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line 1, column 0: Use of unknown namespace: http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008 [help]
```
<?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?><?xml-stylesheet href="http://www.blog ...
```
line 1, column 0: Unable to validate namespace: http://schemas.google.com/g/2005. See the Google Data specification at https://developers.google.com/gdata/docs/1.0/elements [help]
```
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```

line 1, column 26196: Self reference doesn't match document location [help]

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Source: http://www.ihcahieh.com/feeds/posts/default

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term="Jingan"/><category term="Joaquin N."/><category term="Joyce J."/><category term="Kaafu"/><category term="Kalibo"/><category term="Kawagoe"/><category term="Khan-uul"/><category term="Kien Giang"/><category term="Knight R."/><category term="Kobe"/><category term="Las Piñas"/><category term="Lippman L."/><category term="Luang Prabang"/><category term="Luxembourg"/><category term="Madrid"/><category term="Maguire G."/><category term="Maldives"/><category term="Malta"/><category term="Mandalay"/><category term="Martel Y."/><category term="Maryland"/><category term="McEwan I."/><category term="Mediacorp Vizpro"/><category term="Monaco"/><category term="Morioka"/><category term="Mostar"/><category term="Nam"/><category term="Nasugbu"/><category term="Neihu"/><category term="Nice"/><category term="North Macedonia"/><category term="Norway"/><category term="Nuremberg"/><category term="Nyaung-U"/><category term="Oslo"/><category term="Otago"/><category term="Otsu"/><category 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term="Tacloban"/><category term="Tagbilaran"/><category term="Takeo"/><category term="Talisay"/><category term="Theater Mogul"/><category term="Thua Thien-Hue"/><category term="Tolkien J.R.R."/><category term="Umm al-Quwain"/><category term="Uusimaa"/><category term="Valletta"/><category term="Vang Vieng"/><category term="Venice"/><category term="Vienna"/><category term="Vonnegut K."/><category term="Wells H.G."/><category term="Werfen"/><category term="Woolf V."/><category term="Xinyi"/><category term="Xochimilco"/><category term="Xuanwu"/><category term="Xuhui"/><category term="Yamadera"/><category term="Yeongdoungpo-gu"/><category term="Yoder R."/><category term="Yongsan-gu"/><category term="Zagreb"/><category term="Zambales"/><category term="Zhongsheng"/><title type='text'>ihcahieh: Depressed | Demented | Deranged</title><subtitle type='html'>How do you vanquish the enemy when the enemy is yourself?</subtitle><link rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#feed' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/feeds/posts/default'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8879518290175104767/posts/default'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/'/><link rel='hub' href='http://pubsubhubbub.appspot.com/'/><link rel='next' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8879518290175104767/posts/default?start-index=26&max-results=25'/><author><name>ihcahieh</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/03679524174484441585</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3nYFbB2KFfGvXBwz4G6YUkdAA1l9U-l1XsQvMgsAtzrJZ7ue-wZdvgwwo2BmqBwbsbFS7SwEqTe9DoTHsj4icAvpbysDxqV2u5burN0D9aCj7eKYkTXaEMxFOZkc0aJU/s151/*'/></author><generator version='7.00' uri='http://www.blogger.com'>Blogger</generator><openSearch:totalResults>2637</openSearch:totalResults><openSearch:startIndex>1</openSearch:startIndex><openSearch:itemsPerPage>25</openSearch:itemsPerPage><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8879518290175104767.post-8334933084144106270</id><published>2024-11-20T23:05:00.010+08:00</published><updated>2024-11-21T20:14:00.591+08:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Film"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Hollywood"/><title type='text'>Wicked: Part I</title><content type='html'><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wicked_(2024_film)" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="200" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha0hNlf0JsMNzuinoELWJhlzMSe7bEzXDlArKFNiPu9TYhsKphnIrdgzWMPlTIMxGjlvuuIUfMM6U5glOSeXt93xxnR1sXhb6NcrIuFlAiTZXrVjkaNgMk5fLgZT_dSHIJA0TJ4fcKuvcpLsYZT259yAR2CeaGlbvL9Hb8n7TOU6vT10vjvClsdGSmkijo/s1600/12345678.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: justify;">♣♣♣♣♣/♣♣♣♣♣</div></span><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Born green out of her mother’s infidelity, Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) grows up an outcast but overprotective of her paraplegic sister Nessarose (Marissa Bode). Accompanying her sister to her first day of university at Shiz, Elphaba unexpectedly unleashes a telekinetic blast out of anger and is instantly noticed by headmistress and sorceress Madame Morrible (Michelle Yeoh), who convinces her to enroll as well so she can harness her powers via private seminars with her. She is roomed with society gal Galinda (Ariana Grande-Butera) who is an aspiring sorceress herself, but not as gifted. The two roommates begin an unlikely friendship tested by the arrival of a troublemaker prince named Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey) and in the midst of suppression of Animal rights in all of Oz. As Elphaba’s powers grow, she gets an official invitation to meet the Wonderful Wizard of Oz (Jeff Goldblum) at his castle in the Emerald City. However, Elphaba is in for a rude awakening as her lifetime idol doesn’t turn out to be who she expects him to be.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><a name='more'></a></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Broadway musicals crossing over to Hollywood are not really that well-received. Award giving bodies tend to snub them and they also flop really badly at the box office. If you think about it, there is only one particular crossover musical in recent memory that managed to both wow critics (12 Oscar nominations, 6 wins) and do well at the box office. That was Chicago. In 2003. That was TWO DECADES AGO. It looks like that is going to change soon. I’m not saying that Wicked will be an awards circuit juggernaut; it’ll probably just be nominated in the technical categories. Its box office appeal, though. It looks like we have a legit late contender for 2024.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">When Universal announced that Wicked will be split into two films, it raised a lot of eyebrows. The original Broadway OST is just an hour and a half long for both Acts 1 and 2. Wicked: Part I has a total runtime of 2 hours and 40 minutes. The second half to be released next year will probably be just as long. Over five hours of runtime all in all? Even if they have the actors sing the entire soundtrack and dance to it three times, it still wouldn’t fill that runtime. When you finally get to watch Part I, you will understand why. This is really just a film adaptation of the musical through and through, but makes it a point to take its time with exposition.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">As such, what you get is a more in depth exploration of the characters. The musical on Broadway is enchanting alright, but doesn’t have this luxury as it whips through all of the songs on its setlist to make sure the entire play wouldn’t go over its 2 hours and 40 minutes of runtime. Otherwise, theatergoers will get bored and just not buy tickets. The film has twice as much time to spare, and Jon Chu really dives deep into each note, each emotion, each character interaction. In the end you don’t get a half baked musical but rather a fully committed adaptation that will just blow you away. It’s long, yes, but no dull moments at all.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Say what we want about Ariana Grande but let’s give credit where it is due. Girl showed up and delivered. Those glory notes, bruh. I was beaming like a proud uncle, and this coming from someone who thinks that there can be no other G(a)linda aside from Broadway legend and OG Kristin Chenoweth. Grande currently ranks fourth on Gold Derby’s early Oscar predictions for Best Supporting Actress. Nomination or not, she is defo not winning because Zoe Saldana will be hard to beat but after her performance blew me away, I actually want to see her get nominated. I say she deserves it, and I am willing to die on that hill.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba is divine. She is not that much of a power belter but what she lacks in vocal intensity, she makes up for with a subdued vulnerability that is palpable both in her eyes and in her voice. Her Elphaba can be menacing but also endearing, sarcastic yet sincere. In the end, she provides the much needed gravitas for a role that is quite hard to nail. Her questionable press release interviews aside, I say that she does a great job and makes the character her own, not to mention her chemistry with Grande is so strong you actually end up caring about their friendship which translates as genuine onscreen.</span></div></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/6COmYeLsz4c" width="320" youtube-src-id="6COmYeLsz4c"></iframe></div></div></content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/feeds/8334933084144106270/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/2024/11/wicked-part-i.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8879518290175104767/posts/default/8334933084144106270'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8879518290175104767/posts/default/8334933084144106270'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/2024/11/wicked-part-i.html' title='Wicked: Part I'/><author><name>ihcahieh</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/03679524174484441585</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3nYFbB2KFfGvXBwz4G6YUkdAA1l9U-l1XsQvMgsAtzrJZ7ue-wZdvgwwo2BmqBwbsbFS7SwEqTe9DoTHsj4icAvpbysDxqV2u5burN0D9aCj7eKYkTXaEMxFOZkc0aJU/s151/*'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha0hNlf0JsMNzuinoELWJhlzMSe7bEzXDlArKFNiPu9TYhsKphnIrdgzWMPlTIMxGjlvuuIUfMM6U5glOSeXt93xxnR1sXhb6NcrIuFlAiTZXrVjkaNgMk5fLgZT_dSHIJA0TJ4fcKuvcpLsYZT259yAR2CeaGlbvL9Hb8n7TOU6vT10vjvClsdGSmkijo/s72-c/12345678.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8879518290175104767.post-821040041197540168</id><published>2024-11-19T12:01:00.013+08:00</published><updated>2024-11-20T12:14:21.438+08:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="American"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Literature"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Maguire G."/><title type='text'>Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West</title><content type='html'><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wicked_(Maguire_novel)" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="200" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrFSxefiyhCHZ9l0l1zNYgsjAn1QQUwWOM1Xv25Qjiih0fY8YuVLy8hRN3hR4pcAMbzFYqxb3bAl5AnpEiEI4Ar-oIhYsvOZ8qTPSNzFA9A5buIXvTx1tce37GoLh00GcjbGPYusDNmYJ9GIFo2C45ovXbMK9I-FinnerpGC0OTQVy-ixsC87sQ-77UzuX/s1600/wicked.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: justify;">♣♣♣♣/♣♣♣♣♣</div></span><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">A lot has happened before Dorothy dropped in. A child born green and with sharp teeth grows into adolescence and attends the prestigious Shiz University where she is roomed with Galinda, a blonde social climber who has lofty ambitions. Elphaba couldn’t care less about social standing and preoccupies herself mostly with concerns that have socio-political relevance. Take for example the recent edict from the wizard stripping Animals of their rights to function in society, a cause that Goat professor Doctor Dillamond is passionate about. The untimely death of Galinda’s chaperone means the arrival of Elphie’s nanny as replacement, and along comes Elphaba’s armless sister Nessarose. New student Fiyero, an Arjiki prince, also arrives, and a friendship is formed among the group. However, Elphaba will soon learn that she will be better off as an agent of change outside the university, and so she drops out and takes her chances as an antigovernmental rebel.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><a name='more'></a></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">It is some sort of consensus that if you see the musical before reading the book, you won’t like the book. If you read the novel first before watching the Broadway show, you’ll find the musical lacking. A comment on Reddit summarizes it well to the tune of: “The musical is a sanitized Disney version of the novel.” Somehow I agree. What surprised me the most is how the novel has always been the musical’s source material and yet the two are just so different as far as point of view, focus, and most subplots are concerned. Since my reading was heavily informed by the musical, the novel somehow failed to meet some of my expectations.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Had I read the novel first, I wouldn’t know how I would’ve reacted to the musical. All I can conclude now is that Maguire’s take on the classic The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is more mature and tackles a lot of adult themes. If you think the musical is too political, then you ain’t seen nothing yet. Perhaps that is one of the novel’s downsides. Maguire tries to explain almost everything that L. Frank Baum refused to do so in his 1900 book, sometimes too much that it becomes detrimental to plot development. Wicked is 500 pages long and most of it is just Elphaba doing nothing but grandstanding about politics. As such, nothing much happens.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Another surprising departure the musical makes is how it depicts Elphaba as magically gifted. This forms much of the backbone of the musical’s plot. And so imagine my disappointment waiting for her to demonstrate some sorcery in the novel, which she never does. The broom allows her to levitate but it has more to do with it being enchanted as opposed to her enchanting it via a spell in the musical. She does find a grimoire at Sarima’s palace but she doesn't really get anywhere with it.&nbsp; If anything, she is just a powerless and bitter old hag who believes the world owes her something. And, oh, a literal terrorist, by the way.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">The musical is told from G(a)linda’s perspective, and she becomes a government propaganda heroine in Act 2. The novel is told from Elphaba’s perspective, and G(a)linda totally disappears after the former drops out from Shiz, reappearing&nbsp;</span><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">only</span><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">&nbsp;</span><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">twice before the novel ends. Fiyero becomes the tin man in the musical due to Elphaba’s spell to protect him. In the novel, he dies and it is more of wishful thinking in Elphaba’s part that the tin man accompanying Dorothy could be him. Elphaba’s fatal allergy to water is a propaganda later used to fake her own death in the musical. In the novel, she actually is allergic, and dies as a result.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Apologies for turning this book review into a point-by-point comparison of the musical and the novel. It can’t be helped. All in all, Maguire’s dissection of Baum’s 1900 novel is ambitious but sometimes comes across as reductive. Nonetheless, he does a great job in filling in the worldbuilding that his source material’s author failed to do. The novel is also too mature to be suitable for adolescents. If your teens get obsessed with the material after watching the film, I suggest you take them to Broadway to see the musical instead, unless you want an uncomfortable chat afterwards with a lot of explaining to do.</span></div></div></div></content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/feeds/821040041197540168/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/2024/11/wicked-life-and-times-of-wicked-witch.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8879518290175104767/posts/default/821040041197540168'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8879518290175104767/posts/default/821040041197540168'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/2024/11/wicked-life-and-times-of-wicked-witch.html' title='Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West'/><author><name>ihcahieh</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/03679524174484441585</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3nYFbB2KFfGvXBwz4G6YUkdAA1l9U-l1XsQvMgsAtzrJZ7ue-wZdvgwwo2BmqBwbsbFS7SwEqTe9DoTHsj4icAvpbysDxqV2u5burN0D9aCj7eKYkTXaEMxFOZkc0aJU/s151/*'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrFSxefiyhCHZ9l0l1zNYgsjAn1QQUwWOM1Xv25Qjiih0fY8YuVLy8hRN3hR4pcAMbzFYqxb3bAl5AnpEiEI4Ar-oIhYsvOZ8qTPSNzFA9A5buIXvTx1tce37GoLh00GcjbGPYusDNmYJ9GIFo2C45ovXbMK9I-FinnerpGC0OTQVy-ixsC87sQ-77UzuX/s72-c/wicked.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8879518290175104767.post-6888376279260092051</id><published>2024-11-18T14:08:00.017+08:00</published><updated>2024-11-19T16:14:08.757+08:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="American"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Baum L.F."/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Literature"/><title type='text'>The Wonderful Wizard of Oz</title><content type='html'><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wonderful_Wizard_of_Oz" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="200" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOj5__W8tN4KobpgppEOWY1h6PAS4k1QSjuaFx4VpkdzxjAaFfcD51t1cq2n693R0i3eGm1a3vBxquYZMxTFoFk9VNb8zjq961w8cAExHueJtrbIkLuRB6XKpwxHBrfa10bQJJV3PmebzGErLkytnmIEuFMkXlXBN6vRbz0YZBlLwqU99Gim9aQeIpxFsr/s1600/the-wonderful-wizard-of-oz-collins-classics.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: justify;">♣♣♣♣/♣♣♣♣♣</div></span><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Country lass Dorothy Gale lives a rather simple life in Kansas with her pup Toto. She has been taken in by her Uncle Henry and Auntie Em and treated as their own. One thing of importance highlighted in the household is preparedness for tornadoes. The house is equipped with a basement bunker for such an event. When the dreaded tornado finally comes about, Dorothy does not make it underground in time and is blown away along with the house. Later on she is surprised to find out that the house has landed safely in an unknown land, specifically on a Munchkin called the Wicked Witch of the East who is killed instantly by the crash. Confused as to where she is and how to go back to Kansas, she is blessed by the Good Witch of the North and accompanied by a tin man, a scarecrow, and a cowardly lion on the Yellow Brick Road to the Emerald City where they believe the Wonderful Wizard of Oz could grant their wishes.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><a name='more'></a></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">As simple as a story for kids could be, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz fits neatly among the classics of English literature when it comes to making up fantastical child-friendly stories to shut your kids up. The problem with this is that they will just come up with more difficult questions once they get invested in the world you have created from scratch from your imagination. Baum’s masterpiece is no different. You will find a lot of concepts to be outrageous with many subplots unexplained, not that that is the point. These stories are usually the kind you tell on a boring weekend until it is codified to stand the test of time.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">I haven’t really read this book until now but what I find weird is how I know much of the plot and the characters. Perhaps it is the 1930’s film adaptation that is to blame for this? Somehow we all have a memory of a wicked green witch buried deep in our subconscious along with a giddy young girl with ruby red slippers who subjects her to an impromptu ice(less) bucket challenge. And then she dies. Tragic. Maybe Toto bit her and she contracted rabies? What else could explain such fatal hydrophobia? If anything, it is a testament to the power of this story that has managed to worm its way into collective consciousness through pop culture references for a century now.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">But of course, to us musical theater junkies, it’s Wicked the musical that just brought that subconscious memory back to fore for most of us, a musical based on a novel in which the author tried to explain away (almost) everything that dear old Frank didn’t bother to elaborate on. That novel is another thing altogether and suffice it to say that you and your kids can enjoy The Wonderful Wizard of Oz with or without it as a follow-up. As a standalone piece of literature, this novel has been as popular even 124 years after its publication. I dare say it needs no revision for it to maintain that fame.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">But what social relevance can we actually derive from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz? The wizard is not really a wizard. He has no powers. Just like Dorothy, he hails from a flyover state (Nebraska) and accidentally ends up in Oz aboard a hot air balloon. He then uses his strangeness to enchant the idiots who live there and is wise enough to make his presence scarce as to create an air of mystery around his persona, resulting in an unquestioned cult-like following. If you think this kind of storyline is passé, you must be living under a rock unawares as to how this brand of blind fanaticism is more or less the status quo in a lot of countries in today’s world.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">That is the political undertone, which a child will not really be able to pick up, nor should they. As far as storytelling styles are concerned, this is your classic fish-out-of-water story where a hero/ine is joined by a gang of allies, most of them weird or not getting along, on a mythical journey of self-discovery. Themes highlighted in the end include friendship and teamwork, perseverance, and faith. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz ticks all of these boxes, which is probably why it hasn’t really lost its appeal to children and adults alike all this time.</span></div></div></div></content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/feeds/6888376279260092051/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/2024/11/the-wonderful-wizard-of-oz.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8879518290175104767/posts/default/6888376279260092051'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8879518290175104767/posts/default/6888376279260092051'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/2024/11/the-wonderful-wizard-of-oz.html' title='The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'/><author><name>ihcahieh</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/03679524174484441585</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3nYFbB2KFfGvXBwz4G6YUkdAA1l9U-l1XsQvMgsAtzrJZ7ue-wZdvgwwo2BmqBwbsbFS7SwEqTe9DoTHsj4icAvpbysDxqV2u5burN0D9aCj7eKYkTXaEMxFOZkc0aJU/s151/*'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOj5__W8tN4KobpgppEOWY1h6PAS4k1QSjuaFx4VpkdzxjAaFfcD51t1cq2n693R0i3eGm1a3vBxquYZMxTFoFk9VNb8zjq961w8cAExHueJtrbIkLuRB6XKpwxHBrfa10bQJJV3PmebzGErLkytnmIEuFMkXlXBN6vRbz0YZBlLwqU99Gim9aQeIpxFsr/s72-c/the-wonderful-wizard-of-oz-collins-classics.