The Cold Light of Day
An adequate, if not particularly memorable kidnap-rescue story in which an everyday guy takes on the combined might of two national security agencies to save his family. As might be expected, the government is full of duplicitous motivations, and is represented by two rather underwhelming performances by veterans Bruce Willis and Sigourney Weaver. The heroic Everyman is played by Henry Cavill, whose lack of charisma only highlights the failings of the plot. The film has a Spanish location, and the cast is enlivened by Veronica Echegui, who has the looks of a young Penelope Cruz — but this bit of eye candy is not enough to make the film more than a bit of stylish filler.
Salmon Fishing in the Yemen
A wonderful cast provides some luster to this conventional feel-good movie about love and the realization of improbable dreams. Ewan McGregor, Kristin Scott Thomas and Emily Blunt fail to distinguish themselves in this rather bland fare, but they are all far too professional to let the side down, and their performances can be enjoyed even against one’s better judgment. Directed by Lasse Hallstrom, whose Chocolate and The Cider House Rules set the tone for this new film. There’s plenty of whimsy and charm, but nothing that you can really get to grips with. McGregor is a fisheries expert who is approached by advertising executive Thomas to implement a project to introduce the sport of salmon fishing to the arid desert of Yemen. He falls in love with Emily Blunt along the way. Who wouldn’t?
Bread of Happiness (Shiawase no Pan)
Feel-good Japanese movie from director Yukiko Mishima starring singer Tomoyo Harada and TV personality Yo Oizumi. Their characters, Rie and Sang, run a small restaurant on the shores of Lake Toya in Hokkaido. Many people visit their establishment to enjoy the homemade food and bread that they create. There is plenty of beautiful scenery, and the caring hosts and the love that goes into the food somehow manages to ease the sorrows of all those who visit.
Crazy Horse
A documentary by filmmaker Frederick Wiseman that looks behind the scenes at the pretensions, the vulgarity and the sheer hard work and professionalism of the legendary French erotic review Le Crazy Horse de Paris. The show, which prides itself on being the “best nude dancing show in the world,” blends old-fashioned burlesque, Bob Fosse and Cirque du Soleil, with lap dance titillation. There are some phenomenally beautiful bodies to look at, and the technical details of this iconic French theatrical tradition are awe-inspiring. Wiseman stands back, watching, taking in both the ludicrous and the delightful with a cool eye that lets audiences make up their own mind about Crazy Horse.
Melody (腳趾上的星光)
Animated film that combines pop music and pop philosophy in a story about a young couple who decide to put their relationship on hold while one goes to Beijing and the other remains in Taipei, each pursuing their artistic ambitions. The characters are voiced by singers Yoga Lin (林宥嘉) and Sinje Lee (李心潔), as well as TV personality Mickey Huang (黃子佼). Romantic cliches abound, though the animation, inspired by the art work of Liao Zenping (廖震平), has a retro appeal. As the two lovers explore their own creativity on either side of the Taiwan Strait, will they be able to get back together again? Who knows; who cares?
Piranha 3DD
Fans of horror comedy will probably be perfectly satisfied with Piranha 3DD, which uses a tried and tested formula of buxom girls in small bikinis and small fish with big teeth to entertain the crowds for the summer. There are some marginally amusing cameos, not least from an aging David Hasselhoff as a lifeguard at the Big Wet Water Park, the venue invaded by the “pre-historic” piranhas, who feast on a large cast of nice looking boys and girls. The scares are pretty low voltage, and there is the occasional grudging laugh, but this is primarily for the fanboy crowd.
Fuzhong 15: June(府中15 ─ 六月:光影傳奇)
A collection of four excellent films being released as part of the New Taipei City Government’s ongoing film program being screened at B1, 15 Fuzhong Rd, Banqiao Dist, New Taipei City (新北市板橋區府中路15號B1) just outside Exit 2 of Taipei Metro’s Fuzhong Station. The four films for the first week of this month include HHH: Portrait of Hou Hsiao-hsien (侯孝賢畫像), Let The Wind Carry Me (乘著光影旅行), I Am My Films: A Portrait of Werner Herzog, and The Beaches of Agnes. Detailed information about the films can be found at www.fuzhong15.ntpc.gov.tw. Tickets are just NT$20 each, available through NTCH ticketing, 7-Eleven ibon and HiLife Life-ET kiosks. Thirty tickets will be reserved for sale at the door.
Growing up in a rural, religious community in western Canada, Kyle McCarthy loved hockey, but once he came out at 19, he quit, convinced being openly gay and an active player was untenable. So the 32-year-old says he is “very surprised” by the runaway success of Heated Rivalry, a Canadian-made series about the romance between two closeted gay players in a sport that has historically made gay men feel unwelcome. Ben Baby, the 43-year-old commissioner of the Toronto Gay Hockey Association (TGHA), calls the success of the show — which has catapulted its young lead actors to stardom -- “shocking,” and says
Inside an ordinary-looking townhouse on a narrow road in central Kaohsiung, Tsai A-li (蔡阿李) raised her three children alone for 15 years. As far as the children knew, their father was away working in the US. They were kept in the dark for as long as possible by their mother, for the truth was perhaps too sad and unjust for their young minds to bear. The family home of White Terror victim Ko Chi-hua (柯旗化) is now open to the public. Admission is free and it is just a short walk from the Kaohsiung train station. Walk two blocks south along Jhongshan
The 2018 nine-in-one local elections were a wild ride that no one saw coming. Entering that year, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) was demoralized and in disarray — and fearing an existential crisis. By the end of the year, the party was riding high and swept most of the country in a landslide, including toppling the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in their Kaohsiung stronghold. Could something like that happen again on the DPP side in this year’s nine-in-one elections? The short answer is not exactly; the conditions were very specific. However, it does illustrate how swiftly every assumption early in an
Snoop Dogg arrived at Intuit Dome hours before tipoff, long before most fans filled the arena and even before some players. Dressed in a gray suit and black turtleneck, a diamond-encrusted Peacock pendant resting on his chest and purple Chuck Taylor sneakers with gold laces nodding to his lifelong Los Angeles Lakers allegiance, Snoop didn’t rush. He didn’t posture. He waited for his moment to shine as an NBA analyst alongside Reggie Miller and Terry Gannon for Peacock’s recent Golden State Warriors at Los Angeles Clippers broadcast during the second half. With an AP reporter trailing him through the arena for an
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