Giving the traditional, star-driven period epic a gloss-coating of topicality, Peter Ho-Sun Chan’s “She’s Got No Name” is based on a notorious real-life murder case that unfolded against the turbulent backdrop of 1940s China. And although it’s probably most notable for providing Chinese actress Zhang Ziyi with a remarkably de-glammed central role, it is the setting, rather than the sincere but only tentatively feminist storyline, that will likely give this handsome, lengthy movie its international appeal. The recreation of mid-century Shanghai remains impressive even as Chan’s evident admiration for his heroine’s survival instinct starts to become rote, locking Zhang into a screenplay that gives plenty of depth to her character’s anguish, but little breadth to grow.
Zhang plays Zhan-Zhou, a poor, illiterate working-class woman with a birthmark grazing her forehead and cheek, whom we meet as she scurries from her alley tenement and onto a trolley car,...
Zhang plays Zhan-Zhou, a poor, illiterate working-class woman with a birthmark grazing her forehead and cheek, whom we meet as she scurries from her alley tenement and onto a trolley car,...
- 6/3/2024
- by Jessica Kiang
- Variety Film + TV
from our special envoy Jean-Marc Thérouanne at the Cannes Film Festival.
From May 14 to 25, 2024, Far East Asia is represented in competition by the film “Caught by the Tides” by the master of Chinese cinema of the sixth generation, Jia Zhang-ke. This film, in small impressionist touches, tells the evolution of China in this first quarter of the 21st century. Jia Zhang-ke tries to describe it through the songs marking the collective memory. He multiplies the winks to his work of fifteen films, time markers flowing inexorably.
Jia Zhang-ke and Zhao Tao in Grand Théâtre Lumiere Gala presentation of Caught by the Tides. (Photo credit Fica)
The Indian subcontinent is back in competition, after a long 30-year eclipse, with the film All We Imagine As Light by director Payal Kapadia, recognized in Cannes by the Golden Eye Award for his documentary film Une nuit sans savoir selected at the Directors' Fortnight...
From May 14 to 25, 2024, Far East Asia is represented in competition by the film “Caught by the Tides” by the master of Chinese cinema of the sixth generation, Jia Zhang-ke. This film, in small impressionist touches, tells the evolution of China in this first quarter of the 21st century. Jia Zhang-ke tries to describe it through the songs marking the collective memory. He multiplies the winks to his work of fifteen films, time markers flowing inexorably.
Jia Zhang-ke and Zhao Tao in Grand Théâtre Lumiere Gala presentation of Caught by the Tides. (Photo credit Fica)
The Indian subcontinent is back in competition, after a long 30-year eclipse, with the film All We Imagine As Light by director Payal Kapadia, recognized in Cannes by the Golden Eye Award for his documentary film Une nuit sans savoir selected at the Directors' Fortnight...
- 6/1/2024
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
Joey King has been acting since she was little, but she has never had the opportunity to walk the Cannes red carpet. This year, she finally made a remarkable debut at the Cannes Film Festival, and she left a lasting impression by choosing outfits that showcased her charms.
She was seen on two occasions over the weekend, showing support for the French animated drama film The Most Precious of Cargoes, directed by Michel Hazanavicius, and the Chinese-Hong Kong crime drama She’s Got No Name, starring Zhang Ziyi and Michelle Yeoh, and helmed by Peter Chan.
Joey King showcases two contrasting looks and hairstyles at the 77th Cannes Film Festival (Credit: Abaca Press / Pa / INSTARimages)
See the striking differences between Joey King’s dazzling yellow look and icy princess appearance on the red carpet.
Radiating Old Hollywood Glamour in a Yellow Miu Miu Column Gown
King’s style has indeed changed over the years.
She was seen on two occasions over the weekend, showing support for the French animated drama film The Most Precious of Cargoes, directed by Michel Hazanavicius, and the Chinese-Hong Kong crime drama She’s Got No Name, starring Zhang Ziyi and Michelle Yeoh, and helmed by Peter Chan.
Joey King showcases two contrasting looks and hairstyles at the 77th Cannes Film Festival (Credit: Abaca Press / Pa / INSTARimages)
See the striking differences between Joey King’s dazzling yellow look and icy princess appearance on the red carpet.
Radiating Old Hollywood Glamour in a Yellow Miu Miu Column Gown
King’s style has indeed changed over the years.
- 5/29/2024
- by Anne De Guia
- Your Next Shoes
By the time Chinese star Zhang Ziyi walked the Cannes Film Festival’s red carpet on the event’s penultimate night last Friday, it was already clear that Chinese cinema was back on the international stage in a major way. The world’s most glamorous movie event premiered five films from China across its official selection this year, ending a long period of relative obscurity that began with the pandemic. The two most prominent Chinese films to unfurl in Cannes this year — Jia Zhangke’s acclaimed drama Caught By the Tides and Peter Chan’s commercial powerhouse She’s Got No Name, starring Zhang and a slew of big-name Chinese actors — were both backed by rising studio Huanxi Media.
Founded in 2015 by veteran producer Dong Ping (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) and former attorney Steven Xiang, Huanxi Media has climbed to the forefront of the Chinese industry thanks to a streak of...
Founded in 2015 by veteran producer Dong Ping (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) and former attorney Steven Xiang, Huanxi Media has climbed to the forefront of the Chinese industry thanks to a streak of...
- 5/28/2024
- by Patrick Brzeski
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Chinese filmmaker Zhang Yimou this week made his first-ever trip to the Far East Film Festival in Italy’s Udine, and appeared to fall in love with the theatrical and festival experience all over again.
At a masterclass on Thursday morning, Zhang spoke of his filmmaking techniques and priorities, his enduring quest for the human touch and why not all films need to be masterpieces.
“Nobody has pure talent. Success also comes from hard work and the kind of luck that pull together an optimal crew and a cast that gels. I don’t believe that all films can be masterpieces and I doubt that I’ve made my best possible film yet. I’m still on the way,” he told a packed audience at Udine’s Teatro Nuovo, most of which had moments earlier watched a screening of his sensational “Raise the Red Lantern,” which had been restored to 4K.
