tnppostwoman.com archives

Sheela Says: Celebrities are such a yawn when they display their political stripes.

Call me cynical, but every four years, the stars will come out and wax lyrical about a presidential candidate.

And they barely make an impact as far as I am concerned.

Take the recent Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado for instance.

Most of Hollywood’s A, B, C and D-listers came out to fete the new Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama.

If they are not waving flags and wearing badges for their idol, they are taking digs at his rival John McCain.

Like Madonna did during the launch of her Sticky & Sweet tour in Cardiff recently, with a video interlude juxtaposing Adolf Hitler, Robert Mugabe and Republican presidential nominee John McCain to the track of Get Stupid.

Towards the end of the song, she had images of John Lennon, Al Gore and Mahatma Gandhi with footage of Obama.

Thank you, we get it Mads - like a sledgehammer to the head, we got your message.

Do American celebrities honestly think that if they back a political candidate, their fans and viewers are going to be swayed during the elections?

As it has been shown time and again, for all their influence in American society, celebrities have had little success influencing the ballot boxes.

They can sell soap to their fans, but selling a candidate, well, that’s another story entirely.
For the rest of the world, do we really give a hoot who these fellas actually support or vote for in the upcoming US Presidential election?

All their political posing is mere watercooler chatter for us.

Maybe some of these celebrities do actually believe they can do some good.

But I am more inclined to believe that like most celebrities, it is all about how much publicity they can get out of this.

Tell Us: Do you really care whom the celebrities support in the upcoming US presidential elections? Or do you think such famous backing actually hurts and hinders the campaign of the candidate involved?

You can leave a comment here or e-mail us at tnpshow@sph.com.sg. Don’t forget to leave us your contact details: name, age, occupation and e-mail address or telephone number.

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LETTERS VIA EMAIL

I feel the Stars, well publicised antics is actually hurting Mr Obama’s Crediblity. Actually i also don’t care who the celebrities support during the upcoming Presidential Elections as i feel Mr John Mccain is the right person to be the President of United States.

MrJohn Mccain is more qualified than MrBarrack Obama. His experience in handling miltary issues will be a huge plus point over Obama. In 1997, Time Magazine listed John Mccain as one of the Top 25 “Most Influential People in America.” This is before anyone heard of Mr Obama back then.

As an adult Mr Obama, admitted that during high school he used marijuana, cocaine, and alcohol, which he described at the Saddleback Church Civil Forum on the Presidency as his greatest moral failure. Whereas Mr John Mccain,took on the tobacco industry in 1998, proposing legislation that would increase cigarette taxes in order to fund anti-smoking campaigns, discourage teenage smokers, increase money for health research studies, and help states pay for smoking-related health care costs.

Even our ministers go through strict guidelines to ensure they are well qualified for their posts so that we singaporeans are assured that our country is in good hands. Our Prime Minister has valuable Miltary Experience which i feel makes a good leader. Americans should vote for the more qualified canidate instead for the more popular one who is endorsed by celebrites.

What Obama lacks in leadership qualites and political experience to John Mccain cannot be made equal by the support of the celebrites. John Mccain is the right candidate to lead the United States.
 Sivaram

Jeanmarie Says: Forgive me for balking when I first heard that yet another Star Wars movie, titled Star Wars: The Clone Wars, was hitting the screens.

Don’t get me wrong. I enjoyed Episodes 4, 5 and 6 - an iconic trilogy which showed us a world of light sabres and the powers of Yoda-speak. But after Episodes 1, 2 and 3 - no thanks to a surly Hayden Christensen - I felt enough was enough. And when director George Lucas said he would not pursue making Episodes 7, 8 and 9, I heaved a sigh of relief.

Besides, in 2003, Lucas had already partnered with the Cartoon Network to produce Star Wars: Clone Wars, a 25-chapter animated series set between Episodes 2 and 3.

