The UrbanWire      

Enchanted is probably the biggest surprise hit of the year. For every girl who’s ever envisioned her perfect fairy-tale-inspired fantasy transforming into reality, she’ll take great pleasure in watching her dream come true in Walt Disney’s latest romantic comedy.

At first thought, the idea of a princess jumping into reality from the animated world may reek of a cliché Space Jam and Who Framed Roger Rabbit-wannabe stench.

But Enchanted is splattered with such a bubbly collection of a glittery, fun-filled adventure, gleeful twists and turns, gut-wrenching humour, a stellar Amy Adams and supporting cast, and whimsical, explosive song-and-dance scenes that collectively call for a new level of magical experience from Walt Disney.

Queen Narissa (Susan Sarandon) leaves no space for mercy towards the gorgeous Giselle (Adams) when her stepson Prince Edward (James Marsden) rescues her from the tower and plans to marry her, putting the queen’s throne at risk.

Narissa sends Giselle to “a place where there are no happily ever afters”s down the well from fairy tale land, Andalasia, to the bustling, fast-paced streets of New York, where she becomes a real live girl. Prince Edward follows soon after, together with a chipmunk buddy, but loses track of his true love.

Giselle chances upon Robert (Patrick Dempsey), a divorce lawyer, who doesn’t believe in fairy tales and is sure not to allow his 6-year-old daughter, Morgan (Rachel Covey) to be brainwashed by them. But Giselle changes that in time and settles in well with father and daughter. This pleases Narissa, who does what it takes to separate prince from princess.

It’s pure entertainment to watch a naïve little princess from a magical, musical fairy tale land be traumatised by the gritty reality of a world that does not work on a ‘happily ever after’ basis –a concept that she and every single fairy tale character live and wait for. Amy Adams embodies the character of Giselle beautifully, boosting every fray of her understanding of what a Disney princess character is, and owns every warble and twirl.

Dempsey, Marsden and Sarandon make for a stupendous supporting cast, the first living true to his McDreamy status from Grey’s Anatomy and emitting the right dose of charm that his character needs to complement the storyline that follows, and the second dazzles with his comical portrayal of the ignorant, fool-of-himself – yet innocent and fetching –prince who climbs on buses like he does on horses and regards television sets as magic mirrors.

Sarandon, with her high-collar, raised eye-brow image, is deliciously fun to watch. The Oscar winner pulls off the villain character of Queen Narissa brilliantly with her deep, mystifying voice, her versatility with facial expressions, and the natural presence she draws when she comes on screen. Partner those with a blue, black, and purple outfit, layers of dark makeup and a silver crown and it’s Maleficent from Walt Disney’s 1959 adaptation of Sleeping Beauty come alive.

Much of what Disney fans loved about the studio’s classic animated films is revisited in Enchanted. Accomplished and award-winning songwriters and composers, Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz, who worked on a number of Disney films like Aladdin (1992), Pocahontas (1995), The Little Mermaid (1989), The Prince Of Egypt (1998) and Beauty And The Beast (1991), collaborate to bring the delightful feel classic Disney animated films usually instil in viewers to the real world in Enchanted, with originals, “Happy Working Song”, “True Love’s Kiss” and “That’s How You Know”. Director, Kevin Lima, who brought us Tarzan (1999) and 102 Dalmatians (2000), adds to that with his deep understanding of Disney’s culture, bringing to the streets of New York massive song-and-dance numbers that remind you of classic scenes like Aladdin’s “Prince Ali” and The Lion King’s “I Just Can’t Wait To Be King”.

The ending, however, doesn’t bring out the essence of ‘happily ever after’as much as one would hope for it to. What writer, Bill Kelly, does to the personality of Giselle is unsatisfying as she loses the flightiness and optimism that made her so lovable to watch for the first 3 quarters of the film. Instead, the princess becomes a human being internally and in a way that is almost sad and definitely unsettling.

Nevertheless, there’s much about Enchanted for viewers to fall in love with. There may be an almost endless collection of seen-before Disney elements incorporated into the film – the typical poisoned apple, the concept of true love’s kiss, the elaborate, fluffy gowns, adorable animals which never fail to trigger “awww’s” by lending a hand or two in desperate times and a gathering of who’s who in the Disney world. But beneath the classic fairy tale elements that define our childhood imaginary friends and fantasies is a beaming bundle of bubblegum-like fun, love and laughter.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Movie Details:

Opens: Nov 22

Running Time: 107 mins

Language: English

Cast: Amy Adams, Patrick Dempsey, James Marsden, Susan Sarandon

Director: Kevin Lima

In the Peranakan tradition, pineapple tarts ave to be made in the most delicate and intricate manner, which often results in hours and hours’ worth of preparation time and sweat.

Each circular tart has to be of the exact same diameter (10 cm) and thickness (0.7 cm) as every other in the batch. The tart has to be baked for exactly 10 minutes; no less, so that it’s not too fragile that it crumbles when bitten, and no more, so that it doesn’t become too dry, hard or crispy. The pineapple jam filling has to be shaped to a perfect round and curve, and the circumference of each jam mound has to be kept constant throughout, so that any 2 pieces would look like identical twins.

Indeed, the Peranakan culture has with it an infinite collection of rules and traditions that leaves no space for exceptions and excuses, and playwright Desmond Sim (Beautiful Boxer) brings that across crystal clear in his latest piece, Postcards from Rosa. (Read more)

Continuing with its efforts to produce new and original Singapore plays, ACTION Theatre proudly present the premiere production of Postcards from Rosa by award-winning playwright Desmond Sim (Beautiful Boxer) as part of its Singapore Theatre Oasis programme.