At a masterclass on Thursday morning, Zhang spoke of his filmmaking techniques and priorities, his enduring quest for the human touch and why not all films need to be masterpieces.
“Nobody has pure talent. Success also comes from hard work and the kind of luck that pull together an optimal crew and a cast that gels. I don’t believe that all films can be masterpieces and I doubt that I’ve made my best possible film yet. I’m still on the way,” he told a packed audience at Udine’s Teatro Nuovo, most of which had moments earlier watched a screening of his sensational “Raise the Red Lantern,” which had been restored to 4K.
- 5/2/2024
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Pluto TV, Paramount’s free streaming service, has revealed its May highlights. The Pluto TV May 2024 schedule includes Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month programming, more anime content, new channels, and new film additions.
Pluto TV is the leading free streaming television service, delivering hundreds of live linear channels and thousands of titles on-demand to a global audience.
The Emmy Award-winning service curates a diverse lineup of channels in partnership with hundreds of international media companies. It offers a wide array of genres, languages, and categories featuring movies, television series, sports, news, lifestyle, kids, and much more.
Pluto TV can be easily accessed and streamed across mobile, web, and connected TV devices. Headquartered in Los Angeles, Pluto TV’s growing international footprint extends across three continents and over 35 markets.
Pluto TV May 2024 Programming
Asian American, Native Hawaiian, And Pacific Islander Heritage Month
To pay tribute, Pluto TV...
Pluto TV is the leading free streaming television service, delivering hundreds of live linear channels and thousands of titles on-demand to a global audience.
The Emmy Award-winning service curates a diverse lineup of channels in partnership with hundreds of international media companies. It offers a wide array of genres, languages, and categories featuring movies, television series, sports, news, lifestyle, kids, and much more.
Pluto TV can be easily accessed and streamed across mobile, web, and connected TV devices. Headquartered in Los Angeles, Pluto TV’s growing international footprint extends across three continents and over 35 markets.
Pluto TV May 2024 Programming
Asian American, Native Hawaiian, And Pacific Islander Heritage Month
To pay tribute, Pluto TV...
- 4/29/2024
- by Mirko Parlevliet
- Vital Thrills
Among the high-profile filmmakers selected for this year’s Cannes Film Festival is a wave of upcoming talent from Asia and the Middle East, including the first Indian feature chosen for Competition in 30 years and the first film from Saudi Arabia to ever make the Official Selection.
While Cannes has a reputation for bringing back familiar names year after year, the line-up for the 77th edition does feature several rising filmmakers and not just in the “discovery” strands of the selection.
Making her first appearance in Competition is Indian filmmaker Payal Kapadia with All We Imagine As Light. It marks...
While Cannes has a reputation for bringing back familiar names year after year, the line-up for the 77th edition does feature several rising filmmakers and not just in the “discovery” strands of the selection.
Making her first appearance in Competition is Indian filmmaker Payal Kapadia with All We Imagine As Light. It marks...
- 4/12/2024
- ScreenDaily
There's an entire generation of movie lovers who first encountered Jackie Chan in the "Rush Hour" films. The actor, director and stuntsman didn't have a huge love for the franchise at the time, perhaps because they barely scratched the surface of what he was capable of as a choreographer. Still, his buddy cop films hold a special place in the hearts of countless action fans, and his rapport with co-star Chris Tucker isn't half bad, either.
The "Rush Hour" trilogy hasn't aged the best in the intervening years, thanks in part to its director, Brett Ratner, who was accused of sexual misconduct in 2017. The film's "East meets West" humor would also never fly today, making the franchise something of a time capsule for irreverent, 2000s humor. Still, we could never get enough of Chan and Tucker — that's why we're all still holding out for that potential "Rush Hour 4." While...
The "Rush Hour" trilogy hasn't aged the best in the intervening years, thanks in part to its director, Brett Ratner, who was accused of sexual misconduct in 2017. The film's "East meets West" humor would also never fly today, making the franchise something of a time capsule for irreverent, 2000s humor. Still, we could never get enough of Chan and Tucker — that's why we're all still holding out for that potential "Rush Hour 4." While...
- 3/31/2024
- by Lyvie Scott
- Slash Film
“Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” is full of surprises. But there’s one very big cameo that has been withheld from marketing materials so far that really needs to be discussed.
But in order to do that, we’ve got to talk about the ending of “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire.” If you haven’t seen the movie – or if you don’t want to be totally ruined when you do – turn back now.
Consider this your last spoiler warning.
Still there? Ok, let’s get into it.
Is there an extra monster in “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire?”
Yes, there is.
Is it a classic monster?
Yes, it is.
Who is it?
It’s Mothra.
Whoa really?
Yes really. The last time we saw Mothra in the MonsterVerse was 2019’s “Godzilla: King of the Monsters.” In that film, she showed up to help Godzilla against the...
But in order to do that, we’ve got to talk about the ending of “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire.” If you haven’t seen the movie – or if you don’t want to be totally ruined when you do – turn back now.
Consider this your last spoiler warning.
Still there? Ok, let’s get into it.
Is there an extra monster in “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire?”
Yes, there is.
Is it a classic monster?
Yes, it is.
Who is it?
It’s Mothra.
Whoa really?
Yes really. The last time we saw Mothra in the MonsterVerse was 2019’s “Godzilla: King of the Monsters.” In that film, she showed up to help Godzilla against the...
- 3/30/2024
- by Drew Taylor
- The Wrap
This article contains massive Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire ending spoilers.
Adam Wingard grew up on the Shōwa era of Godzilla movies. That would be the period of time when Toho Studios produced monster movies during the reign of Emperor Hirohito—so all the kaiju flicks released between 1954 and 1975. This included ones where Godzilla was a scary emblem of nuclear radiation, sure, but more often than not, the Big G spent these decades as a glorified superhero who hung out with pals like Mothra or Anguirus on Monster Island.
“Those were the movies that were playing on daytime television when I was a kid,” Wingard says when he sits down with Den of Geek ahead of the film’s opening weekend. “So that’s where my inspiration from Godzilla really originates.” He even recalls a vivid childhood memory of watching Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1974) where the evil, robotic Zilla impersonates...
