The UrbanWire      

“A brand new beginning”, it definitely is for newly crowned Singapore Idol, Sezairi Sezali, crooning to this year’s theme song, “Touched By An Angel”. The 22-year-old sang his best and proved deserving of the title, impressing not only the 8000-strong crowd at the Singapore Indoor Stadium which included enthusiastic fans, but the whole country with his wonderful vocals.

It was a tough fight with his rival, Sylvia Ratonel, who was initially touted to be the first female winner of Singapore Idol after 2 seasons of male victors. Nonetheless, she lived up to be the only female grand finalist throughout the three seasons of the competition.

Without extravagance throughout the semi-finals, Sezairi has shown that a quiet confidence can bring you all the way till the end. While on the other hand, Sylvia stayed adamant to being sincere and honest all through her performances.

The night truly belonged to the 2 finalists as they competed neck and neck for the coveted title. Sylvia seemed to take the lead with her cover of “Mercy” by Duffy that opened the show, while Sezairi’s rendition of “Virtual Insanity” originally sang by his inspiration Jamiroquai, didn’t seem to stand out as much.

But soon the tides were turned as Sezairi brought his performance up a notch with Aerosmith’s “Crazy” that even Ken Lim commented that the second round “belonged” to him.

Finally, the verdict came when both finalists sang this year’s theme song that pretty much wrapped up the experience they gained over the 6 grueling months of the competition.

Sezairi now walks away with the title of being the third Singapore Idol, alongside first Idol Taufik Batisah and second/Asian Idol Hady Mirza. In addition, he also won himself a recording contract with Universal Music.

Though it’d be rather difficult to picture singer and K-pop sensation Rain (Jung Ji-Hoon) attempt a serious acting role in a Hollywood film, you’ll be astounded by his surprising transformation from pop star to genuine action hero in his third film, Ninja Assassin.

In this movie, he plays Raizo, one of the world’s deadliest assassins, who was brought up and trained by the Ozunu Clan, that he intends to destroy in order to regain his freedom. The clan consists of other assassins who share the similar fate as him, kidnapped during childhood, and raised in Spartan, soul-wrecking conditions in order to train their assassination skills.

The flashbacks that occur throughout the movie allow you to follow the growth of Raizo, from an abandoned orphan to the finest assassin of his clan. Director James McTeigue spared nothing, showing Raizo’s harsh upbringing in painful detail, from various punishments bordering on torture to the austere lifestyle that “kills one’s heart”.

His “Father”, Lord Ozunu, (Sho Kogusi) is illustrated as a grim, merciless mentor who brainwashes his students into becoming emotionless killing machines. His motto, “the strong survive”, leads Raizo to pit himself against his fellow “brothers and sisters” in numerous battles.

Things eventually start to change when one of his friends get executed by the clan. This is when the whole direction of the movie transitions in sync with Raizo’s plot of taking vengeance.

Overall, moviegoers have to bear in mind that this is an action flick, and thus should expect extremely bloody scenes bordering on gore. While the plot and ending may seem somewhat predictable, it still manages to live up to what an action movie should ideally be by emphasising on the fighting scenes. Hence, escalating the movie towards a surprising and satisfying climax.

Do catch it for the amazing action sequences if not for anything else. And for all the Rain fans out there, this can’t be missed. The director must’ve been thinking of the fans — Rain is shirtless more than half the time.

It really was impressive to see Rain in an action film, not because of his ripped muscles but the way he could carry the role very naturally. Well, it’s no surprise after his aggressive 8 months of training that not only allowed him to fit the role comfortably, but also made him achieve zero body fat!

Fans of recently K-pop boy band formed by Rain himself, MBLAQ, will be pleasantly surprised to catch suave group member Lee Chang Sun, also known as Joon, acting the part of young Raizo in place of Rain.

Strangely enough, both Rain and “Joon” do look like brothers. And since the movie consists of quite a number of flashbacks, fans will be glad to know that “Joon” appears almost as much as Rain. Definitely making it a visual feast for all the fans out there.

But please do remember to not watch the men for their well-toned bodies only, but also to appreciate and observe Rain’s achievement for climbing the next milestone in his career.

Overall, UrbanWire give Ninja Assassin 4 stars!

For StarHub TV users, tune in to VIP Access this Nov 29 at 8.30pm on Channel 58 STAR MOVIES, where host Dominic Lau presents the ultimate backstage pass to Ninja Assassin, the action-packed martial arts extravaganza featuring Korean pop superstar Rain (Speed Racer).

VIP ACCESS

VIP Access is the ultimate backstage pass to the latest blockbusters from Hollywood and Asia. Every episode features exclusive movie footage, behind-the-scenes action and celebrity interviews with LA-based film correspondent Stevie Wong. Presented by Dominic Lau, VIP Access provides coverage from the premieres in Asia and US and reviews of new releases.

