SINGAPORE DRAMA SERIES "TOMORROW" 当我们同在一起 . RELIVING MEMORIES OF THE 60s.

DRAMA REVIEW

"TOGETHER" is touted as SINGAPORE MEDIACORP's YEAR END-CUM-ANNIVERSARY PRODUCTION FOR 2009.

You will be more than pleasantly amazed.

We are treated to a heartwarming tale of male bonding and female camaraderie,

the trials and tribulations of 3 girls falling in love with the same guy, and yet remain as close chums,

plus a 30-year roller coaster ride of memorable events taking you through the economic and political storms of the 60s where SINGAPORE was going through a period of radical changes.

For the better.

If you are a baby boomer, it's a definite stroll down memory lane laces with memories of this thing called national service that was imposed on the guys way back then,

You also learn that SINGAPORE started printing its own currency in the 60s, the horrific oil crisis that hit the doldrums in the 70s, the horror when the stock market crashed in the 70s and more ......

The story centers on 3 young guys and 3 nubile gals and their different families residing in NORTH BRIDGE ROAD which over the years,had lost the "old feel" of the 60s due to modernization .....

so the principal cast and crew all left by coaches across the Singapore-Johor Causeway for location shooting in MALACCA and IPOH to authenticate that "old world charm".

And did this move measure up?

YES, special mention must be accorded to the excellent work put in by the LOCATION MANAGERS, WARDROBE PEOPLE,HAIR and MAKE-UP STYLISTS who were responsible for creating the retro "feel" of the 60s. They did a meticulous job to bring us the old forgotten shop houses and streets, the go-go attire with bell bottoms, the beehive hairdos for the ladies and the Brylcreem slicked hairstyles for the guys.

So there!

It's a job well done.

Notwithstanding the superb cast that lends credence to the entire story.

Here's what I feel, from the other side of the fence as a fellow writer/producer, far away from SINGAPORE:

KUDOS to the CASTING PEOPLE for assembling a personable cast where each and everyone did his or her best to weave heart-wrenching scenes that evoke indelible memories of a long gone era.

Let me pay tribute to some of the cast who had put in painstaking performances:

ELVIN NG, who, in his previous roles had been dubiously criticized for stiff acting has made a 360 degree roundabout turn and delivers a BEST ACTOR performance as a bumbling nitwit with a strong sense of friendship who would do anything for the girl he loves.

And love he did ..... not only buffing himself in the acting department, but the fight sequences as well.

Watch ELVIN NG as he takes us to the boxing ring where he delivers death-defying kicks and blows a la ONG BAK style that would have made TONY JAA sit up and take notice.

I cannot recall any actor in the Singapore MediaCorp stable who can display his prowess as a perilous fighter. Here's one action star in the making.

Well done, ELVIN!

On the female side, there is this lovely young beautiful thing called EELYN KOK, whom we'd love to hate as she is the pivotal focus in the story that shapes the lives of her friends around her.

But hate we cannot as she delivers a flawless performance as a spoilt, simple-minded damsel with her bimbo head in the clouds who "dares" to love and hate the person she adores.

Why wasn't one of the 7 princesses anyway?

She has definitely come a long way, holding her fort now as leading actress status and is a lot better than some of them, go guess who!

JEANETTE AW has always been good and may garner an award, but she's pretty much the same selfless maiden that she was, in THE LITTLE NONYA.

Watch another rising star ZHANG ZHEN HUAN who played JEANETTE's younger brother, a timid mouse who's forever afraid, an introvert who loves quietly and is a sad victim of circumstances.

He provides squealish relief when he cross-dresses as an "ah qua" (transvestite) to help pay off his father's gambling debts.

Veteran actor WANG YUQING puts in a memorable performance as the wimpish father, the street performer who peddles medicine for a living, who whiles his time gambling away his life, who suddenly has this glimmer of pride for his dimwit son to marry into a wealthy family, only to have all hopes dashed when his son and his in-laws shun him. He dies, sadly, admonishing us what filial piety should all be about.

And HONG HUI FANG as the demeaning, bitchy landlady .... Nothing escapes her, and this is what we call real acting.

There's also ZHENG GER PING, who have us in stitches when he adorns an effeminate Elvis Presely persona to play this comely role.

Old wine mellows with age, hah.

One significant flaw though.

Is it funny at all to have EELYN KOK in one stinking scene taking a dump and uses newspaper to wipe her butt?

Or having DAI YANG TIAN and ELVIN NG spicing their dialogue using words splattering with SHIT and FART?

We are not prudish, but there're more savory ways to inject humor.

Too much is an overkill.