A handmade comedy of Peranakan proportions produced by Ekachai Uekrongtham (Pleasure Factory) and directed by Loretta Chen (The Swimming Instructor), Postcards From Rosa is a hilarious, heartfelt and magical play about Bibik Rosa, a Peranakan grandma from Singapore’s Katong, who decides to go all the way ‘down under’ to visit her grandson after he’s stopped writing her.

Bibik Rosa carries with her a little suitcase containing a stack of postcards her grandson Benny has sent her from all over the world. Through her grandson, Rosa has ‘seen’ the Pyramids of Egypt, the Niagra Falls of America, the Big Ben of London, the Great Wall of China – all without ever leaving her little estate Joo Chiat, right in the heart of Katong. For years, they keep in contact through their postcards. Rosa writes to tell Benny about the good old days. Benny writes to let his grandma know what the future holds.

But one day, the postcards from Benny stop arriving.

As Rosa is growing old, and a little less sure of “living to a hundred”, she decides to take the trip of her life. There are a few important things she has to personally tell her grandson before her memory becomes too misty from the years’ passing.

Award-winning veteran actress, Neo Swee Lin (Phua Chu Kang), stages a one-woman show as she takes on the role of Bibik Rosa – from a 7-year-old to a 70-year-old – as well as every character which Rosa chances upon in her journey to discover.

A magical journey of laughter, hope, tears and discovery, Postcards From Rosa is also about life seen through a pair of cataract-clouded, but still sharp-as-an-eagle Peranakan eyes. Inspired by the memory of the playwright’s own grandmother, this is a most lovingly written Singapore play with an abundance of humour, pathos and beautiful lyricism.

Come see it with your whole family and all your friends. Postcards From Rosa opens an enchanting and nostalgic window into one of our nation’s most unique and treasured cultures so we can experience it together in all their warmest glow and most glorious colours.

Production Details:

Running Time: 75 mins

Cast: Neo Swee Lin

Director: Loretta Chen

Playwright: Desmond Sim

Tickets are being sold at Sistic the following prices:

Tuesday to Thursday & Sunday Evening, 8pm
Standard – $40

Friday & Saturday Evening, 8pm
Standard – $45

Saturday & Sunday Matinee, 3pm
Standard – $35

For more information, please visit the Sistic website.

Postcards From Rosa will be staged at The Room Upstairs @ ACTION Theatre’s 42 Waterloo Street from Nov 15 to Nov 25.

Lions For Lambs is an ambitious piece, betting too much of its money on legendary acts.
It’s not difficult to imagine how the film came about. Writer, Matthew Michael Carnahan, is struck by the desire to pen down his thoughts about the American war with Afghanistan. He’s then inspired to transform it into his 1st feature film screenplay. To ensure that his views are heard, he persuades household names, Meryl Streep and Tom Cruise, to play the key roles he’scrafted and Robert Redford to not only star in the film, but to direct and co-produce it as well.

Roping in such a class of powerhouse acts was an intelligent marketing scheme for the film. But like any film, when the plot and content that defines the story presents a definite failing formula, even the best of actors in this generation may not be able to save and add enough substance to the film for it to survive. That’s the case for Lions For Lambs.

The Potentially Riveting Plot

Janine Roth (Streep), a journalist of 40 years, has landed herself a coveted hour-long interview with brash White House hopeful Senator Jasper Irving (Cruise), during which he throws on her an exclusive – a new labour intensive and costly strategy to win the war; a strategy that started “10 minutes ago” as they began the interview, and a strategy he’s confident will bring the country the victory they’ve been waiting for (and that would secure his position in the White House).

Over at Afghanistan, 2 American student-turned-soldiers, Arian (Derek Luke) and Ernest (Michael Peña), find themselves trapped and semi-frozen in the blistering cold. As they wait for the military rescue team to arrive, they’re posed with the threat of dozens of Afghan soldiers.

At the same time, in California, Professor Stephen Malley (Redford), who once taught Arian and Ernest, talks about them to his jaded student, Todd (Andrew Garfield), in a bit to convince him to take more control of his life.

In the introductory scenes, the characters and plot that Carnahan builds instills a sense of anticipation for something strong and powerful and hopefully a fresh perspective to the much and deeply talked-about nation and war. In fact, there’

s much about an idealistic and possibly unrealistic senator, as well as a journalist torn between what she believes to be ridiculousness and her obligation towards a newswire, and the vast difference between the 2 characters, that suggests a potentially groundbreaking film. Link that with the 2 supporting stories, which are potentially captivating by themselves, and a promising cinematic experience is developed.

The Stale Bits and Pieces

As the film progresses, however, the thread that weaves the 3 stories together frays and the film starts to fall apart. The conversation between Roth and Irving heats up, but the content of it presents nothing new for the public to think about than what’s been said in reality –on one side, an attack on the hypocrisy of politics and the accusation on the American government for lying to the public, and on the other side, false reasons for war, ridiculous points of justification to try harder for a win and the placing of blame on the media for sensationalising the war and giving it a negative image.

In this situation, Cruise and Streep, who play off each others’ performance quite smoothly and bring justice to their respective characters (Cruise as the naïve, ignorant leader and Streep as the opinionated journalist and pragmatic citizen), rescue the scenes in this story and make them possible to watch and, at certain points, enjoy.

But this overpowers the absolutely mundane discussions that Redford has with Garfield as they throw at each other cliché hypothetical situations to justify their respective stands. The Afghanistan story also becomes meaningless with its failure to bring about the sense of patriotism that the 2 soldier-characters were designed to exude. It’s as if the parts of the film that really matters to Carnahan (and through which he brings across his views) are the Cruise-Streep scenes and that he crafted the professor and Afghanistan stories purely to make the film seem less biased and longer than what it would have been if Streep and Cruise’s lines ruled the script.

