Subverting a place, object, role or symbol is always a good way to surprise and terrify. With Smile, director Parker Finn takes on the universal action of smiling into a more sinister realm with his feature debut. Sosie Bacon is Dr. Rose Cotter, a workaholic therapist that can’t seem to pry herself away from helping her…
Category: Musings
NOPE (FILM REVIEW)
“They don’t make them like they used to” is something often said about things manufactured in the new millenia. Appliances, furniture, or even food would sometimes be candidates for this critique. With a calendar full of formulaic or franchise fodder, one might say the same about cinema today. Jordan Peele though, is different. He approaches…
SEAMS: THE FIRST TAROT DECK BRINGING SOUTHEAST ASIAN LORE TO LIFE
Tarot decks have mainly seen iterations through the lens of Western lore and interest. From themes such as Arthurian lore to French art nouveau designs, these influences have found easy integration with the stories and meaning within the 78-card deck. But what of Southeast Asian literature? That was the question Rowen Ong, founder of the…
PEE NAK 3 (FILM REVIEW)
Not to be confused with Pee Mak – the other Thai horror-comedy about a lovelorn female spirit – Pee Nak is about a curse, a Naga and some very unfortunate monks. This third chapter continues with returning cast members and an overstretched plot (or lack thereof), and by the looks of it, should likely be…
THOSE WITH PANDEMIC WOES CATCH A BREAK ON CAROUSELL
Because there is time to kill and bills to pay. When Covid-19 landed, it landed hard and fast. It not only disrupted entire industries, but the ensuring ripple effects had a very definite impact on the everyday folks as lockdowns were implemented. And the worst part – the restriction periods got longer and longer. Even…
NO MORE EXCUSES SINGAPOREANS – IT’S ALL ON YOU
“Singaporean or not, people will want some form of security or peace of mind at time like this especially those with old forks and kids at home. So why we always wana label our fellow citizens those bad names? And how we know that those in q were all Singaporean? This is just simply human…
TOOTSIES & THE FAKE (FILM REVIEW)
For the uninitiated, tootsie is a affectionate term used in Thailand for a campy gay guy. And celebrating this without restraint, Line TV created a series based on the online accounts of Thachpacha Setthachai, a proud tootsie who does a Carrie Bradshaw and recalls the many humourous episodes he has with his three best friends…
AN ODE TO BJORK’S LOSSS
When Bjork released Vulnicura, she gave in to her heartbreak. Utopia followed, and it promised the renewal of life after the fall. So when Losss came on, it was an assassination in paradise. It took me by surprise, and easily became my favourite track. Pendulous, orbital rhythm hovering above the plaintive lyrics. I couldn’t make…
THAT UNEXPECTED CHILL
Because of the weather, I had a rare chance to see a different side to Singapore. People smilingly scrunched up in jackets; hot coffee passing me by, smelling like it’s from another dimension; an odd sapped-out palette that makes everything look like a timeless print from an old newspaper. Amidst that, I enjoyed my evening…
OMG I WON
The message came in during a media movie preview session. After seeing the notification when I was exiting the cinema, I was confused. Why was this Indonesian guy on Instagram telling me that I won a Uniqlo contest? So I went over to the Uniqlo Wherever contest site and turns out, I won! My hand…
A POEM FOR OCT 4 2017
秋风见冬顶 银湖流满月 独农下马村 仓守春蜜罐 Roughly translated: Autumn winds meet winter peaks The lake is silver from the full moon light A lone farmer returns to Horse Village Where a store guards Spring honey pots
FAIRY TALE, ENDING
So this is it. It’s not the day that democracy died, because opposing pundits will say that that was already a dead dog. But certainly this is the day that it was most felt by the general Singaporean. Halimah Yacob, uncontested, has become the next President of Singapore in an uncontested walkover. The memes came…
LIFE IS THE HEART OF A RAINBOW
So. Thank you Yayoi Kusama for letting us participate in your mental and emotional landscape. To have you achingly search and generate joy for others as you yourself struggle to make sense of your own being – it’s been our privilege. It’s such an irony then to see some people turning gallery to theme park,…
FIRST DAY. LAST DAY.