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8879518290175104767.post-2976339307390341613</id><published>2024-11-15T12:53:00.010+08:00</published><updated>2024-11-15T13:17:25.110+08:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="European"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Film"/><title type='text'>Emilia Pérez</title><content type='html'><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emilia_P%C3%A9rez" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="200" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHTd7FHciTSNm5sE_1PVY349yEBwsnaHSmucCtZbhBvKXf6zMj9KR2yBdnBnjTH-j8fRfUUgcoVcqPzna4KF7uPCXCl7pvEudoBDxFG4Y5z2qnZcSI9cnX3qYMbVnKI02grC5OGB0rxz5Uf9yUdRQTBE4CCdvPjAYONqOoaL8JLGCtJ0Bbn4CwiZZLib2x/s1600/123456.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>♣♣♣♣/♣♣♣♣♣</span></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Born in the Dominican Republic and moving to Mexico for university studies where she eventually ends up as a lawyer, Rita Mora Castro (Zoe Saldaña) laments how her latest case turns out, being ruled as a suicide despite clearly being a <br />murder after the key witness refuses to testify. On her way out of the courtroom she receives a lucrative offer via an anonymous phone call asking her to wait in front of a newsstand, which she obediently does before being kidnapped by two armed men. In an armored van she comes face to face with Juan “Manitas” del Monte (Karla Sofía Gascón), a notorious drug lord who promises her 2 million if she helps him fake his death so he can fully transition into a woman and live a peaceful life, flashing her his breasts as a sign that she already began hormone therapy. Doing what she is told, Rita gets his wife Jessi (Selena Gomez) and his two sons to Lausanne as a safe haven before carrying out the rest of the plan. Four years later, Rita meets enigmatic philanthropist Emilia Pérez (Karla Sofía Gascón) at a party in London, realizing that her past has finally come back to haunt her.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><a name='more'></a></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">A Mexican drug cartel musical wasn’t really on any of my bingo cards this year, but here we are. As per early Oscar predictions on Gold Derby, Karla Sofía Gascón currently ranks second to Anora’s Mikey Madison in the lead actress race after winning the Best Actress prize at Cannes which was shared with her two co-stars. Zoe Saldaña is the current frontrunner in the supporting actress category while Selena Gomez keeps shuttling back and forth between the top five and top ten. At this point, we can say that Gascón and Saldaña are already a shoo-in for nominations. After watching the film, I say well-deserved, especially for Saldaña.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">It is strange that Saldaña is being campaigned for in Supporting considering her screen time is longer and it is through her eyes that we watch this story unfold. However, if you look at how the narrative is framed, we can argue that this is really Emilia’s story. Yes, Rita Moreno is as busy as ever but she is just an accomplice here, despite Saldaña doing all the heavy lifting as far as musical performances are concerned. Some people will cry category fraud for sure but Netflix knows well how nomination campaigns work and as it is, this seems to be the best way for them to score sure double nominations in those two categories.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">If you are still confused and the trailer did not help at all, Emilia Pérez is a French production by French auteur Jacques Audiard. The film is set in Mexico, though, so everything is in Spanish with just a smattering of English here and there. It is rumored that France will submit this as their official entry for Best Foreign Film, although the hype for other categories including Best Picture is strong given how well-received the movie has been at Cannes and Toronto. If you look for audience reviews, though, you’ll find out that reception is rather mixed. It’s one of those love-it-or-hate-it films, no in-betweens.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">And there is reason enough for that. This is the second “musical” this year after the Joker sequel where you have a hodgepodge of musical numbers where they totally commit to some, choreography and vocal pipes and all, only to serve the rest of them half-baked, with characters beginning their lines speaking before transitioning into sing-song which does not really translate well onscreen. Most of the musical numbers here are figments of the characters’ imagination, some smooth and well-choreographed like “El alegato”. The one where they go full-on, though, is “El mal” which, on its own, already merits Saldaña nominations everywhere.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">I can’t really contribute much to the discourse of this film as a narrative for the trans experience, but many members of the LGBTQ+ community are very vocal about their disdain, accusing the white CIS-male director and producers of using being trans as a plot device but not diving deep into the specific struggles that their community faces on a daily basis. All I can say is that perhaps there really is no pleasing everybody but considering they cast an actual trans actress who is on her way to making history as the first to be nominated for a Best Actress Oscar, then perhaps we can at least conclude that there is progress here as far as representation is concerned.</span></div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Qlbr7gJgBus" width="320" youtube-src-id="Qlbr7gJgBus"></iframe></div></div></content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/feeds/2976339307390341613/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/2024/11/emilia-perez.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8879518290175104767/posts/default/2976339307390341613'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8879518290175104767/posts/default/2976339307390341613'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/2024/11/emilia-perez.html' title='Emilia Pérez'/><author><name>ihcahieh</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/03679524174484441585</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3nYFbB2KFfGvXBwz4G6YUkdAA1l9U-l1XsQvMgsAtzrJZ7ue-wZdvgwwo2BmqBwbsbFS7SwEqTe9DoTHsj4icAvpbysDxqV2u5burN0D9aCj7eKYkTXaEMxFOZkc0aJU/s151/*'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHTd7FHciTSNm5sE_1PVY349yEBwsnaHSmucCtZbhBvKXf6zMj9KR2yBdnBnjTH-j8fRfUUgcoVcqPzna4KF7uPCXCl7pvEudoBDxFG4Y5z2qnZcSI9cnX3qYMbVnKI02grC5OGB0rxz5Uf9yUdRQTBE4CCdvPjAYONqOoaL8JLGCtJ0Bbn4CwiZZLib2x/s72-c/123456.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8879518290175104767.post-8746657525862913302</id><published>2024-11-14T14:40:00.011+08:00</published><updated>2024-11-16T12:34:05.970+08:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Filipino"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Film"/><title type='text'>Hello, Love, Again</title><content type='html'><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hello,_Love,_Again" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="200" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFPpMtNnebgtIGFgDfXFCoCH1CKBlZ1usgF8kc7OuW-nb7AnE5hyphenhyphenvyzQsTXMiGC6NundCbYSxYOyPFlxsnI6VXKtwzi036ijBHsxw9cot1h6YM9E-BwYGBXsSqOSTMXF0exS96iFzsm4EaXIQJsgFVycWKV-dDRwO8MYTAcQYQCggZqqaxe0bkyWFU88l-/s1600/Hello-love-again-poster.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: justify;">♣♣♣♣/♣♣♣♣♣</div></span><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Joy (Kathryn Bernardo) follows through with her plan to move to Canada where she takes on several odd jobs to survive. Maintaining a long distance relationship with Ethan (Alden Richards) on the other side of the world is difficult, so he decides to apply for a Canadian visa and try his luck there with her by his side. Things go smoothly in the beginning until the COVID pandemic strikes. Not ready for menial jobs he finds to be beneath him, Ethan is distraught, and his anguish takes a turn for the worse when his father gets infected and passes away before he can make it back home to Hong Kong. The two call it quits and go their separate ways. Fast forward four years later, Ethan is back in Calgary. Having lost everything including his bar, he gives Canada another go not particularly to win Joy back but rather to fix his own life.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><a name='more'></a></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Released in 2019, Hello, Love, Goodbye was doomed by some to fail because neither actor was starring with their perennial onscreen partners that made them bankable. The film went on to gross a total of 880 million pesos, becoming the highest grossing Filipino film of all time until Rewind broke the record just in January this year, five years later. Not coming up with a sequel is stupid, from a producer’s point of view. Imagine the cash grab, bruh? For us moviegoers, though, the main concern is that they’d just change venues and rehash the storyline of the first movie to come up with this sequel, which is what they actually end up doing.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">And they changed the ending, too, which is just proper because this sequel would’ve been pointless otherwise. They could have opted to continue the trend and make this a trilogy. I mean, in the first film both Joy and Ethan were in Hong Kong but she was moving to Canada. In this film both of them are in Canada but she is moving to the US. A threequel could have both of them in the US but she’d be moving to Timbuktu this time around. In fact, they could just do that until both actors are 90. Heck, there are almost 200 countries in the world to choose from, you know. But they didn’t, and for that we are grateful.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">It’s not that we don’t want a sequel. The first film just really did a good job in coming up with an ending that was unconventional and open-ended, a little bit too realistic but well-appreciated. Whatever happens to Ethan and Joy afterwards could’ve been left to the imagination. That way, you include the moviegoer in the storytelling process. Hello, Love, Again is simply a logical continuation to the story. You can even watch both back to back and realize in the end that you just watched a four-hour long film. What you’d eventually notice, though, would be the repetitiveness of some plot points, recycled as they are.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">The first film also stood out for having a more mature tone. After all, it was a project seen to be an effort of two actors to break free from the prohibitive love-team mold that had defined their respective careers up to that point. Hello, Love, Goodbye followed the time-tested Star Cinema formula, bur veered more towards the nitty-gritty of OFW life in Hong Kong. Yes, it was teenybopper at some points, but arguably mature in most others. Hello, Love, Again is a Star Cinema rom-com through and through, following that formula to a tee, from the way the love scene after a big argument was filmed all the way to the airport detour in the end.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Another funny thing is how this movie comes across like some sort of Immigrating to Canada for Filipinos 101. They explore all the options from the popular student visa to work permit path, the Lonely Canadian program, all the way to the faster Marry a PR for a PR route. This is nothing new because the first film also delved deep into the specifics of being an OFW in Hong Kong, but this whole Canada immigration subplot in this sequel just feels too in-your-face that it ends up a bit hilarious, akin to those immigration tutorials on YouTube.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">In any case, another sequel is now less likely because of how the plot wrapped up. Thank goodness, no? If you are a fan of this love team or just the story of the first movie, then Hello, Love, Again does you a favor by spelling out for you whatever ending for Hello, Love, Goodbye that you might have already conjured in your head. It works as a good closure and happy goodbye to Joy and Ethan. Perhaps we can say that this is mere fan service after all, but maybe we can use some happy endings once in a while.</span></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/uRBHJPic9zc" width="320" youtube-src-id="uRBHJPic9zc"></iframe></div></div></content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/feeds/8746657525862913302/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/2024/11/hello-love-again.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8879518290175104767/posts/default/8746657525862913302'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8879518290175104767/posts/default/8746657525862913302'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/2024/11/hello-love-again.html' title='Hello, Love, Again'/><author><name>ihcahieh</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/03679524174484441585</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3nYFbB2KFfGvXBwz4G6YUkdAA1l9U-l1XsQvMgsAtzrJZ7ue-wZdvgwwo2BmqBwbsbFS7SwEqTe9DoTHsj4icAvpbysDxqV2u5burN0D9aCj7eKYkTXaEMxFOZkc0aJU/s151/*'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFPpMtNnebgtIGFgDfXFCoCH1CKBlZ1usgF8kc7OuW-nb7AnE5hyphenhyphenvyzQsTXMiGC6NundCbYSxYOyPFlxsnI6VXKtwzi036ijBHsxw9cot1h6YM9E-BwYGBXsSqOSTMXF0exS96iFzsm4EaXIQJsgFVycWKV-dDRwO8MYTAcQYQCggZqqaxe0bkyWFU88l-/s72-c/Hello-love-again-poster.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8879518290175104767.post-2873040948652007422</id><published>2024-11-11T16:46:00.011+08:00</published><updated>2024-11-11T17:02:25.321+08:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="European"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Film"/><title type='text'>We Live in Time</title><content type='html'><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/We_Live_in_Time" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="200" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjogV5eGCEClvQqkY_WbEIsyE0GXbWTyT1a80dCmoKrlIC7bu5z93MNdOrtj8Pklq8dFbJviNjD2-LeDVW4o5NOzIsNqVQ1I3v6TkBLw9H-S0WsZMFp-iW43mPlHO-9RwEsdyfKYK4RG1JjDdLHEPVaWGtazYvR4fKOXoAr9OyrW-n6A409ACb5aAi-ecN3/s1600/We_live_in_time_poster.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: justify;">♣♣♣♣♣/♣♣♣♣♣</div></span><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Tobias Durand (Andrew Garfield) works as a representative for breakfast cereal Weetabix and is about to sign his divorce papers when his pen runs out of ink mid-signing. He heads to a convenience store in his bathrobe to purchase four pens and a box of cookies, dropping one on the way back, leaning over to pick it up, and getting run over by a car in the process. Former figure skater turned chef Almut Brühl (Florence Pugh) takes him to the hospital and apologizes for the mishap, offering a free dinner at the restaurant where she works, for him and his wife. After disclosing the truth about his divorce, the two hit it off, end up in a relationship, and eventually welcome a daughter. Everything seems happy until she is diagnosed with stage three ovarian cancer and given several options for treatment, none of which, unfortunately, guaranteeing a positive outcome.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><a name='more'></a></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">The director chooses a non-linear approach. The title: We Live in Time. The plot: jumps all the time. She has a daughter in one scene and then childless and pregnant in the next. She has her head shaved in a scene and then her long blonde locks are back in the next. It is confusing and does not make much sense. On the contrary, it does make a lot of sense if you look at it from the perspective of a person diagnosed with stage three cancer and given only half a year to live should treatments fail. In a way, isn't this how we, as human beings, would end up viewing our life as a whole when confronted with the concept of impending death? Jumping through and between memories that need not be chronological. A sizzle reel of your life to date.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">In that case, the non-linear approach seems like a good idea. Being forced to face our own mortality, we no longer tend to look forward as society has always dictated we ought to do, simply because there is no more future to look forward to. In such a scenario, the most logical way to continue is to look backward at all the memories you have collected as a human being, a collection of moments that have formed your life up to that moment. We Live in Time succeeds in highlighting this aspect by focusing on small moments, most of them trivial and annoying at the time they occur before turning into laughable memories down the line.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">That entire divorce signing sequence, for instance, is just so detailed and a bit absurd, but utilized to its full potential as a plot device for a fateful meeting. It also leads you to expect one thing only for it to end up being another thing entirely, adding a fun twist. The birth scene at the gas station from start to finish is one of, if not the highlight of the movie. It just appears to be so funny and out of the ordinary yet all the emotions are there for you to bask in. In the end, you just feel like you were there with them in that toilet, witnessing a moment that will serve as a core memory for the couple in the years to come.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">As for performances, both Garfield and Pugh have been nominated left and right for various performances in their career so far. We Live in Time is less demanding in terms of physicality. There isn’t much action involved because it’s a movie that zeroes in on the feels. As such, the actors have to rely much on non-verbal cues to establish the mood and make you feel things. Both actors can accomplish much with their eyes alone, but Garfield needs special mention thanks to those big puppy eyes of his that never fail to provoke an emotional reaction every time they turn watery.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">The ending is anticlimactic and couldn’t have been more mundane. If this were a Filipino movie it would’ve been set in a hospital or a cemetery with a chorus of hysterics amid heavy rain. Luckily, the director understood the assignment: Less is more. They opt for a symbolic goodbye at an ice skating rink, with the closing scene</span><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">&nbsp;</span><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">in the kitchen</span><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">&nbsp;rather humdrum but harking back to an earlier one when the couple was just getting to know one another. It lacks oomph, but is more realistic. After all, the world does not end when a person dies. Eventually, life goes on, as it always does.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">We Live in Time is a powerful portrait of grief buoyed up by beautiful performances from Florence Pugh and Andrew Garfield. They won’t be winning any awards for this one, but many will remember them for this film thanks to their poignant and memorable portrayal.</span></div></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/MH02yagHaNw" width="320" youtube-src-id="MH02yagHaNw"></iframe></div></div></content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/feeds/2873040948652007422/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/2024/11/we-live-in-time.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8879518290175104767/posts/default/2873040948652007422'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8879518290175104767/posts/default/2873040948652007422'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/2024/11/we-live-in-time.html' title='We Live in Time'/><author><name>ihcahieh</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/03679524174484441585</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3nYFbB2KFfGvXBwz4G6YUkdAA1l9U-l1XsQvMgsAtzrJZ7ue-wZdvgwwo2BmqBwbsbFS7SwEqTe9DoTHsj4icAvpbysDxqV2u5burN0D9aCj7eKYkTXaEMxFOZkc0aJU/s151/*'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjogV5eGCEClvQqkY_WbEIsyE0GXbWTyT1a80dCmoKrlIC7bu5z93MNdOrtj8Pklq8dFbJviNjD2-LeDVW4o5NOzIsNqVQ1I3v6TkBLw9H-S0WsZMFp-iW43mPlHO-9RwEsdyfKYK4RG1JjDdLHEPVaWGtazYvR4fKOXoAr9OyrW-n6A409ACb5aAi-ecN3/s72-c/We_live_in_time_poster.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8879518290175104767.post-6092022057046669819</id><published>2024-11-04T16:23:00.018+08:00</published><updated>2024-11-13T12:52:15.380+08:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Film"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Hollywood"/><title type='text'>Venom: The Last Dance</title><content type='html'><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venom:_The_Last_Dance" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="200" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidQMzbykvXujokzN2Gp3EXgmhlTDZN5h0js8v0LzWb9aMnd_-7vy4vfsdg5l1t-8QNqKRLezvPc690tlYocCn90ZVpM-SWR0eZrQ1N_oMjttGd7oiA4xsskXncwLlkdck77RNOxVZoBUiE8I8oWzAQYRz3BiQ-vsS61cnzqpecNpamUfCfrVx3DvU_FJn8/s1600/Venom_The_Last_Dance_Poster.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: justify;">♣♣♣/♣♣♣♣♣</div></span><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Knull (Andy Serkis) the creator of symbiotes has been imprisoned in his own lair by the very creatures he spawned. Hell bent on revenge, he vows to slice worlds after killing his children, but first he has to break free. In order to escape, he needs the power of a codex which will serve as the key out of his prison. A codex is formed when a symbiote’s host dies and it fully bonds with him or her for revival. To date, only one symbiote/host tandem has achieved such a feat. Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy) is still on the run as a fugitive after his bloodbath against Carnage. Seeking refuge in Mexico, he gets the idea of sneaking into New York, where he knows a judge that he could blackmail so he can have his life back. As Venom takes over from time to time, Knull’s henchmen find it easier to locate him.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><a name='more'></a></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">In the post-credits scene of Spider-Man: No Way Home, Venom leaves a tiny part of him on a bar counter in the MCU’s Earth-616 before being yanked back to his own Sony universe. Venom: The Last Dance continues that scene where Eddie Brock ends up in the same bar but in his own universe, Venom leaving yet another part of him on that counter, which is later scooped up in a vial by the Area-51 guys. In this film’s post-credits scene, we see that vial smashed on a rock somewhere in the deserts of Nevada, implying that the sample is now looking for a new host in order to stay alive.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">I don’t have a PhD in Venom Studies so I don’t know how this works. With Venom – the symbiote, not Eddie Brock – making the sacrifice play, Venom: The Last Dance should be the definitive end of this trilogy… until we get to that post-credits scene. As it is, Eddie Brock is still alive somewhere in New York but no longer infected, and we have two small samples of Venom the symbiote: one in the MCU; the other in the Sony universe. Even if the main Venom symbiote is dead, does that mean he can still regenerate as long as a tiny smudge of him is left alive somewhere? If anything, that simply leaves Disney and Sony enough room to resurrect the character.