Now, we have this animated movie, called Star Wars: The Clone wars, which opens in cinemas this week. And there’s more because this movie is meant to be a percursor to yet another TV series (a 3-D animated series called Star Wars: The Clone Wars… again!) which will debut later this year. There is even talk of a live-action Star Wars TV series, probably in hopes of emulating successful Battlestar Galactica series.

Is it just me or is Lucas taking his Star Wars franchise too far? Why mess with the original trilogy that managed to enthral so many fans? Or are there that many diehard Star Wars fanatics out there who are happy to lap up everything with a Star Wars stamp?

Tell Us: Would you watch Star Wars: The Clone Wars? Do you think George Lucas should stop making more Star Wars clones?

You can leave a comment here or e-mail us at tnpshow@sph.com.sg. Don’t forget to leave us your contact details: name, age, occupation and e-mail address or telephone number.

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LETTERS VIA E-MAIL

Ever since i was 17 in 1999, i waited impatiently for every 3 yrs for the next Star Wars movie.

I eagerly await the next star wars flim, The Clone Wars

Now as a 26yr old adult, i still want more star wars flims as Star wars is one of those films that always fascinated me and provides a visual treat for the eyes. It has no blood, sex scenes and has no vulgar language making it one of the most family themed movies with good action scenes and carries a good message at the end of the day.

In 2005, when i went to catch Revenge of the Sith on the very first day, i was pleasantly surpursied to see, mini Darth vaders, X wing Pilots and even a Darth Maul. For those kids, Star wars characters took their attention and they enjoyed dressing up this roles. Why, i even saw 40 yr old uncles dressed up as Han Solos and some Princess Leias among the ladies as they is always a kid in us. Star Wars may not win oscars anymore but it sure makes a good cinema outing for the entire famliy.

When Geroge Lucas finished his Star Wars EP 4 movie he said “There’s a whole generation growing up without any kind of fairy tales. And kids need fairy tales - it’s an important thing for society to have for kids.” Give the kids out there an inspiration to imagine!!!
Siva Ram

May Choon Says: Local movie buffs, you’re spoiled for choice this month, thanks to two closely watched local movie sequels hitting the big screen.

First, there’s Jack Neo’s Money No Enough 2, the second part to his money-spinning Money No Enough. Then there’s wonder-boy Royston Tan’s 12 Lotus, the follow-up to his smash getai hit 881.

Both movies are highly anticipated, especially since their first instalments were huge box office successes. But have they lived up to the hype?

The reviews so far have been a mixed bag. Lianhe Zaobao said Money No Enough 2 is “funny and realistic enough”, but The Straits Times slams Jack for being a “one-trick pony”. Likewise, The Straits Times praises 12 Lotus’ “boisterous mood” and musical interludes, but The Business Times gave the movie a C+.

Tell Us: What is your verdict on these two movies? Do they live up to the hype or have local critics been too harsh?

You can leave a comment here or e-mail us at tnpshow@sph.com.sg. Don’t forget to leave us your contact details: name, age, occupation and e-mail address or telephone number.

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LETTERS VIA E-MAIL

Having watched both movies, I must say that both directors made the sequels in identical veins as the first movie. However having been outstanding in their initial foray, the follow up was always going to take some beating.

The audience for the two movies might be drastically different as one is shot in a more artistic and experimental manner and the other is a more television-like and direct style. There are both pros and cons to their approaches.

For Roystan, his vision of the movie was to make classical opera and ge tai appear modern and psychedelic, that would help attract the younger generation who are used to the artsy fartsy. The tai-tais and ah peks would also flock to this movie because the 7th month and last year’s 881 would have whetted their appetite for more hokkien songs and flashy costumes.

In providing the asthetics, Roystan did admirably and many people who wanted the music to be good were not disappointed. However the plot was neglected somewhat in the middle of the show and ended up being a bit draggy and sketchy. This happens to alot of sequels but the failing was not too serious over here. Plus the fact that there is a certain harmony between the main characters, overall it made a positive experience. Certainly the critics were not as harsh on 12 Lotus as they were on Money no enough 2. Yet because 881 was such a resounding success that to live up as its hype was difficult and Roystan did not manage it but did come close.

