Movie: War for the Planet of the Apes

The third movie in the rebooted franchise, it manages to connect some of the final dots between the original and the reboot. However, it also manages to be the weakest movie with a far less compelling plot. There are a few highlight scenes; but I generally found it to be boring and rather compelling.

Movie: The Promise

The Promise is a bit of a complicated movie - of two facets - a semi documentary on the Armenian genocide; and a complicated romantic story involving two different love triangles. 

On a cinematic portrayal of the Armenian genocide; it is a stunning story that manages to easily show how it comes to arise, the complications on reporting on it, and the challenges on trying to save survivors. In this aspect, The Promise, really delivers with great performances from the cast in this regard. 

The love triangle however, makes little sense, distracts from the movie and really cheapens an otherwise great story-telling feat. The weakest parts of the movie, by far, are the complications arising from the love triangle; and there is really no need for this. In fact, the entire storyline could have hinged on the main characters being good friends - one does not need to be lovers in order to try save the persecuted! It is a distraction, that really damages an otherwise less reported story.

Kakadu - The Musical

A bit of a late review; Joburg Theatre hosted the Nigerian musical - Kakadu - as part of its Africa Month celebrations. The musical is set shortly after Nigeria's independence and charts the decent from democracy to military dictatorship and the Biafran war; a civil war that tears the multi-ethnic community apart. 

The story itself traces a few different characters representing various groups in Nigeria, who get together and party in the popular nightclub, Kakadu. At first, without the context of the various names, it is difficult to understand the differences of the various groups; but the program was very detailed and helpful in this regard. The music - mostly American and British hits from the 1960s - leads a very energetic performance; with a show time of over 2 and half hours. The performances were superb, and was a great showcase of African story and theatrical performance.

For me, what was most interesting however, is that, despite the upbeat music and a love story of reconciliation across ethnic groups; the story is one of despair, as evidenced in the final song. That despite the massive human and mineral resources; how is it that the country has not progressed to that of a first world nation - and the lack of progress cannot just be laid at the foot of colonialism. Corruption, nepotism and ethnic strife are big stumbling blocks, which cost a lot and have very little to do with global super power interventions. A similar story is emerging in South Africa; and the story has a lot of alarm bells worth heeding.

Decoda and The JPO

As the JPO is slowly regaining its feet, the new CEO and Artistic Director, Bongani Tembe, has really brought some interesting musical performances to the table. The Decoda ensemble - a group of 9 musicians affiliated to Carnegie Hall in New York, is one such example. Decoda are in South Africa for a 3 week tour - with shows still scheduled in Durban and Cape Town in the coming weeks.

The concert started with the debut performance of a commissioned piece by South African composer Matthijs van Dijk, Drop - featuring all 9 ensemble musicians and the orchestra. It's a relatively short piece - about 8 mins long, focused around the word "drop" - including water and electronic music references. It was upbeat, fun and very different to the rest of the program; and very enjoyable.

In contrast to previous JPO performances, the second piece was performed purely by Decoda - Lutoslawski's Dance Preludes. While originally written for clarinet and piano, the ensemble has rearranged it for the ensemble; and as noted in the introduction, the arrangement highlights the different instruments in the ensemble. The piece was far longer than the advertised 7 minutes in the program - and well worth the extra minutes :)

The final part of the first half  was Haydn's Symphonia Concertante, featuring the violin, cello, oboe and basson players of Decoda. This is probably the first Haydn symphony that I really enjoyed - again something really different to normal JPO performances; even though this is very much a classical music piece.

After the break, conductor Yasuo Shinozaki, led the orchestra through one of the best performances of Beethoven's 5^th Symphony I have heard. It is probably my favourite classical music piece - and the tempo of the final movement was just amazing. It capped off an amazing concert - and things are really looking up for the JPO.

Movie: Silence

Martin Scorsese's passion project spanning over 25 years, Silence, tracks the mission of two Jesuit priests in Japan. It's a beautifully shot movie - with stunning cinematography -  but it is difficult to judge the movie beyond its visual merits.

Primarily - this is a movie about faith and culture; and about changes in both. The story takes place at a time where Christians are persecuted for their faith; as the Japanese traditionalists see the usurping religion replacing, not only Buddhism, but also the traditions of Japan. This resistance is itself not investigated in detail - but rather, the persecution and the hiding from this persecution becomes the centre of this story; leading to torture and death - of both villagers and priests. 

My own interpretation is that this is a movie about Christianity (and by extent, Western civilisation)'s cultural superiority - about how people would rather convert, suffer and die, rather than stay in their own culture. It is unsettling and ultimately unsatisfactory - because in the end; there is very little looking at why - why would they convert? why are the officials unhappy? 

