The Straits Times Blogs - Chong Chee Kin

A magical evening

2009-03-31T06:36:00Z

Chong Chee Kin enjoys The Winter's Tale despite his reservations.

IT IS a tale best meant for winter but it won me over with its story of the redemptive power of love.

I had reservations when I got my tickets for The Winter's Tale. It is not considered to be one of the Bard's best plays although it is certainly one of his more popular ones. In fact it has been labelled one of his more problematic plays, straddling the schizophrenic lines of tragedy and comedy as it does.

Also, there was that Ethan Hawke - a dashing young man with the brooding good looks and piercing gaze.

I was a little skeptical that his star quality would overshadow the role of Autolycus - the loveable rogue in the play. I mean, 15 years on, I still see him as the slacker/guitarist Troy in his breakthrough role in Reality Bites - although some may argue that it was his role as Todd in Dead Poets' Society that made him.

But those fears were groundless thanks to the powerful performances of Simon Russell Beale, the divine Rebecca Hall and elegant Sinead Cusack.

At times moving, at times hilarious, the play was always engaging - from Leontes' (Beale) sudden descent into insane jealous rage to Hermione's (Hall) reserved strength to Paulina's (Cusack) understated grief.

Hall and Beale were especially impressive. One moment, Hermione was a coquettish flirt, the next, a wounded mother; Beale's portrayal of Leontes was an all too human king torn by his love and his jealousy was magnificent.

In a week when Singapore got her first female government Minister, it was perhaps fitting that the play was about the strength and beauty of women.

I couldn’t help but be struck by how The Winter's Tale appeared to be one of Shakespeare's stronger feminist play - strong women have always featured, well, strongly, in his works, Lady Macbeth, Viola, Cordelia and Helena to name a few.

The strength and dignity of the women in The Winter's Tale stand in stark contrast with the buffoonery of the men - Leontes' tragic stubborn foolishness, the shepherds' comic stupidity and Autolycus' folly.

And then there was Ethan Hawke.

A palpable sigh - mostly from women - swept through the aisles when he came onstage, strumming his guitar, singing and prancing around the stage.

I dreaded the moment that the audience would see him as Ethan Hawke the actor playing Autolycus, rather than Autolycus the rogue played by Ethan Hawke, a small but crucial distinction.

Still, such was the quality of acting and production in the play that it never happened. Every actor and actress, from the leads to the supporting cast to the shepherds and courtiers, endeared themselves to the audience tremendously.

The price of the ticket was a tad on the high side, admittedly, but given the talent and technique shown from the production crew and the actors, it was a magical evening well worth every cent - from a cost-benefit analysis.

A magical moment at Mosaic

2009-03-28T05:03:00Z

Chong Chee Kin wants to invite Pharrell to a party at his place.

IF I throw a party, I know who I'd want to invite: Pharrell Williams.

Then, again, something tells me that he isn’t lacking party invites.

The point is, N.E.R.D's recent concert at the Esplandade was not so much a concert, but a party. And a damn good one too!

Having the timing of the concert rescheduled from 7.30pm on a Thursday night to 11.30pm on a Friday night transformed the whole mood of the show - I mean, seriously, I wouldn't want to shake my thang on a weekday night knowing that I have to drag my sorry ass back to work the next morning.

Still, it was a pretty amazing sight to see Pharrell - and Shay Haley, though from the hysterical screams, one would rightly assume that N.E.R.D IS Pharrell - getting a packed concert hall on its feet for the better part of the hour.

And boy, did he bring it!

He is the consumate showman and his experience showed: He has produced albums for Madonna, ODB and Britney Spears, collaborated with hip-hop greats like Jay-Z and the Roots and opened for Kanye West just last year. And from the get-go, there was no stopping him,

From Anti-Matter to Killjoy to hits like Lapdance and Everybody Nose and to even unreleased material (Popcorn), everyone and their grandma were bopping their heads to the infectious tunes. And Pharrell lapped up every bit of their adulation.

