In times when the flux of people moving from one country to another has significantly increased, driven by a variety of factors including globalization, economic disparities, political instability, the concept of “home” has become a slippery one, introducing the distinction between a physical home and an emotional home. In Ann Hui‘s 1999’s semi-autobiographic film “Song of the Exile” two women try to make sense of their identities and homelands in 70’s China and Japan, but Aiko’s chainless but challenging titular exile and her struggle are bound to resonate strongly with today’s audiences.
Follow the Ann Hui Project by clicking on the image below
The film opens in 1974’s London where Hueyin (Maggie Cheung) has just finished her university course and is enjoying that fleeting mix of relief and excitement before starting a new chapter in life. When a phone call informs her that her younger sister is...
Follow the Ann Hui Project by clicking on the image below
The film opens in 1974’s London where Hueyin (Maggie Cheung) has just finished her university course and is enjoying that fleeting mix of relief and excitement before starting a new chapter in life. When a phone call informs her that her younger sister is...
- 9/15/2024
- by Adriana Rosati
- AsianMoviePulse
When I started my blindfold series Amnesiascope I knew there’d come time to show a Maggie Cheung film. Probably this doesn’t require much explanation: movie star, master thespian, action heroine, and melodrama titan, Cheung is perhaps the world’s greatest actor (working or otherwise) who’s nevertheless known for a relatively small collection––nine or ten titles, largely by one director, from a career spanning dozens and dozens of films in just about every known genre. Thus on September 17, in slight advance of her birthday, I’ll be presenting one of Cheung’s lesser-screened works at the Brooklyn Center for Theatre Research––its first New York appearance since 2016.
There’s temptation to also note it’s a crowdpleaser, though likely I’m more accurate (and hopefully not spoiling the surprise) deeming it a crowdpummeler: some of the most impactful, kinetic, plainly overwhelming filmmaking the action genre has ever seen,...
There’s temptation to also note it’s a crowdpleaser, though likely I’m more accurate (and hopefully not spoiling the surprise) deeming it a crowdpummeler: some of the most impactful, kinetic, plainly overwhelming filmmaking the action genre has ever seen,...
- 9/10/2024
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
This article is part of IndieWire’s 2000s Week celebration. Click here for a whole lot more.
Putting together best-of lists is both a pleasure and a pain — you are always going to “leave something out” or “forget about” one of the all-time greats, and even if you’re able to cull through every possible iteration and entry, ranking and rating the merit of anything in any artistic realm is bound to draw dissent. And, yes, we just keep doing it.
This summer, we’re all about the aughts. And what a time for on-screen performances, the kind that belong not only on this list, but any list of best-to-ever-do-it. In the early 2000s, we saw all manner of breakthroughs on the big screen, be it Javier Bardem burrowing into our collective nightmares or Adam Sandler continuing to proof his salt as a full-stop Great Dramatic Actor. Heath Ledger became our most chilling supervillain.
Putting together best-of lists is both a pleasure and a pain — you are always going to “leave something out” or “forget about” one of the all-time greats, and even if you’re able to cull through every possible iteration and entry, ranking and rating the merit of anything in any artistic realm is bound to draw dissent. And, yes, we just keep doing it.
This summer, we’re all about the aughts. And what a time for on-screen performances, the kind that belong not only on this list, but any list of best-to-ever-do-it. In the early 2000s, we saw all manner of breakthroughs on the big screen, be it Javier Bardem burrowing into our collective nightmares or Adam Sandler continuing to proof his salt as a full-stop Great Dramatic Actor. Heath Ledger became our most chilling supervillain.
- 8/13/2024
- by IndieWire Staff
- Indiewire
Celebrate the cinematic genius of Stephen Chow with a selection of his most iconic films, showcasing his unique blend of humor, creativity, and cultural impact in Heart of the Richmond: Stephen Chow Film Festival. This three-day festival in Richmond district is a tribute to one of Hong Kong's most beloved filmmakers, offering audiences the chance to experience his timeless classics on the big screen. Don't miss this opportunity to immerse yourself in the world of Stephen Chow and enjoy an unforgettable film experience! Heart of the Richmond: Stephen Chow Film Festival is is a partnership of the Balboa Theater, The Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in San Francisco, the Office of Supervisor Connie Chan, and Another Planet Entertainment.
Friday July 12
Opening Reception: 6:30-7:30
Featuring traditional Chinese dancing, hors d'oeuvres, and Cantonese calligraphy
Shaolin Soccer (2001): 8pm
The film revolves around a former Shaolin monk who reunites his five brothers,...
Friday July 12
Opening Reception: 6:30-7:30
Featuring traditional Chinese dancing, hors d'oeuvres, and Cantonese calligraphy
Shaolin Soccer (2001): 8pm
The film revolves around a former Shaolin monk who reunites his five brothers,...
- 6/29/2024
- by Grace Han
- AsianMoviePulse
For many around the world, there’s one name at the top of the action totem pole: Jackie Chan, and today marks his 70th birthday.
If you only know him as a goofy martial arts comedian from the Rush Hour and Shanghai Noon series, then consider this a wake up call. Because when Jackie did things His way on his home turf, he churned out some of the best action movies you’ll ever see.
Many would point to Drunken Master II as Jackie’s magnum opus. Fair enough, that is an all-timer, but for an example of his best modern day martial arts action, mixed in with some crime drama and his signature comedy, one of his absolute best outings is 1985’s Police Story.
In the 1970s, Jackie Chan soared to fame internationally once he was finally able to break out of the shadow of Bruce Lee. When Chan...
If you only know him as a goofy martial arts comedian from the Rush Hour and Shanghai Noon series, then consider this a wake up call. Because when Jackie did things His way on his home turf, he churned out some of the best action movies you’ll ever see.
Many would point to Drunken Master II as Jackie’s magnum opus. Fair enough, that is an all-timer, but for an example of his best modern day martial arts action, mixed in with some crime drama and his signature comedy, one of his absolute best outings is 1985’s Police Story.
In the 1970s, Jackie Chan soared to fame internationally once he was finally able to break out of the shadow of Bruce Lee. When Chan...
- 4/7/2024
- by EJ Tangonan
- JoBlo.com
Whereas his last project “Happy Times”, a blend of comedy and tragedy, garnered favorable reviews but to this day remains one of the director's smaller features, Zhang Yimou's next movie, the wuxia drama “Hero” marked a huge success for its director, both critically and commercially. Even today, “Hero” is one of the fan favorites among the many films by Zhang, and together with such features as “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” started a renaissance of the genre, to which the Chinese filmmaker has contributed many other stories, albeit with lesser success. In the 2002 film he tells the story of the founding of China's first dynasty, which resulted in the unification of the country after seven warring states had fought for many years to rule it entirely. Apart from being visually stunning, even by today's standards, “Hero” is a timeless story about the passions of men and how they can manipulate...
- 4/6/2024
- by Rouven Linnarz
- AsianMoviePulse
The two of them wait for the rain to pass together, since Su Li-zhen does not want to take Chow Mo-wan's umbrella, fearing that the neighbors will realize they were together. When the rain stops, she asks him to part ways, since her husband has returned. He agrees.
Both of the cinematographers, Christopher Doyle and Mark Lee Ping-bin, present shots that appear as if the camera is peeking in on the action while it frequently moves in slow motion. This tactic finds its apogee in this scene, as the protagonists are being watched initially from behind a corner and then from a barred window. Furthermore, when he touches her hands, his move is presented in slow motion.
In another cinematic tactic, the scene is not presented in chronological order, with the most important moments inserted randomly in the timeline, as is the case with Li-zhen's crying and her exit.
