Friday, December 25, 2009

Merry Christmas 2009~~圣诞快乐2009年~~メーリークリスマス2009~~

Have a Very Merry Christmas Everybody!:-)

I went to the Annual Woolworths Carols in the Domain on 19th December 2009..it is the biggest free Christmas concert gala in Australia...there were over a hundred thousand ppl there i think..it was fantastic and it was my second time there since my first time last year with colleagues(2008), but last yr we couldn't see the stage properly as we had just walked in halfway and stayed for a few mins...but this yr i managed to get a good spot with the stage in full view and stayed till the end...took some videos too...it ended with a short 10 sec fireworks display!
Website here: http://www.carolsinthedomain.com/

Above: So artistic right...the tree above within the crowds..



Above n Below: My Second time seeing the Annual Macquarie Street Nightlights Display held around Christmas time every year....



Above: Discovered along an alleyway in Surry Hills area..i love the flowers and fauna on display in Sydney around Autumn/Winter time..
Above n Below: Christmas Lighting Displays around Circular Quay, Central Business District Sydney.

Thursday, December 17, 2009

Queer Cinema in Asia Recommendations II..亚洲同志电影推介(II)..アジアゲイ映画お勧め(II)


This is a follow-up post to this post:


I read through some of the reader comments and would like to comment further on the issue. I intended for the post to be about Asian films with gay themes for 2009 and did not intend to go through the entire rich history of Gay Asian Cinematic history..too big for me to deal with!!

However, a reader mentioned 'He's a Woman, She's a Man' which is one of my fav HK films and coincidentally it had a gay-affirming theme in it. Released in 1994 and a blockbuster hit, it was one of the earliest Chinese films to deal with homosexuality not only in a positive affirming way, but also in a light-hearted comedy. It stars Leslie Cheung (the film mirrors his own life at that time, he came out in 2001 i think saying he was a 'bisexual'. But i think he was really gay but its just easier to say you're bi...i mean the guy was with his boyfriend for over 10 yrs by that time!) and my all-time fav HK actress, Anita Yuen (love her!). A follow sequel came out in 1996 with Anita Mui in it too. Both full films with Eng subs available on youtube online:

He's a Woman, She's a Man (1994): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GWbY-keudJk


The theme song and opening song sequences are so memorable for me...the movie theme song 追 by Leslie Cheung always brings tears to my eyes whenever I hear it as it reminds me of him after his suicide in 2003, and i always sing it in KTV as the lyrics are so meaningful...if you want me to translate the meaning into English I will. Just leave a comment.

Chinese cinema has always been ahead of Western cinema/American cinema when it came to the homosexual theme. Although Western cinema started earlier in exploring the issue, with British film 'Victim' in 1961 being a breakthrough for its usage of the word 'homosexual' and a sympathetic portrayal of gay men at a time when homosexuality was still a crime in Britain, Asia caught up and sped ahead by the 80s and 90s and are still ahead now. It took a Taiwanese director, Ang Lee, to make the independent hit 'Brokeback Mountain' and no Western mainstream hit has yet been made dealing with gay romance without someone dying or some kind of tragedy like that which has happened in 'Brokeback' and 'Philadelphia'. Almost all Hollywood films which do deal with it in a light-hearted comedy always inevitably shy away from gay romance and focus on the comedic side such as 'The Birdcage' and 'Next Best Thing'. However, i would say despite the shying away from gay romance in gay-themed mainstream hollywood films to date, there are still 2 Hollywood films which i love and which are classics to me. They are 1) In & Out by Kevin Kline 2) The Object of My Affection by Jennifer Aniston.