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">The main problem with Venom: The Last Dance is its big bad. Knull is menacing alright, but he is tied up in some dark BDSM lair where he cannot really escape, even more so now that the codex is gone, although he can just wait until any other symbiote manages to create another one. Because of this, the only villains that Eddie and Venom consistently fight in this movie are the military and some ugly creature thingies who look like they auditioned for the role of the Upside Down monster in Stranger Things but didn’t get a callback. With no active big name villain like Carnage to play around with, this threequel ends up dull and uninspired.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">We do get to see a group of symbiotes in action, though. Now that is fun to watch. Venom has always been a villain and we will always remember him as Spidey’s nemesis, but one good thing that Sony managed to accomplish with this trilogy despite fvcking it up big time is to cast a new light on the character, giving him a chance to play out as an anti-hero with a sense of humor, his downfalls as far as human decency is concerned readily swept under the rug because he isn’t human after all. I love Venom, to be honest. By Venom, I mean the symbiote, not Eddie Brock. He is such a crass and unapologetic blabbermouth and I love him for it.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Overall, Venom: The Last Dance provides enough feels to say goodbye to a popular character. Yeah, yeah, the critics have a say, but worldwide box office receipts prove otherwise. This is probably Sony’s only lucrative franchise to date, Into the Spiderverse trilogy aside. Only time will tell whether we will see Hardy as Venom again. If not, there is always room for a recast, considering they don’t seem done yet with Tom Holland’s Spider-Man. These two will have to face off one way or another, after all, right?</span></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/__2bjWbetsA" width="320" youtube-src-id="__2bjWbetsA"></iframe></div></div></div></content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/feeds/6092022057046669819/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/2024/11/venom-last-dance.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8879518290175104767/posts/default/6092022057046669819'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8879518290175104767/posts/default/6092022057046669819'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/2024/11/venom-last-dance.html' title='Venom: The Last Dance'/><author><name>ihcahieh</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/03679524174484441585</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3nYFbB2KFfGvXBwz4G6YUkdAA1l9U-l1XsQvMgsAtzrJZ7ue-wZdvgwwo2BmqBwbsbFS7SwEqTe9DoTHsj4icAvpbysDxqV2u5burN0D9aCj7eKYkTXaEMxFOZkc0aJU/s151/*'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidQMzbykvXujokzN2Gp3EXgmhlTDZN5h0js8v0LzWb9aMnd_-7vy4vfsdg5l1t-8QNqKRLezvPc690tlYocCn90ZVpM-SWR0eZrQ1N_oMjttGd7oiA4xsskXncwLlkdck77RNOxVZoBUiE8I8oWzAQYRz3BiQ-vsS61cnzqpecNpamUfCfrVx3DvU_FJn8/s72-c/Venom_The_Last_Dance_Poster.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8879518290175104767.post-9063193711217283040</id><published>2024-11-03T12:15:00.006+08:00</published><updated>2024-11-12T13:09:36.518+08:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Film"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Hollywood"/><title type='text'>Anora</title><content type='html'><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anora_(film)" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="200" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghy_EZIWx1lQnDi9u8SsZXTVtCRlSrThR1iv0bYTcCLR5f4oWvShTVMLClkYbReE1hr5sUUi8RiWMWk2GwLidYYPF_zYSUe6kD548TIhplXgwuDcfMvFZxOPC27ykNs_R4V_XuWMo3yybRcZTlY38749oOvP7weoOyvFePfqiSQl0h9t970zFdm4yTOrPJ/s1600/Anora_(2024_film)_poster.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: justify;">♣♣♣♣/♣♣♣♣♣</div></span><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Third generation immigrant Anora Mikheeva (Mikey Madison) resides in Brighton Bridge and relies on sex work to get by. She is popular at the club where she works, with a steady stream of clients that guarantee a stable income. Being the only girl who can speak Russian, she is assigned one night to Vanya (Mark Eydelshteyn), the spoiled brat son of a Russian oligarch who is in America to study, even though he spends most of his time and daddy’s money on drugs and sex. The two form a professional relationship where she is invited to his mansion to be a fixture at his parties, reserving late nights for a few rounds of sex. And then he proposes something that strikes her as life-changing: Marriage. Drunk and high, the couple flies to Vegas with friends and gets married there. And they lived happily ever after… NOT. When the parents find out, they fly in from Russia for damage control, and this is where the fun begins.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><a name='more'></a></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Anora barged into my consciousness when I started tracking very early Oscar predictions for next year. The film, the director Sean Baker, and its lead actress Mikey Madison are currently the frontrunners for Best Film, Best Director, and Best Actress on Gold Derby, respectively. Not to mention that the film won the Palme d’Or at Cannes, the first American film to do so in over a decade. I’m sorry but, Anora, what? Sean Baker and Mikey Madison, who? I got curious, okay. And so one boring afternoon in Manhattan when I was supposed to watch yet another Broadway matinee, I decided to just run to AMC 25 and see this movie instead.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">The first half of Anora feels more like soft porn: lots of sex, gratuitous titty shots; full frontal avoided via clever camera angles. Suffice it to say that this is a rowdy Cinderella-inspired rags-to-riches tale but Cinderella is a stripper and the wicked stepsisters are her jealous co-workers, while the prince is a Russian twink who doesn’t know what to do with daddy’s money. The second half is where the film devolves into a Russian mafia mob comedy, and it’s freaking hilarious. Calling this movie a romantic comedy is debatable because the romance subplot is not comedic and the comedic part is not romantic. Tragic, but maybe that’s just me.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">If there is something here that we can actually consider a romantic comedy, perhaps it’d be that romance subplot between Anora and Igor. The cat and dog dynamics they have from the very beginning is already a clear indication as to where the storyline wants to go, but this is never fully explored until the last five minutes of the movie. Again, that scene can be considered as romantic by some, but definitely not comedy. As Anora fully breaks down on his lap mid-coitus as he tries to kiss her, there really is no place for laughter. If anything, it serves as a brief social commentary on the transactional nature of sex and its effect on romance.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">This aspect is well debated in online forums. Sex, when viewed through a purely evolutionary angle, is merely a means to make sure that a species won’t go extinct. Go forth and multiply, right? In a more evolved society where we currently are at the moment, this act gets upgraded to a manifestation of romantic feelings, a consummation of sexual tension between two individuals. “Making love” they call it. However, sex can also be used as a means of livelihood. Prostitution is, in fact, the world’s oldest profession. When you engage in the act regularly to earn money, how does that affect your mentality when you aren’t doing it for cash anymore?</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">If you are looking for a cotton candy flavored romantic comedy, I’m afraid Anora is probably not the best choice to satisfy your sweet tooth. If you want a chaotic comedy with a dash of social commentary, though, then you came to the right place. It’s too early to tell whether the film, Sean Baker or Mikey Madison will be taking home an Oscar statuette next year. If they do, this film is proof that they deserve it. If it were up to me, though, I’d rather they also win Best Ensemble at SAG, because that second half of the movie wouldn’t have been possible without Yura Borisov as Igor, Karren Karagulian as Toros, and Vache Tovmasyan as Garnick.</span></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8m6UrWMl18M" width="320" youtube-src-id="8m6UrWMl18M"></iframe></div></div></div></content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/feeds/9063193711217283040/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/2024/11/anora.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8879518290175104767/posts/default/9063193711217283040'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8879518290175104767/posts/default/9063193711217283040'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/2024/11/anora.html' title='Anora'/><author><name>ihcahieh</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/03679524174484441585</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3nYFbB2KFfGvXBwz4G6YUkdAA1l9U-l1XsQvMgsAtzrJZ7ue-wZdvgwwo2BmqBwbsbFS7SwEqTe9DoTHsj4icAvpbysDxqV2u5burN0D9aCj7eKYkTXaEMxFOZkc0aJU/s151/*'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghy_EZIWx1lQnDi9u8SsZXTVtCRlSrThR1iv0bYTcCLR5f4oWvShTVMLClkYbReE1hr5sUUi8RiWMWk2GwLidYYPF_zYSUe6kD548TIhplXgwuDcfMvFZxOPC27ykNs_R4V_XuWMo3yybRcZTlY38749oOvP7weoOyvFePfqiSQl0h9t970zFdm4yTOrPJ/s72-c/Anora_(2024_film)_poster.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8879518290175104767.post-7770858538155407535</id><published>2024-10-31T23:40:00.028+08:00</published><updated>2024-11-04T14:09:28.315+08:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Broadway"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Theater"/><title type='text'>Romeo + Juliet (Broadway)</title><content type='html'><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://romeoandjulietnyc.com/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="200" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgApQc4S8pNPmsOmCHjxTQg2nH5uyPpKWBG3aAEUr7ZACkoQmxcePqRnuIsy0CxFby2YSwFL8lLQA7ablPlcQzjF_AZEwe7BrdwnII4zT04WfIkKzAqjkLKNVCVGLxFynKJ89LuZpB573t6TPxZpad8725xbkpY2cN3QSCC2ccE-97-blJMRkP9xN8TleGP/s1600/Romeo%20+%20Juliet.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: justify;">♣♣♣/♣♣♣♣♣</div></span><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Romeo (Kit Connor) is a Montague and Juliet (Rachel Zegler) is a Capulet. Those two families just do not mix, or else there will be conflict. And conflict there was, indeed. From the moment the two lovebirds set eyes on one another, it was love they felt, and they became inseparable since then, but in secret. Nobody could know about their budding relationship or else there will be trouble, but there is no hiding a secret for long. Juliet’s Nurse (Tommy Dorfman) can’t be supportive knowing the consequences. When the secret is revealed and people start getting wind of the situation, tensions run high leading to some deaths, like that of Mercutio (Gabby Beans) who is Romeo’s friend or Tybalt (Tommy Dorfman), Juliet’s cousin. In a world that is persistent in tearing them apart, will romance be enough of a deterrent for a happy relationship between star-crossed lovers of two feuding clans?</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><a name='more'></a></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">My philosophy when it comes to booking tickets for Broadway shows that feature Hollywood big names is to buy them early. I bought my Romeo + Juliet ticket on th8ae first day it went on sale for $200, the most expensive Broadway ticket I’ve ever bought after 8 years and 63 shows. On the day of the show itself, I checked the prices and the same ticket dropped to just less than $100. If it’s any consolation, I did the same for Robert Downey Jr. 's McNeal for $115. On the day of the show, the same ticket was selling above $200. Break even. My point is, if I were to pay $200 for a Broadway show, it defo wouldn’t be for this Romeo + Juliet.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Take this review with a grain of salt, because it might be just a ME problem after all. I’ve loved reading Shakespeare so far, but watching it onstage, which is what it was originally intended to be, just doesn’t do it for me. Maybe it’s the dated lines and rhyming verses? For this particular rendition of the classic tale, which I haven’t read yet despite being familiar with the storyline that has been rehashed ad nauseam since 1597, they opt for minimalism as far as production values are concerned. They update the costumes to look avantgarde but they keep the rhymes and alliterations, tweaked for modern references and comedic effect.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">As such, what you get is a weird mix. I suppose if they went traditional and just did it as Shakespeare would have intended, costumes and sets and all, then the stilted dialogue wouldn’t have felt so unnatural. As it is, what comes across is a bunch of flamboyantly dressed teenagers peddling spoken word performance art, which I wouldn’t mind seeing in the streets or at some random park for free. Only Connor, who keeps his British accent, somehow hits the mark. I don’t know. Shakespeare and the British accent just go together really well. The rest simply felt derivative and somehow contrived.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Zegler gets to sing a song or two, which was a good break from everything. We have already heard her sing in the most recent film remake of West Side Story, but I guess watching her live showing off her vocal chops will finally dismiss all the doubts her haters have been spewing non stop online about her. The girl is talented. She can sing. She can act. Romeo + Juliet just proves that, even though I liked her better in that movie, which happens to be just another reimagining of this Shakespeare narrative. The rest of the cast also give us a good show, making do of what has been given to them by the production.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Anyone who has been at the Circle in the Square theater would know how small the actual stage is. What sets it apart from other theaters is how the entirety of the venue can be utilized, like those stairs used by the audience to get to their seats as well as those ladders giving access to the maze of steel passages up above. As such, the cast deserves some kudos because you need to be fit to be able to do all that climbing, 8 shows in a week and twice a day on weekends. Other than that, the stage is underwhelming, with just one flapping platform revealing a flower bed and an actual bed lowered from the ceiling that doubles as Juliet’s balcony.</span></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Overall, this has been an imaginative rendition of the classic Shakespeare play and was a good opportunity to verify whether Zegler and Connor can act live, which I can happily confirm. But I still want my $200 back. Venmo me, please.</span></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/mVPgj4khm7M" width="320" youtube-src-id="mVPgj4khm7M"></iframe></div></div></content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/feeds/7770858538155407535/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/2024/10/romeo-juliet-broadway.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8879518290175104767/posts/default/7770858538155407535'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8879518290175104767/posts/default/7770858538155407535'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/2024/10/romeo-juliet-broadway.html' title='Romeo + Juliet (Broadway)'/><author><name>ihcahieh</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/03679524174484441585</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3nYFbB2KFfGvXBwz4G6YUkdAA1l9U-l1XsQvMgsAtzrJZ7ue-wZdvgwwo2BmqBwbsbFS7SwEqTe9DoTHsj4icAvpbysDxqV2u5burN0D9aCj7eKYkTXaEMxFOZkc0aJU/s151/*'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgApQc4S8pNPmsOmCHjxTQg2nH5uyPpKWBG3aAEUr7ZACkoQmxcePqRnuIsy0CxFby2YSwFL8lLQA7ablPlcQzjF_AZEwe7BrdwnII4zT04WfIkKzAqjkLKNVCVGLxFynKJ89LuZpB573t6TPxZpad8725xbkpY2cN3QSCC2ccE-97-blJMRkP9xN8TleGP/s72-c/Romeo%20+%20Juliet.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8879518290175104767.post-3471519232841296419</id><published>2024-10-30T23:38:00.020+08:00</published><updated>2024-11-04T12:28:07.772+08:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Broadway"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Theater"/><title type='text'>Cabaret (Broadway)</title><content type='html'><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://kitkat.club/cabaret-broadway/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="200" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQz5w2Q-vn0n3hByVK6NWAwD9RocDzZXiFSw-fd8hbLriauPLDiRp7i5pSkm6eZ2dr6heb2wRrnxLnguO5SQNcnNHVo6qUBwGGgOUzG_vX82XGhZIJmwn01dwjtCid-XwePyiOAS7g3jZFClLOSqsTYnRVCav0Gbgp9Aj9WFq01UjzEhdNj6x8SaJlcjhl/s1600/Cabaret.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: justify;">♣♣♣♣♣/♣♣♣♣♣</div></span><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">The Emcee (Adam Lambert) of the Kit Kat Club welcomes us to Weimar era Berlin, where merrymaking and hedonism know no bounds. He introduces us to the girls and boys of the club but saves the best for last. Sally Bowles (Gabi Campo) is your stereotypical 20’s flapper, a cultural refugee from the British Isles who moves to Germany for a life of pleasure and penury. Soon to join the ranks is penniless American writer Clifford Bradshaw (Calvin Leon Smith) with whom she forms a platonic bond. Eventually they all end up under the roof of Fraulein Schneider (Bebe Neuwirth), a German spinster who relies on rent money for subsistence. Clifford makes ends meet by offering English lessons as well as doing errands for his friend Ernst (Henry Gottfried), a political upstart quickly rising within the ranks of the emerging Nazi party. As Hitler ascends into power, dynamics change and loyalties shift. Will it be a quickly passing tide or are they soon going to drown in a sea of prejudice?</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><a name='more'></a></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Once you go through August Wilson Theater’s metal detectors and ticket check, you pass by a narrow alley leading you to the entrance where two ushers will slap a sticker on your phone’s camera lens. No more photos and videos from here onward. You can easily remove that sticker and be stealthy with your pics, but I observed that nobody was doing so because everyone was busy admiring what had been done to the venue. They turned this theater into a real life Kit Kat Club, with drinks to order, lounges and mini stages with burlesque performances at several corners. This is better off experienced firsthand than rewatched on video.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">You aren’t just watching the show, you are part of the show. There is a circular revolving platform with a concealed mini trapdoor at the center. This is the stage, the centerpiece of the cabaret where you are the audience within the play AND watching the play. There are no elaborate sets, everything unfolds on that small stage, rotating and rising as necessary to support the scene. If anything, Cabaret seems to be a masterclass in maximizing such a small platform. Of course, you also have the costumes that just transport you to a different era.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">An email notification was sent a day before saying that Auli’i Carvalho wouldn’t be playing Sally for this particular performance. Campo assumes the role and immediately captivates the audience with her Don’t Tell Mama opening number. Every other performance coming from her is well applauded after that. The only thing off-putting about her is the accent, shuttling back and forth between American and British. Lambert is just as electric playing the Emcee, nailing both his character’s flamboyance in the first act and his darker aura during the second half. No issues as far as vocals are concerned. It’s Adam Lambert, guys. Doh.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">What makes Cabaret so enigmatic and ever relevant is its subject matter. Act 1 is all fun and games, flirting with a swastika or two subtly sprinkled in there somewhere. And then you get to Act 2 and there is just this pervasive ambiance. The fun is still there alright, but everything starts to feel artificial, put-on as if trying to conceal something rotten emanating from the core, through song and dance. It’s creepy because this is a narrative set almost a century ago, and yet too many parallels can be witnessed all over the world right now. As radical ideologies seep through the cracks, we all just go on with the daily mundane routine as we all do.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Maybe that’s what really makes Cabaret so distinct. After all, this is the story of a notorious regime’s rise to power. While most of us are familiar with the story through history books, they can only give us facts, not feels. How does it feel like to witness the birth of something all history books agree to be so despicable? As such, there is just this gloom and uncertainty palpable in the atmosphere that make the experience enjoyable because of the song and dance but also weirdly dark and uncomfortable. Lucky for us, like Clifford and Sally, we are but mere spectators, outsiders who can pack up and leave anytime.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Others, like Herr Schultz, weren’t as lucky. One particular song, Tomorrow Belongs to Me, which the Emcee sings solo at first and then reprised by one of the club girls later, seems so harmless. Once you find out that it's a propaganda tune, it makes you realize how symbols play a really big part in ideology. It’s spine chilling like that. While it sounds beautiful and inspired, it’s terrifying how it can make you feel despite knowing well what purpose it serves.</span></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/j2fJ5n4Xk6M" width="320" youtube-src-id="j2fJ5n4Xk6M"></iframe></div></div></content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/feeds/3471519232841296419/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/2024/10/cabaret-broadway.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8879518290175104767/posts/default/3471519232841296419'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8879518290175104767/posts/default/3471519232841296419'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/2024/10/cabaret-broadway.html' title='Cabaret (Broadway)'/><author><name>ihcahieh</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/03679524174484441585</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3nYFbB2KFfGvXBwz4G6YUkdAA1l9U-l1XsQvMgsAtzrJZ7ue-wZdvgwwo2BmqBwbsbFS7SwEqTe9DoTHsj4icAvpbysDxqV2u5burN0D9aCj7eKYkTXaEMxFOZkc0aJU/s151/*'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQz5w2Q-vn0n3hByVK6NWAwD9RocDzZXiFSw-fd8hbLriauPLDiRp7i5pSkm6eZ2dr6heb2wRrnxLnguO5SQNcnNHVo6qUBwGGgOUzG_vX82XGhZIJmwn01dwjtCid-XwePyiOAS7g3jZFClLOSqsTYnRVCav0Gbgp9Aj9WFq01UjzEhdNj6x8SaJlcjhl/s72-c/Cabaret.