Adam Wingard grew up on the Shōwa era of Godzilla movies. That would be the period of time when Toho Studios produced monster movies during the reign of Emperor Hirohito—so all the kaiju flicks released between 1954 and 1975. This included ones where Godzilla was a scary emblem of nuclear radiation, sure, but more often than not, the Big G spent these decades as a glorified superhero who hung out with pals like Mothra or Anguirus on Monster Island.
“Those were the movies that were playing on daytime television when I was a kid,” Wingard says when he sits down with Den of Geek ahead of the film’s opening weekend. “So that’s where my inspiration from Godzilla really originates.” He even recalls a vivid childhood memory of watching Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1974) where the evil, robotic Zilla impersonates...
- 3/30/2024
- by John Saavedra
- Den of Geek
It seems that the commercial value of Asian films, both of the past (for the most part) and of the current ones, is having an impact also on physical media, with a number of established and newer companies releasing even more movies from the region in 2023. At the same time, the competition seems to up the quality of releases which keep getting better and better, to the joy of collectors, a number of which are definitely among the writers of Asian Movie Pulse.
Without further ado, we list here 30 Best Asian DVD and Blu-ray releases of 2023, in no particular order.
1. The Katsuhito Ishii Collection (Third Window Films)
Over the course of his career Japanese auteur Katsuhito Ishii has gained not only popularity among the festival crowd but a loyal group of fans, which all the more understandable when watching his works, that are now gathered in one comprehensive boxset thanks to Third Window.
Without further ado, we list here 30 Best Asian DVD and Blu-ray releases of 2023, in no particular order.
1. The Katsuhito Ishii Collection (Third Window Films)
Over the course of his career Japanese auteur Katsuhito Ishii has gained not only popularity among the festival crowd but a loyal group of fans, which all the more understandable when watching his works, that are now gathered in one comprehensive boxset thanks to Third Window.
- 12/21/2023
- by AMP Group
- AsianMoviePulse
Clockwise from top left: It Lives Inside (Neon), Once Upon A Time In Hollywood (Sony Pictures Releasing), The Matrix Resurrections (Warner Bros. Pictures)Image: The A.V. Club
For the holiday season, Hulu is adding some genre favorites and promising new movies to its library. The streaming platform in December welcomes...
For the holiday season, Hulu is adding some genre favorites and promising new movies to its library. The streaming platform in December welcomes...
- 11/30/2023
- by Robert DeSalvo
- avclub.com
Right from his debut feature “Runaway” in 1995, Kim Sung-su has established two things vehemently: he can work with big stars and he can work on a big budget quite effectively. Starting with a then-young but nonetheless impressive Lee Byung-hun, he has since gone on to work with the likes of Lee Jung-jae, Jung Woo-sung, Hwang Jung-min and even Zhang Ziyi in a rare Korean production appearance. Since his last two works, he has also established that he is also adept at working with an ensemble cast, with both “The Flu” and the highly impressive “Asura: The City of Madness” having an extensive and impressive cast-list. Seven years since “Asura: The City of Madness”, Kim returns to the big screen and with a couple actors he has worked with for “12.12: The Day”, a political thriller based on recent Korean history.
Synopsis
On December 1979, Seoul had been enduring a harsh winter before the upcoming spring.
Synopsis
On December 1979, Seoul had been enduring a harsh winter before the upcoming spring.
- 10/28/2023
- by Rhythm Zaveri
- AsianMoviePulse
The latest film from the director of ‘Farewell My Concubine’ will be released in China in late September.
Fortissimo Films has secured international rights to Chinese war epic The Volunteers: To The War by Chen Kaige, the acclaimed director of Farewell My Concubine and The Battle At Lake Changjin.
The Amsterdam and Beijing-based sales company will launch sales on the feature at the Asian Contents and Film Market in Busan next month, following its release in China on September 28. The international sales agreement excludes North America, Australia and New Zealand.
The film, previously known as The Great War, is the...
Fortissimo Films has secured international rights to Chinese war epic The Volunteers: To The War by Chen Kaige, the acclaimed director of Farewell My Concubine and The Battle At Lake Changjin.
The Amsterdam and Beijing-based sales company will launch sales on the feature at the Asian Contents and Film Market in Busan next month, following its release in China on September 28. The international sales agreement excludes North America, Australia and New Zealand.
The film, previously known as The Great War, is the...
- 9/25/2023
- by Michael Rosser
- ScreenDaily
Editor’s Note: This story was originally posted on July 23, 2017, and has been updated multiple times since.
Few cinematic moments can burn themselves into an audience’s psyche better than a good sex scene. They can shock, arouse, or simply capture human beauty in ways that cinema is uniquely positioned to do. Sex scenes don’t have to define the movies they appear in, but they’re often the parts you remember the most.
The nature of sex scenes are constantly evolving, as the prevalence of intimacy coordinators and increased concern for performers’ safety in Hollywood is hopefully making regrettable sex scenes a thing of the past. That has allowed sexy cinema to flourish, with plenty of tantalizing movies hitting the multiplex in recent years. With that in mind, it felt like the right time to compile some of the best additions to the sexy film canon.
Our list of...
Few cinematic moments can burn themselves into an audience’s psyche better than a good sex scene. They can shock, arouse, or simply capture human beauty in ways that cinema is uniquely positioned to do. Sex scenes don’t have to define the movies they appear in, but they’re often the parts you remember the most.
The nature of sex scenes are constantly evolving, as the prevalence of intimacy coordinators and increased concern for performers’ safety in Hollywood is hopefully making regrettable sex scenes a thing of the past. That has allowed sexy cinema to flourish, with plenty of tantalizing movies hitting the multiplex in recent years. With that in mind, it felt like the right time to compile some of the best additions to the sexy film canon.
Our list of...
- 8/17/2023
- by Christian Zilko, Samantha Bergeson and Alison Foreman
- Indiewire
Clockwise from upper left: Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol (Paramount), Ben-Hur (MGM), Police Story (Golden Harvest), Steamboat Bill, Jr. (United Artists)Graphic: AVClub
When it comes to the art of motion picture making, stunt work is one of the industry’s most important yet unsung crafts. Indeed, stunt people have been...
