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Opening This Week: May 24 -
30
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May 30, 2008 |
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Calabash Brothers |
You Xia Hong Mu Dan |
The Moss |
Shaolin Girl |
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(Images:
Shanghai Film Group Corp., Shanghai Media Group,
Shanghai Animation Film Studio, Hubei FANG Lin Film and TV Media Co.,
Ltd.,
BIG Pictures,
Mei Ah Entertainment,
Fuji Television Network, GAGA Communications, The Klock Worx
Company, Robot Communications, S.D.P., Star Overseas.) |
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Calabash Brothers , a 2-D
animation released 22 years ago in China, returns to the big screen
with new voices, new music and new CG effects.
It tells seven brothers, born from
seven gourds, work together to defeat two evil creatures.
You Xia Hong Mu Dan / Traveling Hero Red Peony (literal) ,
another new titled released in the mainland China, in a much smaller
scale, is a low-budget martial-art flick. It tells a cliche story of how
a cop resigns from his post and becomes a masked fighter against the
corrupted.
The Moss , the latest made-in-Hong
Kong opens this week in the city, is a thriller tells an
undercover cop, assigned to a neighborhood filled with gangs and
prostitutes, is hunting a killer, who is the only witness of
a murder, committed by the cop by accident.
Shaolin
Girl , a Japan-Hong Kong
jointly produced and with Stephen Chow as a producer, is about a
Shaolin-trained young woman returns to Japan to resuscitate her
grandfather's defunct martial arts school. This one brings deja vu
of
Shaolin Soccer.
Making to the Chinese screens this week, there are German made car
racing flick
Fast Track: No Limits
and Hollywood comedy
Fool's Gold.
Becoming available in Hong Kong thereafter this week, there are
erotic
French drama
L'Historie de Richard O and
UK-USA romantic comedy Penelope.
Arriving at Taiwan theaters this week, there are Japanese 3-D
animation
Atagoal Cat's Magical Forest,
Lau Wai-Keung's, and later re-shot Hollywood thriller
The Flock, Japanese crime
drama
The Glorious Team Batista,
German made-for-TV disaster movie
Das Inferno - Flammen 黚er Berlin,
US-Canadian comedy
Juno, Brazilian documentary
The World in Two Round Trips,
and Hollywood thriller
Sleepwalking.
Click here for detail.
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MERMAID ISLAND Promo Sheet
(MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) |
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May 23, 2008 |
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(Images: ?.) |
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The story of
Mermaid Island
is set in the Ocean with four races,
humans, mermaids, some beastie and mythical creatures, not always
live together peacefully. It
is about a love story between a young man and a mermaid.
The script is penned by Randall Frakes.
Visual-effect-turned-director Pitof (Catwoman)
is attached to helm, with
Irvin Kershner (Never Say Never Again, Empire Strikes Back),
previous attached director, retired as the producer.
Young actresses Liang Yanfei will play the mermaid and Monica
Bellucci will play the mermaid queen. The male lead will be someone
from the Hollywood. Mihai Malaimare Jr. (Youth
without You)
will be the cinematographer.
This
US$50 million dollar US-China joint project will go into production
in Beijing soon. Distributions in the US, UK, France, Germany and
Italy have been secured during the Cannes Film Festival.
Sarah Stone, who were in negotiation for playing a witch, until
yesterday. Producers of the project just decided to drop her from
the cast list. She has become the public enemy No. 1 of the Chinese
around the world, after saying the recent earthquake in China was
"very interesting". Claimed to be a friend of Dalai Lama, she said
she did not like "what the the Chinese did to the Tibetans" and the
earthquake was "karma".
This is indeed very interesting, because if it is karma, according
to her theory, the earthquake should strike Beijing or Shanghai,
rather than Aba, a region with a large population of Tibetans
calling it home. (Listen
to what Sarah Stone said). Sarah Stone
is a strong supporter of organizations backed by exiled ex-Tibetan
slave-owners / nobles, who are fighting to get their "properties and
privileges" back. These organizations are behind the recent violent
and terrorist attacks, or "peaceful protests" according to some, in
Tibet and some neighboring regions.
Related Story:
MERMAID ISLAND Will Be Asian
(MonkeyPeaches Exclusive)
January 30, 2008 |
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Opening This Week: May 17 -
23
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May 23, 2008 |
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The One Man Olympic |
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(Images:
Forbidden City Films, CCTV.) |
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The One Man Olympic
is the only Chinese language movie released this week. Based on a
true story, it tells
Liu Changchun, a young runner, makes his way to the Olympic games in
Los Angeles in 1932, as the only athlete from the war-torn China.
