The Iron Lady

The Iron Lady shares the story of Lady Margaret Thatcher and how she made changes through the stifling social classes and male-dominated environment to come into power through determination and hard work to become the only female prime minister.

It skims through all the tough time where difficult decisions had to be made to create a better nation. At times when a political decision needs to be made, it is always about managing conflicts and compromises. Life is after all never straight forward or drawn with a define line between right and wrong.

Ratings: 3 out of 5 fairy clouds. The movie has overly simplified the challenge of overcoming the age-old stereotype that a woman should stay at home, to be specific, in the kitchen. For those who do not know much of Mrs Thatcher, the movie has painted a rather skewed memoir of the events.

Beginners

It is never easy being a beginner. The same is true for Oliver a 38 year old graphic artist and his deceased father Hal. Oliver grew up watching a distant yet cordial relationship between his free-spirited Jewish Mother and an indifference father.

Five years before his father's death, Hal reveals to Oliver that he is gay and wishes to come out of the closet. This is a secret which he has hidden since the age of fifteen. He pursues his happiness and starts a relationship with a younger man, Andy.

On the other hand, Oliver fears commitment and has never maintained any relationship for any prolong period of time. After Hal's death, he meets Anna, a French actress and slowly realizes how he can have a loving relationship; one that is different from his parents.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 fairy clouds. The storyline is quite interesting but unfortunately forgettable. It stirs your emotions superficially and then it is soon forgotten. It lacks impact and impressive for such a film genre.

Kumar's Amazing Race

Our pride and drag queen icon Kumar was back with 5 shows at the Esplanade with Kumar's Amazing Race in February 2012. It was great to see him, oops! I meant her performing on stage.

Kumar shared many anecdotal stories of Indians in Singapore from their famous inventions, making a big thing by doing nothing (i.e. yoga, mediation, etc), local festivities and the infamous colloquial "ah-bu-neh-neh". It was a hilarious evening with our beloved stand up comedian.



Rating: 4.5 out of 5 fairy clouds. Don't miss out on any Kumar's performance. It is usually quite fun and entertaining. But remember not to watch it too often as she does repeat some of the jokes.

Yu Sheng Lo Hei (鱼生捞起) Auspcious Wishes

My family has Yu Sheng every year and somehow we forget some of the auspicious wishes. Here is the mini SOP for reference:

When the Yu Sheng is served to the table, welcome it with "恭喜发财！万事如意！“

And the auspcious wishes as each of the ingredient is added:

Raw Fish - 年年有余

Abalone - 年年包有余

Pomelo, lime/lemon juice - 大吉大利

Pepper - 招财进宝

Five-spiced powder - 五福临门

Sesame oil - 一本万利、财源广进

Sweet plum sauce - 甜甜蜜蜜

Red carrots - 鸿运当头

Green radish, ginger, lettuce, etc - 青春永在

White radish, ginger, etc - 风山水起

Peanuts - 生意兴隆

Sesame seeds - 财源滚滚

Crispy fried pillows - 金银满屋、满地黄金

And when everyone is ready to toss in the good fortune, you will say "捞起！ 捞起！ 老到凤山水起！“

iChestnuts 15

I finally got to watch the longest running parody comedy, iChestnuts 15 at the Jubilee Hall.

Literally everything is spoofed in this comedy from local television shows to Broadway musicals, Hollywood blockbusters and even Walt Disney characters! If you are looking for a night to laugh your heart out, iChestnut 15 may be the show you like to watch.

I particularly love the snippets of mini Quentin Tarantino series of Kill Belle to Kill Bella and the Ivory Low Ai Kiu's promotion of the new app, SisRis. For those who understand Hokkien, you may want the 882 sisters Hokkien-nised version of Umbrella and Singing in the Rain or perhaps the strong local flavour of The MerLion King.

The comedy is a little unglam, a little crude and a little trivial about certain matters but it has its very own charm and definitely followers. Either way, I had a couple of good laugh this evening. Kudos to Judee Tan for the excellent portray of Ivory!

Rating: 4 out of 5 fairy clouds. It is a decent comedy. I won't cry if I had missed it. Not perfectly my cup of tea but good enough.

Kings and Queen of Comedy Asia II, 22-23 October 2011

Just for two nights, some of the most funny stand up comedians gathered at Singapore's Esplanade to tickle our funny bones.

Hosted by Harith Iskandar, the comedy filled Esplanade up with laughter. There are a total of 3 Kings (Ronnie Chieng, Papa CJ and Paul Ogata), and our one and only lovely Queen, Kumar. Of the four of them, I like Kumar and Paul Ogata the most.

Ronnie's sense of humour is rather on the abusive side with a lot of "f**k you* and angry laced comments.

Kumar is still as humourous as ever. No one, regardless of our nationality, race or religion, is spared from her sharp tongue.

Papa CJ has almost a similar style of Ronnie's, plus the pride of an Indian. He is quite good in playing with his race and adding quirky clever retorts.

Paul Ogata is a tiny man with a great statue. He is truly the highlight of the comedy night. Love his sense of humour and jokes leading up to "that was the best part".

Not forgetting the host, who is equally funny in giving out his rendition of "Grenade" and advising all women to run away from a man who sings this song when he professes his love for you.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 fairy clouds. I had a great evening attending this comedy. I love to go for more laughing sessions.

Je n'ai Rien Oublié (Small World)

The wealthy Senn family faces a threat as their holiday home caretaker's health deteriorates due to Alzheimer. Simone, whom recently married into the family, finds herself forming a strange friendship with Conrad. As she tries to help Conrad recover, she discovers the very secret which her grandmother-in-law Elvira is desperately trying to keep hidden.

Unbeknown to all, Elvira had murdered her husband and bring up her own son Thomas as the legal heir to the Senn's fortune. The only living person aware of this secret is none other than Conrad. With his health worsening, will he take this secret to the grave or unintentionally expose it?

I was a little irked by the fact that Thomas failed to remember his childhood. It is only upon seeing a childhood album when his memory was rekindled. I would imagine he is old enough to have some reminiscence of his younger days.

Rating: 4 out of 5 fairy clouds. The movie is a little intriguing and confusing as there are many flashes of scenes from different time being pieced together. You see part of Conrad's world when he is sober and times when he is stuck in a past memory.