Back To Political Science Class

Lions For Lambs feels more like a lecture than a cinematic experience with its endless, heavy discussions about the American political standards and debates between journalist and senator regarding what the country really needs. As Carnahan brings across his views through the lengthy dialogue, the film comes through as a biased piece that has propaganda splashed all over it. There’s a constant hope for a climatic follow-up to each story, but it never comes.

It is a painful experience to walk out of the theatre, knowing that an extra half-an-hour’s worth would have made a world of a difference to the 90-minute film’s quality. Stories are left hanging, approaches to the subject matter are incomplete and no sense of proper closure to the stories is established. It’s evident Carnahan got too caught up in his objective to have his views seen and heard, he left behind his role as a filmmaker.

Powerhouse Acts Turned Powerless

Redford’s direction was smart and insightful, giving us plenty of perspectives and angles to modulate the monotony of the arguments.

On screen, however, both Redford and Cruise have given better performances. Perhaps it’s the string of insensate events that prevents them from breaking away from their dry portrayals. But Cruise’s style of acting and the method he adopts seem too familiar on the actor and is reminiscent of a less interesting version of his Jerry Maguire and A Few Good Men roles. Redford dulls audiences as much as he did in Spy Game, in which the actor also sits for most of the film and talks.

If there was one element that saved the film, it was Streep’s performance. The 2-time Oscar winner may have brought about much disappointment with her recent roles in Evening and Rendition, in which she seems to have toned down her performance as compared to her normal portrayals. But in Lions For Lambs, her versatility shines through as she brilliantly and tactfully plays with Roth’s dilemma and the psychological struggle that is associated with it.

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Movie Details:

Opens: Nov 8

Running Time: 90 mins

Language: English

Cast: Meryl Streep, Tom Cruise, Robert Redford

Director: Robert Redford

There was hardly any rest time for The Click Five in the 4 days that they visited Singapore. Yet, UrbanWire was able to claim some time from the boys’ hectic schedule to have a personal chat with them – and it was as personal a chat as any fan would have hoped for. (Read more)

How often have we watched a music video where the band plays ‘live’ to a school crowd? While most of us will only witness such an experience on reel TV, 2 very lucky schools managed to make this a dream come true on Oct 23 when The Click Five came to Singapore.

UrbanWire tailed The Click Five for a day as they sprang surprise visits on CHIJ St Joseph’s Convent (SJC) and Zhonghua Secondary School, who proved themselves worthy of the “exclusive The Click Five merchandise” that 987FM was giving out by winning an on-air poll conducted by the radio station.

It was madness in its highest degree. The Boston boys gave the students something to scream hysterically over when they entered through the back entrance of the hall in SJC and jumped up from under the table on Zhonghua Secondary’s main stage.

Fergie can sing!

The Dutchess appeared to have downed 3 gallons of herbal tea and pumped up her lungs for bigger, higher-ranging notes when the Black Eyed Peas performed at the Singapore Indoor Stadium on Oct 22.

Belting out notes and stretching her vocals (for as long as 15 seconds in one instance) for hit singles like “Don’t Lie”, “Shut Up” and “Hey Mama”, the 32-year-old proved to be more than just a girl with “lovely lady lumps” or a girl who simply got lucky with 3 number-one hits in her solo career thus far. With a slight echo effect and a higher audio level allocated to her microphone, she almost resembled an Aguilera.

The Biggest Party In Town

The Peas partied hard. For more than 2 hours (far longer than what most international artists would spend in a concert), they gave Singapore fans yet another riveting performance in their 3rd concert here in the last 3 years.

Will.i.Am, Taboo, apl.de.ap and Fergie got more than 8,000 attendees constantly on their feet and hollering back at them with massive numbers like “Don’t Phunk With My Heart”, “Let’s Get It Started” (also known as “Let’s Get Retarded”) and “Pump It”. One girl’s loose tooth even popped out from the intense jumping.

Fergie’s Special Feature

This time around, screaming fans got to enjoy an additional solo segment by Fergie, who turned up the heat with “London Bridge”, “Fergilicious” and broke it down with “Big Girls Don’t Cry”.

“I put on my little girly outfit for you!” said Fergie, before singing “Glamorous”. The girl was playful throughout the concert, shimmying her bosom with every beat of “My Humps”, throwing U.S. dollar bills towards the crowd, and pulling off a naughty British accent, which resembled a younger Geri Halliwell.

What’s always awesome about a Black Eyed Peas concert is the wide and fabulous collection of hits that the group’s been able to achieve over the years and which can easily sustain a crowd for 2 hours’ worth of non-stop sheer excitement. There’s hardly a number you won’t find favourable and familiar – from “Where Is The Love?” to “Bebot” – and hardly a number you won’t be able to groove to.

The Power of The Click Five
If there was anything disappointing about the Peas, it was the show’s could-have-been-louder opening. The quartet’s unexciting walk from behind the stage following the 20th Century Fox music theme hardly lived up to the heat and energy that opening act, The Click Five, pumped up among the audience for the 3-time Grammy-winning group.

The Peas could not have asked for a more electrifying act than The Click Five. The boys from Boston blew the crowd into a screaming chorus with their boyish good looks and signature tunes like “Catch Your Wave“, “Just The Girl” and tracks from their latest album, Modern Minds And Pastimes, including their newest single, “Empty”. But it was “Jenny” that invited the wildest roar and had female fans risking losing their voices and frantically jumping, as if calling out “I’m Jenny! Jenny’s here! And I’m saying ‘I will’ once and for all” as in the song.

