Witnessing Sean 许益凯 Celebrating 21 At Kobe

I was privileged to be invited by the bosses of Kobe, a newly-opened, huge Japanese feasting hangout at its new residence at Nihonkan Club, Jalan Ampang.

And was privileged to bump into many young and talented singers from the Astro Star Quest 2014 who were having a birthday celebration for Sean 许益凯.

It is what we call 缘分 (yuan fen) - fate -- because I have friends who work closely with them, and through youtube & TV,  I recognize their talent.

From left: Uriah 徐凯, I, Sean 许益凯, Ron 彭世豪

It was a sweet time witnessing the sweet and clever table deco that Sean's friends and family had put up for him on his 21st birthday, a huge difference compared to my own humble 21st at home. 

It was interesting to see fine dining Japanese food being prepared. An earnest work of delicious art!

I heard it was an 8-course Japanese dinner. Me never go out too much. So it was interesting to hear about the creative ways of doing business and serving food. 

It's a pretty casual and special atmosphere to eat in the cool breeze of the night beside the little pool in Kobe. It was a great chance to taste such refine Japanese dishes and have a few Asahi's in between, really a rare delight for me.

The edamames, just peas in the pod, can make a dish look so elegant.

After a full, hearty meal of vegetables, seafood and meat, it was a time for more cheers before cutting the cake. The entire restaurant joined in the celebration. 

The whole gang line up for a photo memory

Fireworks to celebrate the shooting up of a boy's career

Ron's 11-year-old cousin, up to his tricks and his best entertaining self.
I think he may grow up to be an entertaining MC or talkshow host.

Worthy to mention is this song by Sean. Not many know the story behind it. 

Sean 许益凯【听见爱】 MV 完整版
 

My good friend, Eugene, decided that he would set a challenge to himself to achieve something in his life. From the very start, he and I set our minds on having the positive Qi, and he set about telling me that he just decided to do something which would be a success. 

Without any experience doing something like this before, he boldly initiated the project of getting a song composed with Sean in mind for Astro's Parents' Day campaign. I spent many hours listening to him talk on and on about this wonderful song, listening and smiling by himself, enjoying this song, and about the marketing that he had a hand in. At the time of writing, this song has hit No. 4 on MYFM radio charts.

Skip to minute 4:04 to see Uriah's winning performance at the 2014 International Chinese New Talent Singing Championship in Hong Kong.

My pleasure to have known Mr & Mrs Leong, who are the most excited, energetic and gracious-hearted people I have met, and who truly love music and entertainment with all their beings.

Bosses of Kobe, Mr & Mrs Leong, congratulating Sean.

As I focused my wishes on meeting like-minded people, to keep on loving the idea of creating music, promoting talent and continue floating in the storms of showbiz which has been my entire life's journey, I am led to shore to sweet surprises I have never tasted. Mr Leong & Xian Hui, are a couple who have shown me an example of "follow your bliss."

Celebrating Malaysia and Celebrating Malaysian Talent: WVC Live Concert

This poster is enough to grab your attention. 

WVC, a Malaysian Jazz Ensemble, comprising of jazz pianist maestro Tay Cher Siang, saxophonist Julian Chan, Bassist AJ Popshuvit, Drummer KJ Wong, presents a rare live concert at the KL Performing Arts Centre. 

At a time, when the economy is not invigorating and people are holding back spending money lavishly, some of them chose to spend Wednesday night at a jazz concert, which is sold out for 2 nights! 

The first time I ever saw Tay Cher Siang play the piano, I instantly named him the best jazz pianist in the world. It is really uncommon for people who see him play and not want to follow his career, unless you really don't appreciate music. Again, he wowed the 500-strong appreciative crowd with ironic precision of jazz music. 

The night was filled with some surprises. Other than the usual jazz band, they added a string orchestra called Arioso Sinfonia, whose members ranged from ages 12-18. Thanks to my wonderful friend Pearlly, I got a good seat. But why is it there is an uncle who insists to sit upright with his very round head blocking my view?!

In some songs, ballroom dancers, an Indian traditional dancer, a Chinese theatrical performer, a modern contemporary dancer and even a calligrapher lent their grace to a celebration of Malaysia's diverse cultures and unity, which Cher Siang so emphasised on the night.

Yudi's second song with the band, Silence of The Night, a song that she composed together with Cher Siang for her Shades of Passion album, had a warm tune and was soulfully delivered.

