Beast Clawing at Straws( 지푸라기라도 잡고 싶은 짐승들) Korean Film Thoughts

  

   Beast Clawing at Straws is a 2020 film directed by Kim Young Hoon and stars a talented line up of  Jeon Do Yeon, Jung Woo Sung, Bae Seong Woo, Youn Yuh Jung, Shin Hyun Bin, and Jung Ga Ram. the film play is based off a Japanese novel of the same name written by Keisuke Sone. 

  A man working at a bathhouse finds a bag of money in one of the lockers and decides to run with the cash, not knowing the trail of blood that follows......

    This film spends the first half introducing the viewer to a couple of characters. They all have money problems and suddenly this bag of money was left in a locker. Some might see this film has a bit boring at first but defiantly hang in there. The storyline gets better once all the dots are connected. I didn't start enjoying this film until the bar hostess mistress was introduced and that's not till midway through this film. After she's introduced, the whole film gets really spiced up. I wish they had introduced her earlier. Killing off abusive husbands and running away with illegal immigrant gangsters have been done many times before, not saying that these elements still didn't provide some excitement. South Korean does stores pertaining to these subjects really well. It's just that the latter half of the film gets you a bit more wide eyed as your attention is grabbed completely. Beast Clawing at Straws provides violence, backstabbing, as well as for the love of money spread all around. Viewers will learn not to trust anyone when money is involved because greed changes people and it's best to do your dirty work alone. 

  Jeon Do Yeon carried this film on her back without even being in full the film. She's an actress i've been watching for years. She's known for her badass female roles but I'm also happy to see her do more weak characters too. This cast has many seasoned actors and the did well for their roles. Jeon Do Yeon stole the show though. 

    Beast Clawing at Straws requires some patiences to get through. I'm not going to lie, I dozed off a bit then woke up a few scenes before the good parts. The middle to the end is a great film that will have you hooked. 

Crystal Kay(クリスタル・ケイ) - I SING(cover album) Thoughts(J-pop)

 

   Fans haven't heard much from C-Kay since 2018's For You, which foreign fans either loved or hated. I for one am always ecstatic to have some new release from Miss Kay. She hinted at the latter half of last year that a cover album was in the works. I'm not one to really get into covers but I was there for each and every one of Crystals digital releases that came out spontaneously accompanied by music videos. I just knew after hearing the singles for this album that fans were in for something special. I Sing is Crystal Kay's very first cover album in her whole long career as a singer. She's done covers throughout her career but never a full compilation album.

Tracklist

1. 楓 (Original: Spitz, Producer: Maeda Kazuhiko)
2. ただ…逢いたくて(I Just... I Want to See You) (Original: EXILE, Producer: Shimada Masanori)
3. 3月9日(March 9) (Original: Remioromen, Producer: Yaffle)
4. I LOVE... (Original: Official HIGE DANdism, Producer: Kawaguchi Daisuke)
5. Nandemonaiya (なんでもないや; Nothing) (Original: RADWIMPS, Producer: Shimada Masanori)
6. Suki (すき; Love) (Original: DREAMS COME TRUE, Producer: MANABOON)
7. 天体観測 (Astronomical Observation) (Original: BUMP OF CHICKEN, Producer: Matzura Akihisa)
8. Hitomi wo Tojite (瞳をとじて; Close Your Eyes) (Original: Hirai Ken, Producer: Kono Shin)
9. 歌うたいのバラッド(A Ballad I Want to Sing) (Original: Saito Kazuyoshi, Producer: Matzura Akihisa)
10. サウダージ (Melancholic Longing) (Original: Porno Graffitti, Producer: Sasaji Masanori)
11. One more time, One more chance (Original: Yamazaki Masayoshi, Producer: 笹路正徳)
12. 白い恋人達 (White Lovers) (Original: Kuwata Keisuke, Producer: UTA)
13. I LOVE...（Uptempo Ver.) (Original: Official HIGE DANdism, Producer: Kan Sano)