Maggie Cheung...
Both of the cinematographers, Christopher Doyle and Mark Lee Ping-bin, present shots that appear as if the camera is peeking in on the action while it frequently moves in slow motion. This tactic finds its apogee in this scene, as the protagonists are being watched initially from behind a corner and then from a barred window. Furthermore, when he touches her hands, his move is presented in slow motion.
In another cinematic tactic, the scene is not presented in chronological order, with the most important moments inserted randomly in the timeline, as is the case with Li-zhen's crying and her exit.
Maggie Cheung...
- 3/25/2024
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
Clockwise from top left: Lady Bird (A24), True Grit (Paramount Pictures), The Royal Tenenbaums (Touchstone Pictures), The Irishman (Netflix)Graphic: The A.V. Club
If winning an Oscar wasn’t a big deal, why are the year’s biggest snubs and surprises the first topic of discussion following every nomination announcement?...
If winning an Oscar wasn’t a big deal, why are the year’s biggest snubs and surprises the first topic of discussion following every nomination announcement?...
- 3/6/2024
- by Cindy White
- avclub.com
Though he’s known today as one of Hong Kong’s most distinctive contemporary filmmakers, in the early 1990s Johnnie To was still a gun for hire. Having apprenticed for the region’s Tvb broadcasting network for most of the ’80s, he had only recently established himself as a reliable maker of action and comedy films. And chief among his early successes is 1993’s wuxia superhero film The Heroic Trio, which is at once indebted to his genre forebears in Hong Kong cinema and possessed of his own idiosyncratic skills.
Like so many wuxia classics, the film’s plot is at once unnecessarily convoluted and little more than justification for moving from one stunt set piece to the next. In the sewers beneath present-day Hong Kong’s bustling streets, an ancient court eunuch, Evil Master (Yen Shi-Kwan), abducts newborns of imperial blood and raises them as potential new emperors in...
Like so many wuxia classics, the film’s plot is at once unnecessarily convoluted and little more than justification for moving from one stunt set piece to the next. In the sewers beneath present-day Hong Kong’s bustling streets, an ancient court eunuch, Evil Master (Yen Shi-Kwan), abducts newborns of imperial blood and raises them as potential new emperors in...
- 2/18/2024
- by Jake Cole
- Slant Magazine
In February 2024, The Criterion Collection will release The Heroic Trio and Executioners in 4K and Blu-ray. Yes, they will also release films by Michael Roemer's Nothing But a Man, Raoul Walsh's The Roaring Twenties, Eric Rohmer's Tales of the Four Seasons, and Robert Altman's McCabe and Mrs. Miller in 4K (?!). You can read more about at the official Criterion site. But my personal takeaway is The Heroic Trio and Executioners in 4K and Blu-ray will be released. I'll just quote from Criterion's official verbiage: "The star power of cinema icons Maggie Cheung, Anita Mui, and Michelle Yeoh fuels these gloriously unrestrained action joyrides from auteur Johnnie To and action choreographer Ching Siu-tung. "The Heroic Trio and its sequel, Executioners, follow a new kind...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
- 11/16/2023
- Screen Anarchy
Congratulations to Johnnie To, whose achievements are such that almost anything else is pat. Yet he now has one of the best films in the Criterion Collection: his action-fantasy masterpiece The Heroic Trio––starring Maggie Cheung, Michelle Yeoh, and Anita Mui––will retire its hard-subbed laserdisc rip for a 4K Uhd arriving in February, its sequel Executioners (perhaps not one of the best films in the Criterion Collection but welcome all the same) included as a two-feature set. (With appreciable credit given to co-director Ching Siu-tung.) Raoul Walsh’s The Roaring Twenties is likewise joining the collection in 4K, while 2016’s McCabe & Mrs. Miller disc gets an upgrade.
Arguably most eventful, though, is the long-awaited release of Rohmer’s Tales of the Four Seasons, which Janus toured virtually and physically throughout 2021. And not to be discounted even slightly is Michael Roemer’s Nothing But a Man––arguably, it so happens,...
Arguably most eventful, though, is the long-awaited release of Rohmer’s Tales of the Four Seasons, which Janus toured virtually and physically throughout 2021. And not to be discounted even slightly is Michael Roemer’s Nothing But a Man––arguably, it so happens,...
- 11/15/2023
- by Leonard Pearce
- The Film Stage
Ten years after he attended the Tokyo International Film Festival for the screening of The Grandmaster, Tony Leung returned to the festival on Thursday to conduct a masterclass.
The Hong Kong acting icon, dressed in a black tailored suit and fashion-forward Kolor sneakers, was met with warm applause at a packed house at Tokyo’s Hulic Hall. Festival programmer Shozo Ichiyama began proceedings with Leung’s early years as an actor, namely his work with Taiwanese filmmaker Hou Hsiao-hsien on the classic A City of Sadness, which Ichiyama considered one of his personal favorites. A City of Sadness was notable as it was set in Taipei, and Leung, at the time, had no experience working outside of Hong Kong and couldn’t speak Mandarin.
“It was the start of my career, and I wanted to challenge myself,” Leung said through an interpreter on why he took on the role, given...
The Hong Kong acting icon, dressed in a black tailored suit and fashion-forward Kolor sneakers, was met with warm applause at a packed house at Tokyo’s Hulic Hall. Festival programmer Shozo Ichiyama began proceedings with Leung’s early years as an actor, namely his work with Taiwanese filmmaker Hou Hsiao-hsien on the classic A City of Sadness, which Ichiyama considered one of his personal favorites. A City of Sadness was notable as it was set in Taipei, and Leung, at the time, had no experience working outside of Hong Kong and couldn’t speak Mandarin.
“It was the start of my career, and I wanted to challenge myself,” Leung said through an interpreter on why he took on the role, given...
- 10/28/2023
- by Abid Rahman
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Veteran Hong Kong actor Tony Leung passed through the Tokyo Film Festival this afternoon, where he led a masterclass session following a screening of 2046, his sixth collaboration with filmmaker Wong Kar-Wai.
Leung’s appearance onstage was brief but dense, with the actor largely digging into the early inception of his career and how he first hooked up with Wong Kar-Wai, with whom he has since made seven feature films.
“When I first met Wong Kar-wai, I was stuck. I didn’t know what to do because my acting wasn’t getting any better,” Leung told the packed audience inside Tokyo’s Hulic Hall.
Leung said at the time, he was working with Wong Kar-Wai on the 1990 feature Days of Being Wild, but he was struggling to land his character.
“I was working with Maggie Cheung. And Wong Kar-Wai was watching my acting and knew what wasn’t great about it,...
Leung’s appearance onstage was brief but dense, with the actor largely digging into the early inception of his career and how he first hooked up with Wong Kar-Wai, with whom he has since made seven feature films.
“When I first met Wong Kar-wai, I was stuck. I didn’t know what to do because my acting wasn’t getting any better,” Leung told the packed audience inside Tokyo’s Hulic Hall.
Leung said at the time, he was working with Wong Kar-Wai on the 1990 feature Days of Being Wild, but he was struggling to land his character.
“I was working with Maggie Cheung. And Wong Kar-Wai was watching my acting and knew what wasn’t great about it,...
- 10/26/2023
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
Hong Kong cinema is associated with action films which most often bring to mind male protagonists. Most undeservedly so since, thanks to the characteristics of Hong Kong martial arts films, women have been successfully surmounting their male counterparts with training, agility, and wits in them for many decades. The masters, such as King Hu and Tsui Hark, were well-aware of it. They were among the ones who discovered outstanding artists whose roles were ahead of their times and set out new directions for the development of popular cinema.
