Everlasting Regret (2005)

Released Date: 24 September 2005

Details: 115 mins, PG, Drama

Starring: Sammi Cheng, Leung Ka Fai, Hu Jun, Daniel Wu, Huang Jue, Su Yan

Directed by: Stanley Kwan

Based on Wang Anyi’s Changhen Ge, the multi-award winning novel that was voted the most influential work of the 90s in China. Everlasting Regret follows a legendary Shanghai beauty from her glamorous days to her simpler life, as she struggles to preserve the dignity of her past while surviving the constant betrayal of her men. She stands tall and proud as she bears witness to the waves of changes to her city from 1947 to 1981, until one wave finally overwhelms her.

A person's life is destined to be shorter than that of a city. Having spent her whole life in Shanghai, Qiyao (Sammi Cheng) had her moments of prosperity and her fair share of loneliness. She finally faded and disappeared but Shanghai remains a metropolitan city.Shanghai in the 1940s was glamorous and seductive. A pretty young girl from an ordinary family, Qiyao was lucky enough to win the 2nd runner-up of the "Miss Shanghai" contest. Mr. Cheng (Tony Leung Ka Fai), her admirer as well as a photographer who assisted her to her success, knew the girl was going to live an extraordinary life. It turned out she was going to witness the decades of changes to her city.

"the future becomes the present

the present becomes the past

and the past turns into everlasting regret"

~ Tennessee Williams, The Glass Menagerie

Official Website: http://www.everlasting-regret.com

The Original Novel

Changhen Ge (1996) received the Mao Dun Literature Award, China’s top honor for full-length novels, and was voted the most influential literary work of the 90s. The academia called the novel an epic, a visionary exploration of history and personal experience. Its success was credited to its Shanghai relevance and Old Shanghai nostalgia. It was regarded as the work that revived the Shanghai style of art and literature in the 1930s and 1940s, a very yielding and subtle style portraying the city’s old lanes and the people’s practicality, small-mindedness and small lives. In romance, glamour and ultimate affirmation of traditional morality also appealed to the modern young reader.

Wang Anyi (Author)

Wang Anyi represents the generation of writers whose formal education was disrupted by the Cultural Revolution. She is among the most widely read authors of the post-Mao era, a breaker of taboos and a speaker for China’s younger generation.

Daughter of the famous writer Ru Zhijuan, Wang was born on March 6, 1954 in Nanjing. In 1955, she moved with her mother to Shanghai, where she attended school until 1969.

As a member of the "Urban Youth" generation that was supposed to learn from the peasants, she was sent to the Anhui countryside at the age of sixteen, but managed to leave the commune by joining a local performing arts troupe as a cellist in 1973. After the Cultural Revolution, she returned to Shanghai in 1978 to work for the magazine Childhood.

Wang had begun publishing stories in the mid-1970s that were largely based on her personal experiences. They portrayed the humiliations and frustrations in the everyday lives of the back-alley residents of Shanghai or depicted the traditional values that are kept alive in rural areas.

After attending the International Writing Program at the University of Iowa in 1983, Wang's fiction moved away from socialist realism and turned towards psychological exploration, such as her "Love Trilogy” (1986-87) that examined female sexuality and marriage. Her characters are not openly rebellious but express their inner feelings through quiet self-confidence and a strong will for survival.

In the 1990s, Wang’s Shanghai-focused works tapped into a growing surge of nostalgia for pre-Communist Shanghai and cemented her popularity and status. Wang was designated the “Best Female Writer in Modern China” in 1998 and was the head of the official Shanghai Writer’s Association for two years.

Selected Bibliography

2004 Peach Flower in Blossom

2001 Fu Ping

1996 Temptress Moon (screenplay, with Chen Kaige)

1996 Chang Hen Ge

1986-87 Love Trilogy
Love on a Barren Mountain
Love in a Small Town
Brocade Valley

1985 Baotown

1982 Lapse of Time

1981 Rustling Rain

Encouragement

Buddhism is reason. And faith is manifested in daily life. Getting enough sleep so that we can wake up refreshed and ready for the new day’s challenges is very important for good health. We practise Buddhism so that we can enjoy good health and happiness.

i'm tired...

