The blending of vast sets and digital effects is not quite seamless in Chow Hin Yeung’s period extravaganza “Rise of the Legend,” but it’s close. Revisiting the story of Wong Fei Hung, a martial arts master whose life has passed into Chinese folklore, “Legend” takes place in 19th century Guangzhou, where two crime factions vie for control of the docks. This movie’s Guangzhou is a marvel: sprawling, detailed and abounding in narrow alleys and vivid street scenes.
Alas, the plot and subplots are variations on time-honored Hong Kong cinema devices: the young Fei — played as an adult by Eddie Peng — grows up training alongside Fiery (Jing Boran); both pine for the same woman, Chun (Wang Luodan), a minder of street waifs. Fei, a formidable warrior, is adopted by the kingpin Lei Gong (kung fu movie veteran Sammo Hung), only to subvert his empire. When Chun and Fiery lead an insurrection and torch Lei Gong’s opium dens, furious but graceful brawls — orchestrated by the renowned fight choreographer Corey Yuen — erupt.
Peng has charisma, though his moves are less convincing than those of an earlier Fei: Jet Li, in Tsui Hark’s 1991 classic “Once Upon a Time in China” — and less humorous than those of Jackie Chan, who played Fei in “The Legend of Drunken Master,” aka “Drunken Master 2,” from 1994. But “Legend” does offer the hefty authority of Hung, who at 64 can still — almost — hit, kick and do wire work with the best of them.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
照片:維基共享資源
(New York Times, Andy Webster)
在周顯揚的功夫片《黃飛鴻之英雄有夢》中,大場面和數位特效的結合雖然並不完美,但也很接近。影片重溫了武術大師黃飛鴻的故事,他的人生已經成為中國人的民間傳奇。故事發生在十九世紀的廣州,兩個匪幫爭奪碼頭的控制權。片中營造的廣州令人讚歎:雜亂無章、充滿細節,到處都是狹窄的巷子與逼真的街景。
影片的劇情與分支劇情都是源自歷史悠久的香港電影:年輕的黃飛鴻(成人後由彭于晏飾演)從小和赤火(井柏然飾)一起習武;兩人都愛上了阿春(王珞丹飾),她照顧著很多街頭的流浪兒。黃飛鴻是個武功高強的武士,被幫會頭目雷公(功夫片老將洪金寶飾演)收養,但他最後卻摧毀雷公的鴉片帝國。後來阿春和赤火發起了一場暴動,燒毀了雷公的鴉片存貨,於是激烈卻又優雅的打鬥就發生了(由著名編武者元奎設計)。
彭于晏很有個人魅力,不過他的武術動作不像以前飾演黃飛鴻的那些演員們一樣令人信服:比如徐克一九九一年的經典之作《黃飛鴻》中的李連杰;而且也不像成龍在一九九四年的《醉拳二》裡飾演的黃飛鴻那麼幽默。但是《黃飛鴻之英雄有夢》確實展現了洪金寶的技藝高超,六十四歲的他還能拳打腳踢,大部分吊鋼絲的工作都是親自完成。
(紐約時報/翻譯:董楠)
Rice is an essential ingredient in Taiwanese cuisine. Many foods are made of rice, adding more variety to our cooking, such as rice cake, or “gui.” Wagui is made by steaming rice flour batter in a bowl. The term “gui” refers to a type of food made from rice, while “wa” refers to a bowl. The pronunciation of “gui” in Taiwanese Hokkien is similar to the word for “nobility” in Chinese, so it is common for people to prepare various types of gui, including wagui, as offerings to the gods or ancestors,. 米是台灣重要的主食,用米製成的食品十分多元,豐富我們的飲食,如米做成的「粿」。粿的意思是米做成的糕點,碗粿是將在來米漿倒入碗中蒸熟,因而得名。粿因為音同「貴」,因此碗粿等粿食常用作供品祭拜神明和祖先。 nobility (n.) 高貴,高尚;貴族 offering (n.) 供品 While Taiwan may not be
It’s no secret that Japanese people have a deep affection for noodles. Like in the rest of East Asia, noodles are an important staple food, second only to rice. Japanese people have enjoyed noodles for over 1,000 years. The first noodles came from China and were introduced around 800 CE. As time passed, noodles in Japan not only became widespread but also developed some unique Japanese characteristics. The three most popular types of noodles in Japan are ramen, soba, and udon. Ramen, typically made from wheat flour, is usually thin and firm. The dough is kneaded and left to
On Tuesday last week, the flame for this summer’s Paris Olympics was lit at the birthplace of the ancient Olympic Games in southern Greece in a meticulously choreographed ceremony. It will then be carried through Greece for more than 5,000km before being handed over to French organizers at the Athens venue used for the first modern Olympics in 1896. The pageantry at Olympia has been an essential part of every Olympics for nearly 90 years since the Games in Berlin. It’s meant to provide an ineluctable link between the modern event and the ancient Greek original on which it was initially modelled. Once
Drive-through (or drive-thru) restaurants provide people with the immense convenience of being able to purchase and pick up meals without needing to leave their vehicles. These restaurants have been around for decades, and their success has spawned a number of equally handy services. The drive-through concept originated with the drive-in restaurant, the first of which was established in the US in 1921. Patrons would order and eat the food that was delivered to their cars by workers called “carhops.” Ten years later, a drive-through service was introduced, but it was not until 1947 that the first exclusively drive-through restaurant opened its