Hong Kong is not just about action cinema, but also brilliant comedies and dramas, and sharp tales with social overtones, in which fascinating, complex female characters are also present. The Hong Kong Heroines section brings back strong heroines and the great roles of stars, including Cheng Pei-pei, Sylvia Chang, Cherry Ngan, and Maggie Cheung. The section presents Hong Kong cinema from the...
Hong Kong is not just about action cinema, but also brilliant comedies and dramas, and sharp tales with social overtones, in which fascinating, complex female characters are also present. The Hong Kong Heroines section brings back strong heroines and the great roles of stars, including Cheng Pei-pei, Sylvia Chang, Cherry Ngan, and Maggie Cheung. The section presents Hong Kong cinema from the...
- 9/22/2023
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
Hong Kong multihyphenate Andy Lau may just be ready to star in a Hollywood movie after long being a box office king and pop star in Asia. But only if the major studios will meet him on his terms.
“I’m ready for Hollywood, as long as Hollywood is ready for me,” Lau said during an informal conversation at the Toronto International Film Festival on Saturday after a more than four-decade career stopping short of following his contemporaries and heading to Hollywood.
In Toronto to receive a special tribute award ahead of the Sept. 15 world premiere of Ning Hao’s The Movie Emperor, Lau said he always enjoyed playing the bad guy in movies as a change of pace early in his career. “I don’t know why in the beginning, everyone saw me as the good guy,” he insisted.
Lau, who sits near the top of China’s A-list...
“I’m ready for Hollywood, as long as Hollywood is ready for me,” Lau said during an informal conversation at the Toronto International Film Festival on Saturday after a more than four-decade career stopping short of following his contemporaries and heading to Hollywood.
In Toronto to receive a special tribute award ahead of the Sept. 15 world premiere of Ning Hao’s The Movie Emperor, Lau said he always enjoyed playing the bad guy in movies as a change of pace early in his career. “I don’t know why in the beginning, everyone saw me as the good guy,” he insisted.
Lau, who sits near the top of China’s A-list...
- 9/16/2023
- by Etan Vlessing
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
by Cláudio Alves
Happy birthday to Wong Kar-Wai. The Hong Kong auteur turns 65 today, the same day I say goodbye to 28 and welcome my 29th year –we're birthday twins! But of course, I've loved the director long before discovering we shared July 17th, having fallen for his cinema when I glimpsed Maggie Cheung and Tony Leung cross paths in slow-motion, saw the treacherous enchantment of a kitschy lamp lost in Buenos Aires, experienced a Nouvelle Vague color kaleidoscope to the sound of "California Dreamin'." It's only fitting to celebrate the date by pouring over some of Wong's most ravishing pictures, remembering his mastery as we mourn a decade since his last feature.
Join me as I consider three films Mubi has programmed specially for July, a collection they call As Time Goes By. A trio marked by lavish spectacle, they reach for the stars – a wuxia experiment, a sci-fi lament,...
Happy birthday to Wong Kar-Wai. The Hong Kong auteur turns 65 today, the same day I say goodbye to 28 and welcome my 29th year –we're birthday twins! But of course, I've loved the director long before discovering we shared July 17th, having fallen for his cinema when I glimpsed Maggie Cheung and Tony Leung cross paths in slow-motion, saw the treacherous enchantment of a kitschy lamp lost in Buenos Aires, experienced a Nouvelle Vague color kaleidoscope to the sound of "California Dreamin'." It's only fitting to celebrate the date by pouring over some of Wong's most ravishing pictures, remembering his mastery as we mourn a decade since his last feature.
Join me as I consider three films Mubi has programmed specially for July, a collection they call As Time Goes By. A trio marked by lavish spectacle, they reach for the stars – a wuxia experiment, a sci-fi lament,...
- 7/17/2023
- by Cláudio Alves
- FilmExperience
Veteran Chinese director Peter Chan Ho-sun is busy as ever these days. Behind the scenes, Chan is laying the foundations of the new production company, Changin’ Pictures, which he formally announced towards the end of last year. In public, the director is one of the most prominent cheerleaders of Chinese cinema, a role he played at the Shanghai International Film Festival this week.
The focus of a MasterClass at the festival, Chan talked expansively about Chinese film and its place in the world. “China has a lot of great stories, and many of them can resonate with people worldwide,” he said. “So why not make these stories that everyone can empathize with? I believe we should aim to make the whole world want to watch Chinese stories. We shouldn’t make films that are intended to please them or enhance a stereotypical image of China. That won’t lead to progress.
The focus of a MasterClass at the festival, Chan talked expansively about Chinese film and its place in the world. “China has a lot of great stories, and many of them can resonate with people worldwide,” he said. “So why not make these stories that everyone can empathize with? I believe we should aim to make the whole world want to watch Chinese stories. We shouldn’t make films that are intended to please them or enhance a stereotypical image of China. That won’t lead to progress.
- 6/13/2023
- by Mathew Scott
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
(Welcome to Best Action Scene Ever, a column dedicated to breaking down the best, most effective action sequences throughout the genre. In this edition, we circle back to Jackie Chan's stunt-acular action classic, "Police Story.")
Before Jackie Chan ever crossed the shores of the American mainstream during his Hollywood heyday in the 1990s, the actor/director/stuntman extraordinaire had been hard at work in Hong Kong cinema, churning out hit after hit for decades in his native country. One of his most memorable successes came only a scant handful of years before he finally crossed over into global appeal: 1985's "Police Story," directed by and starring Chan as Chan Ka-Kui, followed the rogue cop on his relentless quest to take down a drug lord, babysit a key witness played by Maggie Cheung, and subsequently clear his own name after being framed by his powerful enemies
The movie — which, quite honestly,...
Before Jackie Chan ever crossed the shores of the American mainstream during his Hollywood heyday in the 1990s, the actor/director/stuntman extraordinaire had been hard at work in Hong Kong cinema, churning out hit after hit for decades in his native country. One of his most memorable successes came only a scant handful of years before he finally crossed over into global appeal: 1985's "Police Story," directed by and starring Chan as Chan Ka-Kui, followed the rogue cop on his relentless quest to take down a drug lord, babysit a key witness played by Maggie Cheung, and subsequently clear his own name after being framed by his powerful enemies
The movie — which, quite honestly,...
- 4/17/2023
- by Jeremy Mathai
- Slash Film
The Film
With Cynthia Rothrock having only done Yes Madam, and Michelle Khan [Yeoh] departing the loose franchise following Royal Warriors, this third entry (the title of which also translates as Royal Madam III: Male and Female Thieves) had to turn to new talent. Billing then 20 year-old Taiwanese actress Yang Li-tsing as Cynthia Khan was a cynical move on par with introducing a new action star to US movies today, and giving her the screen name Kate Theron. Like the alternate title fusing those of the two previous films, it’s not something that screams of inspiration, but like Cynthia Khan herself, this film is a dark horse that deserves more credit, and to be looked at on its own terms rather than based on what its name is ripping off.
The story, as ever, is largely a framework to hang the action on, but this time it sees Khan as...
With Cynthia Rothrock having only done Yes Madam, and Michelle Khan [Yeoh] departing the loose franchise following Royal Warriors, this third entry (the title of which also translates as Royal Madam III: Male and Female Thieves) had to turn to new talent. Billing then 20 year-old Taiwanese actress Yang Li-tsing as Cynthia Khan was a cynical move on par with introducing a new action star to US movies today, and giving her the screen name Kate Theron. Like the alternate title fusing those of the two previous films, it’s not something that screams of inspiration, but like Cynthia Khan herself, this film is a dark horse that deserves more credit, and to be looked at on its own terms rather than based on what its name is ripping off.
