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Falling Off The Edge

Joshua Tan, February 5, 2010


6 years ago, Mel Gibson (Lethal Weapon, Braveheart and The Patriot) decided to take a break from acting and went on to work behind-the-scenes, directing The Passion of the Christ in 2004 and Apocalypto in 2006.

It’s then with piqued interest that Gibson returns in front of the camera in the film adaptation of 1985 British drama serial Edge of Darkness, as a police officer no less, after more than half a decade off screen.

The story revolves around Detective Thomas Craven (Gibson) of the Boston Police Department who investigates the murder of his MIT-graduate activist daughter Emma (Bojana Novakovic). Craven soon discovers that his daughter’s death by a shotgun round to her chest on the doorstep the day she decides to come home was more than he could’ve imagined.

The case leads him into a world of government conspiracies and cover-ups involving a Massachusetts-based nuclear research facility called Northmoor and its boss Jack Bennett (Danny Huston). He eventually becomes a target of the very people he sets out to catch.

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From the get-go, the film is in good hands with director Martin Campbell and producer Michael Wearing, who were also responsible for the drama series that gathered 6 accolades at the 1986 BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) Awards.

Gibson gives a commanding performance throughout, and to be honest the film really is him all the time. In essence, this is the perfect role for an obviously aging veteran actor who looks visibly haggard and sports greying hair with a receding hairline.

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Still, the 54-year-old manages to hold his own among younger counterparts in the action department, unleashing heavy blows and displaying surprising agility in fight scenes that seem to come with ease. The showing accuracy in shooting a moving target (in this case a person in a car rushing head on at him) in another scene involving an attempt on his life is evident that he packs as much punch.

British actor Ray Winstone (Beowolf, Fool’s Gold) as CIA agent Matt Jedburgh (originally to be played by Robert De Niro), who’s sent to prevent Craven from “connecting A to B” in his investigation is notable. Though he doesn’t have many appearances, Winstone performs admirably alongside the main character.

His character displays a cold, cynical front while from time to time showing hints of support and admiration for Craven and his cause.

The storyline is also well thought out, delivering an adrenaline pumping hook to the senses just when you think the events unfolding in front of you are getting a little bland. On hindsight though, the movie seemed a little draggy at some parts, especially as it isn’t exactly the typical gun-slinging action cop film you might be used to.

Fight scenes and shootouts are significantly toned down compared to previous Gibson films like Lethal Weapon. Instead, the movie chooses to play more on the emotions and investigative skill of Craven, so there’s understandably a significant proportion of the film spent talking and going around to interrogate people.

However, don’t expect the dialogue to be particularly deep. Like many dark police films these days it packs a substantial amount of expletives into character interactions, making the film’s rating in Singapore a not-so-squeaky-clean NC16.

Ultimately, Edge of Darkness is a fitting re-entry into acting for the Academy Award-winning director, and combines the emotional capability he displays in The Patriot and Braveheart with the familiar detective role in The Lethal Weapon he is equally known for.

This isn’t by any account one of the best films out there, nor is it very likely to be as highly grossing as the more recent popular titles, but still manages to offer movie goers the variety of both good action and some intelligence, so as to appeal to a wider audience. A decent watch all round.

Release Details:

Opens: Jan 28
Duration: 117 min
Language: English
Rating: NC16 (Violence and Coarse Language)
Genre: Drama/Thriller
Director: Martin Campbell
Cast: Mel Gibson, Ray Winstone, Bojana Novakovic

Hell On Earth

Joshua Tan, January 28, 2010


When God loses faith in man, a legion (described as an army of between 3,000 and 6,000 by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary) of angels is sent to exterminate humankind forever and bring an end to the continued degradation of our society.

These angels, instead of swooping in to take us out with wings and all, possess the bodies of weak-willed people and give them razor sharp teeth (all the better to eat you with) and the ability to shape-shift into long-limbed fast moving humanoids (all the better to grab you with) to bring about the apocalypse.

Thankfully, one of those originally meant to destroy all life on planet, archangel Michael (Paul Bettany) turns against God to protect a certain pregnant mother (Adrianne Palicki) in a diner in the middle of nowhere whose unborn baby can “deliver what He (God) needs” instead of “what He wants”.

