moebius

HAPPY 2004

My whirlwind tour of Singapore culminated with the New Year's Eve celebration. Not to sound like a wannabe rock star with his own fan club and touring entourage, I can't help but be bogged down by my tight schedule. Too many friends to meet, too many things to do and too little time to implement. I am the cause of my own demise.

This week, I caught the flu (which is only a notch away from SARS), and had to seek medication. With the sleep-inducing cold medicine, I could have slept through the entire NYE's party. All that excitement would have come to nought. But i recovered in time.

Unfortunately, the party I went to wasn't as "happening" as I had hoped for. The Paradise Dance Party at Suntec had a dismal turn-out, despite its more "adult" appeal and the more discerning crowd (DJ Dave Angel and Steve Lawler were spinning). And I have never seen so many gay people in my life.

I guess for this kind of celebration, it is the company of friends that counts. Unfortunately, again, I dont really know the people I was with. There was only one good friend with me at the time. Not that I am complaining. I believe I have gotten over the stage whereby I would let such a disappointment marred my entire homecoming experience. Its not disappointing, for everyone is just out for a good time. Good friends will be there whenever you need them, and not only for such inconsequential events as NYE.

I still am having a great time back home, meeting some friends, and being selective about meeting others. Even squeezed out some time for another match-making session! Turns out that she is a nude model for a local art gallery (more on that next time). My parents have also been real busy with my sister's wedding, and hasn't really had much time for me. Again, I am not bothered by it for I did spend some real good quality moments with them. My dad has also been a lot more lax on more, and has stopped piling criticisms and restrictions on me. My virtual confrontation with my dad through my sister has worked.

My sister is going on her honeymoon to South Korea on sunday. I haven't seen much of her lately either. Come to think of it, I see JD, my dog, more often than anyone in my family. I myself is going on a short jaunt to Kuala Lumpur this friday. Interestingly, I don't remember visiting that neighboring city ever. Looking forward to more eating, shopping, clubbing and pampering.

My grandma is in the hospital due to her weak heart. As I am down with the flu, I have been advised to stay away from the hospital. Hope that she will be fine, and discharged before I fly back to LA. She is a grand dame, past her 80s and still full of life and humorous candour. But I have seen her physically weaken over the years. Not to sound too morbid, but sometimes I wonder if I will see her again when I return to Singapore. I do not intend to come back here until I graduate in 2005. That is one and a half more years to go. I hope she can wait.

Life is just so full of nuances and weird juxtapositions. One moment I am planning for what to buy at the shopping mall and how to schedule my appointments for the coming week. The next moment, I feel the weight of more pressing issues of life and death, kinship and friendship, ties that bind and ties that cut. More dramatic than any motion picture, this is life, as experienced first-hand, by a wide-eyed wonderer.

Before I forget, the following is a laundry list for myself.

Friday: 8am leave for KL
Coming week: go to Bodyworlds exhibition
- give yz and sy a treat and find birthday present
- meet pf for dinner
- see my dentist
- visit my grandma, get t-shirt from my aunt
- drop by URA, hand in result slip
- sketch
- return library book
- use my esprit voucher
- push away an appointment with marc
- eat char kway teow
- find dvds for bob
- have dinner with lili
- watch goodbye, lenin

GOLDEN GLOBE NOMINATION

Best Motion Picture (Drama)
- Cold Mountain
- The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
- Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
- Mystic River
- Seabiscuit

Best Motion Picture (Comedy or Musical)
- Bend it Like Beckham
- Big Fish
- Finding Nemo
- Lost in Translation
- Love Actually

Best Director
- Sophia Coppola (Lost in Translation)
- Clint Eastwood (Mystic River)
- Peter Jackson (LOTR:ROTK)
- Anthony Minghella (Cold Mountain)
- Peter Weir (Master and Commander)

