Dumbledore: "After all this time?"
Snape: "Always."
During her wee childhood years, Red Dot Diva was usually found submerged in books of fairy tales and fantasy. She devoured books like candy, and her imagination took her far far away to very British worlds of boarding schools and magical creatures like elves, wizards and centaurs.
When J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter books were published, Red Dot Diva was already a grown woman, but that did not stop her from getting back in touch with her inner child. She was caught up by the detailed lore, and the books' many intriguing characters and creatures. It had been a long time since a book series have managed to capture her wild imagination. However, there was also a familiarity to the Harry Potter books.
Red Dot Diva attended an Anglican-run primary and secondary girls' school with similar terminologies, like prefects and headmistresses. Every schoolgirl was put into a school house - somewhat like the Sorting Hat. In her case, the houses were named after the colours of Red, Blue, Green and Yellow, and she had fond memories of challenges between the different houses where points were given by the teachers. So, when she was watching HBO Max's HARRY POTTER 20TH ANNIVERSARY: RETURN TO HOGWARTS, she felt like she was travelling in a personal time portal too.
In December 2019, THE WITCHER TV series premiered on Netflix. The adaptation, based on Polish writer Andrzej Sapkowski's book series of the same name, boasts of the brawny and handsome Henry Cavill as the lead character Gerald the Witcher. Fans have been patiently waiting two years for a second season, which was partially delayed due to the pandemic. Season 2 has finally arrived and all episodes are currently available for your bingeing pleasure.
Red Dot Diva's geek gal pal Atty is a huge fan of Henry Cavill. She was lucky enough to win a Netflix contest where a bunch of fans got to meet with the celebrity online. She also managed to get into the official virtual screening party organized by New York Comic Con and Netflix, and watched The Witcher Season 2's first episode together with Henry Cavill and other fans. So, when Attygives her thoughts about The Witcher's latest season, she gets on point. Check it out below!
Sony Pictures' SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME, with the adorable puppyish Tom Holland back as Peter Parker/ Spider-Man, is the best comic book movie of the year. This is not counting ZACK SNYDER'S JUSTICE LEAGUE, which was more of a one-off special event than a blockbuster movie release. SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME is a load of fun, and an absolute treat for Spidey fans of all ages.
The movie continues immediately from SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME'S ending. Just before supervillain Mysterio died, he was able to throw Peter Parker's life into chaos by revealing Spidey's true identity as well as framing him for murder. As The Daily Bugle's relentless journalist J. Jonah Jameson (JK Simmons) and the authorities go after Peter, all whom he loves - Aunt May (Marisa Tomei), his girlfriend MJ (Zendaya) and bestie Ned (Jacob Batalon) - are bearing the consequences of his newfound notoriety. He naively seeks Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) for help, requesting that the wizard cast a spell to make the world forget that Peter Parker is Spider-Man. Unfortunately, the powerful spell got bungled, and all goes awry.
After decades of working in various high profile projects overseas like the two-part graphic novel adaption of New York Times bestselling Larry Niven's sci-fi novel RINGWORLD, and the mega 40-page manga IT TAKES A WIZARD by Thomas R. Hart, local artist Sean Lam has been returning back to his roots. His self-published graphic novel GEUNGSIVol 1: Geungsi in the House was launched recently during the National Library Board's annual Night at the Library event, together with an art exhibition that showcased the creative evolution of the comic.
GEUNGSI (the Cantonese pronunciation of jiangshi, the vampire from Chinese lore) is a horror fantasy tale about Meng, an energetic HK slayer who moves to Singapore, and meets Shaun, a young salaryman. Bad news for Shaun though. He has been turned into a geungsi by a mystery woman named Alice. Can Meng and Shaun be friends? Or will they end up as frenemies and end up fighting the unexpected dangers of the underworld? If you are interested in checking out this new horror comic based in the streets of Singapore, GEUNGSI is already available at several local bookstores, including GnB Comics, Kinokuniya and Basheer Graphics Books.
To find out more about Sean Lam's thought process in creating GEUNGSI, Red Dot Diva got in touch with him for a short interview.
Calling all toy collectors and lovers! Just in time for the festive season and your shopping needs, the very first Singapore Toy Convention (SG ToyCon) will be held from 17 to 19 December 2021 at The Visual Arts Centre. The event is jointly organized by local toy retailers Masterpiece Collectibles and Toyz Network, with an aim to bring the toy and model collecting communities together.
From 3 PM on 17 December (Fri), the event is free to attend. Visitors can expect 11 exhibitors at SG ToyCon, who will be launching new releases and a wide ange of collectibles that will appeal to different age groups. Each of the retailers specialize in their own area of collectibles ranging from diecast toy cars, models and miniature figurines. Local comic book creator Sean Lam, in collaboration with The Yurei, will also be bringing his latest horror graphic novel GUENGSI to the convention.
A childhood dream came true for many of us with the release of the first episode of a special video by Tsuburaya Productions, where ULTRAMAN makes his heroic appearance in Singapore. There will be 3 episodes, and the short films are part of a collaboration with Singapore Tourism Board (STB) entitled “SingapoReimagine ULTRAMAN”. The virtual campaign celebrates the 55th year of formal Singapore-Japan diplomatic relations (code named SJ55), and is set to run for 1.5 years. Coincidentally, the year 2021 is also the 55th birthday of the beloved Japanese tokusatsu superhero!
