Read more about the article ‘Crazy Rich Asians’ review: A Singaporean’s take
Henry Golding (Nick Young), Constance Wu (Rachel Chu) and Sonoya Mizuno (Araminta Lee) in Crazy Rich Asians

‘Crazy Rich Asians’ review: A Singaporean’s take

Buckle up, because this is going to be a long one. Like many Singaporeans last week, I watched Crazy Rich Asians to see how well Singapore comes off in the movie. I'll try to corral my many thoughts into a manageable puddle here, rather than an uncontrolled torrent of words.

Continue Reading‘Crazy Rich Asians’ review: A Singaporean’s take
Read more about the article Local cinema attendance was down for the 1st quarter of this year. Here’s why. (And no, it’s not the fault of too many “sequels and franchises”.)
Sebastian (Ryan Gosling) and Mia (Emma Stone) having a date at the movies in La La Land.

Local cinema attendance was down for the 1st quarter of this year. Here’s why. (And no, it’s not the fault of too many “sequels and franchises”.)

I read an article in The Straits Times a few days ago, which talked about how local cinema attendance in the first three months of this year dropped 10.4 percent from the same period last year. A few reasons were attributed to it, including slowing economic growth affecting all industries, lack of good movies, and competing sources of entertainment such as Netflix.

Continue ReadingLocal cinema attendance was down for the 1st quarter of this year. Here’s why. (And no, it’s not the fault of too many “sequels and franchises”.)
Read more about the article ‘Ilo Ilo’ review: A snapshot in time
Singaporean director Anthony Chen's Ilo Ilo

‘Ilo Ilo’ review: A snapshot in time

Watched Ilo Ilo on Tuesday to see what the fuss is about. The theatre was packed with other like-minded people too -- because I highly doubt that it would have gotten such a huge reception if it didn't win the Camera d'Or at Cannes. It's a subtle, introspective indie-ish drama: not the loud, brash comedies that typical Singaporean moviegoers look for in local films, judging from top-grossing Singaporean movies like Money Not Enough and Ah Boys to Men.

Continue Reading‘Ilo Ilo’ review: A snapshot in time