Crimson campy charred

It seems I am no fan of Impressionism - of vague visions, dull subjects or abstract ideas.

The Lifestyle section of The Straits Times today highlights the "Best & Worst of 2011". Dreams & Reality (Oct 2011–Feb 2012 at the National Museum) made the best list under Visual Arts. It is a showcase of mainly 19th-century (and hence mainly Impressionist) European art loaned from the Musée d'Orsay, the 10th most visited art museum in the world. Yvonne, Jinglin, Zhi Wen and I went to see it two Sundays ago.

The exhibition started off promisingly for me, but by the end I realized that out of the four divisions of the galleries - Allegory & History, Man and Contemporary Life, Man and Nature, Solitude
 - my three favourite pieces all occurred in the first. This was the historical section, with works that looked backwards more than forwards, and so was probably the least representative of (or the least likely to be branded as) the 19th century.

Heracles Killing the Birds on the Stymphalian Lake, Edgard Maxence, c1893. Bright crimson bow and crazy hair (Edit: Oops I just found out that's a lion skin). The Knight of the Flowers, Georges Rochegrosse, c1894. Kinda campy.

The Enigma, Gustave Doré, 1871. The sky glowed brightly but its glare couldn't touch the charred, pitch-black earth.

I think I love clean composition, clear focus and a striking image. We're going to look at stamps today. o_O

"Ring! Ring!" went the bell

The four cameos

In 1990, Janet made the video for "Alright", a bright retro spectacle of zoot suits and shoulder-shrugging choreography. It definitely contributed to the impression in my childhood that Janet was some kind of dance genius. The clip features four big names from the history of entertainment. I didn't know this at the time. Even the man whose name is prominently presented I initially thought could have been a fictional character. Only a few years ago, after seeing her in a sparkly green dress in Singin' in the Rain, did I properly discover the identity of a second person out of the four cameos. This is Cyd Charisse (d. 2008).

Also in 1990, Black Dance in America by James Haskins was published--a chronicle of African American dancers, largely in the 20th century. I read Black Dance in America two months or so ago, and made a list of performances mentioned in the book that I would seek out on video. Not long after, I got hold of Stormy Weather, a 1943 Hollywood musical film that was a rare gathering of African American talent. This includes, from the world of music, Lena Horne (d. 2010), Fats Waller (d. 1943), and Cab Calloway (d. 1994), who is the prominent presence in Janet's "Alright" video. From the world of dance are tapper Bill "Bojangles" Robinson (d. 1949) and modern dancer Katherine Dunham (d. 2006). Dunham and her troupe were a disappointment, but most dazzling was the finale tap sequence by the Nicholas Brothers, Fayard (d. 2006) and Harold (d. 2000). This pair had turned out to be the last two of the four famous cameos in "Alright".

The one song in Stormy Weather I absolutely fell in love with is "Ain't Misbehavin'" by Fats Waller. It has a beautiful melody and a soothing drawl. It's pretty Christmassy too.

Ad compare: KFC

(2 Nov 2011) "Grandma's Porridge"



In a word--ham-fisted.

Script problems:

• In first scene, Greatgrandmother laboriously unloads plot and back story.
• Stereotypical ang moh client felt trite in Money No Enough, 13 years ago.
• "What are you doing" should be "What have you done".

Camera problems:

• While Greatgrandmother unloads plot at length, camera is uncomfortably stuck behind her.
• Framing of ang moh client is too close-up and doesn't match framing of Protagonist.

Speech problems:

• Protagonist stumbling over "start" and "tomorrow" should have got another take.
• A few seconds later, he says, "I can't bring Rachew over tomorrow." Hm...
• Greatgranddaughter accent is wack, at one point British, and at another, she says, "We rot you rat first!" Oh dear.

The rainy palette is nice, but it gives the brand such a dreary image.

(For more awkward acting over a stiff script, check out... well, it doesn't seem to have a title, so I'll use its top-rated comment, "So cheesy i feel like eating cheese fries".)

(4 Apr 2011) "One Big Family"



In a phrase--the power of suggestion.

There are two motifs, as I see it: makeshift furniture, and intimate interactions.

Spoilers of subtlety would be the lyrics "We got family", and the final lingering shot.