When it comes to the art of motion picture making, stunt work is one of the industry’s most important yet unsung crafts. Indeed, stunt people have been...
- 7/12/2023
- by Richard Newby
- avclub.com
Going simply by the awards handed out, the 25th Shanghai International Film Festival delivered on its promise to celebrate the emerging stars of both Asian and Chinese cinema.
There were Golden Goblet wins for established markets Japan and China, and those less known, including Uzbekistan. And there were some scene-stealing emotions shared up on stage at the Shanghai Grand Theater, including the moments when two of China’s biggest stars, Hu Ge and Da Peng, were jointly awarded the festival’s best actor prize and then shared memories of their long-lasting friendship.
Japanese director Kazuyoshi Kumakiri was certainly swept up by the occasion, as China’s major festival event marked a return to normalcy — and a return of international guests — after the travel restrictions and assorted uncertainties of the global pandemic.
Kumakiri’s Yoko picked up the festival’s best feature film, best actress and best screenplay awards in the...
There were Golden Goblet wins for established markets Japan and China, and those less known, including Uzbekistan. And there were some scene-stealing emotions shared up on stage at the Shanghai Grand Theater, including the moments when two of China’s biggest stars, Hu Ge and Da Peng, were jointly awarded the festival’s best actor prize and then shared memories of their long-lasting friendship.
Japanese director Kazuyoshi Kumakiri was certainly swept up by the occasion, as China’s major festival event marked a return to normalcy — and a return of international guests — after the travel restrictions and assorted uncertainties of the global pandemic.
Kumakiri’s Yoko picked up the festival’s best feature film, best actress and best screenplay awards in the...
- 6/25/2023
- by Mathew Scott
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Actress Zhang Ziyi led a celebration of Chinese women in cinema at this week’s Shanghai International Film Festival, and urged the country’s next generation of female stars to be “fearless” when choosing their roles.
The Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Memoirs of a Geisha star was taking part in a session titled “Her Film Era Forum: Life Without Limits” on the sidelines of the 25th edition of China’s preeminent festival, where she discussed her own career and shared some of the lessons she has learned across almost three decades in film.
“You should always be curious and stick to it as your profession once you decide to join this industry,” Zhang said. “When facing new challenges, [women] need to be fearless instead of being afraid of failure. Success will not be guaranteed, but we will never know the result if we never make a start.”
The hope, Zhang said,...
The Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Memoirs of a Geisha star was taking part in a session titled “Her Film Era Forum: Life Without Limits” on the sidelines of the 25th edition of China’s preeminent festival, where she discussed her own career and shared some of the lessons she has learned across almost three decades in film.
“You should always be curious and stick to it as your profession once you decide to join this industry,” Zhang said. “When facing new challenges, [women] need to be fearless instead of being afraid of failure. Success will not be guaranteed, but we will never know the result if we never make a start.”
The hope, Zhang said,...
- 6/13/2023
- by Mathew Scott
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Chinese actress Zhou Dongyu, who is in Cannes with Anthony Chen’s Un Certain Regard title The Breaking Ice, has had a fairytale career trajectory.
Although she had no desire to act, she was plucked from obscurity by Zhang Yimou when still a high school student in 2010, and became one of China’s most respected young actresses, with a string of award-winning films.
She agreed to star in The Breaking Ice as soon as Chen called her and before he’d even written the script. She’d worked with him before on short film The Break Away, part of Neon-produced anthology The Year Of The Everlasting Storm, which Chen had directed remotely during the pandemic.
“He called and said he wanted to shoot a film in China, quite quickly over the winter, because he had a month free when another project was postponed,” Zhou tells Deadline. “I agreed immediately...
Although she had no desire to act, she was plucked from obscurity by Zhang Yimou when still a high school student in 2010, and became one of China’s most respected young actresses, with a string of award-winning films.
She agreed to star in The Breaking Ice as soon as Chen called her and before he’d even written the script. She’d worked with him before on short film The Break Away, part of Neon-produced anthology The Year Of The Everlasting Storm, which Chen had directed remotely during the pandemic.
“He called and said he wanted to shoot a film in China, quite quickly over the winter, because he had a month free when another project was postponed,” Zhou tells Deadline. “I agreed immediately...
- 5/26/2023
- by Liz Shackleton
- Deadline Film + TV
The latest in a never-ending series of propaganda movies from mainland China, Manifesto is an account of the life and times of Chen Wangdao, the translator and scholar who completed in 1920 China’s first translation of “The Communist Manifesto” by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. Chen undertook this life-changing task when he returned from his studies in Japan. Chen Duxiu, Yu Xiusong, Shi Cuntong, Jing Hengyi, Dai Jitao and other key historical figures are also portrayed in the movie. (Sources: Douban and China Daily)
Director Hou Yong has worked on Zhang Yimou’s movies, The Road Home (1999) and Hero (2002), in cinematography and the camera/electrical department. He was also a co-director for a 2021 drama series The Rebel Princess starring Zhang Ziyi. Manifesto‘s cast members include Liu Ye, Hu Jun and Janice Man. It has premiered in China on March 24, 2023.
Director Hou Yong has worked on Zhang Yimou’s movies, The Road Home (1999) and Hero (2002), in cinematography and the camera/electrical department. He was also a co-director for a 2021 drama series The Rebel Princess starring Zhang Ziyi. Manifesto‘s cast members include Liu Ye, Hu Jun and Janice Man. It has premiered in China on March 24, 2023.
- 4/6/2023
- by Suzie Cho
- AsianMoviePulse
Action movies don’t get much more intense when it comes to large-scale set pieces than John Wick: Chapter 4. However, the Keanu Reeves-led franchise is sure to leave fans craving more violent genre flicks with jaw-dropping fight choreography. Here’s a list of seven action movies to watch for viewers excited for the fourth installment.
‘Upgrade’ (2018) Logan Marshall-Green as Grey Trace | Ben King/Universal Pictures
Grey Trace (Logan Marshall-Green) is left paralyzed and his wife dead after a savage mugging. A billionaire inventor steps in with a cure for his life-altering injuries, a technological implant called Stem that gives him more than the ability to walk. Grey gains superhuman strength and agility, but he plans to use these new abilities to track down the men who killed his wife and make them pay.
