dy158 Reviews

This Land is Mine (2021– )

Singapore after the war

[9/10 · 31 December 2021]

It is actually based on the novel 'The Devil's Circle', and also inspired by real events. Post-WWII Singapore is seldom depicted on screen, and so this is something refreshing.

Far from more just a retelling of history, it is also on real lives upended by the ending of the war, and how it is still playing out in peace time, and the constant question of identity.

Even if it may seemed that there are different stories being told, it was to be all interwoven towards the climax.

It is actually very gripping and twists and turns where one may not expect.

Desperate Housewives (2004–2012)

It is never always desperate

[8/10 · 31 December 2021]

In a way, it is like rewatching from the beginning. But back when it first aired on local television, I initially watched on and off the few seasons before giving up. But when second chance presented itself years later recently, I gave it another go, and stayed on to the end.

It might had began with the mystery of Mary Alice Young, but as the seasons went on, it also expanded to the newer residents coming to Wisteria Lane, and while some had left and never return, others stayed on. And there are those who were there from the beginning, like Mary Alice's friends on the lane in Susan Mayer, Gabrielle Solis, Bree Van Der Kamp, Lynette Scavo.

But still, despite the title, the housewives on the lane are not always desperate even in their separate lives, as they are always there for each other no matter what in good times and the bad.

What kept it enjoyable watching overall was the various storylines through the seasons with a mystery to focus on. Not only that, Mary Alice will always have something to comment on her friends and neighbours from beyond the grave. It is often than not, someone will always have something to hide.

The X-Files (1993–2018)

The truth is out there, if you believe!

[8/10 · 31 December 2021]

It was actually one of the first few American TV series that I first know of being aired on local television at where I am, where for a long time, I know more of the theme music than the series itself. I was slightly too young to watch it then (disclosure: I was six when it first aired), but had to watch from the beginning when it landed on Disney+.

There is a reason why people still believe in the unexplained, the supernatural, aliens, or maybe not all at the same time. The occasional debates on whether it is really 'out there', or just something to cling onto. And then you get Fox Mulder and Dana Scully, and how while there are times when their respective belief systems gets challenged, there are also the comedic and touching moments between the two.

The quality of the series might had gone down a little as it went on, but towards the end, it improved and also indirectly addressing issues in our time.

Always remember: The truth is out there, if you believe!

Hamilton (2020)

The musical journey of the first United States Treasury Secretary

[9/10 · 29 December 2021]

Disclosure: It is actually the very first thing I watched on Disney+ after signing up to it. After so much buzz and the reviews that went with it, I just had to watch it.

For the uninitiated, it is a musical and a very unique take on the life and times of the first Treasury Secretary of the United States, Alexander Hamilton. Hip hop and rap included? But it is also an enjoyable way of learning the life of an immigrant who made good, and learning about Hamilton's life beyond what he was remembered for.

Friends (1994–2004)

They will always be there for you

[9/10 · 29 December 2021]

Friends has always been part of a special period of my life, as it was amongst the first American TV series shown on local television at where I am. I was aware of it (disclosure: I was 7 when it first aired), but did not quite watch any of the episodes, even if I am aware of the theme song.

But back when I first got onto Netflix, it became one of the first shows I had to watch. There may be jokes and references which are seem dated, but there are those which were a sign of the times it was in. Across the episodes, there is always something to know of each and everyone: Monica, Ross, Rachel, Joey, Chandler, and Phoebe.

One thing is for sure, they will always be there for you no matter what.

Galácticos (2021)

The rise and fall of the galaticos project

[8/10 · 29 December 2021]

Any mention of the galaticos in the Spanish footballing context always brings up what happened to Real Madrid in the early 2000s. Much might had been written about it, but it is not always from the perspective of those involved in it. It is a definite case-study of how to run and not at a football club, even if the stories involved in those times can be wild at times.

Anyone new to Spanish football will get an insight on how heady the turn of this century was for Real Madrid, just as much as it is quite a look-back for those following the Spanish game for some time.

DuckTales (2017–2021)

The revival, woo-oo!

[9/10 · 29 December 2021]

It has to be said, heard a lot of rave reviews to this, and know that had to check it out on Disney+. I had actually watched this before watching the original series.

Not only that, it does make references to the original along with other Disney shows, and it is still as funny as ever. That is even it has also been updated to include modern sensibilities. The theme song is still the same as ever, woo-oo!

DuckTales (1987–1990)

The original (before the revival), woo-oo!

[8/10 · 26 December 2021]

It has to be said, I had originally watched the DuckTales revival before watching this on Disney+. Watching the entire series, it gave me insights of how it influenced the revival series. What didn't change in the original and the revival is the theme music. Woo-oo!

Unbeatables (1993–2002)

A gambling rivalry saga with consequences

[7/10 · 16 January 2021]

A rivalry between two gamblers that included underhand methods which turned deadly over the development of a casino on an undeveloped island, leaving one blind and his wife committing suicide. That is until 18 years later, the young boy who became an orphan has grown into an adult with a happy-go-lucky attitude with no original intentions to follow in the footsteps of his father who was forced to go blind all those years ago.

At the other side, the only surviving child of the man who emerged victorious 18 years before had no idea of her original identity, where she has always been the eldest of three and a father who has a gambling habit. She is a policewoman herself, cracking down on illegal gambling dens around the island. But unbeknownst to her, it was due to the predictions of a fortune teller who said that she will never get to see her 30th birthday if she still remains with her family.

Time and again she will run into him, and things took a drastic turn when the woman he was originally engaged to be married with was abducted on the day of the wedding, and it led him to the casino which was run by his father's rival. The bet to take over the casino would have serious consequences not only for him, and the policeman who found him all drunk on the day of his wedding.

