Movie Review: Taichi 0 太极之从零开始

On 1 Oct, I woke up and received an email which instantaneously brightened up my day: An invitation to attend the Gala Premiere of Taichi 0 太极之从零开始!!

Thank you, thank you, thank you omy.sg! I can finally get to see Tony Leung and Stephen Fung! Yay!!

Unable to contain my excitement, I messaged my friend Jalea to meet up for early dinner and get star struck with me. Our excitement was very well contained by a simple dinner at Kim Gary Restaurant,shopping at Daiso and wine-drinking at Vivocity whilst taking in the splendid evening view of the harbor and Sentosa.

Finally after much waiting, the moment had arrived!

From afar, we could already see people crowding excitedly around the red carpet area, holding cameras and getting ready their camera phones in the hope of catching the best shots of their idols. Jalea and I managed to get a good spot where we could capture the grandeur of the celebrities.

The emcee, a reknown radio deejay, did a wonderful job of giving a synopsis of the movie and introduction of the various characters and actors of the movie, in an extremely humorous way . Most importantly, he gave me a poster of the movie and hence he rocks! hahaha! He also warmed up the crowd really well, making the crowd's welcoming of the celebrities a really warm and grand one.

After some martial arts demonstration from the young kungfu masters from the Martial House, the celebrities finally arrived to everyone's keen anticipation.

Dressed in casual jeans and shirts, Tony Leung, Stephen Fung and Yuan Xiaochao still looked great! Here are some shots of our star struck moment:

After addressing the several insightful questions posted by the emcee, they took their leave as the keen movie previewers headed up to the theatre.

Taichi 0 太极之从零开始 turned out to be an entirely different movie from most Hong Kong kung fu films! I am particularly impressed and surprised by Stephen's daring step to illustrate this traditional martial arts form in a humorous and tastefully artistic way, and also his move to film the Part 1 & 2 together, with the second part to be on-screen three weeks after the Part 1. Combining Stephen's interesting directing angles and new approach in graphics, Sammo Hung's experienced and great martial arts choreography, Yuan Xiaochao's clean and sharp martial arts moves and Tony's great portrayal of a somewhat warped Taichi Master, this movie proved itself to be entertaining and funny while not compromising on the seriousness and gracefulness of Taichi.

In the movie, Stephen also took efforts to introduce most of the main martial arts actors by listing their credentials and past films briefly whenever they pop up on the screen and I applaud him for his respect for these martial arts masters who have kept this traditional Chinese martial arts form alive and well-respected by the world.

There is also strong chemistry among the actors, despite some of them being new in the industry.

Curious? Don't take my word for it. Hop on the nearest cinema near you and see it for yourself :) 

Here is an extract of the synopsis from Golden Village Cinemas' website:

As an uncommonly gifted child, Yang Luchan had a fleshy abnormality that holds tremendous power growing on his forehead. However being teased as the town fool, Yang's mother spurs him to practice martial arts, and following her wishes, Yang travels the distance to come to Chen Village to learn TAI CHI.

At this legendary village, everyone practices TAI CHI and uses TAI CHI in every aspect of their lives. Nevertheless, it is forbidden for a villager to disclose TAICHI to an outsider, and Yang learned this the hard way.

Upon arriving at the village, locals discourage Yang by challenging him with fights. From the strong men to hold ladies to children, everyone defeats Yang with their TAICHI moves. After facing the toughest battle and being defeated by Master Chen's beautiful daughter Yuniang, Yang is determined to master the art of TAICHI and he needs to find Master Chen.

Little does Yang know, the poor strange man who he befriended with is in fact Master Chen who then saved him from the duel with Yuniang. Master Chen realizes Yang's genius and disguises himself to secretly guide Yang to his self realization of TAICHI.

One day, a frightening steam-powered machine came to the village, lead by Fang Zijing, a childhood friend of Yuniang. He has bribed government officials to permit him to build a railway that will run straight through the village. Yang decided to join forces with Yuniang to defeat Fang Zijing and destroy the machine. This brave act may just win the hearts of the villagers....

You can catch the trailer here.

Movie Review: Ted

Ted? Who's Ted, you may be wondering.

Well, Ted is an amazingly funny (and crude) bear who is alive, kickin', smoking weed, cursing and getting the girls in town!

On 29 Sept, with thanks to omy.sg and United International Pictures Singapore, my friend Edwin and I had the chance to catch the preview of 'Ted'.

To be honest, I was not keen at first by the idea. I mean seriously, a talking crude teddy bear? It was like the idea of seeing Tweety smoking cigar and holding a bottle of beer to me then.

But alas, truth is that I've never regretted going for the preview. Well, when I nearly died of hyperventilation and stitches due to laughing too much, I might have regretted that tiny weeny bit ;)

The sypnosis adapted from http://www.cathaycineplexes.com.sg/movie_detail.aspx?status=coming&movie_id=635 is as follows:

Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane brings his boundary-pushing brand of humor to the big screen for the first time as writer, director and voice star of Ted. In the live action/CG-animated comedy, he tells the story of John Bennett (Mark Wahlberg), a grown man who must deal with the cherished teddy bear who came to life as the result of a childhood wish…and has refused to leave his side ever since.