Trailers here, watch 'em if you can!:


The Object of My Affection: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_lNnxTPB9A


But of course, our Chinese cinema have always been more daring and ahead of American cinema in frank and positive portrayals of gays and lesbians. For instance, besides 'The Wedding Banquet' waaaay back in 1993 which was a mainstream success with its onscreen kisses and bed scenes of the gay interracial couple, in 1997, Wong Kar Wai made 'Happy Together' with Leslie Cheung and Tony Leung, two of Hong Kong's most well-known actors then with a daring sex scene in the opening mins of the film. No top Hollywood actors have ever attempted such a scene even now in 2009, i mean it'd be like Brad Pitt and Tom Hanks in a raw gay sex scene bck in 1997. We Chinese did it, and I'm proud of that.:-)Then came 'Bishonen' in 1998 with two of HK's hottest new actors then, now very famous, being Daniel Wu and Stephen Fung. Then came 'Lan Yu' which was the first mainland Chinese-HK film to win multiple awards and mainstream success in 2001. Even anti-gay severely homophobic Singapore's govt allowed the production by Jackie Chan's production company of a gay-themed comedy set in Singapore in 2004 called 'Hainan Chicken Rice'.

Trailers for them here:


There are many many more films which i've mentioned in previous post on gay cinema in Asia and so just check out my previous archives.
Two important last notes, remember I mentioned about 'Blue Gate Crossing' as one of my favourite Taiwanese film of ALL time before? The whole movie WITH eng subs is available here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XfUufYr5XBA

Also bless the person whom uploaded the Discovery Channel program on Taiwan's LGBT movement in recent years just one day after it was broadcast:
Some recent Taiwanese Entertainment Programs with gay interest topics (read: either discussion of gay topics or invitation of gay men to choose their ideal idol !):
1) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGS5UXJhKbY (new film promo by out gay director of Bishonen, Yon Fan, new film 'Prince of Tears')
2) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-i-ErG_dapQ&feature=PlayList&p=800A9DEC7634FEA4&index=0 (i really like Guo Yan Jun in here..he's the first guy to take down the mask..he discusses his experiences with being chased by gay men, he's straight by the way i think)
3) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFwYlEycPl8 (Guo Yan Jun in here, he's such a hunk! It's obvious that his good friend Lin Ke is gay..i can tell from what he's saying and also he's secretly in love with Guo..it's like SO obvious..those whom understand mandarin, have a look, it's obvious rite? Lin Ke obviously stole his worn underwear :-) )
Also, I just discovered a Malaysian tv drama "逆风18", it's so good! Rem my previous post on how good malaysian chinese dramas have become recent yrs? Well, this is another one, and its got a gay theme too! (wow! malaysia is becoming more n more open, i'm surprised the sponsors and management allowed the gay plot to be so central to the storyline). Set in Taiwan with a cast of malaysian chinese, thai, taiwanese ..it is a short 13 epi drama about a straight 18 yr old american-taiwanese whom returns for a summer vacation to Taipei after the death of his mom to visit his long-lost grandma. He meets and falls in love with a girl (taiwanese) whom in turn loves her childhood gay friend (malaysian) whom loves the straight guy...so it's a gay/straight love triangle about pure teen love and family relations, love it, love the song too with trailer here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=grpjLbe7q5Y

Last but not least, rem how i said i went to see the hugely fantastic Spanish film 'Chef's Special' at the Sydney Spanish Film Festival earlier this yr? Well, apparently, its a big hit and was shown in Taiwan and S.Korea as well..trailer here:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CIG3dXMuuuQ
Previous Post on Homosexuality in Asia:

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Sad and Heartwarming Stories...酒肝袒卖无与慰安妇阿嫲的一日空姐记...元慰安婦エアホステスの一日..

No, this post is not about current affairs..it's about some sad stories which occured in the past. One from a movie, the other in real life.

Now, the movie is called' Papa, Can you hear me Sing?' which was a famous Taiwanese tearjerker film which came out in 1983 (the yr I was born).
This movie was one of the first movies from Taiwan to have substantial Minnan/Hokkien dialect dialogue in it as Hokkien dialect was banned or restricted severely since the 50s in Taiwan until 1987 when it was allowed on airwaves,tv, movies, and songs. The theme song has since become one of the most famous Taiwanese Hokkien songs of all time, and I finally managed to watch this movie on Youtube recently, (given that it was screened in the exact year I was born in!)and of course I cried..haha..its a pretty corny story with tragedy after tragedy but it was still sad nevertheless..full movie here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJw2O4ayBvs

Another tragedy is that of the real life 'comfort women',Asian occupied territories women taken by the Japanese during and before WW2 to become sex slaves for Japanese troops during the war. However, this time, it is a heartwarming story as it involves a Taiwanese comfort woman named 'Xiu Mei' (whom i met and spoke to during an organised NGO visit by 3 comfort women to Sydney in 2007! I could actually speak to her as I understood Taiwanese hokkien and she had a translator for Mandarin/English into Hokkien for her). It was always her wish to become a flight attendant later on in her life and NGOs helped her to become one for a day with professional make-up, a wig, as well as the well-known China Airlines uniform on the plane! How touching!
Newsclip here:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4JmIt3HeRo

A Heartwarming and Tear Jerker of a post ain't it?

