Asia’s Got Talent Season 2 Grand Final Result

The Asia’s Got Talent Season 2 Grand Final result is going to take place at Marina Bay Sands in Singapore this Thurs 14 Dec, and it’s promising to be the most thrilling night of the year. The winner for this season is based on the Fans’ vote and if you have not casted your support, hurry up! The voting will close at 13 Dec 2359 (SGT time).

Interview with Asia’s Got Talents 2017 Judges. Source: Instagram user @weewu

Here are the nine grand finalists of this high-octane season:

 

  • Indonesian singer and harpist Angela July (#AGTVote2) impressed the judges so much that she received the first judges’ pick of the season. With her angelic harp and powerful vocals, Angela is this season’s singing sensation.“Tonight, you were the very best version of yourself.”
    – David Foster.

 

  • Philippines’ beatboxer Neil Rey Garcia Llanes (#AGTVote6) returned this season determined to make it to the Grand Final. His awe-inspiring vocal percussion ability has made him a social phenomenon on Facebook and YouTube.“I was very much impressed by you from the first season, but then you came back and stepped it up…I’m really hoping that you go very, very far.” – Anggun
  • It takes a lot of work to sync his dancing with his visual art, but the hosts’ Golden Buzzer pick, Canion Shijirbat (#AGTVote8) from Mongolia delivered a truly unique performance in both of his auditions. Will he be able to take his performance to the next level in the Grand Final?“I love unique…I love your brain and what you’ve created. Bravo!” – David Foster.
  • Jay Park’s Golden Buzzer, Kyrgyzstan’s  ADEM Dance Crew’s (#AGTVote9) delivered yet again with a strong ‘Night in the Museum’ inspired performance that received a standing ovation from the audience. But facing strong competitors like DM-X, can ADEM emerge victorious?“I got to give you props for how much you’ve sacrificed and go through for your craft, I got to give you props.”
    – Jay Park  

 

  • If there’s one act that truly represented this season of Asia’s Got Talent unpredictability, it would have to be Indonesian viral sensation The Sacred Riana (#AGTVote11). Her Asia’s Got Talent performance clips have been viewed over 70 million times on YouTube and Facebook globally, making her a hot favourite.“I think I peed in my pants a little. Very unique. It was scary but was still entertaining at the same time. Great overall.” -Jay Park

 

  • Hailing from The Philippines, DM-X Comvalenoz (#AGTVote16) knows how to put on a show!  In the midst of rocking it out, they pulled a 180 to show us the feminine side of their group, performing a dance that was a perfect blend of sexy, glamour and class.“As far as the dance performance go, I think you guys have it all. You have the full package, you have everything. So good job!” – Jay Park.

 

  • Taiwanese child prodigy Feng E (#AGTVote19) received David Foster’s Golden Buzzer AND judges’ pick, making him a double threat. His talent is unparalleled in this competition but he faces a tough opponent in another judges’ pick, Angela July. It will be an epic battle for sure!

“If I could push the Golden Buzzer again, I would do it. There might not even be another person that could play the ukulele like you.” – David Foster

  • Representing Malaysia, illusionist Sobhi Shaker (#AGTVote23) has been declared the best magician that David Foster has ever seen. This Syrian refugee’s inspiring story and reason to win Asia’s Got Talent makes him one of the most compelling act to watch this season.

 

That performance was flawless, that was the best performance of the night. I have never experienced goosebumps during a magic performance. Thank you.” – Anggun

  • Flyers from the south, Philippines’ Urban Crew (#AGTVote24) gave 110% of their hearts and souls with an adrenaline pumping ninja-style dance, complete with inhuman jumps, flips and spins, straight out of an anime! The passionate crew is dancing for a cause, to help kids stay off the streets.

