The Avengers are turned into M.O.D.O.C.s

The Marvel Adventures titles might be targeted at kids, but it actually manages to be a very fun read, actually more so than many blockbuster titles that carry alot of baggage these days. The self-contained single issue story sees the Avengers turned into M.O.D.O.Cs (Mental Organism Designed Only for Conquest) and take an agressive stance towards crime.

Verdict: with non-stop action and loads of juvenile humor, I found it very entertaining.

Curiosity Kills The Cat : the best Chinese film of 2006

Featuring an interesting narrative structure that owes a debt to Quentin Tarantino, Curiosity Kills The Cat is set in contemporary China, juxtaposing the rich who reside in luxury high rise apartments with the decidedly working class who live in squalor in the surrounding sprawl. The film manages to be appealing as both a Rashomon-like mystery, while exploring the psychology and interaction of the have and have-nots in modern day China. The film stars Hu Jun and Carina Lau, who won an acting award for her performance.

Since Curiosity Kills The Cat was never shown on the screens in Hong Kong, I bought the DVD the first time it crossed my eyes. The DVD only cost HK$35, and is a region free disc from China. The disc features 5.1 surround sound as well as Chinese and English subtitles.

Verdict : a must watch for Mainland Chinese film buffs

2006 holiday season capsule reviews

Confession of Pain – Andrew Mak’s latest movie is a non-thriller in that the plot twist is revealed pretty much in the first half of the film. Technically brilliant and impressive acting is squandered by a sub-par plot. Unusual in being rather melancholic.
Verdict : watchable.

Happy Feet – George Miller’s latest family offering is an animation featuring singing penguins. My nephew remarked that it isn’t a movie, but a song-movie because there is too much singing.
Verdict : enjoyable but overlong.

Eragon – this is the type of juvenile crap that gives sword and sorcery films a bad name. The special effects are nothing to marvel at, Rachel Weisz doesn’t really work as the voice of a dragon and the action is semi-lame.
Verdict : definitely the worst film I saw this Christmas.

Spartacus – IFC cinemas showed the restored version of this Kubrick classic and I seize the chance to see this epic on a large screen. The film was indeed impressive, especially the early scenes where Kirk Douglas is being trained to be a gladiator and the climatic battle between the slaves and the Romans. By today’s hyperactive standards, the narrative is slow.
Verdict : now I know why they say it is a classic!

Rocky Balboa – The action, like all the Rocky movies, is quite laughable. No one boxes like that!! But as entertain and a look at how an aging actor / boxer gives it a final shot, it works. Stallone directs and it feels like a film from the 70s and 80s in pace and mood.
Verdict : Surprisingly watchable.

Curse of the Golden Flower – another Chinese epic, but at least it is by Zhang Yimou. The single reason to see this film is to watch Gong Li, who is entertaining and regal enough for the role. I didn’t find Jay Chou convincing at all, but many will disagree. The special effects were quite awful and there is not alot of martial arts scenes. I wouldn’t call this film great, and I think I prefer House of the Flying Daggers among Zhang’s marital arts films, but this is superior to The Banquet and The Promise.
Verdict : entertaining, and better than The Banquet.

New classical music from Makoto

Makoto sent me 2 CDs worth of classical music last week. One was an entire disc of piano music by a Russian composer called Roslavets (picture to the left). His music bears resemblance to the late works of Scriabin, that is, they sound more modern and I would not call them immediately accessible. I have given them 1 full listening so far and I think I need to spend more time with the music before I can make a decision whether I like it or not.

The other disc contains a selection of sonatas for piano and cello composed by various 20th century composers like Scriabin, Szymanowski and Paderewski. There is one very nice track by a composer called Gantsher – I’ve never heard of him!!!

You can crank this Marshall up to 11!

The only thing keeping me from acquiring one of these radios is the lack of decent radio channels in Hong Kong. Pure’s DAB tuner is a facsimile of a mini Marshall guitar amp -and the volume knob even goes up to 11 for some Spinal Tap fun!!

Inspector Chen tackles corruption in A Case Of Two Cities

I started reading Qiu Xiaolong’s fourth Inspector Chen novel A Case Of Two Cities immediately after finishing When Red Is Black. In this novel, Inspector Chen is assigned to tackle a politically sensitive case and investigate corruption – fubai - among high ranking party members and influential businessmen. The case sees him re-united with his American counterpart Catherine Rohn (from the second novel A Loyal Character Dancer).

I found A Case Of Two Cities a much more engrossing read than When Red Is Black. Partly, this must be because of recently high profile arrests of senior party members in Shanghai. The plot is more tightly woven than Qiu’s previous novel and some of the action even takes place in America. Qiu once again delivers a very satisfactory conclusion to the story – the outcome comes across as plausible and Qiu does not succumb to sentimental solutions with regards to Chen and Catherine Rohn’s relationship.

A very fascinating read.

When Red Is Black – another strong Inspector Chen novel

I first discovered Mainland Chinese author Qiu Xiaolong several years ago. Writing in English, Qiu’s Inspector Chen is an introspective police detective with a penchant for quoting poetry. Although classified as detective / crime fiction, Qiu seems more fascinated with changes taking place in China in the last decade and how the emergence of an affluent group of Chinese is shaping China in the new millennium.

In Qiu’s third novel When Red Is Black, Inspector Chen is offered the chance to make some pocket money by translating a proposal for a property developer. But when a murder takes place in an old-fashioned multi-family house similar to the design outlined in the proposal he is translating, Chen becomes suspicious.

In this novel, Qiu shows how “connections” work in modern China, and especially the booming property market. He does not condemn using these connections as a form of corruption; he sees it as a blade that cuts both ways. Even Inspector Chen relies on connections to procure information to solve his cases – and sometimes these connections can come back to haunt him.

Stylistically, this third novel features more dialogue and is a fast read. My person preference remains Qiu second Inspector Chen novel A Loyal Character Dancer.

An amusing comic about Windows Vista