Best Actor (Drama)
- Russell Crowe (Master and Commander)
- Tom Cruise (The Last Samurai)
- Ben Kingsley (House of Sand and Fog)
- Jude Law (Cold Mountain)
- Sean Penn (Mystic River)

Best Actress (Drama)
- Cate Blanchett (Veronica Guerin)
- Nicole Kidman (Cold Mountain)
- Scarlett Johansson (Girl with a Pearl Earring)
- Charlize Theron (Monster)
- Uma Thurman (Kill Bill: Vol 1)
- Rachel Evan Wood (Thirteen)

Best Actor (Comedy or Musical)
- Jack Black (School of Rock)
- Johnny Depp (Pirates of the Carribean)
- Bill Murray (Lost in Translation)
- Jack Nicholson (Something's Gotta Give)
- Billy Bob Thorton (Bad Santa)

Best Actress (Comedy or Musical)
- Jamie Lee Curtis (Freaky Friday)
- Scarlett Johannson (Lost in Translation)
- Diane Keaton (Something's Gotta Give)
- Diane Lane (Under the Tuscan Sun)
- Helen Mirren (Calendar Girls)

Best Supporting Actor
- Alec Baldwin (The Cooler)
- Albert Finney (Big Fish)
- William H. Macy (Seabiscuit)
- Tim Robbins (Mystic River)
- Peter Sarsgaard (Shattered Glass)
- Ken Watanabe (The Last Samurai)

Best Supporting Actress
- Maria Bello (The Cooler)
- Patricia Clarkson (Pieces of April)
- Hope Davis (American Splendor)
- Holly Hunter (Thirteen)
- Renee Zwelleger (Cold Mountain)

Best Foreign Language Film
- The Barbarian Invasions (French/Canada)
- Goodbye, Lenin (Germany)
- Monsieur Ibrahim (France)
- Osama (Afghanistan)
- The Return (Russia)

Best Screenplay
- Sophia Coppola (Lost in Translation)
- Richard Curtis (Love Actually)
- Brian Helgeland (Mystic River)
- Anthony Minghella (Cold Mountain)
- Jim Sheridan and daughters Naomi, Kirsten (In America)

Best Original Score
- Alexandre Desplat (Girl with a Pearl Earring)
- Danny Elfman (Big Fish)
- Howard Shore (LOTR: ROTK)
- Gabriel Yared (Cold Mountain)
- Hans Zimmer (The Last Samurai)

Best Original Song -- Motion Picture
- "The Heart of Every Girl" (Mona Lisa Smile)
Music by: Elton John
Lyrics by: Bernie Taupin
- "Into the West" (LOTR:ROTK)
Music & Lyrics by: Howard Shore, Fran Walsh, Annie Lennox
- "Man of the Hour" (Big Fish)
Music & Lyrics by: Eddie Vedder
- "Time Enough for Tears" (In America)
Music & Lyrics by: Bono, Gavin Friday and Maurice Seezer
- "You Will Be My Ain True Love" (Cold Mountain)
Music & Lyrics by: Sting

It's good to be home.

The wedding dinner was indeed incredibly big and a little messy. With more than a 1000 guests, and the torrential downpour typically of Singapore this time of the year, the dinner started only at 9pm! Food had to be rushed, and the yam-seng sssions cut short. My parents were equally frazzled, drinking and mingling with tons of people I have not seen since my childhood days. They included people from my dad's company, my mum's dancing pals, and obscure cousins whom I cannot tell apart. My dad was so drunk, he puts my college drinking experience to shame.

Still, it was an incredible day, and I am incredibly proud of my sister. She looked great as usual, and was in total control the entire evening. Except when I spoke briefly to her during one of the photo-taking moment, and expressed my joy for her, she cautions me to stop as she is afraid that she will cry.

She has come a long way, and I am proud to be here to share in the celebration with her.

I am done with my finals wooohooo!

Will be home this christmas.....!

