- Music:周杰伦 - 最长的电影
- Music:temper trap - sweet disposition
anyway part of the fun comes from its really whimsical opening which sets the tone for his rather playful venture. the theme tune was something qte impossible to get out of me head, had to find out what it was. thanks to the internet ----> michel legrand's di-gue-ding-ding!
one of those elegantly bouncy track with relentless baritone chant (the song title), coupled with whirring string interludes quite beautifully rendered, it is really one of those goofy sounding ditty executed with a lot of class and finesse in a strangely uplifting fashion.
did a check on its whereabouts on allmusic and realised i actually had that track all along, on one of those lounge compilation i got it cheap at cash converter, so i dug out the disc to hear that track in its entirety. truth be told, the truncated version used on the show sort of captured all the best bits in a tight 30 seconds but it was still a nice little bubbly piece to chill to on a dowdy day.
....and then i let it lapsed to the next track .....
one of those songs with really vivid scenarios.....
blossom dearie. rainy weather. in a london cafe. peeking out.
gloomy sight with a somewhat endearing outlook.
seeking out subtle beauty or moments of poetism.
slightly melancholic setting.
really laidback rhythm.....
lo and behold! it was then i realised it's for most parts the blueprint for....
pizzicato five did qte a lovely job of expanding this intimate song into a full blown lounge extravaganza - check out how the lonely beats gave way to the dramatic strings that suddenly swells to quite overwhelming magnitude at one point, bringing all that nocturnal sentiments to a whole new cinematic level. and then the mix with no vocals (see/hear below), that somehow has got more of a flavour.....heh.
- Music:see above
fav is indisputably kore-eda's still walking aka aruitemo aruitemo - a song prominently featured in the film. born out of the premise of understated ozu-ish family dramas but given a more macabre update via some really sharp-tongued characters which made it perhaps a bit more fun-filled than the usual ozus. still, when it comes to the moving moments it is just about as controlled by ozu's melodramas.
runner-up will probably be the story of anvil - a very candid documentation of the arduous journey of one metal band holding on to their dreams, possibly in hope of reliving their past glory. being reduced to commoners both in terms of reputation and finance, it was heartening to see them middle-aged men still having the guts and courage to give their passion one more shot, never mind the risk of it going all awry or being perceived by their loved ones as seriously losing touch with reality. with its uplifting conclusion which ironically took place on the other side of the world, it pretty much sets out to one of those really satisfying fest favourites.
close 2nd runner-up is wendy & lucy - one of those minimalist american indie production that is so simply yet so affecting. as helped by the generous amount of space she was given to build her character, michelle williams was a major reason why it worked, as her sober yet intricate portrayal of lucy gradually drew one in.
seeked recommendations from a thai friend this year and he went through the programme and singled out 3 really varied thai offerings and yielding unexpectedly decent hit rate. thai classic boathouse is vividly coloured musical attempting to cram all the cliches under the sky and that made it a really fun watch, very hilarious actually, for instance those really lame intentions to illustrate the character's near telekinetic chemistry when it comes to outsmarting each other. the convert is a documentary chronicling this thai girl converting to islam upon marrying her muslim spouse. a really poignant look at the complication involved but based upon his earnest love for her which she reciprocated after much hesitation - quite simply the only thing that kept them going and that is more than enough. moments in june was probably the weakest among them 3 as it's for most parts a WKW-is style over substance affair. with its gorgeous sets and photography, it's hard to believe that it's independently produced. it's a shame all the aesthetic magnificence is diminished substantially by the artshouse less than adequate projection facilities.
the others were really passable from the first malaysian musical comedy that has some really clever satirical jabs but loses steam too easily to former chinese enfant terrible zhangyuan's emotionally vacant dada's dance which seems to suggest zhang works best with political slants. korea's daytime drinking is a little more than serviceable indie comedy. Its understated sense of humour is effective for most parts, felt it overstayed its welcome by a wee bit tho. its counterpart breathless is one of those envelope-pushing brutal dramas that instead of trying to develop the characters properly, it seemed too eager to shock with their depiction of what they perceived as the seedier side of life. and watching a watermarked screener (print retained at custom) only made it less forgiveable.