I'm tired... yet again... I understand that problems are always inevitable in life but I didn't know that no matter how cleverly I can try to arrange the events in life, that I can predict and plan that it happens, I can't plan the actions to be taken by others... their reactions...

Haiz... What is life? Why are there always challenges? Uncountable challenges ahead... I can't end my life, 'cos I think I have the responsibility of seeing myself going through the events that will happen in my life till I get old and die... 'Cos of responsibility... I don't wish to see/know my loved ones crying sadly for me, at the same time feeling disappointed after I committed suicide... I just don't know how to continue my life sometimes... Merely passing day by day... week by week... Low life condition? Should I pray more and harder?

Family, partner, friends, occupation... Which is the one that I truly attain happiness in? Friends perhaps? Haiz... Don't feel like writing... Coming to a point that I really don't know what to write... Overwhelming with a mixture of feelings... But I don't know which to express...

Encouragements

As long as our mind of faith is connected to the Gohonzon, our benefits will never disappear. That's why it is vital for us to persevere in our Buddhist practice throughout our lives no matter what, even if on some days our physical condition or other circumstances prevent us from doing gongyo and chanting daimoku to our full satisfaction. Those who continue to challenge themselves to the end savor ultimate victory.

We can have all the power, wealth, or fame in the world, but that alone would not assure us of happiness that will endure throughout eternity or allow us to create universal value. It may not even be enough to secure our happiness in this lifetime. Our true worth is determined by the philosophy and principles we cherish and by our views and attitudes towards life, society, and human existence.

Pass out from Supply Supervisor Course

Yes, today is the day I end my course and going to my new unit - Tengah Air Base. Lots of memories with me after this four months course. Many characters were created for my course mates. All those funny, lovely characters i.e. Fattoon, Dabong, Ah Hionk and lots... Hahaha! They're such a lovely batch of people. There were these obese people in my course, who were always the jokers and 'enemies' of the class. I'll miss you guys! Really!

I think I shall name a few of them. Jeremy, Chong Boon, Enzo, CPL Aw, Yong Bin, Keng Wee, Dabong, Khai, Jun Beng, Peh, A'sari and Wilson. I'm closer to these few friends. Of which, CPL Aw and Yong Bin were out of course with me before, and Chong Boon and Yong Bin were also my BMT mates. The closest should be Yong Bin 'cos we were from the same BMT Section.

After today, which is tomorrow, we shall all report to our own unit individually. Which means adaptation again! Approximately 550 days left to go ahead. Soon... Perhaps...

Encouragement

Buddhism teaches the importance of the present and the future. The purpose of Buddhism and faith is for us to always be able to advance from today towards tomorrow filled with hope, taking positive steps for the future. We must never forget this crucial point.

John Titor

These are some of the predictions made by John Titor. He is a man who time travelled to year 2000 from 2036. I think he's back to his time now.

Website: www.johntitor.com

One interesting finding I found from the website...

“The Grandfather Paradox [where you go back in time and kill your grandfather] is not an issue,” said Mallett. “In a sense, time travel means that you’re traveling both in time and into other universes. If you go back into the past, you’ll go into another universe. As soon as you arrive at the past, you’re making a choice and there’ll be a split. Our universe will not be affected by what you do in your visit to the past.”

Definitions:

The grandfather paradox is a paradox of time travel, supposedly first conceived by the science fiction writer René Barjavel in his book "Future times three" ("Le voyageur imprudent", 1943). Suppose you travelled back in time and killed your biological grandfather before he met your grandmother. Then you would never have been conceived, so you could not have travelled back in time after all. Now did you travel back or not? The grandfather paradox has been used to argue that backwards time travel must be impossible. However, other resolutions have also been advanced.

Interestingly, I found and read up on the opposite meaning of grandfather paradox - predestination paradox's meaning.