This is Legion, 2010’s first major disappointment.

Despite a relatively decent casting which includes Bettany (A Knight’s Tale, The Da Vinci Code), veteran actor Dennis Quaid (The Day After Tomorrow, Pandorum), rapper-turned-actor Tyrese Gibson (2 Fast 2 Furious, Transformers) and Lucas Black (Jarhead, The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift), the movie provides little more than a few action scenes peppered with corny, predictable one-liners.

This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, except that with this flick, plenty of things don’t quite seem to make sense.

First of all, despite its apocalyptic plot, surprisingly few of the good, fangless people actually die, unlike in recent similar-themed films such as The Day After Tomorrow or 2012.

Traditionally speaking, movies such as this need a good mix of both compelling action and story telling. Unfortunately, Legion had neither.

Another contributing factor is the film’s length. At just 100 minutes, there are even animated films longer than it. This means that the depth the plot can go into is compromised.

Even so, the storyline ended up pretty draggy, a far cry from the amazing trailer that released in August last year.

Action scenes, while decently put together, came at weird junctures of the movie and were unusually spaced out; the first of which occurred right at the beginning before a whole lot of dialogue comes by to put you to sleep and a final battle wakes you up again just before the close.

The action wasn’t even particularly enjoyable, as it seemed that all it took were good ol’ automatic weapons to effectively stop every wave of angel-possessed people, despite Michael’s incessant warnings that “they’re coming”. You wouldn’t be blamed for expecting more from God’s army.

Even the final big fight, in which a sea of attackers surrounded the diner causing you to truly fear for human lives, ultimately didn’t even happen as another archangel, Gabriel, gets involved by busting into the diner for a one-on-one duel with Michael, leaving the rest of the angel army standing outside like, well, zombies.

It is little wonder the film turned out so wrong. While director Scott Stewart’s resume boasts recent hits like Grindhouse, Die Hard 4.0 and Iron Man, all of which he played the part of an uncredited visual effects senior staff member, this is the first full-length feature film of his career, and it really becomes clearer as the movie progresses.

For those expecting this movie to be similar to the 2005 flick Constantine, prepare to be sorely disappointed, as Legion displays none of the plot development and character depth that the former had.

Despite this, the main protagonists’ performances were admirable albeit restrained to a certain extent by the storyline and plot. This was showcased mainly halfway through the movie when the action came to a temporary standstill, allowing some kind of character interaction.

Still, the movie overall left too many questions unanswered, which most often points towards the possibility of a sequel, but with the first movie as it is, do we really want one?

Like the apocalyptic films of the past decade such as The Day After Tomorrow and 2012, a sequel wouldn’t be required so they really should’ve tied up as many loose ends as possible.

At the end of the day, Legion displays some traits of formerly successful end-of-the-world films, but fails to deliver that final sinking punch. What a way to kick off the new decade.

Release: Jan 21
Duration: 100 min
Language: English
Rating: NC16 (Coarse Language and Violence)
Genre: Action/Fantasy/Horror/Thriller
Director: Scott Stewart
Cast: Paul Bettany, Dennis Quaid, Tyrese Gibson, Lucas Black, Adrienne Palicki


The environment has been a hot topic lately, and in the wake of the largely criticised United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen last December, the ability of global leaders to successfully deal with the problem of climate change has been increasingly in doubt.

Green Bazaar_1

For the Jane Goodall Institute (JGI) led by world-renown Chimpanzee expert Jane Goodall, the focal point has never been with the current leaders, but the youth who will lead tomorrow’s world and help solve environmental issues. It makes its business to educate and instill conservation values in the youth so that they’ll go on to make good decisions in future.

Green Bazaar_6

It’s with this mentality that The Green Bazaarrr took off on Jan 16 at Old School, organised by Greenworks comprising final-year Business Studies (Marketing) students from Ngee Ann Polytechnic in collaboration with the Jane Goodall Institute Singapore (JGIS) and as part of their final project.

Green Bazaar_2

Boasting 41 stalls selling everything from clothes to food to environmentally-friendly bags, the bazaar attracted about 350 people (according to organiser’s estimates) and aimed to create awareness among the youth and raise funds for JGIS. Approximately $1,000 has been raised according to bazaar organisers.