Both acts were such crowd-pleasers in their own right and ways and secured at least as huge a crowd for their next gig in Singapore which, Will.i.Am shared for the Black Eyed Peas, could possibly be as soon as early next year.

Ang Lee’s latest directorial effort, Lust, Caution, will not be allowed to vie for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar when the awards are given out Feb 24 next year.

The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences deemed the film ineligible for the category, as there was an insufficient number of Taiwanese in control of the film’s artistic direction and in the key credits list. According to the academy’s regulations, at least some of the film’s personnel in music, cinematography, costume design and recording are required to be locals.

Although Lee is Taiwanese and so is co-scriptwriter, Wang Hui-Ling, the film’s cinematographer, Ridrigo Prieto, is Mexican and Oscar-nominated music composer, Alexandre Desplat (The Queen, The Painted Veil), is French. (Read more)

Factory Girl is abysmal. There are, unfortunately, too many things working against this film that makes it almost painful to watch. The root of them all is the lack of captivation that the story offers; an absolutely typical and cliché story of a rising star who allows drugs and fame to get the better of her.

It’s not that 60’s ‘it’ girl, Edie Sedgwick (Sienna Miller), and her legacy – if that’s what people see it as – is not worth paying tribute to. For anyone who knows her as just a star or the lead in Andy Warhol’s (Guy Pearce) films, Sedgwick’s story is definitely worth telling. But when the tribute comes in the form of a film, it doesn’t take a Steven Spielberg to know that there’s more to it than a process of storytelling. There has to be, for one, depth and variety to the coverage, not in the form of introducing fiction but rather a deeper, accurate understanding and exploration of Sedgwick and her struggles.

In this case, audiences have plenty of opportunities to see Sedgwick’s joys and weaknesses, from her first meet with a charming musician (Hayden Christiansen), with whom she falls in love, to her encounter with financial trouble and drugs. But they don’t get a chance to feel her emotions. They just pass with every event and chapter in the film’s coverage. It’s sad at first, but after a while, one gets used to it and perhaps couldn’t care less. This is a fine example of how mediocre and surface storytelling on screen could get.

There doesn’t seem to be a solid objective to many scenes. The people and events in Sedgwick’s life don’t shine enough to strike a purpose for bringing them into the picture. Boy, there might not even be a clear objective for the entire film. And that’s most probably the saddest part about this tribute; that viewers are going to walk out of the theatre not knowing clearly who Edie Sedgwick was and what it is that director, George Hickenlooper, is trying to say. With that, Factory Girl is as meaningless as the sex that Sedgwick has in the film.

And to think Singapore waited almost a year for this movie.

There could be so much more done with the story in these aspects and it’s a waste writers, Captain Mauzner, Aaron Golub and Simon Monjack, couldn’t see that. It’s times like these when we appreciate more the quality of Akiva Goldsman’s A Beautiful Mind and Susannah Grant’s Erin Brokovich. Who would have thought the story of elderly Nobel prize winner for economics, or the assistant in a small law firm trying to make ends meet as a single parent of 3 could turn out as captivating and charismatic as these scriptwriters wrote them to be? It’s the power of exploring the details in one’s personality or even a mundane life that helps carry a biographic film through smoothly. Factory Girl failed tremendously in this area.

Thankfully, the casting of Miller, Pearce and probably even Christensen as eye candy (because that’s the only positive thing about his performance) made Factory Girl possible to watch. Pearce brings justice to the oddness of Warhol, his quaint ways of thinking and the weird world in his head that few can come to terms with, let alone understand. Pearce, however, proves to know this character inside out, especially with his coiled reptilian actions and vampire-like complexion.

But it’s Miller who is truly brilliant and shines as Sedgwick, bringing to the screen every twitch and fidget that we know of the poor little rich girl to incorporate – intentionally or unintentionally, we don’t know – into her movements, and living up to the flighty personality that defines the breezy and hyperactive Edie Sedgwick. Is Miller acting or just playing herself? It doesn’t really matter. This is easily a mixture of Barbra Streisand in Funny Girl and Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast At Tiffany’s –absolutely classic.

Rating: 2 out of 5 stars

Movie Details:

Opens: Oct 25

Running Time: 87 mins

Language: English

Cast: Sienna Miller, Guy Pearce, Hayden Christensen

Director: George Hickenlooper 

Nathan Hartono is one brave soul.

In his latest album, Feeling Good With Nathan Hartono, the 16-year-old not only takes risks with already commercially successful hits and gives them a twist, but also tackles standards by music legends such as Stevie Wonder, Barry White and Frank Sinatra.
Named after his sell-out concerts at the Esplanade Recital Studio in June this year, Feeling Good With Nathan Hartono consists of 12 tracks that were recorded ‘live’ during his performance.

Managed by Music & Movement, the album features a diverse range of songs from classics like “Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head” to contemporary pieces like Keane’s “Everybody’s Changing”, and from ballads like King Pleasure’s “Moody’s Mood For Love” to a remix of the rock number “Seven Nation Army” by The White Stripes.

It seems Nathan is set to have his rich voice heard by a wide target audience, and for a 16-year-old who’s still considerably new to the music scene, that’s a huge chance he’s taking. Once again, herein is a brave soul.

The album exudes an overall light feel – one that almost makes it perfect for pleasant company music, whether Nathan’s whistling in Sweet’s “Daydream” or reaching the higher notes in “Moody’s Mood For Love”. Commendable tracks include his rendition of Frank Sinatra’s “You Make Me Feel So Young” and Barry White’s “My First, My Last, My Everything” which will easily capture listeners’ attention and bring them on a journey back in time with Nathan’s deep and supple vocals.

