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Opening
This Week: August 25 - 31
(MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) |
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August 31, 2007 |
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Mini |
A Postman
of Paradise |
Contract Lover |
My DNA Says
I Love You |
Keeping Watch |
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(Images:
Produced by West Movie Group, West Corp., Ltd., Element Films Ltd.,
China Post Group Corp., Beijing All Media and Culture Group, Beijing
Forbidden City Film Co., Emei Film Studio,
Shanghai See Yuen Film and TV, Serenity Entertainment
International, Joint Entertainment International, Inc.) |
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This week in mainland China, two local films have released.
Mini, about
a man and a woman, both are disillusioned about their life,
meet and fall in love; and
A Postman of Paradise,
tells a real story of a lone postman on horseback. Two Hong Kong
flicks, Nakara 19 and
Simply Actors,
are also release in the mainland
China. Nakara 19
tells a story of several girls die from accident after receiving a
text message asking them about the 19th layer of hell.
Simply Actors
is a comedy about a young cop learns acting in order to take
undercover missions.
In Hong Kong, one new movie hits the local theaters. Contract Lover,
tells a young hires a girlfriend to fool his dad.
In Taiwan, two local romance movies become available this weekend.
My DNA Says I Love You,
tells two girls taking medication to battle their generic defects,
which have kept them single; and
Keeping Watch,
about a girl works at an antique clock store discovers the man she
is in love with has been dead for many years.
Click here for detail
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Ang Lee's LUST,
CAUTION Premiered in Venice
(...) |
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August 30, 2007 |
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(Images:
Focus Features,
Haishang Films, Sil-Metropole Organisation, Ltd,
Shanghai Film Group Corp.,
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Press conference photos:
A
B
We are all waiting for reviews to pop up...
People from the Chinese language press are almost overwhelmingly
praising the film. Derek Elley from Variety writes "too much
caution and too little lust squeeze much of the dramatic juice out
of Ang Lee's Lust, Caution, a 2?hour period drama that's a
long haul for relatively few returns," Ray Bennett from The
Hollywood Reporter says "brings to main what soldiers say about
war: that it's long periods of boredom relieved by moments of
extremely heightened excitement," Dan Fainaru claims "it promises
much more than it actually delivers," and "had Lee accepted that his
film is about the conflict between duty and desire, and worked
smoothly on this premise, this could have been a far more focused
and precise film," Roderick Conway Morris from The International
Herald Tribune says "the film is grueling to watch and some
audiences may find very little in the way of recognizable 'love' in
this supposed 'love story'," and Boyd van Hoeij blogs at
european-films.net that it "is an uncompromising and
incredibly seductive piece of filmmaking that is too long but has so
many good elements going for it that it is hard to really care that
on certain points the director seems to have thrown caution to the
wind" and "acting and technical credits are more than first-class
and newcomer Wei Tang, starring alongside veteran Tony Leung, is
simply riveting."
Bear it in mind, it appears Ang Lee has done a faithful adaptation
of Eileen Chang's original short story, which is only known among
the Chinese. The title "Lust, Caution" and the MPAA's NC-17
rating could also be very misleading.
(Thanks to "dwhudson" of
GreenCine Daily.)
Review by Derek Elley, Variety
Review by Ray Bennett, The
Hollywood Reporter
Review by Dan Fainaru, Screen Daily
Review by Roderick Conway Morris,
The International Herald Tribune
Review by Boyd van Hoeij,
european-films.net
Related story:
In Ang Lee's 'Lust, Caution,' love is
beautiful to see, impossible to hold, by Dennis Lim,
International Herald Tribune
More about Lust, Caution. |
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Official Synopsis
of Ang Lee's LUST, CAUTION
(...) |
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August 29, 2007 |
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(Images:
Focus Features,
Haishang Films, Sil-Metropole Organisation, Ltd,
Shanghai Film Group Corp.,
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The synopsis is a little bit spoiling, so please beware.
