Categories
Fantasy & Sci-fi Movie Reviews

Bridge To Terabithia – Lived Up To Expectation

The rest of the Movie Review Squad was busy last Tuesday so once again I was empowered to make that one important decision – which movie shall we watch? I read that the Thai sex thriller “The Passion” and the Chinese erotic film “Summer Palace” are both terrible. The only reason why the theaters are full for these two films is because sex sells. Hence I only have “Bridge To Terabithia” and the dated but popular Korean comedy “200 Pounds Beauty” to choose from. I read that “Bridge To Terabithia” has generally good reviews so I took a risk knowing that it is a kid movie I was getting the Movie Review Squad into. Cynthia texted me that Straits Times reviewer Ong Sor Fern has written a bad review on “Bridge To Terabithia”. More the reason why we should watch that as I consistently disagree with her for more than 10 long years and I love that consistency while still hating what she writes (is she even aware that the film “300” is originated from a comic book?! … such an outraging review).

Based on a novel of the same title written by Katherine Paterson in 1977, “Bridge To Terabithia (the movie)” is 90% reality with 10% fantasy – contrary to what others expected as an after-school version of “Harry Potter” or “Pan’s Labyrinth” or even the kid movie “Chronicles of Narnia”. A rare friendship found between two teenagers – one who paints and one who composes fantasy stories – that do not quite fit in their social environment and together they have created “Terabithia” and have become the King and Queen of this new fantasy land. It has a rather gloomy side to the plot that challenges both teen actor and actress’s acting skill. I must say both Josh Hutcherson and AnnaSophia Robb (acted in “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”) have raised up to the challenge and I enjoy every moment of their acting. I see both of them will have a long career in the entertainment business.

“Bridge To Terabithia” is one of those few movies that Tong Kiat, Cynthia, and myself enjoyed in a positive way. (Can you enjoy something in a negative way? Sure you can.) Some claim that “Bridge To Terabithia” is a classic in this genre. I am no expert in this particular genre but I cannot recall another kid movie that comes close to “Bridge To Terabithia”.

Categories
I See I Write

Battle Of Australia’s AirPork And The Local Supply

Picture taken from our Melbourne trip

I am not sure how often any of you visit local grocery stores such as NTUC. Since the outbreak in the pig farms just across the straits – for as far as I can remember – Singapore or rather NTUC has been importing pork from Australia instead. Couple of weeks ago, the counter that was used to be filled with AirPork (air flown pork from Australia) was overtaken by a new local supply by a far greater margin (somewhat like 80% of the shelf space). The packaging is very attractive and the meat does look fresher than AirPork. I saw a staff who usually works behind the beef counter admiring this parade of new products and I started to have a chat with him.

Me: Wow, these are local pork eh?
Meat Man: (Giving me a serious and stern look) These are local pork. Much fresher than AirPork … (and he continued to educate me why it is so … common sense really).

I noticed that the new packaging comes with all the new terminology as well. I am so used to the naming convention of AirPork that I found it hard to actually choose which type of meat to buy from the local pork.

Me: Man, I really don’t know which one is which.
Meat Man: What you want?
Me: Pork muscles … AirPork used to have that.
Meat Man: Pork muscles no have but this … (holding up a “priced” item) … is rare. One pig one piece.

I looked at the price and I gasped. Next to me came an old man …

Old Man: Why change all the names? How to buy?
Meat Man: (Randomly picked up a package) … try this. Just try.

I just could not decide which one to take. Another thing strange about the new packaging is that unlike AirPork that has the information on the weight of the meat as well as price per kg. This new local supply has this tag of “not less than 250g” with the same type of meat selling at a fixed price making a price comparison totally inconvenience.

I picked up one type of meat, put it back, picked up another, and put it back. Finally I laid my hands on the minced pork.

Me: Man, this looks really fatty (as my finger circled around all the white fatty stuffs).
Meat Man: Pork, no fat, no good to eat. Local pork pink. AirPork red. Pink more fresh.

Not sure if I really wanted to risk my health over something that was obviously fatty, I picked up what seemed like lean pork loin to me (that is the name I am familiar with). I must say, though the portion was a bit too much just for Cynthia and I (250g for 2 people is a lot), the taste was out of the world. I was in Heaven, for a moment. Succulent and fresh.

Couple of days ago I returned to NTUC and the local supply only occupy 20% of the shelf space. The rest was repopulated by AirPork. I was not surprised. Even with someone who enjoyed the experience that much, I did a mental calculation. The local supply must have been 20% to 40% more expensive than AirPork. I doubt if the local supply will win the battle at all.