“The stunts and moves are definitely the most difficult I have ever seen. You guys are world-class in my eyes.” – Jay Park

 

Just for the reminder;  all nine acts will be up for public voting and only one act can win Asia’s Got Talent and the grand prize of US$100,000.  Voting opens till 13 December, 11:59pm, and fans can vote via Facebook Hashtag, Facebook Messenger and Google Search. For more information on voting, visit www.AXN-Asia.com/AGTVote.

 

Asia’s Got Talent Season 2 will culminate thisThursday, 14  Dec at 8:30pm (7:30pm JKT/BKK) on AXN with the Results Show. To follow the journey of this season’s acts, check out #AXNAsia and #AsiasGotTalent.

Golden Village’s New Paya Lebar Theatres Equipped With Latest Laser Projectors From Barco

Singapore, 4 October 2017 – Singapore’s Golden Village Multiplex (GV), is upping the ante in the entertainment scene in the east of the city, with the opening of Singapore’s first all-new laser projection multiplex at the new Singpost Centre retail mall, located at the heart of Paya Lebar.

Laser projection will make its debut on the screens in all eight auditoriums at the 756-seat GV Paya Lebar, which officially opens to the public on Friday 6th October. With a brightness of 20,000 lumens, the Barco Smart Laser Projection delivers unprecedented picture quality, far outperforming traditional digital projections. The new system creates higher contrast, clearer, crisper imagery and higher colour saturation, providing viewers with a far superior visual effect.

Eddie Tan, General Manager SEA, at Entertainment & Corporate, Barco, the company behind the laser projection technology, added, “We are delighted to work with Golden Village to install the Barco Smart Laser Projection series at Golden Village Paya Lebar. Laser projection is the future of large display technology and we are excited to witness a major step-up in technical performance in the big screens here in Singapore. We’re confident that this new collaboration will be a big hit with movie-goers here in Singapore.”

This is not the first time that GV collaborates with Barco. In fact, GV has recognized the rise of digital projectors in the cinema business and has done the switch to Barco’s digital projectors in all their cinemas in Singapore back in 2012.  Read the full press release here 

GV Paya Lebar’s latest seating concept in its DUO DELUXE hall, gives movie goers the option of enhanced privacy and comfort. With its opulent twin leatherette seats, specially designed with lumbar cushion for superior support, the exclusive 58-seat cinema is further testament to GV’s uncompromising approach to creating the ultimate cinema experience. We’re told tickets for this hall will cost $15 on weekdays and $20 for weekends, pricing it slightly lower than the gold class.

The cinema will officially opens this Friday, 6th October.

Entertaining Yourself With Upcoming Drama Series

This year’s September is not going to end without suspense. As we approach the end of the month, immerse yourself with drama filled with virtual reality crimes from HALCYON and sophisticated trial consulting techniques from BULL.

 

HALCYON

HALCYON is set in 2040 and follows Julie Dover, a detective in the Virtual Reality Crimes Unit, as she investigates the first real-life murder to take place within virtual reality – a crime that shouldn’t even be possible – and the conspiracy she discovers behind it. Directed by BAFTA-nominated Benjamin Arfmann (Random Stop), Halcyon provides compelling cliff-hangers moving fans across TV, online and VR platforms to find out what will happen next. (To know more, go to my earlier post here)

 

Halcyon premieres 22 September, Thursday at 10pm on *Syfy (StarHub Ch 517).

 

*You could also watch it online anytime from 22 September on http://halcyon.syfy.asia or access through Halcyon VR app via Samsung Gear VR.