Don't miss watching “Power of Singapore Episode 1” on YouTube, which kicks off in typical old school style with a menacing kaiju who is known as Red King (actually, Red Dot Diva thinks it looks quite cute!) stomping the grounds of Gardens By The Bay, basically doing its thing and scaring the bejesus out of people.
Do you realise, that Singapore Comic Convention (SGCC) starts this Friday, 3 December 2021? For an event that attracted over 50,000 attendees in 2019, this year's event is very low key. There are a few possible reasons for this. The convention has been taken over from Reed Exhibitions Singapore by a new event company called Generation Experience, and the show will run only on a virtual format. Generally, people are getting weary of staring at a screen after more than a year of Zoom and Google meetings. It is just not the same as an in-person gathering where connections and conversations happen in real time. And Red Dot Diva is sure that most of us sorely miss our annual geek huddle.
But still, the show must go on. At least something is happening, right? There have already been a few guests announced for the online panels, so if you are a huge fan of any of them, do remember to register for SGCC. Registration is FREE!!
Gen X-ers have been getting lots of attention from Hollywood studios these days as popular franchises of the golden era keep coming back to the screen. Star Wars, Star Trek, Scream, Jumanji, He-Man, The Muppets, The Karate Kid, Indiana Jones... you name it, they have it. And if not, they are probably already planning on it. There are the reboots, the re-imaginings, the tributes and the sequels, all in an attempt to drown the ‘forgotten generation’ (of which Red Dot Diva is a proud member), with a flood of nostalgia.
In that aspect, GHOSTBUSTERS: AFTERLIFE is not short on the feel-good nostalgia, as Jason Reitman, son of “Ghostbusters” director Ivan Reitman, pulled out all the stops to win the hearts of the original fans. The 2016 all-female Ghostbusters remake by Paul Feig created a lot of backlash that consisted of mostly racist and sexist complaints. Red Dot Diva liked the 2016 movie, and it was empowering to watch the cast of wonderful comedians kicking ass as women ghostbusters. Unfortunately, it goes to prove that society is still not ready to accept when a script is gender-flipped.
There are no such thorny issues with GHOSTBUSTERS: AFTERLIFE. The sequel is likeable, family friendly and provides a great starting point for new fans of the franchise.
It is Cartoons Underground's 10th Birthday this year! To celebrate this joyous occasion, South-East Asia's biggest independent animation festival has expanded to a 7-day event from 20 to 27 November 2021. It will run as a hybrid event, with both in-person and virtual segments.
Cartoons Underground, the brainchild of Singaporean festival director Vicky Chen and celebrated American animator Patrick Smith, launched a decade ago with just a 2-hour animated movie screening session. Through the years, as interest for animation grew, the event included workshops and panels, as well as the annual Golden Durian Awards for excellence in animation. It was boosted to a 5-day virtual event last year, despite of restrictions due to the pandemic.
This year's National Day has shown the kind of magic our homegrown indie animation studios can do, so the festival provides a great opportunity to give them more exposure. Not only that, Cartoons Underground offers opportunities to connect animation art students - most who come from NTU and LASALLE - to the industry's professionals.
“We always believed Singapore had this huge potential to be a hub for independent animation for the entire region,” she says. “When we launched Singapore was trying to tempt the big international studios. But it’s the independent studios that have stayed and ten years on we’re seeing more and more people buying into our vision,” says Vicky Chen.
Cartoons Underground 2021 will still centre on the screening of new animated short films. The screening helps to showcase and introduce an eclectic range of animation films to local and global audiences. These films are in contrast to the easily marketable styles by Disney or Dreamworks, or even some anime, that many are already familiar with.
Included in the festival programme are two international competitions. One of the notable entries for the international competition is The Visit by Morrie Tan (LASALLE College of the Arts BA(Hons) Animation Art), an intimate stop-motion story about a girl and her thoughts whenever she visits her father in prison. Red Dot Diva first watched The Visit as part of the seven animated short film anthology Spectrum, which was co-produced by Singapore-based Robot Playground Media and Malaysia’s The R&D Studio. The Visit draws you in with quiet emotion, and the film has already received awards and is currently in the film festival circuit.
Tan Wei Keong, Programme Director of Cartoons Underground, also recommends checking out other entries, like Canada-based director Liza Desyatkova'sDon't Think About Her. “It magnifies the agony of having a crush on someone and I love it that the director pushed the film over the edge to a laugh-out-loud effect,” Tan says.
There will also be a screening of films from students at Singapore’s NTU and LASALLE. In addition, the anniversary celebration will provide a nostalgic throwback of some of the very best films shown at Cartoons Underground over the last decade, including those by Singapore creators Sarah Cheok's The Growth and Davier Yoon and Joshua Tan's witty A Brief History Of Time. Incidentally, the latter is one of Tan Wei Keong's favourites.
“It's a joy to rewatch it a million times,” he says. “I always discover something new in the process. It's a gem in the local animation scene, so it's the perfect short to open the retrospective program.”
The expanded programme also includes three online panels about careers in animation. They are:
Developing the animation industry: The role of education (23 Nov, 8pm) looks at how Singapore’s animation industry can bring on the next generation of talent.
Beyond Animation: What’s next for creative graduates? (21 Nov, 2pm) brings together animation graduates who’ve built successful careers.
Future of monetizing in animation (25 Nov, 8pm) looks at the ways the new digital economy lets animator make money from connecting
directly or indirectly with audiences.