Jack Neo who is an veteran entertainer and has hits like Home Run and Granny Liang under his belt, was always going to face more pressure from the critics and general public. His method was always to take the more pertinent issues in society and protray them on the big screen to reflect how ordinary citizens really feel.

Perhaps his maturity as a director made him realized that comedy alone will not be enough to draw the audience this time round. He has included some reflective moments with the relationship of the 3 brothers who were played by Jack, Henry and Mark and their on screen mother.

Somehow that made for the more poignant moments in the movie and since the comic relief is so similar to that of his monday variety show, it seemed less of a comedy but a social documentary. In the end, it is still the actors who bailed the show out of jail and made the viewing so much more endurable. I have to agree with the critics that it did not live up to the hype of its predecessor as Singapore’s highest grossing movie.

Despite viewers’ consternation towards too much products placement, Jack blatantly flooded his movie with so many local brands that it became a personal challenge to spot and point out these products as the movie goes along. Although I regretted paying the cinema fare to watch the show, I might have enjoyed it when it comes onto the TV as our saturday night movie. Lets not discount Jack’s ability to produce another blockbuster in the future as like many Singapore, he has demostrated the Singaporean mentality of never giving up! Ai pia, jia eh yah! ( must fight then can win)
Ong Kok Wah

Sheela Says: Let’s face it, when it comes to having a killer body, most athletes score big in that department. That, of course, excludes sports that require you to look like a towering mountain of flesh.

I’ve found that our local athletes score high on the attractive scale. But in terms of the attention scale, they are sorely losing out to their Western counterparts. While many Singaporean know about swimmers like Michael Phelps or Amanda Beard, I was hard pressed to find someone who knew most of our attractive athletes.

Other than Li Jiawei and Ronald Susilo that is. But we all know why. Their romance, break-up and legal woes played out like Taiwanese soap opera right on our front pages.

Maybe our athletes need to do what their international counterparts do most of the time - show off those killer abdominal muscles and sexy lycra-ed bodies in a calendar or in a popular magazine. What a way to create a buzz for the sport and for themselves.

Tell Us: Do you think our Singapore athletes are just as hot as their Western counterparts? What do they need to do to get more attention?

You can leave a comment here or e-mail us at tnpshow@sph.com.sg. Don’t forget to leave us your contact details: name, age, occupation and e-mail address or telephone number.

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In response to “Team Singapore: Sizzling!”I like to say that local sports celebs are as hot as their international counterparts.I believed local sports celebs can promote themselves and their sporting fields is to appear in schools to promote such sports in the national level.Such will motivate the local students and by doing so, these motivated students may follow the footsteps of the local sports celebs and be our future Singapore Olympians.Not only that, the relevant bodies can also hold events whereby they can meet up with the general public so that Singapoeans can have chance to mingle and rub shoulder with our local sports celebs.

I like to say that we Singaporeans seems to be more interested in foreign sports celebs because i believed local celebs are always here and available compared to international sports celebs who may be here once every four years or worse, only once in a life time.A very good example is recently when the US Olympic Swim Team was in town for their training,I read that many supporters waited for these celebs at the training facilities to catch a glimpse as well as to get their autographs and to have pictures taken with them.I am also pleased and honoured to have met, wished and have photos taken with both Dara Torres and Michael Phelps when they were in Singapore.Same goes for the Brazilian Olympic Football Team who were in Singapore for a friendly game with the Singapore Team before their games in the Beijing Olympics.