But it’s the quieter and mellower parts of the album that bring on the goose bumps. Stevie Wonder’s “If It’s Magic”, with its simple sounds, helped bring the focus on Nathan’s vocals and it shone quite marvelously, almost bringing justice to the definition of sweet serenading and marking the highlight of the collection.

Unfortunately, that’s as much that worked to Nathan’s favour in terms of the risks he took with his selection of songs. Bolder choices like “Seven Nation Army” and its disappointing music arrangement clouded his already unsuitable vocals, which the Teenage Icon quite evidently tried to alter but failed to pull through successfully. Numbers like Wonder’s “Sir Duke” and Michael Jackson’s “Rock With You” also proved to be too much of a challenge for the youngster, who failed to keep up to the standards of the band.

There’s only so much that could work in an album that attempts to reinvent or emulate the work of major superstars in music history. But for a singer in his teens, what Nathan obviously has is time to nurture his vocals and find the identity and style that suits him best.

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

The Brave One shouts at you a lot. If you haven’t already watched Jodie Foster’s much anticipated comeback performance in this film, expect to be taken aback by not just scenes that will jolt you out of your seats, but by a raw and rare performance by the 2-time Oscar-winning actress.

Foster plays New York radio host, Erica Bain, who seems to have everything in life worked out and in place, including a fabulous job that she loves and a fiancé, David Kirmani, played by Naveen Andrews (Lost, Bride and Prejudice), whom she holds dear to her heart. But all of these are put to risk when a tragedy takes place and rage and the desire for revenge overwhelms her and transforms her into a beastly being that even Erica herself would never have imagined herself drawing near to. A dark pursuit for justice begins. Nothing seems to be in her way except for Detective Mercer, played by Academy Award nominee Terrence Howard (Crash, Hustle & Flow), from the NYPD. In this precarious quest, Erica needs to distinguish the line that separates crime from justified murder while taking matters into her own hands.

Jodie Foster and the Role We’ve Been Waiting For

A role like Erica Bain who endures an immense degree of psychological trauma in such a mixture of action, drama, thriller and crime is one that Foster has always been famous for tackling and undoubtedly has a natural flair at pulling off fabulously. The Silence Of The Lambs, The Accused and Nell are all tangible testaments to that.

But it doesn’t take a film enthusiast to notice the roles haven’t exactly been working to Foster’s favour in recent years, including Flightplan, Panic Room and Inside Man, though her performances are still as intense and marvelous to watch and even saved some of these films’ box office performances.

It’s about time a role was written for Jodie Foster that would allow her to make a proper comeback to the film industry. And it seems the role of Erica Bain is what we’ve been waiting for. Foster gives a performance that will dawn upon us the realisation that Panic Room and Flightplan were just warm ups to her glorious return in The Brave One.

Foster did such a brilliant job with this role, encapsulating within and throughout her performance elements that keeps viewers captivated – from her endless range of believable solicitous expressions to the vast and drastic transformation that her character experiences, which few actresses of our time can pull off convincingly. She may not win the Oscar come February next year (we’re crossing our fingers for at least a nomination), but this is still going to be a performance we’

ll remember her by, alongside The Silence Of The Lambs and The Accused, both of which she was awarded the Academy Award for.

Bad Writers will Ride on Foster’s Fame

But it almost seems like The Brave One was made for Foster’s sake, either that or the production team was riding solely on her performance to earn the big bucks because the only really rewarding element is Foster (and maybe Neil Jordan’s smart direction and Terrence Howard’s above-average performance). Everything else seems to have been compromised in terms of logic, practicality, professionalism and art.

The weird pairing of Naveen Andews and Foster, for one, will leave you wondering what the casting director was thinking and what it is about Andrew’s portrayal as Foster’s fiancée that is worth the struggle she goes through in the film. Nevertheless, viewers will come to realise that it doesn’t really matter who it is that plays opposite Foster, for it’snot so much about the relationship between the two as it is the transformation that her character experiences that defines the film.

A string of irregularities and illogical parts also distracted the movie-going experience. The inconsistency between the number of shots Erica fires in her first attempt to kill someone and the number of shots heard in the audio replay is one example. The hype that the typical American press would draw towards a shooting in a train station was also absurd, together with Mercer’s magical ability to trace Erica’s every action in the crime scene during the investigative stage and Erica’s choice of venue for a radio interview –a crowded and noise-prone cafeteria.

With these careless hiccups, one can only assume that writers Roderick Taylor, Bruce Taylor and Cynthia Mort failed to think the story through thoroughly. Even the series of events that occur in the storyline’s almost mundane middle section, like Erica’s search for a mysterious girl and then for her final murder targets, which make sense when pieced together but just don’t gel all that well, can be attributed to that.

But All’s Well Ends Well

The only redeeming factor for the writers would be the semi-humourous and purely unexpected twist at the end, which made for satisfactory closure in the film. Besides that, they should be getting half of what they were originally allocated when the earnings are split to make up for the disturbingly unbelievable plot. Kudos to Neil Jordan for spicing up the middle chapters of the film with constant sudden flashbacks to shocking scenes shown earlier; scenes that possibly forced a scream or two out of us before and still haunt us the second time around.

Yes, indeed. The Brave One shouts at you a lot – from the sudden flashbacks and inconsistencies to loud, jolting scenes; from the dark aura that hangs within the film, to the suspense that comes with a handful of ambiguity and questions, and finally to Foster’s honest and realistic portrayal of anger, fear, anguish, and the extreme desire for revenge. There’s much that will scream at you to the extent that if you leave the theatre before the calming closure comes about, you’ll be left in a state of anxiety.