On this weekend and next weekend, Cartoons Underground 2021's partner *SCAPE is hosting a four-day development lab on-site and providing Zoom webinars on topics including Non Fungible Tokens on Animation. On the last day of the festival (27 November, 1 PM SGT), *SCAPE Gallery will be hosting a limited in-person screening of animated movie TATSUMI. The film about Japanese manga artist Yoshihiro Tatsumi, was directed by local auteur Eric Khoo.
“Ten years really flies by when you’re having fun,” says Festival Director Vicky Chen. “Cartoons Underground really has been a labour of love. But seeing the reaction of audiences, following young animators as they embark on their careers, and watching indie animation really take root in Singapore is awesome payback for everything the CU team puts in.”
Tickets for Cartoons Underground 2021 is already on sale! To view the animation films and panels online, buy your ticket from this link - https://cartoonsunderground.com/ticketing-2021
After having to cancel the event last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Singapore Comic Convention (SGCC) is back with an online format that will run from 3 December 2021 to 3 January 2022. The convention is still part of the Singapore Media Festival hosted by hosted by the Infocomm Media Development Authority.
Registration for SGCC 2021 Online is open right now on their website at www.singaporecomiccon.com, and it is free!
FOLKLORE Season 1 (2018), HBO Asia's original anthology series consisting of horror stories from Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand, was a success in the international film festival circuit. Award-winning film-maker Eric Khoo is the creator and showrunner of the series, and various episodes were screened in major festivals like Toronto International Film Festival, Tokyo International Film Festival, Geneva International Film Festival, Fantastic Fest (Texas, USA) and Asian World Film Fest (California, USA).
The best thing about FOLKLORE Season 1 was how novel it was. Compared to East Asian lore, South-East Asian stories are rarely known internationally. FOLKLORE managed to lovingly capture the essence of some of South-East Asia's favourite momoks (phantoms/ bogeymen) with a high production values.
There are a couple of stories in the first season that are still visually ingrained in Red Dot Diva's mind. They are POB, the brilliantly filmed black and white Thai ghost story by reknown director Pen-Ek Ratanaruang, and the more traditional and partially socio-political tale of the TOYOL by Malaysian director Ho Yuhang. That just shows how creepy and memorable Asian horror can be compared to the Westernised ones, which tend to over-explain the supernatural.
Well, come 14 November 2021, horror fans can expect more scares as FOLKLORE is set to increase the fear factor for a second season. There will be six new episodes about the human condition when faced with the deeply rooted superstitions and myths in Taiwan, Japan, Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia and Singapore. Each of the stories is helmed by a director from their respective territory, with a special spotlight on two female directors this new season. Famous Japanese popstar Seiko Matsuda makes her directorial debut in the episode about a lonely Japanese idol, and Singaporean director Nicole Midori Woodford unveils the roots of a family trauma.
Back in 1995, Chinese manhua paperbacks of reknown novelist Louis Cha (Jin Yong)'s wuxia tale, RETURN OF THE CONDOR HEROES, was illustrated by local award-winning artist Wee Tian Beng. The comic books, published in 18 volumes, have been out of print for more than two decades. So, it is with much excitement that Asiapac Books has launched the graphic novel series compiled into one complete omnibus-hardback boxset in two language versions - simplified Chinese and English!
To commemorate the launch of the RETURN OF THE CONDOR HEROES2021 Collector's Edition Comic Book Boxset, an exhibition was held at the zall bookstore, a Chinese language book shop located at Wheelock Place. The Reunion: Timeless Love and Art in Return of the Condor Heroes exhibition wraps up tomorrow (17 October 2021), so it will be your last chance to get to know, or in the case of long time fans, to re-acquaint yourself with the epic love story of Yang Guo and Dragon Girl!
Ever since the Covid-19 pandemic struck, it has been awhile since a major entertainment-related convention is taking place in Red Dot Island. So, it is a wonderful feeling to have colour and excitement back in town with gamescom asia's first Asian version from 14 to 17 October 2021.
“We’re excited to finally launch the gamescom brand to the Asian market with gamescom asia 2021. We could have waited for 2022 to kick things off but the industry was craving for a place for interaction this year, and we wanted to provide gamers a glimpse of what the region had in store for them in the near future,” says Mathias Kuepper, Managing Director of Koelnmesse Singapore, the organisers of gamescom asia.
“For those who can make it to Suntec on 14-15 October for the event in Singapore, we are creating an extremely safe environment for in-person business interaction. All attendees will go through a non-invasive and highly accurate test before entering the event, which is a first for any event in Singapore. gamescom asia is proud to lead the way as a demo event and to help pave the path for other events to open in a safe manner in the very near future.”
The region's most anticipated gaming convention has a hybrid programme that consists of two zones - Trade and Entertainment. The Trade Zone has an in-person conference at Suntec Convention Centre from 14 to 16 October, with industry guests appearing live as well as online via the virtual platform Hubilo. There are segments called Games360, Mobile Gaming Summit, and UNconference featuring panels and technical dialogues featuring prominent industry guests from Riot Games, Microsoft Xbox Asia, Nintendo, Bandai Namco, Square Enix and more. The virtual conference on Hubilo also offers attendees networking opportunities and an exhibitor's area.
In addition, Mr. Alvin Tan, Minister of State, Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth & Ministry of Trade and Industry, will be gracing the event and giving an opening address at the Mobile Gaming Summit on 15 October 2021.
STAR WARS: VISIONS, an anthology of nine anime shorts, is wonderfully creative and goes right into the emotional core of what the Star Wars is all about. Even though it is not canon, the series offers a thrilling alternate universe, while taking you back to the mega franchise's Japanese roots.
