Rated PG-13, directed by Cameron Crowe, with Tom Cruise (David Aames), Penelope Cruz (Sofia Serrano), Brian Shelby (Jason Lee), Julie Gianni (Cameron Diaz), running time: 130 minutes.
Tom Cruise plays David Aames, a rich, handsome, fun-loving New Yorker who is the heir of a publishing conglomerate. He likes driving his black Porsche around the city and is a little too intensely aware of his good looks. Julie Gianni (Cameron Diaz), a foxy blonde model, is just one of his ladies, and for Aames, their relationship is just about sex. But Gianni wants Aames to ``open his eyes,'' a chant with which the film starts and an indication of what is to come. One day, at Aames's birthday party, he meets the girl of his dream -- Sofia Serranno (Penelope Cruz). From this point on, the story becomes a roller coaster ride that takes us through a devastating car crash after which Aames inexplicably ends up in a prison cell, having been accused of murdering Sofia, but he has no recollection of the how or why.
PHOTO :UIP
In the March 9 edition of the Taipei Times a piece by Ninon Godefroy ran with the headine “The quiet, gentle rhythm of Taiwan.” It started with the line “Taiwan is a small, humble place. There is no Eiffel Tower, no pyramids — no singular attraction that draws the world’s attention.” I laughed out loud at that. This was out of no disrespect for the author or the piece, which made some interesting analogies and good points about how both Din Tai Fung’s and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC, 台積電) meticulous attention to detail and quality are not quite up to
April 28 to May 4 During the Japanese colonial era, a city’s “first” high school typically served Japanese students, while Taiwanese attended the “second” high school. Only in Taichung was this reversed. That’s because when Taichung First High School opened its doors on May 1, 1915 to serve Taiwanese students who were previously barred from secondary education, it was the only high school in town. Former principal Hideo Azukisawa threatened to quit when the government in 1922 attempted to transfer the “first” designation to a new local high school for Japanese students, leading to this unusual situation. Prior to the Taichung First
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) hatched a bold plan to charge forward and seize the initiative when he held a protest in front of the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office. Though risky, because illegal, its success would help tackle at least six problems facing both himself and the KMT. What he did not see coming was Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (將萬安) tripping him up out of the gate. In spite of Chu being the most consequential and successful KMT chairman since the early 2010s — arguably saving the party from financial ruin and restoring its electoral viability —
The Ministry of Education last month proposed a nationwide ban on mobile devices in schools, aiming to curb concerns over student phone addiction. Under the revised regulation, which will take effect in August, teachers and schools will be required to collect mobile devices — including phones, laptops and wearables devices — for safekeeping during school hours, unless they are being used for educational purposes. For Chang Fong-ching (張鳳琴), the ban will have a positive impact. “It’s a good move,” says the professor in the department of