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Movie Details:

Opens: Oct 11

Running Time: 122 mins

Language: English

Cast: Jodie Foster, Terrence Howard, Naveen Andrews

Director: Neil Jordan

After months of sweet anticipation and rounds of the much-hyped-about cuts and censorship, Oscar-winning director Ang Lee’s latest directorial effort, Lust, Caution, is finally delivered.
It’s not easy to follow an Oscar win, knowing that your reputation and name is known to the entire world and the dosage of expectations prescribed is nothing less than exorbitant.

For Lee, Lust, Caution could be a labour of anxiety rather than one borne of love and the honour of the Golden Lion for Best Picture at this year’s Venice Film Festival just before the film’s official release, together with all the hype its been receiving with the series of cuts and censorship, only raised people’s expectations of the film.

Still, the final product proved to be yet another tour de force from the legend himself among his already outstanding body of work, including 1995’s Sense And Sensibility, 2000’s Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon and 1993’s The Wedding Banquet (with the exception of The Hulk, of course – a tragedy we’ve long forgiven him for after Brokeback Mountain).

Lust, Caution was able to capture the essence of 1940s Shanghai in its style, tradition and elegance.

The Story

Newcomer Tang Wei, who was selected by Lee from more than 10,000 females that auditioned for the lead role, stars as Wong Chia Chi – a freshman at a university – who chances upon Kuang Yu Min (Wang Lee Hom), the founder of a drama society. In an effort to shore up patriotism, Kuang gathers a group of students, including Wong, to execute a bold and ruthless plan to assassinate a high-ranking Japanese collaborator, Mr. Yee (Tony Leung Chiu-wai).

Wong plays the lead role in this stratagem and disguises herself as the wealthy Mrs Mak to befriend Mrs Yee (Joan Chen) and establishes closeness with her husband before killing him. Huge and unexpected obstacles come by and Wong has to adopt vehement measures to ensure the success of the espionage and, in doing so, is faced with the dangerous risk of losing her identity, her loved ones and her life altogether.

Lee’s Artistry Further Explored

As we’ve come to expect of Ang Lee, every aspect of this film is beautifully and carefully approached, illustrated and designed, and then weaved together to form what can easily be considered art in it’s most seductive and exotic form with the given circumstances and situation.

Lee keeps the intensity and the action within the film balanced throughout, establishing and maintaining among the audience a deep sense of anticipation.

There’s such a kaleidoscope of captivating elements injected into this film that you won’t ever find your mind wandering –from the intricate details of costume design, especially the alluring range of cheongsams with perfect cuts, high-end silk material and elaborate embroidery, to the clustered design of the crowds in the Shanghai streets that lives true to the culture of the 40s.

Add that with the appeal of the wealthy Chinese lifestyle, the flamboyant and professional styles of traditional Chinese plays, embellished set decoration, copper stone roads, mahjong, Lee’s insightful direction and, above all, the splendid cast, and you’re in for 2 hours’ worth of attention-grabbing visuals.

The Perfect Cast

Tang Wei proved to be a fine choice on Lee’s part, which comes as no surprise considering his renowned ability to pay attention to detail. For her first feature film, Tang is remarkable, balancing the various faces and background of the character – an agent, a lowly and poor minor, a tai-tai (supreme wife), an innocent façade, and the cunning actress waiting to unveil her horns –and holds her own fabulously well amidst a potentially spellbinding collaboration of Ang Lee, Tony Leung, Wang Lee Hom, Joan Chen and Chin Ka-Lok.

It’s with such onscreen brilliance that you know, for sure, Tang took the opportunity offered by Lee for a breakthrough more seriously than Zhang Ziyi did with her role in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. With this rich, seductive and exquisite performance, Tang has labeled herself as a must-look-out-for in the Chinese film industry in the near future, and she has Lee to thank for this very fortunate label.

Fans of Tony Leung will be able to take pleasure in yet another showcase of his versatility as an actor, and may even be struck with fear with his deeply realistic exposé of Mr. Yee’s dark side.

Leung is, in his own right, naturally intriguing. Throughout, there is an evident sense of control on his part over his character and the fine balance of emotions that he experiences, as well as a positive and artistic influence towards the actors that he plays opposite from. He brings to the set a sense of class.

Joan Chen was a joy to watch as the pampered wife of a well-to-do individual and Wang Lee Hom embodies the role of Kuang rather brilliantly, reminding us what we tend to forget – with his music success – that acting is also his forte, as his performance in China Strike Force (2000) and Moon Child (2003) have shown. The only disappointment that came from Chen and Wang’s performances was that they weren’t allocated more screen time.

The Downfall

The lack of surprise in the film’s ending is possibly the biggest disappointment in the film, following the trend for the conclusion of good versus evil among Chinese films in recent years. It’s a suitable way to end the film, but not the most enticing or satisfying.

A greater involvement of Kuang in Wong’slove life could have spiced up the script and enhanced the intensity of the situation as well. The secret crush Kuang was supposed to have for Wong was barely evident, even from a viewer’s perspective. Such were the elements that caused the film a perfect rating.

And Then There’s The Sex Scenes…

It’snot that the sex scenes that were cut in many Asian countries would have been good to watch, but in most films that take such approaches, sex usually represents an artistic aspect of the film. In this case, it was fundamental in bringing across the struggle and pain that Wong had to go through in her effort to stay true to her disguise and her mission. Even a viewer of the cut version would have been able to identify that.

Thus, it’s sad and unfortunate that most of Asia have been neglected the opportunity to fully appreciate what exactly it is that Wong tries to convey in her sharing about her struggles late in the film. Some may say that the vivid description she uses is sufficient in bringing her message and pain across, but no one can deny that the impact of watching the actual scenes would cast upon the audience a deeper, greater and more accurate understanding of her trials.

