Reviews
Music
Shanghai Live Earth
In Shanghai, at the base of the iconic Oriental Pearl Tower, a succession of sweet-voiced pop crooners were joined by 3,000 concert-goers, over 150 volunteers from the United Nations, universities and local charity groups, and senior local government officials to show Chinese solidarity in responding to the global climate crisis.
Though performers from mainland China were noticeably underrepresented at Shanghai Live Earth, the lineup proved an entertaining spectacle.
Hong Kong's Anthony Wong kicked off the show with impressive gusto, followed by Eason Chan who decided to forgo his usual array of musical instruments to sing three solo pieces. Next came the rock band Soler, fronted by Chinese Italian twins, Julio and Dino Acconci, who injected a much need jab of diversity into the musical bloodstream. The ultra-kitsch but talented 12 Girls Band, almost pulled off what to many would seem an impossible fusion of traditional Chinese music with Mozart's Symphony No. 5 accompanied by a funky beat.
The loudest cheers of the night, however, were reserved for the actor and singer Huang Xiaoming (pictured) who gave a cheeky performance to adoring female (and male) fans with the aid of a troupe of voluptuous dancers. Despite the rain towards the end of the concert, spirits remained upbeat and enthusiastic for Broadway star Sarah Brightman's closing set. Chris Loxton
DVD
Anaconda
Directed by Luis Llosa, starring Jennifer Lopez, Jon Voight
A creature feature that is well aware it's not reinventing the wheel, Anaconda is honest trash. The film opens with a title sequence in which we are informed that these giant snakes can regurgitate their prey. A betting man would punt that we will see just that before the final credits roll.
Next we meet a documentary crew led by Terri Flores (Jennifer Lopez) and including Danny Rich (Ice Cube) and Gary Dixon (Owen Wilson). They are trekking down the Amazon in search of an illusive tribe; however, things start to get creepy after they rescue the strange Paul Serone (Jon Voight) from his stricken boat. And if a having a psycho onboard isn't bad enough, there's a giant snake lurking beneath them.
The set-ups here are all familiar: cameras looming in on a swimmer's legs just like in Jaws and even the requisite horny-young-couple-at-night scene where the naughty pair separates themselves from the rest of the camp. During their canoodling the girl even utters the line - "Wait, did you hear that?" - perhaps the single most rehashed quote in horror film history.
The quality cinematography and score let us know that while this is schlock, it's not inexpensive schlock. On the other hand, the animatronics and computer-generated effects used to create the huge reptile are terrible. The snake model looks about as nimble as a cereal box while the effects appear super imposed. But Jon Voight is the reason to watch Anaconda; his Paul Serrone is one of the most unabashedly overwrought villains in b-grade movie history. The Midnight Cowboy star knew that he wasn't being paid to make high art and piles it on accordingly.
Ben Davey
(China Daily 07/12/2007 page20)
