Red Cliff - A Flop

Watched Red Cliff today with Eugene and I was utterly disappointed at the show. Same sentiments with viewers in China, the show was more of a comedy than an epic. A more Hollywood-style chinese movie but definitely a joke if they are showing this to the chinese where the Romance of the Three Kingdoms is one of four top chinese literature works. I believe its failure could be traced to a few factors:

1. Weak cast. Other than Tony Leung, Zhang FengYi(Cao Cao) and Hu Jun(Zhao Yun), the other cast do not have the acting chops to carry off a decent period movie. The portrayal of certain characters are laughable most of the times, like Guan Yu lacks an some arrogance.
   
   
2. Not living up the name. It didn't help that the 1995 100 episodes drama serial of Romance of the Three Kingdoms was so good that the style of each characters are deeply etched in fans.
   
   
3. Modern dialogue. Imagine MacBeth played out in modern english dialogues in those school skits. You laugh right? Period shows should adopt a style of language suitable for the era it represents. In Red Cliff the style is often too casual.
   
   
4. Funnies. No one forbids jokes/funny stunts in epic movies but at the very least it should be kept to a minimal yet introduced at suitable times. Legolas using a shield as a skateboard was done so nicely that it enhanced viewers' perception of his abilities. Recall the scene where the soldiers throw ropes, pulling enemies in and killing them; leaving one looking around to find out where his comrades have gone to before falling prey. Come on!
   
   
5. Lousy fight scenes. Guan Yu, Zhao Yun and Zhang Fei are valiant but they're not indestructible and certainly do not enjoy fighting alone. The show is more of giving the actors more screen time doing their 'I can kill everyone' stunts than portraying a better fight scene. Even War and Beauty starring Kelly Chen does this better.
   
   
6. Too lengthy. Many scenes can actually be done away without affecting the story much. There are just too many redundant scenes in the movie. Who cares how a horse give birth? I think that scene alone took up like 10 mins of the show.
   

So for those who have not watched, its certainly not worth the money.

1 month of absence

I shall commerate 1 month of absence with a post... haha!

Busy the past month on my present job as a surveyor for MOM. It certainly is hard work but I'm still around becoz of the pay and flexible hours. But there are times when you feel so down when you work from the afternoon til late night(9pm) and people just show you attitude even when you're on government service. There are a few nice fellows once in a while which kinda keeps you going.

Well, this job brings me to some exciting places like Geylang showing a side of Singapore I bet most of you people have never seen with your eyes. I've been 1-room, 2-rooms, maisionette, shophouses, etc. Quite an eye-opener esp the 1-room flats which we normally only get to see on TV. Gosh, they're really quite small yet some had to squeeze entire families in there. Geylang is another eye-opener. For those who only roam about there in the comfort of their 4-wheelers, try walking through the alleys at night, you will be greatly amazed; though I haven't had the chance to interview a 'brothel' (unlike someone), guess they're not 'lucky' enough to be randomly chosen.

Tried some great food in the area as well, most notably the sliced fish soup stall at Aljunied Crescent Blk 119 which also serves braised duck. Their fish is either of top-notch quality or supreme freshness, or both. The texture is truly superb, even fussy Eugene said its good, so it has to be. If you're there, try the fish soup and braised duck over a bowl of rice topped with the braised duck sauce.

One thing I realised through the survey, most couples I've interviewed had the wife older than the husbands, I wonder if its a geographical trend or otherwise.

Lastly, congrats to Benjamin on his graduation and thanks for inviting us over for lunch, we had fun on your Nintendo DS and uncovering the 'porn' pictures on your laptop. ;)