When the first season first aired in 1993, it was ground-breaking for the fact that this is still the only television drama series to date made in Singapore with gambling as a main theme, during a time when casinos were non-existent in the country. But it uses the plot of how the actions of two known gamblers would have serious consequences for their descendants over the never-ending grudge and bloodshed along the way. The popularity led to two more seasons, and while it is known that the second season also had scenes filmed on location in Las Vegas and San Francisco and the third and final season having scenes done in Australia especially in Sydney to make it have a more international feel to the drama series as it progresses, the third season started to move away from the original storyline when magic is also involved.

This reviewer was part of the last generation who recalled Singapore having no casino at all, or even two casinos for that matter, as casinos were only to be seen on television and in films. And the same generation (like this reviewer again) who used to want to imitate the gambling tricks like it used to be all the rage when this was first aired in 1993. It was actually very convincing, even with the added special effects especially seen in the later seasons.

There was a reason when I was to be of age when it was first aired, watching the drama series was what always made me look forward to after school. It was precisely the world I never thought would become a reality being taken into a world where casinos are a common sight. Since then, the entire three seasons has been re-released on Netflix's Singapore service (which I had watched in).

Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries (2012–2015)

Come along in Miss Fisher's world

[9/10 · 30 December 2020]

For an aristocrat, The Honourable Phryne Fisher does not conform to stereotype. In fact, her father Henry inherited the title when the other male heirs were killed during the First World War, with her father inheriting it from his cousin (where it would be later revealed in the series that her father's cousin was presumed dead until the latter showed up). She was originally born poor in Collingwood, Melbourne.

What Phryne came to do during World War One especially in France would come to be revealed itself at times during the series, but she originally returned home to Australia after her time abroad where she had been invited to a luncheon. Apart from also being reunited with her aunt Prudence, the luncheon was off due to a murder at the manor. Some of those she would come to know of throughout the series would appear in the first two seasons in the first season, like Detective Inspector Jack Robinson, Constable Hugh Collins, her future maid Dorothy 'Dot' Williams, her taxi drivers Cec and Bert (who are also known as 'red raggers', or communists in Australian slang at the time), being reunited with her close friend from the war in Dr. MacMillan, and the ever-reliable butler in Mr. Butler.

The real reason for Phryne's homecoming though, it has to do with the disappearance of her sister Jane, or Janey as she always called her. Murdoch Foyle, the person responsible for Janey's disappearance would also come to form the sub-plot for the first season. But it was not the first and last time one would see Phryne being in a vulnerable stage in the first season in terms of facing her past with fear, given she is not afraid of anything, and she even owns a gun.

As the season progresses, one would learn more than just about Phryne, as there are also the backgrounds of those she kept running into. Though it differs from the books on how it described Detective Inspector Robinson and his personal life, the second season would gradually come to have a sub-plot of him at times running into his ex-wife Rosie and former father-in-law Deputy Commissioner George Sanderson. The third and final season also subconsciously deals with Phryne's estranged relationship with her father, and it was put to the test when Henry's life was on the line in the finale of the third season.

Crime fiction has been all the rage for a while, but a female protagonist at the heart of it and in historical setting is rare on both accounts. Agatha Christie may be the benchmark, but her protagonist is a male. As much as the television series follow the books in how it is also set in late 1920s Melbourne and Australia in general, it also dealt on issues unique to that period no matter how tough or light-hearted it may be. For putting the spotlight on the Aboriginal community and Melbourne's migrant communities like it has been dispersed throughout the series, there is also the spotlight of cinema in that period. It also never shied away from heavy issues like human trafficking, at one time under the spotlight in third season, which was equally heart-wrenching watching.

There is also the underline social issue of the time, in terms of the role of the woman in post-World War One world, and the evolution of Dot throughout the series also gave a glimpse of how society would have view her and in her interactions with her employer in Miss Fisher, who is already not afraid to go against the rules and norms of what society dictates in the first place.

Sherlock Holmes might had set the benchmark for how a fictional detective is like, but for those who do not mind a female narrative and also shining a spotlight on real-world events taking place in and around the period the series was being set, this is one to enjoy. Come along for how Miss Fisher goes about doing it and stay for the costumes...and her sometimes-flirtatious relationship with the Detective Inspector Jack Robinson!

Line of Duty (2012–2021)

And it's called nicking bent coppers!

[9/10 · 26 December 2020]

The show which originally started out as a summer schedule filler as according to its creator Jed Mercurio, also already known for 'Bodyguard' (though not to be confused with the film of the same title), has since grown into a television phenomenon in 2019 where it culminated in the much talked about plot twist in the episode finale, where it has reached its fifth season.

But when it first started, it began with Detective Sergeant Steve Arnott, then an authorised firearms officer, refusing to cover up for a botched raid which led to the killing of an unarmed innocent man. He would receive a transfer to AC-12, a unit tasked for uncovering police corruption, or as his boss Superintendent Ted Hastings later memorably said as the series went on, "And it's called nicking bent coppers!" Arnott would be partnered with D.C. Kate Fleming, known for being an undercover officer and being actually exceptionally good at it.

As it was increasingly clear as the series went on, AC-12 would come to investigate seemingly different cases of seemingly corrupt police officers, with a different corrupt police officer under the spotlight for each season.

