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.
My friends and I have been enjoying the last two weeks of revelation after revelation of the financial and legal shenanigans of Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) head and recent presidential candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲). Every day brings fresh news — allegations that a building had purchased with party subsidies but listed in Ko’s name, allegations of downloading party subsidy funds into his personal accounts. Ko’s call last December for the regulations for the government’s special budgets to be amended to enforce fiscal discipline, and his September unveiling of his party’s anti-corruption plan, have now taken on a certain delightful irony.
The number of scandals and setbacks hitting the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) in such quick and daily succession in the last few weeks is unprecedented, at least in the countries whose politics I am familiar with. The local media is covering this train wreck on an almost hourly basis, which in the latest news saw party chair Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) detained by prosecutors on Friday and released without bail yesterday. The number of links collected to produce these detailed columns may reach 400 by the time this hits the streets. To get up to speed, two columns have been written: “Donovan’s
President William Lai’s (賴清德) vision for Taiwan to become an “AI island” has three conditions: constructing advanced data centers, ensuring a stable and green energy supply, and cultivating AI talent. However, the energy issue supply is the greatest challenge. To clarify, let’s reframe the problem in terms of the Olympics. Given Taiwan’s OEM (original equipment manufacturer) roles in the technology sector, Taiwan is not an athlete in the AI Olympics, or even a trainer, but rather a training ground for global AI athletes (AI companies). In other words, Taiwan’s semiconductor ecosystem provides world-class training facilities and equipment that have already attracted
Despite her well-paying tech job, Li Daijing didn’t hesitate when her cousin asked for help running a restaurant in Mexico City. She packed up and left China for the Mexican capital last year, with dreams of a new adventure. The 30-year-old woman from Chengdu, the Sichuan provincial capital, hopes one day to start an online business importing furniture from her home country. “I want more,” Li said. “I want to be a strong woman. I want independence.” Li is among a new wave of Chinese migrants who are leaving their country in search of opportunities, more freedom or better financial prospects at a
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