Star Wars has always drew ideas heavily from Japanese culture. In interviews, George Lucas mentioned that he is a huge fan of Japanese auteur Akira Kurosawa. When you watch Kurosawa's 1958 black and white movie THE HIDDEN FORTRESS side by side with the original 1977 Star Wars movie, you will see the same story beats about a princess, a general, a pair of comedic peasants and the fight against a feudal lord.
Samurai lore and visual traditional Japanese aesthetic, like the ronin, lightsaber, Darth Vader's helmet and kabuki, are also embedded in Star Wars. Even in the sequels, you will find that the Japanese influences remain strong. In THE LAST JEDI, Rian Johnson paid homage to Kurosawa's RASHOMON by portraying the re-telling of young Ben Solo and Luke Skywalker's fateful incident at the training temple in three different versions. Also, Kylo Ren's repaired helmet in the last movie of the Skywalker saga is influenced by kintsugi, the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery.
The anime studios involved with STAR WARS: VISIONS are Kamikaze Douga, Geno Studio (Twin Engine), Studio Colorido (Twin Engine), TRIGGER, Kinema Citrus, Science Saru, and Production I.G. When Red Dot Diva was binge-watching the series, it was evident that the production teams adored the Star Wars franchise, and threw their hearts into it by putting their own unique spin to their animated shorts.
For most of us, it is easier to grasp an idea or imagine a subject through pictures. After all, humans beings are highly visual creatures, and we process faster based on what we see. So, to be able to explore sound through different visual and mixed media ways, is what makes ArtScience Museum's current exhibition called ORCHESTRAL MANOEUVRES: SEE SOUND. FEEL SOUND. BE SOUND particularly intriguing.
Curated by Adrian George, Director of Exhibitions at ArtScience Museum, with Amita Kirpalani, Curator at ArtScience Museum, the exhibition is presented over nine galleries. They consist of noise-making sculptures, paintings, videos, music, and works by over 32 artists and composers from eight countries.
To take you on an aural adventure and give you a few notes of the exhibitions varying soundscapes, Red Dot Diva has included links to a few videos that she has uploaded to her Instagram account.
One of DC's strangest superhero groups, the DOOM PATROL, is back on HBO with a brand new season.
The first 3 episodes of Season 3 have been released on 23 September on HBO Go, the media company's streaming platform in Asia. There is a lot to unpack as the metahuman misifts consisting of Elasti-Woman aka Rita Farr (April Bowby), Negative Man aka Larry Trainor (Matt Bomer), Cliff Steele (Brendan Fraser), Crazy Jane (Diane Guerrero) and Cyborg aka Victor Stone (Joivan Wade), deal with their personal trauma as well as unexpected strangers who have crossed their paths.
As part of DANCE: A Tribute to Rudolf Nureyev, the Alliance Française de Singapour has an exhibition called NUREYEV ON STAGE. For the first time in Red Dot Island, the exclusive event held at the organisation's gallery showcases 14 original stage costumes worn by the ‘master of dance’ RUDOLF NUREYEV (1938-1993) during some of his memorable performances.
In the realm of pop-culture and film, Red Dot Diva can name only two male ballet dancers off hand. One of them is Mikhail Baryshnikov, and the other, the legendary Rudolf Nureyev. Because of Rudolf Nureyev, Red Dot Diva was introduced to the world of ballet, his long time dance partner Dame Margot Fonteyn. During the height of the Cold War, she remembered being drawn to his dramatic deflection to the West. This unforgettable story is told in the 2019 film “THE WHITE CROW” directed by Ralph Fiennes.
When you follow the ways in how people consume media in the last 3 decades or so, it is also intriguing to see how much Netflix has evolved from a DVD service company, to a streaming platform and later on, as a producer of its own original shows. Its growth and popularity surged when the Covid-19 pandemic struck last year. As in-person conventions and events have mostly halted, most media companies decided to host their fan outreach in the virtual space.
With TUDUM - you know, that iconic Netflix opening intro - Netflix's inaugural virtual fan event on 25 September 2021 (26 September in Asia) will include 145 of the biggest stars and creators of the streamer's over 70 original content. The 3-hour event will feature interactive panels that offer first looks, trailers, exclusives and conversations, specially curated for Netflix's fans from all over the world.
Can't wait for what's in store for the next season of “Stranger Things”? Super curious to see what Zack Snyder's “Army of Thieves”, the prequel to his zombie heist movie “Army Of The Dead”? Or, maybe, you want to catch another glimpse of Henry Cavill in the upcoming season of “The Witcher”. Well, there will be an entire list of celebrities and shows that will feed your hungry eager souls. Check out this page to see if you faves are slated to be at TUDUM.
STAR TREK celebrated its 55th Anniversary virtually on Star Trek Day last week (Sep 8), with a 2-hour line-up of panels and more, hosted by Paramount+ in the US.
The franchise has been seeing a resurgence and attracting a whole new generation of fans in the decade. Red Dot Diva thinks it is mainly due to the more accessible pop-culture-y 2009 Star Trek movie written and directed by J.J. Abrams. The movie featured a younger cast, like Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto and Zoe Saldana, which helped bridge the gap to original Trek. But, you may beg to differ.
In any case, for those who missed the anniversary livestream, here's a summary of the key Trek news that had been announced.
DC Fandome is back again this year! The live global fan extravaganza will happen for one day only on 17 October, Sunday in the Asian region (i.e. 16 October, Sat, USA time). Just like last year, the streaming event is free for all fans to attend.