Pulling a bespectacled girl from the audience onto the stage, he held and hugged the awestruck girl, told her she could remain onstage and do whatever she wanted the whole night - AND then with a mischievous glint in his eyes, told the audience, "Who said the girl in glasses never win?" to wild applause.

Probably some - well, many - women in the crowd were cursing under their breath in jealousy like my friend was, but they were all drowned out in the cheers and applause.

That set the tone for the entire night as he pulled many among the audience up to party with him up close onstage.

Women in heels - so untypical of a hip-hop crowd, and B-Boys - fat, thin, tall, short, cropped hair and afro'ed, they had their seven seconds in a party that would be spoken of in years to come.

I might not have gone to Coldplay - but for now, N.E.R.D is a strong contender for the gig of the year.

And mind you, I am not even a rabid fan. My knowledge of N.E.R.D was pretty restricted to a few of their hits and how my women friends unfailingly gush about how hot Pharrell is, how nice his small eyes are, or as one of them puts it, sex on legs. Drop it like you're clumsy, ladies!

Yes, at slightly over an hour, the concert seemed too short but every one had fun.

For that one magical moment, one might even have believed the Esplanade as the next hot clubbing venue. Thank you, Mosiac!

Who watches the Watchmen?

2009-03-18T12:11:00Z

Chong Chee Kin reviews graphic-novel-turned movie, Watchmen.

FOUR words - the book is better.

Alan Moore had a good gig going: Put a bunch of superhumans together, give them all too human weaknesses, and see them crumble as the society around them goes to pieces.

Well, the movie doesn't quite convey that pervasive sense of bleakness that poured through every page in the graphic novel.

What I liked about the movie was the great production values. Make no mistake, it's a pretty movie. The effects were good, and Archie - the Owl-mobile - was a sight to see, and the fight scenes were well-choreographed.

But all I could think of as I watched the movie was if Laurie Jupiter's (Silk Spectre II) superhuman powers were going to be able to fit into that skintight, garish plastic suit - and still manage to breathe. Or if Dr Manhattan ever felt cold, because he was pretty much naked all the time.

I digress. In spite of all the flaws - especially the much lambasted ending which, honestly, deviated just a little from the graphic novel - I enjoyed the movie.

Slavish to the novel? I don't think so. Not by a long mile.

The only thing I worry about though is that for non-fanboys the pace of the movie is probably the second slowest in the history of movie-making.

The slowest of course being the 30-hour slavish adaptation of Tolstoy's War and Peace by some European arthouse director. It was so slow it was probably never made.

What the movie lacked in pace, it more than made up in characterisation.

Dr Manhattan's loneliness as an omnipotent being whose only flaw was his inability to relate to the world which both needs and rejects him at once, was made all the more poignant by his failed relationship with Laurie.

There was a palpable sense of loss as he told her, deadpan: "Why would I save a world I no longer have a stake in?"

Never mind that Laurie's response was a pretty pathetic: "For me". I mean, what guy would save the world after his girlfriend had cheated on him? But then again, Dr Manhattan isn’t human, he’s superhuman.

Roscharch? He was menacing. He was a downright sociopath. But in the end, director Zach Snyder's portrayal fell flat. Roscharch cried.

I mean, really. Roscharch? Crying? He would do a backflip, triple somersaults AND then roll in his grave before he would even tear-up, badass that he is. But yeah, he cried.

But it was with Ozymandias' character that Snyder fell most. The "world's most intelligent man" came across as a cardboard villian.

In the book, he was a tragic Greek hero, who sacrificed his ideals and killed millions so that billions might live. In the movie, he was the pasty, skinny pariah who would be the last to be picked for a street soccer game in school.

Every hero in the Watchmen had his or her own sacrifice; Ozymandias just did not pull it off.

Which leaves me with just one conclusion - the same one which Moore had made.

Four words: It can't be adapted.