 2, Hostel and Hostel 2 are different beasts altogether. The first hostel was a horny excuse told from the male perspective, where a group of buddies go backpacking in Europe in search for ultimate pleasure, only to get sucked into something they had not bargained for. Hostel 2 starts off where the first had left, before we're introduced to a newer group of backpackers, this time from the opposite sex. Beth (Lauren German), Whitney (Bijou Phillips) and Lorna (Heather Matarazzo) are three (eye candy) girls who find their way to the same Hostel thanks to a nude model Axelle (Vera Jordanova), and before you know it, you've come to watch what you've expected.

Except that things start to shift into high gear only about an hour into the movie. Prior to this, writer-director Eli Roth decided to show the audience the perspective of the other side - the lives of the customers in the form of Todd (Richard Burgi) and Stuart (Roger Bart) and their run up before savoring their game, and dwelled a little more on the business aspects of the hostel. What was briefly suggested and shown in the first movie, gets the in-depth treatment that frankly, those who're here to watch blood and gore, couldn't care less about.

Whatever's left in the blood, gore, nudity department gets quite toned down, unlike its predecessor, so despite the similarities in structure, there is less gratuity in those aspects. It becomes a study of sorts of those who have too much money and not know what to do with it, of wanting to do something unique, and getting that "respect" and killer aura. It really took its time before getting into the groove, and to my surprise, it had quite a satisfying feel in its ultimate revenge and how that played out. It also included some fleeting commentary on how the dangerous, perverted ones are almost always the quiet ones, and those whose bark is loud, chances are their bite is nowhere close.

Hostel Part 2 flopped at the US box office, and it's understandable why. Great eye candy doesn't cut it, and recycling a similar structure, with zero enigmatic villains (especially businessmen), doesn't help the cause. The death sequences aren't really innovative (I know I sound sick when I say that), and by not delivering what audiences have come to expect, I guess Hostel should just stick to 2, being bookends of each other, and nothing else.

881

Puay Puay Yo Ah Yo Ah Yo!

The Seventh Month, according to Chinese beliefs, is the month where the gates of Hell open, and the ghouls and goblins of the underworld get a one-month visit-Earth pass. They roam around, hungry and looking for entertainment, so to appease the spirits, humankind will offer food and fruits, and burn paper money to line their pockets so that they do not disturb us. Also, we have to provide entertainment, so that happy souls do not come haunt us, like those in Kelvin Tong's The Maid, which is also set during this lunar Seventh Month.

The introduction of 881 looks like a documentary, and I won't be surprised if the footage is taken from actual getai (song stage) locations. Getais have evolved over the years, traditionally you have Chinese Opera being performed, with the front rows being reserved for the "good brothers", but nowadays, it has become quite business like, with top shows, comperes, hosts, singers, dancers and other various performers being lined up to entertain the masses, who turn out in droves just to catch the latest song-stage happenings. It has become a sub-culture of sorts if you wish, and the neighbourhood heartlands are fertile ground for entertainment such as these. And almost pairing up with the song-stage is another tentage set aside for auctions, but that's another story for another time.

Royston Tan, in his short films, have dabbled with various themes and styles, and I always had an affinity toward those with song and dance, such as Hock Hiap Leong, and Cut (which has been infamously banned by the same organization now throwing their weight behind this). In his feature films, he had made the experimental, noisy 15, and contrasted that by making a film at the other end of the spectrum, with the quiet, artsy 4:30. With 881, he has stuck a balance to make a commercial film, which is fun, with its songs and dances, yet keeping in sight the serious tone with its dramatic moments. He had traded off Hokkien (a Chinese dialect) vulgarities and gangsta-rap, to showcase the other side of the beautiful language with its lyrical qualities and the ease of razor sharp retorts, and exchanged strained contemplations, for glitz and glamour. I agree that 881 is arguably his most accessible film to date, for the masses at home, and to introduce a sub-culture here for those abroad.

