everything is a mythical, cosmic battle between faith and chance.

500 Days of Summer 10th anniversary

10 years ago this month. a film that shatters the portrayal of love on screen. one with the curious ability to first make you give up on love, then in subsequent years realise this is indeed what love is.

贫在闹市无人问 富在深山有远亲

The Blair Witch Project 20th anniversary

20 years ago this month. a work that changed filmmaking and movie promotion.

some folks just believe in the things they've heard,

and the things they read,

nobody knows what awaits for the dead.

i like motion pictures

I grew up on documentaries and have managed to see many award winners and I dare say Shirkers has a real chance at an Oscar. it blew me away.

it has a nice setup, the protagonist is very American, it's about filmmaking, it's a unique and incredible story, it fills the third act despite the antagonist's absence, and it's devastating.

Interview with Taiwanese actor Jasper Liu - Part 2

Interview with Taiwanese actor Jasper Liu for movie More Than Blue

my top 10 films of 2018

1. 影

Zhang Yimou has a habit of making trash he doesn't care about, then world-beaters like this. think he's all about colours? he makes a monochrome film. think kungfu is long action choreography? he reduces it to bare minimum. the beauty, scale and gravity of this film ensures it's not merely a year-best, but an era masterpiece.

2. Shoplifters

Hirokazu Kore-eda's reinterpretation of family is difficult enough. he then made a flawless film out of the material. even ignoring the major revelation at the end, the entire thing is one perfectly-directed scene followed by another.

3. A Star Is Born

Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper are overrated; several times in this film I stopped caring. but the rest of it was pure magic and says a ton about Cooper.

4. Bohemian Rhapsody

I am biased. Freddie Mercury, Bohemian Rhapsody and Lucy Boynton. I am sold. it certainly is flawed, especially the sense it's going through motions, but it also possesses some beautiful set pieces.

5. BlacKkKlansman

it is inherently difficult to judge a Spike Lee product. this is funny and heavy and incoherent and clear-minded. it is everything because you never know what Lee intends. but you always know he has something to say and he says it without being overbearing.

6. Ready Player One

the start-to-finish assembly of pop-culture references more than makes up for my antipathy to CGI. what's more, put Steven Spielberg behind any project and you're bound to get entertainment.

7. A Quiet Place

conjure a unique premise and even if the plot is basic, you've made a good film. one that has barely any dialogue yet keeps you at the edge of your seat deserves all the praise it gets.

8. 比悲伤更悲伤的故事

this is not an endorsement of the tacky bits, the B-movie elements and the lazy screenplay. still, to walk into a cinema scoffing at its tearjerking reputation and then be moved is testament to several immensely sensitive set pieces.

9. First Man

breathtaking. Damien Chazelle continues to do what no other American director can, shaking up two subject matters very familiar to audiences - Neil Armstrong and space exploration. if not for the hollowness at the heart of this film, it would be ranked higher.

10. Black Panther

written so brilliantly in step with the real world, this will live long for rallying and inspiring scores of Africans and African-Americans.

Special mention:
Black Mirror: Bandersnatch
released on the final days of the year, this sneaks in by virtue of how revolutionary it is. however, its merits as a traditional film are arguable, especially when the plot points are in the viewer's hands.

Most beautiful scene:
wedding at Chijmes - Crazy Rich Asians
for all the gaudiness in the film and everything money can buy, the wedding is exactly the opposite, staged and elevated by grace, class and perspective, all of which is priceless.

Best long take:
地球最后的夜晚

Most photogenic couple:
Jing Boran and Zhou Dongyu - 后来的我们

Best one-location film:
The Guilty
just one emergency call operator and one call that escalates. 

Toughest scene to watch: 
almost every scene in Sicario: Day of the Soldado

Most intriguing premise and worst payoff:
Bad Times at the El Royale

Most overshadowed lead:
Boyd Holbrook - The Predator
Sterling K Brown, Olivia Munn, Trevante Rhodes and Jacob Tremblay all starred. Holbrook, on the other hand, looks out of his depth.

Best cameo:
everyone in Ocean's 8

Worst cameo:
Brad Pitt - Deadpool 2

Best fight:
Colossus vs Juggernaut - Deadpool 2

Worst fight:
Venom vs Riot - Venom

Best monster:
Karathen - Aquaman

Most dubious character:
Tobias Beckett - Solo: A Star Wars Story

Best sci-fi in a Chinese film:
幸福城市

Freakiest romance:
Asako I & II

Most conscious attempt to reboot:
The Predator

Worst drop-off:
Julian Dennison from Hunt for the Wilderpeople to Deadpool 2

Gran Torino 10th anniversary

10 years ago this month. we're gonna miss Clint Eastwood when he's gone, not just as director, but actor. Gran Torino was so under the radar, even this trailer doesn't match what it actually is.

Shakespeare in Love 20th anniversary

20 years ago this month. students of Shakespeare and literature gotta love this. cringey at times but to transplant theatre devices and Shakespearean English so wonderfully into a movie is a feat.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button 10th anniversary

10 years ago this month. an affirming example that a great film does not need to be unconventional, political or complex. a great story told well will live on in the memory.

Seven Pounds 10th anniversary

10 years ago this month. unfairly panned and grossly underrated. it may be sentimental and melodramatic, but watch with your heart, not your brain. 

The Thin Red Line 20th anniversary

20 years ago this month. once in a long while, a film that transcends other films turns up. one that exists on another plane altogether. one that has to be experienced, not seen.
 

first assistant secretary-general

barring any unprecedented or catastrophic twist, tomorrow we'll know.

it is the ability candidate with question marks over charisma and health versus the charisma candidate with question marks over ability.

if the tiny group of Singaporeans pick Heng Swee Keat, they'll be picking so far the superstar of the 4G team, the most experienced, yet also gambling voters would transfer their Lee Hsien Loong affection to a man with minimal persona. if they pick Chan Chun Sing, they'll be picking the man with the highest profile, the most screen time, in English and Mandarin, but is another soldier and is not viewed as the most brilliant.

Ong Ye Kung, a seemingly good mesh of ability and charisma, looks out of the race, possibly due to his lack of political experience. time will tell whether PAP's 2011 Aljunied defeat has extended repercussions.