Talks, musicals and films...

Now Playing: Beneath a Rowan Tree - Emi Fujita

I seem to keep digressing! At this rate, I won’t ever finish this update.

Ok. Must stick to the topic. My recent activities.

Went to two academic seminars. The first was by Anthony Yu on religion and politics. For the seemingly uninteresting title, it was turned out to be quite fascinating, esp the Q&A in the end when Prof Yu got quite passionate. The topic brought back memories of the Buddhist text studies module I did back in my honours year. The lecture was chock-full of info and thought-provoking. In comparison, Prof Yuan’s lecture Classical Poems and Life was more relaxing as it was aimed at the masses but no less inspiring. I really miss academia… the lectures, the mind-exercise and the pure scope and area of knowledge… Will have to keep an eye out for more of these lectures in the future.

Next, my films and musicals!

Went to two musicals. First was A Twist of Fate with Dr. Lin. My mom was commenting on the unlikely friendship one builds with one’s prof. But Dr. Lin and I really hit it off. We never seem to stop talking whenever we meet up and we have similar tastes. She also learnt salsa and its such a pity that ATOF ended so late and we couldn’t go for social. The musical was incredibly fun though with all the funny plot twists and turns. The ending was certainly unexpected althou cliché when one thinks back. My favorite song was the one between Emma and Richard, althou Emma Yong and Ah See’s couple was hilarious as well.

Also watched Theatre Practice’s Lao Jiu with my mom who had the advantage of understanding the background and speaking the dialect. Went in without expectations becoz Lew gave it such a awful review. But I liked it. The male actor for Lao Jiu was cute and not a bad actor. My 1st row center seat allowed me to catch all the fleeting expressions. I admit, the actors aren’t great singers and even the lyrics could be better. As a musical, its not really up to standard, but still, its not all that bad. The plot was moving and had me in tears at one point when the Dad expressed his hopes whereas Lao Jiu expressed his unhappiness of being trapped. Enjoyed all the comic parts as well. Lew was even more critical when we talked about it, but as long as I come out from a play knowing I enjoyed myself and took some thoughts away, I would think it was a good play…

Will be watching Rent this Friday with Nekko. Now that’s one play I’m really looking forward to. Esp with all the trouble I went into to change the tix after Tuesday’s show was cancelled!

Also caught two films. The first was Cold Showers. A French film which was… hm…different? The ménage a trois scene was erotic…but the film itself overall was well crafted and deftly executed. The male protagonist was esp. good. The complex feelings a teenager has and the troubles one faces at the point of life was all subtly expressed… The way he went into the relationship and the jealousy and anger he had later… the regret and hunger… it was all so true and real. I only didn’t like the part at the end when he broke down in the dressing room… that seemed slightly overboard…

The next film is naturally HP/GOF! Caught it on the very first day, sneak preview, with Sher. We couldn’t wait another day :) I can’t imagine watching HP with any one else. No one would be able to understand our language! We were grabbing each other at the impt h and d scenes. And the scenes and relationships we highlighted and gushed on was definitely not what other people would expect. Watching it with another one else would be so much less fun and fulfilling. I liked the film althou it seemed like a fast-forward version of the book and a waste of all the good sets. Hope that the dvd will come out with a whole slew of deleted scenes incorporated in. And god, the kids are growing up on us! Dan Radcliffe is so hot. And Cedric is way better than I expected. The chemistry between the actors are tangible. Emma Watson is a whole new person altogether. But I still dislike Ron.

Also wanted to watch Saving Face with Shufen coz a friend strongly recc-ed it. Made the date with Shufen only to discover that its no longer showing! Argh! Why??? Now I can only wait for the dvd... does anyone have it???