Like a big getai, 881 plays out like an actual song-stage, with loud moments interjected with song and dance, with fantastical atmosphere and elements taken a leaf out of martial arts movies done in tongue-in-cheek style. Excellent music, meaningful lyrics, and beautiful costumes all click to make 881 work like a well-oiled getai machinery where everything moves like clockwork, giving the real mccoy a run for their money, despite how laissez-faire it all seem. And real life imitated reel life too in a scene where the characters actually get pelted by rivals! But what's more important, is how Royston captured an actual slice of the industry - the spirit of getai (pun not intended), and archived it for posterity with 881. This isn't something new, as he had done something similar with his previous short film Sin Sai Hong, specifically for the opera troupe of the same name. Here, we get to hear songs from the legendary getai entertainer Chen Jin Lang, as well as having on film, the larger than life entertainers from the actual getai industry, with Liu Ling Ling snagging the prominent role of the guardian(s) of the Papaya sisters.

Personally, I feel 881 had achieved another goal which I thought was equally important, and that is to expose the younger (cinema-going) generation to the magic of song-stage. I'd be pleasantly surprised if the number of getai attendees continue to grow with wider demographics than just be confined to the older generation. But of course, those songs performed live might not come with subtitles, though who knows, things change, since we even have opera troupes performing with subtitles projected now, in attempts to reach out. And if the movie travels around the world successfully (already pre-sold to Japan), the Lunar Seventh Month festivities could even be marketed by the tourism board as a must-see-must-experience phenomenon when visitors drop by during the period (for this year, it's 13th August to 10th September).

881 is told through the eyes and viewpoint of Guan Yin (local television heartthrob Qi Yu Wu), a mute who spends his free time playing with his cock (yes, thus providing indirect bawdy comedic references), whose mother Auntie Ling (Liu Ling Ling) is the guardian of the Papaya sisters. The mother-son duo are the pseudo-managers for the sisters, responsible for designing the costumes and songs for the sisters to perform, as well as offer various event management services, ferrying them from assignment to assignment. Royston Tan does a Hans Christian Andersen here, for the Papaya sisters to realize their dream of performing on the song-stage (given that they're really, really horrendous performers), they make a pact with a Getai-Goddess (also played by Ling), who grants them the power of "feeling" and magical peacock feathers, in exchange for their strict adherence to her 5 unbreakable rules. They become the quintessential modern day Little Mermaids, but naturally, rules are meant to be broken with dire consequences, and 881 chronicles the ups and downs, trials and tribulations of the Papaya sisters, in the face of adversary posed by rivals, the Durian sisters.

It's a musical through and through, with characters spontaneously breaking out into song, but not everything's fun and laughter, as the sisters do face their fare share of inner demons and challenges, and what's two sisters going to do when there's this understated nagging feeling of affection for their hunky close friend too? Little Papaya Ong Bok Gua (Mindee Ong) faces an uphill battle with time, while Big Papaya (Yeo Yann Yann) has to convince her mother of her profession of choice once the Seventh Month comes rolling around. Granted, to some, getai singers do not get the general nod of approval, given the poor image that the high-and-mighty have on this little local sub-culture, that the performers can't sing, can't dance, can't entertain, and have to rely on loud bass to drown their poor vocals, disturbing the neighbourhood; the complaints go on. But opinions could change once they understand the spirit of things, and when the Papaya sisters shed their inhibitions and personal misfortunes aside, they engage everyone on a whole different plane altogether, of course with help from Ming Zhu sisters, real getai singers who provide the Papaya sisters their singing prowess.

And surprise, the movie will actually touch you, on different levels. Those who like melodramas will find no lack of moments to let the floodgates open at their tearducts, as the ending is particularly fitting, meaningful and yet, bittersweet. Despite a runtime of close to 2 hours, 881 shuffles breezily, with noisy fanfare moments balanced appropriately with quieter ones. I thought while Kelvin Tong's Men in White was an attempt at mo-lei-tau (nonsensical) comedy, 881 had a more natural attempt in infusing those elements into the story, without coming off as too trying. Given that the past two Royston feature films have more of a testosterone filled presence with male leads, 881 marked a stronger feminine presence with excellent, credible performances by Mindee Ong, Yeo Yann Yann and Liu Ling Ling, coupled with the Durian sisters played by MTV VJs May and Choy. They / their characters were a lot of fun, with their faux pas Hokkien language ability ramped up for laughs intentionally (they can't speak the language and had to learn their lines phonetically), and their uber-crass and provocative performing sequences turning the heat up.