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8879518290175104767.post-6470818978314973503</id><published>2024-10-30T17:35:00.015+08:00</published><updated>2024-10-31T22:17:49.270+08:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Broadway"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Theater"/><title type='text'>Sunset Boulevard (Broadway)</title><content type='html'><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://sunsetblvdbroadway.com/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="200" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6GTnK1kZTVyAlDKRkGgsVUt9Ngf1gJnsYB7fvsDbK8KHc8L3IsUPdSkvxp8kPtlD4-TfhH79awzuELKQ68WxX0aFoz-GOASmlV8QnhRVxUUSxwRqLjLSuKG545GKLwlUD-lZ3AUL8FOXUL9GrDbhcjJN2RH5aqciwONx_pSl1K2nF5AxwzDSAZpyv0U0q/s1600/Sunset%20Boulevard.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: justify;">♣♣♣♣♣/♣♣♣♣♣</div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">A dead man emerges from a body bag and takes us back to 1949. Armed with lofty Hollywood ambitions, Joe Gillis (Tom Francis) finds out the hard way that the entertainment industry is not for the faint of heart. Even so, he makes a pact with fellow writer Betty Schaefer (Sydney Jones) to write a screenplay together. Living in penury, he evades the agents trying to repossess his car due to late payments by driving into the garage of a dilapidated mansion along Sunset Boulevard which turns out to be the residence of washed-out has-been Norma Desmond (Nicole Scherzinger). The aging film star lives in solitude and is served unconditionally by her protective butler Max Von Meyerling (David Thaxton) whose unwavering support includes writing fake fan mail to her to make her feel that she is still relevant. When she finds out that Joe is a writer, her eyes light up and she takes him under her wing, asking him to edit a script she wrote for her comeback film.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><a name='more'></a></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">I’ve heard of the 1950’s film starring Gloria Swanson as well as the original Broadway musical with Glenn Close but I haven’t seen either one, so there is just no point of comparison here, but we recognize a minimalist stripped-down reimagining when we see one. There are no costumes. There are no sets. The stage is basically an empty black space with four sets of fog lights on each side, and lots of smoke. Props are limited to foldable chairs and fake production cameras. A giant screen descends regularly to stream extreme close ups of the actors’ faces live as they are acting onstage.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">What we have here seems to be a marriage between theater and film. To be honest, I haven’t seen anything quite like this. To begin act 2, Francis is shown on the giant screen as he visits all his co-stars backstage before exiting the theater and starting to sing Sunset Boulevard RIGHT OUTSIDE, belting out in the streets of Broadway LIVE before reuniting with the rest of the cast as they enter the theater once again and end up on the stage where Scherzinger and Thaxton are waiting for him to finish his song. It’s insane. I’ve never seen such a gimmick before. It just leaves you in awe with your jaw on the floor. Who conceptualized all of this??</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Dontcha wish Nicole Scherzinger ended up on Broadway much earlier to celebrate that phenomenal voice that clearly belongs in the Great White Way? To conclude With One Look, her first solo, she had to hold her pose for a bit because the audience wouldn’t shut up. They weren’t just clapping. They were yelling, ecstatically. As the second act rolled along with her rendition of As If We Never Said Goodbye, the theater was already roaring with applause as she sustained that one extraordinarily long note. By the time she was done, half of the crowd were already on their feet giving her a standing ovation. Phenomenal, I tell you. Like, wow.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">While Scherzinger is obviously the center of this musical around which everybody gravitates, it wouldn’t work without worthy co-stars. Thaxton’s Von Meyerling is just as intense, with his song numbers punctuated with those smooth falsettos that manifest his inner struggles. Jones’ Schaefer seems to be the common love interest, but her vocal chops arrest attention, harmonizing well with Francis’ equally powerful Baritenor voice. Of course, the entirety of the ensemble are also doing most of the heavy lifting here, making the main characters shine through their triple threat routines that look difficult to pull off.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Yes, since there are no sets to speak of, it is up to blocking, lighting, and choreography to establish the mood of each scene, providing you with a production that is heavily reliant on choreographed movement and precise cues for everything to work. The live stream extreme close ups accomplish their task well by giving you a closer look at the characters’ facial expressions, which are hard to catch if you are not sitting right in front of the stage. Desmond’s neurotic tendencies are mostly rendered through this technique, which Scherzinger totally eats up as if she were born for that role.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Overall, this has been a really pleasant surprise. In spite of the minimalist production, this reimagining of Sunset Boulevard just hits hard with an intensity accentuated by its actors’ dedication to their roles and storytelling techniques that seem to blend theater and cinema, a potent combo that, by the time Norma asks DeMille for her closeup, you will find hard to forget.</span></div></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/sx_tm-13_50" width="320" youtube-src-id="sx_tm-13_50"></iframe></div></content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/feeds/6470818978314973503/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/2024/10/sunset-boulevard-broadway.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8879518290175104767/posts/default/6470818978314973503'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8879518290175104767/posts/default/6470818978314973503'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/2024/10/sunset-boulevard-broadway.html' title='Sunset Boulevard (Broadway)'/><author><name>ihcahieh</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/03679524174484441585</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3nYFbB2KFfGvXBwz4G6YUkdAA1l9U-l1XsQvMgsAtzrJZ7ue-wZdvgwwo2BmqBwbsbFS7SwEqTe9DoTHsj4icAvpbysDxqV2u5burN0D9aCj7eKYkTXaEMxFOZkc0aJU/s151/*'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6GTnK1kZTVyAlDKRkGgsVUt9Ngf1gJnsYB7fvsDbK8KHc8L3IsUPdSkvxp8kPtlD4-TfhH79awzuELKQ68WxX0aFoz-GOASmlV8QnhRVxUUSxwRqLjLSuKG545GKLwlUD-lZ3AUL8FOXUL9GrDbhcjJN2RH5aqciwONx_pSl1K2nF5AxwzDSAZpyv0U0q/s72-c/Sunset%20Boulevard.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8879518290175104767.post-6240464972446513209</id><published>2024-10-29T23:32:00.013+08:00</published><updated>2024-10-30T23:18:14.284+08:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Broadway"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Theater"/><title type='text'>Mcneal (Broadway)</title><content type='html'><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://mcnealbroadway.com/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="200" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYk4rtt47CvNQB6rjOQR2AfPd8PpJWj7iOnTvnUcImY4lkTeS-fkrsI1nTxqdWQDiHNVkSvhEcmquL3RxJc6KmlgmJNZ0_hECkEHxec16YYgj_ZnYw5cwy-0kBBJhrTK0BRBQGO-w3aA1V11uiJQv9jDXIOoVuCMkpXHGi7sHmdTuUOO6r2y_SzwW_bYlt/s1600/Mcneal.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: justify;">♣♣♣♣/♣♣♣♣♣</div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Jacob McNeal (Robert Downey Jr.) has had an enviable career publishing several novels and even winning a Pulitzer. The only award missing now is a Nobel prize for Literature. Arguing with his family doctor Sahra (Ruthie Ann Miles) about his alcohol intake and how this can lead to incurable stage 4 liver failure in three months if not controlled, he goes on a tirade about life, death, and being a writer when his phone suddenly rings with a call from a Swedish number. Confirming his win, he is confronted by his guilt, or lack thereof, of passing off his wife’s unpublished manuscript as his own as well as using the AI he has openly lashed out against to write his latest work. Add some drama from his estranged son Harlan (Rafi Gavron) as well as pressures from his agent Stephie (Andrea Martin), McNeal is on the brink of a nervous breakdown, but AI just won’t write a plausible death, a human concept it does not fully understand.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><a name='more'></a></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Seeing a Hollywood actor in a Broadway show is always fun, a test of acting prowess on a stage that does not allow a take two. Downey Jr. appears to be in some sort of victory lap in his career, winning an Oscar, getting nominated for an Emmy and, now, probably adding a Tony nomination to his list of accolades anytime soon. His McNeal is sarcastic, direct, and unapologetic, with a dash of not so subtle misogyny that makes him an ambiguous character. The highlight of his performance includes several intense confrontations as well as sequences full of drunken stupor. If this is his Broadway debut, then this is definitely a job well done.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">As for the storyline, much has already been said when it comes to AI usurping our role in the creation of art. One school of thought proposes that art is the manifestation of the human soul, an intangibly abstract concept that AI does not possess. This is perhaps the reason why most AI-created visual art are aesthetically pleasing alright, but tends to be flat and lacking in depth. McNeal tackles this but in terms of literature, what with ChatGPT serving a big role in written tasks nowadays. In a world where almost everything ought to be automated, can we go on expecting literature to deliver a genuine rendition of the human condition?</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">McNeal zeroes in on that aspect, with the protagonist being able to write an entire novel just by keying in various authors and works mashed up by technology and rendered in his own style of storytelling. But then again, in the end, the perspective on death that he so craves remains unwritten, giving him an unsatisfying ending to his narrative. The involvement of AI offers many layers as to how to analyze this story. Was this play itself written by AI instead of actual playwrights? Probably not, but it makes you doubt its authenticity anyway. In thinking of it like that, the play accomplishes its purpose.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">As for production design, the Vivian Beaumont theater is as modern as it can be, with stadium-like seating and a stage dominated by moving panels. The first act is restricted to the rectangular part of the platform jutting out to the audience, creating a claustrophobic effect. A rising panel allows quick changes in setting. The moving wall panels hide a much bigger stage at the back, which is utilized for outdoor scenes benefiting from the luxury of more space. Did I mention that huge movable set depicting McNeal’s wooden cabin? It is fascinating to witness this evolution in set design and the convenience it can offer to the production.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">FINAL VERDICT. Will you enjoy McNeal? If you love plays that lean more on the philosophical side of things via kilometric monologues and lots of talk, then you will find this play amusing. Even if you have a short attention span, there are enough distractions via the projected visuals that maximize the utility of those giant wall panels, providing a picture of AI that is as daunting as it is fascinating. If such kinds of visuals are not distracting enough for you, rest assured that there is enough humor in the characters’ banters to still guarantee an enjoyable viewing experience.</span></div></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/oFhy7sVupuo" width="320" youtube-src-id="oFhy7sVupuo"></iframe></div></content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/feeds/6240464972446513209/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/2024/10/mcneal-broadway.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8879518290175104767/posts/default/6240464972446513209'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8879518290175104767/posts/default/6240464972446513209'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/2024/10/mcneal-broadway.html' title='Mcneal (Broadway)'/><author><name>ihcahieh</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/03679524174484441585</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3nYFbB2KFfGvXBwz4G6YUkdAA1l9U-l1XsQvMgsAtzrJZ7ue-wZdvgwwo2BmqBwbsbFS7SwEqTe9DoTHsj4icAvpbysDxqV2u5burN0D9aCj7eKYkTXaEMxFOZkc0aJU/s151/*'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYk4rtt47CvNQB6rjOQR2AfPd8PpJWj7iOnTvnUcImY4lkTeS-fkrsI1nTxqdWQDiHNVkSvhEcmquL3RxJc6KmlgmJNZ0_hECkEHxec16YYgj_ZnYw5cwy-0kBBJhrTK0BRBQGO-w3aA1V11uiJQv9jDXIOoVuCMkpXHGi7sHmdTuUOO6r2y_SzwW_bYlt/s72-c/Mcneal.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8879518290175104767.post-64968346968658409</id><published>2024-10-28T23:28:00.017+08:00</published><updated>2024-10-29T22:50:15.407+08:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Broadway"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Theater"/><title type='text'>The Notebook (Broadway)</title><content type='html'><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Notebook_%28musical%29" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="200" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnQ3-Q2f6FkalEm3Hp22fHouX8qFB8bOQBuV3dyVlN3_IZ1G_1Mos8nSdLmyGaViFcI1fFApARhfMGwB3fT7AOsPcOu7CTreWwSAPQqmzn-pMWlgAXjp5AmX8GkN4hs_WhAwrjXnMCbjj5DwmRasWv4kce2Wu1myN-v4c9Xm-LUrxEuvVvWGg8fNkjFWzh/s1600/The%20Notebook.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: justify;">♣♣♣♣♣/♣♣♣♣♣</div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Old man Noah (Dorian Harewood) checks into a care center facility but instead of undergoing physical therapy for his knees, he spends most of his time reading the contents of a notebook to Allie (Maryann Plunkett), an elderly woman with Alzheimer's who struggles to remember anything about her past. What the notebook contains is a love story between two teenagers Noah (Benji Santiago) and Allie (Anna Zavelson) who fall in love at first sight one summer but are kept apart by her parents who have a more viable prospect of marriage for her, not to mention plans for her future that does not involve a lumberjack’s son. Flash forward a decade later, Allie (Aisha Jackson) is engaged to be married to a wealthy lawyer while Noah (Ryan Vasquez) ends up in the newspaper in a feature of a house he built from the ground up, the house that he promised he would build for her.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><a name='more'></a></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">One of the controversies this musical got embroiled in is the casting of actors of different ethnicities for the same character. Young Noah is Latino. Middle aged Noah looks white. Old Noah is African-American. Young Allie looks Asian. Middle aged Allie is African-American. Old Allie is white. Since most of these actors end up on stage together and somehow even singing duets with one another which serves as a creative interpretation of conversations with one’s self, it is confusing at first, but you easily get the drift given they wear the same colors and are referred to by other characters by the same name.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">We can argue that Broadway is the bastion of diversity when it comes to blind casting based on ethnicity, but perhaps some people just find the change of ethnicity as the character ages to be confusing, from a continuity perspective. After all, our species are not known to change race as we get old. Some people might be racist, but maybe some just got confused. In any case, you can always view this as a symbolic interpretation which shows that love stories and Alzheimer's narratives know no race and the actors’ skin color does not matter because in the end, this can be everyone’s story.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">As for performances, everyone is an awesome singer, but we have to single out Santiago when it comes to vocals. Those soothing falsettos, damn. I sure hope this kid gets the Broadway career he deserves. After all, he surely has the talent to match. Zavelson and Jackson also get to show off their pipes sustaining high notes to end a solo or two. The rest also deliver what is needed for their scenes, but it was mainly those three who caught the attention and admiration of the audience.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">I haven’t read the Nicholas Sparks novel but I do remember how his novels were popular source material for film adaptations two decades ago. When I first saw the movie, it was meh for me, even though I acknowledge how popular it was, especially Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams’ iconic kiss under the rain. Seeing it onstage now, I still acknowledge the romance angle. The Notebook is a potent love story after all. Cheesy, maybe, but it is a story that makes you want to fall in love. It is corny like that, but another aspect managed to arrest my attention with this revisiting of this tale two decades later. Getting old with Alzheimer's.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">As human beings we are made up of memories that we hold onto as we get older. The likes of Alzheimer's and Dementia take those memories away from you. Memories that were once experiences. Experiences that constitute the narrative that is your life. In the end, these maladies don’t just snatch away figments of the past. Those memories are your life and your life is you. What can be more tragic than living the twilight of your life without any recollection of who you were. I guess this is what makes Noah’s plight even more touching. Reading their love story to her over and over again, clinging to desperation and hope that she might return.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Despite what critics might say, I loved The Notebook. It has humor and it has heart. Humor is sprinkled all throughout the musical mostly through funny one-liners and honest lyrics. Heart, we can say the ensemble amply provides, but even more so by Harewood and Plunkett, both scoring Tony nominations for their poignant portrayal. I laughed heartily and I was touched, especially by the ending. As corny as that might sound, I believe The Notebook accomplished what I go to the theater for. To feel. To ruminate. To remind me of the human condition and how fleeting life can be. Five stars!</span></div></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/yTOqScYdAvc" width="320" youtube-src-id="yTOqScYdAvc"></iframe></div></content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/feeds/64968346968658409/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/2024/10/the-notebook-broadway.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8879518290175104767/posts/default/64968346968658409'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8879518290175104767/posts/default/64968346968658409'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/2024/10/the-notebook-broadway.html' title='The Notebook (Broadway)'/><author><name>ihcahieh</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/03679524174484441585</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3nYFbB2KFfGvXBwz4G6YUkdAA1l9U-l1XsQvMgsAtzrJZ7ue-wZdvgwwo2BmqBwbsbFS7SwEqTe9DoTHsj4icAvpbysDxqV2u5burN0D9aCj7eKYkTXaEMxFOZkc0aJU/s151/*'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnQ3-Q2f6FkalEm3Hp22fHouX8qFB8bOQBuV3dyVlN3_IZ1G_1Mos8nSdLmyGaViFcI1fFApARhfMGwB3fT7AOsPcOu7CTreWwSAPQqmzn-pMWlgAXjp5AmX8GkN4hs_WhAwrjXnMCbjj5DwmRasWv4kce2Wu1myN-v4c9Xm-LUrxEuvVvWGg8fNkjFWzh/s72-c/The%20Notebook.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8879518290175104767.post-7132315959533278153</id><published>2024-10-27T23:25:00.015+08:00</published><updated>2024-10-28T20:18:12.791+08:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Broadway"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Theater"/><title type='text'>Titanique (Broadway)</title><content type='html'><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titanique" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="200" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzilwWNBo6kA6bioDX4xBulcJYoQmVyeGSZOzdi1BtmWLVMuWLCyaYFrWE7VqMZn8F9c5qD624nhKZWUbDdxGK-EGvmiZm38d2y7G-_gD8zEEts23TzhM28-GXQFLWVlpK7LK9TwimxZ5LSyiv-2xIa450GP3yyenCrA9pT4H615l2LWAZxz7c9nxINiXG/s1600/Titanique.jpeg" width="200" /></a></div><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: justify;">♣♣♣♣♣/♣♣♣♣♣</div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">A group of visitors arrive at the Titanic Museum and are welcomed by a guide who explains each item that they come across from the sunken ship. Their tour is suddenly interrupted by the arrival of a hooded figure who, upon removing her hood of trash bags, is revealed to be none other than Céline Dion (Dee Roscioli). Everybody is quick to recognize the My Heart Will Go On singer but nobody is ready for her claims that she was actually onboard the Titanic in 1776 when it sank to the bottom of the Atlantic. Her recollection, belted out through her string of Billboard Hits, introduces us to the love story of Jack Dawson (Michael Williams) and Rose Dewitt Bukater (Tess Marshall), whose mother Ruth (Sara Gallo) is hell bent on marrying her off to wealthy first class passenger Cal (Terrence Williams Jr.). As drama unfolds, an Iceberg (Marcus Antonio) hops onboard to test the unsinkable ship.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><a name='more'></a></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">I always saw Titanique every time I drafted my annual Broadway lineup but always skipped it because it seemed like a silly parody to me, which it actually turned out to be and yet, somehow, it works. This is probably the closest we will ever get to a Céline Dion jukebox musical. The style of humor is slapstick and involves a lot of physical comedy which almost always segues to the next available Céline Dion song. How this musical parody never fails to elicit laughter from its audience is anybody’s guess. Maybe it’s the combo of unapologetically crass one-liners, irreverent presentation, and the occasional political commentary. Nostalgia?</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Most Céline Dion impersonators rely on an established array of nuances to make their performance credible. A lot of them zero in on her distinct elocution as well as her signature body language that is exaggerated onstage for comedic purposes. Roscioli offers that and more by showcasing her pipes. While the singing style is obviously tweaked to sound more Céline, the caliber of her voice is kept optimal to suit the stage. In the end, you get to listen to performances that are meant to lampoon yet honor the Canadian diva at the same time. A caricature and homage in one.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Despite the storyline focusing on Céline Dion’s character, Titanique will never be as successful without its ensemble cast. Williams and Marshall provide the romance angle, albeit with a comic twist, and also get to sing some solos and duets from Dion’s catalogue. Lisa Howard as Molly Brown gets her own All By Myself solo which brings the house down with her powerful vocals. Gallo is not given any solos but steals every scene she is in through her acerbic lines and deadpan delivery. It is also funny seeing some of the cast members occasionally breaking out of character and just laughing at their own banters.