Online Review

RubberBand should be my favorite Hong Kong band. Not only the lovely voice of the vocal No.6 but their songs are meaningful with contain culture meaning. Connected is their third album with released in 2010. I like this album of them most. The reason of loving this album is not just the melody is good but they are all alive. The theme of the cover and the MV is Lennoon which is a special element of this album who is an ancient animal. The Chinese name of it called “連儂獸” which means connected in Shanghaiese. All the song in it is connecting to people that about different people’s daily life and feeling.

As the opening of the Connected, this first song《天連地》is about the connection between two fellow soldiers. The lyric「去連結你跟我」means connecting you and me. They song described the experiences of the soldier and showing the deep relationship. Except this, there are songs talking about the relationship between different groups of people – how they are connected. 《金獅同學會》is talking about the dream between the old schoolmates. They dreamed to filming together but all of them have given up but rushing for their life long time ago. Not just about the connection between them but also the sadness of life.《田鼠論壇》is about the people who meet each other on the forum. They support each other even they don’t know each other in the real life. 《雙城記》is talking about the missing of an old friend who moved to another country long time ago. 《海‧地》 reminded people to care about the world by using the case of tsunami in Haiti. Still, it should have love songs SimpleLoveSong and Hello in this album – love between different sex is also kind of connection.

Besides, quite a lot of the songs in Connected are talking about the life and inner world of people in differentindustry.《細街盃》is about the worker from Africa. World Cup made they miss their home when they are working in far away.《3字頭》is about the sales who need to call cold call everyday. From the lyric, we can feel how boring andbothersome their job is. They life of people who need to always work overtime until midnight is showing in《一轉身卻天亮了》.《囍宴樂隊》is about the live band who work in the wedding. All these songs are about those “little potato” in Hong Kong. The may be ignored by the majority group. No one would care or try to understand their life. But these songs gave us a chance to do it and also remind us to aware every little thing in the society.

This album is not only for listening but also reading. It just gave me double enjoyment of buying it!

Done by Agnes Tang Yim Kwan (10382574)

Media reflection by Haze

Love in a Puff (traditional Chinese: 志明與春嬌)

The movie Love in a Puff was a romantic comedy directed by Pang Ho-Cheung in 2010 and starring Shawn Yue and Miriam Yeung. The story is about how 2 smokers met and got into a romantic relationship due to the banning of smoking in all indoor smoking area. The film is classified as a category 3 film in Hong Kong because of dialogues with excessive foul language.

The story started by sharing ghost stories and dirty jokes within smokers who were having a cigarette break gathering, smokers did not know each other unless their usually meet at the smoking area with garbage can that with ash tray provided, known as”打邊爐”(hot pot gathering) in Cantonese.

This is nothing new in our daily life since the ban of smoking policy has been introduced, the director chosen this common experience of Hong Kong people and especially to smokers, strongly boosted the interests of Hong Kong’s audience watching the film.

Beside from the “hot pot” gathering, others elements like Canton foul language, jokes, chatting through SMS, using Facebook, etc, were also parts of our daily activities. These elements were full of local popular culture that shaped our mindsets and acts. The usage of these components making audiences to be more easily getting into the story, understanding characters’ feelings and actions.

Although the film was categorized as a romantic comedy, love story or romantic plot was not really that much. The romantic parts were also nothing special to local audience unlike others romantic love story which were unpredictable. Yet, it fits the production of the film and playing the whole film smoothly as the film seems to be only a sharing of common sense of local people.

The banning of smoking in all indoor smoking area has received lots of opposing noises although the government claimed that they had conducted the best survey from the public and were just to fulfill people’s wants. Personally, being a smoker, also feeling uncomfortable to the policy and the following cigarette taxes. Like what have been mentioned in the film, the advantage to smokers and office workers is that the policy forces people to have cigarette break in the form of”打邊爐”, increasing the probability of socializing with other smokers and making new friends. Besides, another shot like Cherie (starring by Miriam Yeung) and Jimmy (starring by Shawn Yue) were driving around to search for cheap cigarettes before the addition on cigarette tax. This kind of shot is nothing new in every new addition of cigarette tax policy comes and just showing how helpless are smokers in Hong Kong, they have no any bargaining power to fight against government policy. For me, I will not consider the film to be romantic movie but a beautiful story that sharing collective memory and local culture.