Wednesday, December 09, 2009

Male Hunks I Like in 2009/10 ...喜爱的男明星在09/10年....最近気になるの男優...

Update: Please leave me comments readers, this post has illicited too little comments!! Hey, its one of my rare posts on hunks actually....hehe..so leave a comment on YOUR favourite actors"-)

I am dedicating this post to male celebrities i've come to like recently. Of course, given that I only idolise and follow the Asian entertainment industry (and don't give a rat's ass about Hollywood) this post shall only be about Asian, and more specifically the Chinese entertainment industry (which includes China, Taiwan, HK, Singapore, and Malaysia).

I thought I 'd do this post to counter my other post on my fav HK female actresses.

As an aside, I do follow Hollywood entertainment very randomly, and some of my fav actors/actresses include Sandra Bullock, Meryl Streep, Susan Sarandon, Bette Midler, Whoopi Goldberg, Adam Sandler, and some others.

As for Asian ones, there are too many that I like such as Kang Dong Won (Korean), Jang dong Gun (Korean), Won Bin (Korean), Tsumabuki Satoshi (Japanese), Jo Hyun Jae (Korean), etc..too many for me to list out here...


As for Chinese ones, it'd be Leo Ku for his boy-next-door looks as well as Leslie Cheung for his genderless appeal, Daniel Wu (cos he's everyone's favourite list), and more recently, I've fallen in love with Guo Yan Jun (of 2moro fame) from Taiwan as well as Leon Jay Williams, a mixed-blood Singaporean model-turn-actor whom is prob the next big thing in the Chinese entertainment circle. He was a model in Singapore, Bangkok and Hong Kong before becoming an actor/singer in Taiwan and has now crossed over to the China market.



I noticed Leon Jay Williams again via the new Stephen Chow movie 'Jump' which was recently released. I had checked up on this movie becos I love Kitty Zhang Yu Qi (ever since her appearance in CJ7 last yr as the tight cheongsam-hugging school teacher, she's also Stephen Chow's new 'It' girl). Then when I saw the trailer, I just totally swooned at Leon Jay William's good hunky looks! How could anyone not?! I noticed him before when he first came out in 2004 in a hit Taiwanese drama series but didn't like his acting and the drama as it was one of those with pretty/good-looking actors but can't act at all..and judging from his works in the past yrs which i spent time checking on, he still can't really act and his mandarin accent is bad, cos as most younger singaporeans have poor mandarin skills (he said in an interview he could only read 20% of the chinese scripts and rely on hanyu pinyin most of the time).


But I saw an interview of him on a mainland Chinese program and he had a really great personality and I felt like I could like him as a good friend, coursemate or even relative! I was surprised as I always kinda felt guys with hunky, extremely good looks like him would not have that great a personality or I'd feel I would never know ppl like them in real life, but after that interview I really like him as a person (besides his good looks) although he really can't act..well, you cannot always be blessed with everything in life, correct? But anyways, I hope his fans dun come across this and kill me! Anyways, he has many yrs to improve his acting skills....

Some Leon J. Williams video links:

1)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PAfCbNQIsMs (This song is amazing! It was originally the theme song for the Beijing Olympic Cube venue and turned into one for Audi.)

2)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=il7MA5KnPus&feature=related (An English song. Doesn't he just make you swoon, gay guys and ladies? Hehe..)

3) http://www.youtube.com/user/hcpen#p/f/15/W1jZgn7GkuA(Stephen Chow's 'Jump' trailer..watch it! He's cute in it, sooo adorable. Hehe.)

