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Asian cinema
K-pop, Mandopop and other Asian pop
Hip hop in China
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TV shows and streaming video
Film reviews
Cinema
American cinema
Music
European cinema
Hedwig Tam in a still from Smashing Frank (category IIB, Cantonese), directed by Trevor Choi. Locker Lam and Sham Ka-ki co-star.
Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

Review | Smashing Frank: Hedwig Tam robs the rich and powerful in slick drama

Director Trevor Choi tries to explore Hong Kong’s generational and class divide with a film that sees the poor and young steal from the rich.

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Asian cinema: Japanese films

How Sakura Ando defied traditions to become one of Japan’s top actresses

TV shows and streaming video

Jon Hamm talks about robbing the ultrarich in Your Friends & Neighbors

Korean drama reviews

Review | Friendly Rivalry: Lee Hye-ri shines in Netflix high school mystery K-drama

Starring Lee Hye-ri, Chung Su-bin, Kang Hye-won and Oh Woo-ri, this new Korean drama has much to offer – if you don’t mind the bumpy ride.

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Lee Hye-ri as popular student Yu Je-yi in a still from Netflix K-drama Friendly Rivalry.
Lee Hye-ri as popular student Yu Je-yi in a still from Netflix K-drama Friendly Rivalry.
American cinema

Youn Yuh-jung on channelling her past in The Wedding Banquet

The Oscar-winning 78-year-old talks about her son coming out and bringing intense emotion to Andrew Ahn’s new remake of the 1993 romcom.

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Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

Review | Once Upon a Lie: Irene Wan chases much younger man in unconvincing romance

Irene Wan plays a lovesick divorcee catfishing a much younger man, played by Bruce Hung, in a superficial film that lacks any chemistry.

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TV shows and streaming video

Pedro Pascal, Bella Ramsey on their growth filming The Last of Us season 2

The two stars reveal what they are proud of from filming season two, how they ignore misogynistic comments and more.

Ramsey and Pascal at the season two premiere of The Last of Us in Los Angeles in the US. Photo: EPA
Ramsey and Pascal at the season two premiere of The Last of Us in Los Angeles in the US. Photo: EPA
Korean drama reviews

Review | Buried Hearts: Park Hyung-sik seeks revenge in second-rate K-drama

This corporate revenge thriller Korean drama tries to juggle too many moving parts and twists, and ends up a confusing mess.

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Korean drama reviews

Resident Playbook: Go Youn-jung leads Hospital Playlist spin-off

Go plays one of a group of new hospital resident doctors learning the ropes as this K-drama gets off to a chaotic start.

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K-pop, Mandopop, other Asian pop

K-pop songs with a ‘French touch’? Korean precision meets French flair

Korean and French music professionals collaborated in Seoul’s first Atelier K-pop songwriting camp, creating K-pop tracks with a French vibe.

French artist Poppy Fusée (left) and Un Plan Simple CEO Leslie Dubest at the inaugural Atelier K-pop conference at the French embassy in western Seoul. Korean and French music professionals collaborated in the songwriting camp.
TV shows and streaming video

Aimee Lou Wood says SNL apologised for White Lotus skit that parodied her looks

Wood, whose ‘big gap teeth’ and White Lotus character were mocked, said earlier via Instagram that she found SNL’s sketch ‘mean and unfunny’.

Aimee Lou Wood as Chelsea in The White Lotus. Photo: HBO / TNS
Aimee Lou Wood as Chelsea in The White Lotus. Photo: HBO / TNS
Korean drama reviews

Crushology 101: vapid youth romance K-drama wallows in cliché

Between its nauseating visuals, its shallow characters and its uninspired K-drama tropes, Crushology 101 fails to entertain on any level.

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K-drama news

Park Hae-soo says he’s never played such an ‘extreme’ character as in Karma

Squid Game actor Park Hae-soo says it was strange but also exciting to play the mysterious ‘Eyewitness’ in Netflix’s new Korean drama Karma.

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Asian cinema: Japanese films

Review | Bullet Train Explosion, nail-biting remake of Japanese disaster thriller

Shinji Higuchi’s new Netflix movie Bullet Train Explosion is a white-knuckle ride across Japan starring Tsuyoshi Kusanagi and Non.