overall not a terribly satisfying fest, too many duds which i shall left unmentioned and then qte sucky venues and irritating trailers which i had to endure 10 over times. aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
[my siff rundown's not so brief afterall. heh.]
as for the artsfest.....this year was pretty much a creme de la creme selection as all the performance attended netted at least one of the unofficial artsfest awards given by straits times life.
invisible room was named best test of endurance.
cherry orchard start/stop sequence was named most puzzling moment.
liv was awarded the top prize as worst production
while visible cities nabbed both the worst production (tie with liv) and worst actress.
bravo!
need me say more?
finished how i met your mother season 4......as with most sitcom, the best season are probably the first and/or second, barney and/or robin does get a little grating at times. nonetheless, still very watchable esp if to fill the void left by friends. fav episode would probably be episode 23 perhaps the most sentimental one this season, don't quite speak to me or wat, just that it all ties nicely the whole idea of meeting the one and nope, as expected, still not yet.
havent been to the cinema in a while....but been doing some re-watchings lately.....
love me if you are......wasn't exactly intending to watch this but did so anyway, and nope, still don't get its very warped sense of romanticism. nonetheless, really pretty and fun visuals.
before sunset.....wasn't intending to redo this either but did so juz to prove to me friend that there is nothing wrong with the subtitles. still very very lovely, how could a film of essentially just 2 somewhat romantic souls rambling and at times making a very valid point be so engaging? i know of people not liking it as much, me thai friend for one thought ppl being so philosophical is unrealistic - a point that i probably won't want to refute. but hey, it more than works for me, and that's all that matters.
before sunset.......had wanted to watch it back to back because me friend really liked sunrise but was with me sis who apparently didn't get it at all. so wtched it a week later instead and with sunrise still qte fresh in memory, the slightly aged appearance of both characters became more apparent giving this watch a bit more dimension of some sort. and nope it doesn't quite surpass its predecessor but it did helluva job to make that circle whole with perhaps a bit more sensibility than sense and remained satisfying at the same time. in short, a sequel that could go so horribly wrong but turned out absolutely right.
dragged me fren to have ice-cream despite him feeling somewhat heaty.....so nothing chocolatey and of coz, maoshanwang is definite no-no. tried out the lighter flavors and despite being an earl grey non-fan, i went for it anyway. i cannot say why but somehow i qte like it in its glacial form and to make it more puzzling, the earl grey aroma is probably more pungent than the tea itself. when we have the yuan we must have the yang.....so nxt stop is kopi-c which is about as strong as earl grey but with just the right amount of milk to leave a somewhat dry after taste instead of a creamy one. should be qte perfect if putting those 2 together but then somehow we paired kopi-c with mango, which is really odd on paper. but in terms of taste, there is a bit of a common ground which i can't really describe unlike the earl grey-strawberry combo which sort of neutralize each other, mango and kopi seems to blend into certain portions of the palate strangely. as for the mango, it's qte nice really perhaps not as smooth as wei's sorbet but it has got more of texture as the fruit bits are just a bit more prominent which is a nice touch i tink. then one of the most amazing thing happen, i was still burping earl grey hours after the ice-cream session - something i thought i would loath but i totally don't mind it at all!
