881 Secret
Watched these two much talked about movies recently. I think 881 will do wonders for the local Getai scene this 7th Lunar month. It will also change the impression of hokkien song for many. Secret will introduce a whole lot of youngsters to the music and life of Chopin. It will make learning to play the piano by couples the new "in" thing after Ghost made pottery classes big in the 90s.
881 wasn't much of a comedy. Even the funny bits weren't totally funny. The cinematography reminded me of Hou Hsiao Hsien's Three Times or Zui Hao De Shi Guang. Alot of depth that is created by way of using door and window frames, curtains, grilles, gates, beads etc etc. The story was not too bad but lacks a good scriptwriter. Perhaps a better editor. The laughs were generated mainly from usage of dialects, over-the-top acting and innuendos. No clever script. I like the bits where at the drop of a note, Guan Yin - mute played by Qi Yuwu would automatically grab the table to make space for the song and dance routine. Qi Yuwu confirms his status as Benedict Goh II. I see more credible acting from the chicken he is holding. The rest of the cast was par excellent though. Yeo Yann Yann and Mindee Ong owned their parts. So did the angmoh durain sisters May and Choy. Super bitchy. And their lousy mandarin just made them all the more bitchy. The music was super as well. The music production team headed by Eric Ng, head honcho of the Funkie Monkies captured every little detail of the Getai sound. Down pat to the techno remix of popular tunes so evident these years in the Getai scene. Don't get me wrong about the movie. I think the setting was super. Getai, why didn't anybody else thought of that. The acting quality ranged from totally credible to poor. Story was typical but emotionally told and portrayed. But the script like not very por-fessional [sic]....editing also....and how the sisters decided to call themsleves 881 seems sudden and unexplained.
Secret or Bu Neng Shuo De Mi MI by Jay Chou was amazing considering this is his big screen debut. He really did do his homework well with the MTVs he helmed for his songs. The story again was totally fantastic although character and love development between Jay and the lead girl, Rain (not the Korean star lah) can be further improved. Script again....can we hold back a little of the Taiwan Idol-drama crap? Acting was...... alright, nothing too challenging here for both leads. As to his directing skills, well I must say Jay has the chops. But he most probably has got a full-fledged professional team behind him. Don't want to diminish his talent by saying that. I wish him all the best for his next movie.
881 wasn't much of a comedy. Even the funny bits weren't totally funny. The cinematography reminded me of Hou Hsiao Hsien's Three Times or Zui Hao De Shi Guang. Alot of depth that is created by way of using door and window frames, curtains, grilles, gates, beads etc etc. The story was not too bad but lacks a good scriptwriter. Perhaps a better editor. The laughs were generated mainly from usage of dialects, over-the-top acting and innuendos. No clever script. I like the bits where at the drop of a note, Guan Yin - mute played by Qi Yuwu would automatically grab the table to make space for the song and dance routine. Qi Yuwu confirms his status as Benedict Goh II. I see more credible acting from the chicken he is holding. The rest of the cast was par excellent though. Yeo Yann Yann and Mindee Ong owned their parts. So did the angmoh durain sisters May and Choy. Super bitchy. And their lousy mandarin just made them all the more bitchy. The music was super as well. The music production team headed by Eric Ng, head honcho of the Funkie Monkies captured every little detail of the Getai sound. Down pat to the techno remix of popular tunes so evident these years in the Getai scene. Don't get me wrong about the movie. I think the setting was super. Getai, why didn't anybody else thought of that. The acting quality ranged from totally credible to poor. Story was typical but emotionally told and portrayed. But the script like not very por-fessional [sic]....editing also....and how the sisters decided to call themsleves 881 seems sudden and unexplained.
Secret or Bu Neng Shuo De Mi MI by Jay Chou was amazing considering this is his big screen debut. He really did do his homework well with the MTVs he helmed for his songs. The story again was totally fantastic although character and love development between Jay and the lead girl, Rain (not the Korean star lah) can be further improved. Script again....can we hold back a little of the Taiwan Idol-drama crap? Acting was...... alright, nothing too challenging here for both leads. As to his directing skills, well I must say Jay has the chops. But he most probably has got a full-fledged professional team behind him. Don't want to diminish his talent by saying that. I wish him all the best for his next movie.
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4 comments:
I still don't get the part of the techno (insert whatever here) thing.
the techno cat, the techno beng, the techno girl.. etc etc.. i think i'm just confused.
and i went in with a Jack Neo type of movie in mind.. so was quite disappointed at the relatively slower pace than those laugh-a-minute type of gags that Jack Neo shows have.
other than that, the dead pan expression of Guan Yin was plain irritating. they could have gotten really almost anyone else to pull off his role.
You forgot to mention Liu Ling Ling (i can't recall her name), but i thought she acted pretty well too.
neither do i.
i didn't go in with any particular mindset. but i thought since it was reviewed to be targetted at "heartlands" it was not as weepy. watch movie shld be an escape not a reminder. well....maybe...
liu ling ling's acting was a wee bit OTT. Lin Ru Ping on the other hand was quite good.
I agree that watching movies should be an escape.. not a reminder.. one of the shows which really makes a person feel like committing suicide at the end of it is "About Schimdt".. Jack Nicholson acting.. the other one which is pretty depressing, which i personally was hoping for eye candy.. is.. erm.. Little town girl or something like that starring Jennifer Aniston.
anyway, back to 881..
You've got to remember that Lin Ru Ping is a veteran actress. and her works are predominantly film.. whereas for Liu Ling Ling, her's has been more staged. and as most theatre, or in her case, getai performers go, they HAVE to be a little OTT.
funny you should say that cause the lin ru ping i know is also a getai singer. she was the emcee as well as performer at a friend's wedding recently. familiy friend i think. not drubbing liu ling ling, just that credit should be given for merit, not effort.
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