An Angry Election
For most of us, there is one person whose views we seek when something does not add up or make sense. Someone rational and insightful. I would go to this one friend, who is unfailingly analytical. In the last six months however, he has been …
Ang Peng Siong And The Olympic Dream
I had assumed everyone knows Ang Peng Siong. Until I mentioned his name to a 21-year-old and did not get the reaction I expected. I asked this young man if he was familiar with the music of ABBA. The reaction was similar. To a whole …
Apprentice
This week, a new Singapore film, ‘Apprentice’, opens in our cinemas. It deals with the death penalty. In this sophomore feature, following his well-received debut ’Sandcastle’, Boo Junfeng tackles the subject of capital punishment. It has garnered positive to glowing notices around the world, with …
Daniel Yun: Journey Of A Singaporean Filmmaker
A single-minded focus of being the best drove and defined the former boss of MediaCorp Raintree Pictures During last year’s mid-autumn festival (中秋节), a day when ethnic Chinese worldwide celebrate what is also called Mooncake festival by gathering with family and eating sweet moon-shaped pastry, …
Spotlight
We can all remember a time when something happened, and we had expected some friends to call, to ask, to speak up, or just say something. After a while, when they didn’t, we were perplexed, confused. Then it dawned on us. We were on our …
Soya Bean Drink
I messaged a friend recently, after meeting a young man still in school but intent on getting work experience and exposure. I have been impressed with the young people I am interviewing for internship. They are not only hardworking, often juggling a few part-time jobs …
Eye In The Sky
An Anglo-American operation pins down a group of Somali terrorists in a small house in Kenya where they are about to embark on a suicide bombing. A missile strike is ordered on this house. Suddenly, a little girl wanders into the kill zone. Unfolding almost …
An ‘Interstellar’ Moment For Singapore Films
Last week, I left an Imax cinema not fully understanding a movie yet feeling inspired. It was the science fiction movie, ‘Interstellar’. I knew, hearing the excited chatter among the friends I saw the film with, that like ‘Inception’, this movie would generate a lot …
Discovering The Actor
In Singapore, do we have an actor of a calibre when if he is in a movie or program, people will make an effort to watch purely because this actor acts exceedingly well. We all have an actor we like, to a point of making …
Pioneer Generation Package – The Mandarin Musical
Those who watched Channel 8 in the last few weeks may be aware of an elephant in the room. No one seems to want to talk about it, but when someone does, everyone has an opinion. Including some strong views. I am referring to the …