- Music:徐佳瑩 - 白旗
apparently he still kept in touch with one of my primary schoolmate whom i last saw in like a decade ago or so. many excuses to explain that erm....laziness to keep in touch? first foremost, unlike both of them i went to a different jc and uni. also, we both shifted from our old place though it's ironic that our new place is actually much closer. not exactly cannot be bothered but somehow it just didn't cross my mind to update and inform. in any case, he suggested we should get together one day to catch up and true to his words, he made the arrangements to meet a month later or so.
felt really lucky it all landed on my lap just like that without me even making the effort to find them back, was all excited to see them again until an hour or 2 before. as i had no idea what have become of them after so many years, some of the most far-fetched awful scenarios ran through my head. so to play safe, i probably should appear a bit more reclusive and speak only when necessary instead of shooting my mouth off. something i failed to do when i eventually saw them - that unexpected sense of familiarity won over me, it's felt too much like the old days.
one still as self-deprecating in the most ridiculous sense you wish he dun mean wat he said though you know he really did, one still the same smart alecky type but none of the pushiness or overbearing confidence to turn people off or perhaps i know him enough to overlook all that, heh. finally, one whom i had some difficulties trying to grasp his wavelength in the old days, and sadly, now still do. the self-deprecator is still reeling from his breakup of a 7 years relationship a few months back which makes all his self-deprecation all the more unbearably justifiable, the smart aleck is still the one with the most ideas and most updated information on where to go and what to do and somewhat frustrated by our (over?)easygoing-ness and the one .... well, ya know..... the sort whom you are genuinely concerned about but for some reasons, your conversations just don't go anywhere. be it for better or worse, am really glad that all three of them stayed pretty much the same all this while. of course, there must be some changes, which am likely to discover in the meet-ups we'd try to arrange in the near future.
- Music:徐佳莹 - 失落沙洲 / 白旗
despite detecting a slight sense of didacticism regarding its notion of love, still think it's a very commendable effort as it is rare to see such impeccable comic timing courtesy of both the cast and the script. pity the pathetic turnout - a grand total of 8 audiences, a lot less rousing than the full house screening during the fest but those present were clearly enjoying themselves. end run next weekend.
::details::
finally tried what my sister has been ooohing and aaahing for weeks and my, it was all true! qte simply for those ppl tired of the usual cream & milk laden offerings of other classier ice cream joints. think there's nothing more heavenly than the savouring of real ingredients in ice cream - that substantial alcoholic punch of rums n raisins or the near excessive cocoa richness of the orange triple choc. and all of which, qte affordably priced. will try their cherrybomb next time, a little disappointed that maoshanwang is out of season and if their R&D is successful, choya!
::ladyironchef review with pictures::
one of the most brilliant 王牌大间谍 episode to date, they invited one of the host's feisty agent cum rumoured girlfriend on the show to debate whether the show they were on is funny. to make it even more dramatic, they put this very special guest was on the opposition team and she went all out to prove how unfunny the show was. taking on the other host's and guests' many blows, she acquitted herself with gusto while not forgetting to deliver quite a few punches below the belt rather viciously. setting a glorious example for her opponents and team mates, some of them not quite at her level and included for what they would termed as "效果", with the likes of rambling 白云, lame小钟, squeaky 蝴蝶姐姐 etc, more like "笑果". with their trading of unscrupulous jabs and really evil personal attacks all in good but not exactly clean fun, taiwanese variety shows has indeed hit a new low....but i'm not exactly complaining. :p
watch it here & here.
- Music:蓝心湄 - 浓妆摇滚
- Music:许景淳 - 香香
- Music: 蓝心湄 vs 脱拉库 - 你的电话
留下什么就变成什么样的大人
- Music:张艾嘉 ： 一碗粥
on page 52....
"I've already decided the day, July 19, the last day of school. We'll barricade the roof."
- Music:李泉 - 走钢索的人 / 王莞之 - 学会
the music films were quite interesting. even though there wasn't any shots of the audiences, lou reed's berlin the concert film by julian schnabel captured the gig's atmosphere rather well and occasional sidetrack to imagined caroline scenarios as played by emmanuelle seigner gave it a surreal touch. of course, there was also the hot ticket of this yr's siff - the star studded dylan pseudo-biopic by todd haynes i'm not there which imo one of the most sophisticated celluloid take of a legendary artiste ever. it was intriguing to watch at first but ultimately frustrates, especially given my lack previous knowledge regarding dylan's history. with that said, letting dylan remained an enigma is probably the right way to go.
