Precious
Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire to give the film its full title, is not easy to watch, but if you are looking for a cinematic experience to challenge glib optimism about the human condition, this is the movie for you. The performance by Gabourey Sidibe as the title character, an overweight, illiterate teen who is pregnant with her second child, has already garnered intense critical acclaim, and other performances, including those by comedian Mo’Nique as Precious’ mother and, startlingly, Mariah Carey, as a social worker, seem all of a piece for a movie that is on track to becoming a definitive work about the early 21st-century American experience. Precious picked up two Oscars, a remarkable achievement for a film that skirts the edges of art house. But be warned: In Precious, hope is a distant and difficult prospect.
The Crazies
It is a question why George Romero would wish to preside over this inept remake of his own 1973 classic of the same name. Romero, who has an executive producer credit for this film, seems content to watch Breck Eisner, the director of such innocuous adventure fare as Sahara (2006), labor through yet another predictable take on the zombie genre. Critics have uniformly been unable to find anything new in his vision in terms of content or style. Stars Timothy Olyphant and Radha Mitchell, who lead a band of normal people out of the zombie infected regions.
Date Night
Despite the well-worn concept of a couple from the burbs having romance injected back into a humdrum existence when they visit the Big Apple, early reviews rate Date Night highly. Steve Carell and Tina Fey get caught up in a case of mistaken identity and plenty of comic goings-on for a mix of rom-com and adventure, with Mark Wahlberg stepping in to provide the muscle. Directed by Shawn Levy, who hits his stride in this film, despite a track record that includes The Pink Panther (2006) and Night at the Museum (2006).
It’s Complicated
The most complicated thing to work out about It’s Complicated is why it is so bad. After all, you have Meryl Streep and Alec Baldwin in the lead roles as a divorced couple who have accidentally rediscovered their old spark, and Steve Martin as a possible suitor for Streep’s affections. There is acting talent to spare, but no chemistry. Director and writer Nancy Meyers specializes in deeply improbable romantic comedies with a veneer of sophistication. Her credits include Something’s Gotta Give (2003) and The Parent Trap (1998), which were reasonably appealing rom-coms that made good use of high-profile stars. Alec Baldwin as a laddish divorce lawyer playing against Streep’s tightly wound celebrity chef wife would seem to be a surefire hit, but the whole thing turns out to be a damp squib.
I Give My First Love to You (Boku no Hatsukoi Wo Kimi Ni Sasagu)
Japanese tearjerker based on a manga series, I Give My First Love to You pulls out all the stops to get you reaching for the tissues. Main character Takuma falls in love with Mayu, the daughter of his cardiologist. The reason Takuma is consulting with a cardiologist? He’s got a dickey heart — he might not make it past 20. As kids the two promise to marry, but after Takuma realizes that his life is likely to be cut short he begins to distance himself from Mayu, hoping that she will find a more suitable life partner.
Little Nicholas
(Le Petit Nicolas)
Having had its Taiwan premiere as part of the Taiwan International Children’s Film Festival, Little Nicholas hits movie theaters today. The title character is based on illustrations by Jean-Jacques Sempe for a French children’s book by Rene Goscinny. Sempe’s illustrations are hugely popular in Taiwan, rivaling Jimmy Liao (幾米) for the cute but bittersweet portrayal of an urban everyman. Humor and cuteness are all major selling points of this story of a little boy who suffers sudden anxiety when he faces the arrival of a little brother or sister. With the aid of school friends he concocts various ways of dealing with the competition. The film has already proved hugely successful with French audiences, and the appeal of retro European fashions and a slightly dated view of childhood innocence along with Sempe’s established reputation in Taiwan are set to make this a family favorite here as well.
Taipei Golden Horse Fantastic Film Festival
(台北金馬奇幻影展)
Organized by the Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival (台北金馬影展), Golden Horse Fantastic celebrates the wacky, bloody and sexy aspects of cinema with a program that focuses mostly on B-movies and horror flicks, along with a mini retrospective on Roman Polanski’s early works and a segment of movies selected by Taiwanese director Hou Hsiao-hsien (侯孝賢) titled Hou Hsiao Hsien’s Favorite Fantasy Films. Check out www.ghfff.org.tw for more information. NT$160 tickets are available at the door or through ibon kiosks at 7-Eleven stores. Runs until April 22.
April 14 to April 20 In March 1947, Sising Katadrepan urged the government to drop the “high mountain people” (高山族) designation for Indigenous Taiwanese and refer to them as “Taiwan people” (台灣族). He considered the term derogatory, arguing that it made them sound like animals. The Taiwan Provincial Government agreed to stop using the term, stating that Indigenous Taiwanese suffered all sorts of discrimination and oppression under the Japanese and were forced to live in the mountains as outsiders to society. Now, under the new regime, they would be seen as equals, thus they should be henceforth
Last week, the the National Immigration Agency (NIA) told the legislature that more than 10,000 naturalized Taiwanese citizens from the People’s Republic of China (PRC) risked having their citizenship revoked if they failed to provide proof that they had renounced their Chinese household registration within the next three months. Renunciation is required under the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例), as amended in 2004, though it was only a legal requirement after 2000. Prior to that, it had been only an administrative requirement since the Nationality Act (國籍法) was established in
With over 80 works on display, this is Louise Bourgeois’ first solo show in Taiwan. Visitors are invited to traverse her world of love and hate, vengeance and acceptance, trauma and reconciliation. Dominating the entrance, the nine-foot-tall Crouching Spider (2003) greets visitors. The creature looms behind the glass facade, symbolic protector and gatekeeper to the intimate journey ahead. Bourgeois, best known for her giant spider sculptures, is one of the most influential artist of the twentieth century. Blending vulnerability and defiance through themes of sexuality, trauma and identity, her work reshaped the landscape of contemporary art with fearless honesty. “People are influenced by
Three big changes have transformed the landscape of Taiwan’s local patronage factions: Increasing Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) involvement, rising new factions and the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) significantly weakened control. GREEN FACTIONS It is said that “south of the Zhuoshui River (濁水溪), there is no blue-green divide,” meaning that from Yunlin County south there is no difference between KMT and DPP politicians. This is not always true, but there is more than a grain of truth to it. Traditionally, DPP factions are viewed as national entities, with their primary function to secure plum positions in the party and government. This is not unusual
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