How to Train Your Dragon 2
The first film from 2010 was an endearingly original and sure-footed story of a small boy called Hiccup who, in refusing to engage in his village’s infatuation with killing dragons, discovers that these creatures, if offered friendship, provide a multitude of rewards. It had most of the conventional themes of believing in yourself, personal growth through friendship, happiness through understanding and communication, but the packaging was filled with deftly outlined characters, humor and warmth. It also looked like it was going to be a one off, but given its success, a sequel was inevitable. With no easy hooks, the creators where forced to be original, and in this sequel, have created a movie that probably surpasses the first, and is in contention for best animation sequel ever, right up their with the Toy Story trilogy. The story, which involves the discovery of a whole new dragon Eden, as well as bandits who have harnessed dragons to their own evil ends, has given the animators a huge canvas, and they have stepped up to the plate with abundant invention. The script is full of humor and heart, and the characters gain depth and interest. The voice cast, which did such sterling work, is back, with the addition of Cate Blanchet as Hiccup’s long-lost mother, who is key to giving heft to the powerful story of human relationships that is embedded in this joyful fantasy escapade.
The Immigrant
A historical melodrama on a scale and with the depth of Francis Ford Coppola’s Godfather and Sergio Leone’s Once Upon a Time in America, or a vast pageant of tortured souls who fail to be more than a gaudy cabaret act. The Immigrant, which has vast ambitions as a drama of the human spirit, has polarized critics. In terms of the craftsmanship the film is unimpeachable, and the cinematography has a deep tonality that is beautifully suggestive, but whether the ambitions of the film actually manage to make it into the screenplay is a matter of contention. Set in 1921, The Immigrant follows the unfortunate circumstances that drive Ewa (Marion Cotillard), a woman seeking the American dream, into a life of prostitution, and a complex, volatile relationship with two men — her conflicted pimp (Joaquin Phoenix) and his romantic cousin (Jeremy Renner). There is a self-consciously theatrical quality to the acting that is definitely not for all tastes, but the technical skills are most definitely there. The question of whether the actors manage to shoulder the weight of the story’s ambition is quite another matter.
Violette
Another high-class biopic from Martin Provost, who directed the award-winning Seraphine, the story of French painter Seraphine de Senlis, discovered by an art collector while working as a house cleaner. Violette tackles the figure of Violette Leduc, a writer who began an intense relationship with Simone de Beauvoir in the years after the war that lasted throughout their lives. Leduc and De Beauvoir are vastly different characters brought together by their joint passion about the power of literature in the lives of women. Emmanuelle Devos as the title character is a powerful presence, and the director takes his mission to explain the power of Leduc’s writing seriously. He shows us her many struggles with herself and her environment, but as worthy as all this is, for the audience, it really is a bit of a slog, though one enlivened by lovely period detail.
Z Storm (Z風暴)
There are plenty of big stars in this ambitious heist movie, which tries to claim kudos because of its pedigree that relates it to Infernal Affairs (無間道), boasting John Chong (莊澄) as sole producer. Sadly, this is all that Z Storm has taken from the hit franchise. It is filled with a faux seriousness and stuffed to bursting with tedious exposition of a plot that aims to be convoluted, but succeeds only in being confused. There are far too many characters, and veteran performers Louis Koo (古天樂), Gordon Lam (林家棟), Michael Wong (王敏德) don’t have much of a chance to do more than the usual tough snarls. Z Storm does not have the script to handle the taunt financial thriller it wants to be, and rather tries to be a promotion for Hong Kong’s currently beleaguered Independent Commission Against Corruption, which was recently engulfed in scandal. The action scenes are ordinary in the extreme, so Z Storm is likely to disappoint across the board.
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