and it so happened, there was an all local films day where i watched 5 local films from morning till night back to back. dreams from third world and lucky seven were bold efforts that didn't quite work for me. except for some interesting camera works, the former was a self-indulgent affair that did little for me. as for the latter, found it to be sort of a failed experiment. to qualify as an "exquisite corpse" project, there should be more flow and continuity, otherwise it is nothing more than just another collection of shorts starring the same actor, that's all. i really wanted to like diminishing memories 2 but the director's endless commentaries turned me off eventually. 出发点是对的，但是一再又一再的钻牛角尖看了令人烦厌。boomtown beijing on the other hand was an interesting look at how the olympics fever permeated the beijing heartlands as seen through through the eyes of the offbeat characters. and then there's.....
爱情十八克
18 grams of love
it's one of the those films that got it right for
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gaozai) jeunet's amelie. if i were to nitpick, it's somewhat lacking in local flavour. not that there is a need for that as reflected by the more than warm reception at siff as well as the 2 audience awards it nabbed at european film festivals, it should have no problem connecting with both the local and overseas audiences....which is actually more of a good thing, actually? not sure if i am being biased or overly kind ... but i really feel this is as flawless as a local narrative feature can get. haven't felt this jubilant sense of hope for local films in quite a while, the last time was during singapore gaga's debut at siff. heartening to see the visibly impressed venue manager so ethusiastic about giving the film a much deserved proper release. hope distribution issues will be resolved soon, can't wait to revisit it again.unlike the local offerings, my selections from up north yield higher hit rate. turned out to be a james lee year for me this time round, histeria his first foray into mainstream horror as well as 35mm format, was kind of rough but by no means bad. did not catch waiting for love but breathing in mud left quite an impression.from the synopsis, it seems like james lee is going the way of yasmin ahmad as he gravitated towards humane drama featuring flawed characters that one actually cares about, caught in comprehensible dilemmas. unlike 18 grams which thrust you into the action right from the start, this one takes time to build up. the characters' struggles became more apparent as the situation in which they were caught in gradually unfolds. upon comparison with james' previous impenetrable artsy efforts, his subtle take of a somewhat soap operatic plot is a breath of fresh air.
surpassing the above was flowers in the pocket liew seng-tat debut starring james lee. in a nutshell, nobody knows meets village of dreams, this small malaysian film has deservedly won awards from major festivals and travelled round the globe (the director was absent as he was presenting the film in argentina). made up of scenes whereby the brothers indulged themselves in such poignant happiness, made it so easy to forgive their father's negligence (played by james lee - prolific director and dp of the current malaysian new wave movement) and perhaps even empathised with him by the end of it, as it became apparent that he does love his kids albeit in his own understated manner which is no less moving. as in the words of a friend, it is admirable how they could do so much with so little which aptly described both the film itself as well as the characters portrayed.
there seems to be an utter lack of east asian offerings this year, there's only 1 feature film from japan,3 from china, 2 from korea, 1 taiwanese film and none from hong kong. with the lack of quantity there's bound to be a lack in quality as well. korea's milky liberation front was a farcical take on the struggles of the indie film scene. found it to be too ludicrous for its own good. thought taiwan's striking back from around a decade ago, which more or less addressed the same issues was a more thought provoking portrayal. meanwhile siff regular, taiwanese director chang tsochi returned with soul of the demon - a competent effort but lacks the magic of his previous 2 films. from the other side of the straits is fujian blue - a poignant take of fujian youths trying to break out and make it somewhere. my favourite of the east asian lot is japan's i just didn't do it.
after a long absence, masayuki suo who did popular feelgood underdog comedies like sumo do sumo don't and shall we dance as well as the ozu inspired pink film abnormal family, went on to do this sharp critique on the flaws of the japanese legal system. despite his grand and somewhat righteous agenda, it was an engaging 141 mins as masayuki managed to infuse his signature 小品 sensibilities between those riveting courtroom scenes. whilst it doesn't take itself too seriously, it doesn't trivialise the issues it addresses either. thus, striking a nice balance despite its subjective stance.