All you need to do is to suit up and enter into the DC multiverse at DCFanDome.com. The landing page for the event is already up, so you can sign up for a login right now to receive the latest news and updates. DC fans who will be entering DC FanDome for the first time this year can also check out the wonderful video highlights of last year's event on the website.
It is one of the stalwarts of Red Dot Island's National Day celebration for about 4 decades. Every year, a new National Day song will be written and performed. Some of the songs are quite forgettable, but there are few that never fail to stir the spirit of our island's people.
Dick Lee's “Home” is a number one favourite for most people. So is the straightforward, no holds barred rousing anthem like “We Are Singapore”, which was written by Canadian advertising guy Hugh Harrison, who was working for McCann Erickson during the 1980s.
This year's National Day song, composed by local singer-songwriter Linying and music producer Evan Low, is like a breath of fresh air. “The Road Ahead” sounds youthful. Even so, it was able to touch the hearts of all generations with its underlying message of hope and encouragement for an uncertain future. During a stubborn and invasive pandemic like this, “The Road Ahead” soothes the soul.
Season 2 of DC'S STARGIRL will premiere on the same day as the U.S. today (11 August) at 9 PM local time. Fans can watch the episodes on Warner TV (Starhub channel 515 and Singtel channel 306) on Wednesdays at the same time.
Created by Geoff Johns (Titans, Wonder Woman, Batwoman), DC'S STARGIRL is a bright spark amongst the sea of superhero TV shows. These days, there is a trend toward apocalyptic and violent story-telling that favour dark or snarky characters and arcs. Such shows include Gotham, Doom Patrol and Titans, that belong to the same media network, as well as Amazon's The Boys. STARGIRL's innate optimism and sincerity is what made Red Dot Diva adore the series' first season so much. It was also fun to watch. Even though the series was skewed to the younger audience, Gen X-er Red Dot Diva still enjoyed the upbeat drama set in a quaint American small town. And there's even a giant robot!
Star Wars fans are a creative bunch. One of the ways mega fans show their love for the franchise is by making fan films, and Red Dot Diva has just watched one of the most gorgeous Star Wars fan-made production ever. The dialogue was also spot on, and the dramatic storyline left her wishing there was more.
FORSAKEN MANDALORIAN AND THE DRUNKEN JEDI MASTER is about a Mandalorian bounty hunter who tracked down a Hutt courier to recover an asset. He ends up face to face with a lone Jedi Master drowning his pain with booze, and the two find that they have a common purpose.
Watch FORSAKEN MANDALORIAN AND THE DRUNKEN JEDI MASTER below!
The fan film is by independent sci-fi film-maker Anthony Ferraro, the owner of a popular Youtube channel called Create Sci-fi. He also appeared as the Drunken Jedi Master in the short film.
SACRED GUARDIAN SINGA, our home-grown Red Dot Island original tokusatsu franchise, is raring to debut their opening theme song and music video today (8 August) on their Facebook Page! The song, a re-recording of a 2013 hit Malay language song Suara Kita, is by local rock band Tujuhband. Lyrics for the opening verse and part of the chorus have been rewritten in English.
The hard-working and passionate team at Tokuasia has been making slow but progressive steps in the last one and a half years despite the Covid-19 pandemic. Due to on-going health and safety restrictions, filming teasers and more footage for the planned live action series had to be put on hold. But that did not stop the creators from thinking of different ways to keep the SACRED GUARDIANS SINGA spirit alive.
The ArtScience Museum is Red Dot Diva's top favourite museum on the island. She visits the museum about 5 times in a year. Maybe even more.
The museum's specially selected themes and exhibits are what draws her in, due to of her love for science-fiction, tech and pop-culture art as well as engineering oddities. Being easily accessible at its Marina Bay location just a 20-minute bus ride from where she lives is also a big thumbs up.
Starting from 10 July 2021, the ArtScience Museum has launched a brand new VR Gallery. The permanent room at Level 4 will offer visitors a series of unique immersive virtual reality experiences created by the world's renowned contemporary artists.
Red Dot Diva was fortunate to attend a preview of the new VR Gallery, which features futuristic egg-shaped chairs that allow you to swivel 360 degrees. Placed on each seat were state-of-the-art VR headset and controllers, which will help you navigate your virtual surroundings.
There are few things better than art and booze. Especially when they are appreciated together.
Red Dot Diva stumbled upon a lovely art exhibition hosted by luxury single malt whiskey brand The Macallan with just a few days till the end of its run. The exhibition entitled SIR PETER BLAKE: ANECDOTE OF AGES COLLECTION GALLERY is held at their store located within the Raffles Hotel. The last day of the event will be 9 July (Friday), and admission is complimentary!
For over 30 decades, reknown pop culture artist Sir Peter Blake, has collaborated with The Macallan regarding the designs of their whisky bottles. Hardcore Beatles fans will remember Sir Peter Blake as the one behind the sleeve design of their album, “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band”. He also designed the cover for the Live Aid concert poster as well as the Band Aid single “Do They Know It's Christmas?”.
For the ANECDOTE OF AGES COLLECTION, this will be the third time that the pioneering artist and distillery have worked together. The sought-after collection consists of 13 bottles of rare 1967 whisky. The year 1967 has special significance as well. It was the year that Sir Peter Blake rocketed into the consciousness of pop-culture history with his iconic cover of the Beatles' album.
Back in 2019, Gamestart Asia, the premier gaming convention in South-East Asia, announced a collaboration with the gamescom team to launch their festival in Red Dot Island. gamescom, whose organiser is German company Koelnmesse, is the world's largest tech and gaming event.