A predestination paradox, also called a causal loop or causality loop, is a paradox of time travel that is often used as a convention in science fiction. It exists when a time traveller is caught in a loop of events that "predestines" him to travel back in time. This paradox is in some ways the opposite of the grandfather paradox, the famous example of the traveller killing his own grandfather before his parent is born, thereby precluding his own travel to the past by cancelling his own existence.

Because of the possibility of influencing the past while time travelling, one way of explaining why history does not change is by saying that whatever has happened was meant to happen. A time traveller attempting to alter the past in this model, intentionally or not, would only be fulfilling his role in creating history, not changing it. The Novikov self-consistency principle proposes that contradictory causal loops cannot form, but that consistent ones can. This raises the issue of whether there is such a thing as free will.

Website: http://www.reference.com

The Art Of Seduction 情挑偷心男 (2006)

Release Date: 13th April 2006
Details: 100 mins, PG, Romance
Starring: Song II-guk 宋一国 (Ghost Train 鬼道), Son Ye-Jin 孙艺珍 (April Snow 外出)
Directed by: Oh Ki-hwan
Local Distributor: Cathay-Keris Films, Encore Films

Seductress Ji Won (SON Ye-Jin) and Ladykiller Min Jun (SONG Il-Guk) are first-rate 'players' in the dating game. Ji Won fakes a car accident and successfully approaches Min Jun. However, her smooth sailing dating life finally reaches turbulence as she cannot understand why Min Jun is not succumbing to her alluring charm. Ironically, Min Jun is also overwhelmed that he has met his match. The two veteran players employ all their sure-win dating tactics in this battle of seduction. Who will emerge victorious?

Official Website: http://www.sunsoo2005.co.kr//

Watched this show yesterday night with my friend at The Cathay Cineplex. It's very funny! Trust me! Almost every second you'll laugh on their acting, especially the actress, Son Ye Jin 孙艺珍. Very interesting storyline on seduction methods of the genders. 3.5 stars.

1st Army Training and Learning Seminar

I attended this seminar at Katib Camp on Tuesdays. It was quite an enriching seminar that interests and educates me. So far it’s the first one I find so in the Singapore Armed Forces. Haha!

The distinguished speakers and the topics covered are as follows:

1) “Continuous Learning”

Dr Low Guat Tin, Associate Professor, National Institute of Education (NIE)

2) “Training via eLearning – What can eLearning Train us on?”

Benson Soong, CEO, eLearning Consultants Pte Ltd

3) “Developing Knowledge Capital – A Critical Imperative for Leadership in a Knowledge Era”

Mr. Tan Kim Leng, Managing Director, Knowledge Drivers International (Asia)

4) “Calibrating Individual Potential”

Mr. Anthony Chan, Sigmasolutions Human Resource Development (HRD) Consultant

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005)

Details: Fantasy/Action
Starring: John Cleese, Gary Oldman, John Hurt, Miriam Margolyes, Michael Gambon
Directed by: Mike Newell

Midway through both his training and his coming-of-age, Harry Potter wants to get away from the Dursleys and go to the International Quidditch Cup with his friends, Hermione and Ron and his family. When Harry's name emerges from the Goblet of Fire, he becomes a competitor in a gruelling battle for glory among three wizarding schools - the Triwizard Tournament. But since Harry never submitted his name for the Tournament, who did? Now Harry must confront a deadly dragon, fierce water demons and an enchanted maze only to find himself in the cruel grasp of He Who Must Not Be Named.

Official Website: http://harrypotter.warnerbros.com/index.html

In this fourth film adaptation of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series, everything changes as Harry, Ron and Hermione leave childhood forever and take on challenges greater than anything they could have imagined. In it, Harry develops a crush on a schoolmate and she's a Chinese.

It's not bad. More adventure for Harry Potter and his friends. However, I find that it can be better in some details and a better storyline. Erm... Rating 3.5/5.

Campus SuperStar

曾咏霖 lost... She's not the Campus Superstar...