Winnie Ho, was a refreshing surprise as she gave such surprising jazz dynamics to the old Chinese favourite Girl From South Sea (南海姑娘）。

With Winnie Ho who sang
with good dynamics

In the year 2000, I produced Astro Talent Quest whose winner was a pint-sized freshie, Winnie Ho. I knew she had continued singing and went into jazz, but have never attended any of her shows. It was a nice reunion and I laughingly told her that she had improved a lot! So proud of her.

my most favourite jazz pianist in the world

When I first met Cher Siang, he was a young and shy guy. He promptly said he was old already and had become more "thick skin." Tonight, he led the audience with his charming Malaysian humour, and had them eating out of his amazing, piano-playing hands. I thanked him for his performance and congratulated him for having improved his showmanship.

With Yudi, songstress friend, Tay Cher Siang, and the talented and dynamic Pearlly

The Curse of Eternal Youth: The Age Of Adaline

"On December 31, 2014, a taxicab travels through San Francisco, from Chinatown to San Marin. The car carries a single passenger: a woman, her birth name Adaline Bowman, current alias Jennifer Larson. This is the first and last chapter of her life."

I love the way the movie starts with a narration and introduces Adaline Bowman in the first scenes. 

Narration doesn't always fit into every movie genre, but without it, The Age of Adaline would lose its period-drama charm.

Adaline Bowman was born on 1st January, 1908. At the age of 29, while driving at night on a lonely road in California, snow fell. California is a state that never sees snow. As she struggles to see her way, Adaline, a widow with a young daughter, drove her car off the road and into the water. For several minutes, she floats unconscious in the water. Suddenly, lightning strikes her and she floats up to take a breath. 

She then lives on in a life of "eternal youth" that most of us would die for. But for Adaline, it becomes a curse. She runs from identity to identity, never staying long enough in one place to establish relationships. 

Why does she run? Is it because of the FBI that wants to investigate why this woman doesn't look her age?

One of the most poignant scenes is when her dog dies, and she tearfully flips through a photo album of her dogs throughout the years, all of the same breed, from black and white photos to  orangey tints to the photos of current times. 

Adaline is tired of living life without aging. Yes, she does have her youth and energy even though she is now 107. She is tired. She is tired of running to hide her identity. And when she meets tall, dark, handsome, wealthy, philantropic, historical-buff, love-at-first-sight, oh-so-into-her Ellis (is this the perfect description of the perfect guy or what), she realizes more so that she is tired of running from love. 

The story, the acting and the direction has kept her character in tact as a woman born from the elegant era of the 1900's. We find Adaline cool and charming, but behind that facade, is a heartbroken woman.

What this movie does is address our society's general judgement on the factor of age between two people who love each other. 

What's age got to do with it? Only because we let it.

Love Is...

Love is...a beautiful story of four tragic hearts. Well, in this movie, it is.

Its story plot feels familiar, like the type of sob stories that were popular years ago in Indian, Taiwanese, & Korean TV dramas. 

As this Thai movie embarks on the tragic love story plot for today's audience, the title "Love is" makes us question how we would react if we were in similar situations as any of the four characters.

The movie starts off steadily without much drama, and scenes took their time to build each character, their family background, their expectations of life, and their relationship with each other. 

Tall and handsome Kamon from Bangkok visits the hilly Chiang Rai, at the scenic north of Thailand. He is greeted by an excited family of friends who are preparing for dinner outdoors in the cool evening.  

There are two young ladies there. Boisterous Xiao Ping, we find out later, is his best friend. There is sweet Qing, who is Kamon's shy girlfriend. Then there is Wei, whom just graduated from a university in China. He grew up together with Qing and was raised by Qing's grandmother. They are all part of the Thai Chinese community of Chiang Rai where Chinese traditions are still strongly practised. 

The buddy-buddy, happy-family mood drops a notch down the next day. The two guys, Kamon and Wei, spend some buddy time together. Wei confides that he has to marry Xiao Ping as they are both in an arranged marriage by their families. He resents the upcoming marriage as he does not feel any love for Xiao Ping. 

Kamon then reveals his intention to propose marriage to Qing. Wei is visibly upset by this news. It seems he harbours deep feelings for Qing.  

Nurse Xiao Ping on the other hand, loves Wei with all her heart. Qing and Kamon's romance, has actually been going on for several years, but the two characters' roles are portrayed somewhat in contrast to that fact. I don't even remember if they held hands. Her job as a primary school teacher and her responsibility for caring for her grandmother, who has to take insulin jabs, tells audiences that she would be unwilling to follow Kamon to live in Bangkok after their marriage.