Viewers can keep up to date with movie news 24/7 by logging on to http://www.startv.com/vipaccess and check out Stevie’s blog, which gives the lowdown on movie news and gossip.

Opens: Nov 26 (Singapore)
Duration: 99 min
Language: English
Rating: M18
Genre: Action/Adventure
Director: James McTeigue
Cast: Rain, Ben Miles, Naomie Harris, Sho Kosugi

What Project Runway did for aspiring fashion designers, HP SPACE, touted as Asia’s first original reality television series, plans to do for a spectrum of creative types.

Weekly, from Nov 10, the 16 finalists, selected from 2,000 digital auditions/submissions from all over the region, will pit their creative talent, skills and determination against each other in solving creative challenges that range from multi-media and visual art to product design, music, fashion and publishing.

“HP SPACE will be an adventure that will push [the contestants] out of their comfort zone, expanding their boundaries of creativity,” said executive producer of HP SPACE David Searl. He’s known for adapting international reality programmes such as Are You Smarter than a 5^th Grader for local TV audiences.

It bodes well for our entertainment that the organisers were forced to increase of the number of finalists from 12 to 16, due to the “high standard of work exhibited at the auditions”, according to Searl. The “vibrant personalities” of the short-listed contestants, he added, also convinced them to make this decision.

Similar to existing reality TV programmes, HP SPACE will have elimination rounds, where one or more participants will be ejected each week. The final contestant left standing will grab the coveted grand prize of US$50,000(S$69,950) as well as a fully-paid job on the live-action remake of cult anime Bubblegum Crisis in Australia.

Guiding the contestants in the race to win the competition are Ban Yih Jheow, founder of poseable ball-socket toys Stikfast^TM , and Sean Cummins, creator of “The Best Job in the World” campaign . In addition to these 2 permanent judges, there’ll be guest judges and mentors from all disciplines will also help the finalists throughout the different stages of the competition.

Hosting the show is one of Asia’s most popular TV personalities, Paula Malai Ali, who expressed her delight at her upcoming role during a one-on-one interview with UrbanWire. She is eagerly anticipating the challenge, as she “will only take one take” to get the contestants’ reaction. Most important to her, the ESPN STAR Sports presenter, added, her job is “about bringing the best out of the contestants.”

Meet The Contestants

Before the final 16 were selected, 65 contestants were shortlisted to attend auditions in China, Singapore and India, where they were subjected to a set of mini-challenges, working with complete strangers and having to meet strict deadlines. The ones who made the cut did it on their overall creative talent, leadership, teamwork, as well as their comfort level in front of the camera.

UrbanWire spoke to 3 contestants you might want look out for:

Kaz Cai, Director/Producer, Singapore

If she wasn’t trying to take part in a contest giveaway that Channel [V] was hosting, Kaz Cai, aka “Spiderfingers” wouldn’t even have stumbled upon the HP SPACE website. “I was trying to win the white flying V that the channel was giving away,” said Kaz, cackling at her recollection.

Now, winning the “white flying V” is not an issue. The 28 year-old director-producer is set to “go all the way”.

Besides wanting to win the competition, she views it as a platform to learn from. “ I want to see how the professionals do it,” added Kaz.

Being able to “think straight for a solution” when she encounters a mishap is attributed to her “nerves of steel”, definitely a quality that will be of an advantage to her in the competition.

Prior to the competition, she directed a number of rock concerts, including that of  English indie band Kasabian and her favourite band, The All American Rejects. Being a rock chick at heart, her passion for music was developed when she used to sing Latin hymns in a choir during her teenage years. “Music is in me,” she added.

Brandon Liu, Architect, Australia/Singapore

27-year-old architect Brandon Liu views HP SPACE as a chance to work and live with people from various cultures, backgrounds and different creative industries.  “It’s a new opportunity for us to develop our own creativity of moving further and diversifying our creativity as well,” he said.

He considers his flexibility in working with others an advantage in the competition. Given the nature of his work, he has “to know when to work hard as an individual and in a team”, “to take leadership in certain situations” and also to “learn to step back and learn from others”. These attributes, he believes, will help him in the long run of the competition.

Before coming to Singapore 2 years ago Brandon fulfilled his childhood ambition by studying architecture in Sydney. He plans to apply as a permanent resident here and probably set up his own company one day.

Lora Lee, Design Student, China

Being the youngest contestant on the competition, Lora Lee, 21, naturally feels the pressure. However, her enthusiasm and inquisitive nature seem to help her overcome it.

Lora’s one of the 2 contestants from China who won HP’s “My Computer My Stage” (MCMS) youth campaign there.  The programme, now into its third wave, allows the youths to express their creativity, and their desire to connect and share.

She joined the competition with an open mind to learn, and to integrate the skills that she gathered from 4 years of professional training in the digital animation field.