But trust me when I say the movie has much much more to offer than this!

The story outline may seem a little too simple and the 'villian' a tad too childish but hey, after all, this is a story evolving around a man and his teddy bear who came across due to one wish he made one night when he was a child right? lol

What really impressed me was the ability of the script-writer to make Ted come alive and believe me, there will be moments when you will forget Ted is a bear and you go 'what? this is a bear?'. It goes to show how well the script-writer and directors know about human interactions so much so that they can successfully make every body language, words, facial expression and reactions Ted made looked so human-like! Thumbs up to them~

What I really like at the end of the movie was the movie I translated from the movie. In our everyday lives where we have to race through the hustles of urban life and cope with tremendous stress from various aspects of our lives, it's always good to have a child in us to keep our sanity and optimism in place.

All in all, it was a really entertaining and witty show and I would not even mind watching it twice!

Well done, United International Pictures. Great movie!

Sadness

Sometimes when my heart is in pain, I starve myself to divert the pain and to feel alive.

Don't Stop Believing

Wow, it's been amazingly long since I posted anything here. As usual, being a typical urban dweller, apart from being immersed in the sophistication of the city and the convenience of entertainment, I also have my expected share of grumbling at snail-like traffic situations, mountainous piles of work and have I mentioned the sluggish pace of my comrades? Sometimes, it makes me wonder if the evolution of IT has caused people's limbs to shrink and malfunction -  80% of the population here seems to lose the ability to walk at reasonable speed. Or maybe strutting is the new walk?

As some of my friends know, I am officially a Hobo for now..yipee!!! Not like this:

 

 or this:

 but more of something like this:

 Given all the time I have in my hand now, I was browsing youtube yesterday and was somewhat deeply inspired by some of the videos found online of ordinary people who never stopped believing in pursuing what they really love in life - Singing.

For example, Sung Bong Choi from Korea's Got Talent.

He ran away from his orphanage when he was 5 years old and had since then lived in stairwells, lifts, toilets and practically anywhere for 10 years, living off earnings he got from selling drinks, gum, cigarettes etc.

One day he was at a club and heard a singer singing sincerely on the stage and was so touched by it that he has since then believed singing is what defines him and started learning singing on his own.

Singing makes him happy in his dark days and he believes in it, in the hope that someday it will give him a chance to have a normal life like other people in the society.

When he got on the stage in Korea's Got Talent and told his story, everyone wasn't sure of what to expect. But his amazing voice in his rendition of 'Nella Fantasia' was so amazing that it touched everyone and made the judges cry. Watch his performance here.

Another case which touched me very deeply is Australia's Got Talent's Emmanuel Kelly.

Emmanuel and his brother were orphans of the war in Iran and had some physical impairments as a result of the war. THey were adopted and brought to Australia by their adopted mother and have been raised there under her delicate hands and big heart ever since.

When asked of his age, he said he does not know, related his story and saddened the hearts of everyone, including myself. When he sang, it was so amazingly touching that I broke down like the audience and the judges. It's not only his story, but also his strong belief in life and despite the harshness he has been experiencing, he never stopped smiling. Watch his touching rendition of John Lennon's 'Imagine' here

Of course there are many more like Britian's Got Talent's Jamie Pugh, Suan Boyle and Paul Potts.

Everyone mentioned above are ordinary people like you and me. Despite the hurdles they have to crossed in life and the possible discrimination they get from the public (check out this expression in Susan's Boyle's video at 0:45 when she said she wanted to be a professional singer), they have never given up on themselves and have never stopped believing in pursuing their passion whenever they can.

So let us all stand strong and tall and never stopped believing. Someday our stories and belief will find centrestage and touch people's hearts and bring us somewhere too:

Don't Stop Believing.

omy.sg review: Flowers of War

I remember when I first saw OMY.sg's invitation, I was rather skeptical about how much I would enjoy this movie. After watching the trailer, I had a feeling it might be the kind of movie I like and need. After watching the movie, it is exactly what I needed to escape from weariness.

Given the cushion sofas of extreme comfort, it would be very easy for someone like me to fall asleep in a war film. Believe me when I say that I have NEVER watched ' Black Hawk Down' ( I would be down) or 'Saving Private Ryan' (I would need help!). Surprisingly, as someone who hates seeing flying body parts, blood and exploded chunks of meat, I actually enjoyed the movie thoroughly.

The movie can actually be summarised into a line:

A group of prostitutes and money-grubbing mortician, who sought refuge in a church, found themselves uniting and discovering the humane and selfless side of them in their quest to save a group of young convent girls from the Japanese and the harshness and inhumanity of the war.

However, despite its length of 160 minutes, the show was amazingly captivating despite it being shot in almost one single location - the church most of the time.

My movie company for the night commented it was the most graphic war film he had ever watched, and indeed it was. But that made the whole experience so real and breath-taking that I had lost track of time and reality in the movie. I could feel every limb being blown off, every ounce of pain felt and every bit of nobleness of the heros and heroines and every bit of hatred for the Japanese.

