Terminator: Genisys
People who were upset that Arnold Schwarzenegger wasn’t involved in 2009’s Terminator: Salvation better be overjoyed this time. Not only does the 67-year-old star in the fifth installment of the franchise — he fights himself. The trailer shows the original T-800, in all his muscular glory, trading blows with his graying counterpart (apparently, Terminators age). If you need one reason to see this movie, this is it. After the disastrous Terminator: Salvation, which Arnold publicly dissed (“It sucked”), this movie is considered a return to form. Even franchise creator James Cameron (who hasn’t been involved with it since 1991 and dislikes the third and fourth films) likes it. Oh, and Salvation didn’t have time travel. Genisys sure does — maybe even a bit too much, as this movie is a reboot that runs with the concept, altering much of what we knew about the Terminator universe. Our favorite characters are still there — but they might have different backstories. Be prepared to have your mind blown — or be very confused. If you exit the theater wondering what the heck just happened, well, at least you just saw Arnold fight Arnold.
Magic Mike XXL
If shirtless men with ripped bodies perfecting the art of the pelvic thrust is your cup of tea, look no further than Magic Mike XXL, sequel to the 2012 Magic Mike. Inspired by lead man Channing Tatum’s real-life experiences as a stripper, the original film was billed as a comedy but carried serious undertones (as serious as muscular men in gold thongs can be) as the film explored the excessive lifestyle of the industry while Mike struggled with his hopes and dreams. The sequel starts off in a similar vein — Mike is three years out of the business and unhappy with his life — until he falls back with his old colleagues (sans Matthew McConaughey and Alex Pettyfer) who convince him to take a road trip for a last hurrah at a massive stripper convention. While the road-trip comedy format lacks the contemplative tone of the previous film, it promises more explicit and sexier dance scenes. And, most importantly, you will see Tatum in a thong.
Monk Comes Down the Mountain 道士下山
Acclaimed Chinese director Chen Kaige (陳凱歌), better known for his arthouse films, takes his first stab at the martial arts genre with the comedy-drama Monk Comes Down the Mountain, featuring big-name stars from China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Based on a novel of the same name, the film is set in the turbulent early years of the Republic of China and tells the story of a young Taoist monk who leaves his isolated monastery and enters the “real world.” He embarks on a bizarre journey where he gets caught up in the struggles of various colorful characters — including a ninja, a Kung Fu master and Chinese Nationalist Party spies — and comes to learn the true essence of martial arts, changing his life for good. Let’s see how Chen, who seems to have been pushing his boundaries of late, fares in unknown territory.
Wish I Was Here
In what seems to be a middle-aged version of his 2004 hit Garden State, Zach Braff again writes, directs and stars in Wish I Was Here. Again, he plays a struggling actor, Aidan, but this time he has a family to take care of. Garden State begins with the funeral of Aidan’s mother, and the events in Wish I Was Here are triggered by his father’s cancer. Like Garden State, there will be the hyper-sentimental dialogue, the self-absorbed characters trying to find themselves, the hipster-friendly indie soundtrack and yes, plenty of closeup shots of Braff. Yet, the subject matter of simultaneously having to take care of an aging, sick parent and needy children while trying to find the meaning of life has the potential to strike a chord with viewers and even melt a few hearts and jerk a few tears along the way.
V/H/S: Viral
Do we really need more nausea-inducing found footage horror films? Maybe. V/H/S: Viral actually seems intriguing. Like its predecessors, the film contains three shorts by different directors followed by a wraparound segment that is supposed to tie everything together. What’s even more intriguing is that the description of the shorts don’t seem to be scary at all, leaning towards a Twilight Zone weirdness instead. First up is Dante the Great, about a wannabe magician who finds a magic cloak that propels him to fame — but the cloak needs to be fed, and we can be sure it’s no vegan. In Parallel Monsters, a scientist switches places with himself from a parallel universe for 15 minutes. Apparently, there’s a deadly monster vagina involved. You then have teenage troublemakers battling Mexican zombies in Bonestorm and finally, an ice cream truck of doom and gloom in Vicious Circle. All of this sounds way more thought out than your regular horror flick — just don’t puke before the show is over.
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