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.
Sept.16 to Sept. 22 The “anti-communist train” with then-president Chiang Kai-shek’s (蔣介石) face plastered on the engine puffed along the “sugar railway” (糖業鐵路) in May 1955, drawing enthusiastic crowds at 103 stops covering nearly 1,200km. An estimated 1.58 million spectators were treated to propaganda films, plays and received free sugar products. By this time, the state-run Taiwan Sugar Corporation (台糖, Taisugar) had managed to connect the previously separate east-west lines established by Japanese-era sugar factories, allowing the anti-communist train to travel easily from Taichung to Pingtung’s Donggang Township (東港). Last Sunday’s feature (Taiwan in Time: The sugar express) covered the inauguration of the
The corruption cases surrounding former Taipei Mayor and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) head Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) are just one item in the endless cycle of noise and fuss obscuring Taiwan’s deep and urgent structural and social problems. Even the case itself, as James Baron observed in an excellent piece at the Diplomat last week, is only one manifestation of the greater problem of deep-rooted corruption in land development. Last week the government announced a program to permit 25,000 foreign university students, primarily from the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia, to work in Taiwan after graduation for 2-4 years. That number is a
In a stark demonstration of how award-winning breakthroughs can come from the most unlikely directions, researchers have won an Ig Nobel prize for discovering that mammals can breathe through their anuses. After a series of tests on mice, rats and pigs, Japanese scientists found the animals absorb oxygen delivered through the rectum, work that underpins a clinical trial to see whether the procedure can treat respiratory failure. The team is among 10 recognized in this year’s Ig Nobel awards (see below for more), the irreverent accolades given for achievements that “first make people laugh, and then make them think.” They are not
This Qing Dynasty trail takes hikers from renowned hot springs in the East Rift Valley, up to the top of the Coastal Mountain Range, and down to the Pacific Short vacations to eastern Taiwan often require choosing between the Rift Valley with its pineapple fields, rice paddies and broader range of amenities, or the less populated coastal route for its ocean scenery. For those who can’t decide, why not try both? The Antong Traversing Trail (安通越嶺道) provides just such an opportunity. Built 149 years ago, the trail linked up these two formerly isolated parts of the island by crossing over the Coastal Mountain Range. After decades of serving as a convenient path for local Amis, Han settlers, missionaries and smugglers, the trail fell into disuse once modern roadways were built