The actors and actresses portrayed their characters so well that I felt like a lizard crawling around the church all the time witnessing the whole ordeal. It felt really well.

Thumbs up to one of my favourite Academy Award Winner actor Christian Bale. His amazing acting abilities once again did not disappoint me. In fact most of the time he made me cry (but I still Love you, Chris!!!). His transformation from a materialistic, heartless, drunk and lecherous mortician to a noble, empathetic and self-sacrificing priest-in-disguise was brilliant and so well-played it didn't feel drastic or unreal.

The young actors and actresses were also very impressive for their age and could break the heart of any lady or parent with their tears.

The filming was excellent, capturing every detail, expression and grandeur.

All in all, it was a great show. It reminded me of my late great grandmother. Great granddad was killed in the Japanese Occupation and she had been single and raising the kids every since then. Though it is a sad thought but I almost felt her pain, terror and loneliness through this film.

Great Grans, you had been through so much and I hope you are happy at where you are now. Still wish you are here.

Thanks, Omy.sg. You gave me that moment of escape with this great film.

And for all of you reading this, go and watch it and if you like it as much as I do, I hope you will come back and like my post.

Love

Just watched the highly acclaimed Taiwanese movie 'Love' with my university buddies Alvin, Boon, Weiliang and Connie yesterday.

 

I must say I was at first worried when I heard from Connie it was not a comedy but an inspirational about Love. I mean...Look at me - school plaited skirt, laced boots, dark make-up, heavy accessories, soft corset like blouse...I looked like I belonged to the next theatre showing Ghostrider instead!

But the show turned out to be really hilarious and heartwarming. Though I had lost count on how many times I turned around and muttered 'SO TAIWANESE' to Connie on the characters' response and actions, I had nevertheless thoroughly enjoyed the show.

Story is simple:

• A famous model Zoe, used to living off rich men, got acquainted with a simpleton Kuan by coincidences. During the time they spent together, she realized maybe there is something more to all the riches and fame in life - Love. Zoe then gave up her glamorous life, left rich businessman Lu, stood on her own feet and got a job to seek back her own integrity in life, and eventually sought the Love that had been missing in her life - Kuan.
  
  
  
• YiJia realized she was pregnant with the child of Kai, her best friend's boyfriend, leading to a painful struggle among the three -Kai still loved her best friend Ni, but Ni hated both of them, as he tried to win her back while YiJia decided to keep the child under Kuan's advice.
  
  
• Mark - a suave Taiwanese was a typical ladies' man - the kind whom you can imagine beautiful young chic girls will walk beside. He had never allowed any lady to get acquainted with his true feelings until he met Ye in Beijing -  the least likely woman you can imagine to be with him. Through her, he experienced real love between her and her son and decided to open up his heart to experience Love.

It's a very simple film with simple plots but somehow a film full of love:

• Parental Love : Single mother Ye's love is even more heartwarming
• Brotherly Love: "I will take care of both of you" Kuan said to YiJia and stopped her from abortion
• Old School Love: YiJia's parents were always complaining about each other and saying bad things about each other but they truly love each other. Just being Asians and not expressing it out
• Persistent Love : Kuan and Ni finally decided to be strong and forgive mistakes and continue on
• Friendship Love: Ni forgave YiJia and even asked to be the Godmother of their child
• Realized Love: Zoe found one thing that has been missing in her life - Love
• Noble Love: Lu wanted Zoe to go back to him so badly but told her to seek her true happiness which he knew he would never be able to give her but Kuan could

 I took a step back and looked at my own life. The two real relationships I had was persistent love.

With HK, it was persistent and dumb. I gave up everything I had in my life then to fly across thousands of miles to him, for Love. Despite his constant abuse and cheating, I still persisted on and believed 'Love' can conquer all. I failed but never regretted though - I've learnt lessons in life from it.

With the second, it was persistent too. I probably should have ended it when everyone around me told me it was killing me and it won't work but I was persistent and wanted to push on...afterall he tried to. It ended but had given me beautiful memories for me to bring on in life.

For Kuan, his persistence brought him his Love. Mine didn't apparently but it brought me experiences which is both lovely and valuable.

I spend some time thinking what is Love then? What is so noble about it that people spend a whole lifetime just looking for it?

I guess my answer will always be the same as it has always been:

When I wake up in the morning and the first person who comes into my mind is him;
When I am down and the first shoulder I want to cry on is his;
When I am happy and the first person I want to share with is him;
When we spend time together and the only person who can bring on that real smile is him.

When he is down and he needs to run to someone, it's me;
When he is happy , part of the reason is me;
When we spend time together and he smiles, part of the reason is me;
When he is at his worst, he can keep away from everyone but not me.

Love need not be for eternity but will bring on eternal fond memories. It will happen when a couple feels that they want to experience that moment of togetherness and they believe in it. I always believe there is no reason for anyone to love another. Feelings can never be explained, so why should love be an exception?

These are my definition for Love and have always been all my life.

What's yours? :)