The Asian edition was supposed to kick off in October 2020. But then... the worldwide Covid-19 pandemic happened, and it joined many other mass events that had to be postponed.
As everyone looks forward to “the new normal”, the eagerly anticipated event will debut with a hybrid format this year from 14 to 17 October.
The colourful and social media-friendly Museum of Ice Cream (MOIC) Singapore has been actively promoting its grand opening at Dempsey in August 2021. The experiential museum recently welcomed visitors at their pop-up outlet at Design Orchard, complete with a pink beach hut, a range of eye-catching merchandise and exclusively crafted ice cream flavours.
To give folks a chance to score tickets to the attraction, MOIC Singapore is holding a Golden Ticket Scavenger Hunt this weekend (19 and 20 June) and next weekend (26 and 27 June). There will be a pair of pink MOIC tickets up for grabs on each day of the hunt, and they will be hidden in 4 super-secret locations across Red Dot Island.
Nostalgia seems to be a popular currency these days, with reboots or shows that evoke memories of years past. Such examples include Roswell, Charmed, Cobra Kai, and the Friends Reunion. The latest toss into the pot is GOSSIP GIRL, the 2007 CW teen drama that ran for 6 seasons.
The original GOSSIP GIRL boasted of a cast of gorgeous actors, and the series helped boost the careers of many of them. Lead actor Blake Lively went on the star in movies like The Age of Adaline, The Shallows and A Simple Favour. She is currently married to A-lister and Deadpool himself, Ryan Reynolds. Co-star Leighton Meester married Adam Brody and besides acting, she carved a career as a musician, Broadway actor and social media influencer.
Figure that you have time for only one show this week? Then, it has got to be Marvel latest TV series LOKI. The limited series, which consists of 6 episodes, will premiere on 9 June 2021 (Wednesday), exclusively on streaming service Disney+.
New episodes will be available on Wednesdays.
Tom Hiddleston and his inescapable charms will return as the once Asgardian baddie, now anti-hero Loki, also known as the God of Mischief and step-brother of Thor (Chris Hemsworth). Marvel fans will remember that the Loki we have grown to love had his neck snapped by Thanos in AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR. However, in AVENGERS: END GAME, an alternate timeline was created by the Avengers during the Battle of New York, in a bid to undo Thanos' snap. And this quick thinking, still villainous Loki managed to escape, by jumping into a wormhole with the Tesseract.
If the summary still sounds confusing to you, perhaps you will understand it better when Tom Hiddleston gives you a 30-second rundown in the video below:
Curious about how the Museum of Ice Cream (MOIC) will look like when it opens at Dempsey in August 2021? Here's your chance!
The attraction has set up a pop-up retail showcase at Design Orchard from 30 April to 27 May 2021, 10:30 AM to 8 PM daily, and admission is free!
The pink California oasis theme of the pop-up space is a sneak peek of one of the 14 installations in the museum. A pretty pink beach hut and rows of similarly coloured ‘palm trees’ offer a few moments of candy coloured dreams, and an opportunity for selfie lovers. (Hint: there is also a mini surprise if you peek into the window of the beach hut. Go check it out for yourself!)
Think of binge-worthy shows, and you might never have imagined an audio drama to be one of these. As highly visual creatures, we tend to focus on colours or dramatic action through imagery.
With CALLS, currently available on the streaming service Apple TV+, audiences are transported back to the days of radio drama. In each of the 9 episodes, you feel like an eavesdropper to intimate conversations, and what you hear is even creepier than what might see. Your wild imagination tends to take over, adding to the weird visceral experience of this horror-scifi audio series.
Fede Álvarez, the director of Apple TV+'s English version, employs minimal but highly effective graphics. As the conversations play out, they are accompanied by lines, bubbles or waves depicting the mood of the dialogues. The visual cues also helping the audiences to orient themselves by depicting the connections between the parties involved.
Missed celebrating with your fellow Star Wars geeks on May the 4th last year because of the pandemic? Here's your chance to make up for all that pent-up energy and get ready to nab tickets for STAR WAS DAYat ArtScience Museum on 1 and 2 May (Sat and Sun).
Admission for the event is free or charge. However, as social distancing measures are still in force, limited tickets will be available. Fans would have to pre-book their slots to visit the museum. The booking link will be available on 26 April morning.
This year's May the 4th celebration is organised by #MAYTHE4THSG & Friends and supported by Pico Pro. The team has planned out a fun-filled schedule for the weekend, with family-friend activities like film screenings, photo opportunities, toy displays and more!
Check out the summary of the programme lineup below. The program schedule is essentially the same for both days except for the film screenings:
Writer Cullen Bunn and artist Mark Torres, co-creators of the chilling horror series “COLD SPOTS”, have teamed up again with another supernatural tale with AfterShock Comics. Their new series called “PHANTOM ON THE SCAN” was launched last week, and the first issue offers intriguing teasers about how the story is going to unfold in the next week books.
Lead character Matthew Jordan began manifesting his psychic powers through a child spectre, after a comet fell to earth 20 years ago. Every time he uses his abilities, he feels his life force being drained away.
Matt learns that he is not the only one experiencing this phenomenon, and gathers together a group of psychics with an objective to save themselves from certain death. However, when one of them dies horribly during their first meeting, they discover something even more sinister is out to get them.
The Museum of Ice Cream will be opening at a 60,000 square foot space in Dempsey this August 2021. Limited tickets are available for reservation right now!