 

 

BULL

BULL stars Michael Weatherly as Dr. Jason Bull in a drama inspired by the early career of Dr. Phil McGraw, the founder of one of the most prolific trial consulting firms of all time. Dr. Bull is the ultimate puppet master as he combines psychology, human intuition and high tech data to learn what makes jurors, attorneys, witnesses and the accused tick. Bull employs an enviable team of experts at Trial Analysis Corporation to shape successful narratives down to the very last detail. They include his quick-witted former brother-in-law, Benny Colón, a lawyer who acts as defense attorney in the company’s mock trials; Marissa Morgan, a cutting-edge neurolinguistics expert from the Department of Homeland Security; former NYPD detective Danny James, the firm’s tough but relatable investigator; haughty millennial hacker Cable McCrory, who is responsible for gathering cyber intelligence; and Chunk Palmer, a fashion-conscious stylist and former All-American lineman who fine tunes clients’ appearances for trial. In high-stakes trials, Bull’s combination of remarkable insight into human nature, three Ph.D.’s and a top-notch staff creates winning strategies that tip the scales of justice in his clients’ favor.   (To know more, go to my earlier post here)

 

Bull premieres the same day as the U.S. 21 September, Wednesday 9pm, on RTL CBS Entertainment (Singtel Ch 318 & StarHub Ch 509)

Event – New Drama BULL, First And Exclusive in Asia on RTL CBS Entertainment HD

Premieres September 21, 9:00pm, Same Day as The U.S.

img_20160914_204142_hdr

Michael Weatherly stars as Dr. Jason Bull in the brand new drama BULL set to premiere first and exclusive, same day as the U.S. on September 21 at 9:00pm on RTL CBS Entertainment HD.

BULL is a drama inspired by the early career of Dr. Phil McGraw, founder of one of the most prolific trial consulting firms of all time. Brilliant, brash and charming, Dr. Bull is the ultimate puppet master as he combines psychology, human intuition and high-tech data to learn what makes jurors, attorneys, witnesses and the accused tick. Bull employs an enviable team of experts at Trial Analysis Corporation to shape successful narratives down to the very last detail.

They include his quick-witted former brother-in-law, Benny Colón, a lawyer who acts as defense attorney in the company’s mock trials; Marissa Morgan, a cutting-edge neurolinguistics expert from the Department of Homeland Security; former NYPD detective Danny James, the firm’s tough but relatable investigator; haughty millennial hacker Cable McCrory, who is responsible for gathering cyber intelligence; and Chunk Palmer, a fashion-conscious stylist and former All-American lineman who fine tunes clients’ appearances for trial. In high-stakes trials, Bull’s combination of remarkable insight into human nature, three Ph.D.’s and a top-notch staff creates winning strategies that tip the scales of justice in his clients’ favor.

 

 

CAST

Michael Weatherly (NCIS, Dark Angel, Loving) as Dr. Jason Bull

Freddy Rodriguez (Ugly Betty, Six Feet Under) as Benny Colon

Geneva Carr (Rescue Me, Law and Order: Criminal Intent) as Marissa Morgan

Jaime Lee Kirchner (Just Legal, Rent on Broadway, The Mob Doctor, Mercy) as Danny James

Annabelle Attanasio (The Knick, House M.D.) as Cable McCrory

Chris Jackson (Hamilton, Oz) as Chunk Palmer

 

 

From special agent to trial consultant

Michael Weatherly may have said goodbye to his role as Special Agent Anthony Dinozzo on NCIS, but his new role does not take him far from the twists and turns of the justice system.

 

After playing the role of a senior field agent in 13 seasons of NCIS, Michael Weatherly is taking the lead in the brand new show BULL.

 

In this new series, Weatherly shifts from law enforcement to trial analytics. His character, trial consultant Dr. Jason Bull, does everything to get the justice his clients deserve.

 

“What’s fascinating about the whole world of trial analytics and the sciences of it is that they’re looking at things that you don’t think about,” Weatherly said.

 

“He (Dr. Bull) looks at a jury trial and looks at the identities of everybody involved from the judge to the attorneys, to the jury, and the witness and defendant, and he figures out what everyone’s thinking,” he added.

 

The doctor is perfectly aware that the 12 ordinary people making up a jury have the power to decide a person’s fate at court. He also knows that these jurors possess a preconceived notion of the truth. That’s why the key to winning a trial is by winning over the jury.  Dr. Bull further understands that even the tiniest details such as relationship status, clothes, and hairstyle can turn the court against the defendant. To avoid an unfavorable outcome, he works with a team of experts to make sure that his clients are on their best behavior and will say the right things at the witness stand.