First season is on Detective Constable Inspector (or DCI) Tony Gates, who on the surface had just being awarded officer of the year, would come under investigation for his record of returning the best crime figures of any unit. If that was not enough, there was also complications to his personal life. Second season is on Detective Inspector Lindsay Denton, a commander who was originally organising a convoy to transport a protected witness which is ambushed, before it went horribly wrong and she was the only police survivor. The third season is on Sergeant Danny Waldron, an authorised firearms officer, and it came after a matter of routine after the shooting of a suspect from his armed response unit, and how it may be also uncovering something deeper than that when Arnott and Fleming further probed the matter. The fourth season falls the spotlight on Detective Chief Inspector Roseanne 'Roz' Huntley, the senior investigating officer of Operation Trapdoor, where the mission is to capture a suspected serial killer. The arrest of a man with learning difficulties may not be what immediately alerted to AC-12, it was the possibility of mishandling evidence which a forensics officer initially alerted to Arnott.

The fifth season which had ended last year, the focus was originally on an undercover officer Detective Sergeant John Corbett who had been uncontactable for several months, before it emerged that his undercover name is John Clayton, being part of an organised crime group. He had sought out contact with Arnott, and the potential revelation that Hastings, head of AC-12, may be also somehow involved, it turned the season on its head where the spotlight also fell on Arnott's boss who had been accused of being 'H', the codename of the supposedley head of the organised crime group.

What has made the series stand out from many police procedural dramas is the interrogation scenes. Regardless of the season, there is always added drama and tension in terms of how the person being interrogated and how at times, it can really produce surprise results that no one can initially saw it coming. It showed the interrogation scenes at its fullest, not just showing the highlights for the sake of the issue being under investigation. It also does not shy away from the issues it addressed, especially in the recent seasons. What it has also shown that people who are supposed to be upholding the law can have shades of grey in what they may be doing or being accused of, even more so when it is the police investigating their own.

The upcoming sixth season which has been slated to air in 2021 will see Kelly Macdonald as guest star, and if the series format so far is anything to go, expect more of the same of what makes the show stands out from the rest.

Cable Girls (2017–2020)

Stay for the aesthetics, but remain for the storyline

[8/10 · 5 December 2020]

Lidia Aguilar was originally Alba Romero, but the young woman who had dreams of emigrating to Argentina had her plans thwarted when she was wrongfully accused of a murder. A police officer made a deal with her in terms of her pulling off a heist at the telecommunications company before she was allowed to let go. It is Spain in the late 1920s, and opportunities for women entering the workforce was few and far between but being a telephone operator was one.

Alba then learned of an opening at the Spanish national telecommunications company, looking for telephone operators. She joined in with other aspiring young women, but nearly did not made it for the selection process. She was to be joined by two others who also initially nearly did not made it, Marga Suarez and Carlota Senillosa. Marga wanted to start a new chapter of her life, and Carlota just wanted a job to get away from her controlling military father and high society life. At the telecommunications company, they would be later met by amongst others in terms of senior operators Angeles Vidal, a working mother herself as well, and Sara Millan.

By now, Alba was becoming Lidia in order to hide her identity in terms of her original motive of working at the telecommunications company. Her cover was nearly blown over when senior executives came to meet the new arrivals, which to Lidia's surprise included her former childhood sweetheart Francisco Gomez. He recognised her at once but she pretended to not know him.

But by this time, even as Lidia, Marga, Carlota, and Angeles navigated through work and personal lives, intertwining with real-world events that also took place during their time at the telecommunications company (like the first transatlantic call that took place there between Spanish King Alfonso XIII and the then-American president Calvin Coolidge as dramatised in the first season, and the events leading to the subsequent Spanish Civil War as shown in the fifth season) with the series going from the late 1920s to the late 1930s, one thing does not change. And it is how the four of them, including Sara who was to be later as the series progressed revealed as a trans and becoming Oscar Ruiz, often a taboo subject in that period, they often had to fight hard against the societal expectations and norms of being a woman in those times.

Period dramas set in the 20s and 30s often has an Anglo perspective, and so it is refreshing to see a Spanish perspective of life in that period, even if it is through the lenses of working women making their way in the workforce. Thus also making it refreshing as well that the entire series was to be narrated through the perspective of Lidia and how she saw the lives of her friends, with each episode stemming from a single theme but still able to carry to the end of each season. Even as much in the real world in Spain that being a female telephone operator was to be phased out in the late 1980s, it is also a tribute of sorts to the women who made their way into the workforce.

In fact, this series is actually the first Spanish collaboration with Netflix, making it the first Spanish-language series from Spain coming out of the streaming service. The people behind the 'Cable Girls' are already known for in Spain for other known Spanish period dramas like 'Gran Hotel' and 'Velvet', so a great amount of historical accuracy is often needed and what one can see in 'Cable Girls' is also close to what people would wear in the 1920s and 1930s Spain.

Stay for the aesthetics but remain for the storyline. After all the entire series is interlinked with real-world events, except for when Carlota decided to run as mayor in one of the seasons.

The Queen's Gambit (2020)

An absolute checkmate of a show

[9/10 · 30 November 2020]

Elizabeth 'Beth' Harmon actually does not exist in real life, but happened to be a formidable chess player, and a rarity due to her gender. But her origins was far from that. Being made an orphan when she was just nine after surviving a car crash with her mother at the wheel who died.

Beth would be sent to a girls' orphanage, where she soon became friends with her contemporary in Jolene, who had been at the orphanage longer than her and still waiting to be adopted. But before, she was also given green and white tranquilizing pills daily like the other girls there. It was when cleaning erasers in the basement, Beth would meet the janitor William Shaibel studying and playing chess all by himself. After initial reluctance, Shaibel would come to be known as Beth's first chess coach without knowing in terms of teaching her the game, and Beth would come to have chess lessons under him and eventually improving herself in the process. It became evident she had the potential and became obsessed in learning everything about it, but it is also due to her intelligence and the ability to visual out chess pieces in her head on the ceiling above her bed, which she realised came from the pills she had been taking.