The new film from Ang Lee, the Academy Award-winning director of
“ Brokeback Mountain ” and “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.” A
startling erotic espionage thriller about the fate of an ordinary
woman’s heart, it is based on the short story by revered Chinese
author Eileen Chang, and stars Asian cinema icon Tony Leung opposite
screen newcomer Tang Wei. Shanghai, 1942. The World War II Japanese
occupation of this Chinese city continues in force. Mrs. Mak, a
woman of sophistication and means, walks into a caf? places a call,
and then sits and waits. She remembers…how her story began several
years earlier, in 1938 China . She is not in fact Mrs. Mak, but shy
Wong Chia Chi (Tang Wei). With WWII underway, Wong has been left
behind by her father, who has escaped to England . As a freshman at
university, she meets fellow student Kuang Yu Min (Wang Leehom)
Kuang has started a drama society to shore up patriotism. As the
theater troupe’s new leading lady, Wong realizes that she has found
her calling, able to move and inspire audiences – and Kuang. He
convenes a core group of students to carry out a radical and
ambitious plan to assassinate a top Japanese collaborator, Mr. Yee
(Tony Leung). Each student has a part to play; Wong will be Mrs.
Mak, who will gain Yee’s trust by befriending his wife (Joan Chen)
and then draw the man into an affair. Wong transforms herself
utterly inside and out, and the scenario proceeds as scripted –
until an unexpectedly fatal twist spurs her to flee. Shanghai, 1941.
With no end in sight for the occupation, Wong – having emigrated
from Hong Kong – goes through the motions of her existence. Much to
her surprise, Kuang re-enters her life. Now part of the organized
resistance, he enlists her to again become Mrs. Mak in a revival of
the plot to kill Yee, who as head of the collaborationist secret
service has become even more a key part of the puppet government. As
Wong reprises her earlier role, and is drawn ever closer to her
dangerous prey, she finds her very identity being pushed to the
limit...
More about Lust, Caution. |
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Peter Chan Is
WAITING for Takeshi Kaneshiro and Zhang Zi
(MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) |
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August 28, 2007 |
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(Image: Vintage, Amazon.com) |
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Back in 2001, director
Peter Chan said he would make Waiting, based on the same name
novel by Ha Jin, the cast would include Chow Yun-Fat and Gong Li,
and it would be produced by Ruddy Morgan Production and China Film
Group Corp. Now according to an unknown source, Han Sanping,
president of China Film, said Chow and Gong had been replaced by
Takeshi Kaneshiro and Zhang Ziyi.
Set in China in the
1950s and 1960s, Waiting tells a military doctor, Lin Kong
(Kaneshiro), who is unhappy about his arranged marriage, falls in
love with a nurse Wu Manna (Zhang). For 18 years, Kong has tried to
arrange a divorce, which is forbidden politically, and for 18 years,
Wu has waited Kong to join her.
Takeshi Kaneshiro was
the leads in Peter Chan in Perhaps Love and The Warlords.
He worked with Zhang Ziyi in House of Flying Daggers.
Production of Waiting would begin by April 2008.
Related story:
WAITING Chow Yun-Fat and Gong Li
(MonkeyPeaches Exclusive)
September 5, 2001 |
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Poster and Trailer
of Jia Zhangke's New Documentary USELESS
(Sina.com) |
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August 27, 2007 |
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(Images: ?) |
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Useless is the second installment of Jia's "The Artists
Trilogy." It consists three segments, telling the stories of young
women working at clothing factories in Guangdong Province of
southern China, fashion designer Ma Ke releasing his new product
line called "Useless" in Paris, and a seamster making a living at a
coal mine in Shanxi Province of northern China.
Useless will be premiered at the coming Venice International Film
Festival. Jia's Still Life was awarded with he Golden Lion
last year in Venice.
Trailers:
Guangdong
Paris
Fenyang (Shanxi)
Related story:
Venezia 64 Lineup
(LaBiennale.org)
July 26, 2007 |
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Ang Lee's LUST,
CAUTION Got NC-17 in America and Shortened in China
(...) |
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August 25, 2007 |
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(Images:
Focus Features, Shanghai Film Group Corp.,
Haishang Films) |
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Both Variety and The Hollywood Reporter
report Ang Lee’s latest film, Lust, Caution has been rated
NC-17 in the US. Let’s hail director Ang Lee, producer James Schamus
and Focus Feature for not kowtowing the outdated MPAA by deleting
some shots in order to get an “R.”