Other than those, "TOGETHER" is a drama series that has a rare fascination and power, thanks to the content development writers at the station.

It is designed to startle and entertain.

And that for sure, IT DOES!

Now hear the THEME SONG and watch THE TRAILER of "TOGETHER".

BE MERRY, BE COOL IN THE LUNAR YEAR OF THE TIGER.

HEY!

MY WONDERFUL CHINESE FRIENDS,

The Lunar New Year is fast approaching, signaling the advent of SPRING …..

And I am taking this opportunity to wish each and every one ….. abundant joy and prosperity in the YEAR OF THE TIGER!

Fret not the pains and angst of the past year,

They are really over,

Bad vibes? Disillusionments?

Just leave these behind.

Let’s usher in the Lunar New Year

with love, hope, and cheer,

Let every bad memory

that brought us heartaches and pains be erased,

And let’s turn into a new leaf

amid the smell of fresh rain

Let’s forget past mistakes

and make amends for the coming year -

I am sending you these greetings

with compassion and strength.

Because if a person cannot find happiness within himself,

He will not find it anywhere else.

PEACE to all mankind,

Let’s “growl” on in the Year of the Tiger,

Come what may …. let’s unite

and forge ahead with renewed vigour.

HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR!

Gearing up for the Tiger Year?

Now, let’s soak in the festive spirit by listening to this happy, feel-good Lunar New Year song sung by some of the most popular artistes from Media Corp Singapore.

TWO-LEGGED HORSE Movie Review. WHAT PRICE HUMANITY?

FILM REVIEW

HE’S ONLY AN IMPOVERISHED BOY, BORN IN A WRONG PLACE AT A WRONG TIME.

The setting is in AFGHANISTAN, in a desolate region that’s both remote and poor.

Here, underprivileged children live in acute poverty, in a maze of abandoned sewer pipes that provide meagre shelter.

Here, MIRVAIS, one of the inhabitants of the pipes, is desperate to earn his keeps for his family, so he readily accepts a challenge in a humiliating contest for a job.

In order to qualify, the poor boy has to compete against other desperate children.

And any of the participants, who can carry on a rich lame boy who had lost his legs in war and takes him to school will become the winner–and the rich boy’s personal “horse”.

No, the story doesn’t just end here.

Instead, we are taken on a 100-minute journey to witness the demeaning exploitations of humanity.

What right does a human have to treat another like a lowly animal?

How low can anyone go?

This is a scary, yet heart-wrenching tale of how a one-legged boy transforms an older boy into a beast of burden.

Sadistic pleasure?

We are shown, in graphic details, the crippled boy’s brutal treatment of his “human horse” and the latter’s total submission and his slow metamorphosis into the four-legged animal …..

Wouldn’t you be outraged?

Anybody in his proper frame of mind would be.

Didn’t we all hear that:

Humanity is the supreme of all religions of the world.

….. that the most important thing in life is much more than winning for ourselves.

The most important thing in this life is to help others to win.

A generous heart, a life of service and compassion to the mankind …..

are the things which renew humanity ….

and that’s the best religion , nothing else.

When you have money, you are in a position of control,

You bark orders

and you reign supreme,

You act like the lord of this world …

But when you don’t

You come abegging,

You are relegated as a powerless animal to this world.

In third world countries, there are many who are living lives of exploitation,

with humanity stripped beyond the bone of basic human rights.

Well, in a disturbing way, TWO-LEGGED HORSE the movie will surely weave its way into our hearts and make us realize that we are indeed, taking life for granted,

that we are lucky ….

if only we all want to acknowledge this.

This award winning IRANIAN film, brilliantly directed by SAMIRA MAKHMALBAF takes a stab at human brutality at its worse and the director’s treatment of the physical pain is at most times, unbearable to watch.

Yet one must remember the power of the story that seeks to reflect our life and times.

Glory be.

REUNION DINNER tastes even BETTER this TIGER YEAR, thanks to veteran actress CHEN LIPING.

CHEN LIPING.

How do we describe her?

In three little words …..

She is cute, fun, very versatile.

And definitely, one of SINGAPORE’s best loved actresses.

When it comes to au naturel acting, not that many come close, at least, not in Singapore.

Her diction, her gesticulations, her vivid portrayal of the undaunting mother never fails to strike a chord in our hearts, always.

She is simple, her versatility puts us at ease and we laugh and cry with her her as she goes on in her gamut of roles.

Take this poignant scene from last year’s drama series REUNION DINNER.

It’s the eve of the Chinese New Year where the entire family sits down for the once-a-year round the table gathering.

Here she is, serving the festive foods.

