Thursday, April 21, 2022

The Manic and Outrageous Creativity of Everything Everywhere All At Once


A24's EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE is an exhilarating and mind-bending assault on the senses. Writer-directors Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, also collectively known as the Daniels, have fueled the metaphysical, martial arts film in an exhilarating bombardment of utter weirdness.

Just like the numerous "what if" scenarios you might have wondered about your own life, EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE offers the various iterations of Evelyn Wang (Michelle Yeoh)'s existence. A harried, mousy Chinese immigrant laundromat owner, Evelyn has many adulting problems. One of them is trying to save her failing business from a persistent IRS inspector Deirdre Beaubeirdra (Jamie Lee Curtis and her glorious belly). She is also trying to plan a Chinese New Year party for the community, dealing with accepting her aimless daughter Joy's (Stephanie Hsu) sexuality, and trying to shield that revelation from her disapproving, estranged father (James Hong).

Friday, April 15, 2022

Feel Like A Giant At Suntec's Hong Kong: Through The Looking Glass Exhibition


Itching to travel again but not sure if it is worth the hassle with various Covid 19-related advisories in place? One way to get your quick fix this weekend, albeit in a very small scale, is to visit the Hong Kong: Through The Looking Glass Exhibition at Suntec City. The exhibition, organised by the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (HKETO), celebrates the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. The show will wrap up this Sunday, 17 April 2022.

Displayed in glass casings at the Suntec City mall's East Atrium as well as near the playground at Level 3, are 40 handmade miniature models capturing the essence of Hong Kong's unmistakable cityscape, traditions and food culture. There are models of iconic buildings like the Blue House Cluster and Tai O Heritage Hotel as well as festivals like the Cheung Chau Bun Festival.

Friday, March 11, 2022

Jessica Emmett's Debut Exhibition "SHOW YOUR EEMO" Launches At BLAXK By Actioncity, 12 March 2022


A colourful and interesting art exhibition opens at BLAXK by Actioncity, located at Funan Mall tomorrow, 12 March 2022 (Saturday). It is the debut exhibition of talented UK toy designer, illustrator & 3D artist JESSICA EMMETT, entitled SHOW YOUR EEMO.

Full disclosure here - JESSICA EMMETT is Red Dot Diva's good friend. They first met at the Singapore Toy Games and Comic Convention (STGCC) 2016's Artist Alley, when she was promoting her illustrations and self-printed comics. It was love at first sight for Red Dot Diva and Jessica's various eye-catching and unique character designs. Jessica also designed the rebranded Red Dot Diva logo that you now see on all the RDD social media accounts. So, Red Dot Diva cannot help but feel very proud and happy that Jessica is given a chance to show off her works in her debut exhibition.

Thursday, March 10, 2022

Punch In For Kung Fu Season 2 on Warner TV (Premieres 10 March 2022)


Mention the “Kung Fu" series to Gen X-ers, and they will immediately remember the 1970's show which starred David Carradine as Kwai Chang Caine, a half-Chinese Shaolin monk who was framed for murder, and came to America to search for his family. It is well known that martial arts legend Bruce Lee was passed over for the main role, and it has been argued that this was due to his accent, which the audience may find difficulty understanding. It just goes to show the level of discrimination Asian and Asian-American actors face, trying to get visibility in tinseltown. The original series has also been criticized for its prominent white-washing and propagating of Asian stereotypes.

With the rebooted, reimagining of the series that premiered in 2021, the creators Christina M. Kim, Martin Gero, Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter, Robert Berens and Warner Bros TV hope to right some of the wrongs regarding Hollywood's ‘bamboo ceiling’. In this new gender-bent version set in modern times, Olivia Liang as Nicky Shen, a young Chinese American woman who ran away from her university studies and ended up learning Shaolin kungfu at a monastery in China.

The first season of KUNG FU follows Nicky's homecoming in San Francisco, to find that her parents owes the mob money due to the family's failing restaurant business. A dangerous Triad has now taken hold of her home district, and is overrun with crime and corruption. While trying to solve the mystery of her sifu's death, Nicky also makes it her mission to disentangle her family from the mobsters and use her kung fu skills to fight for justice.

Season 2 of KUNG FU premieres today (10 March 2022) on Warner TV. There is more battles ahead for Nicky, as the family reunites with a long-lost cousin named Mia (Vanessa Yao). What has Mia got to do with the Russell Tan (Kee Chan), the current season's Big Bad?

If you have yet to get on board with the show, it is still not too late to start. Red Dot Diva gives you the five reasons why you should watch KUNG FU:

Saturday, March 5, 2022

Experience The Batman "Unmask The Truth" Pop-up at Shaw House


One of DC's most enduring and iconic superhero is back to the big screen. Matt Reeves' THE BATMAN, starring Robert Pattinson as the Caped Crusader, premiered in local theatres on 3 March 2022. To ramp up the hype and excitement for the new Batman movie, WarnerMedia has turned Orchard Road into an interactive experience for the fans with The Batman “Unmask The Truth" pop-up event.

Its main "Gotham City" is located at Shaw House's ground level. Enter into Gotham's shadowy world to check out the Bat-signal, a life-sized figure of Batman the "Battinson" version, and a cool toy display that includes XM Studios' intricately sculpted collectible "The Batman’s Greatest Battles". Against a replica of the Batcave console, Secretlab has also unveiled their The Batman chair, with a special magnetically detachable bat emblem.

Don't forget about taking your selfies! The movie backdrops provided Red Dot Diva with lots of fun and wacky photo opportunities.

Saturday, February 19, 2022

Attack On Titan Exhibition At Artscience Museum - The Invasion Is Here!


The epic invasion of scary, colossal beings has begun! Starting 19 February 2022, Artscience Museum and collaborator SPACELogic has kicked off the ATTACK ON TITAN: The Exhibition that pays tribute to the best-selling manga's creator Hajime Isayama and the series' amazing 11-year run with Japanese publishing company, Kodansha. The exhibition makes its South-East Asian and overseas debut here, with a few new additions and surprises.

Come along with Red Dot Diva as she walks through the exhibit in this feature, so you can know what to expect. Or, if you are unable to head to Red Dot Island during the exhibition's run, Red Dot Diva hopes that you will be able to live vicariously through this article and photos.

Got your ODM gear ready? Here we go!

Tuesday, February 1, 2022

5 Movies To Watch To Usher In The Year Of The Tiger 2022


The Year of the Tiger has arrived!!! So, HU (虎)-at will you going to be watching over the holidays?

A couple of days ago, Red Dot Diva started bingeing on Netflix's new CG-animated series He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe. The energetic and flashy 10-episode series developed by Rob David, re-imagines the franchise in a futuristic cyberpunk-scifi world. The basic premise of the beloved He-Man characters are still there, but what is best about this show are its intriguing departures, like the gender-bent Krass, who later became Ram Ma'am.

One of the best storylines is the exploration of how this version's Cringer became the hero he was meant to be. It is a major difference from the cartoon of the 80s, where the whiny shivering big cat can be so annoying at times. Cringer of the Netflix reboot always had courage in him, but was declawed and exiled from his tribe, due to his desire to protect his fellow cats.

As Cringer looks mostly like a green tiger with stripes, Red Dot Diva thought it was super auspicious to celebrate this year's zodiac animation - the Water Tiger.

The tiger is also a familiar motif in a number of movies throughout the years. So here are 5 movies that Red Dot Diva thinks would an entertaining way to herald the New Year!

(Note: The movies are in order of the year of their release. You may need to hunt down a DVD/ stream to watch some of these titles!