In 2004, i stayed overnight at Changi Airport to welcome the Singapore Olympians to thank them for doing their best for Singapore in the Athens Olympics.I was disappointed and angry and even cried that Li Jia Wei did not win any medal at the 2004 Olympics.She was so close to winning a medal and not only that, she was in the lead in the final game.After feeling disappointed and angry at her, i cried because i felt remorseful and guilty for being so harsh on her.I failed to put myself in her shoe and about her feeling

I will be at Changi Airport to welcome all the Singapore Olympians for doing their best for Singapore at the 29th Beijing Olympics.To me, all of them are gold medalist winners for Singapore.If they are able to win any medals at the Olympics,such will definitely be a bonus for Singapore.

Ace Kindred Cheong

Attractiveness is a very complex trait and relies on many factors apart from just physical attributes.
It is true that our athletes have well-toned and shapely bodies, but with so many hotbods around,
well defined muscles are no longer enticing enough for the masses to fall heads over heeds in love with them.
Most people will agree that our sportsmen come nowhere close to their western counterparts on the hotness scale.
I fall within that category and I must admit that our athletes need to step up a few notch in order to transform
themsevles into a Pan-Asia or even a global sports star.

First of all, world class talents are what most sporting superstars possess. Phelps is the talk of the Olympics because of his natural
extraordinary apitude in the waters. Breaking records would be a good way to expand your fanbase especially in
your home nation. You have Nadal who brought Federer’s reign to an end. No doubt that their behemoth talents
which was on display during their titanic battles earned them legions of fans world wide. Tao Li, in setting a new
Asian record would have gained a measured degree of fame and most important, respect from Singaporeans.
If she can keep up with her progress, you can see our nation keeping regular tabs on her.

The stars are not chosen based on the size of their abdominalis rectus, biceps or gluteus maximus.
Media exposure will follow natural talents. Exclusive interviews in popular magazines, exotic shots on mediterranean
shores for calenders and Oprah’s invitation to her show are all by-products of success.
In turn, they enhance the popularity of the sportsmen and magnify their achievements.
We can encourage local magazines and our TV stations to feature more of our gladiators.
Yet all the media attention might just prove to be too dangerous a distraction. Just look at
Anna Kournikova and Michelle Wie, though the jury is still out on the latter.

The inherent attractiveness of the sports a sportman choose is also important. Sportsmen of more popular sports
like football, basketball, or racing tend to garner more attention. If we can produce another Fandi Ahmad and he
gets snap up by a European club, he would famous in Asia for being our representative. Yaoming is also another
icon revered not only by the Chinese but many others residing on this continent. Lets pay more attention to
our football stars, in hope that because of the attention, more people would take up the sport. In that process
we might just get lucky and unearth a real gem and he would truly have every Singaporean’s attention.

We might also be more fervant in following our sportsmen if they have been born and raised in Singapore. We have
been turning to foreign talents in our quest for sporting glory. In the process we might have alienated our own aspiring
talents. I must say our foreign imports have been doing their best to bring honor to this country. Perhaps with
our sports school, we could have another Ang Peng Siong or Tan Howe Liang and the nation will fall in behind them.

Ng Chin Kiang

I must agree with Sheela in her assessment of the physical attractiveness of our athletes. Have you seen our swimmers and the water polo guys glistering barebodied with sweat and water under the sun ? That sight would be enough to melt the hearts of many local girls. Our cherubic Taoli and the sweet looking Li Jia Wei would not look out of place in a mini beauty contest like Miss Chinatown or Miss Sentosa. I can go on about how many of our athletes have both the talents and physical attributes to be media darlings and regional idols.

Yet when it comes to local and international recognition and fame, it is people like Michael Phelps, Amanda Bread, Kobe Bryant and the likes who are hogging the limelight. Perhaps the fact that they are Americans and the world’s obsession with the hollywood culture sees them gracing TV shows, magazines and calenders. It helps that the American paparazzis are hot on their heels. I cannot imagine our friendly singapore reporters hot on the tailcoats of Remy Ong or Susilo, staking outside their HDB apartments, snapping in earnest as they take out their trash to throw. Then climbing down the rubbish chute and rummaging through all the dump for some used durex or parking fine ticket.

