Showing 21 - 30 of 63
Thailand's Thasnai facing a jury
Life, Ariane Kupferman-Sutthavong, Published on 27/06/2018
» Thai artist Thasnai Sethaseree, whose monumental-scale paper collage work questions Thai historiography and structures of power, is among the finalists nominated for the 2018 Signature Art Prize in Singapore.
Action-packed
Life, Bernard Trink, Published on 15/06/2018
» When a popular author passes away, his/her estate seeks a replacement to keep generating income. Hopefully, one who can step into the shoes with nary a squeak. Alas, there have been more than a few squeaks and the replacement -- a competent scribe for the stories he's accustomed to writing -- is unable to make the change. The estate may try others with the same result.
The midlife crisis
Life, Bernard Trink, Published on 09/03/2018
» What newlyweds with stars in their eyes aren't told by their elders is that there will be speed bumps in the marriage. One of the more common is the so-called seven-year-itch. The figure is approximate and refers to either or both parties being irresistibly drawn to others several years into a relationship. Usually he or she does nothing about -- but if they do, they take lovers.
A treaty for peace
Life, Bernard Trink, Published on 23/11/2017
» Following the two-decade-long Napoleonic Wars, Europe, not least France, licked its wounds and agreed "never again". Then they set about making a lasting peace. They felt able to do it. It was the Age of Reason and they were was intelligent as one could be in 1815.
Hail and farewell
Life, Bernard Trink, Published on 19/05/2017
» Contemporary historians are predictable -- penning book after book about Atlantis, ancient Rome, the Templars, World War II. But then a few looked at the calendar and the penny dropped. 2017. Isn't this the anniversary of something? Indeed. The Russian Revolution a century ago.
A Cold War thriller
Life, Bernard Trink, Published on 26/01/2017
» The time was when visiting the USSR was difficult and leaving it impossible. Lenin and Stalin had built the ideal state and close contact with the outside world would only contaminate it. Until Hitler offered a deal they couldn't refuse -- to slice up Poland between them.
We'll always have Casablanca
Life, Kong Rithdee, Published on 06/01/2017
» In Casablanca -- yes, Casablanca -- they fall in love amidst the escalation of war. It wasn't supposed to be real: Brad Pitt is Commander Max Vatan, a Canadian intelligence officer parachuting into French Morocco at the height of World War II to meet his contact, a French resistance fighter Marianne Beausejour, played by Marion Cotillard. They only need to pretend to be lovers in order to fool the Germans in the lead up to the assassination of a German ambassador. But like in Casablanca, which is a thousand times more romantic and sad by the way, Max and Marianne can't resist the dangerous lure of romance as the spectre of death and war smother them.
Top 10 movies led by Moonlight, La La Land
Life, Published on 19/12/2016
» [1] Moonlight. The life of Chiron, the young man who grows up in three distinct chapters in Barry Jenkins' masterpiece, is hard and full of pain. And yet Moonlight is so abundant with transcendent moments of grace and lyrical splendour. In the film's blue-tinged darkness shines a tortured soul, one of the most intimately and fully realised ones I can remember encountering in a movie.
It's fun but we deserve more
Life, Kanin Srimaneekulroj, Published on 16/12/2016
» There are many things to like about Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. For one, it's definitely a true-blood Star Wars film, bringing with it all the spectacle and grandeur the franchise has always been known for. Continuing the example set by the previously released Episode VII, the film's action sequences and epic dogfight scenes are a delight to behold, and are even more prominent here than perhaps in any Star Wars film before it. It benefits greatly from a superb cast of supporting characters, a couple of whom are even worthy of joining the likes of C-3PO or R2-D2 in Star Wars' pantheon of excellent sidekicks.