Wrath of the Titans
Why does Sam Worthington do it? For that matter, why are names Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes, Rosamund Pike and Bill Nighy on the cast list of this swords-and-sandals fantasy based on Greek mythology. A sequel to Clash of the Titans, which received less than stellar reviews from the critics, this new film perseveres in very much the same format, playing to a fan base whose main concern is big monsters rampaging across the screen in 3D. One critic described Clash as “there are titans, they clash,” and an equally succinct summary of Wrath is that “there are titans, they are very angry.” Worthington’s Perseus is the only person who can prevent the utter destruction of the world by the angry titans and various monsters.
The Lorax
Based on characters created by that genius of the nonsense fable Dr Seuss (real name Theodor Seuss Geisel), The Lorax is yet another in a line of high production value 3D animations. Judging from the initial response, the film looks likely to establish itself among the classics, along with Toy Story and Wall-E. With a voice cast that includes pop star Taylor Swift and actors Zac Efron and Danny DeVito, and animated by the same company that made Despicable Me, The Lorax manages to step out of the kiddy entertainment market segment and appeal to a relatively broad audience. The cute animal humor has mostly been done before, as has the cautionary ecological tale, but the whole thing has been put together with a degree of love and care for the material that makes it more than just the sum of its somewhat derivative parts.
The Intouchables
French movie about relations between a white paraplegic and his black carer that manages to pick up on the most egregious racial stereotypes and turn back the clock many decades on issues of racism. Created by writer and director Eric Toledano and Olivier Nakache, the film plays up stock gags of a boy from the projects taking pot shots at high culture, and Omar Sy, a fine actor and appealing screen presence, gets led into an unseemly Uncle Tom role. A score with plenty of catchy tunes and good acting give The Intouchables an appealing veneer, but that’s not enough to gloss over the ideological problems at the heart of the film.
2012 Taiwan International Children’s Film Festival (台灣國際兒童影展)
The 2012 Taiwan International Children’s Film Festival (台灣國際兒童影展) opens today with a diverse lineup of 89 animation, documentary, short and fictional films, as well as television programs, selected from 27 countries. Tickets cost NT$50 per film, available through FamilyMart (全家) FamiPort kiosks. Screenings will be at Vieshow Cinemas Taipei Xinyi (台北信義威秀影城).
On the Net: www.ticff.org.tw
The Billionaire (Top Secret: Wai Roon Pun Lan)
Described as a Thai version of The Social Network, The Billionaire tracks the rise of social misfit Tob Ittipat, a computer game addict compulsively trying out all kinds of get-rich-quick schemes. Parents, teachers and even his girlfriend give up on him, but then he stumbles on a recipe for making a seaweed snack that he distributes through 7-Eleven and strikes gold. The film makes the melodramatic most of Ittipat’s early life, failing in one venture after another, building up to the inevitable big payoff. Directed by Songyos Sugmakanan, the film is a slick production that packs a few surprises.
Vincent will Meer
German road movie about a young man suffering from Tourette’s syndrome who takes off with two other residents from the care facility at which they are staying. All three have their own unique problems, and it is from these quirks and tics that the movie derives much of its humor. Using mental illness as a source of comedy is a difficult path to take, and director Ralf Huettner tries to avoid giving offense by making his characters so one-dimensional that we don’t really care about them.
May 6 to May 12 Those who follow the Chinese-language news may have noticed the usage of the term zhuge (豬哥, literally ‘pig brother,’ a male pig raised for breeding purposes) in reports concerning the ongoing #Metoo scandal in the entertainment industry. The term’s modern connotations can range from womanizer or lecher to sexual predator, but it once referred to an important rural trade. Until the 1970s, it was a common sight to see a breeder herding a single “zhuge” down a rustic path with a bamboo whip, often traveling large distances over rugged terrain to service local families. Not only
Ahead of incoming president William Lai’s (賴清德) inauguration on May 20 there appear to be signs that he is signaling to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and that the Chinese side is also signaling to the Taiwan side. This raises a lot of questions, including what is the CCP up to, who are they signaling to, what are they signaling, how with the various actors in Taiwan respond and where this could ultimately go. In the last column, published on May 2, we examined the curious case of Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) heavyweight Tseng Wen-tsan (鄭文燦) — currently vice premier
The last time Mrs Hsieh came to Cihu Park in Taoyuan was almost 50 years ago, on a school trip to the grave of Taiwan’s recently deceased dictator. Busloads of children were brought in to pay their respects to Chiang Kai-shek (蔣中正), known as Generalissimo, who had died at 87, after decades ruling Taiwan under brutal martial law. “There were a lot of buses, and there was a long queue,” Hsieh recalled. “It was a school rule. We had to bow, and then we went home.” Chiang’s body is still there, under guard in a mausoleum at the end of a path
Last week the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) released a set of very strange numbers on Taiwan’s wealth distribution. Duly quoted in the Taipei Times, the report said that “The Gini coefficient for Taiwanese households… was 0.606 at the end of 2021, lower than Australia’s 0.611, the UK’s 0.620, Japan’s 0.678, France’s 0.676 and Germany’s 0.727, the agency said in a report.” The Gini coefficient is a measure of relative inequality, usually of wealth or income, though it can be used to evaluate other forms of inequality. However, for most nations it is a number from .25 to .50