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Cinema

Cinema
Views, news, and reviews of films, from the latest releases to classic oldies.
Jung Ho-yeon (front) and Hwang Jung-min in a still from Hope.
Asian cinema: Korean films

Review | Hope: director Na Hong-jin of The Wailing fame returns with a monster mess

A promising beginning and strong performances are not enough to save Hope from being a messy spectacle with woeful CGI monsters.

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American cinema

Review | Paper Tiger: Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson lead dark gangster movie

Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

Why Alex Law and Mabel Cheung’s nostalgic films are among their finest

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Asian cinema: Japanese films

Review | Sheep in the Box: Hirokazu Koreeda tackles grief in sci-fi drama

Hirokazu Koreeda’s Cannes entry probes grief, artificial intelligence and family bonds, but its subplots leave the film scattered.

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(From left) Daigo Yamamoto, Rimu Kuwaki and Haruka Ayase in a still from Sheep in the Box.
K-drama news

Profile | Who is Cha Eun-woo, K-pop idol starring in Netflix K-drama The Wonderfools?

Since his 2014 debut, the ‘Face Genius’ has embodied a fantasy figure in many roles. His latest hits screens as he performs military service.

China’s film industry

How a tiny indie movie sparked a major tourist boom in southern China

Made on a shoestring budget, the hit drama Dear You has triggered a surge of interest in the history of southern China’s Teochew diaspora.

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Asian cinema: Korean films

Review | Colony: Jun Ji-hyun returns in slick but empty zombie thriller

Jun Ji-hyun stars as a biotech professor battling bloodthirsty zombies in Train to Busan director Yeon Sang-ho’s new film.

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Jun Ji-hyun as biotech professor Kwon Se-jeong in a still from Colony (category IIB, Korean), directed by Yeon Sang-ho. Koo Kyo-hwan and Ji Chang-wook co-star.
Fame and celebrity

Travolta gets surprise Cannes prize: ‘beyond the Oscar’

The Hollywood star received an honorary Palme d’Or, as he premiered his first film as a director.

Asian cinema: Japanese films

Review | All of a Sudden: Ryusuke Hamaguchi wows with Paris-set drama

Starring Virginie Efira and Tao Okamoto, the three-hour movie on caregiving and capitalism is anchored by a profound bilingual conversation.

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Asian cinema

Review | Parallel Tales: Asghar Farhadi misfires with latest French excursion

This tale of voyeurism in Paris, starring Vincent Cassel, Virginie Efira and Isabelle Huppert, lacks any tension or romantic intrigue.

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Isabelle Huppert as Sylvie (left) and Adam Bessa as Adam in a still from Parallel Tales, directed by Asghar Farhadi.
American cinema

How Hollywood turned China’s Boxer rebellion into a racist Western

55 Days at Peking (1963) paints the historical event as an Orientalist Alamo, while white actors ‘yellowface’ as the main Chinese characters.

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(From left) Charlton Heston, Ava Gardner and David Niven in a still from 55 Days at Peking. The 1963 Hollywood epic about China’s Boxer rebellion looks the part with stunning sets, but ultimately casts China as a colonial outpost to be squabbled over by white people.
What to do in Hong Kong

5 of the best things to do in Hong Kong this rainy weekend, May 15-17

Check out the Affordable Art Fair, enjoy pickleball and Pilates to the sounds of Justin Bieber or get into the spirit at the Hong Kong Whisky Festival.

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Asian cinema: Japanese films

Review | Nagi Notes: Koji Fukada ponders the meaning of art in wartime

Featuring nuanced performances and beautiful camerawork, Nagi Notes asks what art should mean in the chaotic world we live in.

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Asian cinema: Korean films

How The King’s Warden sold 16 million tickets and saved the Korean box office

Producer Lim Eun-jung, director Jang Hang-jun and actor Yoo Hae-jin explain why the historical drama struck a chord with Korean audiences.

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Yoo Hae-jin in a still from The King’s Warden, which has revitalised a sluggish Korean film industry.
Asian cinema: Chinese films

Review | A Man and a Woman: Hong Kong-set quarantine drama is a tough watch

Neighbouring hotel guests develop a relationship over the course of their 21-day quarantine in Hong Kong in Guan Hu’s pandemic-set drama.