I'm not quite happy over the result. To make it clear in the first place, I'm those rationale audience. I can visually see whose performance was better. Teresa's standard is all along set there. She did well as usual today. However she lost to the male contestant, Zhi Yang, whom I don't see any reason why he could win. His standard is all the while under Teresa's. From their performance today, I spotted more mistakes in Zhi Yang's than in Teresa's. Maybe somehow he was able to impress the judges tonight. And so he won.

Congrats to Teresa! Though somehow she lost in the end, throughout the competition she gave the impression of being the Campus SuperStar already! Congrats again! And may you have a bright future! =)

Andrew Lloyd Webber's Phantom of the Opera (2004)

Details: 143 mins, Romance/Drama/Music
Starring: Miranda Richardson, Simon Callow, Minnie Driver, Ciaran Hinds, Murray Melvin
Directed by: Joel Schumacher

His voice calls to her, nurturing her extraordinary talents from the shadows of the opera house where innocent chorus girl Christine Daae (Emmy Rossum) makes her home. Only ballet mistress Madame Giry (Miranda Richardson) knows that Christine's mysterious "Angel of Music" is actually the Phantom (Gerard Butler), a disfigured musical genius who haunts the catacombs of the theatre, terrifying the ensemble of artists who live and work there.

When temperamental diva La Carlotta (Minnie Driver) walks out in the middle of a dress rehearsal for the company's latest production, the theatre's eager new managers (Simon Callow and Ciaran Hinds) have no choice but to thrust Christine into the spotlight.

Her mesmerizing opening night performance captivates both the audience and the Phantom, who devotes himself to casting his protégé as the opera's next star. But he is not the only powerful man to be awed by the young soprano, as Christine soon finds herself courted by the theatre's wealthy patron, the Vicompte Raoul de Chagny (Patrick Wilson).

Though she is enthralled by her charismatic mentor, Christine is undeniably drawn to the dashing Raoul, enraging the Phantom and setting the stage for a dramatic crescendo in which soaring passions, fierce jealousies and obsessive love threaten to drive the fated lovers past the point of no return.

Official Website: http://phantomthemovie.warnerbros.com/

A very grand movie. It's a must watch! Marvellous! Rate 4/5.

Amour

Some say love, it is a river
That drowns the tender reed
Some say love, it is a razor
That leaves your soul to bleed

Some say love, it is a hunger
An endless aching need
I say love, it is a flower
And you its only seed

It's the soul afraid of dreaming,
That never learns to dance
And the soul afraid of waking,
That never takes the chance

It's the one, who won't be taken
Who cannot seem to give
And the soul afraid of dying,
That never learns to live

When the night has been too lonely
And the road has been too long
When you feel that love is only
For the lucky and the strong

Just remember in the winter
Far beneath the bitter snow
Lies the seed that with the sun's love
In the spring becomes the rose

In the Mood for Love (2000)

Details: 97 mins, Romance/Drama/Historical
Starring: Tony Leung, Maggie Cheung, Rebecca Pan
Directed by: Wong Kar Wai

Hong Kong 1962, Chow Mo-Wan (Tony Leung Chiu-Wai), a journalist, rents a room from Mr. Koo. He will live there with his wife, a hotel receptionist. It's sheer coincidence that he moves in the same day that Su Lizhen (Maggie Cheung Man-Yuk) moves in next door, at Mrs Suen's place. Lizhen works as a secretary to Mr. Ho (Lai Chin), the boss of a shipping company. It's also a coincidence that both of them are moving in without help from their spouses. Chow's wife is working her shift at the hotel at the time of the move. Lizhen's husband, Mr Chan, is away on a business trip; he works for a Japanese company, and is often abroad. Despite having convivial and neighbourly landlords, Mr. Chow and Mrs. Chan often find themselves alone and lonely in their respective rooms.

Neither of them ever finds out how it began, but Mr. Chow and Mrs. Chan discover that their respective spouses are having an affair. The discovery shocks both of them. Chow, feeling hurt and wishing to understand how the affair happened, begins finding excuses to spend time with Mrs. Chan. They begin rehearsing what they will say to their spouses when they confront them with what they know. Then Mr. Chow invites Mrs. Chan to help him with a martial-arts series that he is writing for the newspaper. Their meetings are discreet, but people begin to notice. There seems no possibility that they, too, will drift into an affair. But Mrs. Chan's emotional reticence begins to haunt Mr. Chow and he finds his feelings changing. It's almost like being in love.