Movie trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NmHopCYywDg

By Chan Man Hong, Haze (10463287)

Online Review: Monster.

'Monsters' Trailer HD

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njeofv4dr9Q

Monster mainpage

http://www.monstersthemovi.com/

“Monsters” is a Hollywood movie. This story happened in 2009, the NASA found another life form in space. And send a spaceshipto studyabout it. However the spaceship broke, while it was returning to earth. That unknown life form stayed the Middle American, and instead of other original life forms in Mexico. Half of the Mexico was occupied by this unknown life form. Also, Mexico became a locked and separated infected area. This infectedarea was guarded by the US and Mexican army, to prevent these monsters go to America. An American photographer, begrudgingly agrees to take photoin infected area and find his boss' daughter, a shaken American tourist escort her through the infected zone to the safety of the America.

A famous movie website, Ain’t It Cool News, comment “Monters” is the best catastrophe movie in these few years. And in 2010 SXSW movie exhibition, also labelled “Monster” is good as another catastrophe movie, “District 9”. Moreover, the “Monster” won Best British Independent Film Best Technical Achievement and so on. The movie poster was same as normal monsters’ movie. Like this first one, the main actor and actress stand inthe middle. The background is a boring city and forest. Just like another monster movie, “I am Legend”. The actor is also standing in the middle of poster. Or another poster of warning, warn people do not entrythe infected area. It is similar with the “District 9”, also a warning of aliens. As a result, Monster was label as a a monster movie similar with “I am Legend” and “District 9”, just like its name, it seems it is related to monsters. Many people though this is a movie related to monsters.

Movie posters

Others monsters’ posters (I am Legend and District 9)

However, it is not. Many of film critics criticized it is the worst movie they have seen. Many of them regretted they have watched this movie. First of all, the movie producers named a wrong name on “Monsters”. In Hong Kong, “Monsters” named “異獸圍城”, that mean monsters envelop the city. As a result, people decided it is a kind of catastrophe movie. Moreover, there is another monster and war film, name “Battle: Los Angeles”. In Chinese, it is “異形侵略戰”. In this way, people though this two movies is in the same genre. But actually, the “Monsters” is different with “Battle: Los Angeles”. In the movie, there are only many beautiful frames in Mexico, but no monsters, no action scenes.

Comments on Yahoo

In fact, “Monsters” is a love film, but not monster film. “Monsters” is a low cost love story. The story of “Monsters” uses monsters as a reason, to make an escape for the actor and actress. Inside the escape, the actor and actress fall in love. Because of the name “Monsters”, people though it is a genre of monster. The name of “Monsters” was recalling the similar history of other monsters movies. As a result, it attracted wrong audiences to watch this film. But it cannot satisfy the audiences’ expectations competency. As a result, “Monsters” had many and many bad comments, because it did not in the right genre.

Kenji, Leung Kinnam 10461362

Gallants (打擂台）

Gallants is a 2010 Hong Kong Kung Fu comedy film directed by Derek Kwok and

Clement Cheng, which got "The best Movie Award" of the 30th Hong Kong Film Awards in 2011. Although the movie received high appraisal in film festivals, the box office was quite unsatisfactory. I would try to briefly analyze why this film receive such high appraisal.


The film shows strong nostalgia of old fashion Hong Kong Kung Fu film. The film is set in modern Hong Kong, but the genre of it is quite similar to the 1970s Kung Fu film. Note the setting. The film sets in a village in New Territories, two middle age Kung Fu masters, Dragon (Chan Kuan-Tai) and Tiger (Leung Siu-Lung) run a old teahouse, no skyscraper and all elements of a modern city, as if getting back to the pre-modern age. The master Law San (Teddy Robin) of Dragon and Tiger has been in coma for 30 years, but one day he waks up.


The wake up of Law San seems to show a connection between modern and 1970s Hong Kong, since Law determines to restart his martial art school, which is a important symbol of old fashion Kung Fu film. The iconography in the martial art school is notable. The big tablet hung on above the gate, traditional chinese calligraphy are hung everywhere inside the school, also the "Lion Heads" of lion dace and Chinese traditional weapons are seen there. Law always wear traditional clothes and his language is also very "old fashion", show strong nostalgia to the "old day".


