Outing & Movie

Went out with my sec sch friends for a ktv session on Sunday and spent time catching up with each other over lunch and dinner.

Watched The Banquet with Derrick, Edwin and Clarence at lido tonight.
The Banquet is an ancient China period piece loosely based on Hamlet with the conspiracies, the scheming plots and the eventual tragedy. There are even more add-ons with the martial arts, the stunningly lavish sets and the great cast.

The story is about an Emperor who was assassinated by his brother to upsurp his throne and the Crown Prince had to fend for his life with his uncle unleashing imperial guards to silence him. There is also a love triangle between the Empress, the Minister's daughter and the Crown Prince.

With Ta Dun and Yuen Wo Ping on tow (plus the cast comprising Zhang Ziyi, Daniel Wu, Zhou Xun and Ge You), this movie aspires to be the next Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon or Hero. The cinematography is fantastic, the fight choreography superb and the score is suitably majestic. The storytelling is engaging although the sequence of events unfolding are slightly exaggerated. Nevertheless, it is a great effort from mainland director Feng Xiaogang who joins the league of Lee Ang and Zhang Yimou. ****