CNY Wish List

I posted my CNY wish list 2 weeks ago and I've actually fulfilled most of it within the past 2 weeks.

1. Nice buffet - CHECK
Had a company steamboat at Marina Bay yesterday. Should qualify since it's buffet style, but it wasn't exactly nice. Too much meat (I love my veges!) and the fumes are a real put-off.

2. Dreamgirls - CHECK
Decent movie, though Jennifer Hudson's performance is a little overhyped IMO. I think she went OTT (over the top) at quite a few parts. Beyonce's rendition of "Listen" is more my cup of tea, plus she's such eye candy, I wouldn't blame Jamie Foxx's character for choosing her instead of Hudson. Eddie Murphy is refreshing in a non-comedy role, though I think he didn't deserve to win a best supporting actor oscar, which he didn't. It may be (based on) a musical but it's pretty accessible fare with pop-ish songs & choreography, and a straightforward plot which raises some issues like racial discrimination against coloured people.

3. Letters from Iwo Jima - CHECK
I rented Steven Spielberg's "Saving Private Ryan" to watch over the CNY break, which might have diminished the impact of "Letters" somewhat when I watched it yesterday. The latter is co-produced by Spielberg (I think not many people know this since the film is largely credited to Clint Eastwood). There was a sense of deja vu here and there, though I thought "Letters" is more polished (in terms of the cinematography and production) and raw (in terms of the portrayal and material) at the same time, had more depth, better characterisation, and a more poignant storyline.

It also reinforced certain war stereotypes (*Spoiler*such as in the scene where the Japanese soldiers brutally stabbed their American POW *Spoiler*) and then demolished some (*Spoiler* such as the Japanese officer who cared for his American captive while the American soldier killed the Japanese deserters *Spoiler*), which is not unexpected - but laudable nonetheless - given the fact that the film is told from the Japanese perspective. It's a refreshing take, and serves to dispel the entrenched misgivings arising from the often one-sided portrayal of all Japanese soldiers as cruel and inhuman.

Incidentally, "Days of Glory", another war film I wrote about in a previous entry, was also nominated for an Oscar in best foreign film. In hindsight, it is apparent that it borrowed heavily from "Saving Private Ryan", and the only thing original about it was probably its theme of racial discrimination (again) in the French army. I personally feel it didn't deserve an oscar nomination.

4. Just Follow Law - CHECK
Typical Jack Neo fare, though it is sub-par when compared to his previous works like "I Not Stupid". It does a laudable job poking fun at the rigidity & ludicrousness of some of our government agencies, policies, and civil servants, but that was more of an appetiser which whetted the audience's appetite only to let us down with the equally ludicrous body-switch formula. The only saving grace is perhaps Fann Wong's performance which alone is worth the price of a ticket, albiet a weekday ($7) one.

5. Tank - 延長比賽 (改版) - X
Yet to be released in Singapore.

6. 曹格 - Superman (改版) - CHECK
7. 張惠妹 - 愛的力量 10年情歌最精選 - CHECK
Just got these 2 albums. Might post some impressions of "Superman" later on.

8. Norah Jones - Not Too Late - X
I think I will wait for the "Special Edition". Anyway I am quite broke already after all that splurging (see checked items above).

Next up, Stef's new album, Avril Lavigne's new album - Best Damn Thing, and the summer blockbusters (all those sequels!).

One final thought: SEX sells. After Stanley Huang's album topped the Taiwan G-Music sales charts by stripping, Peter Ho does the same. Poor Singapore's Yida, who is obviously more talented than Ho, can't even manage a top 10. Sigh.