As the Chinese name shows, the theme of the movie is about martial art contest. Almost all the characters in teh film know Kung Fu, lots of fighting scenes have been seen. But it is similar to old fashion Kung Fu film, the focusing point is not only on the exciting fighting scene, it wants to show "the spirit of Kung Fu" and some traditional morality through the film. For example, the narrative of this film focuses on the two disciples of master Law San who keep running the martial art school for 30 years when Law was in coma, although finally it becomes a teahouse, but they still keep taking care of the old master difficultly. This shows strong feeling of tradinotal morality of "respect to mster", which is common in the old Kung Fu films.


When law decides to attend the martial art contest hold by Chung Sang-mang (Mc Jin) and his master Pong Ching (Chan Wai-man), and finally being disqualified, Law says "arena is just a name, for contest, everywhere is arena.", "You won't lose when you don't fight; You must win whenevery you decide to fight." This is trying to show the spirit of "never give up" of martial art, the term "win" here not just refers to "win the battle", but means fighting until the last second, although finally you lost, you "win". This spirit is show in the final battle between the disciple of Pong Ching and Tiger, thought finally Tiger is lost, but he has done his best to fight, he actually "Wins".


Gallants shows strong nostalgia of old fashion Hong Kong Kung Fu movie of 1970s, as we know the two protagonists Chan Kuan-tai and Leung Siu-lung were famous action stars in 1970s. Also it tries to search for the "Lost Spirit" of Hong Kong Kung FU film and the tradional morality of it, this's a very "Hong Kong" Kung Fu film in modren Hong Kong.








Chan Chung Ming (Danny) (10380052)

Online Review: Norwegian Wood

Norwegian Wood is a Japanese drama film adapted from the Japanese writer Haruki Murakami’s novel with the same name and directed by Tran Auh Hung, a French film director of Vietnamese ancestry who won the Golden Lion in 1995 Venice Film Festival. It was released in January of 2011 in Hong Kong cinema and debuted in the 67^th Venice International Film Festival to compete for the Golden Lion.

Norwegian Wood is a story about ‘Lose and Found’. It is the memory and the review of growing up of Toru Watanabe, the main character in the film, with the background setting in Tokyo in the late 1960s, the time that students around Japan are uniting to overthrow the establishment. When Toru was still in high school, he always hanged around with his good friends, Kizuki and Kizuki’s girlfriend, Naoko. At that time, their life filled with pleasure and happiness. However, Kizuki suddenly committed suicide for no apparent reason when he was 17 which was a heavy big hit to Toru and Kaoko. For this reason, Toru left his hometown and entered a university in Tokyo looking in order to rebuild his life. By sheer chance, he met Naoko. They began to hang out and grow increasingly close as they shared the same loss. As Toru and Naoko grew even more intimate, Naoko’s sense of loss for Kizuki also grew as well. After Naoko’s 20th birthday, she left for a sanitarium in Kyoto to better her psychological state and they were forced to separate. During that time, they kept in touch by writing letters. Sometimes, Toru would visit Kyoto under permission. But most of his time, he met other girls in the street and hanged around the red light district to cure his pain of the sudden departure of Kyoto. Yet, Toru met Midori, another pure-hearted girl who is totally different from Kyoto, during the spring semester

, and he began to ponder his relationship to both women. But fate helped him to make the choice. Kyoto’s sickness became more serious and she finally followed in Kizuki’s footsteps. Toru was guilty, but after the chaos of his life, he had grown up, because he chose to live and also Midori.

In this film, it seems several roles have different meanings. Watanabe represents the or

dinary people, similar with us, who is nothing special but have a sincere attitude towards the life. It seems there is no advantage on him, but his amiability is the ‘charm’ to attract others to close to. However, Naoko and Midori are in contrast. Midori represents the image of beauty, active, curious, charming, which are regarded as all good in life; while Naoko is a quiet, passive, weak, sad, on behalf of various hardships of life. The love of Wantanbe between Naoko and Midori represents the struggles in our life that we envision the bright future in one hand, but attach to depravity inwardly on the other hand; we desire to emb

race all the good in life and also bet able to control everything. Nevertheless, how can our life be such perfect? The other characters also reflect different outlook on life which affects the decision of Watanabe and his fate. Same as in our real life, our fate is influenced by the others, our different experience and living environment as well as opportunities.

