Monday, December 12, 2011
Thursday, December 8, 2011
“NEW YEAR’S EVE” Movie Review. Should AULD ACQUAINTANCE be FORGOT and NEVER brought to MIND?
(DECEMBER is brrr … a cold and wet month.
Let’s band together for warmth.
Let’s find solace to embrace fond reminiiscences as we trudge down memory lane.
Let’s pay tribute to those we truly love and treasure, irrespective of them being alive or dead.)
Here goes for a NEW YEAR'S PRELUDE:
2012 is set to roll in.
‘Tis a magical moment of the year to congregate with loved ones to salute the awesome, colossal fireworks. Wherever you are.
A smashing sight would be to observe the frenzied excitement of people as they soak in the celebratory mood, burst into song, heralding the New Year amid strains of “AULD LANG SYNE”.
The mood surely, is of cheery gusto, and maybe of, drunken stupor.
It’s NEW YEAR’S EVE, man. Let the countdown begin.
Tonight you’ll look back in wonderment at yester year’s mistakes and wish that, if you had been wise enough, you’d never have made them.
12 new months are beckoning us round the corner as we push forward for glorious expectations.
Nothing comes from nothing, we will learn.
So we’ve to honestly promise ourselves to focus on planning and working hard.
Wistful dreaming will lead us nowhere.
No, it never could.
HAPPY NEW YEAR 2012, CHUM.
May the force be with you!
NOW, SCROLL DOWN FOR THE MOVIE REVIEW.
“NEW YEAR’S EVE” PRESS PREVIEW
“NEW YEAR’S EVE” is mush, pure mush.
This may be a corny line, but it will eat your heart out and have it palpitating with the essence of love.
Little loops of magical romantic moments will assail you – illustrating that in life, love remains forever a many-splendored thing.
Directed by GARRY MARSHALL who also helmed the hit smashes “PRETTY WOMAN” and “VALENTINE'S DAY”, this feature untangles the mesh that love shouldn’t be too far away, if you care to seek it.
In each mundane life, a sweetened spoonful of wacky romance will surely help to “make the medicine go down in a most delightful way”.
The brilliance of love is reflected here, in its purest form, decked in fine glory.
Let not love slip through your fingers but should you allow so, there is always a second chance.
We may make mistakes, and there’s a redemption exercise that rises above forgiving and forgiveness.
Life’s thorny issues are tackled in a select assembly of intertwining stories aligned here, amid the pulse and pace of Times Square New York City, culminating on New Year’s eve.
”NEW YEAR’S EVE” features an impressive ensemble cast of glitterati such as Zac Efron, Robert De Niro, Ashton Kutcher, Sarah Jessica Parker, Halle Berry, Michelle Pfeiffer, Katherine Heigl, Jon Bon Jovi, Matthew Broderick and Jessica Biel.
This festive story centers on:
A frustrated corporate woman executive who is overseeing the operations of the annual Times Square extravaganza. And of course, something is bound to go wrong.
A beautiful gourmet chef is supervising the haute cuisine for the rock concert of her rock-star ex boyfriend who had dumped her years ago. Naturally the rage is still burning deep in her heart.
A sexy female back-up singer gets trapped in an elevator with a skeptic who swears not to celebrate New Year’s eve. Yes, infatuation changes everything.
A mother who is too engrossed to protect the virginity of her teenage daughter to worry about her own needs. Mothers are always selfless, so she will find true love.
Two pairs of parents-to-be engaging in a battle-of-wits in a hospital, competing for a prize catch of USD 25,000 which will be bestowed to the first born of the New Year. Will all the snarling and bitching be worth it?
A dying man’s wish to be brought to the hospital’s roof top to witness the celebrations. Persistence pays off and he gets his wish, eventually.
A stressed-out pretty middle-aged spinster being wooed by an ardent admirer half her age. Well, you’d need love irrespective of whatever.
Now, all roads finally converge at Times Square, so STOP in the name of LOVE.
This movie glorifies that love gives us hope and for goodness sake, believe it.
“NEW YEAR’S EVE” will not be your cup of tea if you are looking for an actioner.
But it will surely find appreciative audiences in ASIA who relish this kind of emotional genre.
Satisfying, dramatic and romantic, it is a fun-fun-fun film reeking of yuletide warmth and beauty.
Should auld acquaintance be forgot and never brought to mind?
See, I am tickled pink now.
Saturday, December 3, 2011
“SUKIYAKI” by the late KYU SAKAMOTO revisited. “Coping with REJECTION? I’ll always LOOK UP when I WALK.”
(DECEMBER is brrr ... a cold and wet month.
Let’s band together for warmth.
Let’s find solace to embrace fond reminiiscences as we trudge down memory lane.
Let’s pay tribute to those we truly love and treasure, irrespective of them being alive or dead.)
Here goes:
It’s vintage time, so let me usher you into the magical era of the 60s.
3 am, pre-dawn.