There's plenty on offer here for audiences, and they all work - drama, song and dance, comedy and camp, an appreciation and ode to the cultural elements of getai, with an expansion and provision to allow for greater understanding of the unwritten laws behind the scenes, the puns and wordplay to satisfy locals familiar with the language used, yet not alienating those who don't understand it thoroughly, and spectacle enough to warrant it being watched on the silver screen. This year had seen a number of quality local films making their way to the cinemas, and it is without a doubt too that 881 ranks high amongst them. By far, I will rate 881 as possibly the best Royston Tan feature film to date!

I will unabashedly proclaim I love 881 ("yo-ah-yo!", so goes the chant), and have one wish should there be a DVD release of the movie, and that is to allow a release packed with loads of extras. Local DVD distributors have peculiar reasons for a preference for bare-boned DVD releases, but given the many edited song-dance segments, it will be a real treat if we could watch the performances (if already filmed), in their entirety. Then it'll be "Huat Ah" (Prosperous!) indeed!

881 Charity Gala Premiere

Text to come, but here are some photos and videos as a stop-gap measure ;-)

























Pa-Pa-Ya!

[TV] Homerun (Pao Ba Hai Zi) (2003)

I Not Stupid Again

Having Homerun shown on television tonight was an opportunity to compare the masterpiece of the original Children of Heaven, and the local remake done by Jack Neo. To his credit, taking on such a film and remaking for the local audience is a feat of courage, and given that the young rookie Megan Zheng had actually won a Golden Horse award for her performance, I thought it would something at least. Sad to say, the movie is really quite devoid of a soul and lacks the innocent charm of the original. If you really want to watch this, then make sure you haven't seen Children of Heaven, or you'll be disappointed.

First of all, it's an adaptation, so key scenes are replicated in Homerun. While not shot-for-shot, it still has elements that are instantly recognizable, and in attempts to deviate slightly from the original, some scenes were played out in verbatim, or found a needless desire to be explained in every minute detail. Jack Neo did try to infuse some environmental changes with Homerun, and had the setting and premise in 1965 Singapore, where we still had villages, and the production values allowed a Singapore of yesteryear to be recreated. However, in trying to carve out something still unique for Homerun, he put in what he knows best - I Not Stupid. While acting talent is scarce here, putting familiar faces into the movie, and again with the school setting, draws too much similarities and can't shake off the ghost of the I Not Stupid series.

What created a slight ruckus at the time, was the incorporating of the spat between Singapore and our neighbour, in not-too-subtle scenes that on one hand tried to draw some laughter, and on the other trying to add some much needed depth to a bland copy of Majid Majidi's classic. In doing so, what was essentially achieved was to divert attention from the main story, and introduced some scenes of football, petty school spats (you just got to love hating those small sized boys with big mouths) and the issue on water, all of which only achieved one undesired objective, and that's to extend the runtime. Homerun was anything but a homerun in the making, and could have actually cut down such unwanted scenes to tighten the pace.

While Megan Zheng might have won the Golden Horse award, she's no Bahare Seddiqi. The former's expression relied on plenty of tears, and a perpetual scowl she puts on her face. While Seddiqi endears, Zheng can't do any of that. Her screen sibling Ah Kun, played by Shawn Lee, is no better than Amir Farrokh Hashemian too. Ah Kun turned out to be lacking the street smarts, and was quite dependent on his friends to pull him out of his predicaments. So if you're looking at Homerun on the basis of the leads alone, they can't hold a candle to the original casted siblings.

Honestly, Homerun is a decent production, but when compared to the original, it pales by plenty of miles. Understandably Jack is no Majid, but one thing that really irked me, is how Jack consistently shovels sympathy down your throat by replaying scene after scene of reminders of how pitiful the children are, now that they have to share a shoe, and reminders of how the shoe's disintegrating, and included a scene involving broken glass bottles, which is ridiculous and only there to milk some more sympathy points (which backfired of course). Come on, we're not stupid, and too much of something done in such an obvious manner, will only cause the rolling of eyes.

Children of Heaven, this is definitely not. Stick to the original, and nothing less.

