Ong Bak 2
Thai martial arts icon Tony Jaa also directs this sequel to the well-received martial arts film from 2003. Jaa tells his character’s back story in a film centered around vengeance and punctuated by chest-thumping hand-to-hand combat. But serious production problems, including Jaa’s disappearance as the film went over budget, are as interesting as anything on screen. Some reviewers also disliked the “to be continued” finale. Not to be confused with Tom Yum Goong (2005), also starring Jaa, which was released in some English-language markets as Ong Bak 2. The Chinese title, for similar reasons, has this new film as “part 3.”
Portrait of a Beauty
In the hands of author Lee Jeong-myeong, famed 18th-century Korean artist Hyewon became a woman who impersonated a man while producing works of considerable sensuality. Director Jeon Yun-su (Le Grand Chef) has made the most of this opportunity to create another sumptuous South Korean period piece revolving around court jealousies and intrigue. Like A Frozen Flower, a Korean historical epic released here a few weeks ago, this has a restricted rating because of sex scenes.
Ground Zero: The Deadly Shift
Semi-legendary low-budget director and part-time wrestler Fred Olen Ray (Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers) finally gets a movie into Taiwanese theaters after almost 40 years — albeit a direct-to-cable-in-the-US effort. A nuclear explosion in the Middle East sets off cataclysmic natural forces that imperil the world, and our hero scientists must respond quickly before the magnetism of the Earth’s poles goes haywire. Also known as Polar Opposites, presumably because the story has nothing to do with Sept. 11. See if you can spot the footage lifted from Dante’s Peak in the trailer online. Starts tomorrow.
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
Article 2 of the Additional Articles of the Constitution of the Republic of China (中華民國憲法增修條文) stipulates that upon a vote of no confidence in the premier, the president can dissolve the legislature within 10 days. If the legislature is dissolved, a new legislative election must be held within 60 days, and the legislators’ terms will then be reckoned from that election. Two weeks ago Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) proposed that the legislature hold a vote of no confidence in the premier and dare the president to dissolve the legislature. The legislature is currently controlled
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