The wildly popular New York-based interactive attraction dedicated to the joy and power of ice cream, is getting ready for the Red Dot Island edition. This is the first venue for the museum that is located outside of the USA.
Get your ice-cream loving soul ready to experience about 14 colourful installations, including a “Dragon Playground” that consists of a massive sprinkle pool. And of course, there will be actual ice cream that you can slurp on! During a guide 60-90 minute experience by the museum's performers, five kinds of ice cream will be available for visitors to enjoy.
Here's a peek as to what the photo-worthy Museum of Ice Cream NYC looks like. By all accounts, the exuberant, bubble-gum pink aesthetic will be replicated in the local version. It looks like a haven for selfie lovers!
With overseas travel plans stalled for more than a year, people are understandably craving to get on a plane and out of this island for a change of scenery. Well, here is a motivation to save more travel money and head to Thailand, when things improve concerning the current pandemic and travel bubbles are established.
Set to open from October 2021, Sony Pictures Entertainment and Amazon Falls have collaborated to develop Columbia Picture's first theme and water park at Bangsaray, a seaside town located 20 minutes from Pattaya and 90 minutes from Bangkok. The new tourist destination, set within a 14-acre area, is called “Columbia Pictures’ Aquaverse”.
There will be exciting, state-of-the-art rides, live shows, interactive props and themed restaurants featuring favourite characters from Columbia Pictures' movies like Ghostbusters, Men in Black and Hotel Transylvania, that will cater to visitors of all ages. And of course, the opportunity to buy those specially curated merchandise to add to your collection.
A total of 8 highly immersive theme zones have been planned for the park so far. Here is the list of the fun stuff you can look forward to!
Let's admit it. When one goes to watch a movie called “GODZILLA vs. KONG”, one should not be expecting much other than a massive showdown between two alpha titans.
It does not matter if you are Team Godzilla or Team Kong. The payoff for having the two monsters get into a loud, messy fisticuff is quite a thrill.
The CGI is great for some parts, and generic for most of it. However, it is the camera work that takes you on a visceral ride while Godzilla and Kong engage in their smash and bash. For a few seconds, you are up close and personal with Kong as his eye stares right into a space-age travel pod, or you are placed in the middle of the melee, as your line of sight swerving around angry monsters in the heart of central Hong Kong. It seems that director Adam Wingard had tailor-made the scenes for an amusement park ride.
After several years of hardcore fans clamouring for the Snydercut to be released, the moment of truth will be revealed to the world's audiences in just 2 days.
“ZACK SNYDER'S JUSTICE LEAGUE” aka the Snydercut is set to premiere on 18 March, streaming via HBO GO for fans in Asia (*). The director's cut entailing how the 6 superheroes - Superman (Henry Cavill), Batman (Ben Affleck), Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot), Aquaman (Jason Momoa), The Flash (Ezra Miller) and Cyborg (Ray Fisher) came together as a team - consists of hours of unseen footage and alternate dialogue. The movie is rated NC16 across Asia.
Red Dot Diva had access to an official screener a few days ago, and yes, she has watched the entire thing, all 4 hours and 2 minutes of it.
Verdict? Justice is served.
The movie is absolutely epic. A beautiful opera worthy of the DC superheroes legacy we hold dear to our hearts.
The running time of “ZACK SNYDER'S JUSTICE LEAGUE” may seem daunting, but Red Dot Diva did not feel that it was a slog at all. That itself is a testament to the skilfulness of Zack Snyder and his production team regarding the film's editing and pace. The movie is segmented into 6 parts and an epilogue.
Compared to the critically panned theatrical version in 2017 which had director Joss Whedon (who was uncredited) changing parts of the script and re-shooting several of the original scenes, “ZACK SNYDER'S JUSTICE LEAGUE” is a far superior version in many ways.
*** WARNING: THE FOLLOWING MAY CONTAIN SOME SPOILERS ***
Kaijus, mechas, anime-style action and Idris Elba. That was what made “PACIFIC RIM” the 2013 creature feature directed by Guillermo del Toro, so much fun to watch. And also Idris Elba. Mmmmm, yes ... Red Dot Diva has to mention him twice.
Five years later, the sequel “PACIFIC RIM: UPRISING” did not fare so well. It was missing the magic touch of Guillermo del Toro and screenwriter Travis Beacham. Despite the loud action sequences, the story was flat and souless. Thankfully, Netflix's new anime series “PACIFIC RIM: THE BLACK” sets things right for the franchise.
The anime series is set in Australia, where various kaiju have taken over the continent. After a terrible battle with a bunch of kaijus five years ago, the jaeger pilot parents of siblings Taylor and Hayley decided to leave them and a few other children at a remote natural sanctuary near an abandoned base of operations. They then went off with their jaeger Hunter Vertigo looking for help, with a promise to return. Since that day, the Pan Pacific Defense Corp, who are in charge of the Jaegers, had implemented an initiative called "The Black". What exactly that is, no one really knows.
Veteran star Liam Neeson has done a Hayao Miyakazi, that is, publicly announce that they plan to "retire", and then come back doing the thing they do best. Now in his late 60s, Neeson is back starring as a lead in an action-thriller called “THE MARKSMAN”. The movie opened at local theatres a few days ago on 25 February.
Living in his ranch at the Arizona-Mexico border, Vietnam war veteran Jim Hanson (Liam Neeson) is leading a lonely life together with his trusty pet dog. He has just lost his wife to cancer, and he is about to lose his property to the bank too. He passes by his days with melancholy, downing a regular bottle of whisky, and saving his livestock from coyotes - thanks to his skills as a marksman. From time to time, Hanson would notify the border patrol whenever he spots illegal immigrants pass by his land.