despite having a stronger european lineup this time round, those i watched somehow rubbed me the wrong way. cargo 200 is quirky take of a potential torture porn premise with political overtones, an exercise that i thought was pointless. hungarian master bela tarr's man from london was a grand vision that ultimately rang hollow. and for the 2nd time, canadian cult director's guy maddin's latest efforts were featured. my winningpeg was very much a sardonic ode to maddin's hometown that is so wickedly personal - indulgence that intrigues.
all in all, not exactly exciting but nonetheless, the standouts made it worthwhile on the whole. of course, not likely to be as memorable as those editions a few years back.
next week, the 超级星光大道 documentary 星光传奇 will be unleashed all across taiwan. directed by ang lee's brother 李岗（gang lee?), not quite an indication of quality given his not exactly impressive credentials. inspite of that, it is almost guaranteed to struck box office gold never mind the sceptics who will see it as nothing more than another attempt to milk it for all its worth.
it surely won't be the last taiwanese music contest documentary and it certainly wasn't the first. there was also a very well made 2004 documentary 海洋热 which chronicled the trials and tribulations of a few bands taking part in the ho-hai-yan rock festival competition. Among the featured bands, 2 of them ( lead vocals of 芒果跑 - 张悬 and also, 图腾 ）did managed to cut their debut album 2 years later.
earnest effort essentially about people with dreams and all the anguish and joy they experienced while on the way of realising them, done in a quasi fly-on-the-wall manner. not exactly groundbreaking but it managed to elicit some sort of an affinity with each of the featured bands even if some of their music isn't exactly one's cup of tea. very watchable and easy to like.
there were many moments that i quite like but the one that moved me most was when 芒果跑 performed 并不, which was the perfect evocative song, set to a montage of those bittersweet moments during their long arduous journey to the stage on which they were standing on - a graduation of some sort. quite easily my favourite rendition of this track, as compared to the subsequent studio take which they recorded for a compilation and also the more languid version that 张悬 recorded for her sophomore effort.
( more clips from 海洋热 )
not quite your usual dysfunctional family comedy series and despite considerable accolades, it was promptly cancelled after one season. in a nutshell, black sheep of the family started witnessing ornamental animals coming to life and dispensing cryptic words of wisdom while she was at her slacker job in a niagara falls souvenir shop. thus forcing her to right some wrongs which were often very against her will and therefore making her even more eccentric than she already is. like its location, the humour is deadpan downbeat (think northern exposure but crazier) but it always have its heart in the right place be it family or bgr issues. the resolving of those issues were often quite ridiculous (mostly due to the misinterpretation of the words) but somehow managed to be quite charming as well. another plus point would be the score by michael andrews as well as the eclectic mix of chosen music, giving the series an aptly whimsical dimension which is pretty much exemplified by the theme song. as performed by xtc's andy patridge, it is possibly the only time i bothered to watch all the episode's ending credits just to hear it in its entirety, never mind it being instrumental.
billed as a male variation of ally mcbeal and tons better than the male variation of satc (aka big shots). eli stone attorney started having visions resulting in strange behaviour which is taking a toll on both his career and lovelife. ultimately revealed to be an effect of some growth in head and the visions present themselves as some sort of cryptic prophecies and often in the form of song and dance (each episode is titled after a george michael song and the man himself will also cameo in selected episodes). to thicken the plot, it was subsequently revealed that this sort of runs in the family. eli stone is played by jonny lee miller (former mr angelina jolie?) with a right mix of smugness and goofiness. not exactly likeable but possess a certain charm to make it understandable for fiancee (played by natasha henstridge, there's life after species?) to find it so hard to let him go. like wonderfalls, his visions were also benign maybe even righteous, as it made him question his moral conscious and quite literally compelled him to go against his professional stance to do the right thing. Vaguely guided by an unlikely trio of characters (his assisant who is a cross between ally's elaine and renne, his chinese acupuncturist who first discovered eli's gift of prophecy and subsequently a direction to handle it and rookie attorney trying her best to uphold justice), eli stone makes for a quite refreshing 42mins to spend in front of the telly after a hard day's of work or disillusionment.