Ostensibly, Norwegian Wood is a love story of young people. The struggle of Watanabe in love and sex as well as other aspects has aroused the sympathy of many young boys and girls. For example, finding love, dating, optioning, breaking up...etc, they are always the source of trouble under the physiological and psychological drive. Accompany with the burden of life, studies, friends, family, the surrounding socio-economic and political issues, we seem entering an unfathomable forest. Once a slightest mistake is made, we will be trapped and take to the road of self-destruction. In this forest, there is no map, no guarantee. You can only work out step by step on your own to walk through all the barriers. On the way, perhaps you have to pay or make the choice, but no one knows how would be in the future. The most important thing is alive, and never gives up. Life may not be perfect, there’s no such thing as right or wrong in making choices, only retain our heart be true and frank is responsible to our life.

Charlotte, HO Wai-sze (10382282)

Review of "Be Home for Dinner"

Be Home for Dinner《誰家灶頭無煙火》is a situation comedy which has been broadcasting on TVB channel from eight to eight thirty every weekday’s night. .
Different Genres have diverse forms but the same ones share a similar, or even homogeneous structure. Sitcom, as a form, tends towards the reassertion of conservative values of the home and family (in terms of both setting and theme), and the stereotyping of racial, class, sexual and regional differences. It generally centre on the middle class home and tends to be set in clearly defined settings, with a limited range of characters, in addition to a fair degree of emphasis on characters-as-stereotypes. In the stories, the characters transgress against, then restore the relationship and learn the value of or reaffirming the stability and importance of, closely-bound ties, the family or the social group. The background of the Be Home for Dinner is a middle-class family in contemporary Hong Kong. It basically has two settings: work and home, but actually four different spaces: Chungs’ family, a publishing house, a cooking learning-center and a online trading shop. The settings are very up to date and closely reflecting the reality of current Hong Kong people. For example, the heated occupation-online store and the re-marriage phenomenon. Although Be Home for Dinner contains complicated stories among those areas and in different aspects, small pieces of puzzles together as a whole, which is emphasizing on repetition and forestalling of closure in terms of the series as a whole.

Be Home for Dinner comprises characters-as-stereotypes. In Chungs’ family, it is not difficult to find that Chung Kwok Chui acted by Elliot Ngok is the vital person and get the most power within the family.
He likes to control his family members by challenging his son’s career choice, often rejecting his younger brother’s ideas and requesting obedience from the female characters, his daughter, wife and colleague as well. Apart from that, Chui always make effort to prove himself right. For instance, there was an episode which he and his brother Tung arguing whether Tung fell into water by himself or being pushed by Chui twenty years ago. Chui on the purpose of proofing Tung fell by himself, he went to the location and collect some evidences. On the contrary, Chui’s wife, acted by Helen Ma, is a little woman who is week, low education and totally listens to Chui. In one of the episodes telling that she did not even know how to use a can-opener and was always being cheated by others. In the story, only the male characters in the family can deviate or against him such as his son and brother. Chui is authoritarian but authentic, it also shows he is considerable by letting his son to learn cooking though he does not want. This drama, in certain extent, reinforces the characteristics of a patriarchal society as men hold the greatest power

“The Chinese name of the drama《誰家灶頭無煙火》is more explicit which has two double meaning,” told by the director. The first one is a literally meaning : asking whose home do not have cooking stove and not with fuel? A deeper meaning is every family would have sparks whenever there is disagreement and people insist their own thoughts. It thus on one hand encouraging busying Hong Kong people to go home to have dinner with their families after work, on the other hand urging people to face this reality and be patient. However, some of the audience will neglect the encoded message and retotalize it within some alternative framework of reference. For instance, in episodic 16, Chui said people who insist of doing one thing (food) have to be respected even he was only a man selling eggette (雞蛋仔). Then somebody may think the drama is somehow mocking the society.