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A still from Bullet Train Explosion. Photo: Netflix.
Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

The Gordon Chan film series that reshaped Hong Kong police movies

1994’s The Final Option, starring Michael Wong, was such a hit it spawned a prequel and sequels. We recall them and how they were received.

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Michael Wong as police commander Stone Wong in a still from First Option (1996). 1994’s The Final Option, which introduced his character, was such a hit, it spawned this prequel and two sequels. Photo: Online
Michael Wong as police commander Stone Wong in a still from First Option (1996). 1994’s The Final Option, which introduced his character, was such a hit, it spawned this prequel and two sequels. Photo: Online
K-drama news

Profile | Meet Lee Kwang-soo, star of K-dramas Karma and The Divorce Insurance

Lee Kwang-soo, currently on screens in two Korean drama series, has enjoyed a long career, his credits including Confession and Running Man.

Hong Kong celebrities and icons

Profile | Carman Lee, her interrupted screen career and emergence as fitness icon

Actress got her big break in a Hong Kong TV adaptation of a Louis Cha wuxia novel, shone in a variety of roles, then quit acting.

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What to do in Hong Kong

5 of the best things to do in Hong Kong this weekend, April 11-13

Quaff some Pharrell Williams champagne, learn how to care better for your dog, revisit an iconic Hong Kong movie and more this weekend.

Fresh handmade cosmetics company Lush has launched an Easter collection, available at Hong Kong and Macau stores this weekend. Photo: Lush
Fresh handmade cosmetics company Lush has launched an Easter collection, available at Hong Kong and Macau stores this weekend. Photo: Lush
Music

Unreleased Teresa Teng song found in Japan to appear on album

Light pop song the late Taiwanese singer probably recorded in the mid-1980s will feature on album of composer Takashi Miki’s work.

Asian cinema: Japanese films

Highs, lows of Ryoko Hirosue, Japanese singer-actress arrested for assault

Ryoko Hirosue, the Japanese actress-singer recently arrested for assault, has had a long career marked by scandal and achievements.

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K-pop, Mandopop, other Asian pop

Become a K-pop idol for a day at Chinese ‘experience’ centre for US$45

At Shanghai’s Chen Go, K-pop fans can choose from 200 outfits, dance on special sets and sign autographs for ‘fans’ at a mock meet-and-greet.

Visitors dance while wearing costumes at Chen Go, an “idol experience centre” where fans dress up as K-pop idols and step onto sets carefully designed to resemble backstage dressing rooms and South Korean music programmes, in Shanghai, China. Photo: Reuters
TV shows and streaming video

How Taiwanese dramas strike a chord in mainland China, and 5 favourites

Shows such as The World Between Us rate highly on review aggregator site Douban for their realistic approach to contemporary social issues.

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Wei-Ning Hsu and Toby Lee in a still from popular Taiwanese drama Shards of Her (2022). The Netflix drama series is one of several that are rated highly by viewers in mainland China, despite the tensions between Beijing and Taipei. Photo: Handout
Wei-Ning Hsu and Toby Lee in a still from popular Taiwanese drama Shards of Her (2022). The Netflix drama series is one of several that are rated highly by viewers in mainland China, despite the tensions between Beijing and Taipei. Photo: Handout
Asia travel

5 things to do in White Lotus country in northern Koh Samui, Thailand

The north of Samui where season 3 of the HBO series was shot is quieter than the south, with calmer waters and family-friendly attractions.

TV shows and streaming video

The Last of Us star Bella Ramsey on what to expect in seasons 2 and 3

The Last of Us season two promises more action and is ‘more emotionally complex’, says Ramsey, and drops hint of third season’s direction.

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Books and literature

Review | Beatles book takes deep dive into the Lennon-McCartney relationship

Ian Leslie relies on other Beatles books, gossip and interpreting lyrics to try to define the relationship between band’s writing partners.

The Beatles (from left): Paul McCartney, John Lennon, Ringo Starr and George Harrison, circa 1964. Photo: Getty Images
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