If I was to market the new supply, I would have … (1) named the type of pork exactly the same as AirPork to gain immediate acceptance, (2) slabbed in a promotional price to make it competitive with AirPork, and (3) created a premium category and/or drive down the cost to make the pricing sustainable. And if the live fish suppliers are doing the same, more Singaporeans will enjoy the freshness of seafood rather than keep eating the dead fish. It is ridiculous that the dead fish costs the same if not more than the live fish in Hong Kong.

PS: Picture taken when we were in Melbourne.

Categories
Music Reviews Pop Rock & Alternative

Artist Gone Solo Part 1 of 3 – Brett Andersen of “Suede” and “The Tears”

In 1994, the British band “Suede” has given the world one good news and one bad news. Good news was that they have released one of their finest work “Dog Man Star” (written by Brett Andersen and guitarist Bernard Butler). If I was to be stationed in a remote island for a long time, “Dog Man Star” would be one of the albums that I would bring along. Songs from that album are timeless and I still enjoy listening to them whenever I am in that mood of melancholy.

That was the good news. Bad news was, “Dog Man Star” was going to be their divorce album. From then on, Suede went on without Bernard Butler and Suede was not quite the same anymore. Suede was unique to me because that was the only band that has a guitar solo track almost throughout each song. Besides this guitar solo sound, Bernard Butler has also put in layers of guitar sound to make Suede’s sound unique. Combined with Brett Anderson’s unique vocal (you either love it or hate it) and the beautiful lyrics, Suede has cursed me with this longing years after years to search for something that sounds like them.

After 11 years of waiting, in the year of 2005, Brett Andersen and Bernard Butler reunited and formed a new band “The Tears”. Old time fans like myself rejoiced. “Hear Come The Tears” – their first collaboration after “Dog Man Star” – was a critically acclaimed piece of work. To be honest, I see “Hear Come The Tears” as an extension to “Dog Man Star”, less darker, and I still prefer “Dog Man Star” hands down.

While “The Tears” may be working on a 2nd studio album, Brett Anderson has released his solo album. At first I was skeptical over his solo work. Written and produced by Anderson himself and Fred Ball, the keyboardist of the album, this solo album has brought a new sound on the table. There are still a fair amount of acoustic guitar sound by Anderson but somehow in this new album, the sound is widely varied. Those who like the upbeat old Suede sound should be able to fall in love with “Dust And Rain” immediately (though it is still a bit far from “We Are The Pigs”). The last song “Song For My Father” reminds me of “The Asphalt World” from “Dog Man Star” – both has a reasonably long instrumental piece within the song. And the lyrics of “Dust And Rain” – I am the dust, you are the rain, I am the needle, you are the vein – has a similar theme to the opening song of their reunion album “Refugees” – You are the dust and I am the rain, let’s go out in the rust and let’s gather the change.

Here is the opening track “Love Is Dead” that probably sums up what the sounds is like for this album. I think I am falling in love with Andersen’s solo piece of work. (Note: Gosh! I have finally finished writing this blog. It took me forever to listen to “Brett Andersen”, “Here Come The Tears”, and “Dog Man Star” side by side with one another.)

Question: Can anyone guess who will be featured in Part 2 and 3? (Hmmm … let’s see how many people actually read my blog and manage to read pass the first line.)

Categories
Foreign Movie Reviews

Priceless – Fans Of Audrey Tautou Rejoice!

I am a huge fan of the French actress Audrey Tautou, ain’t no shame in it. Captivated by her award-winning French film “Amélie”, I try to follow her career in as much as I can. Like “The Spanish Apartment” and its follow-up “The Russian Dolls” as one of the characters in a romance drama between a group of friends with different nationalities, like “Pretty Dirty Things” as a lowly paid Turkish Muslim girl who works under a sexually predatory boss – one of the characters that portray what some of these immigrants have to live through, and like “A Very Long Engagement” – a romance drama that is dated back to World War I where imagination can become reality, worldwide viewers are mesmerized by not only her characteristic big eyes but also her fine acting. If you still don’t know who I am talking about, perhaps you may wish to recall the main actress played in “Da Vinci Code”. Yes, it was her – one of the French iconic figures known to the world.

I like “Priceless” because it is good to see Audrey Tautou finally took up a more “normal” role and have showed the world how mature, sexy, and seductive she can be – a side that I don’t recall seeing often on screen. “Priceless” is a romance comedy of a girl who preys on rich men for their money and a man who pretends to be one only to find out that this plan of his is not sustainable. You may call this a chick-flick but I have not seen one with so much acting in it. I am not sure how the female audience reacts but it is certainly a feast to my eyes to see Audrey Tautou dressed in top French branded fashion – from head to toe.