- Music:余宪忠 - 让每个人都心碎
found what i thought i lost, one of those instances where the jewel cases remained but the disc was no where to be found. found it in one of the those cd envelope stashed in between other stuff that i haven't gone through for quite a long while. quite glad that it reappeared since it sort of got me through one of my darkest mornings....which in hindsight, was no big deal really. nonetheless, it represented quite some significance as it served as some sort of a reminder for all the frustrations and sighs and disappointments and....come to think of it, like not many good memories from that era. aw well..... c'est la vie....
now.....if only i remm where i put that matching jewel case....
ambitiously bold and definitely controversial but fortunately, not just for the sake of being controversial. compared to her previous works like shithole and trash, it is much tighter and coherent despite its very twisted theme which could quite easily derail to something more self indulgent. thought the hypocritical repression was very well portrayed and the buildup which escalated to the quite literal climax was well paced. the genderbender casting also added another dimension to the character's confusions and dilemmas. the cast played their roles beyond a caricature interpretation, and some of them managed to strike that delicate balance between nuanceness and camp. the duplex set was very effective and the requiem for a dream score was well used. zaobao compared it to american beauty which i don't dispute. was thinking more along the lines of visitor q filtered through oh mikey hypocritical stance and humour. the ending somewhat prevented it from embodying the compassion of american beauty which i felt is not much of a loss. pity that the turnout was much less than great.
i was never one to be patriotic but was quite impressed with this total defence promo and even more so when i found out it was made by jc students. regardless of how much help they were given, i thought it could signal the possibility of a local aardmanish production in future....at least in terms of production value. glimmer of hope if you may.
[oh it eventually won the NEmation contest. quite deserving, but tsk....the contest name. last year's winner was claymation as well and qte impressive also.]
- Music:new order - regret
used to have an argument with a cousin once upon a time. not quite an argument more like him telling me that it literally means burning blood. i did not quite question why or criticised his less than adequate skill of recognising chinese characters. probably the idea of snow burning is much too ridiculous to him (read: snow so cold how can burn one?!) perhaps blood burning made more sense to him with all that 热血男儿 machismo or you-made-my-blood-boils shit and all. if i remembered correct, tracy did explained the irony by questioning whether the deepest end of snow would be hottest or the coldest. nope, it still doesn't make sense be it blood or snow. well, poetism is often questionable i guess?
[do pardon the less than great video quality, it's the only one i could find]
- Music:雪在烧 - the artiste formerly known as 黄露仪
:: big screen ::
:: small screen ::
( full list of what i watched in 2007, or at least those i could recall )
- Music:山崎まさよし - one more time one more chance
so is 康熙 still watchable with 熙 absent? well it depends on the guests as the replacement don't quite have the calibre to 豁出去 and her level of participation is pretty much dependent on the guests too. she could be really active when it comes to episodes like when the singing sisters come together but even then, it was the singing sisters who stole the limelight. the 原著民 sisters pretty much stole the show with 家家's stunning vocals and 纪晓君 madcap antics which she often delivered in a deadpan manner. also quite 亮眼 is the 魏 sisters with 如宣 displaying such bold ditziness as though in a half drunken state but evidently guarded when quizzed about stuff like why did natural q disbanded which she insistently brushed off with blatant promotion of her new album. nevertheless, her persona went well with her comfortably lazy delivery of 写一首歌 - a duet with her sister 如昀 one of the last surviving 星光二班 who is comparatively quieter and more serious, giving the impression of an astute artiste who prefer to let her music speak for itself. And then there is the 刘 sisters who er.... i dun even remember what they did? heh.