Beth's chess skills would come to be noticed beyond the orphanage, and years later as a teenager when she was adopted by the Wheatleys with especially her adopted mother Alma also later becoming her manager when Beth started to win chess competitions, apart from learning to adjust living suburban life and trying to live a typical teenage life while attending a local high school, she was still being drawn back to chess in whatever way she could. It led her to attending local tournaments and being rather good at them, eventually attracting the attention of the state champion Harry Beltik and later at the national level, a former chess prodigy in Benny Watts who had already previously competed at international tournaments himself. In between, there was also one of her former competitors who simply went by the name of Townes who later became a journalist and started covering chess tournaments.

As Beth started to move her way up in the world of chess, she would come face to face with her most formidable opponent as yet in Vasily Borgov. Her matches with Borgov would come to form a later part of the narrative in the limited series, culminating in Russia.

For anyone with little or no prior knowledge of chess, the limited series can be seen as a form of escapism fare. Even if this is actually an adaptation of Walter Tevis's 1983 novel of the same title, the depictions of chess was made realistic and authentic by the fact that the former Russian grandmaster Garry Kasporov and chess coach Bruce Pandolfini also acted as consultants.

And as someone who fall under the category of having little prior knowledge of chess, it was originally the inclusion of Anya Taylor-Joy ('Peaky Blinders', 'Emma') as Beth Harmon and Harry Melling (memorably known as Dudley Dursley in the 'Harry Potter' series of films) as Harry Beltik that originally had me intrigued at the limited series. One can easily get swept away by the story and root for Beth as she went her way up in the world of chess dominated by men.

Doc Martin (2004–2022)

The Doc is in!

[9/10 · 29 November 2020]

Why would a renowned surgeon, the youngest to qualify as one, be wounding up in of all places in the village of Portwenn in Cornwall? Martin Ellingham might had known the place as a child as where he spent his summers with his aunt Joan, but it is not out of sudden sentimentality to uproot from London to there.

He practically got on the wrong foot from almost the start, with one of the locals in schoolteacher (and eventual headmistress) Louisa Glasson. If one think that is a one-off, it turned out to be not. He can be considered as having a lack of bedside manner, being very straight and direct and taking no fools and not wanting to engage in small talk with his patients, which is also the locals at Portwenn. It also turns out how he is at the surgery is also reflected outside of work, and also sometimes saying wrong names even when told the first time round. And he hates stray dogs.

But one thing does not change, and it was increasingly becoming a running theme as the series progresses, how Martin reacts and behaves around Louisa. Until it emerged later in the series that he previously had a girlfriend at medical school, his interactions around Louisa can be considered being having an on-off relationship, until it really happened.

The real reason for Martin being in Portwenn was only truly revealed at the first season finale. He might not think of his phobia of being funny, even if some of the locals thought so for a while.

There are also various running themes throughout the series as yet, which also included in the interactions with Martin in and outside of the surgery. The local police in Mark Mylow and later Joseph Penhale, the father and son duo of Bert and Al Large, and the pharmacist Sally Tishell.

Make an appointment, but only if you have a genuine medical complaint. Or else, the Doc will not attend to your problems. Otherwise, it is always a form of escapism to also admire the picturesque Cornish surroundings where Martin works, where the other constant is also how he is actually good at what he is doing in his line of profession.

What many may not know is that the series originally started out from the 2000 film 'Saving Grace' and two subsequent TV movie spin-offs, where the doctor in all of that formed the basis for this, but not the background.

Minions (2015)

The early days of the Minions

[6/10 · 6 January 2016]

When do the minions really began their place in history? Definitely longer than the human species. Ever since the beginning of time, minions have always wanted to serve the baddest, meanest villain around. Over centuries through history, they have come to find serving humans is what they find most enjoyable.

But it was during the time of Napoleon, things did not go quite as planned, and the minions were driven into isolation and started a new life in the Antarctica. The minions would come to grow restless over the years with no purpose in life, but it was to be one minion Kevin who decided to do something. He would be joined by the musically-inclined Minion Stuart who had no idea what he was joining in for, and the young and inexperienced Bob, and the trio would come to find their journey take them to 1968's New York City.

After trying to blend into their new surroundings, the trio came to find themselves at a departmental store and spent the night there. They would come across a television advertisement advertising Villain- Con, a convention for villains and supervillains in Orlando. That got them eventually hitchhiking a ride with a family of villains called the Nelsons who were also heading there, and the Nelsons were to be impressed at their skills. At the Villain-Con, the Minions would come to meet the first female supervillain Scarlett Overkill (Sandra Bullock) and they did enough to impress her, leading Scarlett to send them over to England with her, where the Minions would also come to meet her husband Herb (Jon Hamm).

It was in England where the Minions came to know what they needed to do. Scarlett came to tell the Minions of the plan to steal the Queen's crown jewels, and gave them the tools needed to be successful in their heist. But what the Minions came to attempt to do would soon be heavily publicised, and the whole of Britain would come to be heavily destabilised for a few days.

While much like the two Despicable Me films, the comedic elements were there with the Minions around, but at the same time, the Minions could not quite hold it in their very own film of how they would come to find their eventual owner. Still, what made this enjoyable like the human characters in Scarlett and Herb. But it definitely takes the viewers on a journey of how the Minions came to settle for the owner we would see in the two Despicable Me films.

1965 (2015)

A racially-divided Singapore, before independence

[6/10 · 16 August 2015]

There are three prominent moments in the history of Singapore which are being explored in this film: The aftermath of the racial riots on 21 July 1964, the undeclared war on terror in Singapore in what is called 'Konfrontasi', and Singapore's eventual separation from Malaysia on 9 August 1965. In fact, it is the final moment which formed the basis for the film title. And that was what opened the film, revisiting the first part of when Singapore's first prime minister in the late Lee Kuan Yew (with his younger self being played by Singapore's veteran theatre actor Lim Kay Tong) trying to explain the separation to local and foreign journalists which was also broadcasted on television throughout Singapore, when he broke down on television.