Leigh Whannell’s Upgrade has stellar fight choreography and no shortage of extreme brutality. Meanwhile, audiences...
‘Upgrade’ (2018) Logan Marshall-Green as Grey Trace | Ben King/Universal Pictures
Grey Trace (Logan Marshall-Green) is left paralyzed and his wife dead after a savage mugging. A billionaire inventor steps in with a cure for his life-altering injuries, a technological implant called Stem that gives him more than the ability to walk. Grey gains superhuman strength and agility, but he plans to use these new abilities to track down the men who killed his wife and make them pay.
Leigh Whannell’s Upgrade has stellar fight choreography and no shortage of extreme brutality. Meanwhile, audiences...
- 3/20/2023
- by Jeff Nelson
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
“Everything Everywhere All at Once” star Michelle Yeoh has made history with her win for best performance by a female actor in a leading role at the Screen Actors Guild Awards, becoming the first Asian woman to win a leading film acting award.
“I think if I speak my heart will explode,” an emotional Yeoh said on stage while accepting her award. “SAG- AFTRA, to get this from you who understand what it is to get here… everyone of you know the journey, the roller coaster ride, the ups and downs. But most importantly we never give up. I thank you… This is not just for me, this is for every little girl who looks like me.”
The actress then paused, turning away from the podium to compose herself but eventually relenting with an excited litany of curses screaming “shit” and “fuck” to an elated crowd. “Thank you for giving...
“I think if I speak my heart will explode,” an emotional Yeoh said on stage while accepting her award. “SAG- AFTRA, to get this from you who understand what it is to get here… everyone of you know the journey, the roller coaster ride, the ups and downs. But most importantly we never give up. I thank you… This is not just for me, this is for every little girl who looks like me.”
The actress then paused, turning away from the podium to compose herself but eventually relenting with an excited litany of curses screaming “shit” and “fuck” to an elated crowd. “Thank you for giving...
- 2/27/2023
- by Clayton Davis
- Variety Film + TV
Ke Huy Quan, the comeback star of “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” has been the feel-good story of the awards season — and he just made history at the Screen Actors Guild Awards with his win for best performance by a male actor in a supporting role.
While on stage accepting his award, an emotional Quan revealed that he only recently heard the news that he would be the first Asian male film winner. “This moment no longer belongs to just me, it also belongs to everyone who has asked for change,” he said. “When I stepped away from acting it was because there were so few opportunities.” The SAG winner then looked across the crowd calling out the current nominees including co-stars Michelle Yeoh and Stephanie Hsu. “The landscape looks so different now than before. So thank you so much to everyone in this room who contributed to these changes.
While on stage accepting his award, an emotional Quan revealed that he only recently heard the news that he would be the first Asian male film winner. “This moment no longer belongs to just me, it also belongs to everyone who has asked for change,” he said. “When I stepped away from acting it was because there were so few opportunities.” The SAG winner then looked across the crowd calling out the current nominees including co-stars Michelle Yeoh and Stephanie Hsu. “The landscape looks so different now than before. So thank you so much to everyone in this room who contributed to these changes.
- 2/27/2023
- by Clayton Davis
- Variety Film + TV
Chicago – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com audio film review for the re-release of “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” the 2000 classic directed by Ang Lee and featuring Michelle Yeoh (“Everything Everywhere All at Once). The 4K restoration is currently in theaters (see local listings).
Rating: 5.0/5.0
The story takes place in an imagined China in the 1800s. Lu Mu Bai (Chow Yun-Fat) and Yu Su Lien (Michelle Yeoh) run a security business, with Bai starting to become uneasy about his future and wanting to move on. He even gives up his weapon of choice, a sword called Green Destiny. This begins a series of events, in which Green Destiny is stolen by a mysterious warrior – under the auspice of Bai’s enemy Jade Fox (Cheng Pei-Pei) – which in turn releases a number of unsettled scores from Bai’s past. On the flip side of that story is a young woman named Jen (Zhang Ziyi...
Rating: 5.0/5.0
The story takes place in an imagined China in the 1800s. Lu Mu Bai (Chow Yun-Fat) and Yu Su Lien (Michelle Yeoh) run a security business, with Bai starting to become uneasy about his future and wanting to move on. He even gives up his weapon of choice, a sword called Green Destiny. This begins a series of events, in which Green Destiny is stolen by a mysterious warrior – under the auspice of Bai’s enemy Jade Fox (Cheng Pei-Pei) – which in turn releases a number of unsettled scores from Bai’s past. On the flip side of that story is a young woman named Jen (Zhang Ziyi...
- 2/22/2023
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
“#FilmTwitter is going to explode tonight,” director Ava DuVernay tweeted on Feb. 4, 2018, just minutes before kick-off for Super Bowl Lii. “Something is coming that I can hardly believe. Lawd. History in the making.”
A little over an hour later, the world found out what the celebrated director and producer was referring to. During a commercial break, Netflix premiered the first footage of “The Cloverfield Paradox,” a science-fiction thriller that had originally sported the enigmatic title “God Particle,” spurring online speculation on its potential ties to the “Cloverfield” franchise. What’s more, the splashy ad was capped with a mic drop moment — the film would be available to stream immediately after the game.
Super Bowl commercial breaks are the notorious premier real estate of the ad market. It’s become an annual tradition for studios to use the event to introduce their upcoming blockbuster hopefuls to the public. This year, big trailers for “Fast X,...
A little over an hour later, the world found out what the celebrated director and producer was referring to. During a commercial break, Netflix premiered the first footage of “The Cloverfield Paradox,” a science-fiction thriller that had originally sported the enigmatic title “God Particle,” spurring online speculation on its potential ties to the “Cloverfield” franchise. What’s more, the splashy ad was capped with a mic drop moment — the film would be available to stream immediately after the game.
Super Bowl commercial breaks are the notorious premier real estate of the ad market. It’s become an annual tradition for studios to use the event to introduce their upcoming blockbuster hopefuls to the public. This year, big trailers for “Fast X,...