“We settled on setting up a flea market as our main target audience are the youths,” said Tan Shun Li, Greenworks Student Representative.

“Since youths can be easily influenced and reached out to, we hope that they will be the ones spreading the message to all their friends and family. Through word of mouth, we hope that more people will recognise and support the message that JGIS wishes to spread,” she added.

Green Bazaar_5

On hand to deliver some environmental tips like using reusable shopping bags and turning the air-conditioning down to 18 degrees Celsius was MediaCorp Green Ambassador and winner of last year’s MediaCorp Gaia Life Challenge Jaclyn Ng, who set up a booth to display her own line of e-Bags (Eco-Friendly & Chic Reusable Bags).

Jaclyn said, “I believe that the youths are very important in fighting for this cause because sooner or later we are all going to grow old and it’s really our younger generation that has a very important part to play to ensure that their earth is still a place to live in. The future is in our children’s hands so together we have to fight for it.”

Green Bazaar_4

JGIS Board Member Tay Kae Fong also agreed that the youth are the ones who need to be invigorated and motivated to create change.

“We think that engaging the youth as a segment has far-reaching consequences and that’s not just in terms of the fact that they’ll be leaders of tomorrow, but also the fact that the reason for hope, and Jane has this book called Reason For Hope, that the youth will bring with them the energy and passion to change and to reject limiting beliefs that we can’t do anything,” he said.

Interestingly, Kae Fong, who is a brand consultant by profession, told UrbanWire that all of JGIS’ board members are volunteers with day jobs and are among over 800 volunteers that the organisation has.

“The message we want to send is that we need to do something, there is reason for hope and we need to take ownership and do something,” he adds. “There’s nothing too big or too small. Even a bazaar like this, sure the money that comes out is one thing, but the fact that this is done, the fact that people will think about it and the awareness will slowly but surely build up, that’s what we want.”

So it really comes down to one question: What are you doing for the environment?


Invictus_movie_poster_matt_damon_clint_eastwood

Even without the Oscar-laden director and leading men driving Invictus, the story filled with inspiration and hope is sure to get to you.

4-time Oscar-winning director Clint Eastwood (Million Dollar Baby, Flags of our Fathers) is almost guaranteed another nomination for taking the helm of Invictus, and includes Oscar-winning actors Morgan Freeman (The Bucket List, The Dark Knight) and Matt Damon (The Bourne Trilogy) as stars in an otherwise unknown cast.

The effect is tremendous, as the pair play a pivotal role in telling the triumphant true story of how former South African President and Nobel laureate Nelson Mandela cleverly used the universal language of sport to unite his countrymen who had been driven apart by almost 50 years of apartheid and oppression in South Africa.

Freeman plays Mandela, newly elected and facing the problem of a widening divide as the Black Africans finally have the opportunity to seek bitter revenge on the Whites that segregated them. Damon is Francois Pienaar, captain of the under-performing South African rugby team the Springboks, which is full of White players and is a reminder of White rule and suffering to the Black African-majority now in power.

Naturally, the team receives almost no support from the 43-million strong population partly due to its poor showing at international matches, but is backed by an unlikely man, President Mandela, who previously used to support any team that played against the Springboks.

Mandela realises that the best way to unify the country is with the help of the White minority instead of continuing to push them away, and during a tea session with Pienaar, challenges him to lead the Springboks to win the 1995 Rugby World Cup hosted in South Africa.

The Springboks go on to win the tournament in style, even beating rugby powerhouse the New Zealand All Blacks who had recorded the highest number of points in a single match, 145, in the same tournament against Japan. A truly inspirational story indeed.

As expected of thespians of their calibre, both Freeman and Damon demonstrated significant command of their roles, depicting their characters strongly. A nice detail was the use of African accents in their roles (Damon even had a dialect coach), in order to add to the overall authenticity.

Those who aren’t hard core rugby fans will be relieved to know that the movie doesn’t show excessive scenes of the sport, something pleasantly different from the underdog-team-comes-out-champs movies of the past decade (Gridiron Gang, The Longest Yard and Coach Carter, just to name a few).

It was up to the dialogue to make the greatest impact in the heavy-themed film of racial segregation and national unity. This it did and more, causing the film to be more engaging rather than making it a boring historical movie.

