Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Undoubtedly the major cinema event of the week, if not of December, and for fans, probably the most anticipated picture of 2013. Part two of a trilogy based on what was the slimmest of JRR Tolkien’s Middle Earth novels, the massive three part treatment of a relatively simple story has provided director Peter Jackson the kind of freedom he never had in the densely plotted Lord of the Ring adaptations. He also has the kind of budgetary reach that any director would kill for, based on the massive success of those earlier movies. And Jackson delivers in spadefuls, creating a second installment that surpasses the first in its energy and momentum. The story is mysterious and exotic, but it is told with a geniality that was buried under the portentousness of the first series. Running two hours and 40 minutes, the action never sags, and for fans and newcomers alike, The Desolation of Smaug offers the kind of rollicking adventure story that we have not seen since the best of the Indiana Jones movies.
Oshin
Oshin was originally a TV series that proved one of the most watched Japanese TV dramas of all time when it was first released in the mid-1980s and was hugely popular in Taiwan and around Asia. It is the story of a young girl who grows up in impoverished circumstances and endures through many, many, many hardships (the original series ran for 297 episodes), and is set at the end of the Meiji era and into modern times. Oshin has become an iconic character recognized around Asia even by people who did not watch the series, a symbol of endurance through hard times and forbearance in the face of adversity. In the movie, the role of the young Oshin is played by Kokone Hamada, who according to publicity material, was selected from 2,471 applicants for the role. Oshin is unapologetic melodrama, and it is advisable to have a plentiful supply of hankies or tissue to see audiences through to the end.
I’m So Excited
A new Pedro Almodovar film is always to be welcomed, though it has been a long time since the master of the neurotic has achieved the kind of unsettling weirdness of Law of Desire and Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, which made him an international name. In I’m So Excited it is clear that the director and the cast are having the time of their lives in an entertaining romp that follows the crew and passengers of an airplane that is experiencing technical problems on a journey that is likely to end in flames. Death is looming, and this being an Almodovar film, the thing that is on everybody’s mind is sex. Death and sex are the foundations of Almodovar films, and in I’m So Excited, neither has seemed so much fun. Taken for what it is, there is plenty to keep fans entertained.
Delivery Man
Sometimes it just isn’t that easy to hate Vince Vaughn, who comes up with some truly terrible movie ideas, but also occasionally manages a mix of comedy and sentiment that is difficult to loathe. Such is the case with Delivery Man. The story follows David, an affable underachiever who discovers that he has fathered 533 children through anonymous donations to a fertility clinic 20 years ago. Now he must decide whether or not to come forward when a number of them file a lawsuit to reveal his identity. Family, fatherhood, responsibility and bonding all get a workout, and David discovers something about how life can be made to have meaning. Vaughn’s usually snarky tone has been smoothed out with mid-life crisis philosophizing, and curiously enough, this is what makes Delivery Man an above average comedy.
Love, Marilyn
No one epitomizes the rise of celebrity culture more than the character of Marilyn Monroe, and Love, Marilyn, a documentary in which the great and good of Hollywood read from newly discovered journals and letters left by the actress and speak about her, takes a revealing look into the personality behind the icon. There is also archive footage from those who knew her and worked with her. Director Liz Garbus has brought together a list of Hollywood royalty that ranges from Lauren Bacall to Glenn Close, Joe DiMaggio to Lindsay Lohan. The picture of Marilyn Monroe revealed here is something utterly different from the dumb blonde of popular mythology, and fleshes out a character who worked relentlessly, overcoming what even friends suggest was somewhat limited acting skill, to be a great actor and a happy person. Both were incredibly difficult tasks.
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