- 2/12/2023
- by J. Kim Murphy
- Variety Film + TV
After coming up short against Allison Janney on her first Screen Actors Guild Award nomination for 2017’s “Downsizing,” Hong Chau now has a second chance at a supporting victory thanks to her work in “The Whale.” Although she is far from the first woman to compete for the same SAG Award twice, she has broken new ground as the only person of both Asian birth and descent to receive multiple solo film acting nominations from the guild. If she prevails, she will follow Yuh-Jung Youn (2020’s “Minari”) as only the second Asian winner of any individual film SAG Award.
Along with “Everything Everywhere All at Once” actress Jamie Lee Curtis, who earned her first SAG Award notice for 1994’s “True Lies,” Chau is one of two returning supporting nominees in this year’s lineup. Also vying for the prize is Curtis’ co-star, Stephanie Hsu, a past TV ensemble winner for...
Along with “Everything Everywhere All at Once” actress Jamie Lee Curtis, who earned her first SAG Award notice for 1994’s “True Lies,” Chau is one of two returning supporting nominees in this year’s lineup. Also vying for the prize is Curtis’ co-star, Stephanie Hsu, a past TV ensemble winner for...
- 2/9/2023
- by Matthew Stewart
- Gold Derby
Editor’s Note: This story was originally posted on July 23, 2017, and has been updated multiple times since.
Few cinematic moments can burn themselves into an audience’s psyche better than a good sex scene. They can shock, arouse, or simply capture human beauty in ways that cinema is uniquely positioned to do. Sex scenes don’t have to define the movies they appear in, but they’re often the parts you remember the most.
The nature of sex scenes are constantly evolving, as the prevalence of intimacy coordinators and increased concern for performers’ safety in Hollywood is hopefully making regrettable sex scenes a thing of the past. That has allowed sexy cinema to flourish, with plenty of tantalizing movies hitting the multiplex in recent years. With that in mind, it felt like the right time to compile some of the best additions to the sexy film canon.
Our list of...
Few cinematic moments can burn themselves into an audience’s psyche better than a good sex scene. They can shock, arouse, or simply capture human beauty in ways that cinema is uniquely positioned to do. Sex scenes don’t have to define the movies they appear in, but they’re often the parts you remember the most.
The nature of sex scenes are constantly evolving, as the prevalence of intimacy coordinators and increased concern for performers’ safety in Hollywood is hopefully making regrettable sex scenes a thing of the past. That has allowed sexy cinema to flourish, with plenty of tantalizing movies hitting the multiplex in recent years. With that in mind, it felt like the right time to compile some of the best additions to the sexy film canon.
Our list of...
- 2/4/2023
- by Christian Zilko, Samantha Bergeson and Alison Foreman
- Indiewire
Returning to theaters!! Sony Classics has revealed a new official trailer for the 4K restoration re-release of the incredible martial arts classic Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. The beloved film won a total of four Oscars, including Best Cinematography and Best Score, originally premiered at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival 13 years ago, and was a box office smash when it initially opened in early 2001. It's one of the best martial arts films ever made, featuring fight choreography from master Yuen Wo Ping. It's finally getting a proper re-release in theaters in February 2023, perhaps connected to the potential for actress Michelle Yeoh to win the Oscar this year. A young Chinese warrior steals a sword from a famed swordsman and then escapes into a world of romantic adventure with a mysterious man in the frontier of the nation. The cast also includes Chow Yun Fat, Zhang Ziyi, Chang Chen, Sihung Lung, and Cheng Pei-Pei.
- 1/16/2023
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
This sequel to Godzilla is directed by Michael Dougherty and stars Millie Bobby Brown, Kyle Chandler and Vera Farmiga.
Well, another installment of Godzilla and don’t worry, I’m going to make jokes because this movie seems to be made for that. Thanks to the writers and whatever they have drunk.
Premise
Well, Godzilla is out there wandering around because the Earth is now hollow and home to monsters. Some of them are the titans and Godzilla is out there also. It’s like every monster wants to try their strength and, as you expected, there is always a terrorist (this time they are ecological terrorists) ready to create chaos.
Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019) The Movie
The first dialogue made me fall to the ground. One of the characters makes a question about the terrorists who are going to resurrect another beast, as if it was an everyday issue.
Well, another installment of Godzilla and don’t worry, I’m going to make jokes because this movie seems to be made for that. Thanks to the writers and whatever they have drunk.
Premise
Well, Godzilla is out there wandering around because the Earth is now hollow and home to monsters. Some of them are the titans and Godzilla is out there also. It’s like every monster wants to try their strength and, as you expected, there is always a terrorist (this time they are ecological terrorists) ready to create chaos.
Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019) The Movie
The first dialogue made me fall to the ground. One of the characters makes a question about the terrorists who are going to resurrect another beast, as if it was an everyday issue.
- 1/12/2023
- by Martin Cid
- Martin Cid Magazine - Movies
Cheng Er’s last feature film was the rather gorgeous looking and expertly directed “The Wasted Times” back in 2016, which had an all-star cast that included Tadanobu Asano, Zhang Ziyi and Ge You. He follows that up with the rather blandly named “Hidden Blade” (previously called “Anonymous”), which recently released a spate of trailers for us to enjoy.
Synopsis
On December 7, 1941, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. The following day, the Wang False Government followed Japan’s declaration of war against Britain and the United States, and Japan symbolically occupied all of Shanghai. With the outbreak of the Pacific War, the situation of China’s war effort changed completely. Members of the Chinese Communist Party underground risked sending out information to break the peace between Japan and Chiang and to defend the motherland.
Shot with just as much beauty as “The Wasted Times” was, Cheng Er has assembled yet...
Synopsis
On December 7, 1941, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. The following day, the Wang False Government followed Japan’s declaration of war against Britain and the United States, and Japan symbolically occupied all of Shanghai. With the outbreak of the Pacific War, the situation of China’s war effort changed completely. Members of the Chinese Communist Party underground risked sending out information to break the peace between Japan and Chiang and to defend the motherland.
Shot with just as much beauty as “The Wasted Times” was, Cheng Er has assembled yet...