Most importantly, she believes that “being grateful” for every aspect of your life will make you “view things in a beautiful manner”. Hence, it’ll allow you to make an honest connection with people through your work.

Prior to the competition, she was a grade 3 student majoring in animation at the Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts.

HP SPACE will make its premiere on Nov 10 STAR WORLD in India, Channel [V] in India, Malaysia, Southeast Asia, Hong Kong and Mainland China.

Visit www.hpspace.com, for more information.

Images courtesy of Fox International Channels (SG)

An opening ceremony of the magnitude and colour as ION Orchard’s, is almost unheard of for a retail centre in Singapore. Oct 23 marked the finale of a 9-day long celebration for the architecturally iconic shopping mall. A glamorous and star-studded lineup featuring American-born Taiwanese music heart-throb Wang Lee Hom rocked the heart of the shopping district.

He was featured in an open-air concert in the centre of Orchard Road, following American Idol Season 4 winner Carrie Underwood, as the curtain-raiser for the commemoration leading up to the grand opening ceremony.

Hosts MTV Veejays Utt and Denise Keller kicked off the 2-hour street party by introducing the fashion previews that included world-renowned labels Herve Leger and DSquared², which have made their debuts on our shores at ION.

A model clad in one of Herve Leger’s “Body Con” or Body Conscious dresses

Brothers Dean and Dan Caten, the sartorial geniuses behind DSquared2, showed their version of fall with style.

An hour into the showcase, fans were treated to a 20-minute segment by singer-songwriter Wang Lee Hom.

Wang Lee Hom greeting his fans, some of whom queued for an hour to snag a place in the front row.

He got the crowd pumped up to his opening song,  “摇滚怎么了!!” [literally What's Happened to Rock!!] from his last album, Heart. Beat, released last December.

With intense concentration, Wang Lee Hom impressively strums his electric guitar to his latest rock number “What’s Happened to Rock!!”

Lee Hom changed musical gears immediately when, together with his dancers, he danced and sang to the upbeat track “蓋世英雄” (Heroes of the Earth), the title track of an album he released 4 years ago.

More than a few hearts were won by his intimate rendition of Elton John’s “Your Song”, which Ewan Mcgregor covered in the award-winning movie musical Moulin Rouge.

Wang Lee Hom on the piano with Dior’s parisian inspired design boutique as backdrop

Preceding the memorable performance by Lee Hom and the fashion show was the launch of charity project “We are One”, that hopes to unite all Singaporeans as one during these economically trying times. Gracing the launch of this project were Singapore President S R Nathan and Lucas Chow, CEO of MediaCorp, the organiser of the cause, whose beneficiaries are the President’s Challenge 2009 and Community Chest.

The climax of the night was a visually stunning finale of fireworks rocketing into the sky, as seen through the wavy glass roof of the building that left the guests and members of the public in awe.

Guests were treated to the spectacular view of the fireworks through the wavy roof top of ION

Emcees MTV VJ Utt and Denise Keller, together with Wang Lee Hom, basking in joyous occasion.

If you’re looking for a phone that allows you to keep track of all your activities or enables secure storage of important files, Acer might’ve come up with a product you’ll be interested in.

To be launched in May, the M900 smart handheld comes from a series of 9 new Acer smartphones that’ll hit the market consecutively in late 2009.

The M900 is somewhat similar to current smart phones such as the Sony Xperia and the ever-popular BlackBerry. However, the Acer smartphone also provides a convenient way of typing for the less tech-savvy users (like yours truly) with a slideout Qwerty keyboard.

The keyboard slides out with ease, making it convenient for users who are always on the go. Also, the buttons on the keyboard are comfortably sized. You won’t have the problem of pressing multiple buttons at once. In fact, the keyboard fits nicely in both hands, providing a good grip and better contact. (This means you won’t be dropping this phone a lot.) The Qwerty keyboard feature definitely makes messaging much easier.

In general, the phone is designed to fit snugly into the palm of your hand. Despite feeling a little heavier at 188 g than the iPhone or the Samsung Omnia, this phone is packed with up-to-date software that compensates for its 17. 1 mm thickness.

Software like Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional, Outlook Mobile Email and Office Mobile (consisting of Word, Excel and Powerpoint) are preinstalled into the phone, allowing road warriors to check their emails or work on important documents anytime, anywhere.

With its large 3.8-inch WVGA touch screen, one of the biggest among smartphones, it dramatically improves the browsing experience for users, eliminating the need to squint at a miniscule display. The M900 also comes with Acer UI 2.0 (Shell), which provides a customisable interface that mimics a real desktop.

This interface provides users with very interactive functions. Just like other phones, you can store photos, upload music, check the global weather and even update your Facebook all with the swipe of a finger.

Of course there are more functions available, but I won’t spoil the fun just yet. You can get your hands on one in May, when the M900 is launched officially throughout Asia.