Sunday, August 19, 2007

Ya ya papaya

I went out with G today to watch the movie 881. I've been hoping to watch it ever since it opened, and I really don't regret watching it at all because it was so fantastically fabulous fun. The last local movie I watched was Singapore Dreaming and it was such a good movie; 881 doesn't disappoint either. I'm starting to love Singapore movies, except the Jack Neo movies which are sadly too full of crap for me to appreciate.

881 is a tour de force of irreverent campy delight focussed on the getai scene of Singapore, a scene that I've never quite appreciated because there's just so much over-amplification of the songs that everything becomes a horrible morass of noise and you can't even appreciate the songs because your eardrums are being shattered. It's much more pleasant to enjoy the Hokkien songs of getai in the theatre setting where the acoustics are much better and they sound much more pleasant and meaningful than the jarring noise we're all too familiar with. Plot-wise the story is a simple one, basically nothing more than a spartan frame on which to pile the entertainment, which this movie is an overdose of, with the heartland dialect dialogue which hides multiple gems, to the songs that are liberally thrown in to aid the story's narration, though the lyrics of some songs are not entirely appropriate to the scenes they appear in. There's a whole load of bizarre effects thrown in as "special powers" (don't know how else to describe them) which is nothing if not more hilarious campiness, and the sheer array of stage costumes each more breathtakingly glittery, feathered and psychedelic than the next, is a wonder to behold.

I don't think words can come close to describing the entertainment value of this movie, so you just have to watch the movie to appreciate it lol. It is a very touching and moving movie at the same time that it is campy and fun (I was crying my eyes out at the ending and there were many sniffles heard among the audience), and the acting is great too - loved Yeo Yann Yann and Mindee Ong for their excellent portrayals. I loved it so much.


To finish off a short post, a quiz I was tagged by plhu to do (you know I can't resist them, eh? XD):

Layer 1: On The Outside
Name: Andre T.H. Tan
Birth Date: 2 October 1984
Current Status: Single
Eye Colour: So dark brown it's practically black unless you shine a torch at it.
Hair Colour: Variegated - dark brown with lots of white, sigh.

Layer 2: On The Inside
My Heritage: Uhm my dad's family is from Kluang in Johore, and I think we can trace our ancestors to Xiamen. Not sure about my mom's side, because my maternal grandfather was rather estranged from his family.
My Fears: Superficially I'm afraid of heights and the unknown, and my overly vivid imagination. More deeply, I'm afraid that I won't be a good doctor.
My Weaknesses: Being too judgemental and easily prejudiced against others, and consequently being quite a bitch to people I can't be bothered about, like on public transport.
My Perfect Pizza: Lots and lots of cheese. Pineapple chunks, handful of mushrooms, loads of tomatoes, and maybe some BBQ chicken.

Layer 3: Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow
My First Thoughts of waking Up: I'm going to watch 881!
My Bed Time: Slept at 12.30am yesterday, which is terribly late by my standards.
My Most Missed Memories: I miss being in JC, but not so much that I'd rather be there than living here and now.

Layer 4: My Pick
Pepsi or Coke: Coke I suppose, though I hate carbonated drinks.
McDonalds or Burger King: Burger King.
Single or Group Dates: Eh. I guess I'd prefer one-on-one time.
Adidas or Nike: Nike, definitely.
Tea or Nestea: Tea. How can Nestea be a reasonable alternative at all?
Chocolate or Vanilla: Chocolate AND vanilla lol.
Cappuccino or Coffee: Neither, though if I really had to choose, cappuccino for its special-ness.

Layer 5: Do You…
Smoke: Not tobacco, though I do smoke during exams.
Curse: Quite a bit, though I try not to use overly ripe epithets (i.e. Hokkien utterances or the F-word). If only I could follow my Sec 4 teacher's advice and say "apples and oranges" every time I wanted to curse.
Take A Shower: Duh. Twice every day.
Have A Crush: A tonne of them, though I don't have any current crush.
Go To School: Yes.
Want To Get Married: Not particularly. I don't have any illusions about the beauty of love.
Believe In Yourself: I try.
Think You’re A Health Freak: Not really, though I'm definitely more health-conscious now than I was several years ago. Still not exercising, though.

Layer 6: In The Past
Drink Alcohol: Occasionally, though I hate beer, so mostly wine/Bailey's.
Gone to the Mall: Yes, what kind of question is this?
Been on Stage: Last time was Playhouse last year, and it was fun.
Eaten Sushi: Lots of times.
Dyed Your Hair: Never, because I don't want to ruin my hair, it's already bad enough.

Layer 7: Have You Ever…
Played A Stripping Game: Nope.
Changed Who You Were To Fit In: I've changed some parts of me for the better, I'd like to think, though whether that's to fit in is questionable. There are some parts of me I won't change just for the purpose of "fitting in", take me or leave me.

Layer 8: Are You Hoping To…
Get Married: See above.

Layer 9: In A Girl
Best Eye Colour: I'd love sky blue :P
Best Hair Colour: Dark brown is good.
Short or Long Hair: Doesn't matter.

Layer 10: What You Were Doing
A Minute Ago: Checking my email.
Hour Ago: Reading the papers while listening to the National Day Rally - the CPF part was not very understandable.
Four And A Half Hours Ago: Having a serious conversation with G at Central cafe at Taka, haha.
A Month Ago: Paeds I think.
A Year Ago: Family Med?

Layer 11:
I Love: My parents (haha, so cheesy and uncreative).
I Hate: Having to tell lies to people that are important to me.
I Hide: Inconvenient truths. Many times what people don't know won't hurt them.
I Miss: Nothing, actually, this is a great time of my life.
I Need: More order in my life and motivation to study for MBBS.

Layer 12: Tag 5 People
Erm, difficult to find 5 friends who regularly blog. Take if you want la.

Just realised this is my 301st post. Wow.

Avaris / 8/19/2007 10:20:00 PM

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