- 1/11/2023
- by Rhythm Zaveri
- AsianMoviePulse
Just two years have passed since Youn Yuh-jung broke new ground at the 27th Screen Actors Guild Awards by becoming the first performer of Asian descent to triumph in any individual film category. Now, the Korean Best Supporting Actress winner for “Minari” will likely be joined in this regard by “Everything Everywhere All at Once” costars Michelle Yeoh and Ke Huy Quan, who were both born to Chinese families. She would be the first Asian Best Film Actress recipient, while he would be the first Asian winner of either individual male film trophy.
Yeoh and Quan’s performances as married couple Evelyn and Waymond Wang in “Everything Everywhere All at Once” have earned them the number one spots on Gold Derby’s Best Film Actress and Supporting Actor predictions lists. They and their cast mates also appear to be the ones to beat in this year’s ensemble race, while...
Yeoh and Quan’s performances as married couple Evelyn and Waymond Wang in “Everything Everywhere All at Once” have earned them the number one spots on Gold Derby’s Best Film Actress and Supporting Actor predictions lists. They and their cast mates also appear to be the ones to beat in this year’s ensemble race, while...
- 1/10/2023
- by Matthew Stewart
- Gold Derby
According to Sony Pictures Classics, Ang Lee's wuxia epic "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" is set to return to theaters 23 years after its release. The studio announced the film's return via its official Twitter account, revealing that the movie will be available beginning in February.
"Ang Lee's four-time Academy Award-winning masterpiece is returning to theaters," the Sony Pictures Classic account posted, along with a photo of the film's poster. "See one of the greatest movies of all time in astonishing cinematic quality, in theaters everywhere February 17." The re-release is a welcome one, both because "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" is a visually striking film that deserves to be seen in theaters, and because its star Michelle Yeoh is having a well-deserved moment in the spotlight this year in the wake of her star turn in "Everything Everywhere All At Once."
Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert's A24 film has been on...
"Ang Lee's four-time Academy Award-winning masterpiece is returning to theaters," the Sony Pictures Classic account posted, along with a photo of the film's poster. "See one of the greatest movies of all time in astonishing cinematic quality, in theaters everywhere February 17." The re-release is a welcome one, both because "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" is a visually striking film that deserves to be seen in theaters, and because its star Michelle Yeoh is having a well-deserved moment in the spotlight this year in the wake of her star turn in "Everything Everywhere All At Once."
Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert's A24 film has been on...
- 1/6/2023
- by Valerie Ettenhofer
- Slash Film
For an actor to win an Oscar after being long overdue, two things need to be true. First: Do they have years of stellar output without a an Oscar nomination, or repeated nominations with no wins? See: Glenn Close (8 Oscar nominations), Amy Adams (six), and Bradley Cooper (four). Enter the awards zone once and it’s easier to get back in.
Second: Do they have the right role in the right year? Without that quality and timing, justice can’t be served. (See: Renee Zellweger winning on her fourth go-round in “Judy” or Paul Newman winning for “The Color of Money” after seven nods.)
Finally: Short of an Oscar itself, the best thing that can happen for a long-overdue actor is a SAG nomination.
Among the awards contenders this year who cannot claim the overdue advantage are Oscar-winners Cate Blanchett (“Tar”), Olivia Colman (“Empire of Light”), Viola Davis (“The Woman King...
Second: Do they have the right role in the right year? Without that quality and timing, justice can’t be served. (See: Renee Zellweger winning on her fourth go-round in “Judy” or Paul Newman winning for “The Color of Money” after seven nods.)
Finally: Short of an Oscar itself, the best thing that can happen for a long-overdue actor is a SAG nomination.
Among the awards contenders this year who cannot claim the overdue advantage are Oscar-winners Cate Blanchett (“Tar”), Olivia Colman (“Empire of Light”), Viola Davis (“The Woman King...
- 12/10/2022
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
2003's "Hulk" is an anomaly. We haven't had a filmmaker in Ang Lee's mold direct a superhero movie since and probably won't for a long time, if ever again. As /Film as argued before, "Hulk" doesn't always work, but it grasps for heights the Marvel Cinematic Universe wouldn't dream of even trying to reach.
Lee's filmography tells a story, that of a director who never stops experimenting. He has the style of an auteur but traverses genres like a journeyman. Lee began by making comedy films in his native Taiwan, such as "The Wedding Banquet" and "Eat Drink Man Woman." In 1995, he adapted Jane Austen with "Sense and Sensibility." The story's genre wasn't that unfamiliar of territory for him, but it was his first primarily English language film.
He went further west in the rest of the 1990s, first helming the drama "The Ice Storm" before going for the...
Lee's filmography tells a story, that of a director who never stops experimenting. He has the style of an auteur but traverses genres like a journeyman. Lee began by making comedy films in his native Taiwan, such as "The Wedding Banquet" and "Eat Drink Man Woman." In 1995, he adapted Jane Austen with "Sense and Sensibility." The story's genre wasn't that unfamiliar of territory for him, but it was his first primarily English language film.
He went further west in the rest of the 1990s, first helming the drama "The Ice Storm" before going for the...
- 11/5/2022
- by Devin Meenan
- Slash Film
Hong Kong multi-hyphenate Peter Chan Ho-sun is far too intellectual to call himself an “arms dealer,” as Sony Pictures has in casting itself as an unattached supplier to streaming platforms.
But politeness and Bob Dylan references aside, Chan’s new company, Changin’ Pictures, aims to become a major independent purveyor of premium Asian TV content for the streamers. The company is using this week’s Busan International Film Festival as its launchpad and will unveil the first five series of its 20-title pan-Asian slate.
Chan’s thesis is that global audiences are hungry for Asian content but have not been able to access it easily under legacy film and TV distribution systems. With streaming making everything accessible everywhere, and audiences no longer balking at subtitles, quality Asian drama can and will travel.
His benchmark examples include not only “Squid Game,” which was conceived locally in South Korea and became a world- wide phenomenon via Netflix,...
But politeness and Bob Dylan references aside, Chan’s new company, Changin’ Pictures, aims to become a major independent purveyor of premium Asian TV content for the streamers. The company is using this week’s Busan International Film Festival as its launchpad and will unveil the first five series of its 20-title pan-Asian slate.