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
was simultaneously released yesterday in Hong Kong and Taiwan. This
one is so big that no other movies have been arranged to open this
week in Hong Kong. However, Indie is not allowed to enter the
mainland China, probably because this time the baddies are the
Soviet.
Four other new movies are released in Taiwan this week: Thai horror
flick
Art of the Devil 3,
Spanish romantic drama
Ca髏ica Ana,
Belgium-Luxembourg drama
Gone for a Dance, and
Japanese children's supernatural drama
Kids.
Click here for detail.
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RED CLIFF 9 Minute Promo
Reel
(Sina.com) |
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May 22, 2008 |
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(Images:
China Film Group, Lion Rock Productions, Mei Ah Entertainment.) |
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This promo reel is shown right now in Cannes.
Click here.
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Opening This Week: May 10 -
16
(MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) |
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May 16, 2008 |
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Esquire
Runway
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Ha! Ha! Ha!
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Breeze of July |
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(Images:
China Film Group Corp., Trends Media Group,
Silver Dream Productions, China Film Group Corp. , Xi'an Mei Ah Film
& TV Culture Co., Ltd., ?) |
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Esquire Runway ,
released this Friday in China, is the first feature film endorsed by
the Chinese edition of, of cause, Esquire magazine.
It starts with a down on luck
magazine editor organizes a Mr. Fashion contest to promote his new
fashion magazine and the jury president, the editor's
ex-lover, takes the contest as a perfect opportunity to let
the editor pay for what he did to her in the past.
Ha! Ha!
Ha! , hitting Chinese
theaters the past Tuesday, is the big screen debut of lip-singing
duo of Back Dorm Boys. The comedy tells that a hospital president's
new born baby is stolen by his mistress and director of a rival
hospital, with a hot air balloon. And a couple who are unable to
have a child of their own discoverer a baby falls from the sky.
Breeze of
July , a Hong Kong
made indie film was released in the city in a very small scale. It
tells the story of a 29 year old girl, her mother who just passed
away and a childhood friend she just unites with.
In
addition, South Korean actioner D-Wars broke out in the
mainland China the past Tuesday. Five imports became available
yesterday in Hong Kong: Hollywood sci-fi comedy Be Kind Rewind,
Hollywood sci-fi thriller Doomsday, Thai horror Ghost of
Mae Nak, Martin Scorsese's Rolling Stone documentary Shine a
Light, and teen horror comedy
Teeth. Starting today, the following movies will be shown in
Taiwan: Hollywood thriller 21,
Hollywood sci-fi thriller
Doomsday,
Japanese horror
Kaidan, French-Lebanese drama Caramel, and
Japan's heart-warming animal drama A Tale of Mari and Three
Puppies.
Click here for detail.
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Opening This Week: May 3 -
9 - More
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May 16, 2008 |
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This Darling Life
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Jo Nim San Sing
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(Images:
Golden Scene Co., Ltd., ?) |
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Two low-budget movies also released last Thursday in Hong Kong.
This
Darling Life
is a documentary telling stories of people and their four-leg
friends.
A movie
made to celebrate the birthday of Buddha,
Jo Nim San Sing
is about the story of a lascivious recording studio manager, who is
stealing from the studio.
French documentary
Le Premier Cri
also became available in Hong Kong last Thursday.
Click here for detail.
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Poster of Wong Kar-Wai's ASHES OF TIME REDUX
(Sina.com) |
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May 15, 2008 |
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(Image: Block 2 Pictures.) |
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PAINTED SKIN Promo Materials from Cannes
(Sina.com) |
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May 15, 2008 |
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Zhao Wei |
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(Images:
Golden Sun Films,
Mediacorp Raintree Pictures, Ningxia Film Studio, Salon Films,
Shanghai Film Group.) |
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Donnie Yen |
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Opening
This Week: May 3 - 9
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May 9, 2008 |
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Cherries |
Mai-Mai Ti's 2008 |
Hu San Niang Yu Ai Jiao Hu Wang Ying
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Qing Mian Shou
Yang Zhi
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Four Little Shaolin Kongfu Stars
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(Images:
Produced by Shanghai Film Studio, Sichuan
Tenglong Yingye Company, Tianshan Film StudioChina Film Group, CCTV,
EraFilm Co., Ltd., Henan Film and TV Production Group, Corp., Henan
Film Studio.) |
Here comes another week making the Chinese made movies to shine at
Chinese theaters. Five low-budget movies are released today in the
mainland China.