A few laughs were even invoked at significant, appropriate moments, such as when Mandela’s head of security Jason Tshabalala (Tony Kgoroge) said, “According to the experts, we’ll reach the quarter-finals, and no further,” about the Springboks’ chances in the World Cup, to which Mandela responded, “According to the experts, you and I should still be in jail.”

The witty and almost mindlessly idealistic approach (considering nobody would’ve expected South Africa to even get close to winning the World Cup), was a light counterpoint to the deep struggle and hardship of bringing a fractured nation together, and, at times, made it seem far simpler than it probably was.

There were, however, some things that were rather strange. Perhaps it was a way to cut down the amount of rugby shown in the film, but it really did seem like the South Africans easily brushed aside all competition (except the New Zealanders) due to the brief coverage of their games.

This was a little difficult to believe, considering this was a team who had previously been consistently losing, and whose competency was in doubt even before the World Cup began.

Regardless, it has to be said that the movie really isn’t about rugby at all, but rather about the foresight of a leader to heal some of the deepest hurts almost overnight.

When you throw in Eastwood’s unique style of story telling and superb acting from Freeman and Damon, then we, like the South Africans, have ourselves a winner.

Official Trailer:

Release Details:
Opens: Jan 7
Duration: 133 min
Language: English
Rating: PG
Genre: Biography/Drama/History
Director: Clint Eastwood
Cast: Morgan Freeman, Matt Damon

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Fantastic Indeed

Joshua Tan, November 20, 2009


You might think that we’d know exactly what to expect after the number of Roald Dahl books that have been adapted into films. You’d be wrong.

The Fantastic Mr Fox, Dahl’s fifth children’s story and sixth to be put on the silver screen, is unleashed into a world of animation with director Wes Anderson (Rushmore, The Darjeeling Limited) at the helm.

fantastic-mr-fox

Complete with a star-studded cast featuring George Clooney (Ocean’s Eleven, Michael Clayton, Burn After Reading) as the smooth-talking Mr Fox, Meryl Streep (The Hours, The Devil Wears Prada, Mamma Mia!) as the conservative yet supportive Mrs Fox, Bill Murray (Charlie’s Angels, Lost In Translation) as Mr Fox’s neighbour and attorney Badger, Michael Gambon (Harry Potter) as the mean-spirited farmer Franklin Bean and Willem Dafoe (Spider-man, xXx: State of the Union) as Rat, an assassin who works for Bean.

For those who aren’t familiar with the book, the story surrounds protagonist Mr Fox, who after taking a 12-fox-year (2-human-year) hiatus from pinching goods from farms, decides to relive the bravado of yesteryear by going on an expedition to steal produce from farms belonging to the 3 meanest farmers in the area, Boggis, Bunce and Bean.

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Unfortunately, the farmers soon find out and embark on their own mission to take revenge on the stealing menace, even if it means destroying everything in their path.

Clooney, who has played similar roles to that of Mr Fox before, lends his voice perfectly to the film, bringing up memories of his part as Danny Ocean in the 2001 remake of Ocean’s Eleven, both characters having spent an amount of time out of the scene (Ocean in prison and Fox as a newspaper columnist) before bouncing back behind their wives’ backs.

One thing unique about this film is that unlike all other recent animated features, it’s presented in a stop-motion format, a technique where scenes are photographed, frame by frame with subjects moved in slight increments to give the illusion of movement when played in rapid sequence, and this not only makes Fantastic Mr Fox the first Roald Dahl book to be interpreted this way, but also Anderson’s first animated film and the first 20th Century Fox film to be done in stop-animation.

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All things considered, the animation and attention to detail is astounding. For one, fur textures are extremely realistic and character movements are so fluid that save for when rapid movement is depicted, the film doesn’t even look like it was shot frame by frame before being pieced together.

Interestingly enough, while all the animals (who are underground most of the time) are voiced by Americans, the sadistic and trigger-happy farmers, the ones who really cause the most damage, are the 3 British farmers led by Bean. The story even appears to take place in the English countryside complete with rolling hills and lush, green open fields.

While this isn’t necessarily a big problem (unless of course you’re British), this little quirk is noticeable, even if it doesn’t detract much from the traditional cartoon Brit farmer who discovers a problem with farmland pests and attempts to remedy the situation with his oversized shotgun.