Four years later, as a Singapore-based reporter covering General De Gaulle's visit to Cambodia, Chow Mo-wan finds himself remembering an old story about a way of unburdening yourself of a secret you don't want anyone to know.

Official Website: http://www.wkw-inthemoodforlove.com/

Maggie Cheung Man-Yuk 張曼玉

Proudly present to you my new found idol in the show biz industry -

Maggie Cheung Man-Yuk

張曼玉

Date of Birth: September 20, 1964

Maggie Cheung is one of the major stars of Hong Kong cinema. From 1983 to 2001 she made nearly 80 films. An action star, a serious dramatic actress, and a skilled comedienne, Cheung is probably best known to international audiences for her roles in Jackie Chan’s ‘Police Story’ (1985), Ann Hui’s ‘Song of the Exile’ (1990), Johnny To’s martial arts fantasy ‘The Heroic Trio’ (1993), Wong Kar-Wai’s ‘‘In the Mood for Love’ (2000), and Stanley Kwan’s ‘Actress’ (1992) for which she earned Best Actress honors at the Berlin International Film Festival.

Born in Hong Kong, Cheung moved with her family to England at the age of eight. She returned to Hong Kong on completing secondary education and in 1983, entered the Miss Hong Kong Pageant where she picked up First Runner Up and Miss Photogenic. This led to contracts with local film and television production outfits TVB and Shaw Brothers Studios. After appearances in several TV drama series and low budget comedies, Cheung teamed up with Jackie Chan for her first major film role in ‘Police Story’ (1995).

A turning point in Maggie Cheung’s career came in 1988 when she was cast in Wong Kar-Wai’s ‘As Tears Go By’ with Andy Lau and Jacky Cheung. She was nominated for Best Actress at the Hong Kong Film Awards that year, and would later go on to picking up this honors five times throughout her career ‘A Fishy Story’ (1990), ‘Actress’ (‘Yuen Ling-Yuk’) (1992), ‘Comrades: Almost a Love Story’ (1996), ‘The Soong Sisters’ (1997) and ‘In the Mood for Love’ (2000) making her the only quintuple HKFA Best Actress winner to date.

Cheung’s remarkable talent has also propelled her to success far beyond her homeland. In 1996, Cheung caught the attention of the acclaimed French director, Olivier Assayas, who cast her as his reincarnation of the super-criminaline of Feuillade’s silent serial Les Vampires. The film, ‘Irma Vep’ (1996), marked Maggie Cheung’s first international motion picture. Since Irma Vep she has co-starred with Leon Lai in Peter Chan’s award-winning Hong Kong-New York romance ‘Comrades, Almost a Love Story’ (1996), Mabel Cheung’s historical saga ‘The Soong Sisters’ (1997), and Wayne Wang’s ‘Chinese Box’ (1997) in which she co-starred with Jeremy Irons and Gong Li.

Cheung is a five-time Best Actress winner of Taiwan’s Golden Horse Film Awards for her performances in ‘Full Moon in New York’ (1989), ‘Red Dust’ (1990), ‘Actress’ (1992), ‘Comrades: Almost a Love Story’ (1996) and ‘In the Mood for Love’ (2000). Her role as tragic silent era starlet Yuen Ling-Yuk in ‘Actress’ (1992) made her a quadruple award winner, sweeping the Best Actress category in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Chicago, and making her the first Asian performer to win the prestigious Silver Bear Award in Berlin.