The story, as ever, is largely a framework to hang the action on, but this time it sees Khan as...
- 4/17/2023
- by Sam Inglis
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Above: Original French release poster for Jeanne Dielman, 23, Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles. Designer unknown.Jeanne Dielman wins again! Posted on the day that Chantal Akerman’s masterpiece was announced as the surprise come-from-behind winner of Sight and Sound’s decennial Greatest Films of All Time poll, the original poster for the film racked up close to 3,000 likes on my Movie Poster of the Day Instagram (helped perhaps by being paired with this photo of Akerman pensively smoking in front of the same poster back in the day). I have no doubt that any poster for the film posted on that day would have gotten a lot of attention, but I’d like to believe that some of the likes were for the poster itself: unassuming yet elegant (like Jd herself), foregrounding that radically mundane title, and containing nothing surplus to requirements, just Mrs. Dielman at her dining room table, waiting patiently,...
- 4/6/2023
- MUBI
Action movies don’t get much more intense when it comes to large-scale set pieces than John Wick: Chapter 4. However, the Keanu Reeves-led franchise is sure to leave fans craving more violent genre flicks with jaw-dropping fight choreography. Here’s a list of seven action movies to watch for viewers excited for the fourth installment.
‘Upgrade’ (2018) Logan Marshall-Green as Grey Trace | Ben King/Universal Pictures
Grey Trace (Logan Marshall-Green) is left paralyzed and his wife dead after a savage mugging. A billionaire inventor steps in with a cure for his life-altering injuries, a technological implant called Stem that gives him more than the ability to walk. Grey gains superhuman strength and agility, but he plans to use these new abilities to track down the men who killed his wife and make them pay.
Leigh Whannell’s Upgrade has stellar fight choreography and no shortage of extreme brutality. Meanwhile, audiences...
‘Upgrade’ (2018) Logan Marshall-Green as Grey Trace | Ben King/Universal Pictures
Grey Trace (Logan Marshall-Green) is left paralyzed and his wife dead after a savage mugging. A billionaire inventor steps in with a cure for his life-altering injuries, a technological implant called Stem that gives him more than the ability to walk. Grey gains superhuman strength and agility, but he plans to use these new abilities to track down the men who killed his wife and make them pay.
Leigh Whannell’s Upgrade has stellar fight choreography and no shortage of extreme brutality. Meanwhile, audiences...
- 3/20/2023
- by Jeff Nelson
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
Michelle Yeoh has just won the Academy Award for best actress with her hysterically good performance in “Everything Everywhere All at Once”, making Oscar history as first Asian woman winning that category. It has been a long way since the year 1937, when white actress Luise Rainer won the same category for sporting a “yellowface” and play a Chinese villager in “The Good Earth.” But the Malaysian-born actress had already built up a reputation in the 1980s and '90s as Hong Kong's kick-ass action star.
Check out the interview of Michelle Yeoh An Interview with Michelle Yeoh : One of Asia's Biggest Film Stars
A ballet dancer since 4, she moved to London to study at the Royal Academy as a teen, but her dancer career didn't last long. After winning the Miss Malaysia beauty pageant title and the Miss Moomba beauty pageant title in Australia in the early 1980s, she...
Check out the interview of Michelle Yeoh An Interview with Michelle Yeoh : One of Asia's Biggest Film Stars
A ballet dancer since 4, she moved to London to study at the Royal Academy as a teen, but her dancer career didn't last long. After winning the Miss Malaysia beauty pageant title and the Miss Moomba beauty pageant title in Australia in the early 1980s, she...
- 3/20/2023
- by Adriana Rosati
- AsianMoviePulse
World-famous martial arts star Jackie Chan is returning to his Hong Kong roots in news that will have any action junkie positively buzzing with excitement. Longtime fans will hardly need a reminder of Chan's leading role in the "Police Story" trilogy of movies. Made with significant creative influence by Chan (who directed and co-wrote two of the films) from 1985 to 1992, the trilogy follows lead character Chan Ka-Kui, a local cop tasked with assisting in a major undercover sting operation. The franchise was actually rebooted twice with Chan's direct involvement, most notably in 2004 with "New Police Story." That film also starred Chan in the lead role and paired him with immensely popular popstar and actor Nicholas Tse. Now, the two are teaming up once again to deliver a follow-up to that film with "New Police Story 2."
This news comes from The Hollywood Reporter, which states that Chan recently made the official...
This news comes from The Hollywood Reporter, which states that Chan recently made the official...
- 3/14/2023
- by Jeremy Mathai
- Slash Film
“Emily in Paris” star Lucas Bravo is thankful to George Clooney and Julia Roberts, who starred with him in hit 2022 romcom “Ticket to Paradise.”
The dashing French star, who is also known for “Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris,” was speaking at a press meet for the 16th Asian Film Awards in Hong Kong, where he is a presenter.
“George and Julia happen to be the most generous, kind and protective people I’ve ever worked with — they go out of their way to make the set a safe place,” Bravo said. “They gave me an opportunity to improvise, they made me feel loved and accepted. And I’ve learned with them that the bigger the star, the nicer the person, so it gives me a lot of fuel for the rest of my career.”
Bravo also revealed his admiration for Maggie Cheung and Tony Leung, stemming from the time he...
The dashing French star, who is also known for “Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris,” was speaking at a press meet for the 16th Asian Film Awards in Hong Kong, where he is a presenter.
“George and Julia happen to be the most generous, kind and protective people I’ve ever worked with — they go out of their way to make the set a safe place,” Bravo said. “They gave me an opportunity to improvise, they made me feel loved and accepted. And I’ve learned with them that the bigger the star, the nicer the person, so it gives me a lot of fuel for the rest of my career.”
Bravo also revealed his admiration for Maggie Cheung and Tony Leung, stemming from the time he...
- 3/12/2023
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
It might be obvious to say, but a film getting nominated for an Oscar doesn’t automatically make it good.
In fact, there have been many deserving movies over the years that were somehow overlooked by the Academy.
It’s easy to assume that certain releases don’t get nominated because they’re not what Oscar voters would usually go for, but there have been some surprises in the past.
For example, pretty much every new superhero film earns a nomination thanks to the technical or makeup categories, while random animated films are acknowledged most likely because of the low number on offer in a certain year.
This means films likem say, DC’s Suicide Squad may get mauled by the critics, but they still gain recognition from the Academy (it went on to win).
This is even more ridiculous when you consider that classics such as Don’t Look Now...
In fact, there have been many deserving movies over the years that were somehow overlooked by the Academy.
It’s easy to assume that certain releases don’t get nominated because they’re not what Oscar voters would usually go for, but there have been some surprises in the past.
For example, pretty much every new superhero film earns a nomination thanks to the technical or makeup categories, while random animated films are acknowledged most likely because of the low number on offer in a certain year.
This means films likem say, DC’s Suicide Squad may get mauled by the critics, but they still gain recognition from the Academy (it went on to win).
This is even more ridiculous when you consider that classics such as Don’t Look Now...
- 3/3/2023
- by Jacob Stolworthy
- The Independent - Film
It might be obvious to say, but a film getting nominated for an Oscar doesn’t automatically make it good.
In fact, there have been many deserving movies over the years that were somehow overlooked by the Academy.