Hamlet

It's probably Shakespeare's most famous play, and although I had seen snippets of performances before, this was the first time I had seen a full performance. The play itself is set on a ship - historically one of the earliest known performances of the play - which means that we are actually watching a play on the performance of a play which also happens to have a play in the performance.

The premise of the location leads to a stunningly minimal set - a smallish stage with a few crates - but this stage is surrounded by water - which is brilliantly used as part of the performance. The cast itself is only 6 persons - each playing more than one role - with a standout performance by Marcel Meyer as Hamlet (and the ghost of his dead father) - and the channeling of the ghost as a possession was a touch of genius!

Reboot of the Rebooted Top Gear - Season 24

I did not enjoy Season 23, and The Grand Tour resurrected a lot of the magic of the old Top Gear. The reboot of the reboot managed to resurrect some of the old formula to good effect. It got rid of the rally cross, and brought back the old lap; albeit with an "everyday" sports car in the form of the Toyota 86. Matt le Blanc is an excellent anchor - and channels the James May weirdness in bringing heavy machinery for amusement. There are some crazy challenges - not as off beat as Clarkson shows - but still interesting - such as the taxi challenge in Kazakstan and playing Pac Man.  Extra Gear continued and brought a lot more behind the scenes views - which greatly increased my appreciation on what it takes to actually film an episode of Top Gear. 

All in all, Season 24 of Top Gear manages to resurrect the show - and it is more of a driving, car show than 3 blokes having fun. It's more balanced from the absurdities of the Clarkson era; a whole lot better than Season 23 - so there are signs of hope once more.

Movie: The Accountant

The Accountant seems to be tailor made for Ben Afleck (or Keanu Reeves) - an autistic savant numbers person, who happens to be the tax guy for the mob, and basically does not have any emotional responses to most situations in the movie. The plot line is barely believable, but does manage to have some good action scenes; and while the autism drives a large part of the story it seems more of a crutch to make something more of a rather ordinary movie plot. It is fun though - so at least it has some entertainment value.

Movie: Hell or High Water

I wasn't sure that I would enjoy a pseudo-western, set in rural Texas - but Hell or High Water managed to convert a story of two bank robbing brothers to a story with depth examining a lot of social issues of poor (white) America. This is really a story about loan sharks (dressed as bankers), stagnant wages, gun culture, joblessness, abusive parents and the impact on their grown children, greed and Jeff Bridges in a brilliant performance of a cranky, but great, detective. It's a story that you start rooting for the bad guys (or at least one of the brothers); and the story somehow manages to achieve some sort of balance between heartache, justice and no-result ... a compromise that no one likes but strangely seems to work.

Movie: Hacksaw Ridge

Hacksaw Ridge is often commented as Mel Gibson's redemption - a story of a conscientious objector, who refuses to touch a rifle, but still serves (as a medic) in the front lines in the Pacific Front in WW2, and manages to save many soldiers in very dire circumstances. And while the movie is does, rightfully, portray Desmond Doss (played by Andrew Garfield) in a heroic light - the treatment of the enemy as subhuman, without any redeeming qualities, in my mind does nothing to redeem Mel Gibson. Yes, this is a war movie, written by the victors - but for all of the heroics of Desmond Doss, there was no righteous side.

Three Virtues Restaurant

It's rare to find a vegetarian restaurant that has a bigger menu than Indian vegetarian restaurants. Three Virtues Restaurant, located near the corner of Jordan and Nathan roads in Kowloon, has a traditional Chinese menu, but with only vegetarian components - usually with mushroom or tofu substitues (at least in the items we had). Most items would also pass the vegan test. We went twice, both during dinner, and the place is packed - which is always a good sign with regards to quality. The cost is very reassonable, they have English menus and is at least a very a different take on Chinese food.

Chi Lin Nunnery and Nan Lian Garden

Amongst the skyscrapers and hustle of Hong Kong, the Chi Lin Nunnery is a quiet oasis, easily accessible from the city centre. It has some stunning wooden architecture, with amazing attention to detail. In addition to the shrine rooms, there are a few amazing lotus pools, some very large bonsais and quite a large focus on crystal rocks.

Across the road, the Nan Lian garden, is effectively an extension of the nunnery. It includes a number of focused displays, mostly free, including a presentation of timber architecture, pottery and a rock garden, with amazing landscaping.

There is also a stunning vegetarian restaurant behind a stunning water feature (below). The food is very good, although maybe a bit on the expensive side. The restaurant has limited opening times, but highly recommended.

Breathing Space at the Asia Society

Located next to the British Consulate, the Asia Society, Hong Kong Center is based at an old Royal Military Policy compound. Similar to the British Council, and Goethe Institut, it is an arts and cultural centre showcasing works from across Asia. There are some stunning permanent displays (as well as general architectural features) such as the Buddha and the water ature by the reception.