[DVD] Children of Heaven (Bacheha-Ye Aseman) (1997)

Marvellous

Finally I've gotten my hands on a copy of Majid Majidi's Children of Heaven (not illegally of course, but from the library's collection), and have set aside some time to viewing this much talked about masterpiece. And I couldn't agree more that the film is of great quality. I've often selected titles for my pop to view since he's retired, and have gotten a call from him during a working day that I MUST watch this film. Of course I had to clarify that Jack Neo's Homerun is an adaptation of it, given that he found some similarities in plot, but I must say, any movie is worth its salt if it can move my pops.

There are so many things I like about Children of Heaven, and basically, the children Ali (Amir Farrokh Hashemian) and Zahra (Bahare Seddiqi) who play the siblings, will definitely tug at your heartstrings with their innocence. The story goes that Ali happened to lose his sister's shoes during an errand run, and coming from a poor family, that spells disaster. Not wanting to be punished for it, given that both understand the predicament they're in, and not wanting to trouble their parents with yet another expenditure, they devise an ingenious, somewhat mad hat plan, to share their shoes - Zahra goes to school in Ali's, before running back to exchange them so that Ali could attend his classes. And this leads to many comical moments and accidental scenes that will surely make you go "awww", culminating in an exhilarating foot race which will put you on the edge of your seat.

But the skill here that Majid Majidi possess, is not to sledgehammer these emotions down your throat. Children of Heaven doesn't need to, but has in itself this magic that comes forth through its simple yet meaningful story, and through the strength of both children's acting. I was pretty amazed that both Amir and Bahare have this very charming and natural charisma in fleshing out their characters, their banter being excellent, and at times, without a need for words. Truly, they are the stars of this film, and their abilities will put some established big name actors to shame too. Majid Majidi has created characters that endear, but yet not out-of-reach fictional, as they are easily identifiable given that hey, these are the kind of sibling love, or blood being thicker than water, that almost everyone would have experience, or heard about.

Being my first Majid Majidi movie, I'm definitely piqued to want to watch a whole lot more of his films. The movie has superb production values, and like any other foreign movie, opened my eyes to the cultural and physical landscapes of countries that I've yet to visit. What I liked about it also is its showcase of the family, how both Ali and Zahra show this strength in maturity with their helping around the house, and being sensible, well-liked kids. It justifies the number of awards that it has won in festivals everywhere, and if you haven't watch this, please do. It's definitely highly recommended stuff!

Code 1 DVD by Miramax Home Entertainment comes in anamorphic widescreen presentation with vivid colours and excellent visual transfer. No noticeable pops, cackles and hiss spotted. Audio is in Dolby Digital Surround Sound with language tracks in the original Farsi or the dubbed French track. Subtitles are available in English, and scene selection is over 14 chapters.

There isn't any extras in this barebone DVD, but trust me, the movie alone is gem enough to want this as a keepsake. 3 trailers are available, one being Majid Majidi's Baran (in my watch list now) (1:34), the other an independent Miramax feature Stolen Summer (1:06), and the last trailer a pat behind Miramax's own back with Miramax's Gold Bunch of Movies (1:44), showcasing the many award winning movies in their library.

Perfect Stranger

Let's Get Loud

Perfect Stranger is far from perfect, and this is yet another classic example of the marketers taking the source material, and letting their own imagination run wild to get bums on seats. Bruce Willis in a seedy role, and Halle Berry oozing sex appeal with assets spilling out of her dress? That's what the trailers would have led us to believe, that the movie's a classical sexy thriller, but the movie is many miles away, southwards in direction.

Halle Berry plays Rowena Price, one of those journalist for gossipy magazines, or if you prefer to upmarket her profession, an investigating journalist who digs the lowdown on the bigwigs and unveils the skeletons in their closet. A friend is found murdered, but not before giving her leads that her potential murderer could be Harrison Hill (Bruce Willis), New York's top advertising executive, with a penchant for kinky online sex, having spend most of his free time when he's not running the business, in chatrooms, and wining and dining fast ladies for the real thing.

