Taichi 0 (太極1從零開始)
This first installment of a trilogy by director Stephen Fung (馮德倫) looks like a credible attempt to challenge the West in creating a mega-buck superhero blockbuster with Chinese characteristics. Although given a historical context in the late Qing dynasty, there is plenty of almost sci-fi/fantasy gimmickry, including a steam punk tank with all kinds of weaponry designed by Tim Yip (葉錦添). The format is the tried and tested mix of comedy and action, and the cast led by Tony Leung Ka-fai (梁家輝) is pretty solid.
Datong: The Great Society (大同: 康有為在瑞典)
A historical drama written and directed by Evans Chan (陳耀成) that tells the story of Kang Youwei (康有為), an important figure who helped push China toward the revolution that would ultimately overthrow imperial rule. The film tries to combine dramatic and documentary elements, and covers a broad territory of early revolutionary characters and their various philosophies. The film focuses particularly on an important period of Kang’s life when he was living overseas and absorbing foreign ideas.
End of Watch
Intelligent and well-thought out police dramas do not come along very often. End of Watch has earned full marks from Roger Ebert for virtuoso fusion of performances and often startling action starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Pena as two Los Angles street cops who become targets for a Mexican drug cartel. Unlike most cop movies, in which police use their badges as a license to run riot, these two cops take their duty to serve and protect seriously. It costs them dearly. They are given solid support by a talented and committed supporting cast.
To Rome with Love
This is another ode by Woody Allen to a great Continental city that manages to create its own unique fission between American and European attitudes. While it does not have the same passion as Midnight in Paris, it has a great deal of charm, and a delightful cast in the shape of Alec Baldwin, Judy Davis, Penelope Cruz and Jesse Eisenberg. While not among Allen’s best work, it is suffused with intelligent sympathy for its characters, and an eye for the Eternal City that makes it sparkle with new magic.
The Clown (O Palhaco)
From Brazilian director Selton Mello, a father/son buddy movie about two clowns touring some of the less desirable gigs around rural Brazil. It has been described as the new Central Station (Central do Brasil, directed by Walter Salles), which scored great success among local audiences for its old-fashioned storytelling and heartwarming story. The Clown, with its attractive, well-drawn characters and exotic locations might be a tad sentimental for some, but its quality shines through.
Dec. 9 to Dec. 15 When architect Lee Chung-yao (李重耀) heard that the Xinbeitou Train Station was to be demolished in 1988 for the MRT’s Tamsui line, he immediately reached out to the owner of Taiwan Folk Village (台灣民俗村). Lee had been advising Shih Chin-shan (施金山) on his pet project, a 52-hectare theme park in Changhua County that aimed to showcase traditional Taiwanese architecture, crafts and culture. Shih had wanted to build all the structures from scratch, but Lee convinced him to acquire historic properties and move them to the park grounds. Although the Cultural
The Taipei Times reported last week that housing transactions fell 15.3 percent last month, to under 20,000 units. However, the market boomed for the first eight months of the year, and observers expect it to show growth for the year as a whole. The fall was due to Central Bank intervention. “The negative impact of credit controls grew evident for the third straight month,” said Sinyi Realty Inc (信義房屋) research manager Tseng Ching-ter (曾敬德), according to the report. Central Bank Governor Yang Chin-long (楊金龍) in October said that the Central Bank implemented selective credit controls in September to cool the housing
The results of the 2024 US presidential election rattled the country and sent shockwaves across the world — or were cause for celebration, depending on who you ask. Is it any surprise then that the Merriam-Webster word of the year is “polarization?” “Polarization means division, but it’s a very specific kind of division,” said Peter Sokolowski, Merriam-Webster’s editor at large, in an exclusive interview ahead of Monday’s announcement. “Polarization means that we are tending toward the extremes rather than toward the center.” The election was so divisive, many American voters went to the polls with a feeling that the opposing candidate was
If you want to witness the last vestiges of human intellect swirling down the drain, hold your nose and type the words “skibidi toilet” into YouTube. The 11-second video features an animated human head protruding from a toilet bowl while singing the nonsensical lyrics “skibidi dop dop dop yes yes.” The clip has been viewed more than 215 million times, and spawned hundreds of millions of references on TikTok and other social media. Fitting, then, that the Oxford word of the year has just been announced as “brain rot.” As an abstract concept, brain rot is something we’re all vaguely aware
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