It’s easy to assume that certain releases don’t get nominated because they’re not what Oscar voters would usually go for, but there have been some surprises in the past.
For example, pretty much every new superhero film earns a nomination thanks to the technical or makeup categories, while random animated films are acknowledged most likely because of the low number on offer in a certain year.
This means films likem say, DC’s Suicide Squad may get mauled by the critics, but they still gain recognition from the Academy (it went on to win).
This is even more ridiculous when you consider that classics such as Don’t Look Now...
In fact, there have been many deserving movies over the years that were somehow overlooked by the Academy.
It’s easy to assume that certain releases don’t get nominated because they’re not what Oscar voters would usually go for, but there have been some surprises in the past.
For example, pretty much every new superhero film earns a nomination thanks to the technical or makeup categories, while random animated films are acknowledged most likely because of the low number on offer in a certain year.
This means films likem say, DC’s Suicide Squad may get mauled by the critics, but they still gain recognition from the Academy (it went on to win).
This is even more ridiculous when you consider that classics such as Don’t Look Now...
- 3/3/2023
- by Jacob Stolworthy
- The Independent - Film
Awards season is celebrating Michelle Yeoh for Everything Everywhere All At Once leading up to Oscar night. The Criterion Channel is celebrating Yeoh’s martial arts legacy with eight of her Chinese films added in the month of March. Showbiz Cheat Sheet recommends all eight, but here’s a guide to the films Criterion Channel selected.
Michelle Yeoh | Peter Pau/Sony Pictures Classics ‘Yes, Madam!’ Was the one that started it all for Michelle Yeoh
Yeoh had supporting roles in two movies before taking the lead of Yes, Madam! The female police actioner launched an entire series that took on the name In the Line of Duty from part three, after Yeoh had left. The first entry teams Yeoh up with Cynthia Rothrock, playing a British cop, with unbelievable fight scenes against modern day criminals.
‘Royal Warriors’ took Michelle Yeoh martial arts movies to the next level
The second entry...
Michelle Yeoh | Peter Pau/Sony Pictures Classics ‘Yes, Madam!’ Was the one that started it all for Michelle Yeoh
Yeoh had supporting roles in two movies before taking the lead of Yes, Madam! The female police actioner launched an entire series that took on the name In the Line of Duty from part three, after Yeoh had left. The first entry teams Yeoh up with Cynthia Rothrock, playing a British cop, with unbelievable fight scenes against modern day criminals.
‘Royal Warriors’ took Michelle Yeoh martial arts movies to the next level
The second entry...
- 2/28/2023
- by Fred Topel
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
It is my experience that one gets a far richer, stranger cinema education in pursuing the careers of actors, that group defined first by (assuming luck shines upon them) two or three era-defining films and then so much that dictates their industry—pet projects, contractual obligations, called-in favors alimony payments, auteur one-offs, and on and on. Few embody that deluge of circumstance better than Michelle Yeoh and Isabelle Huppert, both of whom are receiving spotlights in March. The former’s is a who’s-who of Hong Kong talent, new favorites (The Heroic Trio), items we can at least say are of interest (Trio‘s not-great sequel Executioners), etc.
Huppert’s series runs longer, and notwithstanding certain standards that have long sat on the channel it adds some heavy hitters: Hong’s In Another Country, Cimino’s Heaven’s Gate, Breillat’s Abuse of Weakness, Hansen-Løve’s Things to Come. And, of course,...
Huppert’s series runs longer, and notwithstanding certain standards that have long sat on the channel it adds some heavy hitters: Hong’s In Another Country, Cimino’s Heaven’s Gate, Breillat’s Abuse of Weakness, Hansen-Løve’s Things to Come. And, of course,...
- 2/22/2023
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
Two Octobers ago, freshly heartbroken, I saw In the Mood for Love for the third time. Honestly, I was in pretty bad shape. My first real relationship had just ended with a whimper. There hadn’t been any thrown dishes or fuck yous. Love had simply been there, constant, and then I looked again and it was gone. Or that’s how it felt. Presence, then whoosh.I’d run away to England for the fall, officially to get some writing done, but mostly I was just sad and wanting to be sad anywhere but at home. My focus, care, and energy had dissolved into a soup of loneliness. My stomach was tight, my head was fuzzy, I was crying in bed most nights; it was ordinary grief, but it was mine.That week, though, at the beginning of my trip, visiting with new friends, I would be myself again,...
- 2/15/2023
- MUBI
From an emotional standpoint, romantic movies can have several different functions. On the happier end of the spectrum, they can produce feelings of joy, hope, and gratification. Then there are romances that are best described as tearjerkers, with endings that devastate more than delight. But there are also films that fall somewhere in between these two extremes, movies that feel both melancholic and joyful at the same time.
When picking a romantic film to watch, it's important to know what mood you're in -- or what mood you want to be in. With this list, I've compiled a group of films that fall somewhere on the spectrum between bittersweet and tragic. A few of these films have decidedly sad endings where no one ends up happy (or even alive), while others depict a romance that changed an individual's life for the better, regardless of its outcome. What's great about romance...
When picking a romantic film to watch, it's important to know what mood you're in -- or what mood you want to be in. With this list, I've compiled a group of films that fall somewhere on the spectrum between bittersweet and tragic. A few of these films have decidedly sad endings where no one ends up happy (or even alive), while others depict a romance that changed an individual's life for the better, regardless of its outcome. What's great about romance...
- 2/2/2023
- by Kira Deshler
- Slash Film
The Lunar New Year is a time of feasting and family gatherings. It’s also a time for new movies. China’s Lunar New Year film rush is on par with the holiday film rush in the West, with dozens of premieres jockeying to be the season’s number one blockbuster. In the Chinese queue for this year are films like Donnie Yen’s Kung Fu fantasy Sakra, The Wandering Earth II, the prequel to China’s visionary 2019 sci-fi, and the eagerly anticipated action comedy, Everything Under Control.
It often takes a few months for new Chinese films to cross the pond to the West, and they seldom get theatrical showings. However, Western theaters are becoming increasingly aware of the drawing power of the Lunar New Year and have begun to showcase some special releases in honor of the holiday. This year the U.S. market is treated to a...
It often takes a few months for new Chinese films to cross the pond to the West, and they seldom get theatrical showings. However, Western theaters are becoming increasingly aware of the drawing power of the Lunar New Year and have begun to showcase some special releases in honor of the holiday. This year the U.S. market is treated to a...
- 1/22/2023
- by David Crow
- Den of Geek
"Never meet your heroes" is one piece of advice Quentin Tarantino has never listened to. His first feature "Reservoir Dogs" starred Harvey Keitel, his "favorite actor in the world." "Jackie Brown" was a vehicle for Pam Grier, star of 1970s blaxploitation films like "Coffy" which Tarantino loves. "Kill Bill," a samurai film love letter, featured Japanese genre star Sonny Chiba as sword-smith Hattori Hanzō.
There's another collaboration between Tarantino and one of his personal acting icons, one we haven't gotten to see. Who's the icon in question? Hong Kong star Maggie Cheung, who played a character cut from "Inglourious Basterds."
The hero of said film is not one of the titular Nazi-killing squad. No, it's Shosanna Dreyfus (Melanie Laurent), a young Jewish girl in Nazi-occupied France. The sole survivor of her family's massacre, she now poses as a Gentile cinema owner named "Emmanuelle Mimieux." When "Emmanuelle" comes face-to-face with Nazi...
There's another collaboration between Tarantino and one of his personal acting icons, one we haven't gotten to see. Who's the icon in question? Hong Kong star Maggie Cheung, who played a character cut from "Inglourious Basterds."