Beneath all that though, the film adapts the 39-year-old book in a charming and heartwarming way, bringing new life to the story that many know and love.

Fantastic Mr Fox definitely puts the realm of animated films into perspective, adding some old school stop-motion flavour into a digitally animated world, surely a movie to catch this holiday season.

Release Details:
Opens:
Nov 19 (Singapore), Worldwide by Nov 25
Duration: 87 min
Language: English
Rating: PG
Genre: Adventure/Animation/Comedy
Director: Wes Anderson
Cast: George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Bill Muray, Michael Gambon, Willem Dafoe


A relaxing environment with truly lip-smacking burgers makes for an excellent experience at Fatboy’s, the perfect meal for any burger buff.

The words “fast food” are synonymous with burgers, and in that realm, burgers are king. They’re the perfect quick meal – packed with goodness (meat, condiments and veggies at the very least), handhold-able and eaten with relatively little fuss. What’s not to like?

In recent times, burgers have begun to expand outside the domain of fast food and are now a culture all on their own.

Western eateries like Botak Jones, Crazy Ang Moh, and more recently, The Handburger and Burger King’s Whopper Bar have given a new perspective to burger eating – allowing enjoyment to the fullest with more variety than just the traditional beef or chicken burger.

Enter Fatboy’s, located in suburban Upper Thomson, one of the newest kids on the block.

At first glance, the understated shop house is almost too easy to miss with only a simple red, black and white signage identifying itself, but step inside and that’s where the magic begins.

Opened on Sep 25 this year, the 45-seater restaurant offers a decent variety of burgers complete with handmade patties (although they admit their fries are bought frozen) as well as some combinations that leave you wondering (pork with peanut butter and bananas anyone?).

A must-try is the Fat Basterd ($14) featuring 2 thick 150g beef patties, double bacon, double cheese, a fried egg and dressed in a homemade barbecue sauce made with premium herbs and spices (need I say more?).

This monster is so big that it’s pretty much impossible to eat by hand (or to put in your mouth, for that matter). Understanding this, a knife and fork are provided to help you along in your conquest, and a toothpick is stuck through every burger, American-style, to hold your chow together.


Wimpy Fat Basterd

For the less ambitious however, a “wimpy” single version of the burger is available at $12.50, a fair move to allow people of all appetites to sink their teeth into the signature dish.


Pizza The Hutt

And if you can’t get enough beef, stuffed with a 150g beef patty, salami, tomato, concasse, mozzarella and jalapeños is Pizza The Hutt ($12.50), a lovely pizza-inspired burger that brings elements of an Italian pie in between 2 buns.

Jalapeños seem like an odd addition, but are used such that they pop in your mouth and give a sour zingy kick without making the burger overly spicy. A nice touch indeed!


The Holy Caesar

Options are also available for those who don’t or can’t take beef. The Holy Caesar ($11.50) contains a slab of grilled chicken breast, bacon, and Parmesan cheese topped in Caesar dressing.

The chicken patty does seem dry on first bite, but the Caesar dressing does well to add the right amount of moisture to an otherwise relatively ordinary burger.

Also available at Fatboy’s is the option to build your own burger using all the ingredients that go into regular menu items. This means you get the chance to create the meal of your dreams and go as crazy as you want with toppings and sauces.

This concept, together with the Fat Basterd, is a favourite among customers so far according to owner Bernie Tay, 36.

“The burger bar which allows you to build your own burgers is very popular and being one of its kind currently, we thought this is one of our special features,” he says.

He adds, “We hope to bring the personal diner culture closer to the neighbourhoods. Ultimately, Fatboy’s will always be a neighbourhood bar and diner, which is why we stay away from the shopping malls.”

It’s this approach that seems to appeal to their customers, myself included. Unlike other burger shops, the atmosphere is significantly more relaxed, and you don’t feel pressured to leave even after finishing your meal.

“I love their environment, because it’s in a casual format, a factor all burger joints should contain. After all, it’s still a casual type of food,” says student Jasmine Chan, 17.

For Melvin Heng, 32, the availability of both burgers and beer (Hoegaarden and Stella Artois fresh by the pint) at 1 location is a winner.

