THOMAS PODVIN’S FREELANCE WORK
Freelance writer - translator - Editor

Throughout his life, Ray Robinson Charles (1930-2004) never really escaped the alternating cycle of success and failure, both personal and professional that seemed his fate since birth. He had a rocky start. At five, he witnessed the death of his brother, became blind at seven and an orphan at fifteen. But battling the odds seemed to fuel his genius; he was one of the first artists to fuse gospel and R&B. Still, the struggle took its toll; Charles developed a heroin addiction. Hackford stresses the impact Charles’ childhood had on his adult life in a series of flashbacks and flash-forwards. This editing technique accelerates the movie’s pace; Ray’s quite long (178 minutes) but far from dreary. The film benefits from Charles role as ‘supervisor’ and it’s evident that he didn’t indulge in self-censorship; the singer’s dark side is clearly there for all to see from his drug habit to his adultery. While far from perfect in his personal life, Charles was a perfectionist in his work – he re-recorded some of his songs for this independent production (later widely distributed by Universal, and released in China by CAV Warner). Before dying of liver failure in 2004, Charles was able to sit through the first edit of the film to contemplate his own legend.
CAV Warner

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
April 2006 issue

Most people would do anything to escape prison. Michael Scofield, on the other hand, tries his best to get inside – to the delight of the audience. Scofield wants to get in the penitentiary to help his brother escape from death row, where he’s ended up after being wrongly accused of the murder of the vice-president’s brother. Of course, the case is more complicated than it seems, with conspiracies unfolding inside and outside the prison. Despite this synopsis, don’t expect prison-genre clichés. There are, of course, the compulsory baddies, corrupt and brutal wardens, and psychotic and perverted inmates. Yet the story is well-written, as well-written as Escape from Alcatraz, for example. For one thing, the series conveys a sense of realism; indeed, Prison Break was shot, in part, on location at the Joliet Prison in Illinois. We’re not giving anything away by mentioning that an escape scene in the program looked so convincing that several US prisons banned the TV series. In short, lock yourself in, get comfortable on your bunk, and enjoy the first season of this highly-suspenseful show. But get ready to do some hard time – the second season will air (in the US) from March to May this year.
Fox Television

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Chief editor: Steven Crane
April 2006 issue

During the 1972 Munich Olympic Games in Germany, eleven Israeli athletes were taken hostage by the terrorist group Black September. In retaliation, the Israeli government unofficially recruited agents to execute the Black September operatives. Munich is a 165-minute edge-of-your-seat movie experience that examines the emotional and ethical toll upon the members of the Israeli task force sent to execute the terrorists. The film opens with a recreation of the fedayeen abducting and executing the Israeli athletes, followed by the Israelis exacting vengeance, spilling blood for blood. At the time, the Palestinian terrorists were viewed as heroes by their compatriots. The Israeli undercover assassins, employing terrorist methods, were also seen as heroes in Israel. Hero or terrorist? Merely a matter of perspective. This USD 75 million thriller raises some thought-provoking questions, questions that have yet to be answered thirty years later as the tit-for-tat cycle of violence in the Middle East continues. Munich received five Oscar nominations and a Directors Guild of America nomination. That said, the film performed better worldwide than in the US.
DreamWorks

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Chief editor: Steven Crane
April 2006 issue

(c) that's Guangzhou
Guanzhou Chief editor: Christopher Cottrell
April 2006 issue

In Roman Polanski’s Oliver Twist, the central character is a paragon of stoic endurance. No matter what happens to the kid, he takes it with a smile. Actually, just a barely perceptible shrug of the shoulders. Twist is the center around which all the characters revolve, but he’s the least quirky, exciting, poignant, and human of them all. He’s the one to whom everything happens, but about whom audiences couldn’t care less. After his success with the 2003 Academy-Award-winning The Pianist, Polanski has made one of those rare films where supporting actors are the real stars. Of course, no Twist, no movie. But Oliver, on his own, is rather a boring young lad, devoid of excitement and personality. Reportedly, Paris-born actor/producer/director Polanski made this version of the Dickens’ classic for his children, unlike most of his previous works (including Hook and Repulsion) which children shouldn’t see unless they wish to be afflicted with life-long trauma. Which is not to suggest that Twist is children’s fare. By making Oliver a near-mute cipher, Polanski allows us to focus on his masterly use of the cinematic language, without contrived emotions to distract. In short, a triumph of compassion over sentiment.
SPHE

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
April 2006 issue

(c) that's Guangzhou
Guanzhou Chief editor: Christopher Cottrell
April 2006 issue