It's time to go up, up and away on 24 February 2021 with the premiere of “Superman & Lois”. The brand new series, which will telecast exclusively on Warner TV at 9 PM on the same day as the U.S., is the latest spin off from the Arrowverse. For those who are new to the Arrowverse, the term refers to a shared universe of several TV series consisting of story arcs of several DC Comics' characters like Green Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl and Batwoman, just to name a few.
About a decade has passed since a series about Superman was last aired on TV. This was a long running series called “Smallville” starring Tom Welling as Clark Kent, which was well loved by many Superman fans.
Tyler Hoechlin (who was in “Teen Wolf” prior to entering the Arrowverse) has taken over the mantle as Superman. Elizabeth Tulloch reprises her role as famous journalist Lois Lane. Instead of the usual villain of the week format, the 90-minute premiere episode of “Superman & Lois” gives a fresh spin of the Superman lore by focusing on the married life of Clark Kent and Lois Lane. Like most working parents, they are busy juggling their careers while raising the teenage sons Jonathan (Jordan Elsass) and Jordan (Alexander Garfin). Meanwhile, there is the question of whether the boys will inherit any of their father's Kryptonian superpowers and complicate matters even further.
Believe it or not. The classic cat-and-mouse chase in the guise of Tom and Jerry is still going on after 80 years!
This year, the duo continue with their trademark cartoony violence in a full-length, mixed live action and animation movie entitled TOM & JERRY. This is the characters' first theatrical release, with actors Chloë Grace Moretz, Michael Pena, Ken Jeong, Rob Delany and Colin Jost joining in the real world set. The movie is directed by Tim Story and produced by Chris DeFaria. TOM & JERRY will be opening at local theatres on 11 February.
Our favourite nimble and mischievous mouse Jerry has taken residence at a swanky New York City hotel, and has been spotted by guest, causing a massive mouse hunt to begin. Kayla (Chloë Grace Moretz), one of the hotel's employees, decided to hire a cat to solve the problem. And guess who that hapless cat turns out to be? Tom is reunited with his frenemy and their long-standing feud starts up again.
However, Tom and Jerry find out that someone else is conspiring against them as well as Kayla, and the three decide to team up together.
Mention the name Zack Snyder and you will find mostly fans from both ends of the spectrums - those who are in rapturous worship of his works or those who bristle with snarky derision. He's the ultimate controversial hot button for any geek conversation concerning DC superhero movies.
Zack Snyder was working on the movie JUSTICE LEAGUE since 2016. Before he had the change to edit and finalise the film, Snyder left the production in 2017. His daughter had died by suicide, and he wanted to spend time with his family. Joss Whedon, well known for being the creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and the first two Avengers' movies, took over. The movie version released in the same year was a weird combination of Snyder's original take and Whedon's more colourful style. Not surprisingly, with an uneven tone given to the characters and the script, the movie did not turn out to be the box office hit that Warner Bros. had hoped.
Ardent fans of Snyder began calling for an original cut of JUSTICE LEAGUE, insisting that such a version exists. They flooded social media with the hashtag #releasetheSyndercut soon after the movie's release and continued promoting the grassroots campaign for years. Finally, on the date of JUSTICE LEAGUE'S 2nd anniversary, the fans efforts gained more traction when actors like Gal Gadot and Ben Afflect added their voices to the chorus. Synder also began posting more stills from the alternate cut.
The studio finally gave in despite pundits estimating that it would cost gazillions to produce this version. In May 2020, WarnerMedia announced that the infamous “Snyder Cut” will premiere on HBO's streaming services in the following year. The extended version of the movie would be about 4 hours long.
The Star Wars Identities Exhibition, which will open for the public this Saturday (30 January) at the ArtScience Museum (ASM), is something not to be missed!
The show was supposed to open last year, but then the coronavirus arrived, and Red Dot Island promptly went into a 2-month Circuit Breaker. For many months after, businesses and individuals were following strict safety protocols to help keep everyone healthy.
Despite the long wait, ASM and their partners Pico Pro, X3 Productions and Lucasfilm Ltd, the owner of the show's 200+ original Star Wars movie artefacts, have managed to produce a wonderful exhibition that will delight the franchise's fans - both long-timers as well as newbies.
Through several displays of props, concept artwork, sculpts, costumes and character profiles, Star Wars Identities is structured as an interactive personal journey for fans to learn how an identity is shaped in a lifetime.
Red Dot Diva managed to get a sneak peak of the exhibition, totally geeking out like an Ewok at a raucous forest rave. To keep some of the show's surprises and reveals more exciting for the visitors, she will only list down a few key highlights that you should look out for!
This week, Ubisoft announced a piece of exciting news for gamers and Star Wars fans.
The video game company, home of popular games like Assassin's Creed, Raving Rabids and the Tom Clancy series, is collaborating with Lucasfilm to develop a new story-driven open-world Star Wars game. Ubisoft's critically-acclaimed AAA studio Massive Entertainment will be working to bring their latest technology like the Snowdrop engine, to deliver an epic adventure in the beloved galaxy far far away.
“The vast Star Wars lore is an incredible source of inspiration for our teams,” said Yves Guillemot, co-founder and CEO of Ubisoft. “This is the beginning of a long-term collaboration with Disney and Lucasfilm Games, and we are pleased to be working hand-in-hand to build upon the incredible legacy of Lucasfilm to create a game that we know Star Wars fans will love.”