Awards:

Berlin International Film Festival

Best Actress of Silver Berlin Bear for Centre Stage

阮玲玉 (1992)

Cannes Film Festival

Best Actress for Clean (2004)

Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards

Best Actress of Golden Horse Award for In the Mood for Love

花樣年華 (2000)
Best Actress of Golden Horse Award for Comrades, Almost a Love Story

甜蜜蜜 (1996)
Best Actress of Golden Horse Award for Centre Stage

阮玲玉 (1991)
Best Supporting Actress of Golden Horse Award for Red Dust

滾滾紅塵 (1990)
Best Actress of Golden Horse Award for Full Moon in New York

人在紐約 (1989)

Hawaii International Film Festival

Award for Achievement in Acting

Hong Kong Film Awards

Best Actress of Hong Kong Film Award for In the Mood for Love

花樣年華 (2001)
Best Actress of Hong Kong Film Award for The Soong Sisters

宋家皇朝 (1998)
Best Actress of Hong Kong Film Award for Comrades, Almost a Love Story

甜蜜蜜 (1996)
Best Actress of Hong Kong Film Award for Centre Stage

阮玲玉 (1992)
Best Actress of Hong Kong Film Award for Farewell China

愛在他鄉的季節 (1991)
Best Actress of Hong Kong Film Award for A Fishy Story

不脫襪的人 (1989)

Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards

Best Actress of HKFCS Award for Comrades, Almost a Love Story

甜蜜蜜 (1996)

Filmography:

2004
Clean (France)
2046

2002
Hero

2000
In the Mood for Love
Augustin, King of Kung-Fu (France)
Sausalito

1998
Chinese Box (USA)

1997
The Soong Sisters

1996
Irma Vep (France)
Comrades, Almost a Love Story

1994
Ashes of Time
In Between

1993
Mad Monk
First Shot
Executioners
Boys are Easy
Flying Dagger
The Eagle Shooting Heroes
Enigma of Love
Green Snake
Holy Weapon
The Heroic Trio
The Bare-Footed Kid
Millionaire Cop

1992
Police Story 3: Supercop
Twin Dragons
Moon Warriors
What a Hero!
New Dragon Gate Inn
True Love
All's Well, Ends Well
Rose

1991
Centre Stage aka Actress
Alan & Eric - Between Hello & Goodbye
Will of Iron
The Perfect Match
Today's Hero
Days of Being Wild

1990
Red Dust
Farewell China
Dragon From Russia
Song of the Exile
Heart into Hearts
Full Moon in New York

1989
Doubles Cause Troubles
The Iceman Cometh
In Between Loves
My Dear Son
The Bachelor's Swan-Song
Hearts No Flowers
A Fishy Story
Little Cop

1988
Last Romance
Faithfully Yours
The Game They Call Sex
The Nowhereman
Police Story 2
How to Pick Up Girls
Moon, Star, Sun
Mother vs. Mother
As Tears Go By

Paper Marriage
Love Soldier of Fortune
Call Girl '88

1987
Project A Part 2
The Romancing Star
Heartbeat 100
Sister Cupid

1986
The Seventh Curse
Happy Ghost 3
Lost Romance

1985
It's a Drink, It's a Bomb
Police Story
Modern Cinderella

1984
Behind the Yellow Line
Prince Charming

Drama Serial

Police Cadet '84 新紮師兄 (1984)
The Fallen Family 武林世家

What a friend I truly treasured...

I must admit that I've slacken in faith. There are many reasons that causes so. Which at this point of time I don't wish to state out one by one and discuss.

The bad thing is when I needed the least encouragement from that one friend of mine, that person could leave some harsh (I don't know whether it was harsh to him, but I find it so) comment on me and then just leave the conversation shortly.

If I don't treasure this friend, I won't even bother to write about this incident. However, the things he said, though not much, made me felt like stopping the friendship at that instance. Without helping me to solve or at the least, share my problems and yet leave at once. Can I call that a friend? I don't know. And I don't wish to. Was that the way I treated you last time? I'm proud to say I've been there for you when you needed someone and I had been treating you well ever since I know you. I felt being taken for granted by you again. Note that, it's again. If you ever get to read what I've written here, I wonder how would you feel.

So the decision of not contacting you and deleting your handphone number was correct. But I regret messaging you first and start all the contacting again. I was too kind to you. You don't deserve my kindness.