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">The stage is small and somehow looks more apt for a high school production, but the cast and crew maximize the utility of every spot. The humongous Heart of the Ocean diamond prop serves as a disco ball of sorts prior to the opening number. With dance hits being played as people are ushered in, you get the feeling as though you were in someone else’s prom. Perhaps the production design could get an upgrade but Titanique is really the type of show that relies more on the rapport of its actors and the absurdity of its premise to succeed. As long as those actors can make you laugh, then what the stage lacks can easily be forgiven.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">With tickets that you can purchase for $50 or less on various online platforms, veering a bit away from Broadway to Daryl Roth theater to see Titanique is worth the trouble. Just enter the theater with enjoyment as your only expectation and you should be just fine. If you were already old enough to be nostalgic of the late 1990’s when Titanic came out, then the nostalgia will be an added bonus. If you are a Céline Dion fan, then you will definitely appreciate the setlist waiting for you.</span></div></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5-3IE92WZJ8" width="320" youtube-src-id="5-3IE92WZJ8"></iframe></div></content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/feeds/7132315959533278153/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/2024/10/titanique-broadway.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8879518290175104767/posts/default/7132315959533278153'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8879518290175104767/posts/default/7132315959533278153'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/2024/10/titanique-broadway.html' title='Titanique (Broadway)'/><author><name>ihcahieh</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/03679524174484441585</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3nYFbB2KFfGvXBwz4G6YUkdAA1l9U-l1XsQvMgsAtzrJZ7ue-wZdvgwwo2BmqBwbsbFS7SwEqTe9DoTHsj4icAvpbysDxqV2u5burN0D9aCj7eKYkTXaEMxFOZkc0aJU/s151/*'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzilwWNBo6kA6bioDX4xBulcJYoQmVyeGSZOzdi1BtmWLVMuWLCyaYFrWE7VqMZn8F9c5qD624nhKZWUbDdxGK-EGvmiZm38d2y7G-_gD8zEEts23TzhM28-GXQFLWVlpK7LK9TwimxZ5LSyiv-2xIa450GP3yyenCrA9pT4H615l2LWAZxz7c9nxINiXG/s72-c/Titanique.jpeg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8879518290175104767.post-8647994798299496268</id><published>2024-10-27T17:02:00.015+08:00</published><updated>2024-11-10T20:52:08.225+08:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Broadway"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Theater"/><title type='text'>Yellow Face (Broadway)</title><content type='html'><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellow_Face_(play)" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="200" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhskVPJfpydkJ01Hy4Dp9TEY6IvMV3uKgoQAA4x57_ocbgrujgNhAtXJf3DyKYYys7JCSqxazpj38u3ZMTUA05Uuj4Q82yyVFo9-drqw7j7v2uOsnUNCJH-tJ2ffo4mk6iu-Jwv0sBSJ4Xh6Le3QfzG_j6gY8CshInt4yqVZoyggsAQ_7Z5ySCtliwUmxLl/s1600/Yellow%20Face%20-%20Copy.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: justify;">♣♣♣♣/♣♣♣♣♣</div></span><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: white;"><br /></span></span></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Asian-American playwright David Henry Hwang (Daniel Dae Kim) causes a ruckus when he openly criticizes the casting of Jonathan Pryce, a white actor of Welsh descent, for the role of the Engineer in Miss Saigon which is set to transfer to New York after a successful run at London’s West End. The media attention opens up an avenue for discussion regarding the place of Asian-Americans on Broadway. As the controversy dies down, DHH prepares to cast an actor for his theater comeback, years after winning the Tony for his magnum opus M. Butterfly. He eventually selects Marcus (Ryan Eggold) after a successful audition. There is one problem, though: Marcus is not really Asian. He only claimed to be part Asian and banked on his ambiguous looks to be cast in the role. As DHH deals with the backlash and accusations of hypocrisy, his Father (Francis Jue) becomes the target of an ongoing espionage investigation, accused of furthering mainland Chinese interests in the US political landscape through his bank.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><a name='more'></a></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">I’m happy that there always seems to be an Asian production on Broadway as of late. We have Yellow Face this year. Last year I saw Poor Yella Rednecks; Vietgone and Miss Saigon, a few years back. I’m not talking about Asian actors here. We can even argue that there is no shortage of roles for Asian actors on Broadway. What I’m talking about is Asian narratives. Asian storylines for Asians, not roles that used to be of this or that ethnicity portrayed by an Asian, which is actually quite common in theater anyway. It’s a laudable effort from the community to produce, be visible, and share their own unique stories through theater.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">The production often pokes fun at itself which you will find humorous in terms of actors involved playing multiple roles of different ethnicities and genders. You have an African American Jane Krakowski; an Asian woman with a British accent who is supposed to be Miss Saigon’s producer Cameron Mackintosh, etc. As far as bending gender and racial profiles are concerned, Yellow Face makes sure to go the extra mile, itself serving both as critic and critique. It’s just meta like that. Most of the humor is derived from this, which a lot of the audience members seemed to enjoy.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">As for acting, most members of the cast, with the clear exception of Kim and Eggold, portray a variety of roles. If you are a theater actor and you want to polish your versatility via changing roles in rapid succession, this is probably one of the plays you should aim to participate in. Shannon Tyo and Marinda Anderson both do well in this regard. Even though it can be fun for the actors involved, it might be confusing for the audience given how most of the character changes are just announced out loud and incorporated in the dialogue, which is understandable considering how tedious it would be if they opted for costume changes and make-up too.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">The set reminds me of that used for The Lifespan of a Fact. Since both plays are rather text-heavy, the bright blue panels serve as a convenient platform on which texts can be projected. In the case of Yellow Face, most of these texts are faux newspaper clippings, articles of the press release sort that serve as a background for the controversies unfolding in the play. The text fonts are big enough for you to actually read from your seats, sometimes highlighting certain words and phrases that emphasize the gravity of the situation.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Serving comedy and some history lessons regarding the evolution of Asian roles in American theater, Yellow Face can be funny at times, especially when making fun of the industry it belongs in. There is also some light drama which comes up every time the play focuses on the Asian-American journey and all the complications it has in tow. A lot of concepts such as the duality of the immigrant experience as well as the dilemma of not being considered to fully belong in society despite being born and raised there come up often. This time around, though, it’s not just sharing a story, but analyzing it too. One step at a time!</span></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Rh4kbkdmrW0" width="320" youtube-src-id="Rh4kbkdmrW0"></iframe></div></div></content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/feeds/8647994798299496268/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/2024/10/yellow-face-broadway.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8879518290175104767/posts/default/8647994798299496268'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8879518290175104767/posts/default/8647994798299496268'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/2024/10/yellow-face-broadway.html' title='Yellow Face (Broadway)'/><author><name>ihcahieh</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/03679524174484441585</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3nYFbB2KFfGvXBwz4G6YUkdAA1l9U-l1XsQvMgsAtzrJZ7ue-wZdvgwwo2BmqBwbsbFS7SwEqTe9DoTHsj4icAvpbysDxqV2u5burN0D9aCj7eKYkTXaEMxFOZkc0aJU/s151/*'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhskVPJfpydkJ01Hy4Dp9TEY6IvMV3uKgoQAA4x57_ocbgrujgNhAtXJf3DyKYYys7JCSqxazpj38u3ZMTUA05Uuj4Q82yyVFo9-drqw7j7v2uOsnUNCJH-tJ2ffo4mk6iu-Jwv0sBSJ4Xh6Le3QfzG_j6gY8CshInt4yqVZoyggsAQ_7Z5ySCtliwUmxLl/s72-c/Yellow%20Face%20-%20Copy.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8879518290175104767.post-3211294584068521776</id><published>2024-10-26T23:20:00.016+08:00</published><updated>2024-11-07T22:24:18.048+08:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Broadway"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Theater"/><title type='text'>Little Shop of Horrors (Broadway)</title><content type='html'><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://littleshopnyc.com/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="200" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibFl9Nc9f_erAag9SeicQHqv8Yf51-TUm3CLlzlfE1gdXDpCSvdUMCMJO86XoqJE04Mo-O9egiLFTWCAkA-SXM3VKO4wic3Zu44u5QyZ4Qk0JerdJ2HI__UCGAu0Xkg0pSe14fJ79rCf1NtzhNI5YYxJmT6fcIF6YWvN6SuS2pCoKRJiTFl1edby8Z83Fz/s1600/Little%20Shop%20of%20Horrors.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: justify;">♣♣♣♣♣/♣♣♣♣♣</div></span><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">1960’s. A trio of sea urchins takes us to a flower shop in an urban skid row where an orphan by the name of Seymour (Nicholas Christopher) has been making a living. Abandoned by his parents when he was young, he was taken in by the owner of the flower shop, Mr. Mushnik (Stephen DeRosa). Mr. Mushnik is strict and rather distant, not just to Seymour but also to his co-worker Audrey (Sherie Rene Scott) on whom he harbors a crush. Despite being friendly toward one another, Seymour and Audrey maintain a platonic relationship because she is currently seeing psychotic dentist Orin (Johnny Newcomb) who regularly subjects her to emotional and physical abuse. Just as Mr. Mushnik announces that he will be closing shop soon due to poor sales, meaning he is letting them go, Seymour introduces them to a strange plant hybrid he found not so long ago, which he&nbsp;</span><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">discovers</span><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">&nbsp;</span><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">later on to be thirsty for human blood and flesh.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><a name='more'></a></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">This is one of those musicals that I always heard about but never bothered to try to discover. I just know that there is a weird Venus Flytrap involved and a lot of singing. The funny thing is, there was a local production in Manila just a few months ago, but since it is also currently running Off-Broadway, I decided to just include it in Broadway Barrage this year despite the comparatively more expensive cost of tickets. In the end, it was a good decision because I ended up enjoying the show. I am all for absurdity and Little Shop of Horrors offers a lot of that, along with a Doo-wop/Motown inspired soundtrack that just slaps.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">The roles of Seymour and Audrey seem to be in constant rotation. Just before Christopher, Seymour has been played by Andrew Barth Feldman and Darren Criss, while Audrey has been portrayed by Constance Wu and Jinkx Monsoon. I wouldn’t call it stunt casting like what Chicago usually does, with Alyssa Milano as Roxie Hart as of present, for instance. This appears normal for this particular staging of the show, like some sort of limited short-time gig for whoever wants to take on the role before moving on to another. In a way, this is an effective casting strategy and does help in getting more butts on those seats, with a little star power.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">The Westside Theater is really small, stage and all, but seems perfect for Little Shop of Horrors because what you get is an intimate set. Most of the platform is occupied by the interior of the flower shop and most of the space inside is occupied, little by little until fully, by Audrey 2. The narrow strip left in front of the stage is where most of the song and dance numbers happen, so they are easily visible and audible even if you buy a ticket right at the back of the theater. There is nothing much to see in terms of costumes. The real scene stealer here is definitely that carnivorous plant and the puppeteers involved.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Ah, yes. Puppetry. Aside from being murderous, the plant also talks and sings, which amps up the absurdity factor a few notches. In her final evolutionary form, Audrey 2 is almost as big as the entire flower shop itself, and members of the cast can actually fit comfortably inside its mouth. While they could have used some other material that could’ve made this monster more plant-like, similar to those used in Hollywood, what we get in the end is convincing enough, even though I find it a bit too smooth and lacking a bit of gore, which might be hard to pull off onstage anyway.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Overall, I enjoyed Little Shop of Horrors. I can’t reiterate that enough. The singing and the dancing are entertaining. The humor is not contrived and fits well given the circumstances, sometimes going overboard but still not out of place because the premise is already absurd enough to begin with. The acting is just the right kind of campy without trying too hard. I hope this show gets to run in NYC for a long time, if only for everyone to get to experience how quirky and fun it is.</span></div></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/JzqtlgY2_M4" width="320" youtube-src-id="JzqtlgY2_M4"></iframe></div></div></content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/feeds/3211294584068521776/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/2024/10/little-shop-of-horrors-broadway.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8879518290175104767/posts/default/3211294584068521776'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8879518290175104767/posts/default/3211294584068521776'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/2024/10/little-shop-of-horrors-broadway.html' title='Little Shop of Horrors (Broadway)'/><author><name>ihcahieh</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/03679524174484441585</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3nYFbB2KFfGvXBwz4G6YUkdAA1l9U-l1XsQvMgsAtzrJZ7ue-wZdvgwwo2BmqBwbsbFS7SwEqTe9DoTHsj4icAvpbysDxqV2u5burN0D9aCj7eKYkTXaEMxFOZkc0aJU/s151/*'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibFl9Nc9f_erAag9SeicQHqv8Yf51-TUm3CLlzlfE1gdXDpCSvdUMCMJO86XoqJE04Mo-O9egiLFTWCAkA-SXM3VKO4wic3Zu44u5QyZ4Qk0JerdJ2HI__UCGAu0Xkg0pSe14fJ79rCf1NtzhNI5YYxJmT6fcIF6YWvN6SuS2pCoKRJiTFl1edby8Z83Fz/s72-c/Little%20Shop%20of%20Horrors.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8879518290175104767.post-8841497274845630786</id><published>2024-10-26T17:23:00.018+08:00</published><updated>2024-11-09T22:27:54.267+08:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Broadway"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Theater"/><title type='text'>The Great Gatsby (Broadway)</title><content type='html'><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://broadwaygatsby.com/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="200" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheNb9wNxy-FUcEngZaqZ93lcWB-c2ZIhKwOZVNV9AFdI94pVtEXJ3x_A4pg2gWc4zXZQIq0jBx-SQwN5FlDM-EC2_aYmWJWQYXWp8E0GYvrKWwTaPyh9IThd1qbxMDBcaU_ojI04Qff89d895x3VyF7vfQ3IDFwj3vN_KlC8qU5UyPKYmkxwcbmqu5NVe0/s1600/The%20Great%20Gatsby.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: justify;">♣♣♣♣♣/♣♣♣♣♣</div></span><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Young World War I veteran Nick Carraway (Noah J. Ricketts) scores a relatively cheap cabin in New York as he ventures into a new trade, that of being a bond salesman. His new residence is located right next to a huge mansion overlooking the bay owned by a mysterious man everyone calls Gatsby (Jeremy Jordan) who&nbsp;</span><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">regularly</span><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">&nbsp;</span><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">hosts parties at his estate. The two are acquainted and Gatsby immediately asks his new neighbor a favor, that of orchestrating a chance meeting between him and his cousin Daisy (Eva Noblezada), a socialite married to former football star Tom Buchanan (John Zdrojeski). The husband and wife share a daughter but he is unfaithful, engaged in an extra marital affair with Myrtle (Ryah Nixon), who happens to be the wife of George Wilson (Paul Whitty), a poor gas station owner who doubles as a middle man for Gatsby’s illicit businesses. Nick also gets to meet Jordan Baker (Samantha Pauly), Daisy’s golfer friend who takes pride in being free from the pressures of marriage.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><a name='more'></a></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Ever since I discovered Jeremy Jordan I’ve been looking for opportunities to get to see him live on Broadway. I believe he had a brief stint as a replacement Seymour in Little Shop of Horrors, which did not jive well with my schedule. That’s why when he was announced to originate the role of Gatsby for the musical theater adaptation, I immediately secured a ticket. To the uninitiated, try getting to know what his vocals can do the same way I did, by searching for his rendition of Santa Fe on Spotify. Luckily he now has yet another show tune to add to his repertoire with For Her, an ode to Gatsby’s enduring love for Daisy Buchanan. The OST is also on Spotify!</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Comparison time! I have not seen the Leonardo DiCaprio film, but I have read the novel. First things first: Nick. Nick serves as our anchor into the world of Gatsby. Since everything is seen through his point of view, he is our de facto narrator, and a boring one at that. He just came across as full of angst to me, the type of guy who is surely not fun at parties. In the musical, Nick is more upbeat and humorous. While he introduces us to this musical's world, he is not really the narrator here. Instead, he shares most of his time onstage with Gatsby, Daisy, and Jordan. In short, he is no longer the anchor.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Perhaps that is the reason why they wrote his character to be livelier and more sympathetic in this onstage version, along with Jordan. She retains her sarcasm and standoffish attitude as in the book, but she also gets to share Nick’s attempts at comedy, turning them into a duo that serves as the show’s comic relief, provider of much needed levity in contrast to the more serious subplot Gatsby and Daisy have to deal with. In a way, it works, because you start looking for them whenever they disappear onstage. Or maybe this has more to do with Ricketts’ and Pauly’s chemistry? Who knows!</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Gatsby seems less of a fraud here. In the novel, every time he drops his “old sport” catchphrase it is a cringe fest, and the book makes it clear that he is a phony. Here he is given a semblance of being genuine. While the “old sport” catchphrase gets old quickly, it is not as cringe and somehow even exudes a bit of class each time Jordan punctuates his lines with it. This Gatsby also comes across as more resolute and commanding, unlike the Gatsby in the novel who seems like he is just going through the motions but doesn’t really want to be there.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">As for Noblezada, Miss Saigon launched her Broadway career. Hadestown cemented her status as a dependable triple threat. The Great Gatsby further solidifies her place in the industry. It’s just too bad that she wasn’t nominated for what could’ve been her third Tony nod, but maybe it just has something to do with the Daisy role not being as impactful as her Kim or Eurydice. Or perhaps it has more to do with the general snubbery this musical had to endure in last year’s Tony Awards?</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Talking about snubbery, The Great Gatsby was only nominated for one Tony last year, which it won for Costume Design. Well deserved! But why wasn’t it even nominated for Production Design considering that this set just looks so legit opulent without seeming blatantly expensive? It’s anybody’s guess. Suffice it to say that the seamless fusion between those lavish set pieces and the projected background images deserves its own billing for being so aesthetically pleasing to look at. They really set the mood.</span></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/7nNL8v2lr3E" width="320" youtube-src-id="7nNL8v2lr3E"></iframe></div></div></content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/feeds/8841497274845630786/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/2024/10/the-great-gatsby-broadway.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8879518290175104767/posts/default/8841497274845630786'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8879518290175104767/posts/default/8841497274845630786'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/2024/10/the-great-gatsby-broadway.html' title='The Great Gatsby (Broadway)'/><author><name>ihcahieh</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/03679524174484441585</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3nYFbB2KFfGvXBwz4G6YUkdAA1l9U-l1XsQvMgsAtzrJZ7ue-wZdvgwwo2BmqBwbsbFS7SwEqTe9DoTHsj4icAvpbysDxqV2u5burN0D9aCj7eKYkTXaEMxFOZkc0aJU/s151/*'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheNb9wNxy-FUcEngZaqZ93lcWB-c2ZIhKwOZVNV9AFdI94pVtEXJ3x_A4pg2gWc4zXZQIq0jBx-SQwN5FlDM-EC2_aYmWJWQYXWp8E0GYvrKWwTaPyh9IThd1qbxMDBcaU_ojI04Qff89d895x3VyF7vfQ3IDFwj3vN_KlC8qU5UyPKYmkxwcbmqu5NVe0/s72-c/The%20Great%20Gatsby.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8879518290175104767.post-6888818620780281652</id><published>2024-10-25T23:17:00.012+08:00</published><updated>2024-11-05T18:07:03.613+08:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Broadway"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Theater"/><title type='text'>The Roommate (Broadway)</title><content type='html'><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://theroommatebway.com/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="200" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRDyN3d5a8vNSHFuUT74nWygft8AemMCx7QDMOTHFtoqKwbXH5bUMAgdmUnLEMGpo8X2-HpcqJiZynFOuJ9NJcwfb0fxn_4hAbw_ZX22EIXoJQx4mkIJPgEUeFsSukav_Fg9BOag_jzOgsOLiI-joOG29Jw6AYdi69nIzcLsmzXVNcVy_6tOuIQFUymvmK/s1600/The%20Roommate.