Crazy Rich Asians

There’s been a lot of hype surrounding the release of the movie “Crazy Rich Asians”.  I’ve read the various viewpoints – Asian-American, Singaporean, Malaysian.   I went into the cinema with an open mind, intending to watch it as a RomCom that happens to be set in Singapore.

I was surprised to find myself almost moved to tears when the movie opened with the big band sounding track by Jasmine Chen “Waiting For Your Return”.  I am not sure why it affected me so.  Maybe because I never thought I would see Chinese music being featured so prominently in a Hollywood studio production.

The rest of the movie was enjoyable, with surprisingly good performances from Singapore actors Koh Chieng Mun, Selena Tan, and especially Tan Kheng Hua.  They certainly deserved their roles, and what a refreshing change from the melodramatic performances  we see from them in  MediaCorp productions!

Whether or not one agrees with how good the movie is, it IS breaking box offices records .  But what I see as most impactful that has come out of this production are the conversations about Race and Diversity that has arisen. 

About time, I say

Decibels

I wonder why movie theaters crank up the volume so high?

A & I watched "Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit" on Lunar New Year's Day (oh so festive of us) and during the scenes with car chases/bombs exploding/guns shooting, the decibel levels were high enough to hurt my ear drums.

I resorted to putting in ear plugs which I always carry in my purse (a habit I developed thanks to the various very loud rock gigs I attended when my boys were performing in high school).  Even with ear plugs on, the volume was high enough that I could still hear the dialog being spoken in the movie.

Ridiculous.

6 degrees of Separation

A good friend in Beijing just told me that she & her husband knows Hugh Jackman's father.

Hugh Jackman.

HUGH JACKMAN!!!

One of my favorite actors!

In this shrinking world of ours, it's funny where life brings us & whom we meet along the way.  They say that we are all connected in six or less degrees of separation.  True or not, all the connections that I have made in life this far have been precious.

Here's to connecting some more....

Mr A-Z

It's been six years since I've watched Jason Mraz perform 'live' on stage,  Tonight A & I watched him perform in HK at the Asia-World Arena, and what a show it was.

His talent has only grown & matured over the last several years.  The show he put on tonight was what I would call a "musician's" show, with a full band including a brass section and strings & keyboards.  Very unlike the one he put on in 2006 with Toca Riviera but just as entertaining.

His repertoire included oldies from his earlier albums including an emotional rendition of You & I Both, and Mr Curiosity.   Of course, he had to include the ever-popular "I'm Yours" (and the crowd went wild when he played the opening intro!), "Remedy", the song that first put him on the charts, and his latest hit "I Won't Give Up".

But my favorite of the night, which almost moved me to tears was "93 Million Miles" as its lyrics touched a chord in my heart as W will be off to college soon, on his first step towards independence from us.

Enjoy....

Finales

On the one hand, I am excited and so looking forward to watching Part 2 of "Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows".

On the other, I am also sad, as it is the last installment of the series. Although not all of them were well made, these movies (and the books, of course) have brought some magic into our lives, not matter how young or old we are.

Debut

W. & his band release their first EP this weekend.

I am eager to see what kind of reception they get. I have yet to listen to the whole thing, just a couple of songs at a few of their gigs.

In my biased opinion, pretty good, for a bunch of teenagers.

Stay tuned for details....

Movie Mania

Summer in the US usually means movie mania in our family.

Our list of "have-watched" so far with my verdict in a nutshell:

The Karate Kid - pleasant enough, but I still prefer the original one
The Last Airbender - awful
Inception - one of the best made movies I have ever watched
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse - better than the first two...but then that really doesn't mean much since the first two were pretty darn bad. The Twilight movies, like the books, are like whirlpools - fascinating to watch from afar, and then it pulls you in & draws you, unwillingly, into its swirling maelstrom of bad writing/acting, and you can only but helplessly allow them to do so......

Movies to watch before we return to the land behind the Great Firewall:
Dinner For Schmucks - starring the ever funny Steve Carrell
Charlie St. Cloud - a tearjerker starring Zac Efron - perhaps this may give him a chance to prove that he is not just a pretty face.