The film takes on a narrative format, with retired policeman Adil recalling and reflecting his time serving in the police force which also coincided some of Singapore's pre-independence turmoil, and his working relationship with his superior Seng during those times. When the story really began, it came during a time when Singapore was still living from the after-effects of the July 21 racial riots of 1964 when the Malays and Chinese had clashed during a procession. Everything had looked peaceful on the surface, but racial tensions still linger.

The film audience is also being introduced by this time to Adil's mother and youngest brother Rafi, Seng's family which included his younger idealistic Chinese-educated brother and charming daughter Xiao Yun, and the girlfriend of Seng's younger brother who helps out in her father's coffeeshop. Everyone leading their own lives despite the racial tensions, before how an argument which had started between a group of Malays and Chinese over the death of a Malay man broke the fragile peace on the streets of Singapore once again. The severity of the riot also brought out the curfew onto the streets.

But away from the casualties at the riot, came the start of a misunderstanding which would have consequences. Seng being accused of not helping a young Malay boy to safety during the riot by his mother, and the boy had died as a result. The boy is Adil's youngest brother. The misunderstandings which came as a result of that nearly led to Seng losing his cool when trying to find out what might had caused the disappearance of his daughter on the Chinese New Year of 1965.

While most of the characters are fictional, it is all based on what were happening in Singapore in the lead-up to the separation between Singapore and Malaysia. Only one person in the film is based on someone real, and it is the late Lee Kuan Yew. How his push for a Malaysia for all Malaysians did not work out, even if there were people as shown in the film who had worked hard to make life in Singapore not working along racial lines.

There is a sense of poignancy in terms of how the film came to end, coming to an end like how it began. It is a moment in time the older generation of Singaporeans remember, and the turmoil which preceded it. But that also what makes this film worthwhile, even if it may possibly look out of order at times especially for anyone who may not have much inkling of what took place before Singapore's eventual independence. And how those times still serve as a reminder of working towards a society not bounded by racial lines.

Kung Fu Panda (2008)

Believing in things they are to be

[8/10 · 25 January 2015]

The Valley of Peace could soon see the escape from prison of the snow leopard Tai Lung (Ian McShane), as being visioned by Grand Master Oogway, an old tortoise. Tai Lung is also used to be the adopted son and former student of Shifu (Dustin Hoffman), an elderly red panda. He wants revenge for being denied the Dragon Scroll, which is said to hold secrets to limitless power. That alarmed Shifu, who sent the goose Zeng (Dan Fogler) to prevent the escape of Tai Lung.

Meanwhile, giant panda Po (Jack Black) who has always being a kung fu fanatic and a fan of the Furious Five in Tigress (Angelina Jolie), Monkey (Jackie Chan), Mantis (Seth Rogen), Viper (Lucy Liu), and Crane (David Cross), somehow managed to arrive in the arena which was to select the next Dragon Warrior to defeat Tai Lung. It was suppose to choose from one of the Furious Five who had all being trained by Shifu himself, but Po ended up becoming the Dragon Warrior instead, much to the dismay and shock to the Furious Five where they questioned Po's abilities to be one. Po is originally the son of a noodle restaurant owner in his goose father Mr. Ping (James Hong), and that originally stood against him.

But what was originally thought of an accident from Oogway's part in his way of selecting the next Dragon Warrior, would lead to Po train hard under the guidance of Shifu. That is even if the Furious Five themselves tried to deal with Tai Lung himself, before realising how powerful he has become.

What happens when it comes to the crunch, when Po and Tai Lung comes face to face with each other is definitely worth thinking about. In terms of how Po thinks about his kung fu abilities, and how Tai Lung sees his own as well. It is also what the film is trying to drive home as well.

It is a film which moves away from the traditional stereotypes about kung fu, and brings home a simple universal message. It does have its comedic moments, but it is all done without resorting to clichés and stereotypes. It is actually enjoyable to watch to begin with.

Killing Kennedy (2013 TV Movie)

The Kennedy assassination, retold

[7/10 · 1 October 2014]

It is a story where we know what would happen in the end, as the title speaks for itself. Much had been said and written what happened on that day in Dallas, Texas and what could have motivated Lee Harvey Oswald and whether he acted alone in the assassination of John F. Kennedy. But this television film deals with none of that, and only what the world actually knows took place on that day and the backstories of the two people at the heart of it in Oswald and the US President John F. Kennedy.

Before their respective lives crossed with each other, Lee Harvey Oswald (Will Rothaar) has been a former US Marine who has grown disillusioned with his own country in the United States and John F. Kennedy (Rob Lowe) is a senator and a politician on the rise and his own political career took a dramatic turn after the assassination of his senator brother Robert (Jack Noseworthy) on the presidential campaign trail for the Democrat ticket for the 1960 presidential election. While Oswald would head for the Soviet Union and seek asylum there and becoming a defector in the process, Kennedy would eventually come to come up against the Republican candidate Richard Nixon and would win the election along with his vice-presidential candidate choice in Lyndon Johnson (Francis Guinan).

After initially settling down in Russia, Oswald would move to Belarus where at a dance, he met his future wife Marina (Michelle Trachtenberg). The Oswalds would be on the move again after the birth of their child, and this time it is back to the United States after Oswald realised the Soviet Union was not what he had imagined to be. The young family would eventually end up in Dallas, Texas.