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: justify;">♣♣♣♣/♣♣♣♣♣</div></span><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Sharon (Mia Farrow) has been living a rather quiet life in her big house in Iowa. Divorced from her husband and with her son residing somewhere far away, her life tends to revolve around the daily mundane routine she keeps as a person living solo. Enter Robyn (Patti Lupone), the new roommate who responds to her call for a room to lease. Unlike Sharon, Robyn is mysterious and edgy, hailing from The Bronx and moving to Iowa City for reasons that she does not seem to want to share with her new landlord. Soon, Robyn encourages Sharon to get out of her shell, convincing her to go out and date guys, smoke marijuana she herself has cultivated, etc. A friendship develops, even though they don’t want to admit it. When Robyn finally lets Sharon in on her dirty little secret, she thinks she would be shunned and chased out of the house. Surprisingly, her landlord appears too eager to try it out herself.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><a name='more'></a></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">This is my third Lupone Broadway show to date. The first one was War Paint; the second, her Tony-winning turn in Company. Both were musicals, and both showcased that golden singing voice of hers that has turned her into the Broadway legend that she is. And so, for a change it is nice to see her in a play where she does not sing a single bar or note. In The Roommate, Lupone need not be a triple threat, just plain acting, which has been a good opportunity to see whether she has anything more to offer other than her vocals. Lucky for me, I was not disappointed because she can’t just act, she also has the charisma and stage presence to match.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">As for Farrow, I must admit that I am not familiar with her work. I do know that she starred in Rosemary’s Baby in the late 60’s, but I haven’t seen that film either. While her rapport with Lupone onstage cannot be denied, and could even be argued as the main driving force of the play which is that of the duo playing off each other’s energy, her Sharon ends up being the more enjoyable of the two. It probably has something to do with the character’s demeanor, being offbeat yet with a more positive outlook in life, not afraid of opening up to new experiences. This, as opposed to Lupone’s Robyn who is more brooding, sarcastic, and dark.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">That is, perhaps, what makes the play work, though. With just two actors onstage, rapport is important but one character also needs to balance the other in terms of personality. Having two characters with the same personality would be a big bore to the audience. The contrasts between Robyn and Sharon are what really makes this play fun to watch. I don’t know if it is just me but one thing I liked about their characters’ journey was the reversal in the end. Sharon starts off as cautious and suspicious, only to end up more adventurous. For Robyn, it is the opposite. In the end, nothing that their backstories could not justify.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">The premise, of course, is just too simple and the show itself is nothing to write home about. If you have ever had a roommate at one point in your life, there is always that curiosity with regards to their life story. What do they do? Where did they come from? Why are they here? Are you going to be friends or will you end up killing each other? This storyline has been rehashed over and over again on TV, film, and theater. Sometimes we are tempted to ask why, although we clearly know that it must have something to do with relatability given the commonality of such a setup everywhere in the world.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Overall, The Roommate is nothing spectacular but benefits mainly from the humor of its script as well as the chemistry between its lead actresses. If you are a fan of either Lupone or Farrow or both, then this play will make you appreciate them more, seeing them in something light that just allows them to have fun with the characters they are playing.</span></div></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/UgHosYzslIg" width="320" youtube-src-id="UgHosYzslIg"></iframe></div></div></content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/feeds/6888818620780281652/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/2024/10/the-roommate-broadway.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8879518290175104767/posts/default/6888818620780281652'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8879518290175104767/posts/default/6888818620780281652'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/2024/10/the-roommate-broadway.html' title='The Roommate (Broadway)'/><author><name>ihcahieh</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/03679524174484441585</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3nYFbB2KFfGvXBwz4G6YUkdAA1l9U-l1XsQvMgsAtzrJZ7ue-wZdvgwwo2BmqBwbsbFS7SwEqTe9DoTHsj4icAvpbysDxqV2u5burN0D9aCj7eKYkTXaEMxFOZkc0aJU/s151/*'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRDyN3d5a8vNSHFuUT74nWygft8AemMCx7QDMOTHFtoqKwbXH5bUMAgdmUnLEMGpo8X2-HpcqJiZynFOuJ9NJcwfb0fxn_4hAbw_ZX22EIXoJQx4mkIJPgEUeFsSukav_Fg9BOag_jzOgsOLiI-joOG29Jw6AYdi69nIzcLsmzXVNcVy_6tOuIQFUymvmK/s72-c/The%20Roommate.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8879518290175104767.post-6698357950751790211</id><published>2024-10-24T10:44:00.009+08:00</published><updated>2024-10-24T11:20:36.909+08:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="American"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Literature"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Schreiber F.R."/><title type='text'>Sybil</title><content type='html'><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sybil_(Schreiber_book)" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="200" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv5a15GHnWJEpXSrH5YxXxkZYuUcF2wUQEt5usMDXCDheUafMsxakzc_NGXXvIxieECpUEn7uHuMjKXYJnNbIbdtMov4Pig6efWINX0EjdZ9zcj0M8K1SRhzfDVGpRGGR2BQ0gA1dA0TFCAswIfm6jvLuOxnS0fgQZ6M6admqzQGC4nW449rB9gUEsXb8K/s1600/71pVaixvJmL._SL1184_.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: justify;">♣♣♣♣/♣♣♣♣♣</div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Sybil Isabel Dorsett has not been herself for as long as she could remember, experiencing blackouts in which she could not recall anything until she “comes to” or regains consciousness. She is also perplexed by the social network she has developed without her knowledge, meeting people who say they know her and claim to be her friend even though she hadn’t really met them before. Dr. Cornelia Wilbur, a psychoanalyst, comes to her aid and discovers something psychologically perplexing as she sits with her patient during sessions. Sybil does not always come to these sessions as herself, or sometimes she does, before she suddenly has a momentarily blank expression and then claims to be Vicky, Peggy Ann, Peggy Lou, etc. The psychiatrist observes the differences in nuances, behaviors, and attitudes of her patient’s various selves, counting up to sixteen of them all living in one body through the extent of their decades-long battle for integration.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><a name='more'></a></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">This novel was recommended to me by a classmate in high school so I decided to read it back then and remember being so fascinated by the theme of Multiple Personality Disorder that I even wrote a term paper about it. It did spark a phase in which I got obsessed with the topic. A quarter of a century later, way older and armed with new allegations from experts that the entire book was fabricated by the patient, the doctor, and the author so they could cash in on the story, I am reading it strictly as fiction and realize that it is still an enjoyable read as long as you dissociate it from its original intended purpose as a nonfiction narrative.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">When the novel was written in the 70’s, it dealt with an illness that was yet to be studied intensively, so we can say that part of the fascination stems from that fact. A testament to the popularity of the premise is how two TV movies were actually made based on the material. Whether the trio of accused individuals, now all dead, were guilty of fabrication or not, what the novel has managed to accomplish despite all the controversy surrounding it was to open a conversation not just about multiple personality disorder, but about mental health as a whole, which many people used to just brush off as trivial back in the day.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">In terms of storytelling style, the book just unfolds as a series of therapy sessions, later hypnosis, where one of sixteen selves would surface and gain control of the body at any given time, providing you with a clear picture of the main character’s traumas that they are defending her from. After all, it is understood that the development of multiple personalities serves as a defense mechanism that the subconscious employs so as to allow the person to act out on suppressed emotions that they are unable to express freely on their own.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">The novel does end happily with Sybil getting well and all of her selves finally integrated. The plot is a little slow and mainly focuses on flashbacks since the intention here is to discover the root of the emergence of Sybil’s many selves, which the author could only accomplish if she looks into the past. There should be a trigger warning here because there are subplots of child sexual abuse. Needless to say, the environment the protagonist grew up in was not a very nurturing one, and this is pointed out as the cause of her multiple personality disorder.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">The novel is never boring because you are introduced to a group of different characters even if you have just one protagonist. Sympathy is not hard to come by given Sybil’s circumstances. We can even go as far as to say that most of us also have tendencies for such an illness. Sometimes you tend to compartmentalize your traumatic life experiences by putting on a different personality to deal with them, even though many of us would not go to the lengths of actually breaking down totally and succumbing to the pressure. In the end, perhaps some people are just luckier than others.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">To conclude, read this as fiction to enjoy it. If you turn out to be so invested in the story in the end, then you can always do some follow-up readings from critics of the novel through books such as Sybil Exposed and After Sybil, published decades later.</span></div></div></content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/feeds/6698357950751790211/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/2024/10/sybil.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8879518290175104767/posts/default/6698357950751790211'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8879518290175104767/posts/default/6698357950751790211'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/2024/10/sybil.html' title='Sybil'/><author><name>ihcahieh</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/03679524174484441585</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3nYFbB2KFfGvXBwz4G6YUkdAA1l9U-l1XsQvMgsAtzrJZ7ue-wZdvgwwo2BmqBwbsbFS7SwEqTe9DoTHsj4icAvpbysDxqV2u5burN0D9aCj7eKYkTXaEMxFOZkc0aJU/s151/*'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv5a15GHnWJEpXSrH5YxXxkZYuUcF2wUQEt5usMDXCDheUafMsxakzc_NGXXvIxieECpUEn7uHuMjKXYJnNbIbdtMov4Pig6efWINX0EjdZ9zcj0M8K1SRhzfDVGpRGGR2BQ0gA1dA0TFCAswIfm6jvLuOxnS0fgQZ6M6admqzQGC4nW449rB9gUEsXb8K/s72-c/71pVaixvJmL._SL1184_.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8879518290175104767.post-150658449349883305</id><published>2024-10-23T12:14:00.140+08:00</published><updated>2024-10-24T10:10:37.845+08:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Budget and Itinerary"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Hua Hin"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Prachuap Khiri Khan"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Thailand"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Travel"/><title type='text'>[PRACHUAP KHIRI KHAN] Budget and Itinerary</title><content type='html'><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://wikitravel.org/en/Hua_Hin" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="563" data-original-width="2000" height="113" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR8TU9b353pN2MUPY8nGwT1Cul0DPMcZCLw-uDKjMvGKxWW2l49FKJ5yFNdxoAKS7C0f9TOOIORDfiij1ld53Z6_QrxfosTFOnGXbNQgyB7hipOH_nucfEhAqbB0D5kMbEN9mI-l_X-IaK4bhTeFyi8G7VwEV1lCkkSOUkUiHJEh-dZ2SeGtigoLWvpVl7/w400-h113/20241021_100455.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><div style="text-align: right;"><b><span style="color: red;">SATURDAY: October 19, 2024</span></b></div><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="color: white;">Ora Hostel Bangkok (1 Night) -</span> <span style="color: #fcff01;">355.00</span></div><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="color: #fcff01;">THB355.00</span></div><div style="text-align: right;"></div><div style="text-align: right;"><b><span style="color: red;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="text-align: right;"><b><span style="color: red;"><span><a name='more'></a></span>SUNDAY: October 20, 2024</span></b></div><div style="text-align: right;"><div><div><span style="color: white;">JKP Mochit (Bangkok - Hua Hin) -</span>&nbsp;<span style="color: #fcff01;">220.00</span></div></div><div><div><span style="color: white;">Thasanee Hotel (3 Nights) -</span>&nbsp;<span style="color: #fcff01;">1,775.00</span></div></div><div><span style="color: white;">7 Eleven (Groceries) -</span>&nbsp;<span style="color: #fcff01;">233.25</span></div><div><span style="color: white;">Starbucks (Croissant + Choco Chip Cream)</span><span style="color: white;">&nbsp;-</span>&nbsp;<span style="color: #fcff01;">320.00</span></div><div><span style="color: white;">Chow Mong Seafood (Fried Rice + Coke)</span><span style="color: white;">&nbsp;-</span>&nbsp;<span style="color: #fcff01;">175.00</span></div><div><span style="color: #fcff01;">THB2,723.25</span></div></div><div><span style="color: #fcff01;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #fcff01;"><div style="color: black; text-align: right;"><b><span style="color: red;">MONDAY: October 21, 2024</span></b></div><div style="color: black; text-align: right;"><span style="color: white;">Grab (Hua Hin - Phraya Nakhon Cave)</span><span style="color: white;">&nbsp;-</span>&nbsp;<span style="color: #fcff01;">509.00</span></div><div style="color: black; text-align: right;"><div><div><span style="color: white;">Boat (Roundtrip)</span><span style="color: white;">&nbsp;-</span>&nbsp;<span style="color: #fcff01;">400.00</span></div><div><div></div></div><div><span style="color: white;">Phraya Nakhon Cave (Admission Fee) -</span>&nbsp;<span style="color: #fcff01;">200.00</span></div><div><span style="color: white;">Grab/Wait Time (Phraya Nakhon Cave - Hua Hin)</span><span style="color: white;">&nbsp;-</span>&nbsp;<span style="color: #fcff01;">1,000.00</span></div><div><div></div></div><div><span style="color: white;">Row Hou8e (Fried Rice + Coke + Choco Cake)</span><span style="color: white;">&nbsp;-</span>&nbsp;<span style="color: #fcff01;">221.00</span></div></div><div><span style="color: #fcff01;">THB2,330.00</span></div><div><span style="color: #fcff01;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #fcff01;"><div style="color: black;"><b><span style="color: red;">TUESDAY: October 22, 2024</span></b></div><div style="color: black;"><span style="color: white;">7 Eleven (Groceries) -</span>&nbsp;<span style="color: #fcff01;">58.00</span></div><div style="color: black;"><span style="color: white;">Pizza House (Carbonara + Fries)</span><span style="color: white;">&nbsp;-</span>&nbsp;<span style="color: #fcff01;">268.00</span></div><div style="color: black;"><div><span style="color: #fcff01;">THB326.00</span></div><div><span style="color: #fcff01;"><br /></span></div></div></span></div><div><b><span style="color: red;">WEDNESDAY: October 23, 2024</span></b></div><div><span style="color: white;">Grab (Soi 55/1 - RCG Bus Terminal)</span><span style="color: white;">&nbsp;-</span>&nbsp;<span style="color: #fcff01;">132.00</span></div><div><div></div></div><div><span style="color: white;">Bell Travel Service (Hua Hin -&nbsp;</span><span style="color: white;">Suvarnabhumi</span><span style="color: white;">) -</span>&nbsp;<span style="color: #fcff01;">375.00</span></div></div><div style="color: black; text-align: right;"><span style="color: #fcff01;">THB507.00</span></div></span></div><div style="text-align: right;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="color: red;">SUBTOTAL </span><span style="color: white;">-</span> <span style="color: #fcff01;">THB6,421.25</span></div><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="color: #fcff01;">Estimate of THB1 = PhP1.70</span></div><div style="text-align: right;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: right;"><b><span style="color: red;">TOTAL</span> <span style="color: white;">-</span> <span style="color: #fcff01;">PhP10,610.13</span></b></div><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Provinces_of_Thailand" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1154" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOMFeVzctnY9Gohg9jrXx5p_SH1XAh68jvopaZn29IwoSW67Oy3Y8I_o5kfIimUXUPmwIrIQWYK7Ypgl66hpicflFSGZXz1mIQdp-7Aw7mE7Xf0wKSNRlUBQz_3tAoFblnbsI7SBPtuUu_FBGpXgiTNJUTIEoqi0n1FRuB-Q3aWWy9XlInxdWOppzKcpbP/w225-h400/Map%20-%20Thailand.png" style="border: medium none;" width="225" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><div style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;"><b style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: red;">SUNDAY: October 20, 2024</span></b></div></span></div><div><div><span style="color: white; font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: #fcff01;">10:00 - 14:00</span><span style="color: black;">&nbsp;</span><span style="color: white;">JKP Mochit (Bangkok - Hua Hin)</span><br style="color: black;" /></span></div><div><span style="color: white; font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: white;"><br /></span></span></div><div><b style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: red;"><b style="color: black;"><span style="color: red;">MONDAY: October 21, 2024</span></b><br /></span></b><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: #fcff01;">09:00- 10:10&nbsp;</span><span style="color: white;">Grab (Hua Hin - Phraya Nakhon Cave)</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><div style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: #fcff01;">10:10- 10:15&nbsp;</span><span style="color: white;">Boat (to Laem Sala Beach)</span></span></div><span style="color: #fcff01;">10:15 - 10:45&nbsp;</span></span><span style="color: white; font-family: georgia;">Ascent (Phraya Nakhon Cave)</span></div><span style="color: #fcff01; font-family: georgia;">10:45 - 11:05</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">&nbsp;</span><span style="color: white; font-family: georgia;">Sightseeing (</span><span style="color: white; font-family: georgia;">Phraya Nakhon Cave)</span></div><div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: #fcff01;">11:05 - 11:25&nbsp;</span></span><span style="color: white; font-family: georgia;">Descent (Phraya Nakhon Cave)</span></div><span style="color: #fcff01; font-family: georgia;"></span><div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: #fcff01;">11:25- 11:30&nbsp;</span><span style="color: white;">Boat (from Laem Sala Beach)</span></span></div><div><span style="color: #fcff01; font-family: georgia;">11:30 - 12:30&nbsp;</span><span style="color: white; font-family: georgia;">Grab (Phraya Nakhon Cave - Hua Hin)</span><br style="font-family: georgia;" /></div></div><div><span style="color: white; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b><span style="color: red;">TUESDAY: October 22, 2024<br /></span></b><div><div><span style="color: #fcff01;"><b>REST DAY</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #fcff01;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;"><span style="color: white; font-family: georgia;"><b style="color: black;"><span style="color: red;">WEDNESDAY: October 23, 2024<br /></span></b></span></div><div style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;"><span style="color: white; font-family: georgia;"><b style="color: black;"><span style="color: red;"><div style="color: black; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; font-weight: 400;"><span style="color: #fcff01; font-family: georgia;">11:45 - 12:00&nbsp;</span><span style="color: white; font-family: georgia;">Grab (Thasanee Hotel - RRC Bus Station)</span><br style="font-family: georgia;" /></div><div style="color: black; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; font-weight: 400;"><span style="color: white; font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: #fcff01;">12:00 - 15:45</span><span style="color: black;">&nbsp;</span><span style="color: white;">Bell Travel Services (Hua Hin -&nbsp;</span></span><span style="color: white; font-family: georgia;">Suvarnabhumi</span><span style="color: white; font-family: georgia;">)</span></div><div><br /></div></span></b></span></div></div></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1101111682022990&amp;type=3" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="563" data-original-width="2000" height="113" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil9i8iCThjLq46mYTIw64GM9UHx0Rgy7lKDJ9sUNBXo3hBONIXnt1B_J9h5xhzrclIfQSu6aNB1ibfoy88JKHYT5OGwOp_CbvNJjXdvBuLH7pGvOMrW2NQKgT9qyZS_n1tp0fdxEgQ6VGq1dh6lNKSzpgHR2VHEJtKZe0rPG6FjusqYzI50xQlz9bh8hyphenhyphena/w400-h113/20241021_104702.jpg" width="400" /></a></div></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: georgia;"><a href="http://www.ihcahieh.com/2024/10/sam-roi-yot-phraya-nakhon-cave.html" target="_blank">[SAM ROI YOT] Phraya Nakhon Cave</a></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red; font-family: georgia;"><b>[PRACHUAP KHIRI KHAN] Budget and Itinerary</b></span></div></div></div></div></content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/feeds/150658449349883305/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/2024/10/prachuap-khiri-khan-budget-and-itinerary.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8879518290175104767/posts/default/150658449349883305'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8879518290175104767/posts/default/150658449349883305'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/2024/10/prachuap-khiri-khan-budget-and-itinerary.html' title='[PRACHUAP KHIRI KHAN] Budget and Itinerary'/><author><name>ihcahieh</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/03679524174484441585</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3nYFbB2KFfGvXBwz4G6YUkdAA1l9U-l1XsQvMgsAtzrJZ7ue-wZdvgwwo2BmqBwbsbFS7SwEqTe9DoTHsj4icAvpbysDxqV2u5burN0D9aCj7eKYkTXaEMxFOZkc0aJU/s151/*'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR8TU9b353pN2MUPY8nGwT1Cul0DPMcZCLw-uDKjMvGKxWW2l49FKJ5yFNdxoAKS7C0f9TOOIORDfiij1ld53Z6_QrxfosTFOnGXbNQgyB7hipOH_nucfEhAqbB0D5kMbEN9mI-l_X-IaK4bhTeFyi8G7VwEV1lCkkSOUkUiHJEh-dZ2SeGtigoLWvpVl7/s72-w400-h113-c/20241021_100455.