Her wimp-of-a-husband has been offered a high paying position by an ex-Caucasian client.

Her dementia stricken father-in-law has just unwittingly complimented her as being the “best daughter-in-law” around.

Suddenly intense happiness assails her and as the camera follows her brisk saunter to the kitchen to get more soup,

her eyes are welling up with genuine tears …

Camera closes in on:

her face as she brushes aside tears of pride and joy that speak volumes of the long hard years that had not been in vain ….

How can we forget this heart-warming scene as it keeps on playing over and over again in my mind, reminding me of my own mother?

I wish my own mother is still living so that I can give her a hug,

IT’S SO REAL.

REUNION DINNER was aired in SINGAPORE before the LUNAR NEW YEAR of 2009 (exactly one year ago), but it tastes even better this time round.

With a grande dame like Ms CHEN LIPING around, who really cares for attention grabbing eye-candies?

MISS CHEN, THANK YOU FOR THE MEMORY!

2010.

It’s the LUNAR YEAR of The TIGER.

A time for reflection upon the past before embarking on a brand new Chinese year.

Isn’t it right that, if time could really stand still,

we’d have freeze it here …..

we’d have handled things a lot more differently?

Regrets we all have many.

Who don’t?

We are all creatures of imperfections.

Let’s begin this Lunar New Year by saluting all mothers.

MOTHER.

This word conjures an image of a stoic woman,

A woman who believes in selfless love for her children.

A mother who expects nothing in return,

Perhaps, except, maybe, for some love and care on our part.

Too shy to say “I love you” to your mum?

Don’t be.

Give her a warm hug

and that alone would speak wonders.

Treasure her when she still around,

lest when she’s long gone one day

and you’ll live with regrets that you haven’t done so.

How do you describe

A MOTHER’S LOVE?

“To some love is just a word

To me it’s a feeling

A feeling

I get everytime I look into your eyes

A feeling I get when I realize you’re my mum,

A mum who loves, shares,

A mom who inspires

Unconditionally …..

What’s that?

That’s love

A mother’s love,

but only you would know

And me

You returned that love

time and time again

Possibly too much,

nevertheless you did

Thank You

Thank You for being there when I needed you most

For being my rock when I should have been yours,

Thank you for believing in me,

even when I doubted myself

For being the one person I could trust

No matter what,

No matter where

But most of all, “Thank You” for being you ….

my mum,

A mum I am so proud to claim

I LOVE YOU,

Now and always.”

HAPPY YEAR OF THE TIGER, FOLKS!

BLACK RANSOM Movie Review. KIDNAP, VENGEANCE, BLOODY MAYHEM

PRESS PREVIEW

Now, let’s say that BLACK RANSOM is one hell of a Hong Kong police flick.

It’s all about the GOOD (cops), the BAD (kidnappers) and the UGLY (triad gangs).

When we diligently mix these three elements, we get a story on bloody mayhem.

BLACK RANSOM is one stylish film directed by KEUNG KWOK-MAN with a lot of heart, some soul and plenty of shoot-outs.

It focuses on kidnap and ransom, though strangely, the victim is not the heir to some billionaire, but an important triad member.

We’ve a good cop played by SIMON YAM.

Now throw in a bad cop (MICHAEL MIU) who’s helming a small bunch of hard-boiled ex-cops who kidnap not just for money, but to act as self-imposed vigilantes to eliminate the baddies – those who manage to escape judicial justice.

Charismatic actor SIMON YAM leads a great cast in the role of a middle-aged cop and doting father, whose life takes on a sense of forlorn loneliness, after his wife was killed in a car accident and that he has now to fend for his teenage daughter.

‘Tis the season of Hong Kong TV land thespians crossing over to the big screen.

Ex-TVB actor SIMON YAM pitches acting skills with current TVB artistes MICHALE MIU and FALA CHAN, proving that there’s life after the TVB banner.

After all, A-listers CHOW YUN FAT and TONY LEUNG rose to fame from acting in TVB dramas, in the long years before.

In BLACK RANSOM, we find a sombre theme about the violent life that brings the cops and robbers together and the end result that takes a toll on both.

The tension is excruciating when the heat comes down on the hoods.

The cat-and-mouse challenges between the cops, robbers and triad gangs are fast-paced and clever.

It’s one of the few absorbing Hong Kong police flicks to come out in the flurry of police thrillers in recent years.

For pure entertainment value and to let your hair down, go watch BLACK RANSOM.

Some scenes may be brutal but you will get this sense of reality that will not seem contrived.

And oh yeah, all the actresses in the film are gorgeously stunning.

This Film Review is Specially Written for

www.bookmarqc.com