 

 

Executive Producers

Mark Goffman

Paul Attanasio

Dr. Phillip C. McGraw

Steven Spielberg

Justin Falvey

Darryl Frank

Jay McGraw

Rodrigo Garcia (pilot only)

 

RTL CBS Entertainment is available on Singtel Ch 318 & StarHub Ch 509

Event – SYFY TEAMS UP WITH SAMSUNG TO BRING HYBRID VR SERIES – HALCYON

halcyon-1-25fps-polish-00-02-07-02-still006

Syfy welcomes its original Hybrid Virtual Reality (VR) series, HALCYON, premiering on 22 September, Thursday at 10pm (Syfy, StarHub Ch 517).

To give viewers the ultimate Halcyon experience, Syfy Asia has teamed up with Samsung for the series to be available on the Samsung Gear VR. The partnership enabled Syfy superfans to get a sneak preview of the series with the Gear VR at the Singapore Toys, Games and Comic Convention (STGCC) over the weekend, while members of the press in Singapore were treated to experience select episodes from the series at the Samsung Experience Store at Vivocity.

Experience VR episode with Samsung Gear VR
Experience VR episode with Samsung Gear VR

HALCYON is set in 2040 and follows Julie Dover, a detective in the Virtual Reality Crimes Unit, as she investigates the first real-life murder to take place within virtual reality – a crime that shouldn’t even be possible – and the conspiracy she discovers behind it. Directed by BAFTA-nominated Benjamin Arfmann (Random Stop), Halcyon provides compelling cliff-hangers moving fans across TV, online and VR platforms to find out what will happen next.

 

The 15-episode series consists of 10 x 5-minute linear episodes available to binge-watch on TV (Syfy – StarHub Ch 517), online (http://halcyon.syfy.asia) and on VR (Samsung Gear VR). In addition to the 10 episodes, viewers will also be able to enjoy five special episodes that will be available exclusively via the Halcyon VR app, which can be downloaded from the Oculus store for US$4.99 (from 22-25 Sep) and US$9.99 (from 25 Sep) on the Samsung Gear VR.

 

The Samsung Gear VR allows users to enjoy Halcyon episodes in a truly immersive and cinematic manner. Episodes will alternate between short-form and VR to showcase a next-level entertainment experience that combines the immersive nature of VR with the narrative arc of a linear TV series:

vr-interface

Halcyon’s story can be understood from just its linear episodes, but watching both linear and VR episodes will allow viewers a more enriched experience. For viewers who only watch the linear episodes, a short recap of the previous VR episode will be played before each linear episode begins, to ensure that they will be able to follow the complete storyline.

Viewers in Singapore hoping to catch the series in both linear and VR will be able to do so with the Samsung Gear VR.

HOW TO WATCH HALCYON
TV: Premieres 22 September, Thursday at 10pm on Syfy (StarHub Ch 517)
Online: Available anytime from 22 September on http://halcyon.syfy.asia
VR: Available on Samsung Gear VR through the Halcyon VR app

Upcoming movies for families and kids: September 2016

Three fun, animated upcoming movies that will entertain the whole family

There’s a lot of fun in store when these upcoming and hilarious animated movies hit the screens in the next few months. They include out-of-control domestic pets on the loose in New York City, a Japanese boy with a penchant for George Harrison songs on the hunt for a magical suit of armour, and the next piece of genius from the people who created The Lego Movie…Storks.

