Goosebumps
How do you turn a beloved scary book series for children with more than 100 titles to its name into a single movie? Easy, you make the story about the author R. L. Stine himself. The question about which monster to feature is solved by having every single one of them being accidentally released into the real world from his manuscripts (although the credits name exactly 27). With Jack Black as Stine, this movie looks like fun for kids and nostalgia if nothing else for the many who read Stine growing up. With Halloween two months behind us, the timing of the release seems a bit odd — oh wait, it came out in the US in October. Anyhow, it’s probably not going to be terribly scary — after all, it’s “goosebumps,” not “blood-curdling screams.” Word on the street is that Stine himself makes a cameo in the film.
Ip Man 3
Despite earlier claims from action hero Donnie Yen and producer Raymond Wong that there would not be a third film on Ip Man, the man who taught Bruce Lee how to fight, director Wilson Yip managed to convince them both to return to continue the story, which he wanted to focus on the relationship between Ip and Lee. Danny Chan, who portrayed Lee in a Chinese television series, reprises his role, saving the character from the fate of being portrayed via CGI. It’s 29 years after the events of the first film, war is over and Ip is living comfortably in Hong Kong. Don’t expect too much Lee though, as reviews say he barely appears in the film. Instead the baddie is shady American businessman played by Mike Tyson, which is ironic given Tyson’s comments earlier this year that he was a “natural born killer” while modern day boxers are “businessmen.”
Joy
Jennifer Lawrence stars as Joy, in this comedy-drama, loosely based on the life of Joy Mangano, inventor of the Miracle Mop and other popular household products. With two heavyweight costars in Bradley Cooper and Robert De Niro, the film seems promising until you start wondering what’s there to the story at all. Yes, Mangano’s story as a single mother who rose to the top is inspirational, but is it really movie material? Sure, that’s why it had to be fictionalized, largely relying on the appeal of the strong woman overcoming adversity and silencing her doubters theme as well as family comedy with kooky plots such as Mangano’s ex-husband and father both crashing in the basement. But if you don’t watch it, you’ll be missing Jennifer Lawrence. You decide.
Crow’s Egg
This Tamil-language comedy features two egg-stealing brothers from the slums of India on a quest to have a taste of pizza after watching a commercial on their newly-acquired television. It’s authentic stuff, as the director trained and cast two kids from the slums to act and also shot the whole thing in the slums with no sets. The children have no money nor the proper clothes to even get into the pizza shop, which was built on their former egg-stealing grounds, so they hatch a plan. This is the kind of story that makes you laugh and cry at the same time, as the boys are so innocent and optimistic even in their grim situation. It’s a film that comments on wealth inequality and globalization, but could just be enjoyed as a poignant film that makes you chuckle.
Ma Ma
Penelope Cruz stars and also serves as producer in Spanish director Julio Medem’s (Lovers in the Arctic Circle, Sex and Lucia) latest drama film about a woman who is diagnosed with breast cancer. The tragedy keeps piling on, as we find out she has lost her husband and also her job. In the film, Cruz seems to be portrayed as the mother figure, with an endless capacity for love and inner strength to overcome all types of loss. “Maternity is key in Ma Ma,” Medem says in an interview, while Cruz says it’s one of the most “complex, most beautiful” and “most difficult” characters she’s been offered. Hopefully we see a happy ending out of all this suffering.
On April 26, The Lancet published a letter from two doctors at Taichung-based China Medical University Hospital (CMUH) warning that “Taiwan’s Health Care System is on the Brink of Collapse.” The authors said that “Years of policy inaction and mismanagement of resources have led to the National Health Insurance system operating under unsustainable conditions.” The pushback was immediate. Errors in the paper were quickly identified and publicized, to discredit the authors (the hospital apologized). CNA reported that CMUH said the letter described Taiwan in 2021 as having 62 nurses per 10,000 people, when the correct number was 78 nurses per 10,000
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