The sales manager, who was dining at Fatboy’s for the first time, says, “I woke up with a craving for beer and burgers today so I just thought of popping by. It helps that it’s near my place (in Bishan). In Singapore if you’re looking at a place with burgers and beer there are pretty limited options but I thought to try it out and I’m quite happy.”

At the end of the day, what Fatboy’s offers is the quintessential laid-back and personal dining experience that we’ve never quite had in Singapore, a fitting contrast to the hustle and bustle of everyday life. Couple that with delectable burgers and it does seem like a star is born.

Admittedly though, burgers may not be everyone’s thing, but if you’re a fanatic like me, Fatboy’s is the place to be if you’re ever in Upper Thomson.

Fatboy’s is open daily from noon to midnight at 187 Upper Thomson Road. For enquiries, call +65 6252 8780 or email enquiries@fatboys.sg

aMRAZing!

Joshua Tan, March 6, 2009


Jason Mraz In Singapore

The fifth of March 2009 was setting up to be a good night. I had my ticket to the second row of the second block from the stage. I’d done my homework, listening to every song in the 3 albums released by the American janitor-turned singer-songwriter that I could lay my ears on.

It wasn’t a good night.

…It was a great night.

The crowd was screaming in excitement as the lights dimmed. Then, the man himself walked out, sporting an unshaven goatee, his signature fedora, a white long-sleeved t-shirt and jeans. Unlike the elaborate wardrobe changes of some more flamboyant acts such as Kylie Minogue or Rod Stewart, the 31-year-old singer-songwriter stuck with this understated ensemble throughout the show.

The Good

Once he got on stage, the easily-8,000-strong crowd in the Indoor Stadium was instantly invited to “stand up, c’mon!” as the band burst into “The Dynamo of Volition”. Even this usually-straight-laced reporter couldn’t resist getting on his feet and dancing like it was Saturday Night Fever.

The repertoire for the night: a mix of songs from all three of the Grammy-nominated singer’s albums, although out of the counted 16 songs, a grand total of 8 tracks were from the latest album, “We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things.” alone. The album, released in 2008, was the prolific singer’s best selling and highest peaking album thus far, hitting number three on the Billboard 200 chart.

One of the early highlights of the show (and I imagine this should be the case) was when Mraz performed “Lucky” with local Mandopop singer Joi Chua. With the big shoes of Colbie Callait to fill, Chua, 30, did reasonably well by sticking to the harmonisation of the original song.

Another highlight came during the song “I’m Yours” which in turn featured a segment of Jamaican singer-songwriter Bob Marley’s song, “Three Little Birds”, during which the crowd was urged to sing the famous line “Don’t worry about a thing/ ‘cause every little thing is gonna be all right”. This was then followed by several musical harmonies voiced by Mraz, which the audience was encouraged to imitate. Needless to say, all present at the Singapore Indoor Stadium sang at the top of their voices, adding to the electric atmosphere of the night.

Though I believe Mraz could most definitely hold a performance simply with his voice, his guitar and another percussionist (as exhibited in the 2006 Mosaic Music Festival when he and percussionist Toca Rivera played a casual and intimate gig to a small crowd at the Esplanade Recital Hall), his band ultimately played a big part in complimenting and completing the concert experience.

Introduced right at the very end in the middle of the song “No Stopping Us” from Mraz’s first album, “Waiting For My Rocket To Come”, the band comprised such musicians as percussionist and back-up vocalist Toca Rivera and keyboardist Eric Hinojosa, who have been a part of Mraz’s gang of misfits since 2000 and 2003 respectively.

And much to the delight of the screaming fans, Mraz even snapped polaroids of his self-titled “Super Band” during the introductions and flung the pictures into the crowd.

The Not-So-Good

What was unfortunate though, was that with the large audience, the usually tongue-in-cheek Mraz had to hold back a little on the antics and jokes that were present in his previous live recordings, which meant he didn’t really engage the crowd in small talk, unlike his previous 2 performances in Singapore (Such as in Singfest last Aug). He did, however, manage a guitar change every time a song ended.

Also, with the constant buzzing during the electrifying concert atmosphere almost throughout the entire show, there was little time to sit down. And while some chose to do so during the slower songs and during the interval when Mraz was offstage, most of the attending fans (including myself) remained standing and clapping throughout the approximately-two-hour-long performance.

