CNY Eve

Think I'm adjusting well after Battleking. Quite sick of the photos already. Haha.

Today my battalion booked an entire cinema @ Plaza Singapura for a screening of Ah Long Pte Ltd (老师嫁老大). Oh man, I got to get straight to the point: It's bad.



I give it WooW (1.5/5) [ edited on 11 Feb 2008 ]

What's It About:
Effeminate Mark Lee is a dancer named Jojo and Fann Wong is (yet again) a strong, tom-boyish woman, this time a triad gang leader, who forces him into marriage. In a gist, she is trying to "re-format" the business of the loan sharks into a more family-friendly style, which obviously draws a lot of unnecessary trouble.

Plus-Points:
Two words: Mark Lee. Although Gurmit Singh had that pivotal sissy role last time (seriously, how creative can Jack Neo get? well, more on that later), at least Mark Lee didn't come off as grating or annoying. He was genuinely funny with all his well-executed actions and that perfect Malaysian accent; he alone carries the only worthy parts of the show.

Flaws:
Brace yourselves, there's a hell lot of it.

Firstly, Jack Neo has yet again churned out a pair of sissy vs tom-boy leads (last year's Just Follow Law) that was not that refreshing to start with. Ok, nvm, maybe it'll be fun to watch. But noooo, he had to choose the same female actress to play the same role. I remember being very impressed by Fann Wong's tom-boy-turn in Law (actually, she should have gotten the Golden Horse nomination rather than the over-the-top Gurmit). But over here, she's just stale, expressionless and ... bored. I remember thinking to myself how it would've changed the show if another actress was chosen. And not spoil my good image of her acting in Just Follow Law. Too bad; all's said and done.

Secondly, it's the storyline. What happened to the strong satires and heartwarming stories that Mr Neo churned out before? I Not Stupid was on our education system; Just Follow Law was our government and even Homerun, although a remake, was touching and effective in it's own way. And my favourite, Money No Enough, has got to be his best. Ah Long Pte Ltd was nothing. Just a comedy sketch. And worst of all, Jack Neo is perfecting his "bad movie endings". Just Follow Law was crappy in the end; but Ah Long's is much worst.

Last but not least, can we just stop all the CHEESY effects and AWFUL musical numbers!? Since Just Follow Law, it seems like Mr Neo favours using slapstick-computer-graphics to eccentuate his point. It just comes off fake and unoriginal. And there was this really wince-inducing sing-a-long involving 6 plus-sized ladies crooning to a plus-size teen about him paying up to the loan sharks. Sorry, really bo ho chio (really not funny).

Last Say:
Gone were the days when a simple, thought-provocative drama can move the masses (Money No Enough is still the second highest-grossing local movie in Singapore history). Please, Mr Neo, stop making such movies like Ah Long. I know they'll make money but it's got no substance to prove whatsover. Prove what? you might ask.

To prove that you are still one of the fore-runners of film-makers on our humble island.

On a side note, people, please don't be discouraged. There are still good local movies. Go rent Singapore Dreaming. You'll know what I mean =)

~
Sorry if I sounded angry; but I think it's time people took local movies seriously, and prove that Singapore can produce stuff of substance. Quite sickened with the report that Kang Xi Lai Le blasted Singaporean's English when Taiwanese slaughter the language themselves. Bleah.

Well, had reunion dinner at Orchid Country Club with almost all the members of my extended family. We shared a BIG bottle of wine (3 litres).



Gonna watch CJ7 tomorrow. Hope it'll be good. And I wanna watch Sweeney Todd! And Juno! Oh well, just gotta wait.

Happy Chinese New Year guys!

Take care, peeps!