So it's up to Rowena to hike her skirt and plunge her neckline to get into Hill's agency to dig for dirt, and naturally to engage in a little naughty online experience with Hill's virtual persona. Add in a jealous assistant in Miles Haley (Giovanni Ribisi), we get quite a threesome relationship tussle going on, with plenty of sexual innuendos and meanings between lines.

But herein lies the problem. In trying to cramp too much into too little time, and having a schizophrenic demeanour in its narrative, Perfect Stranger tries just too damn hard to be too smart with its twists and about turns, and ended up with so many cliches (the horny husband, the rich and beautiful wife, the tech savvy friend, etc) and boring moments, that you can see things coming way before they actually happen. Willis becomes too smug as he sleepwalks through his role, nothing too unfamiliar given previous experience in films like Color of Night (opposite Jane March, who faded into obscurity), and Berry offers nothing more than what we've already *ahem* seen in her earlier works, ever since Swordfish provided that eye-opening experience. Everything in the movie follows a plot which is a tad too convenient, and having had shot 3 different endings for the movie, tells you a lot about how they treated the material. What could have been engaging, or intriguing, turns out to be a yawn.

Perfect Stranger suffered from the shall-we-end-here-or-later syndrome, anti-climaxing the plot with a pathetic whimper, and couldn't decide just when to pull the plug, plunging it deeper and deeper into the realm of the ridiculous. Touted as provocative, and highlighted the potential dangers of online chats with identities anonymous and anyone could feign to be somebody else, in actuality Perfect Stranger was very tame and unsexy. What made it worse here is for the distributor to submit an edited version of it in attempts to get more people into the theatres. They really should have left it uncut, and gotten a higher rating.

There are other better movies out there worth your time and money, so you can safely give Perfect Stranger the perfect parting gift - the skip.

Secret (不能說的秘密)

This Always Works

While Jay Chou no doubt holds court in today's Mando-pop scene, he gets no love from the movie-goers who snigger at his expressionless performance in Zhang Yimou's Curse of the Golden Flower. It indeed is quite brave of him (though it's arguable to strike while the iron is hot) to diversify and have a hand in directing so early in his cinematic career, and coming up with quite an interesting, engaging story, though like any creative work, his story did make him seem quite intelligent, in spite of his usual laid-back demeanour.

Jay stars as Jay (yeah, bring back those lazy Hong Kong production days where characters share the actor's first names, because they were working on so many movies simultaneously, it's hard to keep track, so why not name the characters after yourself!), a new student in Tamkang Secondary School. He follows a mysterious piano tune and meets with Rain (Kwai Lun-Mei), a fellow student with whom he starts to spend many lovey-dovey moments with. It's essentially a romance story for dating couples to catch, and it will be a definite test of anyone's cloy-tolerance, given that the lovebirds share so much saccharine sweet dialogue and behaviour, those with lesser tolerance will have goosebumps all the way.

And for the romantic movie fans, it's time to revisit some of the cliche plot elements like the bicycle ride - who can resist a bicycle ride! - lovely scene setting landscape shots, idle banter, close contacts, dance, kisses, the "third party" Sky (whom I think is more attractive than Kwai, thus providing that additional tension), the list just goes on. Jay has mentioned parts of the story was really based on his own experiences, it is indeed interesting to try and find out just which are. Being a piano student, the movie too was a showcase piece for his musical talents and prowess on the piano, coupled with computer generated graphics which enhanced certain scenes for dramatic effect with great aplomb.

Those who think that Jay Chou can't act will want to rethink that again. Given Initial D was pop, and that Curse was action, Secret was a perfect dramatic platform for him to do a little more emoting, even though he can't seem to shake off his signature drawl. And of course some help to make him look good came from thespian Anthony Wong, who had also played his cinematic dad (of similar interest / capability) in Initial D, as he again does in Secret. Here, their father and son characters play off each other a little more in some endearing, comical moments, and naturally, Wong seemed a more believable father figure than Chow Yun-Fat for Jay Chou.

The strength of the movie however laid in its story. I shall keep it a secret just exactly what it was, and all I can say is it is similar in nature to some of my favourite movies in the past, thus I had taken a natural liking for Secret as well. However, while you think you might have it all planned out how the story will unfold, Jay Chou actually had an added punch to keep it a little bit fresh, and in doing so, raises it to a slightly different level as well, with a fairly intense climax that will have you rooting for a desirable outcome, no less. What worked against it though, would be the verbatim nature in which the story was explained, making it a little draggy and at times, repetitive, instead of allowing the audience to put the pieces together.