You may wish to watch the trailer from the film website though I feel that they have given out too much of the plot. Only take a look if you don’t mind the spoilers. Click here to access the film website.

Categories
Other People's Lives

What Happens When Happy People Jog?

Cythia's back!

Today is Friday so let’s do something light, shall we? And let’s take a break from all the serious serious reviews.

So, what happens when happy people jog? Answer: You can certainly see their happy smiles from the back! That’s right. When Cynthia returned from her jogging one evening, I was shocked by what I have seen behind her. I quickly grabbed my camera phone, asked her to stand still, and took a picture. When I showed Cynthia what I saw from her back, she could not stop laughing. Happy people eh?

To those friends who have asked how I have been because my blog has been quiet lately, well, thank you for thinking of me. There is a certain dry spell on my pool of inspiration and interestingly, from past history, these are the months that I do not usually have any artistic outputs such as songwriting. On top of that I am stuck with a book I wish to finish fast so that I can do another book review and I have also got stuck with one music review blog that I am still thinking of how to write.

Well then, a quick update from me and wishing you all a happy weekend!

Categories
J Pop Music Reviews

Mika Nakashima’s Yes – Enough To Please The Fans

Some Japanese artists are so productive. Not long ago back in January I wrote a review for Nana Starring Mika Nakashima. Turns out that the new rock sound from her one-off-band assembled during the filming of Nana and Nana 2 is also … one off. How disappointing for me as I do enjoy her new sound. In her new album, she is back to her original light and mellow style. Fans who like her rather fragile (or weak depending how you view it) and soothing vocal will continue to support her career – even for mildly disappointed fans like me.

The album opens with the song “I Love You” (feel free to follow the YouTube link to sample) – a typical Mika Nakashima song that just can’t go wrong. Her latest single “Sunao na Mama (素直なまま)” – an upbeat song – turns out to be one of my favorite songs from the album. Unfortunately, this wonderful video is not featured in the DVD that comes with the CD. In this new album “Yes”, Mika Nakashima has also put in some heavy gospel influenced songs such as “Cry No More” and “All Hands Together”. As recorded in her DVD, she performed “What A Wonderful World” live inside a Chapel. I found the video pretty powerful. While I cannot find the same clip from YouTube, there is a live performance that is very closed to the DVD version – vocal-wise that is.

If you are already a fan of hers, why not “Yes”. If you happen to like her voice, perhaps it is time for you to check out her new album?

Categories
Music Reviews Pop Rock & Alternative

Hinder’s Extreme Behavior – A Decent Rock Album Less Of Originality (Read On For A Surprise!)

I have just purchased another batch of CDs so I better publish the reviews of the last batch fast. Expect another few on the way. Writing an album review can be at times tedious. Sometimes it takes 5 to 10 rounds for me to get into an album. Sometimes I need to refer to some of the older releases to make comparison.

Hinder is a new band from Oklahoma City and their debut “Extreme Behavior” sounds awfully like the band Nickelback. Hence, some listeners may slam it down as unoriginal though to me, while Nickelback’s song quality tends to be uneven within the album, “Extreme Behavior” as a whole sounds decent.

Again, here are the YouTube links of some of my favorite songs from the album. I bought “Extreme Behavior” because of one song – “Lips of an Angel”. If you have been listening to the radio lately, you should be able to recognize the song immediately. Follow up to that powerful slow rock is “Better Than Me”. It is hard not to love that song if you have already fallen in love with “Lips of an Angel”. Their powerful opening “Get Stoned” probably rounds up what Hinder’s sound and lyrics are all about. I especially love the video. It is hot.

Besides the not-too-original-but-yet-contagious rock sound and the frontman’s characteristic coarse voice, lyrically it is sexy and mainly talks about defunct relationship (versus Nickelback’s lyrics on defunct family). The opening song “Get Stoned” has set the tone of the entire album: Go home and get stoned cause the sex is so much better when you’re mad at me … the break up is worth the make up sex you’re giving me. Some found the lyrics of “Room 21” extremely sexy about a girl the singer picked up and what went on behind closed doors. “Lips of an Angel” is about an attached man who is still in love with his previous love: Well my girl is in the next room, sometimes I wish she was you … and I never wanna say goodbye but girl you make it hard to be faithful, with the lips of an angel. “Homecoming Queen” is a fun song: It’s been five years since I’ve seen her face, she is the holy ghost lost without a trace … Shame, shame, shame that our homecoming queen had a lot to prove and so many to please, she’s just somebody’s daughter looking for somebody to love her.