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Ni Ni (left) and Huang Bo in a still from A Man and A Woman.
Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

Lau Ching-wan’s best mid-1990s films, from Loving You to Big Bullet

Several of Lau’s mid-1990s roles strongly hinted at the greatness to come for the four-time best actor winner.

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Hong Kong celebrities and icons

Profile | ‘I don’t want to be a diva or a billionaire’: Kay Tse’s 20-year Cantopop legacy

Cantopop singer Kay Tse’s two-decade career has been built on authenticity, a commitment to social issues and her love of Hong Kong.

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American cinema

Review | Mortal Kombat II: Karl Urban leads brainless, outdated action sequel

Little more than a series of cartoonish ultra-violent vignettes, Mortal Kombat II feels as antiquated as the amulet the characters chase.

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(From left) Ludi Lin as Liu Kang, Mehcad Brooks as Jackson “Jax” Briggs, Jessica McNamee as Sonya Blade and Karl Urban as Johnny Cage in a still from Mortal Kombat II (category III), directed by Simon McQuoid. Photo: Warner Bros
Fame and celebrity

Ludi Lin – Liu Kang in Mortal Kombat 2 – talks childhood and representation

Before he resumed his Mortal Kombat role, the actor worked on Power Rangers, Monster Hunt, DC’s Aquaman and Netflix’s Black Mirror.

Asian cinema: Japanese films

Review | Milky Subway: The Galactic Limited Express is a riotous sci-fi anime ride

A 47-minute compilation of Yohei Kameyama’s animated series, Milky Subway provides more laughs and surprises than many feature-length films.

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European cinema

Who was Marguerite Duras? Decoding the French cinema radical’s dual identity

Born in French Indochina in 1914, Duras was a visionary who treated the silver screen as a canvas for her haunting psychological experiments.

Delphine Seyrig in a still from India Song (1975), a film by radical French auteur Marguerite Duras that is considered her magnum opus, standing as the ultimate triumph of her avant-garde phase.
Cannes Film Festival

Chloe Zhao, Stellan Skarsgard and Demi Moore among Cannes jurors

Organisers unveil the nine-member jury for the 79th Cannes Film Festival beginning May 12.

Chinese filmmaker Chloe Zhao, whose films from ‘Nomadland’ to ‘Hamnet’ have become awards-season favourites. Photo: AFP
European cinema

Review | Sound of Falling: Cannes Jury Prize winner is a beautiful tale of trauma

The lives of four women in different eras on one farm are intertwined with haunting narratives of trauma and liberation in Sound of Falling.

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Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

Why Angela Mao, aka ‘the new Bruce Lee’, was a better fighter than Michelle Yeoh

Angela Mao, star of hits like Hapkido and Lady Whirlwind, was billed as the ‘new Bruce Lee’ by Golden Harvest after his death.

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Hong Kong culture

Editorial | Hong Kong’s efforts to commemorate Bruce Lee should pack bigger punch

While the latest move to honour the late kung fu star is welcome, more must be done to acknowledge his standing as a pillar of Hong Kong heritage.

Chinese-American martial artist and actor Bruce Lee is pictured during the early 1970s. Photo: Archive Photos/Getty Images
China’s soft power

Why are modern Chinese audiences shying away from dubbed films?

Greater subtitle literacy among streaming viewers is among factors chipping away at enthusiasm for dubbed movies in China.

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The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1956) is among much-loved cinematic classics that have for decades been enjoyed in China dubbed into Chinese. But audiences are shifting away from dubbed productions. Photo: Paris Film Productions
Fashion

Already seen DWP2? Then here’s 3 fashion documentaries to check out

The September Issue is a true account of working at Vogue, while Kingdom of Dreams and The Eye Has to Travel feature the larger-than-life personalities driving the industry.

Academy Awards

Oscar statue goes missing after director forced to check it on flight

Pavel Talankin’s prize was misplaced for two days until it was relocated by Lufthansa after an international outcry.

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