OSCARS COUNTDOWN

New York Film Critics Circle

Best Fiction Film: Lord of the Rings: Return of the King
Best Director: Sophia Coppola (Lost in Translation)
Best Actor: Bill Murray (Lost in Translation)
Best Actress: Hope Davis (American Splendor, The Secret Lives of Dentists)
Best Supporting Actor: Eugene Levy (A Mighty Wind)
Best Supporting Actress: Shohreh Aghdashloo (House of Sand and Fog)

Best Screenplay: Craig Lucas (The Secret Lives of Dentists)
Best Foreign Film: City of God (Brazil)
Best Animated Film: The Triplets of Belleville
Best Non-fiction Film: Capturing the Friedmans
Best Cinematographer: Harris Savides (Elephant, Gerry)
Best First Film: Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini (American Splendor)

NYFCC crowns 'King' as year's best picture

they have got SADDAM!

I am a cinema purist. I love my movies raw and edgy, with no fluff. Preferably a death, a breaking down of a dysfunctional family , the passing of a child's innocence, or a combination of these.

I like my movie-going experience to be as simple and untainted as possible. No milling around the shopping mall before the movie. If I get a choice, I rather watch the film by myself, and arrive real early so that I do not miss out any crucial opening moments of the film.

No contamination by frivolous thoughts during the show. The luminous glow of a watch that lights up in the dark annoys me, just as the person sitting beside me checking his watch to see how long more the filmic torture is going to last. And usually no popcorn, no self-indulgent pampering of the oral and intestinal. No time for chitchats when the film is in the thick of actions. And a big no-no to whoever that tries to tell me what he/she thinks the ending is going to be, half-way through the show. It is rude, insulting and deserves a place only in the comforts of your own home, and with your own movie.

And when the film ends, I drive straight home from the movie theater, pondering along the way the deeper meaning of the film, and come up with adjectives to describe it on my website or to my friends.

And I never watch a movie on the big screen more than once. The only movie I have seen twice at the theaters is Titanic. After the second viewing with one of my ex-girlfriends, we broke up hours later.

Sick and tired of my sad ramblings?

Turn to Monogram Musings for some less depressing offerings. Only some.

How about some reflections from another fellow Singaporean lost in the dark depths of the city. I'm talking about my exchange buddy at UCLA.

And then there's the more spiritual offerings from another guy lost in the midst of nowhere, aka Nebraska.

And who can forget the extremely advanced html wizard whose website I can never fully comprehend in its right dimensions. Yes, the danasty gets a little frisky sometimes. Much like the former soap opera.

And this extremely out-of-date fellow, wallowing on the 32nd street, and other times at Joshua Tree National Park, works his ropes like no other....

Not to forget the closeted opinions of a boy lost in the woods of Los Angeles, thinking that he is still in cocaine country. Oh well, maybe LA does pass of as a northern Bogota, but still, this fellow is more gay than any gays I know.

THE REMEDY (I WON'T WORRY)
words & music by jason mraz & the matrix

I saw fireworks from the freeway and behind closed eyes I cannot make them go away
Cause you were born on the fourth of july, freedom ring
now something on the surface it stings
that something on the surface it kind of makes me nervous who says that you deserve this
and what kind of god would serve this? We will cure this dirty old disease
if you've got the poison I've got the remedy

the remedy is the experience. It is a dangerous liaison
I say the comedy is that its serious. Which is a strange enough new play on words
I say the tragedy is how you're gonna spend the rest of your nights with the light on
So shine the light on all of your friends because it all amounts to nothing in the end.

Jason Mraz is an incredibly talented musician. He wrote this song while driving up the 5 one night, and saw from the freeway the fireworks going off at the Disneyland theme park. It reminded him of Fourth of July celebrations and consequently, a good friend of his, who was born on the Fourth of July. The friend was suffering from cancer at that time, and perhaps that is the remedy he is singing about. Maybe everyone is searching for a remedy.