The hero of said film is not one of the titular Nazi-killing squad. No, it's Shosanna Dreyfus (Melanie Laurent), a young Jewish girl in Nazi-occupied France. The sole survivor of her family's massacre, she now poses as a Gentile cinema owner named "Emmanuelle Mimieux." When "Emmanuelle" comes face-to-face with Nazi...
- 12/17/2022
- by Devin Meenan
- Slash Film
by Simon Ramshaw
Lam Nai-Choi’s “The Seventh Curse” opens with a wistful statement from its creator, prolific pulp writer Ni Kuang: “Everyone has many strange things happen around them every day. Every little thing, as long as you’re willing to dig deeper, can be turned into a strange story.” He sits in a comfortable armchair, nursing a glass of brandy as Miss Asia contestants listen eagerly to his every word. One may almost think it’s the introduction to a “Twilight Zone” tale, one of intrigue and philosophical musing within tales of the weird and macabre. Enter blossoming Hong Kong megastars Chow Yun-Fat and Chin Siu-Ho with a strange story of their own to share, one that blows the viewer’s expectations out of the water with a cult Hong Kong horror-comedy gem, filled with booby-trapped ancient temples, flying kung-fu demons and many, many explosions of blood and gore.
Lam Nai-Choi’s “The Seventh Curse” opens with a wistful statement from its creator, prolific pulp writer Ni Kuang: “Everyone has many strange things happen around them every day. Every little thing, as long as you’re willing to dig deeper, can be turned into a strange story.” He sits in a comfortable armchair, nursing a glass of brandy as Miss Asia contestants listen eagerly to his every word. One may almost think it’s the introduction to a “Twilight Zone” tale, one of intrigue and philosophical musing within tales of the weird and macabre. Enter blossoming Hong Kong megastars Chow Yun-Fat and Chin Siu-Ho with a strange story of their own to share, one that blows the viewer’s expectations out of the water with a cult Hong Kong horror-comedy gem, filled with booby-trapped ancient temples, flying kung-fu demons and many, many explosions of blood and gore.
- 12/12/2022
- by Guest Writer
- AsianMoviePulse
When Louis Feuillade’s “Les Vampires” premiered in 1915, escalating the war of attrition between French film companies Pathe and Gaumont — in the middle of the actual armed conflict of World War I — it wasn’t a given that narrative feature films would become the dominant format for cinematic storytelling. In the 1910s, serials were in. It was equally likely, and more economical, for filmmakers to string together hours of storytelling via 12-minute reels that would stand as individual episodes and end on a cliffhanger, prompting the audience to return to the theater next week to see how it all turns out. Film was still as much an emerging technology as it was an art form, one with various and uncertain business models that were being tested simultaneously. Feuillade has more in common with any director working in the Age of Streaming than with Fellini or Ford, and making a “Les Vampires...
- 11/30/2022
- by Sarah Shachat
- Indiewire
Hello, old friend. Here we are, you and me, on the last page. Yes, this will be my last Pop Culture Imports column, as I will be leaving /Film for another job. So I thought a good way to end this column would be to take a look back at my favorite titles that I've featured here.
I started this column as a way to better shine the spotlight on international movies and TV shows that I was worried would get buried amid an increasingly crowded streaming market. But it was also a way for me to express my love for the Chinese action movies that I watched from behind my parents' shoulders, the animes that were my guilty pleasures, the K-dramas that were suddenly getting crossover success. I didn't want to lose those building blocks of my love for movie and TV, so Pop Culture Imports became a diary...
I started this column as a way to better shine the spotlight on international movies and TV shows that I was worried would get buried amid an increasingly crowded streaming market. But it was also a way for me to express my love for the Chinese action movies that I watched from behind my parents' shoulders, the animes that were my guilty pleasures, the K-dramas that were suddenly getting crossover success. I didn't want to lose those building blocks of my love for movie and TV, so Pop Culture Imports became a diary...
- 11/9/2022
- by Hoai-Tran Bui
- Slash Film
Considering the people involved in the movie, with Johnnie To directing, Anita Mui, Michelle Yeoh and Maggie Cheung starring as the titular trio, and Anthony Wong as one of the key villains, and with a script that is filled with martial arts action plus a plethora of Catiii elements, one would expect that “The Heroic Trio” would be the quintessential Hk action film. However, a number of faults in the script and a couple of other issues prevent it from becoming so, although the entertainment it offers, at least for the most part, is undeniable.
“The Heroic Trio“ is screening at San Diego Asian Film Festival
The aforementioned trio comprises of Tung (aka Wonder Woman), who is married to a policeman, Chat (Thief Catcher) a mercenary and head hunter, and Ching (Invisible Woman). As the story begins, an enigmatic persona mentioned only as Evil Master is blackmailing the Invisible Woman...
“The Heroic Trio“ is screening at San Diego Asian Film Festival
The aforementioned trio comprises of Tung (aka Wonder Woman), who is married to a policeman, Chat (Thief Catcher) a mercenary and head hunter, and Ching (Invisible Woman). As the story begins, an enigmatic persona mentioned only as Evil Master is blackmailing the Invisible Woman...
- 11/6/2022
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
What: The 42nd edition of the Hawai’i International Film Festival (Hiff) presented by Halekulani continues celebrating the best of indie cinema through: in-person screenings, online presentations, and panel events with industry luminaries. As part of the annual Hiff tradition, the festival will recognize Hiff Awards Gala Honorees as outstanding artists for their commitment to excellence in their field. The Gala also provides an opportunity to announce the Competition Winners, including recipients for this year’s Made in Hawai’i Award.
When: This year’s honorees – Hirokazu Kore-eda, Jung Woo-Sung, Simu Liu, Kerry Warkia, Auli’i Carvalho and Josie Ho – will be honored at the Awards Gala on Sunday November 13th, 2022 at 6pm Hst.
HIFF42 Halekulani Vision in Film Award – Hirokazu Kore-eda
HIFF42 Halekulani Career Achievement Award – Jung Woo-Sung
HIFF42 Halekulani Maverick Award – Simu Liu
HIFF42 Leanne K. Ferrer Trailblazer Award Presented by Pacific Islanders in Communications...
When: This year’s honorees – Hirokazu Kore-eda, Jung Woo-Sung, Simu Liu, Kerry Warkia, Auli’i Carvalho and Josie Ho – will be honored at the Awards Gala on Sunday November 13th, 2022 at 6pm Hst.
HIFF42 Halekulani Vision in Film Award – Hirokazu Kore-eda
HIFF42 Halekulani Career Achievement Award – Jung Woo-Sung
HIFF42 Halekulani Maverick Award – Simu Liu
HIFF42 Leanne K. Ferrer Trailblazer Award Presented by Pacific Islanders in Communications...
- 10/28/2022
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
Each week we highlight the noteworthy titles that have recently hit streaming platforms in the United States. Check out this week’s selections below and past round-ups here.
Center Stage (Stanley Kwan)
Following her breakout with Jackie Chan in Police Story and before her iconic roles in the films of Wong Kar-wai and Olivier Assayas, Maggie Cheung delivered one of the best performances of her career in Stanley Kwan’s lush, definitive, and boldly conceived biopic Center Stage, also known as Actress. Now gorgeously restored in 4K from the original negative, and approved by Kwan himself, the film follows Cheung as iconic silent film star Ruan Lingyu, who committed suicide at the age of 24 in 1935 after a tumultuous private life that was frequent fodder for the vicious Shanghai tabloids—and began to mirror the melodramas that brought her fame. With Cheung receiving the Best Actress award at Berlinale, the film...