The rain has just stopped.
And there’s no owl in sight (good grief).
This 24-hour radio service is belting out an old, familiar song called SUKIYAKI.
It’s in Japanese, and for goodness sake, I do not comprehend a single word.
The crooner’s voice is pleading, lilting and soulful, so much so that it sears deep inside. Badly.
Enthusiasm persuades me to look up the dictionary.
Have you gone through rejection pains as this guy is pining out sadly in his song?
Then look no further.
Listen to the man, he is nursing his angst on being dumped by his lover.
Being betrayed in love spells a thousand sorrows, trust me.
Try it if you do not believe that life has its stark brutalities.
I used to hum along with the song when I was a kid.
SUKIYAKI?
I googled for the name of the singer and yes, the name KYU SAKAMOTO surfaced.
He was really famous then, but he perished in the sky in the 80s, such a real pity. It’s horrific.
Is death predestined?
On August 12, 1985, the ill-fated JAPAN AIRLINES FLIGHT 123 carrying 520 passengers and crew including KYU SAKAMOTO plummeted from mid-air.
It was the deadliest single-aircraft accident in history,
and the third worst plane crash in history behind the TENERIFE DISASTER and the SEPTEMBER 11th ATTACKS.
It had been reported that, before the aircraft lost its bearing, SAKAMOTO wrote a farewell note to his wife.
Toying with Fate?
Don’t. It is bizarre and an eerie recall.
LIFE IS SHORT, reminding you again.
So enjoy every “moment” while you can.
It’s here now, gone forever tomorrow.
The 60s to the 80s carry the REAL years when you MUST have a genuine voice to be a singer.
These days, if you are prettily endowed, then you can get connected to a music producer, indulge in image packaging coupled with decent studio “enhancements” for high-pitch songs …..
This’d be the first step to the entertainment threshold.
The rest is up to you.
KYU SAKAMOTO has the distinction of being the only Japanese artist to ever scored a top international hit.
His song (”I Look Up When I Walk”; Sukiyaki in the West), sung completely in Japanese and against all odds, reached #1 in the US Billboard charts in 1963.
The music was written by Hachidai Nakamura.
It is said that Rokusuke Ei wrote the touching lyrics after his heart was broken by actress Meiko Nakamura.
The lyrics tell the story of a man who looks up while he is walking so his tears would not fall.
It is interesting to note that Sukiyaki is not even mentioned in the song ; the West just needed something that was easily pronounceable and associated with Japan.
SUKIYAKI is translated thus into ENGLISH:
I look up when I walk
So the tears won’t fall
Remembering those happy spring days
But tonight I’m all alone
I look up when I walk
Counting the stars with tearful eyes
Remembering those happy summer days
But tonight I’m all alone
Happiness lies beyond the clouds
Happiness lies above the sky
I look up when I walk
So the tears won’t fall
Though my heart is filled with sorrow
For tonight I’m all alone
(whistling)
Remembering those happy autumn days
But tonight I’m all alone
Sadness hides in the shadow of the stars
Sadness lurks in the shadow of the moon
I look up when I walk
So the tears won’t fall
Though my heart is filled with sorrow
For tonight I’m all alone
(whistling)
Yeah, LIFE is a song, no less.
We can’t all be happy everyday.
But whatever life’s lot is, there is always somebody out there who’s a lot less fortunate than you.
We just have to count our blessings.
RIGHT?
Taking a walk down memory lane?
I have selected 3 songs from You Tube for your listening pleasure.
The first is sung by the grand master KYU SAKAMOTO.
The last two are fitting tributes.
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
“PETALING STREET WARRIORS”《大英雄，小男人》Movie Review. Maybe it’s time to “Send in the Clowns”.
“PETALING STREET WARRIORS”
《大英雄，小男人》
PRESS PREVIEW
No pun intended, just “send in the clowns”.
American composer Stephen Sondeim says so in his famous 1973 song from the hit musical ‘A Little Night Magic’.
“Send in the Clowns” uses the medium of music to brilliantly illustrate about how you can grab life by the horns.
It’s stark humor and it suggests that if your show isn’t going as well as it should, then it may be time to “send in the Clowns”.
Now, who are the clowns?
“PETALING STREET WARRIORS” is one classic example.
You just have to strip away the immaculate make-up to unearth this cranky parable with an odd-ball name, dwelling on an infamous tourist attraction in Kuala Lumpur dated a century back.
More than meets the eye?
Probably.
“PETALING STREET WARRIORS” is positioned as a helluva screwball comedy that Malaysians and Singaporeans would love to sink their teeth into, to unload their emotional baggage after a hard day’s grind.
What do people do when they are stressed?
An option would be to go to the cinema, pick a good comedy and get tickled pink.
Hilarity wins at the end of a long day.
Everybody loves a madcap genre where you are treated to huge doses of action versus laughter. We forget our blues and are willingly transported to neverland.