   I Sing is an album that you can sit back in a chair with your feet up and just enjoy all the musical dynamics or.... the lack there of..... Crystal decided to pick songs from the early to late 2000s except for the covers she did for Radwimp and Official HIGE DANdism both of which are more recent hits that were huge in Japan. She also only did cover songs by male artists/groups to my surprise. Unless you want to count Suki original preformed by Dreams Come True. Speaking of this track addition, I wish that Crystal had re-recorded it again so that it would have sounded more fresh than just a recycled B side to a single that didn't sell well. Crystal label probably didn't give her and her team the kind of money to use up studio time like that though. This fact kind of shows in the lack of production in some of the tracks. Certain tracks sound a bit empty in the instrumentals at points in the tracks. Crystal Kay has a voice that fills the emptiness but I could hear the lack of professional musical production in track such as March 9, A Ballad I want to Sing, and even the upbeat version of I LOVE... fell very short in giving that strong musical accompaniment that Kay deserves. Some Japanese people do tend to like more settle calm music however, that shouldn't be at the expense of the artist's strengths. A little light beat for half duration of a song just doesn't cut it at this point in Crystal Kay's career. She's too much of a veteran at this point. Now, I LOVE.... as a ballad pulls out all the stops that lets you know this is the lead single of I SING. Kay takes the track away from the original band, then made it a Christmas jam with a slab of classical orchestra on the side. All the production money defiantly went into creating this track.. There's a huge contrast between her upbeat version and the ballad version. Both are very listenable as I enjoyed elements from both. The upbeat version picks up a lot towards the end. I loved how the instrumental plays with the saxophones too. Can we also just take a moment to appreciate how she killed the HELL out of that Radwimp's cover though? Her vocals start the songs so crystal clear before soaring the new heights as the track builds up for a climactic conclusion. On top of that, she takes a song by the band Spitz and makes it so much into her own style that you forget what the original track sounds like. There's ballads on here too that sound beautiful conjoined into the span of the album's flow. You will have those people that will complain saying that the album is boring or that they want to keep her in a RnB box for the rest of her life. My thoughts are that this album is a little bit closer to what the production on a Crystal Kay album needs to be like for the next upcoming releases. I SING busts out all the stops while still falling short in places but it's kinda sad because her cover album sounds better than her last original album. This tells us that Crystal has it in her to be at the top. I just have to question how much faith does her label have in her? They surely are not giving her EXILE type funds for her projects.That's for sure. 

   Crystal Kay has always been a vocal beast. I SING gives her breathing room to be more vocally skilled than her other more recent albums. I do believe this is due to this being her first cover album where there's a hint of something to prove. If you fuck up the covers, Japanese people will talk but if you sing the the hell out those songs, you earn respect.  I was blown out of the water when hearing how she sang the Spitz's cover. That track literally sounds like a Crystal Kay song now. In fact, she sings the whole album like it's her original work. Most non Japanese listeners won't know the original songs except for the more recent hits so they can enjoy I SING like any other Crystal Kay album. Japanese listeners on the other hand are in for a nostalgia trip down memory lane CK STYLE. 

   I do believe that with the release of I SING, Crystal has big things in stored for her. I haven't looked at the album ranking on the Oricon Charts yet but even if the album only gets top twenty top thirty, at least she will still have the respect of listeners who can appreciate her constant climb up to becoming a more groundbreaking artist than she already is. 

Jay Fung(馮允謙) - Awaken Album Thoughts(Mando-pop)

 

     I talked about Jay Fung's Detour album in the past. That album left some growing for Fung to do musically but tracks laid a playful soul style in an overall efforts to let him stand in his own lane. Problem was that other more popular artists bite the style and Fung wasn't too devoted to being a soul funk artist since Detour's moments of this style where over-shined by more commercial sounding tracks. Awaken had Fung trying out a whole new style while throwing out his mistakes last time to rights his wrongs. He laces a more experimental pop sound using elements such as slow ballads to connect to his Chinese audience. I wasn't too disappointed in the breaks in between productive tracks like A New Day to add a ballad here or there. These ballads sound much more slickly polished in instrumental progression. A simple guitar intro to the sudden dramatic violins that take slow songs to more emotional heights. New Day used African drums with a dance pop beat that make this track such ear candy. I also loved the mixture of English and Mandarin in most of the tracks this time around. Fung probably wrote the the lyrics in english first, before having them translated. Hence, why there's English versions which are awesome new takes on the original tracks. 

     

  I could tell that Fung felt even more comfortable in the studio since he's never sounded better. His vocal runs sound tighter and more controlled. It would be nice if he was promoted more.... Yeah, he has the stereotypical sometimes monotone vocals however, his song choices stand out in his albums. Unlike other artists i've heard recently.   

SKYFIRE(天·火) Chinese Film Thoughts(2020)

   

     

    SkyFire is a 2019 film that was kinda up in the air like the volcano used in the actual film. I've been burned by Chinese films like Skyfire before and I wasn't looking forward to that experience again. Still, I gulped down my pride to give this film a shot. Skyfire stars Chinese Australian actress Hannah Quinlivan(wife of Pop Superstar Jay Chou), Shawn Dou, Lesie Ma, Jason Isaac, and, Wang Xueqi. Mandarin and English is spoken in the film which made me even more reluctant to watch it.  

   A hotel resort is built on the base of a Volcano. Little do the tourists know but the thing is about to explode, leaving everyone and rescue squad no time to get away..... Nature will put humanity to the test.