Meanwhile, Kennedy would come to make a visit to Dallas, Texas as part of campaigning for a second term in the 1964 presidential election. This will be when the lives of both Kennedy and Oswald would come to cross with each other, and things will never be the same again for them and for the United States in the aftermath of what would come to take place.

It is more than just what happened on that fateful day in Dallas, it is also what led up to it. It is also the story of how two people who are not related to each other would come to find their lives cross with each other in one day, and their respective spouses in Marina Oswald and Jacqueline Kennedy (Gennifer Goodwin). It is as poignant, as chilling, and as haunting it could be for a story to be told to a new generation.

Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994)

When love is next to you

[8/10 · 1 March 2014]

Charles (Hugh Grant) has always been afraid of marriage commitments. But he and his group of fellow friends who are also single including his female flatmate Scarlett (Charlotte Coleman) have always been able to find themselves being invited to weddings, while searching for the true meaning of love at these events.

Charles would become the best man in the first, where his friend Angus (Timothy Walker) is marrying Laura (Sara Crowe). But he was almost late. Still, he manages to arrive at the church in time. It was at this wedding where he first met Carrie (Andie MacDowell), an American who had been invited to the ceremony. It became love at first sight for Charles, and the two would spend the night together.

The second is the wedding of Bernard (David Haig) and Lydia (Sophie Thompson), where Charles would come to find himself face-to-face with several of his ex-girlfriends relating embarrassing stories about him, including one his friends has always called 'Duckface' in Henrietta (Anna Chancellor). He would meet Carrie again, but this time her Scottish fiancé is also at the ceremony in politician Sir Hamish Banks (Corin Redgrave).

He would find himself being invited to Carrie's wedding, which becomes the third in the film. Though in the lead-up, he had actually accidentally came across Carrie in a shop while shopping for presents himself. Charles would find himself having the unenviable task of helping Carrie select her wedding dress, though it was what Carrie would later tell him about her past which surprised him. While he did attend Carrie's wedding which took place in Scotland after all, it would eventually be marred by one of his friends Gareth (Simon Callow) who died suddenly of a heart attack, leading to the funeral which Charles would attend and meeting Carrie being of Gareth's.

The fourth and final wedding in the film would be of Charles's, though the appearance of Carrie without her husband Hamish until Charles learned the full story between Carrie and her husband before the ceremony starts made him think twice of whom he really wants to spend the rest of his life with, with his deaf brother David (David Bower) and friend Matthew (John Hannah) helping him out to decide.

What makes this film appealing and charming is how the group of friends in the film, with Hugh Grant's Charles being among them who are proud to be single themselves, are constantly searching for the meaning of 'one true love' and whether it exists at the weddings they go to and unexpectedly at the funeral of one of their friends who had died. But there is also Grant's character and whether his 'one true love' was right there all along.

It is the film which gives one the feel-good factor about love and romance, making us still want to believe in love again. It is also the film which makes one want to believe in the 'happily-ever-afters'.

Captain Phillips (2013)

Survival on pirate-infested waters

[8/10 · 26 February 2014]

Popular culture meant that piracy has always been romanticised. But in the real world, piracy is a real and serious issue and is happening. One such example took place in 2009 when container ship Marsek Alabama found itself to be a victim of hijacking off the Somali coast, a known hotspot for maritime piracy.

Experienced ship captain Richard Phillips (Tom Hanks) had been tasked to take command of MV Marsek Alabama, which is an unarmed container ship docked in Oman with the orders to sail through the Gulf of Aden to Mombasa, round the Horn of Africa. Meanwhile in Somalia, a team had been selected for preparing to head out to sea with the mission of hijacking a ship.

With the route MV Marsek Alabama was taking, a warning system was issued to the ship on the possibility of piracy activity. Wary of what could happen when the vessel is off the coast of Somalia, Phillips decided to ramp up on security around the vessel and having practice drills with the crew. It would be during a drill where the vessel would be chased by Somali pirates in two skiffs. One of the two would be fended off after Phillips had outrun them and when he had called for support.

But the day after, one of the two skiffs would be returned with four heavily armed pirates led by its own leader Abduwali Muse (Barkhad Adi) but with the ladder hastily welded the night before. Despite the best efforts from Phillips and his crew, the Somali pirates managed to board and capture the Marsek Alabama. By this time, the crew were hiding in the engine room as Phillips had told them apart from cutting the ship's engine power to while he had been captured by the pirates themselves. Even if Phillips had tried to negotiate with the pirates, they were insistent on wanting to head for the engine room.

What happened in the film is actually based on the real-life events of the MV Marsek Alabama hijacking in 2009, the first time an American cargo ship had been hijacked in two hundred years. But it is also based on the experiences of experienced ship captain Richard Phillips who captained MV Marsek Alabama when it was hijacked from his book 'A Captain's Duty: Somali Pirates, Navy SEALS, and Dangerous Days at Sea'.

What took place in the film may look dry at times to the viewer who may not be familiar with the workings of the maritime industry, but it helps to shed light to the challenge which has always plague the industry when it comes to piracy on the seas especially off the Somali coast. But what happened in the film is a reminder of how it can turn into a matter of between life and death, where it was exemplified by Tom Hanks's character. For how he did in the film is something recommended and worth the watch, alongside with the man who played the leader of the pirates in Barkhad Adi.

The King's Speech (2010)

Speaking with a voice

[8/10 · 23 February 2014]

Prince Albert, the Duke of York (Colin Firth) was tasked to represent his father King George V (Michael Gambon) to give a speech closing the 1925 British Empire Exhibition at the Wembley Stadium. He stammered throughout, and that was being broadcast by radio worldwide and those present at the stadium. Even if the Duke had given up finding a cure to his stammer, his wife Elizabeth (Helena Bonham Carter) has not and sought help with Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush), an Australian speech therapist living in London.