Others may feel that the intention to protect artistic portrayals will only lead to audience receiving these scenes in a typical, superficial and commercial way. But that is for no one to judge. It is sad to know that Lee, who stayed strong to his mission of bringing across the love that Jack and Ennis shared through bold scenes of homosexual acts in Brokeback Mountain, failed to stand by his artistry just as strongly this time around.

Nevertheless, cut or uncut, Lust, Caution is yet another fine piece from Ang Lee.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Movie Details:

Opens: Oct 4

Running Time: 157 mins (uncut) 148 mins (in Singapore)

Language: Mandarin

Cast: Tang Wei, Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Wang Lee Hom, Joan Chen

Director: Ang Lee

For a title, The Campaign To Confer The Public Service Star On JBJ may be flowered with too many words for one to handle in a single breath. But in a play that is fabulously furnished with scintillating text, words seem to be the branch from which all good things come – and rightfully so in this case.

Nominated for Best Original Script and Best Production at this year’s ST Life! Theatre Awards , The Campaign To Confer The Public Service Star On JBJ – first staged at the inaugural Singapore Theatre Festival last year – is an admirably courageous piece that pokes fun at politics in Singapore and all that’s associated with it.

Lawyer and playwright, Eleanor Wong , compiles all the juicy bits of Singapore’s recent social and political history , giving constant reference to the bountiful traits and actions that the local government has been known for or even attacked for, within a story that’s intelligently written and overflowing with witty humour.

Rodney Oliveiro (Spin , Machine) is David Lee, a university student and the president of the Association of Students for Self-expression (ASS). In the 1st act, David embarks in a journey to launch The Campaign to Confer the Public Service Star on JBJ – 1 of 2 JBJs we come to know of in the play. He stirs up quite a mess in the eyes of Civil Servant Clara Tang, played by Pam Oei (Dim Sum Dollies, Titoudao ), who, in the 2nd act, tries to clear up the unholy mess that ensues.

Both actors take turns to play the central character in the production’s 2 acts, but when one plays Eleanor’s protagonist, the other supports brilliantly, taking up at least 6 characters that collectively pave the obstacles for either David or Clara in their respective missions.

Eleanor Wong, The Lawyer Indeed

It’s easy to feel from the script a strong sense of the lawyer in Eleanor. The occasional use of religious terms, the forest of thoughts which infer news of a new Singapore Idol judge as one that could assist David in his campaign, and the deep interpretation of situations, obstacles and an 8Days magazine article, exude that characteristic quite clearly.

Even quotes like “maybe Shakespeare asked the most important question of all”, “something needs to be done to prove them wrong” and “even a fool can sense a pattern pitching up here” bring the audience through a journey to the thoughts and argument of an ingenious and tactful plaintiff; and so does David in his pursuit to bring justice to JBJ and Clara in her mission to close the books on the campaign for the safety of the society.

But that’s hardly the icing on that cake. The concept Eleanor’s script adopts of silently addressing political standards through countless underlying messages and hilarious sarcasm is what’s most admirable. “A new chip of the old block”, “infinite past makes present tense”, and “ways of the Elder_ly” are just some of the lines with such hidden meanings. Accompany that with representations of various social and political figures, including one who introduces herself as “good tits, dirty mouth. That’s me” and you’ll be in for 2 hours’ worth of good laughs. It’s amazing how Eleanor’s able to touch on aspects of our society that is deemed by many as politically wrong, but does it with an approach that is almost faultless, quiet, and absolutely politically correct.

This is a story that doesn’t seem to miss out any recent major event in the political scene in Singapore; one that eventually gives the audience enough coverage within a span of 2 hours to judge for themselves what the government and society is like. In this play, Eleanor is the lawyer, the cast and the production team are the witnesses, and we are the jury.

Unfortunately…

The drawback, however, to having a script condensed to such a large extent with reference points to actual events, people and facts is the need for research or prior knowledge on the audience’s part before they are able to fully appreciate and understand the play for its every milligram of intelligence.

Plus, fun as the underlying messages were to decode, having them thrown at you one after the other for an entire hour before the interval and for another hour after that can be exhausting after a while, and the abrupt and puzzling death of an individual and the series of codenames used by the characters to address each other in the 2nd act didn’t help the situation. Instead, they made things more confusing.

The Dynamic Duo

But all these are silenced by the figuratively loud performances of Pam and Rodney, who dazzled the stage with the right dose of flamboyance and gravity to balance the combination of humour and the heavy subject matter well. Both actors are a joy to watch, especially in their multiple supporting roles. Hats off to Pam when, in the final scene of the 1st act, she pulled off 5 costume changes under 3 minutes with less than 15 seconds for each transition and was still able to distinguish, despite the hectic switch, so clearly the different personalities and characteristics of her roles when the lights come on. That’s most probably what’s most outstanding about Pam and Rodney’s performances – their ability to sink deep into each of their characters and physically transform into them in spite of the fast changeovers.

It is with such demanding sets of characters and the actors’ abilities to pull them off so smoothly and accurately that you know Pam and Rodney are chameleons; and that’s a testimony to director, Ivan Heng ’s artistic vision and ability to deliver and express them through the actors to bring to life the juiciness of the script and the roles that come with it.

The Play for Every Singaporean

The Campaign To Confer The Public Service Star On JBJ, is a production that any Singaporean can appreciate and should watch. Well, with the exception of those under 16 years of age, that is, due to a nude scene and the occasional lashing out of vulgarities.