Since highly anticipated albums from bands like Linkin Park (click here to view their brand new video … what a reward for those readers who stay on reading this blog!) and Bon Jovi (click here to view their new single played in American Idol) won’t be hitting the stores till a later day, you may satisfy your craving for rock music with Hinder’s “Extreme Bahvior”.

Categories
Fantasy & Sci-fi Movie Reviews

Spiderman 3 – The Most Memorable Of All

It must have been 10 years since I watched a movie at Bugis Junction. Two days ago, Cynthia and I were dining at our favorite Thai restaurant at The Heeren and we were wondering what has happened to our Movie Review Squad that has been out-of-action for two weeks. We blame it to the lack of good movies available. Perhaps the good ones have been held back for the summer blockbuster release. Suddenly, a thought came into my mind: Spiderman 3. So I picked up the phone and sent Tong Kiat a text message. I love modern technology. A single thought was converted into 3 online movie tickets through a chain of signals in a matter of minutes.

What I adore more on modern technology is the arrival of the new Sony’s true 4K digital cinema projector that has a resolution of 4,096 by 2,160-pixel (hence “4K”). This level of resolution has overtaken the current HD standard. That is to say, watching movies at a cinema yields a better visual experience than watching them at home for some who can afford a home theater system. Tong Kiat told me via text messages that we had two options for “Digital 4K”: VivoCity or Bugis Junction. Frankly speaking, so long as the seating is good, I care less.

I care less because I know that parking is going to be horrendous for either mall. The difference is that for VivoCity, you spend 45 mins to an hour driving inside the car park hunting for an empty lot while for Bugis Junction, you spend roughly the same amount of time queuing outside the car park.

I remember how impressive the first episode of “Spiderman” was. The computer generated effect of how Spiderman navigated around the high-rise buildings was jaw dropping at that time. I also loved the chemistry between Spiderman and his girlfriend M.J. These positive attributes carried over to the second episode. Entertaining as these two episodes were, I did not find the storyline memorable at all. This new episode though is different. It is about love and friendship in the theme of revenge and forgiveness whereby it is how one makes his or her decisions that defines character. That, is a memorable theme. Storyline aside, as someone who has studied computer graphics, the scene of the “birth” of Sandman was perhaps the highlight of my evening. How did they do that?! Love the music that accompanies the scene too.

Edit: Gosh, I forgot. This episode is the most hilarious of all too.

Categories
I See I Write

Joost – A New Way Of Watching TV?

My good buddy Sing Chyun has passed me one of his three precious Joost closed-beta invitations (thank you!) which by now he should be able to send 99 invites like me. I hope that the number of invites one can send does not correlate with the amount of time one has spent watching Joost. Then again, according to the shocking statistics from YouTube, I have watched closed to 4,000 videos so far. How can that be true?!

Joost offers a multitude of TV channels that fit a certain segment of niche market. I suspect that more channels will open up as time goes by (hope it is not by usage). The first channel I stumbled across was “Alliance Atlantis Sci-Fi” and the first episode of “Total Recall 2070” (more than 40 minutes) was streamed into my computer in a better-than-VCD quality. I was impressed with the full screen quality. (Of course I was slightly surprised by some of the artistically filmed nudity scenes made in 1999 that by the way, it is not what Joost is about I ensure you.) Though I must say in normal circumstances I probably would not watch “Total Recall 2070” on TV but it is refreshing. The production is professional; the acting is also professional; the storyline though is strange. That is what sci-fi is about I guess. Gosh, I don’t even read sci-fi fiction. If I have time, I will certainly follow the rest of the episodes.

Joost does not offer video over the Internet Browser like YouTube. It has its own interface. The interface looks pretty though it took me quite a while to figure out how not to watch random Joost recommended videos and to choose my own. I am sure that is nothing wrong with the interface design. I am fair. I was just too overwhelmed by the experience I guess.

Joost interface has a translucent panel at the bottom that has the simple player control. It also allows you to switch videos within the channel and to switch channels within Joost. A translucent icon on the left “My Channels” upon clicked onto display a translucent list of channels that can be further explored to a list of available videos. Another translucent icon on the right “My Joost” is what makes Joost innovative. It has a list of widgets. There is a translucent clock, a rating mechanism, and amongst a few others, I like the chat-room a lot. The viewers of the same channel are brought together to chat while watching the videos. Much like having a group of friends watching TV in the same room. Of course if you don’t want to see any of these translucent features, you can just hide them all and watch TV alone. There is one more translucent icon on the top that gives forth an interactive menu that contains a little bit of history and background of the channel as well as a list of featured videos in some cases.