Headline grabber Amanda Bread is not shy of the media. She dared to bare all for her anti-fur protests and even appeared as an anchor for a sports news program.She even appeared on playboy. Say lets get FHM singapore or Maxim to do a lingerie shot of our female Table Tennis team. Definitely all our angsty mothers and grandmothers will be up in arms about how scandalous and degrading it is.

Football and basketball stars get all the attention because of the television power they command. I usually switch to channel 8 when a local match is showed, I rather watch CEO Fann Wong Vs Madwoman Fann wong than Jalan Besar Vs Sengkang. We are keen to watch and keep tabs on the olympics because of all the pubilicity and media coverage.

So what do our athletes need to do for more attention? While making sure that the media spotlight is not distracting them from training, they can appear on more variety shows, engage a publicity manager to handle these after office hours commitments. Hire a top class grooming assistant and make sure they appear ravishing at all times.

Lastly they need to be more charismatic. With the same amount of delication and commitment shown in their sport, they can transfer that discipline and fervor to political and global issues. Just like Eunice Olsen who went from beauty queen to NMP, maybe shooter Lee Wung Yew can gun down some MPs in the parliament as another NMP. Being passionate about the country and the world would definitely see local athletes’ profiles raised. Perhaps our local football team’s uniform might just carry Unicef’s insignia as a show of support for poverty and AIDS issues in Africa. Then maybe Lionel Lewis might be the Beckham of Asia. (Apologies to Beckham fans, I know the LA galaxy star will never have a bad hair day.)

Tan Wei Teng

The attention given to Michael Phelps and Amanda Beard is overwhelming.

Besides owning killer bods, their good performances earned them rights to be in the media spotlight.

True, we do have some attractive athletes, but are they on par with their western counterparts? I definitely don’t think so.

The truth hurts, but comparing consistency, levels of commitment, they beat us hands down.

A true sportsman or sportswoman must possess a ‘never say die attitude’, and I was flabbergasted when exclamation of being ‘tired’ came out of the mouth of our swimmer, Tao Li.

Let’s inch a little away and talk about soccer. Singaporean just simply adore foreign footballers.

They would rather watch EPL matches to S-League matches.

Remember the recent Brazil/Singapore match?

No doubt Indra Sadhan is a great player, but did the fans flock there to watch him in action?

On the contrary, my good man.

They were there for just one man, and that person was none other than the Brazilian player, Ronaldinho.

What I’m trying to emphasize is that in order to gain more attention, its not how you look, but how well you play the game.

No amount of publicity or media coverage will help if you can’t deliver.

In conclusion, I would like to congratulate Feng Tianwei for achieving what others had failed to do.

Persist and success will be yours!

Anna Law

Foreigns stars like phelps and ronaldinho are commanding worldwide attention at the olympics because of their success in the sporting arena. Naturally our nation will be just as fascinated with their progress at the olympics as the rest of the world. They are phenomenal in their own sports and that makes them hot. Besides demostrating unquestionable talents, these famous blokes are modest about their achievements and has this unsatiable thirst for more conquests. All these qualities will put them in favorable light and draw fans to them. So while you would rather take Li Jiawei out on a date than Usafa Powell, its the latter who ranks higher on the sizzling scale for most people.

Granted our athletes are breaking national and asian records but so many records are being broken at the olympics that I have lost count. Or bother even counting.

To the singaporeans who are used to wnning international accolades for our academic abilities, our world class airport, our graft free government and so on, losing will never make you hot. Even if ronald susilo has more abs than ronaldinho, no one will bat an eyelid unless he beats a certain Lin Dan en route to a medal.

So while our local newspapers may give our record-breaking representatives the headline, online reports from other countries are unlikely to grant more than a cursory sentence to them. It all comes down to medals eventually. Reporters only interviews the winners and unless our sportsmen really win something, breaking asian records will only be rewarded with a footnote.