    What I will say is that Skyfire isn't as bad as the countless reviews might lead you to believe. Sure, this film won't make you think that an award will be thrown the productions teams way. However, the film entertains enough to keep you watching the full duration. What makes Skyfire fall flatter than a pancake is the fact that the volcano itself is more interesting than the characters or even the storyline. The only character that gets any kind of true background story was the lead female character and the only went into her background to give her a sob story. We can even say to glorify the fact that she's biracial: Which has nothing to do with the overall plot. English is only really spoken in certain spots throughout the film. What should have been discussed was how Skyfire overlooked the fact that an old white man was so over confident that he actually thought is was a fantastic idea to build a resort hotel on a Volcano. He put all those people in danger. Then the film scripts tries to give him a "white savor" complex just to smooth things over. His character never took the blame for his decisions Nor did his Chinese wife hold him accountable.. I did enjoy seeing the people get knocked off one by one for being stupid enough to go up there. Watching flying bodies being thrown by steam- sometimes a lava rock didn't get old to me. In fact, these scenes made up for the super slow beginning. Skyfire is another film to take at face value. Kinda of like Jay Chou's horrible singing...... OK OK OK! I'm a Jay fan! I just wasn't feeling his vocals for that ending theme song. I've heard him give better vocal performances. 

   SkyFire tries to force life into deadpan characters who just aren't interesting enough for viewers to care about. The lava could have killed the whole cast and I would have accepted that as a satisfactory ending. Those two love birds trying to get engaged underwater inside the Volcano made me feel nothing at all. Who does that tacky shit thinking it's romantic?? Especially when you almost get killed in the process.

CHUNG HA(청하) - Querencia 1st Album Thoughts(K-pop, RnB, Hip Hop, Spanish)

   

    

     Chung Ha is a South Korean singer who's pretty much became the queen of number one songs on the music charts. She's known for her rememberable choruses and dance routines. I would almost call her the Boa of this generations but she doesn't quite have the natural flow of movement when dancing like Boa had.(has?) Her first album had me pretty excited since she's had flawless single releases last year into this year. Her first full album is called Querencia. Which means the place where your sense of character lies in Spanish. 

Track List:
01. SIDE A {NOBLE}
02. Bicycle *Title
03. Masquerade
04. Flying on Faith
05. Luce Sicut Stellae
06. SIDE B {SAVAGE}
07. Stay Tonight
08. Dream of You (with R3HAB)
09. 짜증 나게 만들어 (Bother Me)
10. Chill해
11. SIDE C {UNKNOWN}
12. PLAY (feat. Changmo)
13. Demente (feat. Guaynaa)
14. Lemon (feat. Colde)
15. 별하랑 (160504 + 170607) (BYULHARANG (160504 + 170607))
16. SIDE D {PLEASURES}
17. X (걸어온 길에 꽃밭 따윈 없었죠)
18. All Night Long
19. 솔직히 지친다 (Everybody Has)
20. Come N Goes
21. Querencia (Epilogue)

     Querecia was surprisingly disappointing. I'm not sure what happened for a twenty on track album to fail like it did. I feel that all the great ideas when into her title tracks then, there was none left. The album actually has the nerve to be divided into different sections to support the different vibes of the group of songs that's coming next. Chung Ha throws listeners the track Bicycle to celebrate her first album and I wanted to make myself like this song until listening to the track by itself made me find more reasons not to like it. The tracks has too much happening in the instrumental, vocals, and production. All together everything makes Bicycle sound a mixed up mess to the ears. Take out all the tracks released prior to Querecia(which were all Chung Ha at her creative best, vocally and emotionally.) and you're left with Flying on Fatih: a track that resonates toward Dream of You's same artistry as an upbeat pop English track. Chung Ha's natural mature bad girl comes out strong here in the tracks' smart rhythm and tempo. Some of the other tracks toward the latter ballad sector of Querecia were alright. It's just that other artists have done the same kind of sound in Korea. Chung Ha is way above that level at this point in my opinion. The random Spanish track felt tacked on the album like she basically wanted to justify her using Spanish inspiration in her tracks Chica and Play. Outside of what I've noted, the rest is filler tracks that might appease the masses in South Korea..... Those mindless dance songs that repeat the same phrase over again on top a club beat that Koreans can jump around to in the club. Jessi's music has adopted the same style recently thanks to Psy's guidance. Let's just say I'm not impressed. Knock yourself out South Korea though. 

    Chung Ha has a multi layered vocal. Depending on the song she's singing or the music style. She can either sound very sweet and pure or very bitchy and unapologetic. I'm more a fan of the latter however, South Korea is pulling her more toward the cute stuff which isn't where she excelles the most in my opinion. Don't get me wrong, I love her songs such as Rollercoaster because the song was cute, yet it didn't take away from her vibe. Querencia ended up sending her way back in her craft when she should have had the best first album ever. Some artists can't handle the pressure creating a WHOLE full length album. Explaining the reason why many Korean artists only release mini albums. 

    I'm happy I dodged a bullet by not buying this album physically. I would have been highly upset. I only liked four of the twenty one tracks. This was not including the tracks released prior to the album's release.