Movies that I want to watch but will probably be able to only catch on bootleg DVD's:
Eat, Pray Love - starring Julia Roberts, it is based on the book by Elizabeth Gilbert. A great & inspirational read.
Easy A - admittedly, this is targeted towards a teenage audience, but looks entertaining
The Other Guys - starring another funny guy Will Farrell
The Expendables (although this one has a high likelihood that it will be played in the Chinese theaters since one of its starts is Jet Li) - pack load of action movie stars
RED - another action movie with the unlikely Helen Mirren, Morgan Freeman, John Malkovich & Bruce Willis as aging retired ex-CIA agents. Helen Mirren wielding a gun is enough to make me want to watch this!

Shakira - Waka Waka (This Time for Africa) (The Official 2010 FIFA ...

I am not much of a soccer fan but this song makes me feel happy. The haunting African rhythms that accompany the catchy melody, together with the energetic moves of the dancers just makes be feel so good!

Waka waka!

Oolala 2

Watched Iron Man 2 again this past weekend. Did I say that Robert Downey Jr is sexy as h***?

Oh yeah, I did.

:)

Also, I can't help but keep staring at Mickey Rourke's clubbed fingers & wondering how damaged his body is from his previous "lifestyle of excesses".

Ooolala

After watching "Iron Man 2", I find Robert Downey Jr. sexy as h***.

(Hey, I am married but that doesn't mean I am deaf, dumb & blind).

;)

(...and he's a pretty good actor as well...)

Impressions from China - Maybe Rashomon Was Actually A Story About China

Maybe Rashomon Was Actually A Story About China - International - The Atlantic

Another one bites the dust.

Score one for the iron hand of the Chinese Government.

Zero for Dylan fans.

:(

Maternal Brag

I'd be the first to admit that I live vicariously through my kids.

They are both in a rock band & have been playing guitar & bass guitar for a few years now. They have both shown musical talent which my husband & I sometimes wonder from whence it comes. A. doesn't play music & is just slightly tone deaf (*GRIN* sorry dear). And I can hold a tune & took the obligatory piano lessons growing up, but never was creative enough to write songs, which is what my guys do.

I remember trying to form a "rock band" with my sister & a friend. Very unsuccessfully - 'nuff said.

And now, here they are, my progeny, performing at gigs, occasionally earning money, writing music & lyrics, and tonight winning a recording deal at a music fest!

Whether or not they eventually make music their career, I don't know. But I know that if they have passion for it, I will not discourage them from following their dream, nor quash their aspirations.

I am a proud Mom.

John Mayer in Concert

I saved the highlight of my trip to Houston for last to write about. It was a tough fight between the Houston Rodeo & John Mayer, but in the end, I think John Mayer had the edge that appealed to the groupie in me...:)
He performed at the Toyota Center in downtown Houston, home of the Houston Rockets (basketball team). It was an impressive venue & though we were not in the best seats of the house, we were at a good enough vantage view to appreciate his performance.


The opening act for John was Michael Franti & the Spearheads, most well known for their one & only top 20 hit Say Hey I Love You. Their songs were catchy, with a touch of reggae, & blues thrown in. I couldn't decide if they were a reggae group or more of a rocky bluesy kind of group. In any case, they got the crowd moving & revved up in preparation for John's show.
He started it with a bang, going straight into the song "Heartbreak Warfare". Most of the tunes he performed were from his latest album "Battle Studies". He had great rapport with the audience, and did not mention a word about his latest foot-in-mouth bruohaha from the Playboy interview, and I don't think anyone cared anyway!
He ended up the night on the floor (literally), playing the guitar with it lying on the floor at the end of his encore performance "Gravity".



Thank you, John, for a great night!

New Moon

OMG.

This movie is SOOO BAD.

'Nuff said.

The Big Screen

Avatar was an amazing experience. To call the experience "watching a movie" would not do it justice. The storyline was admittedly predictable & rather cliched (sorry, Mr Cameron!). However, all was forgiven by the jaw-dropping, newfangled CGI technology that was used in the making of this blockbuster epic (last count: more than 1 BILLION USD in ticket sales worldwide!!!)