It seems that our table tennis girls are finally set to deliver at least a set of glorious silver medals home. Then there is the promise of much more than 2nd place. They could do us prouder by beating the hosts and world number 1 Zhang Yining in their own courtyard. Their acheivement to date has already generated an extraordinary amount of buzz online in the local community and everywhere else in singapore. There is not one forum that does not have well wishes for our paddlers and that proves that athletic achievements is the best way to grab attention. Phelps who? Beat china and you have hordes of bloggers praising and drawing inspiration from them. You might even have the very active chinese bloggers cursing them for spoiling their party, or admiring our girls for realising a small nation’s dream.

Ong Guan Hong

Anyone who watched yesterday’s table tennis finals which featured our best pingpong girls against China’s elite must have felt the adrenaline pumping as the players traded shots for shots and displayed great technique and mental fortitude. WHo say that our players are not as hot as their western counterparts? I was up and down in my couch and sweat coursed down my forehead as I cheered and cursed every single antic of the players. When Feng won her first set, the temperature rose through the sky in my living room. Ice man Phelps and Cool Girl Amanda Bread just have to take a backseat to our country’s finest gladiators on show. Every PM Lee’s speech was rescheduled in the face of our sizzling final.

In that morning, Phelps broke the record number of Olympics gold medal, the night before, Jamaican runners took their events by storm in both ladies and guys categories. However the talk of the town was still Feng, Li and Wang. Every newspaper carried well wishes for them and while we knew that our chances were slim against the Chinese, we still hoped for a miracle.

That is exactly what players must do to grab national and world wide attention. Excel in their sports, get to a final and eventually we might break our duck and bring home a coveted gold medallion. To achieve the silver at Olympics is phenomenal. Even sporting greats like Ronaldo, Pete Sampras and Tiger Woods cannot boast of a silver medal. We have two rising talents in Feng and swimmer TaoLi. Both are still young and given today’s achievement, there remains plenty of untapped potential. I hope the nation will throw our weight behind them for the next four years, follow their exploits closely and lend them all the support they need. Four years later, our gold medal just come from one of the.

Earlier our national football team had won the Asian cup and every pub along clarke quay was showing that match. When Ubekzistan visited Singapore, fans flocked to the national stadium to cheer our team on. National identity is something that runs in our blood. When we see a fellow singaporean fighting for honors in the name of Singapore, we will rise to the occasion and cheer them on with all our hearts. I am sure many people still remember the dream 2010 where then PM Goh threw down the challenge of qualifying for the World Cup in 2010. Although we did not do it this time, we will try again and again.

With the youth Olympics in 2010 to be hosted in Singapore, I am sure more attention will be focused on our local athletes. By then our table tennis triplet will be senior figures in the set up and the whole nation will look to them to impart their world beaters skills to our prodigies. The future looks bright and I am sure with all the investment and support for our budding sportspersons, they will only become hotter and hotter. May they be golden hot soon!

Ong Kok Wah

May Choon Says: I never thought I’d see the day that Fann Wong would be named Best Actress… outside of Caldecott Hill, that is.

Yet, it has happened. The good people behind the inaugural West Hollywood International Film Festival (WHIFF) have bestowed this honour on the Singaporean lass for her role as a ballroom dancing instructor grappling with love in the Singapore-produced movie Dance Of The Dragon.

That’s not all. Dance Of The Dragon swept 10 major awards, including Best Festival Movie, Best Director (John Radel), Best Actor (Jang Hyuk) and The Special Mention Jury Award.

Too bad the festival itself hardly made ripples in Hollywood, where it is based. The four-day festival had no mentions in the wire agencies or newspapers. And it’s panel of judges - made up of names in American TV shows - draw a blank.

Besides, if you’ll remember, Dance Of The Dragon definitely did not rank as one of our better-made exports. It bombed at the box office, raking in only $170,000, and was slammed by most local critics.

Wonder if the guys at WHIFF got whiff of that.