Essentially a Kung Fu spoof - as in the case of “PETALING STREET WARRIORS”, it is ace Hong Kong Martial Arts Choreographer MA YUK-SING who’s responsible for bringing this movie up to the fore.
MA displays his professional dedication in no small measure.
He stylizes and livens the pace of the movie.
He accomplishes a splendid job of nailing the action scenes together with concrete realism.
He cajoles and instructs actors who can barely fight by taking them through the necessary combat stances and patiently guiding them to deliver the pow-wow action sequences – layer upon layer. No mean feat, for a fact.
Yes, MA succeeds – as the action scenes in “PETALING STREET WARRIORS” speak for themselves, reeking of raw touches of a similar themed film called “KUNG FU HUSTLE” by STEPHEN CHOW.
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, we learn.
Fierce combats and stunts are conjured to look strikingly “authentic” and is an enthralling visual feast for the eyes.
The film may drip with corny dialogue and action, but assuredly you will lap up the crazy fighting stunts amid the guffaws galore.
If you care to google, you would have noticed that the original public announcement pointed out that JAMES LEE was to helm the movie.
Now when the film is completed, JAMES has another competent director to shoulder responsibilities as well as to share the limelight.
Executive producer SAMPSON YUEN expounds proudly that he is in talks with overseas investors who are keen to distribute the film. Meanwhile on home ground he espies hopefully, a box office taking of 8 million ringgit.
Nothing is impossible, given the quality of action versus spoof and one laugh-out-loud script. You can say it’s a lot better than any deplorable Hong Kong screeching comedy.
An impressive line-up of veterans such as YEO YANN YANN, MARK LEE, FREDERICK LEE and CHRIS TONG add character and depth to this martial arts spoof.
You see, it’s the action that speaks louder than the words.
But you best be your better judge.
Lights, camera, action!
Now, here’s the storyline:
In 1908 Petaling Street is anything but a safe abode. The place is infested with corrupted colonial cops and triad leeches.
It is here that an unlikely married couple SEE (MARK LEE) and wife ZHUNG (YEO YANN YANN) run a Hokkien mee stall.
SEE is unkempt and unruly, albeit a compulsive gambler whilst ZHUNG is pretty and dutiful.
Both are putting up a brave front as they have yet to consummate their marriage due to SEE’s seemingly sexual health.
One fine day SEE discovers a Chinese seal embedded in his wife’s pillow and gambles it away.
ZHUNG is furious and moves out of the house to live with her cousin LIU KUN (NAMEWEE).
To woo ZHUNG back, SEE ropes in his friends and neighbors to set up a martial arts group to fight the triads.
Suddenly out of the blue a beguiling Kung Fu lady (CHRIS TONG) appears who insists that SEE is a descendant of the missing JIAN WEN, emperor of the Ming Dynasty.
At the same time, a powerful eunuch called MA FU (FREDERICK LEE) arrives with four imperial guards. They are sent by the Empress CIXI to retrieve the treasure map, wherever it might be.
Bloody mayhem ensues when skilled fighters from Japan as well as from the Qing government congregate in Petaling Street to pursue SEE for a mysterious century old map he never knew he had.
Thank heaven that the use of “wirefu” and CGI are kept to a tolerable minimum in order to maintain a balance.
YEO YANN YANN and MARK LEE are commendable performers, but it is the presence of CHRIS TONG and LEE MING ZHONG, whenever they appear – they steal the thunder.
Pay enough attention, and you will notice that SINGAPORE’s ever popular gag-king cum cross-dresser JACK NEO does a cameo for friendship sake.
If you are a fan of STEPHEN CHOW mindless slapsticks, then this one will surely work on you.
DIRECTOR JAMES LEE SAYS:
“It has been an exhilarating first-time experience directing a Martial Arts Comedy with SAMPSON YUEN and Action Director MA YUK-SING.”
PRESS CONFERENCE PHOTOS, courtesy of FRANK TIAN:
THE CAST,DIRECTOR AND ACTION CHOREOGRAPHER TEAM UP FOR A GROUP SHOT. CO-DIRECTOR JAMES LEE IS CONSPICUOUSLY MISSING.
YEO YANN YANN AND MARK LEE BEAM FOR THE CAMERA.
“YOU REALLY MUST COME AND WATCH THIS MOVIE. WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT!”
“KUNG FU FIGHTING ……. Ahhhhh!”
FREDERICK LEE MING ZHONG cites:
“This is my virgin big screen role and I play MA FU, a ballsy EUNUCH. Gosh, I’ve to mimic this awful girlish voice for authenticity.”
Film Director SAMPSON YUEN and MA YUK-SING – Action Choreographer from Hong Kong.
“THE EUNUCH” + FILM DIRECTOR
THE MOVIE TRAILER
THE MUSIC VIDEO
The ever capricious Malaysian Singer NAMEWEEshows you that even HIP HOP can happen in 1908 at PETALING STREET. Enjoy!
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