Following Shanghai Story, a subtle, semi-autobiographical, family drama set in post- “cultural revolution” Shanghai, local director Peng Xiaolian has changed course. Her latest film, Shanghai Rumba, is a multi-layered romance set in the late 1940s. The film is drenched in the cinema milieu. An unhappily-married young woman dreams of genuine love. Later, she joins a leftist film production company, where she meets Ah Chuan, a popular actor. Shanghai Rhumba was released on St. Valentine’s Day this year, a fitting date for this love story which features two real-life lovers in the cast: actors Xia Yu (Waiting Alone, 2004) and Yuan Quan (the stage play Amber, 2005). Peng exploits this element of reality in the film, including subtle references to the romance, on-screen and off. Adding yet another level to the plot, the film was inspired by a 70-year-old, legendary love affair between the ‘Prince of Film’ Zhao Dan (Crossroads, 1936) and actress Huang Zongying. If that’s not enough sentiment for you, Shanghai Rumba’s exquisite production values offer a gorgeous representation of the city as it was (or is remembered by romantics) in its ‘golden years’. With stunning cinematography, gorgeous costumes and old-fashioned music-score, this is one film that lovers anywhere can’t afford to miss.
Shanghai Film Studio

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Chief editor: Steven Crane
April 2006 issue

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Guanzhou Chief editor: Christopher Cottrell
April 2006 issue

If Duplex were a real-estate property, Miramax producers might have thought twice before investing in a project built on such a shaky foundation. Produced in 2003, this 89-minute-long comedy only reached Chinese theaters this year. Likely to produce forced smiles than real laughs, this film is mercifully short, for which thanks is due to director Danny de Vito. The two-level apartment story lacks both a clear blueprint and quality material. A young, New York-based professional couple, played by Ben Stiller and Drew Barrymore, finds their dream home in the form of the downstairs half of a Brooklyn duplex. Unfortunately, their neighbor is a nightmare. Unlike de Vito’s The War of the Roses (1989), Duplex ignores the fact that good comedy is anchored by truth. Instead of offering believable characters in exaggerated circumstance, it relies on a plot twist that rings false. De Vito tries (and fails) to plaster over the holes in the plot with cheap filler. The flick flopped in the US, and Barrymore (deservedly) won the 2004 Worst Actress Razzie Awards for her tasteless performance. Miramax

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
April 2006 issue

(c) that's Guangzhou
Guanzhou Chief editor: Christopher Cottrell
April 2006 issue

Alex Cortiz almost single-handedly launched the Netherlands’s dance scene in the 1990s. What’s more, he was the first Dutch artist (under the name D-Shake) to score an international hit, with “Yaah/Technotrance”, which made it into the UK’s top twenty House music list. Throughout his career, Cortiz has been changing aliases as frequently as he’s changed his music styles – from enigmatic stage names (D-Shake and Dr. Nunu) to self-mocking monikers such as House of Nachos, Electric Sweat and Cat Scanner. On this latest release the man uses the name Alex Cortiz, but he departs from the down-tempo to mid-tempo sound of his most recent works. Phoenix features fourteen up-tempo tracks, compressing hours of studio time into 76 minutes. The music is still sexy and sophisticated, but faster and livelier, with a dash of Detroit and progressive techno. Cortiz delivers some serious beats, from slick, sonic, urban tempos to trance rhythms (“Twinkies”, “Field of Motion”), but the real gems – “Ketamine Dream”, “Frenetic”, “Mystic”, and “Funkaloid” are brilliant examples of electronica: mesmerizing, playful, carnivalesque and funky. In short, we’re going Dutch tonight, honey.
High Note Records

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Chief editor: Steven Crane
April 2006 issue

Here’s an artist whose musical wit comes across no matter where she happens to be and no matter whom she plays with. With One Sweet Day, Brazilian lyricist/composer/singer Pat C. offers one sweet travelogue, from France to Japan. This release is an effervescent melting-pot of bossanova, electro and funky Carioca (or ‘Rio funk’, the product of Brazil’s favela party scene). Back in 1989, Pat C. upped sticks from her home in Sepultura, Brazil and settled in Germany, home of Le Hammond Inferno. This change of locale proved to be an inspiration; her music has more breadth and depth. No wonder her two first albums, Saudade Suite and Sunshine Suite received such critical and popular acclaim. Her success is repeated here; One Sweet Day blends Pat C.’s unique and charming vocals with the electronic music production expertise of France’s Minigroove Orchestera; Germany’s Le Hammond Inferno; and Japan’s Yosuke Hoguchi. Clearly, this disc has an addictive, international array of beats, including the Brazilian bossanova number “Oco Do Vazio”; the German technoid cut “Klapprad”; the uplifting English dance tune “I like Chopin”; and the je-ne-sais-quoi French pop tune “Jamais Imaginei”. With a fourth album in production, Pat C. shows no sign of putting down roots – and that’s a good thing.
High Note Records

