Horror movies are still hip? At least the three directors in Three -- Experiences (三更二), the sequel of well-sold Three (三更) try to believe so. The three segments may not be so scary for those looking for terror sensations. But each tries to be a sophisticated story, rather than a hyper-gory picture.
Box, by Japanese filmmaker Takashi Miike, is a visually beautiful story about love and jealousy. Kyoko Hasegawa is a sick, beautiful novelist who obviously carries with her a deep fear about a past of tragedy, which reflects in her constant nightmares of being suffocated with a plastic bag.
PHOTO COURTESY OF MATA ENTERRTAINMENT
Back in her childhood, she and the sister were acrobats in a local circus in northern Japan. The climax of their performances is when the two skinny little girls crouch in two small boxes and their stepfather -- the lead performer -- shoots darts at the boxes.
PHOTO COURTESY OF MATA ENTERRTAINMENT
But whenever the show finishes, the father compliments one sister only, leaving Kyoko in despair.
Dumpling by Fruit Chan (陳果) continues Chan's sarcasm about the poverty gap in Hong Kong society. In the sequence it is darker than his previous films.
Mrs. Lee (Miriam Yeung, 楊千嬅) is a bored housewife of a rich businessman. She finds in the back alleys of Kowloon the most expensive dumpling in Hong Kong.
This segment features the excellent acting of Bai Ling (白靈), the dumpling seller from Shenzhen, China, and the sophisticated cinematography illustrates the delicacy and the interesting process of making the dumplings. But the story behind rejuvenation is too scary and a bit far-fetched.
The South Korean sequence, Cut, features one of the most exaggerated performances among the three. The story is a Catch-22 situation, in which a rich and successful film director and his wife are kidnapped. He is strapped in the corner of the house and she is tied by the piano. The terrorist gives him two choices: to strangle an innocent young stranger the terrorist brings, or to watch his wife have her fingers cut off one by one.
The thrill of the story of course focuses on his choice, also the moments the beautiful wife becomes fingerless.
The Portuguese never established a presence on Taiwan, but they must have traded with the indigenous people because later traders reported that the locals referred to parts of deer using Portuguese words. What goods might the Portuguese have offered their indigenous trade partners? Among them must have been slaves, for the Portuguese dealt slaves across Asia. Though we often speak of “Portuguese” ships, imagining them as picturesque vessels manned by pointy-bearded Iberians, in Asia Portuguese shipping between local destinations was crewed by Asian seamen, with a handful of white or Eurasian officers. “Even the great carracks of 1,000-2,000 tons which plied
It’s only half the size of its more famous counterpart in Taipei, but the Botanical Garden of the National Museum of Nature Science (NMNS, 國立自然科學博物館植物園) is surely one of urban Taiwan’s most inviting green spaces. Covering 4.5 hectares immediately northeast of the government-run museum in Taichung’s North District (北區), the garden features more than 700 plant species, many of which are labeled in Chinese but not in English. Since its establishment in 1999, the site’s managers have done their best to replicate a number of native ecosystems, dividing the site into eight areas. The name of the Coral Atoll Zone might
Nuclear power is getting a second look in Southeast Asia as countries prepare to meet surging energy demand as they vie for artificial intelligence-focused data centers. Several Southeast Asian nations are reviving mothballed nuclear plans and setting ambitious targets and nearly half of the region could, if they pursue those goals, have nuclear energy in the 2030s. Even countries without current plans have signaled their interest. Southeast Asia has never produced a single watt of nuclear energy, despite long-held atomic ambitions. But that may soon change as pressure mounts to reduce emissions that contribute to climate change, while meeting growing power needs. The
On Monday morning, in quick succession, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) released statements announcing “that the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and General Secretary Xi Jinping (習近平) have invited KMT Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) to lead a delegation on a visit to the mainland” as the KMT’s press release worded it. The KMT’s press release added “Chairwoman Cheng expressed her gratitude for the invitation and has gladly accepted it.” Beijing’s official Xinhua news release described Song Tao (宋濤), head of the Taiwan Work Office of the CCP Central Committee, as
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