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8879518290175104767.post-8251114580079321418</id><published>2024-10-21T19:53:00.029+08:00</published><updated>2024-10-24T10:05:50.364+08:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Hua Hin"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Prachuap Khiri Khan"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Thailand"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Travel"/><title type='text'>[SAM ROI YOT] Phraya Nakhon Cave</title><content type='html'><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMc8bZBHYqTM_SIyij3df8GCZOzMQIxiYh_zgAgIri1Q4IAo9LtDY0Yfuf35VWlrfKDNaOFCzcP7SWR6UtCTVES0c7abmwf7zMaa7JaTNvagRKhVyLF8GOmAUTv29h3srRZcq3VZHjyq66QyyBZd5rErczxG_G4D3hT_dgGm6wbED6vzj3NnNemX99K1zE/w400-h225/20241021_110343.jpg" /></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: georgia;">The first time I came across the name Hua Hin was when I booked a Bell Travel Services bus from Suvarnabhumi to Pattaya. I noticed that they also had a bus headed to the other side of the Gulf of Thailand. If you look at a map of the country, you will notice that there is some sort of a huge cove south of Bangkok. Pattaya and Hua Hin share that opening into the sea with the capital, to the east and to the west respectively. And so I decided then that a future trip to the kingdom will include Hua Hin. We are all about convenient transport links, you know.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: white; font-family: georgia;"><a name='more'></a></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: white;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2aoBW8_76ZHUVh0C2xxmBHkvi__DcRCMtkitPs5QEd9v6Ub3LA504Qu_3LUkF-Z5V7N1YMhTJuUrGbdEUtxc3if_bvVUe0mjeCCtzHcluAuSYpOZPGGIsVBNn8y_1XybBxzhIhO1GXag_0_mTBt29eVIaFFQmgB5Dhh3AETu-KvP0B3BZR41uQ5Q8VfN3/w400-h225/20241021_100455.jpg" /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: georgia;">I took that bus on the way back, because my flight was departing from Suvarnabhumi. We arrived 15 minutes early despite the supposed four-hour journey and the traffic in Samut Sakhon because of ongoing highway repairs. If you are coming from Bangkok as I did, the best option would be to book a minivan via 12goasia. These minivans depart from Mo Chit’s NEW van terminal. The task of finding your van is a bit daunting in a sea of minivans going everywhere and everyone just speaking Thai. Just go to the counter for assistance and hope for the best.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: white;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkMM6iSSGYPfTWbnGeEYztFwyzSo-Kz7bS1qY5abslW6qOJmqLzP27t7nVE9q_QRHQDovKAeWRhe1xVMsckoU1GT8OiXgdIb215uUsYezD5RiNs4Jv7yA8LFGZADueM8RunMYsMQmquis3xU1zTOOcD1aVXZ0oN5sfgzSlifjn119zQAMlSgDBENomFmE1/w400-h225/20241021_100735.jpg" /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: georgia;">The name of the province where Hua Hin can be found is Prachuap Khiri Khan, one of Thailand’s 76 provinces. The province occupies the area that serves as the narrow neck connecting the block of Thailand’s central and northern areas to its narrow provinces down south. Hua Hin is one of the eight districts and also serves as the main city. It used to be a small fishing town before the Thai royal family turned it into their own personal resort. Since then, it has become a destination of choice for residents of Bangkok who want a quick weekend getaway. As for me, I can’t help but compare it to Pattaya, which is defo more rowdy and lively.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: white;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiJbowrfG6omQ98qBv_45vxsFLT7pLqTiR6jhOH70QjyQWuUL0QMeucRt7nTusIvIK-Nd9xkyCEKcWVX0591Jvex6bmoegfWKmpTKyhalEn1mJ8peYEFiEnHYwLp38t9ZOch9sX_QXz_uD6QhaP6hrxCGzVRLHx_WHfP0Kw43QGc3x1PD0wRvt0C4FhM_y/w400-h225/20241021_102810.jpg" /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: georgia;">There were a lot of foreigners and the beach seemed to be the main attraction, along with a mall called Venezia which tries to emulate the Italian city, as seems to be en vogue here in Southeast Asia. I decided to look for other attractions to explore and narrowed down my choices between Wat Huay Mongkol and Phraya Nakhon Cave. The former is a buddhist complex; the latter, a cave by the beach which has a sort of shrine deep inside, where the sun shines directly on if you arrive there at the right time of day. Wat Huay Mongkol is nearer and more accessible. I decided to be adventurous.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: white;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguyKHAb59DWyRNCJr0OZ2rS3gV34KlppLe3dpymB5jK9S4aYKolugDIP-Nnrn4_-PrbkjQegG3bh0PteHeFV3tmUQNlPhEoK789UgKKv0MrATwt6UgcZRSwu1KrzILwCyt64GZm_4zsVJOYow7_O_5qy8s1z4WgICxcIECJvyLFB6OcNQSGPL74SwfGQwr/w400-h225/20241021_101627.jpg" /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: georgia;">There is one train a day from Hua Hin to a nearby town but the timing is in the evening. Group tours online seem to be only available on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I only had Monday free. Another option is to hire a sedan from Hua Hin taxi which will cost you THB2,400 (~PHP4,200) per car for 10 hours with the driver, gas, and waiting time already included. Booking a Grab from Hua Hin is easy. The problem is going back. I took my chances. The Grab car from Hua Hin cost THB509 (~PHP875) for the one-hour ride. When we arrived, the driver said he could take me back to Hua Hin for the same amount.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: white;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzphOKAyLjXiryvzJ6c3-j6dN5mZgNxZUtXs76PM5_waII_a-asaNSpmEBlFisSG-_hSiAsdxJqFrbse8qStjeCI9om1fSXz_imDRCmx_xqI_iW2Mj5sLdpAM1gIo0ZD_Cph1qt7ZpWv8En595GDaK4fqmxbtxR4TviBKuNwpUVWP8aMyacg9_30gkDS3D/w400-h225/20241021_110008.jpg" /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: georgia;">I added another THB500 (~PHP860) for waiting time. When you get there, go to the booth for the admission ticket which costs THB200 (~PHP345) and the roundtrip boat ride for THB400 (~PHP690). You also have the option to go on a 30-minute trek which starts at the entrance right next to the booth. The boat ride takes just five minutes and eliminates this 30-minute trek. Either way, your end destination is Laem Sala Beach, where a 30-minute hike up rocky hills to the cave awaits. Weigh your options, with time availability and fitness levels as variables. If you have pre booked roundtrip transpo anyway, this would be better as a leisurely trek.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: white;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLLyytf4d8Wt_ZPk5nuyMPGBjIgBSg5egOOfZTFG4T0X1i-zIGCU_WzIPNQ6iz2K21TnzuVAqbfzhM1_zpl46ugZHFR6LHJlBATEU3zQiyqKcQxm_EzzYuMGvhQpS4T7MU3gU1ANrZ4ep5to2bFhNYarVH3HY7FrSuyWSXMrPLJh3APwnv0mgpwtLGPqYZ/w400-h225/20241021_104702.jpg" /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: georgia;">I was in a rush because the driver only gave me an hour and a half so I zoomed all the way up then down in just 30 minutes. My legs were dead after that. Once in the cave, the only attraction there is the shrine in the middle, underneath the cave hole in the ceiling where the sun shines through, with a backdrop of greenery that complements the brown and gray of the cave. The cave also has stalactites if you are interested in that. Otherwise, it’s just the shrine in different angles that you will be taking photos and videos of. The inside of the cave is really peaceful in spite of people coming and going. You will surely find a spot there to call your own.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: black; font-family: georgia; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1101111682022990&amp;type=3" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="563" data-original-width="2000" height="113" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil9i8iCThjLq46mYTIw64GM9UHx0Rgy7lKDJ9sUNBXo3hBONIXnt1B_J9h5xhzrclIfQSu6aNB1ibfoy88JKHYT5OGwOp_CbvNJjXdvBuLH7pGvOMrW2NQKgT9qyZS_n1tp0fdxEgQ6VGq1dh6lNKSzpgHR2VHEJtKZe0rPG6FjusqYzI50xQlz9bh8hyphenhyphena/w400-h113/20241021_104702.jpg" width="400" /></a></div></span><div style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; text-align: center;"><span style="color: red; font-family: georgia;"><b>[SAM ROI YOT] Phraya Nakhon Cave</b></span></div><div style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: georgia;"><a href="http://www.ihcahieh.com/2024/10/prachuap-khiri-khan-budget-and-itinerary.html" target="_blank">[PRACHUAP KHIRI KHAN] Budget and Itinerary</a></span></div></span></div></content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/feeds/8251114580079321418/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/2024/10/sam-roi-yot-phraya-nakhon-cave.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8879518290175104767/posts/default/8251114580079321418'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8879518290175104767/posts/default/8251114580079321418'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/2024/10/sam-roi-yot-phraya-nakhon-cave.html' title='[SAM ROI YOT] Phraya Nakhon Cave'/><author><name>ihcahieh</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/03679524174484441585</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3nYFbB2KFfGvXBwz4G6YUkdAA1l9U-l1XsQvMgsAtzrJZ7ue-wZdvgwwo2BmqBwbsbFS7SwEqTe9DoTHsj4icAvpbysDxqV2u5burN0D9aCj7eKYkTXaEMxFOZkc0aJU/s151/*'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMc8bZBHYqTM_SIyij3df8GCZOzMQIxiYh_zgAgIri1Q4IAo9LtDY0Yfuf35VWlrfKDNaOFCzcP7SWR6UtCTVES0c7abmwf7zMaa7JaTNvagRKhVyLF8GOmAUTv29h3srRZcq3VZHjyq66QyyBZd5rErczxG_G4D3hT_dgGm6wbED6vzj3NnNemX99K1zE/s72-w400-h225-c/20241021_110343.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8879518290175104767.post-3321452890283085954</id><published>2024-10-19T23:36:00.252+08:00</published><updated>2024-10-24T11:04:34.783+08:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Budget and Itinerary"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Chiang Mai"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Thailand"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Travel"/><title type='text'>[CHIANG MAI] Budget and Itinerary</title><content type='html'><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://wikitravel.org/en/Chiang_Mai" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="563" data-original-width="2000" height="113" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZlPOQiu7W0VMRNCMUcVVr2i2OmVU-ftrHMhvZK2wZiYrH9TtRU129gRcWQPtXhXjeDyeLiYGhdqVAOG0TN2nLWfQqr-Qjzpz1-T6D28FyVUwNeo2O5BWN9JiFs68dkbT2wVqzEcoO-dR9JOGJbvEJIocdv0OwkL2jbJwpr6hEHwCJyTbLQdMk-8b0JTzt/w400-h113/20241016_184144.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><div style="text-align: right;"><b><span style="color: red;">TUESDAY: October 15, 2024</span></b></div><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="color: white;">Cebu Pacific (Manila - Don Mueang) -</span> <span style="color: #fcff01;">1,050.00</span></div><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="color: white;">Space Station Hostel</span>&nbsp;<span style="color: white;">(1 Night) -</span>&nbsp;<span style="color: #fcff01;">450.00</span></div><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="color: #fcff01;">THB1,500.00</span></div><div style="text-align: right;"></div><div style="text-align: right;"><b><span style="color: red;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="text-align: right;"><b><span style="color: red;"><span><a name='more'></a></span>WEDNESDAY: October 16, 2024</span></b></div><div style="text-align: right;"><div><span style="color: white;">Air Asia (Don Mueang - Chiang Mai) -</span>&nbsp;<span style="color: #fcff01;">545.00</span></div><div><span style="color: white;">Grab (Airport - Premier Hostel) -</span>&nbsp;<span style="color: #fcff01;">134.00</span></div><div><span style="color: white;">Premier Hostel</span>&nbsp;<span style="color: white;">(3 Nights) -</span>&nbsp;<span style="color: #fcff01;">1,880.00</span></div><div><span style="color: white;">Terrace Bar (Fried Rice + Coke) -</span>&nbsp;<span style="color: #fcff01;">175.00</span></div></div><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="color: white;">Wat Chedi Luang</span>&nbsp;<span style="color: white;">(Admission Fee) -</span>&nbsp;<span style="color: #fcff01;">50.00</span></div><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="color: white;">7 Eleven (Groceries) -</span>&nbsp;<span style="color: #fcff01;">146.00</span></div><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="color: #fcff01;">THB2,930.00</span></div><div><span style="color: #fcff01;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #fcff01;"><div style="color: black; text-align: right;"><b><span style="color: red;">THURSDAY: October 17, 2024</span></b></div><div style="color: black; text-align: right;"><div><span style="color: white;">Get Your Guide</span>&nbsp;<span style="color: white;">(Doi Inthanon Day Trip) -</span>&nbsp;<span style="color: #fcff01;">1,265.00</span></div><div><span style="color: white;">Doi Inthanon (Admission Fee) -</span>&nbsp;<span style="color: #fcff01;">300.00</span></div><div><span style="color: white;">King/Queen Pagodas (Admission Fee) -</span>&nbsp;<span style="color: #fcff01;">100.00</span></div><div><span style="color: white;">7 Eleven (Groceries) -</span>&nbsp;<span style="color: #fcff01;">295.00</span></div></div><div style="color: black; text-align: right;"><span style="color: #fcff01;">THB1,960.00</span></div><div><span style="color: #fcff01;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #fcff01;"><div style="color: black; text-align: right;"><b><span style="color: red;">FRIDAY: October 18, 2024</span></b></div><div style="color: black; text-align: right;"><div><span style="color: white;">Nook Bar (Carbonara + Coke)</span><span style="color: white;">&nbsp;-</span>&nbsp;<span style="color: #fcff01;">174.00</span></div><div><span style="color: #fcff01;">THB174.00</span></div></div><div><span style="color: #fcff01;"><br /></span></div></span></div></span></div><div><span style="color: #fcff01;"><div style="color: black; text-align: right;"><b><span style="color: red;">SATURDAY: October 19, 2024</span></b></div><div style="color: black; text-align: right;"><div><span style="color: white;">Grab (Premier Hostel - Airport) -</span>&nbsp;<span style="color: #fcff01;">179.00</span></div><div><span style="color: white;">Air Asia (Chiang Mai -&nbsp;</span><span style="color: white;">Don Mueang</span><span style="color: white;">) -</span>&nbsp;<span style="color: #fcff01;">735.00</span></div></div><div style="color: black; text-align: right;"><span style="color: #fcff01;">THB914.00</span></div></span></div><div style="text-align: right;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="color: red;">SUBTOTAL </span><span style="color: white;">-</span> <span style="color: #fcff01;">THB7,478.00</span></div><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="color: #fcff01;">Estimate of THB1 = PhP1.70</span></div><div style="text-align: right;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: right;"><b><span style="color: red;">TOTAL</span> <span style="color: white;">-</span> <span style="color: #fcff01;">PhP12,712.60</span></b></div><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Provinces_of_Thailand" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1154" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2XkhO0n3yE2Zqv-ZGLU0-U4FXDyxt7QK0chujCa8efh6fNl8V5YLX7_LA25SI9zIVaknH5ExP5D_ivH-lQ8GfwwJ1fgmXETJkqYRgZ0gDUaiz24hCwvln5eiCHEY3wTsSrCAYO-hsEz4rZnewLeKftS8K9VsEovTQ7OEYydOA1YuOfKvhNhnPXEGj7bYi/w225-h400/Map%20-%20Thailand.png" style="border: medium none;" width="225" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b><span style="color: red;">TUESDAY: October 15, 2024<br /></span></b><span style="color: #fcff01;">19:25&nbsp;</span><span style="color: white;">-</span>&nbsp;<span style="color: red;">22:00</span>&nbsp;<span style="color: white;">Cebu Pacific (Manila - Don Mueang)<br /></span><div style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;"><span style="color: #fcff01; font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: white;">(</span><span style="color: red;">Time Zone Shift</span><span style="color: white;">:</span>&nbsp;<span style="color: #fcff01;">GMT+8</span>&nbsp;<span style="color: white;">to</span>&nbsp;<span style="color: red;">GMT+7</span><span style="color: white;">)</span></span></div><div style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;"><span style="color: #fcff01; font-family: georgia;">22:00 - 22:30</span><span style="color: black; font-family: georgia;">&nbsp;</span><span style="color: white; font-family: georgia;">Immigration (Don Mueang)</span></div><div style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;"><br /></div></span></div><b style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: red;">WEDNESDAY: October 16, 2024<br /></span></b><span style="color: #fcff01; font-family: georgia;">13:20 - 14:35</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">&nbsp;</span><span style="color: white; font-family: georgia;">Air Asia (Don Mueang - Chiang Mai)</span><div><span style="color: white; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><div><span style="color: #fcff01; font-family: georgia;">15:00 - 15:10</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">&nbsp;</span><span style="color: white; font-family: georgia;">Grab (Airport - Premier Hostel)</span></div><div><span style="color: white; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #fcff01; font-family: georgia;">17:10 - 17:30</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">&nbsp;</span><span style="color: white; font-family: georgia;">Stroll (</span><span style="color: white; font-family: georgia;">Old City</span><span style="color: white; font-family: georgia;">)</span><br style="font-family: georgia;" /><div></div><div><span style="color: #fcff01; font-family: georgia;">17:30 - 18:10&nbsp;</span><span style="color: white; font-family: georgia;">Sightseeing (</span><span style="color: white; font-family: georgia;">Wat Phra Singh</span><span style="color: white; font-family: georgia;">)</span><br style="font-family: georgia;" /><div></div></div><div><b style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: #fcff01; font-family: georgia; font-weight: 400;">18:10 - 18:55</span><span style="color: black; font-family: georgia; font-weight: 400;">&nbsp;</span><span style="color: white; font-family: georgia; font-weight: 400;">Sightseeing (Wat Chedi Luang)</span><br style="color: black; font-weight: 400;" /><div style="color: black; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; font-weight: 400;"></div></span></b></div><div><b style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: red;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: red;">THURSDAY: October 17, 2024<br /></span></b><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: #fcff01;">08:30 - 09:00</span>&nbsp;<span style="color: white;">Van (Hotel Pick-ups)</span><br /><span style="color: #fcff01;">09:00 - 09:30&nbsp;</span><span style="color: white;">Van (Chiang Mai - Gas Pitstop)</span><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: white;"><div style="color: black; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: #fcff01;">09:30 - 09:50&nbsp;</span><span style="color: white;">Toilet Break (Gas Pitstop)</span></span></div><span style="color: #fcff01;"></span></span></span></div><span style="color: #fcff01; font-family: georgia;">09:50 - 10:50&nbsp;</span><span style="color: white; font-family: georgia;">Van (Gas Pitstop - Wachirathan Falls)</span><br style="font-family: georgia;" /><span style="color: #fcff01; font-family: georgia;">10:50 - 11:45</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">&nbsp;</span><span style="color: white; font-family: georgia;">Sightseeing (</span><span style="color: white; font-family: georgia;">Wachirathan/Sirithan Falls)</span><br style="font-family: georgia;" /><div><div><span style="color: #fcff01; font-family: georgia;">11:45 - 12:20&nbsp;</span><span style="color: white; font-family: georgia;">Van (Sirithan&nbsp;Falls - Doi Inthanon)</span><br style="font-family: georgia;" /></div><div><span style="color: white; font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: #fcff01; font-family: georgia;">12:20 - 12:45</span><span style="color: black; font-family: georgia;">&nbsp;</span><span style="color: white; font-family: georgia;">Sightseeing (</span>Doi Inthanon)<div style="color: black; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;"></div></span></div><div><span style="color: white; font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: #fcff01; font-family: georgia;">12:45 - 14:00</span><span style="color: black; font-family: georgia;">&nbsp;</span><span style="color: white; font-family: georgia;">Sightseeing (</span>King/Queen Pagodas)<br style="color: black;" /><div style="color: black; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;"></div></span></div><span style="color: #fcff01; font-family: georgia;"></span></div></div><b style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: red;"><div><b style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: red;"><div style="color: black; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; font-weight: 400;"><span style="color: #fcff01; font-family: georgia;">14:00 - 14:15&nbsp;</span><span style="color: white; font-family: georgia;">Van (King/Queen Pagodas - Doi Inthanon)</span><br style="font-family: georgia;" /></div><div style="color: black; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; font-weight: 400;"><span style="color: white; font-family: georgia;"><b style="color: red;"><span style="color: red;"><b><span style="color: red;"><div style="color: black; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; font-weight: 400;"><span style="color: #fcff01; font-family: georgia;">14:15 - 15:00&nbsp;</span><span style="color: white; font-family: georgia;">Late Lunch (Doi Inthanon)</span><br style="font-family: georgia;" /></div></span></b><span style="color: red;"><b><span style="color: white; font-family: georgia;"></span></b></span><div style="color: black; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; font-weight: 400;"><span style="color: #fcff01; font-family: georgia;">15:00 - 15:30&nbsp;</span><span style="color: white; font-family: georgia;">Sightseeing (Local Market)</span></div></span></b><span style="color: red;"><b><span style="color: white; font-family: georgia;"></span></b></span></span></div><div><span style="color: white; font-family: georgia;"><div style="color: black; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; font-weight: 400;"><span style="color: white; font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: #fcff01; font-family: georgia;">15:30 - 16:00</span><span style="color: black; font-family: georgia;">&nbsp;</span><span style="color: white; font-family: georgia;">Sightseeing (Karen Village)</span><div style="color: black; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;"></div></span></div><div style="color: black; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: #fcff01;">16:00 - 18:00&nbsp;</span><span style="color: white;">Van (Karen Village - Chiang Mai)</span></span></div></span></div></span></b></div><div><b style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: red;"><br /></span></b></div>FRIDAY: October 18, 2024<br /></span></b><div><span style="color: #fcff01; font-family: georgia;"><b>REST DAY</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: white;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b><span style="color: red;">SATURDAY: October 19, 2024</span></b><div style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;"><span style="color: #fcff01; font-family: georgia;">11:40 - 11:50</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">&nbsp;</span><span style="color: white; font-family: georgia;">Grab (Premier Hostel - Airport)</span></div><div><span style="color: white; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><div style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;"><span style="color: #fcff01; font-family: georgia;">13:05 - 14:15</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">&nbsp;</span><span style="color: white; font-family: georgia;">Air Asia (Chiang Mai -&nbsp;</span><span style="color: white; font-family: georgia;">Don Mueang</span><span style="color: white; font-family: georgia;">)</span></div><div><br /></div></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1098499165617575&amp;type=3" style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="563" data-original-width="2000" height="113" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_uz3Z0k15Ps6VfEMm7PL_VfCnnyUk2GFLgvHkiKeqXKyC2y06_fYqusKXNfE42jIK24Ui0cMs2YWuL0ZqU7epimBbsDHJAEIH1yOoPWAuIyZDoZ0_F7-pUghlEgrxiUo4CC_sgOKSr413oIOYI20Ms8BcAgmWzxRIsKRIex34FycBTbFnZPf3snlFOyq3/w400-h113/20241017_135259.jpg" width="400" /></a></div></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-family: georgia;"><a href="http://www.ihcahieh.com/2023/10/pattaya-golden-buddha-and-wooden-temple.html" target="_blank">[PATTAYA] A Golden Buddha and a Wooden Temple</a></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red; font-family: georgia;"><b>[CHIANG MAI] Budget and Itinerary</b></span></div></div></div></div></content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/feeds/3321452890283085954/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/2024/10/chiang-mai-budget-and-itinerary.