The centre currently showcases a contemporary art exhibition from Hong Kong focused on living in the city. Like an installation, they range from the obscure and academic to the though provoking and accessible; and the are a few cool tech inspired creations. The installations a across the centre in both outdoor and indoor spaces, some blending in amazingly well with the city itself.

Hong Kong and Kowloon Parks

There are a few free tourist places around Hong Kong, and the two big parks - Hong Kong and Kowloon stand out in terms of their size, the stunning landscaping and some of the freebies - such as the aviaries. 

The landscaping in the Hong Kong aviary is quite impressive, while most of the birds seem to be from the Pacific islands.

There are flamingos at the Kowloon Park!

Both parks have museums also, although we only went in to the Hong Kong Heritage Discovery Centre charting a brief history of Hong Kong in Kowloon Park. Lots of Ming vases around though!

Mahler "Tragic" Symphony

I have seen circular concert halls on YouTube, but today (Saturday) was my first time sitting in one, and specifically behind the orchestra, which also happens to be the cheap seats. Concert tickets, even for the cheap seats were not cheap, but despite this, the hall was almost full. The audience was also quite diverse in terms of age group, with a number of children in attendance.

The concert started with a short 20 minute piece,"swallow harbour", by a young American composer Conrad Tao, in it's debut performance. The notes from the composer mentions that the piece is inspired by the city's jagged skyline - and thus the music is jagged with various short snippets. There isn't really a consistent theme or melody till almost the very end and the performance, to me at least, was not really that pleasant - too experimental and too distorted to make it pleasant and entertaining.

After a short interval, Mahler's 6th Symphony, was the highlight performance. It's the first time I have heard it, and the program notes made it fairly easy to follow the progression. The symphony is said tone Mahler's most personal, inspired by his wife - so it's a bit strange that it explores death and tragedy in its finale; and much of the joyous and passion are wiped out by the finale. 

It was a magnificent performance - and being next to the percussion in this specific performance was a pleasure to watch. The only complaint would be - the sledgehammer in the finale just didn't have the impact described in the notes ... but it still managed to break the box!

Monte Fort and Macau Museum

Located next to the Ruins of St Paul, Monte Fort is probably the highest point in Macau, and provides some amazing views of the city. The fort was a defensive installation by the portuguese, and canons are jotted around the fort. The top has an amazing garden also - and given the time of the year, lots of flowers!

In a recent renovation, the Macau Musuem was added to the fort - a a great exploration on the combined history of the West and China - starting with a short history summary, trade, construction, science developments and some cultural fusion. It's a great primer on the shared history.

St John's Cathedral

Close to the Peak Tram station in Central, St John's Anglican Cathedral has a few stunning stained glass windows in an otherwise plain and bork interior.

Ruins of St Paul's

It's possibly Macau's most famous tourist attraction - the remains of the facade for a Jesuit church, on a hill overlooking the ocean. The facade is remarkably well preserved, and highly decorated when compared to other churches, including the cathedral, in the area. After archeological excavations, the crypt and a small gallery exhibiting Christian art and artifacts from the era are also accessible from the church grounds.

Macau Lights

Macau is well known as a gambling destination - the Las Vegas of the East. There are two clusters - a cluster of outlandish reports on the island of Cotai, and a cluster near the harbour on the "mainland". We landed on Cotai, and took the bus to the centre, so we saw the resorts during the day. The older cluster came alive at night, on our way back.

St Dominic's Church

Just after the Senado Square, St Dominic's is a large Jesuit church with the stand out feature being the altar - showing the Virgin Mary and Jesus carrying his cross below the altar. As with many Jesuit churches, the decor itself is rather ordinary, but the strange altar is interesting ...

Macau Tarts

There are a lot of stalls selling Macau Egg Tarts; but this stall near the St Dominic's Church (on way to the steps) has it for a gat price and great service. Efficient process also - order with the lady, and pick up at the other window.

Ferries to Macau

There is a surprising volume of ferries to Macau - approximately 7 an hour for most of the day (the ferries effectively run a 24 hour operation). Given that each ferry can take about 250 passengers, it's a lot of people! The route itself is about an hour long (on the slower ferry), fairly cheap (approx HKD 350 return) and quite hassle free. There are higher classes of tickets promising more luxury, but I can't work out the value beyond more privacy.

Hong Kong Maritime Museum

Perched on the edge of Central Pier, the Hing King Maritime Musuem is deceptively small from the outside. Located across three floors, the museum explores Chinese maritime history, the naval roots and history of Hong Kong, and general maritime topics (such as radar, containers, safety, etc). I found the Chinese maritime history most interesting tracing development of saling and marine exploration. There is also a big collection of model ships, ranging from the old to the modern container ships. 

The Big Buddha

In my last visit to the Big Buddha, the weather was cloudy and cold, and the Buddha was enveloped in the mist. Today was a clear day with fairly good visibility, although not good enough to see beyond the airport.