Cherries
tells how a mentally challenged woman raising an abandoned baby
girl;
Mai-Mai Ti's 2008
is about a coach's attempt of pushing his village school soccer team
to win the championship;
Hu San Niang Yu Ai Jiao Hu Wang Ying
and
Qing Mian Shou Yang Zhi
are the first two digitally shot movies of a series based on classic
novel Outlaw of the Marsh; and
Four Little Shaolin Kongfu Stars
is about four kids who want to learn some kung fu.
Two Hollywood movies are released this week in Hong Kong and Taiwan,
Wachowski Brothers' Speed Racer and comedy What Happens in
Vegas...
Another foreign title hitting Hong Kong theaters is Hollywood remake
of a Thai horror flick, Shutter; and in Taiwan, new releases also
include Japanese drama
Happily Ever After
and Spanish-US-French drama
Savage Grace.
Click here for detail.
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Filming
Begins for
Donnie Yen and Wilson
Yip's
Biopic of YIP MAN, Bruce Lee's Master
(MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) |
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May 8, 2008 |
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Two promotional stills released to the press. |
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Shots from a press conference held yesterday in
Shanghai. |
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(Images:
Mandarin Films, Shanghai Film Group, Corp.,
Tom.com,QQ.com.) |
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The biopic of Yip Man has been in production in
Shanghai for several weeks. This is the fourth collaboration between
Donnie Yen and Wilson Yip, after Sha Po Lang, Dragon Tiger
Gate and Flash Point. Sammo Hung, who played the main
villain in Sha Po Lang is also on board as the action
director.
The film, jointed-produced by Hong Kong studio
Mandarin Films and Shanghai Film Group Corp., is based on the life
story of late martial-art master Yip Man from the 1930s to the
1950s. He is known mostly as the teacher of teenage Bruce Lee, and a
master of Wing Chun style.
The idea of making a movie about Yip Man began
over a decade ago. Back then, Wong Kar-Wai, Jeff Lau and Corey Yuen
tried to make a Yip Man story, and picked Donnie Yen to play Yip Man
and Stephen Chow to play Bruce Lee. The project ended for reasons
unknown. Then Wong Kar-Wai said many times that he would do the
biopic and Leung Chiu-Wai would play the lead. Of cause, Wong is not
a very productive director and his version of Yip Man story is no
where near start.
The cast also includes Simon Yam, Fan Siu-Wong,
Lam Ka-Tung, Xing Yu, Wong You-Nam, Chen Zhihui, Xiong Dailin and
Hiroyuki Ikeuchi. The story has already been approved by Yip Man’s
two sons, both are well over 80. The film is expected to be released
theatrically in Hong Kong and the mainland China on December 19,
2008.
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Opening This Week: April 26
- May 2
(MonkeyPeaches Exclusive) |
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May 2, 2008 |
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The Cold Flame |
Besieged City |
My
Wife Is a
Gambling Maestro |
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(Images:
Blacklight Image Co., Stellar Media Group,
Shanghai Film Group Corp., Big Pictures, Jing's Production.) |
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The Cold Flame , a WWII
drama released this week in the mainland China, tells an army
captain, a teenage girl and his little boy, who take refuge at a
church turned hospital.
Besieged City ,
becomes available in Hong Kong, is a sad drama about a hard working
student, dreaming about leaving his unhappy family, is deeply
troubled by a local gang.
Also released in Hong Kong,
My Wife Is a Gambling Maestro,
is about an average guy's fiancee turns out to be a gambling master.
Marvel
Comic's
Iron Man, released in
China, Hong Kong and Taiwan simultaneously, is expected to dominate
the box offices in these regions.
Other
movies hitting Hong Kong theaters this week are UK-USA produced
drama The Other Boleyn Girl and Japan-made heart-warming
animal drama
A Tale of Mari and Three Puppies.
Other
movies come out this week in Taiwan include:
Japanese supernatural drama
Accuracy of Death, Spanish
romantic drama
Chaotic Ana, US comedy
Smother, Italian biopic
Piano, Solo,
UK-USA-Australia-Japan co-produced biopic
Control.
Click here for detail.
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Trailer: Tsui Hark's
MISSING
(...) |
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May 1, 2008 |
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Director Tsui Hark and actor Guo Xiaodong. |
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(Image: ?) |
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Click here.
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