Even more apparent was what seemed like the lack of an encore. Although Mraz did run offstage after performing “I’m Yours”, and then came back for what was supposed to be the encore, few in the crowd picked up that the following four songs were the encore. This led to the crowd chanting “we want more” after the final song, “Butterfly”, only to be disappointed by the house lights coming on and the ushers motioning for people to start leaving.

Final Thoughts

All the stories I had heard and read about Mraz’s awesome stage presence and incredible live performances were indeed true and more. With lyrical and vocal prowess, he coaxed and charmed a usually calm and reserved Singaporean crowd into jumping, screaming and singing his songs like there was no tomorrow.

By the end of the night, my feet were tired from standing the entire concert and my throat was sore from singing at the top of my voice and screaming (yes, screaming) like a sixteen-year-old fan-girl. Thankfully, I didn’t let the fact that I had to write this article hinder my fun. It was an amazing concert and utterly justified every single one of the one hundred and forty eight dollars I spent to go.

Song List

The Dynamo of Volition
Geek In The Pink
Unfold
Who Needs Shelter
Live High
Lucky (duet with Joi Chua)
Only Human
Make It Mine
A Beautiful Mess
You And I Both/Sleeping To Dream
I’m Yours/Three Little Birds by Bob Marley
Interval Instrumental

Encores:

Mr Curiosity
The Remedy/Wonderwall
No Stopping Us (with Super Band Intro)
Butterfly

Super Band

Percussion and Back-up Vocals: Toca Rivera
Keyboard: Eric Scott Hinojosa
Saxophone: Carlos Sosa
Trumpet: Fernando Castillo
Trombone: Reggie Watkins
Bass: Bruce Hughes
Drums: Michael “Leroy” Bram

Some Videos… Courtesy of Elaine Yang

Capoeira

Joshua Tan, June 3, 2008


CapoeiraIt was a blend of self-defence, dance and acrobatics that made all who were crossing Read Bridge at Clarke Quay stop and stare.
The Association of Capoeira Argola De Ouro was performing at the first Arts On The Move show of the Singapore Arts Festival to be staged at Clarke Quay on May 30.

Armed with 3 berimbaus (an instrument that looks like an archer’s bow) and an assortment of percussive instruments, the performers stood in a roda (meaning circle), clapping their hands and singing along as pairs of performers took turns to spar in the centre.

In the true spirit of Capoeira, the Capoeiraperformance wasn’t about inflicting hurt on the opponent, but making graceful, flowing attacks, feints and dodges to the rhythm of the music, with a few handstands and cartwheels thrown in.

Visiting United States Navyman Doug Waltzman, 23, was very impressed with the performance.

“I thought the show was great. It was very entertaining and I’m glad I stumbled upon it,” he told UrbanWire.

Huh? Local Group?

Headed by founder Jose Maria Cardoso Da Costa, the association has been practicing the Afro-Brazilian martial art in Singapore since 2002, with sessions held every Sunday at The Substation.

Despite the group’s 6 years of practice here, few of those who attended knew that the group is based here in Singapore.

Audience member Cheng Ke Yi was taken aback when he was told this.

“Locally based? I had no idea,” the 19-year-old student exclaimed.

CapoeiraElectronic engineer Chan Kah Hou, 32, had even thought that the group was originally from Africa or India.

Those whom UrbanWire spoke to felt that this ignorance was due to insufficient education on the Arts amongst Singaporeans.

Chan said, “The public is not sure of what the group is doing and what the idea and background of the performance is.”

Nureen Juri, 25, a part-time undergraduate, however, is optimistic.

“Making a performance free is the best way to expose the public to the arts. It is the first step and then from there people will know what the performances are like,” she said.

Arts on the Move runs from May 23 to June 15.

For the full schedule of Arts on the Move, please visit the Singapore Arts Festival 2008

This article is part of UrbanWire’s 9-week Singapore Arts Festival 2008 special. Get all the latest Arts Fest updates and reviews on UrbanWIre.

Joshua Tan is an external contributor who is currently studying in the Mass Communication DIploma Programme at the School of Film & Media Studies of Ngee Ann Polytechnic. This article is based on his assignment piece for his Newswriting Module.


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