Why can't I be that poetic when I am driving on the freeway?

Do not admonish my melancholic disposition. I am not a sad person, but only someone who has a penchant for depressive moods.

The films I enjoy dwell on the ennui of life. The script I wrote turns out to have a wonderfully morose morbid fascination. And the music I listen to have an inclination towards the moody and mournful. Still, I don't think I have turn out too bad. I recently compiled a list of twenty sad songs that have been a part of my life.

California Dreaming - Mamas and the Papas

all the leaves are brown
and the sky is grey
I've been for a walk
on a winter's day

if I didn't tell her
I could leave today
California Dreamin'
on such a winter's day

The tentative guitar strums in the beginning literally draws me into a deep-seated reverie, like a cold winter breeze racking up the dead autumn leaves. I must have heard of this song from a long time ago, but it was only when it appeared in Wong Kar-wai's Chungking Express, with the moll-looking Faye Wong standing at the jukebox as a cool Tony Leung saunters past in his blue policeman uniform. I love the film and I love the song. It has such a melancholic mood that is at once over the top and effectively reclusive.

I remember driving alone during a lonely Thanksgiving weekend from Death Valley to Sequoia National Park, climbing through windy roads with only pitch-dark forests for company. It was late at night and my CD changer was playing the same song over and over again. I could not have been lonelier. And then it began to snow. The immense solitude and fitting lyrics announces my arrival in Los Angeles, an arrival towards a different land, and an arrival at a mentality that is growing too old too fast.

MY LIST

Was Chris Cooper in the American remake of The Ring?

Yes he was. In fact. the director had wanted him to be a recurring character in the film, including the final ending of the film. Together with two other alternate endings that include one that involves Naomi Watts' character dropping the cursed videotape off at a Blockbuster store, Cooper was suppose to be the next victim as set up by Watts. Luckily, Gore Verbinski the director was equally disgusted by the alternative endings that they were discarded, and even denied inclusion on the DVD version.

What is certain is that Hollywood has embraced Asian horror films in a big way. Next to come include Jennifer Connelly in Hideo Nakata's Dark Water remake (she was supposed to play Watts role in The Ring, but decided on The Hulk, which made less money then the horror film). Also in the pipelines are Nakata's Chaos, the Korean Tale of Two Sisters. Even Tom Cruise has bought the rights to Singapore co-produced's The Eye. Unfortunately for some, he will not be acting in it. Ring 2 is also in production, with Naomi Watts continuing her pursuit of the curse placed on her and her son. The Grunge is also being remade. Meanwhile, Hideo Nakata is taking English lessons at UCLA, hoping to land a directorial deal in Hollywood.

The Pan-Asian trend has began several years ago and is most prominent in films such as The Eye and Three. HK, Singpaore and Thai producers work together to create a film that reflects an all-embracing pan-Asian demographics, as well as being able to market to the 500 million people strong audience base in the region. Such pan-asian and horror successes have brought much attention to hollywood producers who are eager for a quick buck. They hope that these well-tested and popular asian films can reap similar profits, albeit with less efforts needed in pre-production.

The hugely popular Infernal Affairs which starred Tony Leung, has also had its remade rights bought up by Brad Pitt. Ridley Scott had wanted ot direct it, but now the script has been passed over to Martin Scorsese who is interested to cast Pitt and Leonardo Di Caprio in his version. Thus the Asian love affair is not only limited to the horror genre. Apparently, the bidding war for this film was so high that Warner Brothers only got to produce it while Miramax had obtained distribution rights.

The indonesian hit Julangkong was also bought over by Michael Bay, with the plans falling apart after the Bali bombing incident. (Apparently the insurance premiums for Americans to film in Indonesia actually exceeded Bay's budget). Korean smash hit My Sassy Girl is also currently looking for a screenwriter to recreate the film in the local context for the North American market.

Thus, be prepared for an onslaught of Asian remakes to come Hollywood's way.