Center Stage (Stanley Kwan)
Following her breakout with Jackie Chan in Police Story and before her iconic roles in the films of Wong Kar-wai and Olivier Assayas, Maggie Cheung delivered one of the best performances of her career in Stanley Kwan’s lush, definitive, and boldly conceived biopic Center Stage, also known as Actress. Now gorgeously restored in 4K from the original negative, and approved by Kwan himself, the film follows Cheung as iconic silent film star Ruan Lingyu, who committed suicide at the age of 24 in 1935 after a tumultuous private life that was frequent fodder for the vicious Shanghai tabloids—and began to mirror the melodramas that brought her fame. With Cheung receiving the Best Actress award at Berlinale, the film...
- 10/14/2022
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Global film greats flocked to the festival because of its dedication to the art – and because they know great pictures are nothing without great picturehouses
I remember the shock when Alfred Hitchcock died. For film fans in Edinburgh, Scotland and further afield, Thursday was a similar body blow. The city’s great cultural cinema, Filmhouse, and its august Edinburgh international film festival have both ceased trading.
Martin Scorsese, Maggie Cheung, the Coen Brothers, Andrei Tarkovsky, Lynne Ramsay, Leslie Caron, Steve Martin, Bill Forsyth, Derek Jarman, Thelma Schoonmaker, Michael Powell and many others went to Filmhouse like moths to a flame, seeking what I sought when I first went in 1984: a place to come out as movie lover. An exhilaration, and a harbour in which to shelter and from which to sail.
I remember the shock when Alfred Hitchcock died. For film fans in Edinburgh, Scotland and further afield, Thursday was a similar body blow. The city’s great cultural cinema, Filmhouse, and its august Edinburgh international film festival have both ceased trading.
Martin Scorsese, Maggie Cheung, the Coen Brothers, Andrei Tarkovsky, Lynne Ramsay, Leslie Caron, Steve Martin, Bill Forsyth, Derek Jarman, Thelma Schoonmaker, Michael Powell and many others went to Filmhouse like moths to a flame, seeking what I sought when I first went in 1984: a place to come out as movie lover. An exhilaration, and a harbour in which to shelter and from which to sail.
- 10/7/2022
- by Mark Cousins
- The Guardian - Film News
Filmmaker Mark Cousins, Glasgow Film Festival co-director Allison Gardner and Ken Loach’s Sixteen Films expressed their sadness.
The industry has reacted with shock at the news announced yesterday (October 6) that Edinburgh International Film Festival (Eiff), Filmhouse Cinema in Edinburgh and Belmont Filmhouse in Aberdeen are to “cease trading immediately” as parent charity, Centre for the Moving Image (Cmi), enters administration.
It is understood that 102 staff will be made redundant with immediate effect. A total of 107 staff were employed across all four of the Cmi’s businesses. Five staff have been kept on to assist with the administration process.
Cmi...
The industry has reacted with shock at the news announced yesterday (October 6) that Edinburgh International Film Festival (Eiff), Filmhouse Cinema in Edinburgh and Belmont Filmhouse in Aberdeen are to “cease trading immediately” as parent charity, Centre for the Moving Image (Cmi), enters administration.
It is understood that 102 staff will be made redundant with immediate effect. A total of 107 staff were employed across all four of the Cmi’s businesses. Five staff have been kept on to assist with the administration process.
Cmi...
- 10/7/2022
- by Mona Tabbara
- ScreenDaily
"It is a restless moment. She has kept her head lowered ... to give him a chance to come closer. But he could not, for lack of courage. She turns and walks away."
So reads the opening chyron at the beginning of Wong Kar-Wai's smoldering 2000 pseudo-romance "In the Mood for Love," a film about two attractive, well-dressed people who spend a lot of time in restaurant booths staring at one another with longing in their eyes, only to turn away from each other and go their separate ways.
The two people in question are Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung, two of the biggest movie stars in the world. Leung looks irresistibly dashing with his impeccably combed hair and clean suits, and Cheung's hair and dresses are so dazzling they can only be the result of a supernatural effort. These two characters ache to have an affair and spend the entirety...
So reads the opening chyron at the beginning of Wong Kar-Wai's smoldering 2000 pseudo-romance "In the Mood for Love," a film about two attractive, well-dressed people who spend a lot of time in restaurant booths staring at one another with longing in their eyes, only to turn away from each other and go their separate ways.
The two people in question are Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung, two of the biggest movie stars in the world. Leung looks irresistibly dashing with his impeccably combed hair and clean suits, and Cheung's hair and dresses are so dazzling they can only be the result of a supernatural effort. These two characters ache to have an affair and spend the entirety...
- 9/29/2022
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
By the early to mid 1980s, Jackie Chan had been a megastar in Asia for a few years, since the roaring success of Drunken Master. With The Young Master, Dragon Lord and Project A he had established himself as a director. What eluded him was global success. His first American film, Battle Creek Brawl hadn’t allowed him much control, and was a flop. The Cannonball Run did business, but he was hardly the star, and The Protector miscast him in a harder edged film, attempting to make him a cop in the Dirty Harry mould. Back home, he reshot much of The Protector, adding a new subplot and expanding the action for the Hong Kong cut, but he still wanted to make a contemporary cop movie that was also a true Jackie Chan film.
The Films Police Story (1985)
Dir: Jackie Chan
If his career so far had found Jackie...
The Films Police Story (1985)
Dir: Jackie Chan
If his career so far had found Jackie...
- 9/20/2022
- by Sam Inglis
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Four years after the second installment to arguably Jackie Chan’ most popular franchise, the actor would reprise his role as police inspector Chan Ka-Kui in “Police Story 3: Supercop” (or just “Supercop” in some areas). Perhaps due to his busy schedule in front and behind the camera, working on other projects such as the equally successful “Armour of God”-films, Stanley Tong took over directing duties from Chan, who would still be a producer for the project. This collaboration turned out to be quite fruitful for both them, setting the foundation for features such as “Rumble in the Bronx”, which would give the actor the breakthrough with US-American markets after years of trying. Although the previous entries into the franchise had already set quite a high level when it came to action set pieces, “Supercop” would see Chan in the middle of some of the most ambitious and costly action scenes of his career,...
- 8/7/2022
- by Rouven Linnarz
- AsianMoviePulse
When Oliver Assayas first directed "Irma Vep" in 1996, it was a very different world for cinema. Since the takeover of streaming services, the director has noticed a shift in financing and the future of film. He knew that if he was going to return to his most popular project, he would need to adapt to the changing media landscape. The result? The HBO miniseries of the same name, which revisits the same core subjects as the original film while giving them a contemporary spin.
In the original film, Maggie Cheung plays herself, a successful Hong Kong actress. She...
The post Why Olivier Assayas Imagined his Irma Vep Remake as a Series Instead of a Feature appeared first on /Film.
In the original film, Maggie Cheung plays herself, a successful Hong Kong actress. She...
The post Why Olivier Assayas Imagined his Irma Vep Remake as a Series Instead of a Feature appeared first on /Film.
- 7/29/2022
- by Shae Sennett
- Slash Film
Olivier Assayas did what seems like the impossible: The writer-director remade his own 1996 film “Irma Vep” as an HBO limited series.
Why? Well, Assayas saw the need to update the meta message of fame, mirrored celebrity, and even international filmmaking collaborations for the modern age. He felt the original film, starring his now ex-wife Maggie Cheung, has “nothing to do with the world.”