The Duke of York would be persuaded by his wife to see Logue and during the first session, he calls him 'Dr. Logue' while Logue calls the Duke 'Bertie'. The Duke of York was surprised, given that is the name only his family uses to call him. Even if he felt that Logue's methods and his manners are unsuitable, Logue would wager a schilling with him that he would be able to recite Hamlet's 'To be not to be' soliloquy while listening to 'The Marriage of Figaro' on headphones at the same time without trouble. Logue would put the Duke's performance on record, and the Duke was convinced he had stammered throughout after the end and out of frustration, declared how he did as 'hopeless'. Logue would give the Duke the record as a keepsake.

It would be after King George V had delivered his 1934 Christmas radio address, he explained to his younger son Prince Albert of the importance of broadcasting. The King was worried of how Albert's older brother David (Guy Pearce) would bring ruin to the family and country when he ascends to the throne, an indirect reference to David seeing the soon- to-be twice-divorcée in the American socialite Wallis Simpson (Eve Best). The King would let Albert recite the radio address he gave earlier as a form of practice, but to no avail.

The Duke of York would later listen to the record of him reciting Hamlet, and he realised he had actually did it unhesitatingly. He and his wife would return to seeing Logue again, where the Duke would do physical exercises, even if Logue would gently probe along the way on the root causes of the Duke's stammer. That was when the Duke began to open up, and the two men became friends.

King George V would pass away on January 1936, meaning that David would succeed his father on the throne and becoming Edward VIII. But it further complicated matters when the new king insisted on wanting marry Wallis Simpson even with his position as the head of the Church of England when the two brothers was at Balmoral Castle where the Duke of York and his wife were invited to a party hosted by Edward VIII. Edward VIII's insistence sparked a constitutional crisis, and he would return to his younger brother's stammer and accusing him of wanting his place.

But before Edward VIII would eventually abdicate and thus thrusting his younger brother into the spotlight, the Duke of York would meet Logue again and spoke of the progress he has make. But the condition never improved whenever he is speaking to his older brother. Logue's suggestion that the Duke would make a better king than his older brother got the Duke accusing his speech therapist of treason and dismissed him on the spot.

There were times watching Colin Firth first as the Duke of York before becoming King George VI, it was painful trying to imagine how it was like for the real Bertie trying to speak in public with his stammer. But it is only after the belief of Elizabeth and Lionel Logue, the future King George VI was able to believe in himself where all that training would prepare for his biggest challenge yet as a monarch. It is the story of a future king who had never believed in himself when speaking in public, and the wife and speech therapist who do.

It is a film which gives hope to anyone, anywhere that if a king is able to overcome his stammer, they are able to do it as well. It became poignant when Firth as King George VI would say 'Because I have a voice!'. It does make one want to root for the king in the film, as what makes it compelling that it is actually based on real events and the personal notebooks of the real Lionel Logue. It even has the royal seal of approval from the reigning Queen Elizabeth II, the daughter of the king depicted in the film.

Art of America (2011– )

Looking at America, through art

[7/10 · 26 January 2014]

There are various ways in trying to understand the American psyche, and while popular culture is one medium which often springs to mind, there is also art as well. As in how since the days of the Puritan settlers to America in the post-9/11 world are being interpreted through art.

The three-part series is as much as looking at the evolvement of a country and its place in the world as it is American artists looking at their own country through whatever artistic medium they use to express their view of the country as each era come and go. It is also having a crash course on the history of the United States as each episode deals with certain periods in the history of the country and how it is also being reflected in art as well. It has always being acknowledged that the Puritan settlers were the first group of Europeans who arrive into the country in search of their own paradise, away from religious persecution in Europe. And when the lives of these people were immortalised in paintings, what does it tell about the sense of idealism these people wanted to build in the New World?

The idealism as evoked from the days of the Puritan settlers would be challenged time and again, in the various flashpoints in American history. Paintings which would have been familiar to Americans when it comes to tell the history of their country, what do they actually trying to tell the viewer who is looking at it? The second episode will come to look at how American artists have to battle between European influences and creating their own brand of art for the American public to strike a chord with. It is revealing where an example raised in this episode was how ordinary Americans reacted to an exhibition on European art as the country reaches the 20th century. But it is also an episode which looked into the various art movements which come about in the 20th century which would come to define American art, by American artists themselves.

The third and final episode takes the viewer to modern-day America from post-WW2 to a country looking for its place in the world in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks in 2001. Much of how the world looks at America is actually sprung from how the age of consumerism in post-WW2 America help to redefine the American ideals, the ordinary American family living in the suburbs. This period would also see how American artists interpret consumerism through pop art, where Andy Warhol and his famous series of Campbell soup cans comes to mind. It also reminded the viewer that there was a time until the election of Ronald Regan, a former actor, as president, the country went from being confident about itself to how the Soviet Union threatened its hegemony, and thus making a country unsure of its place in the world.

It is striking that the third and final episode began with an overview of Las Vegas, the symbol of how something can be created out of nothing, much like how it mused about the election of Regan who was a former actor who became president. It is like telling the American narrative itself through a city which was created out of a desert. But the September 11 attacks in 2001 would come to change how a country is being interpreted through art. One piece which comes to mind is the memorials which are placed at the exact spot where the twin towers were hit on that fateful day.

Time and again the documentary series would come to challenge the America the world has come to know, as compared to how American artists look at their own country depending on the era they live in. Regardless what is one's view of the country in general and the knowledge of American art, the series does make one look at the country in a different light through the means of art, the American way.