Jay Chou as story writer (he had someone to script it for him), actor, director and composer, Secret turned out to be a surprisingly commendable, commendable effort. If this is any indication of what's to come from this talented dude, then I'll be more than happy to be a fan convert, for his cinematic efforts at least. Recommended date movie of the week, remember to bring out those tissues as well! I won't be surprised if this movie will work its magic into my top ten list for the year.

Oh, and the end credits have to be one of the shortest I've experienced, with some horribly misspelt words in English that will make you chuckle. Jay, if you're reading this, next time let me do the end credits for you in English, properly :-)


Jay Chou and co-star Kwai Lun-Mei were in Singapore a few days back. You can click here to read more!

881 Website Online

Finally, the latest film by Royston Tan has its website done up, and includes a pretty long synopsis, a list of crew credits, and a press section which has a set of production notes in Microsoft Word format, a high resoluton poster, and 70(!) high resolution stills! Other sections like Festivals and Reviews are still under construction of course.

I've bought my Charity Gala ticket already. Have you? :-)

881 is arguably Singapore's first feature length musical, and takes place during the Hungry Ghost Festival in the Lunar Seventh Month, the same premise as Kelvin Tong's The Maid, with a primary focus on the festivities with "getai" (song-stage) performers who entertain the crowds, and of course, "friends" from the spiritual realm too. Expect neighborhood and heartland glitz, glamour, sweat and tears as we follow the careers of the Papaya Sisters (Mindee Ong and Yeo Yann Yann).

More details of course at Royston's blog, and they're running a contest too to win autographed 881 posters. Check it out, and participate as well, if you're a big Royston fan!

Teaser 1

Teaser 2

Trailer

Jay Chou's Secret Singapore Gala

Welcome! Huan Ying!
Taiwanese pop superstar Jay Chou comes to Singapore today for the gala premiere of Secret, making his directorial debut after his big screen appearance in Initial D, Curse of the Golden Flower, and soon, Slam Dunk!
Picked this up at HK FILMART in March 2007
The crowd gathered early, and by the time I was there at 7pm, there were hordes of fans everywhere at The Cathay, and filled up every nook and cranny for that vintage snapshot of Jay for the photo album.
No Corner Too Acute!
The Crowd
Fans Unite!
The weather wasn't very kind to fans as the skies opened up, but of course as fans, they always come prepared, and I bet you even if there's a lightning storm, you can bet your last dollar those at the barricades will not move an inch, lest someone occupies their money-can't-be-bought space.
It's Only Rain
We Shall Not Be Moved!
Indoors
The Crowd Continues to Build...
... and Build Some More!
Naturally, the bigger the star, the longer they take to arrive, and he only made an appearance at about 2010hrs, to the loud screams of fans along the red carpet.
Jay Touched Her (The Piano that is)
The Camera Brigade
The usual introductory comments and chit chat by the MC from radio, followed by Jay and co-star Kwai Lun-Mei playing a piece together on the piano.
Where's The Start Button?

You're Good But You're Not Me!

Some dude who can imitate Jay's singing voice (but not prowess mind you) managed to sing one of his songs with Jay accompanying on the piano, but those who believed the MC that Jay was there to perform a medley of 4 songs, were in for a rude shock. He did neither, no songs, no singing, and it was a quick chit chat followed by a wave, and he was whisked off to the theatre hall for the gala.

In all, an extremely long wait for fans, for what is possibly a short glimpse of their idol. Could have been longer for fans to have an opportunity to take pictures, sign some stuff, do some high-fives, and kiss some babies. OK, so maybe not the last bit, but you get the drift. The Red Carpet was long enough, but I guess not everyone's a Tom Cruise (he really did know how to work the crowd and feed off their energy).

Oh, there was an ambulance on standby too, lest someone fainted on site.


My pals from movieXclusive.com were also on site to bring to you this event and more, so click on the logo below for their exclusive content coverage!