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8879518290175104767/posts/default/3321452890283085954'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8879518290175104767/posts/default/3321452890283085954'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/2024/10/chiang-mai-budget-and-itinerary.html' title='[CHIANG MAI] Budget and Itinerary'/><author><name>ihcahieh</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/03679524174484441585</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3nYFbB2KFfGvXBwz4G6YUkdAA1l9U-l1XsQvMgsAtzrJZ7ue-wZdvgwwo2BmqBwbsbFS7SwEqTe9DoTHsj4icAvpbysDxqV2u5burN0D9aCj7eKYkTXaEMxFOZkc0aJU/s151/*'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZlPOQiu7W0VMRNCMUcVVr2i2OmVU-ftrHMhvZK2wZiYrH9TtRU129gRcWQPtXhXjeDyeLiYGhdqVAOG0TN2nLWfQqr-Qjzpz1-T6D28FyVUwNeo2O5BWN9JiFs68dkbT2wVqzEcoO-dR9JOGJbvEJIocdv0OwkL2jbJwpr6hEHwCJyTbLQdMk-8b0JTzt/s72-w400-h113-c/20241016_184144.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8879518290175104767.post-2819592268867275948</id><published>2024-10-14T23:25:00.014+08:00</published><updated>2024-10-14T23:44:58.856+08:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Atwood M."/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Canadian"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Literature"/><title type='text'>The Handmaid's Tale</title><content type='html'><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Handmaid%27s_Tale" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="200" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-3jYCS6DgKRhIy-72jJXe3D5s_DcOvVsYJAfOUMtwZ-4DsSVF-ZARRorT0QrpHThFvdpK5hKyUn4Dpjflv0iZt5v-XctzNs3BlRld7wnskkQc8ZyqS0j15Gg78r-6qcp9MzEHv301qgBn-R2c9kA-cq4m1NxcCf8Ui5cWken2peVORn-DxKi_TRSf580r/s1600/123456789.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: justify;">♣♣♣♣♣/♣♣♣♣♣</div></span><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">In what used to be the United States of America rises a totalitarian state named Gilead, where women garbed in red known as Handmaids are assigned in rotation as birth vessels to men of power known as Commanders. Their role is simple: to serve the biological purpose of reproduction, after an unmentioned phenomenon leaves much of the country with fatal levels of infertility. One such Handmaid only referred to as Offred, based on a genitive naming system after the names of their Commanders who serve as their owners, tells the story of her everyday life and routine, how she discovers an underground resistance group known as Mayday, and how both her Commander and his Wife make her complicit in their various secret schemes that neither must be aware of. In a new world order where the only purpose of a fertile woman is to give birth, Offred tries to reconcile her current situation with fleeting memories of the past, her partner and daughter, and hopes that she might be reunited with them again one day.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><a name='more'></a></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Much of the novel’s 300+ pages are firsthand narrations of Offred’s life as a handmaid, a slice-of-life account of her daily duties interspersed with disjointed memories of her past life before the incorporation of Gilead. Plot development is slow and your knowledge of this universe is restricted by the POV of your anchor in the story who is also just collecting bits and pieces of info here and there. The ambiguous cliffhanger ending serves as the climax while the 12-page epilogue is a university symposium set in the year 2195 long after Gilead collapses, almost two centuries after the time when the events described by the narrator took place.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">The epilogue at least gives us as much. It is revealed that the story is derived from a collection of thirty recorded cassette tapes recovered in the city of Bangor in modern-day Maine, which is part of Gilead in the book’s world, bordering Canada, where most refugees escape to. The real identities of the characters are speculated upon but reach no definite conclusion. The fate of Offred is also left undefined, but the beauty in this is how it mirrors real life diaries or recordings containing first hand narrations of historical accounts, which serve more as a rather personal peek into the psyche of the individual living in that era than a tell-all record of historical facts.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">The appeal of the book has much to do with the absurdity of the premise given its setting in the Land of the Free vis-à-vis the likelihood of it actually happening. The Handmaid’s Tale was written in 1986. Fast forward just four decades later and we see an America that has been on an aggressive seesaw of liberal and conservative ideologies, dynamics constantly shifting as if repeatedly testing the limits of democracy. Perhaps that’s where the thrill of this book’s premise really lies because we can never be so sure, but the United States of America always seems to be just one election away from becoming the Republic of Gilead.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">This is my second Margaret Atwood novel, my first being her Booker Prize winning The Blind Assassin published two decades after The Handmaid’s Tale. Atwood has a legit talent for storytelling. She has a way of writing characters that just draw you in, making you stop and look at the realities they inhabit. The Handmaid’s Tale is more political in nature, though. While societal norms and reputation play a big role in both books, The Handmaid’s Tale just feels like the beginning of a much larger franchise in the same vein as those young adult fiction series where an underdog stands up against a dystopian system, against all odds.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">And that might explain why there is just a feeling of being shortchanged once you finally put the book down because you want more. There are just too many questions for which you will have no answers. Instead of getting the bigger picture and reaching a cathartic conclusion where the “good guys” prevail, The Handmaid’s Tale just offers an individual account of one character who does not really make much of a difference. Of course we know that Gilead eventually ceases to exist, but that is added as a simple footnote instead of making up the novel’s entire plot.</span></div></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">If anything, The Handmaid's Tale is just one of many novels that exist to remind us how some freedoms we currently enjoy that generations before us fought hard for could be snatched away in a snap by a mere regime change. The prospect is scary, but doesn't make it any less true, or out of reach as far as possibilities are concerned.</span></div></content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/feeds/2819592268867275948/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/2024/10/the-handmaids-tale.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8879518290175104767/posts/default/2819592268867275948'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8879518290175104767/posts/default/2819592268867275948'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/2024/10/the-handmaids-tale.html' title='The Handmaid's Tale'/><author><name>ihcahieh</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/03679524174484441585</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3nYFbB2KFfGvXBwz4G6YUkdAA1l9U-l1XsQvMgsAtzrJZ7ue-wZdvgwwo2BmqBwbsbFS7SwEqTe9DoTHsj4icAvpbysDxqV2u5burN0D9aCj7eKYkTXaEMxFOZkc0aJU/s151/*'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-3jYCS6DgKRhIy-72jJXe3D5s_DcOvVsYJAfOUMtwZ-4DsSVF-ZARRorT0QrpHThFvdpK5hKyUn4Dpjflv0iZt5v-XctzNs3BlRld7wnskkQc8ZyqS0j15Gg78r-6qcp9MzEHv301qgBn-R2c9kA-cq4m1NxcCf8Ui5cWken2peVORn-DxKi_TRSf580r/s72-c/123456789.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8879518290175104767.post-6833622734001868740</id><published>2024-10-07T23:03:00.017+08:00</published><updated>2024-10-08T11:37:38.818+08:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="American"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Literature"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Vonnegut K."/><title type='text'>Slaughterhouse-Five</title><content type='html'><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slaughterhouse-Five" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="200" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDSGVDvAxN8r7HSMTqYlqomtLxOq20sdwXkMBvk1xwTXlulKUTDOMlnAfwlPPCycZA95HlBAJOTr0rHlK5gva0SoWQ4WzOrkWKjrpE4XikH9HOqjyumlf0CuSbY_hsqZPGcG_9uDyDv6r58bnhQwZyDXwjwLAqGyk9O-yNSshcbhPAfHwErnAwk86gdqme/s1600/123456.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: justify;">♣♣♣♣/♣♣♣♣♣</div></span><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: white;"><br /></span></span></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">All this happened, more or less. Billy Pilgrim is captured as a prisoner of war and is sent to Dresden with fellow American POWs to live in Schlachthof-fünf (Slaughterhouse-Five), which as the name suggests used to be a storehouse for meat. There they serve as contracted laborers and survive the Allied bombing of Dresden that kills tens of thousands and reduces the city into rubble. Pilgrim and company are saved by the underground bunker in their make-shift residence but only a few of them make it back to America alive. He rebuilds his life and finds wealth in optometry in his hometown of Ilium, marrying the daughter of the owner of the school he attends and having two children with her. And then he is abducted by extraterrestrials and taken to the planet Tralfamadore where he is housed in a zoo for observation and given another human being as his mate, a porn star named Montana Wildhack with whom he sires another child. Later on in life he claims to be capable of time travel, jumping to different moments of his life at will. So it goes.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><a name='more'></a></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">I didn’t know what to expect when I added Slaughterhouse-Five to my reading list. All I knew was that it involved time travel. Billy Pilgrim’s claim of having such an ability is subject to debate but is beyond the point. Its interpretation relies heavily on the reader. Two of the prevalent themes explored here and linked to time travel as a plot device are: Post Traumatic Stress Disorder brought about by the protagonist’s experiences during World War II; and a more existentialist take on our concept of time and our interpretation of it as supposedly linear in nature where everything follows a chronological order.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">The theme of PTSD is not new to us in this generation but lest we forget, this book was published in 1969, when studies of such concepts about mental health were not that popular yet. That we are finally acknowledging mental issues as legit societal problems is a good step forward for our kind, but this hasn’t always been the case given how such topics were considered taboo or rather niche back then. Given these observations, we can say that Slaughterhouse-Five was way ahead of its time in showing its reader what PTSD felt like, even though Vonnegut had to hide it under the guise of time travel to make it more palatable.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">As for the theme of time, the Tralfamadorians consider the concept as four dimensional. Life is not linear but rather a set of events plotted to be accessible simultaneously, with moments in time allowed to be revisited without limit anytime they choose. This is why they do not mourn death, because they can always just access another point in life where this is not the case. Stripped of its fantasy elements, what the author wants us to do is to be “unstuck in time” by seeing life as a rich collection of moments that should be enjoyed by virtue of their own individual merits instead of preoccupying ourselves with the search for meaning and purpose.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Vonnegut’s exposition is humorous and simple. He does not aspire for elegant prose or verbosity. Instead, he gives you simple sentences that serve as simple declarations, most of the time laced with sarcasm and wit that they come across as unserious at times. In effect, this is where the charm of Slaughterhouse-Five really lies. This is an anti-war novel that tries to find some levity in narrating the atrocities happening in the frontlines without attempting to sugarcoat them, leaving its readers shocked yet entertained at the same time without diminishing the seriousness of its message which is the nonsensical nature of war.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: white;">I enjoyed the novel but I found the writing style rather incohesive. While I was entertained, there was something lacking that I just couldn’t put a finger on. In any case, I acknowledge the appeal of Slaughterhouse-Five and I understand how it reached the esteemed place in literature that it occupies nowadays. It is that kind of novel that invites discussion and you, the reader, to peel off its layers one by one, analyzing its importance and relevance in an era dominated by war and the eventual wave of disgust that followed coming from humans who are just sick and tired of it despite it being a constant feature of our existence on this planet</span>.</span></div></div></div></content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/feeds/6833622734001868740/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/2024/10/slaughterhouse-five.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8879518290175104767/posts/default/6833622734001868740'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8879518290175104767/posts/default/6833622734001868740'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/2024/10/slaughterhouse-five.html' title='Slaughterhouse-Five'/><author><name>ihcahieh</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/03679524174484441585</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3nYFbB2KFfGvXBwz4G6YUkdAA1l9U-l1XsQvMgsAtzrJZ7ue-wZdvgwwo2BmqBwbsbFS7SwEqTe9DoTHsj4icAvpbysDxqV2u5burN0D9aCj7eKYkTXaEMxFOZkc0aJU/s151/*'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDSGVDvAxN8r7HSMTqYlqomtLxOq20sdwXkMBvk1xwTXlulKUTDOMlnAfwlPPCycZA95HlBAJOTr0rHlK5gva0SoWQ4WzOrkWKjrpE4XikH9HOqjyumlf0CuSbY_hsqZPGcG_9uDyDv6r58bnhQwZyDXwjwLAqGyk9O-yNSshcbhPAfHwErnAwk86gdqme/s72-c/123456.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8879518290175104767.post-649029722398394014</id><published>2024-10-02T21:33:00.010+08:00</published><updated>2024-10-08T14:19:30.064+08:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Film"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Hollywood"/><title type='text'>Joker: Folie à Deux</title><content type='html'><div class="separator"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joker:_Folie_%C3%A0_Deux" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="200" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCyG4P9zp2so-172kcGim_6ftJULPhFg3qZS4hj0GXxS4ZB_BZnJuqCT2pMhXQaAr88sBuyTRYT4IJP-CYhKJ7vXTlhnydoyVYGJG-yPX5U_CtmOISnkh5FkFMUe-YyeRKO4oTOv4W4hcy2VmoLwhw645l__Qt99kc6cBIKj430jO6uj5lUIKs6fMJXbAi/s1600/123456.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: justify;">♣♣/♣♣♣♣♣</div></span><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix) goes on trial for the multiple murders he has committed prior to ending up in prison. Arkham State Hospital guard Jackie Sullivan (Brendan Gleeson) becomes his watcher and vouches for his good track record inside, taking him to Ward B from time to time where they witness a group session that utilizes music as therapy. There Arthur locks eyes with Harleen Quinzel (Lady Gaga), a patient who instantly develops an obsession with him and goes on to encourage him to unleash the Joker. His legal team led by Maryanne Stewart (Catherine Keener) is preparing an insanity plea, looking at the possibility of using a split personality diagnosis as his get-out-of-jail-free card. However, upstart prosecutor Harvey Dent (Harry Lawtey) is hell bent on pursuing a guilty conviction for Fleck, revealing in a TV interview that he wants nothing less than the death penalty for him. As the trial begins, a group of Joker sympathizers come up with a drastic plan to rescue their idol.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><a name='more'></a></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">The announcement of a Joker sequel, a musical with Lady Gaga in it, set the internet ablaze a few years ago. Since then, the anticipation for the film has been a mix of those who hate musicals and those who are willing to give it the benefit of the doubt. When Joker: Folie à Deux finally premiered at the Venice Film Festival, which also served as the launching pad of its prequel to Oscar and box office glory, that anticipation suddenly evaporated; Lady Gaga was suddenly campaigning in Supporting instead of Lead; and we never heard about this sequel again until it premiered today. Now I know why. Curious? Go watch it to find out. Don't say I didn't warn you, though.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Had they turned this into a full-blown musical and committed to the song and dance numbers, I would’ve been entertained. However, this is a boring court drama, my dudes. The musical detours are all happening inside their heads and are mostly disjointed and forgettable. Heck, they did not even come up with a catchy playlist to turn this into an enjoyable jukebox musical. Harvey Dent in his pre-Two-face persona is introduced but is not given enough material to leave a mark, despite the last scene we see him in practically serving as an origin story.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Lady Gaga has been cosplaying as Harley Quinn for much of her career. Somehow. Her popstar persona seems to have been one long audition for this particular role. Part of the excitement and/or hate directed at her casting is the knowledge that she actually has what it takes to match or even surpass Margot Robbie’s definitive portrayal which gave the audience the Harley that they wanted despite the questionable box office and critical reception of the three films she’s been in. So why give Gaga a Harley Quinn so subdued and boring and not even take advantage of the musical talents she could offer by giving her mediocre set pieces?</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Perhaps the answer to that question is because they were angling for a Harley Quinn fashioned as Oscar bait. Dark. Edgy. Cray cray but redeemable. Pretty much how Phoenix did it to win an Oscar for his rendition of the Joker in the first movie. If that’s what they were aiming for, then maybe they should have focused more on Harley and given her a credible backstory; and, us, the audience, a gory and entertaining beautiful mess that could’ve been her descent to madness. Unfortunately that wasn’t what we got. I won’t put the blame on Gaga, though. She seems like she’d been just as shortchanged as we have been.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Unlike the first film which balanced a character and plot driven approach, Joker: Folie à Deux does not offer much in terms of action or plot development. It focuses again on Arthur’s psychology, of which we’ve already had enough in the first film. Had they really wanted to explore this angle even more, a TV series would have been a more appropriate medium since they seem eager to dive even deeper into the character anyway. As for the musical aspect, Broadway would’ve been the right community to embrace this material with no questions asked. There’s always room for jukebox musicals there. Doesn’t Gaga want a Tony nom?</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Staying put to finish this movie was a struggle. I was already just tinkering with my phone as we reached the second half. It’s a good thing there was neither mid nor post credits scene, not that the storyline necessitated any. The ending makes it clear that they are cutting this narrative right here and now. Perhaps they had an inkling that this wasn’t going to end well. The ending serves as a definitive period to a 138-minute long sentence. The breakout sequence right before that would’ve been a more fitting conclusion, even though it would’ve turned this and the prequel into a dragging origin story. I guess this is just the better way out.</span></div></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_OKAwz2MsJs" width="320" youtube-src-id="_OKAwz2MsJs"></iframe></div></div></content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/feeds/649029722398394014/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/2024/10/joker-folie-deux.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8879518290175104767/posts/default/649029722398394014'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8879518290175104767/posts/default/649029722398394014'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/2024/10/joker-folie-deux.html' title='Joker: Folie à Deux'/><author><name>ihcahieh</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/03679524174484441585</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3nYFbB2KFfGvXBwz4G6YUkdAA1l9U-l1XsQvMgsAtzrJZ7ue-wZdvgwwo2BmqBwbsbFS7SwEqTe9DoTHsj4icAvpbysDxqV2u5burN0D9aCj7eKYkTXaEMxFOZkc0aJU/s151/*'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCyG4P9zp2so-172kcGim_6ftJULPhFg3qZS4hj0GXxS4ZB_BZnJuqCT2pMhXQaAr88sBuyTRYT4IJP-CYhKJ7vXTlhnydoyVYGJG-yPX5U_CtmOISnkh5FkFMUe-YyeRKO4oTOv4W4hcy2VmoLwhw645l__Qt99kc6cBIKj430jO6uj5lUIKs6fMJXbAi/s72-c/123456.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry></feed>

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