The next channel I watched after that mildly-shocking-sci-fi-channel was “Live @ Much” and I have watched a 40 minutes worth of live interview with Beyonce in Canada in front of her fans. It is much like E! Entertainment and I enjoyed getting to know Beyonce better. Time to get her new CD! The channel “Ministry of Sound Music Videos” is interesting. I got to see a MoS DJ from London taking the viewers a short tour on where are the DJs’ favorite hangout places such as underground record stores, restaurants, shops, and watching the street of London brought back sweet memory. London does not seem to have changed much. The Chinatown still looks the same and so does the iconic Empire theater.

“Lime” is an unique channel with a tag line “healthy living with a twist”. I have watched some of the motivational short clips and all of a sudden, I feel empowered. It is just amazing. And as someone who is passionate on music creation, I can’t give “XL Recordings Channel” a miss. They have some of the original artists under their label as well as some that license their music to them. Big names such as “The White Stripes” and “Thorn Yorke”. Inside Joost, they showcase two of the acid rock bands “The Prodigy” and “Basement Jaxx”. Again, refreshing videos.

At present I am not sure what Joost’s business model is like. It doesn’t seem to have advertisements, it is free TV, and they want to create a community within Joost. Joost is more than TV-on-demand like our MobTV (which is not free). Joost is an experience.

Edit: I just realized that from May, all current Joost users are able to invite an unlimited number of friends. Also, Joost’s advertisement partners have started to come in so I guess that answers why it is “free”.

Related Links: Joost Official Site, XL Recordings, Lime, Ministry of Sound, and Much Music.

Categories
Music Reviews Pop Rock & Alternative

A Tribute To Simply Red – For The Nostalgic Fans

Simply Red is not exactly a commercially successful band outside UK and Europe but yet it draws fans like myself who care to discover a few gems from each release. This morning, prior to writing this review, I picked up one of my favorites record “Stars (1991)” and listened. Now that I am listening to their latest release “Stay (2007)” as I am writing this review, I may reconsider my initial assessment of “grossly inadequate compares to Stars“. I am not so sure if familiarity made me fell in love with “Stars (1991)” in the first place as I do get to enjoy “Stay (2007)” more after each listen. Perhaps, some albums are less assessable than others – only for those who care to dig in.

What better way to introduce Simply Red to my readers than to showcase some of my favourite Simply Red tracks? I won’t cluster my home page with tons of YouTube videos and I shall provide the links instead for your viewing pleasure. So sit back, relax, and let DJ Wilf do the job. Just click whichever link you feel like it.

Back in my University days, one of my favourite past time was to listen to the daily countdown on radio. Gosh, I still remember the name of the radio station – Fox FM it was (what a nostalgic day!). And every night, for some period in time (during my 2nd or 3rd year), I looked forward to listening tracks from the album “Stars (1991)”. Out of all the videos I found in YouTube, this live version of “Stars” is my favorite video. But my favorite song of all time? That has to be “For Your Babies“.

Prior to “Stars (1991)”, there are some real classic songs of Simply Red. Top of my list would be “If You Don’t Know Me By Now“. That song is timeless. After their success with “Stars (1991)”, Simply Red released a cover heavy album “Blue (1998)” and there are some gems inside such as “The Air That I Breathe“. Around the same period, Simply Red was dumped by their record label and they have gone independent. “Your Eyes” from the album “Love and the Russian Winter (1999)” is probably my second favorite track of all time. Perhaps not this original version as shown in YouTube but the Mousse T Acoustic version from their greatest hits “It’s Only Love (2000)”. Inside that greatest hits, there is another song of my favourite “Lady Godiva’s Room” that is not to be missed.

I have a mixed feeling towards their subsequent release “Home (2003)”. It contains two of the strongest offerings “Home” and “Sunrise” (I prefer the more melancholy album version of “Home”) but the rest do not seem to match up to these two. Perhaps I need to revisit that album again. By the way, these two music videos are surprisingly hot in YouTube.

If you only wish to purchase one album from Simply Red, “Simplified (2005)” is the one. It is a collection of their classics stripped back to mainly acoustic arrangements and inside this album, they did a cover for “A Song For You” that without doubt is my favorite of all their covers. In the same album, I love the strong opening track “Perfect Love” as well – the only new song in that album.

Back to their tenth album, “Stay (2007)”, the singles “Oh! What A Girl!” and “So Not Over You” may not have the same punch as some of the tracks from “Star (1991)”, I think they have done enough to please the loyal fans. As for me, my favorite track is the upbeat and more music rich track “Good Times Have Done Me Wrong”. Though not my top 2 favorite albums of Simply Red, “Stay (2007)” definitely remains as my top 3 favorites for now – no less.

Now you know my favorites. Tell me, what are yours?