Sherman Chung Shu Mun Promo Tour in Malaysia (钟舒漫《乐活。道》大马签书会) - 10 & 11 Sept (Sg. Wang Plaza and KLCC Convention Centre)

Hmmmm…..my first ever encounter with Sherman and guess what ? I have only positive comments to say about the singer who started her career after winning 2005 EEG singing contest. Given time, more training, guidance and exposure, Sherman looks set to become the next shinning star of EEG – alongside Joey and Twins. It's a good thing EEG management came to its senses and doesn't "packaged" her into another Yumiko-dance-machine, which I believe was their initial plan. That would have been such a disastrous career move coz Sherman excels in both areas (edgy dance tune and soulful ballads).

Sherman was in town to launch her debut book (乐活。道)and her latest album (5th solo effort)– “Mission.” Let me tell ya,this lady doesn’t disappoint at all with her live performances! She has good vocal control and I luv her low pitch/husky voice. Her sassy short hair seems to bring more spunk and youthful feeling when she performs. Oh..of all her facial features, I have always been fascinated by Sherman's eyes (no, they ain't big or anything but I just like them for some unexplainable reasons) and now that I have a chance to see it "for real", I can vouch that her eyes are indeed mesmerizing.

During the first meet-the-fans session at Sungai Wang Plaza, Sherman woo the crowd with 3 songs - “I Don’t worry” (a fast track) “, ” 童話國” ( a sweet-sweet song that Sherman co-wrote) and the monster hit that made a mark in all the major awards ceremony this year - Angela Aki’s “给自己的信” I was stunned when two elderly guys volunteered to participate in the game session with Sherman. Before I even had time to recover, they were shaking their bod to Wonder Girl’s “Nobody” dance routine with Sherman already ! LOL! One of them even slipped and fell! Even Takki 王若琪 (a new singer signed with Gold Label), who was standing next to me, was breaking into laughter, too. She didn’t stay for long, though.

Sherman is not a just good in singing, she dabbles in composing songs and has a hidden talent in drawing Japanese manga. You can admire some of her works, published in her latest book. You'll be suprised at how well she draws. If I have a bad thing to say about the book, it’s definitely the pictures. They don’t do justice to Sherman at all. If Sherman intends to publish another book, I would strongly advise her to drop the photographer ! The shots and costumes just don’t bring out the best in Sherman.

The next day, I hopped over to KLCC’s convention centre for the annual book fair event, where a few authors were invited to do a short promo for their new book launch, with autograph session thrown-in. Just as luck would have it, the KPI minister, Koh Tsu Koon, who was supposed to officiate the event, ran late and no prizes for guessing who has to pay for it. Anyway, the delay put subsequent schedules in shambles. After Sherman had a brief Q & A with the deejay and 3obligatory songs, she was supposed to go backstage for a short while, before re-appearing for the autograph session. After some poor folks bought the cds and books after getting assurance from those manning the stall that Sherman would sign those stuff,the dreaded announcement came on air - "Autograph session scrapped". Damn! Another boo boo is the dates mixed-up on the promotional poster. The function at Cheras Leisure Mall is supposed to be 11 Oct but printed as 12 Oct !

Special Appearance By Hong Kong Superstars( Maggie Siu, Chris Lai, Nancy Wu, Michael Tse in Penang, TVB 巨星剧谜见面会(谢天华, 邵美琪,胡定欣,黎诺懿 at Gurney)-1 Aug 2010

Boy, the emcee (haven't the slightest idea who this douchebag is) is so darn annoying. Whenever he failed to get the respond he wanted, he would make these awful grunting sounds,like he's going thru'constipation and he keep repeating the same ol' bloody question- "Is AOD nice to watch ?". Fortunately,a DJ from MyFM saved the day before he could cause further "mayhem." Since I'm ranting,I might as well add that I don't really like going for events in Ipoh and Penang. Why ? Bcoz there tend to be quite a lot Aunties and Uncles (with all due respect) who simply luv to jump queue,squeezed, pushed and shoved,just to hog the place for themselves and their kids/relatives...you name it. Today, an auntie even brought along a portable stool to the event, where there was hardly any standing room left.

This is my very first encounter with Chris and Nancy. After a short intro by the emcee,Maggie and Nancy were the first to take to the stage. The last time I saw Maggie was during the "Gems Of Life" promo back in KL,which is more than a year ago. I must say, Maggie has become even more stunning. Time just stood still for this lady ! Obviously, the current hairstyle makes her look even more ravishing than the usual shorter hair-do. I overheard others praising Maggie's pan-asian look. She certainly qualifies to be HK's "cougar" (Hollywood's famous "cougar" is Demi Moore), if she wants to.