Tell Us: Did you seen Dance Of The Dragon when it was shown here? Are you surprised at its win at the film festival?

You can leave a comment here or e-mail us at tnpshow@sph.com.sg. Don’t forget to leave us your contact details: name, age, occupation and e-mail address or telephone number.

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To start off, the questions should not be, “Are you not surprised that Dance Of The Dragon (DOTD) won so many US accolades?” and “Do you think it deserves to?”. But rather, “Do you know what is the West Hollywood International Film Festival (WHIFF)?” I obviously didn’t.

While I’m sure many people are wowed by the title of the festival. But does having “Hollywood” and “International” mean anything? Would you be equally wowed if DOTD swept all of the awards at the Djibouti International Film Festival? A quick search using the popular search engine, Google, turned up 383,000 results with the WHIFF website at the top. But the website didn’t give one of the most important information that is what movies took part in the WHIFF. Would you be surprise if DOTD won because it was stacked up against even worse international film? The rest of the websites didn’t help much to enlighten me either. A search on Wikipedia turned up absolutely nothing. If Wikipedia was anything to go by, it just goes on to show how unknown the WHIFF is. And Wikipedia do have alot of information on even the most obscure of things.

I really do hope someone would come out and enlighten me on the WHIFF. Because as of now, it bring to my mind those dubious reviews and quotes B-Grade movies almost always put of their movie ads. e.g. “5 Stars! - A Movie Critic”. “Arguably the best action flick of 2007 - B Movie Critic”. The only difference now is that DOTD can put a legit WHIFF logo with the caption “10 WHIFF award winner!” on their DVD cover.

If my reviews are anything to go by: Dance of the Dragon! Absolute crap! - J Movie Critic

Joshua Wong

In response to “Panned at home, Fann’s movie wows US film fest”.I like to congratulate everyone who has been involved in the movie “Dance Of The Dragon” or DOTD.I was invited to attend the gala at The Cathay and also to the post party held at Indochine.I was surprised and impressed that DOTD won 10 awards.Unfortunately, I did not get the chance to watch.However i also heard many comments that the movie is not worth to watch.

If such is the case, how did DOTD won so many awards?I believed that is so because Singaporeans are too critical and negative and many in general do not support movies made locally as Singaporeans in general believed that local productions are not up to standards as compared to foreign countries such as the Hollywood.Same for local beauty pageants, Many Singaporeans in general do not support local contestants and they criticise instead of support.I have even read and hear comments such as, “Wah Lao Eh,such contestants can also join beauty pagents, then my grand mother can also join leh.No standard.” With such attitude,how do we expect local productions to excel even in our own country.

I like to say that Singaporeans in general are more interested in movies that depict Sex, Violence, Crimes, Bloody scene and many other negative impact than things like Dance, Arts, and others.I read that the latest Star Wars movie “The Clone Wars” was created in Singapore and read that George Lucas was even in town to have a preview of the latest movie.If Singaporeans have a chance to meet either George Lucas or local famous directors and producers, how many would choose to meet up with George Lucas over our local production team?I believed the answer would be very obvious.

I believed Singapore made movies lack local supports.If such is so, i believed such movies would not be very popular if shown only in Singapore.Such local movies will do much better overseas because the markets are much bigger and foreign audiences may be more mature and ready to accept such movies who can appreciate arts, dances and others.I have also read that many local movies made in Singapore and by local directors and producers are more popular in other countries than in Singapore.

Last but not least, I like to wish Fann Wong a speedy recovery as i read that she had to miss the award presentation as she was not feeling well and is under medication.

Ace Kindred Cheong

I think the awards are given and that’s final, don’t think there’s anything to debate about, nor it is very nice to say whether they deserved it or not about others winning. It is the panel of judges choice we should respect their decision and the awards itself. Well the film doesnt do well locally, it is because the film itself is more of an art film with a slow pace where Singaporean wouldn’t like or enjoy this type of film here, but that does not mean the film is bad even the local box office is not ideal. Anyway the diector and producers also mentioned that this is not a film for local market but meant for international stage. They pin their hopes overseas and now the winning has achieved their goals.