The Secret Life of Pets

The Secret Life of Pets will be released on the 1st of September. Featuring the voices of some of the finest comedians working today, and put together by the team that created the hilarious Despicable Me movies, it exposes the truth behind our pets private lives: heavy metal music, wild partying, fighting, carjacking, and downright subversive, anti-human anarchy…all in the name of fun. Fast-paced and a laugh a minute, you can’t go past it for sheer entertainment value.

latest movies secret life of pets

Kubo and The Two Strings

Released on the 8th of September, this tells the story of a young Japanese boy who accidentally releases a spirit from the past that re-ignites an age-old vendetta. In order to contain the ensuing havoc this causes, Kubo must face off against hordes of gods and monsters so that he can find a magical suit of armour worn by his dead samurai warrior father and restore balance in the world. With voices by screen legends such as Charlize Theron, Ralph Fiennes and Mathew McConaughey, it combines stunning visuals and a sensational sound track to create one of the most entertaining animated adventures this year.

Storks

We all know storks deliver babies, right? Well, possibly. Now we get to see just what storks really get up to, and it’s nothing like you think. Coming to our screens from the 22nd of September, Storks is the latest creation by the team that brought us the brilliance of The Lego Movie. Instead of delivering babies, storks have actually moved into the modern world and now deliver packages for an Internet retailer. Who would have thought?

Anyway, thanks to a series of unfortunate accidents, they’re suddenly landed with a real live baby, and things rapidly start to get out of hand. Starring the voices of Kelsey Grammer, Jennifer Aniston, Danny Trejo and a host of other Hollywood luminaries, Storks is an out-of-control, rollicking romp through a weird and wonderful world of fun and games.

So there’s lots to see for everyone in the family, so head on down to your nearest Singapore cinema to buy your latest movies tickets and start laughing.

Article by Cathay Cineplexes

Team Merlion Announced as Winner of Rakuten-Viki Global TV Recommender Challenge

Singapore, September 2015: The Rakuten Institute of Technology has announced the winners of the Rakuten-Viki Global TV Recommender Challenge at the grand presentation and award ceremony.

Participants and winners of the Rakuten-Viki Global TV Recommender Challenge
Participants and winners of the Rakuten-Viki Global TV Recommender Challenge

Masaya Mori, Global Head, Rakuten Institute of Technology, Executive Officer, Rakuten, Inc presented the winning title, along with the grand cash prize of S$8,000, to Team Merlion. The first runner-up and second runner-up titles were awarded to Team Haipt and Team GM respectively.

 

Team Merlion
Team Merlion

Earlier this quarter, the Rakuten Institute of Technology partnered with Viki, a global TV site, to launch the Rakuten-Viki Global TV Recommender Challenge. Hosted on Dextra’s challenge platform from the 22nd July to the closing date of 31st August this year, participants had access to over 7 million lines of rich, anonymised data to gain a sense of viewers’ preferences, popular content features, and TV fan demographics. The goal was to build a personalised recommender system for Viki fans world-wide, following a set of user and business considerations.

 

Six teams were shortlisted by Rakuten Institute of Technology and Dextra to present their models to a panel of judges – including Mr Masaya Mori, Mr Rohit Dewan, Chief Technology Officer at Viki, Ms Ewa Szymanska, Head of Research at Rakuten Institute of Technology Singapore, Mr Takashi Umeda, Data Scientist at Rakuten Institute of Technology Tokyo and Mr Adam Lyle, Chairman of Newton Circus – at the final presentation and award ceremony, held at the IDA Labs @ National Design Centre.

 

Unlike many other online data challenges, accuracy was only one of the criteria used to select the winners, participants were required to submit their documented codes and detailed reports. The judges took into consideration engineering qualities including ease of implementation and risk management, business and user insights including demonstrating depth of understanding of the data and Viki business and use of innovative approaches alongside further ideas for improvement.

 

Winning team Merlion employed an elegant algorithm that performs outstandingly in both public and private leaderboards, identified and engineered very useful features, as well as discovered and visualised some key insights from the data provided.

 

 

Experience the Perfect 4K Entertainment with the BRAVIA™ X8000C and S8500C

Sony welcomes the latest additions to its range of BRAVIA™ TVs – the X8000C and the S8500C.

