Lightyears

The Batman series by Christopher Nolan seems to be getting better, and darker. Batman has been my all-time favourite superhero since young, with all his gadgets and machines. And with all the hype surround thing movie, it certainly lived up to its status and I think “The Dark Knight” is probably one of THE shows to catch! Christopher Nolan has definitely injected a lot of depth into the Batman series, as compared to its predecessors.

I missed the first 20 minutes of the movie, as I usually do with other movies, and when I got in, Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) was sewing up his wound… Moving on, I think Joker’s (Heath Ledger) performance in the movie was stunning, and for the first time, Joker was actually scary for me. In my opinion, Heath Ledger was really into this Joker role that it sort of drove him crazy (I think). The Joker was really sinister, and loony at the same time, and it probably overwhelmed Heath more than he ever imagined… But it was an amazing and convincing performance. It almost seems like it was his role.

Of course the movie was not only just about Joker. We have seen how Christian Bale portrayed Bruce/Batman in Batman Begins, and he continued his splendid performance here. And then there is Two-face/Harvey Dent played by Aaron Eckhart whose performance was just as good, and probably being overshadowed by Joker. And how can we forget Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman), Alfred (Michael Caine) and Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman) who put up such amazing performances as well!! Our very own Singaporean Ng Chin Han as Lau also deserves some credit!!

It is amazing that how Christopher Nolan has been able to bring in a stellar cast to produce such an outstanding movie, which used to be rather superficially portrayed (in comparison). In addition to all the content, there are more action scenes this time round, like leaping off buildings, and it really keeps you on the edge of your seat because you don’t really know what is going to happen next. I cannot wait for the 3rd installment of the series!!!

Well, I had high hopes for this DVD, since it’s Rihanna’s first tour release on DVD.

On the songs, the show started with her first hit ever, Pon de Replay, which I think was apt since it was a song that introduced her to the world.  Next came a song Break It Of” which I don’t know because I only bought her latest album, which is Good Girl Gone Bad. Then after a few more songs came Rehab and Breakin’ Dishes, both songs that I really like from her album, and Rihanna delivered then very well.

She did a cover of Bob Marley’s song “Is This Love” which isn’t really what I like, but it was ok.  SOS was hot! The arrangement was given a different treatment, making it rather cabaret-ish, which was great! Next was Good Girl Gone Bad, one of my favourite songs from her album, and again, she did her thing. Hate That I Love You followed, and after that was Unfaithful. After Sell Me Candy, she worked the crowd again with songs like Don’t Stop the Music, Shut Up and Drive. Just before launching into Umbrella, her mega-hit, she sang Question Existing, which was very heartfelt. And Umbrella just brought the house down!

Overall I think the setlist was not bad, but there could be more done to the choreography. And I think black isn’t really a good colour on stage, so next time she might consider more fanciful stuff?  I can’t wait for her to tour Asia. Not quite a Beyonce yet in terms of experience and skills, but I think she will be a great entertainer in the near future!

3.5 out of 5

Elva is back with Virgin Music! She never should have left anyway, since she was really well treated over there. Anyway, I was really looking forward to hearing her new music, until when I finally heard it…

As much as I do not want to compare her current album to her previous Virgin Music albums, I am pretty much forced into doing so. Firstly, her vocals are not as strong, in the sense that she glides through some notes, and quite a bit of lazy singing here and there. It was really obvious on her first (and final) album with Warner Music, “1087″. She probably needs better producers…

Ballads used to be one of her strengths, but recently they prove to be one of her weaknesses. Even with rather good songs like “Chong Dong”, “Shi Guang Sui Dao”, “Zhi Hou” and “Ni Kan Bu Jian De Di Fang”, she doesn’t really shine. She needs to be more sensitive to the lyrics and song I think.

On the other hand, the quick tempo songs sound much better. The first single off her album, “I’ll Be There” is one of the better tracks on the album, and is paired with a great mv. The oriental-infused urban track of “Baby Girl” is also not bad. Same for “More More More”.

Overall, I think Elva needs to do some work on her vocals. Song choice is rather ok for this album, what it lacks is the vocalist she used to be.

3 out of 5

I’ll Be There:

Chong Dong:

 More More More:

Liang Ge Ren De Ji Mo:

I think Mariah Carey, or Mimi, really knows how to make music, and make it relevant in today’s world. E=MC², the latest work from Mimi, really sounds great. It still has a great music mix from great songs for clubbing to great ballads.

On first listen I was rather disappointed, given that the album was so hyped about, and also very much the most anticipated album of the year. It also didn’t help since a lot of people who previewed it gave it all thumbs up! After listening continuously for the past 24hrs, I think it is really a great album!

“Migrate” starts the tone for the whole album, very club-ish, and tunes that are rather sexy, urban, and the beats and all are just perfect! Will only touch on the other tracks that I really love on first listen, i.e “Touch My Body”, “I Stay in Love”, “I’m That Chick”, “Thanx 4 Nothin’ “, “O.O.C”, “I Wish You Well” and of course, “Bye Bye”.

“Touch My Body” needs no further introduction, I mean it created (pop) music history. “I Stay In Love” sounds great, and in my opinion, is the real “We Belong Together Part 2″, in terms of the whole feel. Not sure about lyrics-wise though…

“I’m That Chick” was mentioned here some posts ago, and as much as it sounds simple, it has a cheeky feel to it. A very enjoyable number.

“Thanx 4 Nothin” ” is a wonderful ballad, with a bit of sarcasm used I believe. I just love it when MC sings her lungs out!! Haha!

“O.O.C” is probably my favourite fast number in her entire album! Hope she releases this as a single because it would probably shoot up the charts! The beats, the tune, the arrangement are just in perfect harmony! You have to listen to this song!

“I Wish You Well” is the only song with very simple accompaniment, and it ends the whole album nicely. She shows her vocal prowess on this track (probably the only one where she does her whistle-register in the tune). Very nice song.

And lastly, “Bye Bye”, the 2nd single off E=MC² is unbelievably amazing! Probably a “One Sweet Day Part 2″! Hope it creates history again as the 19th number 1 single for Mariah! I teared like crazy just reading the lyrics. I think people can really relate to this song. The best track of the album!

I think she got the formula right (again) this time round! I think Mariah Carey has become synonymous with Good music and Good Urban/ R&B music. While she does some music that she likes, she still doesn’t forget her fans and what the people want to hear. A truly amazing album! Go get it!

(4 out of 5)