This award festival has no mentions in the wire agencies or newspapers, i believe its because it is the first year running but it definitely will have more years to come and its good that Fann is the poineer for Best Actress.

I personally went in cinema to watch the show and enjoyed the show which i think Fann did well on her emotions and dancing. We should be happy that our local star fann wong bring home the award and glory.

Ben Choo

Dance of the Dragon was supported fervently by the Singapore Tourism Board. STB lent a hand to the production because the film was shot entirely in Singapore, showcasing many of our famous sightseeing locations.

As I had an American friend over at that period, I thought it would be apt to bring him to the show. The cast could be considered experienced and as close to A list as possible for a local production.

Do remember that Fann Wong acted alongside Jackie Chan and Jason Scott Lee is famous for his performances in Timecop2 and the Jungle Book among other hollywood entertainers. My friend Brian certainly recognized both of them though he could not quite recall their names.

Personally I thought it was another measured performance by the experienced trio, however their acting were hampered by the slow and meandering story development. Perhaps the focus of the film was on the the intricacies of ballroom dancing.

The directors also explored the web of relationships with much sensitivity and artistry. That of course would not sit well with the movie-goers because we are afterall not reviews or connoiseurs of films, we are after the visuals and a relaxing time.

In this fast paced society, an epic must contain stunning CG effects, grandiose outdoor shoots, some disturbingly scenes and impactful acting.

In terms of outdoor shoots, DOTD have Cityhall, Clarke Quay and Robinson Road. Compare that to Nardia or Lord of the Rings, where the majestic nature of the New Zealand plains were shown in full bloom. DOTD was always going to lose out in terms of that yet to a Singaporean, these scenes still filled me with pride and a sense of familiarity. Other Singaporeans might not be able to dissociate Fann Wong with television and since they could watch her on TV at 9pm, why pay 8 to 10 bucks just to see her gyrate with a korean or ABC?

JAng Hyuk is an aspiring dance student who taught himself by imitating videotape dancers, protrayed the transition of a novice shaker to an accomplished dancefloor exponent with ease. Fann Wong too could fool us into thinking she has had professional training as a ballerina. Their on screen chemistry deserves a mention.

Together they waltz to the tune of the movie and Jason Scott’s fiery attempt to thwart both of them adds a new sizzling dimension to the show sometimes. As the producers attempt to spin the complex web of relationships between the characters, you wonder if they were overdoing it. Sometimes we are just satisfied with boy A meets girl, B turns out to be a bad apple and girl happily absconds with A. Something like that.

Movies with “what ifs” and complicated choices do not do well at box offices. Morality and mirrors of reality do well in books and essays. They may win you critics but not box office success. So it is not surprising that the Inaugural West Hollywood International Film festival bestowed upon the film so many accolades. These people are the ones who try to understand the movie and not the ones who just watch a movie.

In DOTD we have a nice ethnic mix of singaporean, American chinese and Korean set in an urban Asian city. The theme of ballroom dancing may not be new and retired dancing champions even staler but the producers injected adrenaline into this subject by throwing in bits and pieces of martial arts along the way. The land of revolution is feverished with martial arts craze and anything asian. They seemingly will lap up ballroom dancing if it is wrapped with an asian skin. Also due to the economic downturn, there were not many outstanding Asian movies recently, DOTD made its debut at the festival at a correct time.

There are many films which did not garner blockbuster status but did well at film festivals. Wong Kar Wai’s In the Mood of Love did well overseas with the judges, so did other lesser known China movies like JIang Cheng Xia Ri. Of course it would be a greater honor if DOTD could win awards at the Cannes Film Festival but lets be proud of our Singaporean production which has taken on a cosmopolitan feel and did well on the international stage.

Ong Kok Wah