Singaporeans will come to find that whether or not they are pro-government doesn’t really matter with this production. This is not a play that aims to divide the political from the non-political; neither does it classify the political into groups. Rather, with reference to many events and figures that play a role in defining our society, it ignites a sense of patriotism and belonging, even in those who never thought had it in them.

Rating: An easy 4.5 out of 5 stars!!!

Production Details:

Running Time: 2 h 15 min

Cast: Pam Oei and Rodney Oliveiro

Director: Ivan Heng

Playwright: Eleanor Wong

The Campaign To Confer The Public Service Star On JBJ is now showing at the Drama Centre Theatre (National Library, Level 3). The production opened on Sep 21 (with previews on Sep 19 and 20) and closes on Oct 7.

Tickets are being sold at Sistic the following prices:

Preview Shows
(19 & 20 Sep) 8PM
S$48, S$43, S$38, S$33, S$33(Resticted View).

Tues-Thurs 8PM,
Sat & Sun Matinee 3PM
S$53, S$48, S$43, S$38, S$38(Restricted View).

Fri-Sat 8PM
S$58, S$53, S$48, S$43, S$43(Restricted View).

For more information, please visit the Sistic website.

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In an age where roots and culture seem to be diminishing, a performance like Hybrid Moves – with its marvelous illustration of the Peranakan culture through dance – comes along to remind us of the strengths and significance of belonging to a community.

The show was staged on Sep 15 and 16 at the University Cultural Centre Hall in the National University of Singapore (NUS) as a part of Dance Reflections 2007 – an annual dance festival of NUS Centre For the Arts (CFA).

Featuring acts by 6 CFA dance groups, including the NUS Dance Ensemble and NUS Dance Blast!, Hybrid Moves brought audiences through a journey to a Peranakan museum, a search for self-identity and one’s homeland.

The Good

Award-winning team, NUS Dance Synergy, delivered an impressive portrait of the life of a Nonya (Chinese Indonesian female descendants). Not that the remixes of folk songs like ‘Chan Mali Chan’ with contemporary beats were all that refreshing, but they successfully intertwined culture with modern art, which was what the evening was supposed to be about. Thus, Hybrid Moves.

Beijing Dance Academy graduate, Fan Dong Kai’s dance routine was able to distinguish the thin line that separates a fine fusion of culture with contemporary arts from what could have been a holy mess. It came through beautifully, exploring the growth and various personalities of a Nonya, and simultaneously accentuating the rhythmic abilities of the dance team. From a mellow love song to a fun and comedic hip-hop ending, the piece was, all in all, captivating.

The Artistic

The more artistic pieces had to be Nadi by the NUS Ilsa Tari and My Homeland by the NUS Chinese Dance. It was interesting to have, among a sea of mixtures of old and modern, 2 acts that stayed true to their respective cultures.

Nadi told a story of the search for self-identity and the struggles that come about while My Homeland traced the journey of a nation in pursuit of a harmonious society.

What was intriguing about Nadi was the concept of having each set of dancers that came out representing one of the instruments behind the music piece, which was reminiscent to Tan Dun’s ‘Night Fight’ from Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. With the dramatic use of lighting techniques, emotional and symbolic dance routines, and background visuals of Chinese and Arabic writings, the dance lived up to the Malay tradition and the struggles present in pursuit of self identity plunged through strongly.

There were a few hiccups for both pieces – uneven coordination for Nadi and a scream that was let out in the middle of My Homeland became unintentionally comedic. Once these awkward moments passed, the stories went on, and on, and on. It almost felt like there was no end to each piece. But eventually, the stories in both pieces were told and, on the teams’ part, the effort made in seeing the performances through was commendable.

The Bad

But not all 6 performances could be considered outstanding. For a first act, Rentak Funky by the NUS Dance Blast! was a banal, almost cheesy opening to what was expected to be a night of artistic brilliance. Audiences were reminded of the unity aspect of being part of a community through cliché dance routines that involved the holding of hands among other typical poses and actions. Imagine that with an out-of-place hip hop follow-up alongside unsuitable numbers like Fergie’s “Glamorous” and you’ll get my picture.

It seemed the recitation of Heng Siok Tian’s poem, Sayang Airwell, was the only artistic aspect to NUS Indian Dance’s piece. Consistency lacked in the first half of the act as the journey transcribed in the poem failed to live true in the dance, which was saddening, considering how Indian dances always tell a story within their routines.

This was stale and almost meaningless choreography during which the dancers seemed to be posing most of the time. It was probable they felt that the costumes, with their detailed embroidery, told fascinating enough a story and that a better designed routine would have disrupted what the costumes were meant to convey.

Even if bits of Heng’s beautifully written poem were successfully conveyed, the lack of life in the dancers’ delivery, and the plastic, Stepford-wives-like smiles on the female dancers throughout sure were huge barriers to identifying them. This wasn’t a dance that impressed in its technical and artistic aspects.

The Icing on the Cake

Speed and flawless coordination were just 2 elements of the final piece – Samsara by NUS Dance Ensemble – that was absolutely astonishing and stood out from the other 5 performances. The piece showcased a Javanese and Balinese-inspired dance that had a change of pose for every beat in the music.

To be able to pull off as fast a dance routine as 3 sharp poses per second and to do it in perfect unity among as many as 24 dance members in the 15-minute performance was truly amazing on the team’s part. From the styles of Artistic Manager of SAF Music and Drama Company, Zaini Mohd Tahir’s choreography, to the music, to the gold costumes and background structures, every aspect of this piece collectively and accurately brought out the essence of the theme – an awakening. After a long hour and 15 minutes’ worth of performances, Samsara was still able to create an obvious sense of captivation and bring to the stage liveliness that brought justice to the theme of awakening.