In the US, the censors would make a movie less
accessible if they thought it was
too extreme.
However in China, where the film
was made, the policy has always been "cut or no deal." According to
newspaper, The Beijing News, a deputy director of the State
Film Bureau said those “pornographic shots” had been deleted but
there were only a handful of them and it would not affect how the
audiences understood the story. There is no movie rating system in
China and the regulator has refused, even talking about the
possibility of a rating system. All movies have to be made or cut to
be suitable for audiences of all ages. By just cutting a few shots,
this movie would probably match the "R" standard by MPAA.
Ironically, an
"R" movie is still not quite appropriate for kids to watch but it is
considered safe for everyone in China.
(Thanks to “Sean” and “Mighty Ganesha” for the
links.)
Related
stories:
Ang Lee's latest nabs NC-17 rating
, by Diane Garrett, Variety
"Lust" too hot for Hollywood censors,
by Gregg Goldstein, The Hollywood Reporter
More about Lust, Caution. |
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Opening
This Week: August 18 - 24
(MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) |
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August 24, 2007 |
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Night
Attack |
Crazy Money & Funnymen |
Blood Brothers |
Tripping |
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(Images:
Shanxi Film Studio, CCTV and August 1st Film Studio, Shanghai
Wallen Pictures Production Co., Ltd., Kadokawa Herald Pictures, Long
Shong Entertainment Multimedia Company, Omega Project, Pony Canyon.) |
This week in China, two new locals movies became available -
Night Attack, about a
surprise raid on a Japanese military airport during the WWII,
and
Crazy Money & Funnymen,
about how a young man defeats two big shots in the circle of
stock trading. In Hong Kong, Alexi Tan directed and John Woo
produced
Blood Brothers, about
three brothers' up and down in the 1930s Shanghai, has been
released. Meanwhile in Taiwan, one new film opens today -
Tripping,
a Taiwan-Japan co-production, about a girl traveling back to the
ancient time and teaming up with a young man to fight the evil
forces.
Click here for detail
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THE SUN ALSO RISES
Posters
(Sina.com /
Sohu.com) |
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August 23, 2007 |
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The Madness |
The Gun |
The Attraction |
The Dream |
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(Images:
Buyilehu Films, Emperor Motion Pictures,
Taihe Films) |
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Four
posters four mini-stories told in the film - The Madness, The Gun,
The Attraction and The Dream.
More
posters:
A
B
C
D
E
Related stories:
Official Site of Jiang Wen's THE SUN ALSO
RISES, with a Brand New Trailer
(Sohu.com)
July 26, 2007
Wow! The First Trailer of Jiang
Wen's THE SUN ALSO RISES
(Sohu.com)
July 15, 2007
Emperor rises to take China's 'Sun'
(Variety Asia Online)
A New Round of THE SUN ALSO RISES
(Movie World Magazine's Blog)
April 23, 2007
More Stills from Jiang Wen's THE SUN
ALSO RISES
(Sina.com)
February 13, 2007
China Okayed the Content of Jiang
Wen's THE SUN ALSO RISES
(MonkeyPeaches
Exclusive)
February 12, 2007
SUN RISES AGAIN Promotional Stills
(MonkeyPeaches Exclusive)
March 29, 2006
Jiang Wen's SUN RISES AGAIN in
Production
(MonkeyPeaches Exclusive)
March 1, 2006
Jiang Wen's WHERE THE SUN RISES to Be
Filmed in Shangri-La
(MonkeyPeaches Exclusive)
September 30, 2005
Wong Chau-Sang Joints THE PAINTED
VEIL Remake and Jiang Wen's THE SUN RISES AGAIN
(MonkeyPeaches Exclusive)
August 13, 2005
Actor Director Jiang Wen Plans His
Third Directorial Effort - THE SUN RISES AGAIN
(MonkeyPeaches Exclusive)
June 30, 2005 |
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