Situation Comedy is in a high popularity that the audience can catch up with the story if they have missed or start at the middle of the episodic. Series which reflecting or referring to the world is undoubtedly appealing to many audiences since they are easily get resonant.


Wong Lo Ying, Vinice (10384184)

Online Review: Tangshan Great Earthquake

Feng Xiao Gang’s film "Tangshan Great Earthquake, " which is adapted from the Chinese writer Zhang Ling's novel "Aftershock, "about a "23 seconds, 32 years, "the story: 28th July, 1976 morning, an earthquake in Tangshan in the 23 seconds will be changed as a ruins . The film did help to create the noise in the society and recall our memories. This film represented the virtual in front of us. It is one of the methods to show.
In this new media era, especially the big changes of the past few years, there are numbers of second hand memories. Some of it is reconstructed by the producer. It may lead to change our memories as well. From the film, we can find out some codes and convention, all of it is make sense for us to watch and understand. Even we have not had the real experience at that period of time, thus we can also have deeply feelings about this incident.

To me, our roots and routes of cultural identities will change by time to time. Our collective memory which we have experienced and different people will represent in a different way, the point is how we want to represent in front of the others. The collective memory is base on our experience, and is about our past when we were young. Besides, what we choose to remember and tell will depends on different situations.

In 1976, all of a sudden the whole flattened in Tangshan, the city's transportation, the communications, water supply, power supply are interrupted; and it also caused 24.2 million deaths, 16.4 million people injured. It is a scary figure in Chinese history for every survivor. For instance, they are frightened of any food which is sweet, as it will lead to recall their bad memories. “Sweet” is their first tasting after the earthquake.




We may have different point of view or feelings after watch this film. We are part of China, our feelings will stronger than the other city or countries. If you are not in China at that period of time, the story is not really close to you and not that meaningful to you. However, if yes, you will have deeply feelings on it as it is collective memory of China. The merely difference is that how you decode the message from film. In this case, it is not merely about your experience, but also about your national identity. You will share the similar collective memories with each other.

Aside of, the oral history is also a part of this incident, thus there are some hidden history. Different people will have different version, it is not meaning that they are telling lie. Yet, they have chosen to remember or “delete” a part of the memories. Even we discuss this incident in nowadays, it may have something different. My grandma has said not the same version for me when I was young.

On the other hand, the society and the industry are affecting to each other, not merely the film industry has produce related film, the music industry has also produce some related songs which we can listen from the film. In nowadays, as a producer, the changes of structure, resource and discourse are still limited, it is constructing by all of us.

Ella Yeung Ka Yan (10348676)

Online Review: Sam Hui

I am going to use a music album to write an online review. The album is sung by different old style singers like Alan Tam, Leslie Cheung and Sam Hui called 「Elements」. There are a few songs which is very famous in this album like 「半斤八兩」, 「有酒今朝醉」, 「浪子心聲」 and 「滄海一聲笑」, I am sure that many of us have already listened to these songs.

The song that I most familiar with is the song 「半斤八兩」. It is because my father is a fan of Sam Hui and his songs always wake me up on Sunday morning when I was small. The lyric of the song has spoken out a lot of employee's mind in the middle 70s Hong Kong. The background of 70s Hong Kong is an economic growth period, people want to work hard and get opportunities or promotion and hope for wealthy therefore they work very hard. However this pain, no gain, many of their hopes can not be realized. This song was talking about this social reality. Like the following lyrics saying that the employee slaving away for lifetime for money which was very miserable there is no such work hard play hard in this society.

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As the song has spoken our employee's thoughts and reflecting the social situation in that time, it has created a collective memory for a lot of employees in that period and even nowadays, my father is one of the examples, every time he listens to this song, he told me the working situation in that period.

The song also shows employee's compliant and resentment to the society in the lyrics like they have to walk along the street but the salary is still very low. The boss always condemn and hopeless for pay rise.

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Yet my dad is a fan of Sam Hui, but he does not fit all the identification of a fan. He has the adoration to Sam Hui, but he does not have the transcendence or any extra-cinematic indemnificatory processes. I will consider him as a very rational and 「low level」 fan. However, Sam Hui is a very popular singer in Hong Kong, his song always as a satire for and reflects the society.

Chan Ching Yi, Valerie(10349849)