What can I say about Nancy ? Just look at the pixs that I've posted. Almost every single one of 'em has Nancy in it ! To be honest, her facial features do not stand out but hey ! call it the science of sex appeal, I am completely blown over ! I'm so captivated and mesmerized by Nancy's enchanting, sultry, stunning and seductive good looks !!! Folks, pictures and the screen don't do her justice (eventhough she may have won TVB's cover girl contest)! She is waaaaaaaaaaaay gorgeous in person. I just couldn't find any other beter words to describe her appeal. And she was sweet in her own kind of way. Both Nancy and Maggie sang a duet (Teresa Tang's 甜蜜蜜) but I was on the verge of screaming out loud, asking Nancy to do what she does best- DANCING! Those who were thrilled by nifty and graceful dance moves in "Strictly Come Dancing - Season 2" would surely agree with me. Nancy was clad in a short torned jeans, showing-off her sexy legs. Christine Ng should seriously invite Nancy to be the spokesperson of her slimming products (for legs), alongside Sharon Chan.

Next-up, Danny Chan Pak Keung ! Oooops ! Sorry....I mean, Chris Lai! Gosh! If Danny is still alive today,these two guys could passed-off as brothers ! And yes, he's mighty tall ! I thought he's gonna sing the theme song of "The Winter Melon Tale"(大冬瓜). Instead, he pulled-off a commendable performance of Leslie Cheung's "大熱." See clip.

Then, it was time for the obligatory games sessions with the audience. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out who the crowd puller is (drum roll, purlease.....) - yup, the one and only, Laughing 哥 ! This man is so into his Laughing 哥 on-screen persona ! When I got his autographs - he signed them all as "Laughing." LOL ! I've seen Michael countless times. I was hoping that this time around, I'll see a change in hairstyle but it's still the same short haircut. Michael flirted with the audience and they clamored for more ! It's kind of a let down that Michael didn't sing. Hello ! Like,he is the only singer out of the four and yet, he didn't get to show off his vocals ! They revealed that they have tried Penang's famous prawn mee and it was yummy (don't they all say that ?).

During the autograph session, I thought Astro is going to provide pixs but they were asked to sign on the cover of a car sun shade ! DUH! Luckily,I brought along Michael and Maggie's pix but not Nancy's !!! Damnit !! What a waste ! When Maggie saw the pix I took of her and Kenny, she was suprised and told me it's a pity Kenny Wong (Tak Pan) wasn't around to sign the photo. Before they end the meet & greet session, they went round distributing (more like, throwing) freebies to everyone. Also, not forgetting to urge everyone to watch their soon-to-be released dramas by signing-up with Astor's AOD.

Wong Cho Lam "La Comedie Humaine" promotional tour and gala premiere (王祖藍 - "人間喜劇" 大馬宣傳造勢 & 首映) - 12 July 2010 (GSC Pavillion)

At the time of writing, the box office numbers for "La Comedie Humaine" (人間喜劇) has been steadily rising in Hong Kong. The movie has apparently opened to rave reviews there and to ensure the movie enjoyed the same success rate in Malaysia, Wong Cho Lam was in town for the gala premiere and promo blitz. Public showing is set for July 22.

Cho Lam has got to be the hottest rising king of comedy of this era. His meteoric ascendence to fame is further propelled by his convincing, impressive and funny impersonations in "Fun With Liza And Gods." The thunderous applause he received for his quirky answers during the short appearance prior to the gala premiere speak for itself. At one point, he was speaking in "Handela Baby" tone of voice - churning out familiar one liner like - "Are you serious ?" and ""我接受唔到囉".”

I didn't know that Cho Lam has a penchant for Penang hawker food like prawn mee and asam laksa, too. He lamented that he wished the trip was longer so that he could head to Penang to satisfy his taste bud.
He urged attendees to spread the words to friends and relatives - "watch the movie."
After a short game session with two fans, Cho Lam bade us farewell. I thought he was going to watch the movie with us, just like what the artistes normally do in Hong Kong but too bad, that wasn't to be.

I shall not go into details on the movie synopsis. It's a humourous and touching brotherhood tale about a cold-blooded hired assasin from Mainland (Chapman Toh) and geeky screen-writer (Wong Cho Lam). Fiona Sit plays Cho Lam's love interest. To my pleasant suprise, one-half of FAMA,C-Kwan is casted as one of Cho Lam's screen-writer pals. Gambate C-Kwan !

I had expected more hillarious moments but these were far and few between. Infact,
"72 Tenants Of Prosperity" seems to be way funnier. Chotto matte ! Before you strike off this film from your to-watch list, let me tell ya that this movie is still worth forking out RM9-11 from your pocket. The cast showcased great performance from all the leading stars. Fiona is slowly shedding her teeny- bopper image and she didn't disappoint with her psychotic and abusive lover role. The pairing (Fiona and Cho Lam) is refreshing. Infact, they make a better on-screen couple than Jaycee-Fiona, which is so jaded. Also, when Chapman teams up with Cho Lam, the chemistry is superb ! They can do no wrong - be it funny or moving scenes. One scene worth mentioning - Mr. Wong has a lips-locking scene with Fiona in the tram ! Nah, it ain't steamy but it's certainly sweeet - sweeet ! The only aspect that lacks ooomph in this movie is probably the script. Somehow, it lacks the punch to make the movie standout and not turned into a mediocre fare.