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Chief editor: Steven Crane
April 2006 issue

Coldcut’s Sound Mirrors has nothing to do with shards of glass, or sliced, assorted cold meats. Rather, it’s a cut-and-paste sound montage. DJs Matt Black and Jonathon Moore’s seventh album offers twelve eclectic tracks arranged in a polymorphic musical collage. The British duo, established in the mid-1980s, shift without blinking from mellow, pop folk tracks “Man in a Garage” to bizarre techno/jungle/post-punk cuts “Sound Mirrors”. But the pair’s penchant for diversity isn’t limited to musical styles, this release features a range of guest artists, including the Blues Explosion’s Jon Spencer; DJ Robert Owens; Mpho Skeef, to name but a few. While the wide choice of artists and genres seems to offer something for everyone, the overall effect is a lack of theme. In art, the inharmonious incoherence of avant-garde collages sometimes works, but here the patchwork of styles and rhythms clashes on the ear. Still, this approach is Coldcut’s trademark; they’ve been cutting and pasting beats for twenty years. Long-time fans will likely appreciate more of the same. Coldcut is famous for establishing the independent label, Ninja Tune, and signing acts such as Roots Manuva, Kid Koala and DJ Food (who performed in Shanghai last March and will return for an encore in the near future). If that weren’t enough, Sound Mirrors has won critical acclaim in the British press; NME describes it as “a master-class in beat science from start to finish”. Anyone for a slice of bologna?
Ninja Tune

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Chief editor: Steven Crane
April 2006 issue

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Guanzhou Chief editor: Christopher Cottrell
April 2006 issue

More than an accomplished jazz vocalist with a silken voice, Alexia Gardner is a true entertainer. This live recording suitably titled Jammin' from the Shanghai JC Mandarin Hotel in March 2005, showcases Gardner's rapport with the audience and her command of the stage. This British singer, with Jamaican roots, began her career touring cabarets and clubs in England and Wales with her sister Paula in a sophisticated, a capella act. After going solo, she spent five years singing in various posh venues from Hong Kong to Jakarta, before arriving in Shanghai in late 2001. Since then, her groove-laden, funkified brand of jazz has done much to enliven the local scene. In short, Gardner is a stage veteran and her experience shows; she has developed an undeniable jazzy rapport with her band, and a genuine interaction with the audience. She literally jams with listeners and musicians on this release, and transforms a selection of rock, reggae and pop classics into jazzy, rhythm and blues-influenced gems (Marley's Jammin' ; Clapton's Change the World; Lennon's Fool on a Hill). Then there's a brilliant rendition of another classic, the Chinese number "The Moon Shines on my Heart." Buy this disc, or better still, catch Gardner live around town.
Available at www.alexiajazz.com

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
April 2006 issue

(c)that's Guangzhou
Guanzhou Chief editor: Christopher Cottrell
April 2006 issue

Unlike her fresh and innovative debut, Playing My Game – which went platinum from Norway to Italy – Lene Marlin’s highly-anticipated third album is only half brilliant; the other half is uninspired mainstream pop. The Norwegian singer/songwriter wrote and engineered this CD, without the knowledge, or help, of her record company. When the 26-year-old Marlin delivered the finished product to her producer, he is said to have listened to it in awe. In awe of what, we’re not quite sure. The CD opens with the sexy rock ballad “My Lucky Day” featuring electric guitar bursts and emotional vocals. Then there’s the radio-friendly, catchy numbers such as “Wish I could” and “What If”. So far, so good. Unfortunately, most of the remaining tracks are inferior. Marlin’s creativity seems to have hit a wall, the hooks have dried up and the listener is left with nothing to hum, never mind sing. Some cuts are ruined by inane lyrics; in addition, Marlin is beginning to sound too much like the gloomy Dido, or put another way, an anemic Avril Lavigne. In short, Marlin appears to be suffering an identity crisis. Unlike her previous efforts, this record lacks distinction and, in fact, most of the qualities – adventure and imagination – which won her acclaim in the first place. Lost in a Moment is just that – lost.
EMI