BRAVIA X8000C
BRAVIA X8000C

The BRAVIA™ X8000C (available in 49- and 55-inch) and the BRAVIA™ S8500C (available in 55- and 65-inch), are equipped with a host of features such as the powerful 4K Processor X1 chip and 4K X-Reality™ PRO upscaling algorithm technology. They analyse and upscale everything you watch to 4K resolution, so you’ll be able to enjoy images with stunning clarity and sparkling contrast.

BRAVIA S8500C
BRAVIA S8500C

These TVs also support Google’s latest Android TV™ operating system. With Google Play™, enter a world of unlimited entertainment options right at your living room, with content ranging from movies and TV shows, to games and videos. Google Cast™further lets you cast movies, YouTube videos, games and photos from your mobile devices onto your BRAVIA™ TV – so that you can enjoy your favourite content in stunning quality.

 

Furthermore, with ClearAudio+, both the BRAVIA™ X8000C and S8500C fine-tune your audio content to achieve the perfectly optimised sound – even low quality audio can be upscaled to near high-resolution through DSEE™ technology which enhances compressed music files, such as MP3.

 

Both the BRAVIA™ X8000C and S8500C is available at all Sony Stores, Sony Centres and selected Sony authorised dealers from today (8 September 2015) onwards at the following recommended retail prices:

 

BRAVIA™ Models Recommended Retail Price
BRAVIA S8500C (55-inch) S$ 3,499
BRAVIA S8500C (65-inch) S$ 6,299
BRAVIA X8000C (49-inch) S$ 2,099
BRAVIA X8000C (55-inch) S$ 2,999

[pdf-embedder url=”https://theneodimension.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Bravia-Press-Releases.pdf”]

[pdf-embedder url=”https://theneodimension.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Bravia-S8500C-Press-Releases.pdf”]

 

SCM 20th Anniversary: Flashes of Chinese Cinema

Singapore, 8 August 2014 – In commemoration of its 20th anniversary, STAR Chinese Movies (SCM), a subsidiary of FOX International Channels, will partner with SingTel mio TV to host SCM 20th Anniversary: Flashes of Chinese Cinema, a showcase of iconic film posters featuring movies from 1994 to 2013, from 11 August through till 14 September. The film posters will be showcased in Jurong Point, Tampines Mall and Compass Point.

As part of its 20

th Anniversary celebration, SCM presents a showcase of film posters from 20 iconic m ovies from 1994 to 2014 that have a significant meaning and/or have impacted the movie industry. 

image (1)

SCM 20th Anniversary: Flashes of Chinese Cinema

11th to 17th August 2014

Jurong Point

JP 1, Level 1 @ SingTel Mio TV Booth

25th to 31st August 2014

Tampines Mall

Level 1 @ SingTel Mio TV Booth

8th to 14th September 2014

Compass Point

Level 1 @ SingTel Mio TV Booth

Review: The Wolf of Wall Street

A black comedy movie based on the book “The Wolf of Wall Street” written by Jordon Belfort. The story is about a young Jordon Belfort who runs a stock brokage firm Stratton Oakmont, that engages in securities fraud and corruption in Wall Street during the 90s.

I can summarize the movie in 2 words “greed” & “sex”. These are what Jordon Belfort views as the key elements towards success. He made a fortune by hard-selling of penny stocks which companies that are too small (or perhaps, companies might not even exist) to be listed in the regulated stock exchange. Obviously, such practice is illegal and the FBI starts to investigate you and his friends.

I have yet to read the book but according to other sources, the plot follows the book closely and the story fairly accounts the true events of Jordon Belfort. It is interesting to see the ups and downs that he has undergone. His desire of success is also the attribute to his failures.

It is an entertaining movie. There are some financial jargon but it will not hinder those audience without financial knowledge on understanding the movies.  I will give a 3.5 stars out of 5.

Note: This is a R21 movie and it opens on 9 Jan at all Golden Village cinema.

Jordon Belfort camoes towards the end of movie. Check him up