Pete's Write

Mack the Knife 流氓医生 - movie review     I saw this for the first time a while back when I was having a quiet cold night alone in Sydney, and not only did it entertain, it also warmed my heart, and encourage me that what I was doing there, and the price I paid for being there was worth it. Before I venture into the plot, I would instead share that the casting for this was almost perfect. The blend of the beautiful, the emotive, the sad and the needy in each one of the characters was what made it successful. And the whole crew blended together so well, playing the weird, quirky yet altruistic, the rogue skillful one, the idealistic, and the lovelorn, once you view this, you will know which one of these is which. The supporting cast is equally adept and play their roles very well too. Throw in some very snappy dialogue and you have a movie that withstands countless watching. This show is actually adapted from a Manga, "Dr. Kumahige", by Sho Fumimura and Takumi Na...

Team Batista no Eikō (チーム·バチスタの栄光, The Glorious Team Batista) - DVD review Japanese with Chinese subtitles The Japanese are rather inventive in combining traditional elements like murder, romance and mystery which are popular TV series fodder, and here, they have whipped up another such a mix set in a hospital. Throw in some household Japanese names from other serials, add a saccharine sweet new actress, and mix it all up for a suspense thriller that will pique the interest of those who are in the Ophthalmic or Anesthesia trade.... interested now? Set in a top Japanese hospital, you have the heroically handsome heart surgeon who does the difficult Batista Operation, and he has a much higher than average success rate, but had three recent deaths, resulting in the investigation, by the ultra-cute, pixie of a doctor (played by Yuko Takeuchi) who usually spends her time listening to strange complaints from her patients. add a superbly over-acting Hirsoshe Abe, playing an obno...

Devil (film) review I heard of this movie whilst I was in a rather dark, smelly and dinghy lift in a remote part of China, when one of the occupants turned and said, "Hey, I think we have the same number of people in this lift as that show "Devil" and the lift is equally creepy... so when I saw that this show was available, I decided to check it out, and perhaps debunk or expel this from memory... M. Night Shyamalan has been doing thrillers since he broke into the big league with Sixth Sense. But he has not been able to break into the the box office top billings with his recent offerings, and his backers will be biting their nails as to whether this will be a flatliner or soar to the top of the box office. The premise is rather simple : a few people are trapped in an elevator and amongst them is the Devil. You wonder why it was not tried before. Each person comes on board with their own issues, and you see the base nature of people as they come under duress and eventu...

Split Second Murders (死神傻了) movie review This was a cold spotter... I saw it on a paid TV channel and it was offered for free, and being piqued by the title, I proceed to give it a shot... if the dearth of good scripts and stories in Hong Kong movies is causing concern, this movie will go some way towards alleviating such worries. The ensemble is a collection of the coolest people in showbiz and includes some of the hottest actors, singers but with such an ensemble, you worry if it's all looks and no acting chops... However director Herman Yau does a splendid job, helped by a rather unusual script. The story is told through the eyes and imagination of the protagonist, Ah Luk, a struggling comic strip artist, looking for his break. There is good chemistry between the actors, and the addition of some heavyweights help to lend some real acting skills, although the "Young, Hot and Beautiful" assembly also show that they can do better than just pout and pose. All in all you w...

http://www.passioncard.com.sg/promo.aspx Release of Dr Liang Wern Fook's First Instrumental Album "Please Tell Her" 《请你告诉她》音乐专辑 Cultural Medallion Award (Music) 2010 winner, Dr Liang Wern Fook's highly anticipated new recording and first instrumental album, "Please Tell Her" will be on sale at CD-RAMA, Popular Bookstores from 6 Dec 2010. Produced by Jiu Jian, Artistic Director of Ko-nen Creative, the instrumental album includes 12 of Dr Liang's best classic ballads like "Please Tell Her", "Worries" and "If There're Seasons" and features prominent local musicians including Elaine W. Chan, Bang Wen Fu , Tan Kah Yong and Peng Chi Sheng. Dr Liang's new contemporary Chinese poems will also be showcased in the album. Well I am a big fan of local productions, and of course he is my "si siong" in school, so that makes it two reasons to get this. However it was rather disappointing... Technically...

Movie Review State of Play (DTS-MA 5.1) - Tier1 When you put an ensemble cast together, it can be successful or backfire badly, depending not only on a good script, but also the C word - chemistry. In such a suspense thriller about the inner workings of the US Congress and how corruption and power intermix, the way the protagonists interact and play off each each other, make for a wonderful state of play (pun intended and literal too). What better way to show off this ensemble than in a movie about politics, corruption and murder. Russel Crowe uses his brooding nature to interplay with the fresh and beautiful Rachel McAdams, who uses her looks, energy and a real freshman outlook as an excellent counterfoil to Russell. Helen Mirren is also perfectly cast, and this is another C word - Casting of all the actors could not be better and each looks excellent in their roles. Ben Affleck proves he is no pretty boy only, yet is able to use his matinee idol good looks to portray a crooked C...

Once Upon A Time (2008) The Koreans make some cute and whacky stuff as well as some rather melodramatic shows, and this is definitely in the former camp, with the Korean kind of humor, a little of the the three Stooges, plus some bits borrowed from a few classic heist stories, flavored with a bit of the "Thieves Like Us" genre, with some Spy vs Spy bits and finally a decent dollop of romance thrown in too.  This all could backfire, but the Koreans pulled it off to make a rather enjoyable hour plus worth of distraction, and if you are a big Korean movie fan, esp of the genre like the Good, the Bad and the Weird sort, this will suit you to a tee. Forgot those tear jerkers where everyone dies, and sit back and enjoy the twists and turns as thieves, singers and patriots all try to steal this jewel known as the "Light of the East". Set in the end days of WWII in Japan occupied Korea, it probably brought a lot of joy to Korean viewers, but for the non partisan audience, t...

Cliffhanger Blu Ray Review it was 1993, Sly was in top shape, and was rolling out hit after hit. This was perhaps his greatest movie before he slid into obscurity (well that is until Rambo, Rocky V and Expendables revived his career). Before Tom Cruise showed off his moves pretending to rock climb in Mission Impossible II, Stallone showed the world his abilities, strength and the awesome sights of the Italian Alps in a movie which was successful for action fans, climbers and even Stallone skeptics. The plot isn't that complicated, a bunch of criminals led brilliantly by the wonderfully talented John Lithgow who outshines himself as a master villain, steals the money from a plane but the plane crashes and they need the Rocky Mountains Rescue climbers Rooker and Stallone to find it. The plot is a new twist on the good guys versus bad, with some mind games, mixed in with good action and the backdrop of the Alps (standing in for the Rockies) certainly helped. Stallone played the roles ...