Wei and Xiao Ping are wed. The wedding night is a disastrous night of painful tears.

One day, Qing and Wei spend some time under the tree where they used to spend their childhood days, reminiscing about old times together.  We think there may be something going on here as Qing then hugs Wei -- but tells him they are both better off as friends. 

Qing and Wei walk home together. When they reached the house, grandmother and others greeted them with panicked faces. Kamon has just been in an accident!

Love has a different meaning for each of these characters. What happens with Kamon, Qing, Wei and Xiao Ping towards the end of the movie lets you fill in the blanks. Love is ...

9 Plays In A Night

 

If you have never attended any plays at the theatre, an anthropology like this KLPAC TURNS 10! should be your start to your theatrical adventure. 

With some theatre directors & actors in my circle of close friends, I am often privileged and invited to watch their productions and performances. Malaysian theatre scares me, though, as they are often considered a playground for productions that have very little budget that actors or crew are often not paid. 

So I enter with caution, as this also leads to the question of the quality of the performances (never mind the production as there is often little budget anyway).

For this event, there were 9 plays by different directors, each lasting about 10 minutes -- 2 in Bahasa Malaysia, 3 in English and 4 in Chinese. Some plays were performed by a solo actor and the most number of actors was 5. 

So, it was a great opportunity for us to compare the difference between each play, and as the 9 plays span a variety of styles and stories, therefore they are bite-sized pieces that are easier to swallow.

Death seems to be a popular topic -- it was the central theme  of plays #3 The Sea, #6 Messy Water, #7 Bebas, #9 Three Doors.

#6 Messy Water - directed by William Yap

What happens when a bunch of lovers die together? The plot already establishes the comedy arising. and had audience laughing from beginning to end. The character actors manage to deliver not only the humour of their awkward situtation, but also establish humour in their characters itself. It was also one of the few plays that took the time to ponder on making an impact with the script and to choreograph the actor's movement. 

#9 Three Doors - directed by Mark Beau de Silva

Again about death, this time of an elderly man, but the focus was on his wife instead, played by Faridah Merican. The audience sympathizes with her, a surprisingly adorable, witty character, who turns pensive, speaking in a tone of voice that plays tunes to our ears. The play moves smoothly with 2 other wonderful actors, Douglas Wong and Ho Lee Ching, who brilliantly slips into several roles each and also provides the comic relief as the lady deals with being alone while pining painfully for her 3 sons.

#1 Airmata Waris - directed by Zamzuriah Zahari

This started off the interesting night, as it showed real skill of the dying Wayang Kulit, fused into a modern play. The female actress that plays the puppet that came to live, for once, showed me why theatre can be so much more interesting for us than a sci-fi blockbuster movie. She showed trained performance skill in traditional dance, mixed with modern-day humour, which the modern-day audience digs. This is one play I would like to see continue.  

#5 Aku Nak Jadi Bintang - directed by Faridah Merican

This was quite a stand out. Even though a few of the other plays featured solo performers, which is always a challenge to captivate the audience, Ho Lee Ching on the other hand, was fluent in delivering her lines in Bahasa Malaysia, and drove the audience' imagination wild with her body language!

When Geek Meets Serial Killer

A curiously captivating movie title, and interestingly, an old friend's directorial debut. So, I took an effort to watch it, curious to see what and how he has made this movie. By the 5th minute, I already wanted to feedback to him that it was brilliantly told. 

It's a movie that is considered daring for a conservative Chinese society. Refreshing black humour, choreographed and executed so well by a director yet unseen in the Chinese world of movie making. 

It starts off with a comic artist who lands the fantasy of a lifetime when 5 sexy maids turns up at his apartment. Then he wakes up --  to a blood-strewn apartment with a dead person lying in front of him.

The story is told in first person narration, each character's psyche expressed clearly to the audience scene by scene, and the storyline of each character was cleverly interlinked with flashbacks, and kept me going "oh....so that's what was going on..." Ne'er a dull moment.

As a producer and director, and intending to write and make my own movie soon, I have always liked intercutting to flashbacks to tell the story instead of telling an entire story the linear way. But it is not easy to write, plan, shoot, and edit this way and still keep your audience clued to what's going on. 

The CGI just makes you laugh at the humour of what really goes on in our minds. Each shot and talent positioning was choreographed to tell a particular satire; the script and the entire message of the movie was a cynical hit at the farce of a hypocritical society.