My earliest memory eating at a kopitiam is also one of my fondest. It was a coffee shop beside the main market at Toa Payoh Lorong 8 and it had all the fixtures – slightly slippery floor tiles, wooden chairs caved to the butt with floral pattern worn away by diners, cracked marble table tops turned…
This Is ReaLee Not About That House
For all the years the Opposition have tried to justify their accusations of nepotism and corruption of the ruling party, none have delivered a blow like the recent allegations from PM Lee Hsien Loong’s own siblings, Mr Lee Hsien Yang and Dr Lee Wei Ling. Singaporeans are understandably, up to this day, divided. This is…
Welcome to my April
They say kings are born in April. Power I have little of – at least over a nation; But Iran is currently ruling my heart and state of being. I must have a magpie as a totem animal because I like collecting receipt stubs, local plants, odd packets and (as a mermaid once said) thingamabobs…
Stolen Stories: Sungei Road’s Last Page
There are antique timepieces beside mobile chargers and colourful plastic jewellery. A Barbie sits patiently, her dress a little weathered but still pretty. Underneath a table, an old photo of a man in his youthful glory is captured with an auric glow. These remnants of the past may seem useless, but new owners can be…
Rochor Centre – Final farewells
Rochor Centre at night, with darkness veiling the bright colours, brings out another mistress – one pensive yet still robust. The quiet voice of rebellion exists, as activities in her compound past its official clearance deadline, is flickering but still seen, from the occasional odd window with clothes left out to dry. There’s also a bunch…
Next stop – Cantonment
This is it. The last day of Tanjong Pagar Railway Station as a shell space for events like today’s Christmas fair. After this, it’s a long many years before it opens up as Cantonment Mrt station. It’s funny how as I stood in this empty room, with teal panes a hipster cafe would kill for, the…
Salaam
For the price of a stay-cation at Marina Bay Sands, I can now fly to Tehran. Tough call – not. Thank you Thai Airways! ❤
Of filters, walks and song
A natural filter comes over us, and disregarding the smell, it brings a surreal quality to the quieter parts of Singapore. Hello Indonesian haze. In between two appointments, I took a 30-minute walk between City Square mall and Shaw Towers, and came across a nice stretch of boardwalk just behind Victoria Street. Extended decks and…
Lessons in Foresight & Grace: The Schoolings
It’s not easy being an athlete in Singapore. If you’re lucky, you get some form of public funding. But most will have to fight it out on their own. Such was the case for Joseph Schooling – now Olympic gold medalist in the 100m butterfly event. And already the credit-claimers are circling en masse. Look…
Of why I enjoy my bus rides
Because it usually accords me a seat. And because sometimes, moments like these appear, where three strangers get lulled by the bus into a deep sleep, all made lethargic by the beating summer sun of Singapore. I love my bus rides.
The Beginning at The End
It’s the last day of 2015. It feels like something should be observed. But all I’m really doing this last day is to start my blog. I’ve done this several times before. On Blogspot. On Livejournal. On Tumblr. But a lack of focus has always thrown me off. Life has a way with distractions. But…
Adrift
I’m anchored mostly to my pier. One made of weather-worn planks aged 36 years and a little more. I think I hear it creaking these days. It’s not a pretty pier, studded with barnacles and wrapped by strands of watery undergrowth, but it’s my own private dock, shaped from my own hands. I’ve forgotten what…
After 35
I was going to prune a flowering plant when a bee flew to it. I then thought, “Okay I’ll leave you be.” Then I chuckled to myself. It has begun.
I’m not bored but…
Given the myriad of options around us, I am finding that, inversely, some people are getting bored more easily.
Sad Spark
And I bid farewell to Torey. His engine buzzed happily away as his new owner Benjamin rode him off into the night. I will miss you even though I hardly rode you.
Untitled
Swathe me in ink. The night sky and her moon. Sprinkle my forehead with galaxies. And let starry rays lampoon, all woven thoughts & seeds.
MORGAN AWYONG 