Watching it in 3D made it even more awe-inspiring. What made it even more special for me was being able to see emotion on the animated faces of the Na'vi; and (I know this sounds strange) that James Cameron even made sure that Jake Sully's paraplegic legs looked appropriately atrophied!

The Avatar story reminded me of what happened to the Native Americans on the plains of North America hundreds of years ago. At the same time, it echoed currently trendy (and deserving) calls to save the Earth from the ravages of Mankind.

I enjoyed the movie, cliches and all, with its hopeful ending.

Another movie that I recently watched and enjoyed, this time on DVD, was The Blind Side, based on the true story of American football player Michael Oher. An African American teenager abandoned by his drug addict mother, he is taken in by a wealthy white family, the Tuohys, and goes on to fulfill his potential both academically as well as in athletics. He was recently drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the 2009 NFL Draft.

It is unabashedly a feel-good movie, full of hope & inspiration.

As you can tell, I love these kinds of shows where the underdog ends up triumphant, the heroes end up saving the day, and where good defeats evil. Much better than the gore & violence of movies like "Inglorious Basterds", or "Kill Bill" (not a Quentin Tarantino fan - sorry) or any of the other thousand and one horror movies out in the market today.

Next up - Sherlock Holmes - which is supposed to come to the big screens in Beijing next week *fingers crossed*...

Talking Dogs

I love this!

talking dogs @ Yahoo! Video

Happy 40th, Sesame Street!

I grew up watching Sesame Street. Every Saturday & Sunday afternoon without fail, I would be glued to the TV set watching Big Bird, Bert & Ernie, Gordon, Oscar the grouch, Kermit (pre-Miss Piggy days), Grover, the Count & Mr Snuffalopicus, laughing & learning along with the hundreds of thousands of kids around the world.

I knew all the words of all the songs, and would sing along with the muppets & their human friends Gordon, Mr Hooper, Maria etc etc.

This November marks the 40th season of this educational program.

Happy Birthday Sesame Street! And may you have many more!

Origins

Watched Star Trek yesterday & was blown away.

I've always been a fan of the Star Trek universe thanks to Star Trek: The Next Generation, & Star Trek: Voyager (have watched every single episode of TNG, been to a couple of ST conventions in the US & met one of the starts of Voyager, Garrett Wang. The original series was never appealing to me, a large part due to the fact that William Shatner's acting irks me (& still does despite his Emmy nomination). However, I was curious about the origins of how the diverse, & arguably the most ground-breaking ensemble in TV series history was formed & was hyped when I found out about the new Star Trek movie.

And it did not disappoint. It had me in tears (when Kirk's father died minutes after his birth) & laughter (mostly provided by the comedic talent of Simon Pegg who played Scotty). I was amazed that the producers could find actors who resembled the actors who played the original characters especially Zachary Quinto (yes, Sylar himself)who played Spock, and Karl Urban who played Dr "Bones" McCoy and had his speech patterns & enunciation down pat!

The other movie I watched recently that dealt with origins was Wolverine, with the ever-so-hunky Hugh Jackman. It had a darker storyline and more graphic violence, and despite some negative reviews, I enjoyed it thoroughly.

Next up: Night at the Museum 2. It has been a bumper month for movie blockbusters here in China where most English movies take months to make it to the big screen (if ever at all) hence resulting in the booming pirated DVD business.

Star Sighting

Guess who I walked past in the transit lounge of Changi Airport Terminal 3?

David Archuleta, runner up of last year's American Idol. Didn't recognize him at first until I heard him laugh the bashful way that he does.

He was smaller & shorter than I expected - probably why I didn't recognize him immediately. He was walking with an airport staff (maybe he is an unaccompanied minor???) in the opposite direction that I was going. When I heard his laugh, I turned around then saw some salesgirls gawking at him & muttering "American Idol...."

If he was David Cook, I would have run after him immediately!

:)

ROFLMAO!!!

I love David Letterman!!!



Don't know what's up with Joaquin Phoenix....is he on drugs or something???