“We are in a moment of very deep transformation of whatever we call cinema, in terms of aesthetics, in terms of financing, in terms of viewing,” Assayas explained to the Los Angeles Times. “‘Irma Vep,’ the original one and same with this one, has one foot in the past and one foot in the present.”
A reimagined film would have been “impossible,” according to Assayas, who then opted for television. “No one would have financed it,” he stated. “It would’ve made no sense.”
The “Personal Shopper...
Why? Well, Assayas saw the need to update the meta message of fame, mirrored celebrity, and even international filmmaking collaborations for the modern age. He felt the original film, starring his now ex-wife Maggie Cheung, has “nothing to do with the world.”
“We are in a moment of very deep transformation of whatever we call cinema, in terms of aesthetics, in terms of financing, in terms of viewing,” Assayas explained to the Los Angeles Times. “‘Irma Vep,’ the original one and same with this one, has one foot in the past and one foot in the present.”
A reimagined film would have been “impossible,” according to Assayas, who then opted for television. “No one would have financed it,” he stated. “It would’ve made no sense.”
The “Personal Shopper...
- 7/28/2022
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Call it a remake, a reboot, or a rethinking, the “Irma Vep” series on HBO is above all meta. Start with Louis Feuillade’s 1915 French serial about a criminal gang, Les Vampires; jump eight decades into the future to 1996, when Olivier Assayas’ “Irma Vep” found Hong Kong star Maggie Cheung starring in a movie-within-a-movie adaptating the serial. Now, more than a quarter century later, the “Personal Shopper” director’s latest work both expands upon and in some ways contradicts the Cheung movie.
The fast-paced dialogue, twisty narratives, freewheeling soundtrack, and extraordinary visuals are back. Alicia Vikander plays Mira Harberg, a Swedish actor famous for American comic-book blockbusters, who arrives on set as director René Vidal (the remarkable Vincent Macaigne) is struggling with a special effects shot. As the series unfolds, relationships form and break, careers shift, and ghosts from the past haunt the set. But Assayas brings an honesty, sincerity...
The fast-paced dialogue, twisty narratives, freewheeling soundtrack, and extraordinary visuals are back. Alicia Vikander plays Mira Harberg, a Swedish actor famous for American comic-book blockbusters, who arrives on set as director René Vidal (the remarkable Vincent Macaigne) is struggling with a special effects shot. As the series unfolds, relationships form and break, careers shift, and ghosts from the past haunt the set. But Assayas brings an honesty, sincerity...
- 7/26/2022
- by Daniel Eagan
- Indiewire
Echoes Of The Rainbow screenwriter and director Alex Law Kai-yum has died. The Hong Kong filmmaker passed away in hospital on Saturday; no cause of death was given. He was 69.
The South China Morning Post reports that the Hong Kong Film Directors’ Guild released a statement confirming Law’s passing. He was previously the organization’s vice-chairman.
Law often worked with longtime partner Mabel Cheung Yuen-ting, whom he met while studying at New York University. Together, they made the “Migration Trilogy” of films Illegal Immigrant (1985), An Autumn’s Tale (1987) and Eight Tales Of Gold (1989); which he wrote and she directed.
He also wrote Cheung’s 1997 hit The Soong Sisters starring Maggie Cheung and and Michelle Yeoh.
Cheung produced Law’s 2010’s Echoes Of The Rainbow which won the Crystal Bear Best Film prize in the Generation Kplus section of the Berlin Film Festival as well as Best Screenplay at the Hong Kong Film Awards.
The South China Morning Post reports that the Hong Kong Film Directors’ Guild released a statement confirming Law’s passing. He was previously the organization’s vice-chairman.
Law often worked with longtime partner Mabel Cheung Yuen-ting, whom he met while studying at New York University. Together, they made the “Migration Trilogy” of films Illegal Immigrant (1985), An Autumn’s Tale (1987) and Eight Tales Of Gold (1989); which he wrote and she directed.
He also wrote Cheung’s 1997 hit The Soong Sisters starring Maggie Cheung and and Michelle Yeoh.
Cheung produced Law’s 2010’s Echoes Of The Rainbow which won the Crystal Bear Best Film prize in the Generation Kplus section of the Berlin Film Festival as well as Best Screenplay at the Hong Kong Film Awards.
- 7/4/2022
- by Nancy Tartaglione
- Deadline Film + TV
Click here to read the full article.
Alex Law, the famed Hong Kong director and screenwriter behind Echoes of the Rainbow, Painted Faces and An Autumn’s Tale, has died. He was 69.
The South China Morning Post reported that Law died Sunday with director Mabel Cheung, his long-time partner and collaborator, by his side. In a double blow to Hong Kong’s cultural landscape, Law died on the same day as the influential novelist and prolific screenwriter Ni Kuang.
Along with Cheung, Law was responsible for creating some of the most enduring classics of Hong Kong cinema, including the Cheung-directed Migration Trilogy. The duo’s films were known for their realistic, and somewhat romantic, portrayals of their fellow Hongkongers, offering nuanced views of society as well as the diaspora and tapping into nostalgia for the time before the 1997 handover.
Born Alex Law Kai-yui in 1952, in what was then British Hong Kong,...
Alex Law, the famed Hong Kong director and screenwriter behind Echoes of the Rainbow, Painted Faces and An Autumn’s Tale, has died. He was 69.
The South China Morning Post reported that Law died Sunday with director Mabel Cheung, his long-time partner and collaborator, by his side. In a double blow to Hong Kong’s cultural landscape, Law died on the same day as the influential novelist and prolific screenwriter Ni Kuang.
Along with Cheung, Law was responsible for creating some of the most enduring classics of Hong Kong cinema, including the Cheung-directed Migration Trilogy. The duo’s films were known for their realistic, and somewhat romantic, portrayals of their fellow Hongkongers, offering nuanced views of society as well as the diaspora and tapping into nostalgia for the time before the 1997 handover.
Born Alex Law Kai-yui in 1952, in what was then British Hong Kong,...
- 7/4/2022
- by Abid Rahman
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
It’s been this summer’s great pleasure watching Irma Vep. Maybe because the two years we’ve known about it have been marked by trepidation-tinged curiosity: Olivier Assayas revisiting his largely unimprovable 1996 film, Maggie Cheung here replaced by Alicia Vikander (from whom I’d never seen anything) for an eight-hour TV series. By the first episode’s end did I think all the right pieces were in play, but—speaking as one who’s now seen six—Irma Vep has only grown greater in scope, sharper in concept, and more tangent-happy in its panoptic view of the film industry.
There’s also the jaw-dropping autobiography-of-sorts, though Assayas will talk at greater length about intent and execution elsewhere. Below is our conversation pertaining to episodes one through four of Irma Vep.
The Film Stage: A character says that when Feuillade made Les Vampires he “was trying to represent something that...
There’s also the jaw-dropping autobiography-of-sorts, though Assayas will talk at greater length about intent and execution elsewhere. Below is our conversation pertaining to episodes one through four of Irma Vep.
The Film Stage: A character says that when Feuillade made Les Vampires he “was trying to represent something that...
- 6/27/2022
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
“I don’t really care about movies,” the man says, nervously wringing his hands together. “I used to…but not anymore. Maybe it’ll come back?” It’s not an uncommon sentiment to hear in the Year of Our Lord 2022. What makes that comment stand out, however, is that it’s being delivered by a French filmmaker who’s sitting on the set of his latest movie. He’s admitting this to the A-list American star he’s just met and has employed, at great expense, to play the lead in it.
- 6/20/2022
- by David Fear
- Rollingstone.com
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.