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
April 2006 issue

(c)that's Guangzhou
Guanzhou Chief editor: Christopher Cottrell
April 2006 issue

After a two-year hiatus, the five Irish lads are back. Well, four actually. Westlife’s one short of a quintet since Bryan McFadden left the group. Not that a 20 per cent loss of vocal power has affected the band’s international success – as evidenced by their packed Shanghai promotional showcase last March. Indeed, this chart-topping Irish (members hail from Dublin and Sligo) band sounds better than ever. And with a wide range of musical styles, they’ve expanded their fan base from teenage girls to grown-up girls (and boys). “She’s Back”, with its pulsating beat, recalls Michael Jackson at his best (“Billie Jean”); the pop ballad “When You Tell Me That You Love Me” featuring Diana Ross surpasses the overrated Secret Garden’s cover “You Raise Me Up”; the Eagles’ cover, “Desperado”, is a soulful cut with plaintive, husky vocals that could have appeared on a CD by Jon Bon Jovi or Brian Adams; and “Color My World” is a prime vehicle for Westlife’s new, larger vocal range. Finally, don’t miss the exhilarating and sexy piece of electronica “Hit You with the Real Thing”, which by rights should lead off the playlist. Westlife, co-managed by Boyzone’s Ronan Keating, has ruled the UK charts since 1999 with thirteen UK number one singles. Reportedly, their goal is to chalk up a total of twenty one. With this release, they may just succeed.
Sony-BMG

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
April 2006 issue

(c)that's Guangzhou
Guanzhou Chief editor: Christopher Cottrell
April 2006 issue

http://www.dogster.com/

With individual incomes on the rise and new pet laws, China’s city dwellers have welcomed more furry, fluffy, four-legged friends into their homes than ever before. According to government statistics, there are more than one million dogs in Beijing; and at least that many in Shanghai. Experts estimate the pet products’ market will reach RMB 6 billion in sales China-wide by 2008. So it’s no surprise that the number of monthly visitors to Dogster.com - the fastest-growing pet destination on the Internet – is also in the millions. And no wonder. It may be chic to walk a fluffy poodle in the streets of this city, but when it comes to dogged indulgence, the Yankees rule. Genuine dog lovers will enjoy surfing this canine website - funded by US dog freaks – who share pooch photos and stories, make new doggy friends, with nary a pooper-scooper in sight. International members are welcome, and have the same access as their American counterparts to pup pals and play dates. Check out the extensive dog database or other services, including forums, pet-friendly travel destinations, pet-friendly job ads; well, you get the drift.

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
April 2006 issue

http://www.food411.com/

China may boast one of the world’s greatest cuisines but that doesn’t mean some expatriated gourmets don’t long for home cooking. Who hasn’t dreamed of an Italian risotto, some crawling French cheese, a Swiss chocolate bar, a spoonful of handmade American peanut butter, or British-Indian inspired chutney? For those of you who admit to these cravings and more, follow the link to Food411.com, the ultimate Web food resource. Here you’ll find everything and anything related to the art of eating, including online suppliers of gourmet foods, breads, coffee, wines, spices, as well as recipes, cooking lessons and even food blogs. But Food411.com provides more than a directory of reviewed and tested links to food-related websites, it uncovers unique gift ideas: unusual kitchen tools and products for the home. Of course, the most practical advice is left unsaid at this website: spend less time on the Internet and more in the kitchen.

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
April 2006 issue

This is a comprehensive, well-researched and accessible tome on Hong Kong cinema’s enfant terrible, Wong Kar-wai (In the Mood for Love). It could easily have been otherwise; Wong’s been in the business for 18 years, made eight feature films (As Tears Go; 2046), as well as several side projects; his career is full of contradictions and the author might have produced a book as impenetrable as the director himself. Thankfully, he hasn’t. This work provides some fascinating insights into Wong’s working methods and a clear and concise analysis of his contribution to cinema. Stephen Teo is a filmmaker, critic, and film historian; as such, his tone is authoritative and entertaining. The author sweeps aside the rumors and speculation that surrounds Wong’s career. For example, he reveals how the director’s notorious ‘shooting without script’ approach to filmmaking it is not all improvisational. He also examines the primary influences on Wong’s work: South American novelists for the plot structure, and impressionist painters for the visuals. For the record, during production, Wong actually shoots in the daytime and works on the script at night. Once you’ve read this book, you’ll view Wong’s oeuvre in a new light.
BFI/available at http://www.bfi.org.uk

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
April 2006 issue