Killers
The lineup of uninspiring films released this week begins with Killers, which early critical reviews have mercilessly panned and may signal the demise of the promising actress Katherine Heigl from Grey’s Anatomy as a serious contender for the epithet of Hollywood leading lady. The film stars Ashton Kutcher as Spencer, a secret agent, and Heigl as the unsuspecting spouse living a lovely middle-class life until, of course, Spencer’s past revisits him and the action begins. Heigl’s character is at first appalled by the guns and car chases, and then delighted. Unfortunately, Killers doesn’t take the audience along for the ride.
She’s Out of My League
Genre fodder of the rom-com persuasion that is less objectionable and derivative than Killers, but is certainly not about to rock anybody’s weekend. The premise is simple: nice geeky guy with low self-esteem meets super gorgeous woman who doesn’t care that he ain’t cool. Alice Eve proves that for her, being beautiful is a cinch, and Jay Baruchel is perfectly adequate as an inadequate guy. Any bets on whether it will end happily ever after?
Please Please Me! (Fais-moi plaisir!)
By master comedian Emmanuel Mouret, who both directs and stars in this French bedroom comedy. The story has Mouret as Jean-Jacques, a man in a happy relationship with girlfriend Ariane (Frederique Bel), but confesses that he has lustful thoughts for another. In the manner of French films of this type, Ariane encourages her boyfriend to quench his desires by indulging them. This provides plenty of opportunity for clever physical comedy, and while Please Please Me! is likely to please some with its sexual innuendo, it is far from being Mouret’s best work.
Letters for Father Jacob (Postia pappi Jaakobille)
Low-key Finnish film by director Klaus Haro that tells the simple story of Leila (Kaarina Hazard), a woman recently released from prison where she served a life sentence for murder. She finds work with a pastor who spends his days responding to letters from people in need. His compassion for others does nothing for her, until the letters stop and Father Jacob looks into the abyss. The story takes place against beautiful, if sometimes rather bleak, Finnish scenery. Fine cinematography and a solid script give this minor release, originally made for Finnish television, a life that lifts it above many more ambitious features.
Rabbit Without Ears 2 (Zweiohrkuken)
Following on from the success of Keinohrhasen, which enjoyed some popularity here as a cute little romantic/sex comedy for the European movie set, Til Schweiger’s sequel seems to have tripped up. The movie finds most of its humor in the lavatory. There is a kindergarten element to assist with this, and contrived romantic jousting as a couple use their former boyfriend and girlfriend as weapons to fight their way out of their disintegrating relationship. The combination of gross-out situations and sexual innuendo may work for some.
Earlier this month, a Hong Kong ship, Shunxin-39, was identified as the ship that had cut telecom cables on the seabed north of Keelung. The ship, owned out of Hong Kong and variously described as registered in Cameroon (as Shunxin-39) and Tanzania (as Xinshun-39), was originally People’s Republic of China (PRC)-flagged, but changed registries in 2024, according to Maritime Executive magazine. The Financial Times published tracking data for the ship showing it crossing a number of undersea cables off northern Taiwan over the course of several days. The intent was clear. Shunxin-39, which according to the Taiwan Coast Guard was crewed
China’s military launched a record number of warplane incursions around Taiwan last year as it builds its ability to launch full-scale invasion, something a former chief of Taiwan’s armed forces said Beijing could be capable of within a decade. Analysts said China’s relentless harassment had taken a toll on Taiwan’s resources, but had failed to convince them to capitulate, largely because the threat of invasion was still an empty one, for now. Xi Jinping’s (習近平) determination to annex Taiwan under what the president terms “reunification” is no secret. He has publicly and stridently promised to bring it under Communist party (CCP) control,
In Taiwan’s politics the party chair is an extremely influential position. Typically this person is the presumed presidential candidate or serving president. In the last presidential election, two of the three candidates were also leaders of their party. Only one party chair race had been planned for this year, but with the Jan. 1 resignation by the currently indicted Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) of the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) two parties are now in play. If a challenger to acting Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) appears we will examine that race in more depth. Currently their election is set for Feb. 15. EXTREMELY
On Sept. 27 last year, three climate activists were arrested for throwing soup over Sunflowers by Vincent van Gogh at London’s National Gallery. The Just Stop Oil protest landed on international front pages. But will the action help further the activists’ cause to end fossil fuels? Scientists are beginning to find answers to this question. The number of protests more than tripled between 2006 and 2020 and researchers are working out which tactics are most likely to change public opinion, influence voting behavior, change policy or even overthrow political regimes. “We are experiencing the largest wave of protests in documented history,” says
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