Despicable Me 2 (2013)

More minion action

[8/10 · 16 January 2014]

Something is amiss in the Arctic Circle and is worrying the Anti-Villain League, or the AVL. The AVL, headed by Silas Ramsbottom (Steve Coogan), had tried to recruit Gru (Steve Carrel), a former villain-turned-businessman and busying being father to Margo (Miranda Cosgrove), Edith (Dana Gaier), and Agnes (Elsie Fisher). Gru would change his mind after his friend and assistant Dr. Nefario (Russell Brand) decided to leave for new employment, and he would reluctantly work alongside AVL agent Lucy Wilde (Kristen Wiig).

The bakery shop 'Bake My Day' at the Paradise Shopping Mall would be Gru and Lucy's headquarters while they go undercover to investigate who might have been behind what happened at the Arctic Circle. Gru would come to suspect it could be the owner of the Mexican restaurant Eduardo Perez (Benjamin Bratt), whom Gru felt reminded him of the villain 'El Macho' and believed to be dead.

In between Gru and Lucy investigating if it was Eduardo or somebody else, Gru also has to deal with the realities of fatherhood and fending off claims from Agnes that he will fall in love with his new co-colleague Lucy. But just like in the first film, it was the minions which stole the show yet again. Whenever the minions get their space in the film like in the first, they never fail to provide the laughs.

Watch it for minions who are as adorable as ever, but also for the transformation of Gru as compared to how he was like in the first film.

Killing Lincoln (2013 TV Movie)

Re-examining an American political assassination

[8/10 · 8 January 2014]

The assassination of the 16th US President Abraham Lincoln might had been one of the most-documented moments in the history of the United States, but there are also conspiracies on what led to what would be remembered in history as the first successful assassination on an American president.

It began with the person who had successfully did so in actor John Wilkes Booth along with his co-conspirators hatching the plan to not only assassinate Lincoln, but also key members of his administration in Vice-President Andrew Johnson and Secretary of State William Seward. Booth, who was already a prominent theatre actor in his day, had a genuine dislike for Lincoln. But assassinating the president who freed the slaves, something which Booth detested, was not originally in his plan. His original plan was to just kidnap Lincoln in order to demand release of captured Confederate soldiers.

As for Lincoln, along with the story of Booth's, it concurrently charted the key moments leading up to the end of the American Civil War. It was 10 days before the day of the assassination happened, Lincoln had a dream of a body lying in a coffin in the middle of the White House and people were mourning the death of the person. When he asked who had died, he got the reply that it was the president.

While that was the biggest indicator of what was to come at Ford's Theater, the docu-drama had also mentioned that there had been assassination plots on Lincoln throughout his presidency, but they were always being discovered. It was suggested that it came as a result of the level of dislike and hatred towards him, which was not seen on such a scale during the Civil War. Before the dream Lincoln had took place, the most prominent attempt came when Lincoln, all alone, was riding his horse to the War Department where his horse was being shot.

History has always has a knack of pinpointing people into various labels, but despite Booth's hatred of Lincoln is well-documented; he was actually born in the state of Maryland which did not ceded from the Union. But it was also fascinating watching how those who witnessed the assassination had actually varying accounts from each other, such that there is no official account of what happened.

Whatever one's views of the assassination is, the docu-drama is definitely worth your time.

The Leap Years (2008)

Waiting to love in a leap year

[7/10 · 18 November 2013]

When she was 12, Li-Ann used to have requirements on what she wants in her future husband. At her friends' encouragement, she went to a fortune teller at a temple to ask about her future love life. What the fortune teller said would come to stay with her till her adult years.

It will be fast-forward to the much-older Li-Ann (Joan Chen as the older version), now an accomplished author but living with her step-daughter Dyllan (Tracy Tan). At the same time, her partner Jeremy is fighting for his life at the hospital. The film will be narrated from her perspective, of her recalling how since 24 years ago when she turned 24 on 29 February of how she is waiting for the man who is like the wind, just like what the fortune teller told her when she was a teenager. Li- Ann's (Wong Lilin as the younger version) birthday actually falls on a leap year, and she would come to tell her students in class of an obscure custom practised in Ireland where it is on 29 February where a man cannot refuse a proposal or a date from a woman if she asked so.

It will be fast-forward to the much-older Li-Ann (Joan Chen as the older version), now an accomplished author but living with her step-daughter Dyllan (Tracy Tan). At the same time, her partner Jeremy is fighting for his life at the hospital. The film will be narrated from her perspective, of her recalling how since 24 years ago when she turned 24 on 29 February of how she is waiting for the man who is like the wind, just like what the fortune teller told her when she was a teenager. Li- Ann's (Wong Lilin as the younger version) birthday actually falls on a leap year, and she would come to tell her students in class of an obscure custom practised in Ireland where it is on 29 February where a man cannot refuse a proposal or a date from a woman if she asked so.

In between intertwining between the past and present, the younger Li-Ann would be bugged by her mother and friends on her lack of love life. But things began to change when she was at the Windows Café. The wind blew in a different direction on that day, and she would come to notice a man who catches her attention. Her life and Jeremy's (Ananda Everingham as the younger version) will never be the same again.

As it has been clear from the start in the film, it is all being viewed from the viewpoint of Li-Ann. But it is the intertwining between the past and the present day which can a little confusing at times, unless it specify the number of leap years has passed when it becomes the time when Li-Ann strives to uphold the tradition in her life. Still, it does make one want to root for the younger version of her and not be swayed by her mother and her friends.

It is a love story as a whole, but it is being told differently from conventional love stories, in terms of honouring an obscure custom and finding relevance in the present day, even with modern realities. It is overall a beautiful love story, in terms of how it will play out towards the end.