As for Guo Yan Jun, he was never my 'type' of guy, given his atheletic dark-skinned complexion and sporty looks (i know i'm weird, i just don't really go for darker tan skinned guys with sporty looks) but after awhile of watching him appear on multiple shows (i watch taiwanese talk shows on youtube) I slowly realised I was becoming attached and idolising him...i was having an idol crush! So weird, and he's not even the type of guy i'd like in real life..well, anyways...he's had alot of gay rumours and experiences of gay men liking him, and one of his best friends in real life is very likely gay..i mentioned it in a previous post linking to the talk show where they both attended and I HIGHLY suspect his best friend is gay with my 'gaydar'.

If you want to see what Anthony Guo Yan Jun looks like in moving images, here's some links to taiwanese talkshows he attended:

1)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68h6mpELNSk
2) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-i-ErG_dapQ&feature=related




Above: anthony guo in a PTS tv movie, i love pts as they show quality programs all the time! In the scene above, apparently anthony has a dream scene of him and another guy. He walks around in tight underwear alot in the above movie i think! Yea!Shao Yu Ting is another new upcoming Taiwanese actor whom grew up in Canada and is currently very popular in Taiwan because of a TV drama he acted in. He's kinda cute as well..hehe.. link here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GruShKu0bZE

Finally, someone i liked briefly because of his song OREA back in the day..haha..must be over 10 years now..Wallace Chung, I came across his news recently and checked up on his recent works, he's really cute even now!! Damn, how come they never age with time?!

He'd definitely be someone I'd possibly fall in love for..haha..very 'my type'..maybe alittle fairer skin would be good..hehe..


Some MV links:

1)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7H2dgX6xJc


This post thus balances my previous post on HK actresses showing my favourite actors and actresses and also my preference in likable looks!

Friday, December 04, 2009

HK Stars of the 1990s: Anita Yuen, Charlie Yeung, Veronica Yip, Sandra Ng, Chingmy Yau, Carmen Lee, Athena Chu..and Vivian Chow..

I've always liked the female HK actresses of the 1990s, the era when i fell in love with HK cinema and also my growing-up years...it was strange that I never had any real male idols (despite 100% liking guys, mind you!) besides (maybe) Leslie Cheung, Lau Ching-Wan and of course, everyone's favourite comedian Stephen Chow. I also liked Leo Ku alot and still do...other stars which I liked are Carina Lau, Lee Yi-Hung, Hsu-Chi, Christine Ng-Wing Mei, and Christy Chung.
However, my fav HK female stars are definitely those mentioned in the title of this post. Except Vivian Chow whom i've only come to like this year with the mention of her coming back to the big screen after a 13 yr hiatus. Mind you, I liked all of them in the 90s and some are no longer acting, many married to wealthy businessmen now. Below are some clips of movies of them and also what some look like now:

Chingmy Yau in 1995's 'You're My birthday Cake': http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpIx9jyzY4Q
Veronica Yip in 1994's 'Red Rose, White Rose' (lady in white veil whom appears in second part):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLttV36KxiQ
Veronica Yip 2008/09: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWl7c8JMDUg&feature=fvsr
Carmen Lee in mainland Chinese TV serial early 2000s: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tU1berbwpvE&feature=related
Anita Yuen in 1993's ' He's Ain't Hairy, He's my Brother': http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRm9QUVbaFY
Anita Yuen in 2008: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SL3qlvaOAFg
Charlie Yeung in 1997 commercial: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0FcKvElKg00
Charlie Yeung in 2009: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6j5AyY9AcI
Sandra Ng in 1993's 'All's Well, End's Well':http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZ7jmdsj23M
Sandra Ng in 2009's 'All's Well, End's Well': http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fyLCVqoPeEs
Athena Chu in 1998's 'Raped by an Angel II': http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sihiPusY2fk
Vivian Chow in 1993's Mandarin MV: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvEaymFMWcw&feature=PlayList&p=4469C6A828B4F07A&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=49 Vivian Chow in 2007/08: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gEuJhNoZW_o

Have a look, the one's in pink are particularly worth having a look at, Charlie Yeung and Vivian Chow still look stunningly pretty whilst Athena Chu's performance in 'Raped by An Angel II' is quite a cult classic for HK Cinema of the 90s, a typical Wong Jing movie. :-)