Chan’s thesis is that global audiences are hungry for Asian content but have not been able to access it easily under legacy film and TV distribution systems. With streaming making everything accessible everywhere, and audiences no longer balking at subtitles, quality Asian drama can and will travel.
His benchmark examples include not only “Squid Game,” which was conceived locally in South Korea and became a world- wide phenomenon via Netflix,...
- 10/5/2022
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Initial slate of five series set to be unveiled in Busan.
Hong Kong filmmaker Peter Ho-Sun Chan has launched production company Changin’ Pictures with an initial slate of five titles that includes stars Donnie Yen and Zhang Ziyi.
The company will focus on content for streaming services and plans to roll out 20 limited series across various genres in its first four years across the Asia Pacific region.
It aims to sign up leading filmmakers and fresh talent from throughout the region to create drama projects for a pan-Asian audience and aims to work with platforms and co-production partners looking to...
Hong Kong filmmaker Peter Ho-Sun Chan has launched production company Changin’ Pictures with an initial slate of five titles that includes stars Donnie Yen and Zhang Ziyi.
The company will focus on content for streaming services and plans to roll out 20 limited series across various genres in its first four years across the Asia Pacific region.
It aims to sign up leading filmmakers and fresh talent from throughout the region to create drama projects for a pan-Asian audience and aims to work with platforms and co-production partners looking to...
- 10/4/2022
- by Michael Rosser
- ScreenDaily
Hong Kong filmmaker Peter Ho-sun Chan has launched a production company to focus on streaming content, Changin’ Pictures, with a debut slate of five projects and talent including action star Donnie Yen and Chinese actress Zhang Ziyi.
The new outfit aims to “revolutionize the streaming multiverse in Asia” by signing up leading filmmakers and fresh talent from across the region to create drama series for a pan-Asian audience and beyond. Chan also intends to collaborate with platforms and potential co-production partners who want to jump into Asia’s expanding streaming market.
Changin’ Pictures plans to roll out 20 limited series across various genres from across the Asia Pacific region in its first four years.
The first two projects on the slate are Korean series, both adapted from popular webtoons: One: High School Heroes, produced by Covenant Pictures (Desperate Mr. X), about a bullied high school kid who transforms himself into a...
The new outfit aims to “revolutionize the streaming multiverse in Asia” by signing up leading filmmakers and fresh talent from across the region to create drama series for a pan-Asian audience and beyond. Chan also intends to collaborate with platforms and potential co-production partners who want to jump into Asia’s expanding streaming market.
Changin’ Pictures plans to roll out 20 limited series across various genres from across the Asia Pacific region in its first four years.
The first two projects on the slate are Korean series, both adapted from popular webtoons: One: High School Heroes, produced by Covenant Pictures (Desperate Mr. X), about a bullied high school kid who transforms himself into a...
- 10/4/2022
- by Liz Shackleton
- Deadline Film + TV
Projects starring Donnie Yen and Zhang Ziyi are among the independently produced TV series to be launched on the sidelines of this week’s Busan International Film Festival. The company responsible is Changin’ Pictures, a would-be studio being hatched by Hong Kong-based film director and producer Peter Chan Ho-sun.
Propelled by the growing recognition of Asian talent and the worldwide distribution potential of multinational SVOD platforms, Changin’ Pictures aims to be a powerhouse production hub suppling premium drama content to streaming players.
The company has raised very substantial finance from Asian sources and aims to develop and produce series which it will pitch and license to the platforms, without recourse to the Ott companies’ production funding, greenlighting and editorial constraints.
The company expects to sign up a mix of Asia’s top-billing established filmmakers and fresh talents “to create innovative drama series for Pan-Asian netizens, with an eye to cross-cultural global assimilation.
Propelled by the growing recognition of Asian talent and the worldwide distribution potential of multinational SVOD platforms, Changin’ Pictures aims to be a powerhouse production hub suppling premium drama content to streaming players.
The company has raised very substantial finance from Asian sources and aims to develop and produce series which it will pitch and license to the platforms, without recourse to the Ott companies’ production funding, greenlighting and editorial constraints.
The company expects to sign up a mix of Asia’s top-billing established filmmakers and fresh talents “to create innovative drama series for Pan-Asian netizens, with an eye to cross-cultural global assimilation.
- 10/4/2022
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Click here to read the full article.
The 35th Tokyo International Film Festival has named acclaimed stage and film director Julie Taymor as the president of its main competition jury. Taymor will be the festival’s third consecutive female jury chief, following French screen icon Isabelle Huppert in 2021 and Chinese actress Zhang Ziyi in 2019 (the festival didn’t hold a competition in 2020 due to the pandemic).
Taymor is perhaps best known on an international basis as the director of the wildly successful stage musical version of The Lion King, which has played continuously for 25 years in over 100 cities in 20 countries. As a filmmaker, she has directed the Anthony Hopkins Shakespeare adaptation Titus (1999), the Oscar-nominated biopic Frida (2002), the Beatles jukebox romantic drama Across the Universe (2007); and the recent Gloria Steinem film, The Glorias (2020).
Tokyo’s festival chairman Hiroyasu Ando highlighted Taymor’s connections to Japan when unveiling her appointment.
“Ms. Taymor...
The 35th Tokyo International Film Festival has named acclaimed stage and film director Julie Taymor as the president of its main competition jury. Taymor will be the festival’s third consecutive female jury chief, following French screen icon Isabelle Huppert in 2021 and Chinese actress Zhang Ziyi in 2019 (the festival didn’t hold a competition in 2020 due to the pandemic).
Taymor is perhaps best known on an international basis as the director of the wildly successful stage musical version of The Lion King, which has played continuously for 25 years in over 100 cities in 20 countries. As a filmmaker, she has directed the Anthony Hopkins Shakespeare adaptation Titus (1999), the Oscar-nominated biopic Frida (2002), the Beatles jukebox romantic drama Across the Universe (2007); and the recent Gloria Steinem film, The Glorias (2020).
Tokyo’s festival chairman Hiroyasu Ando highlighted Taymor’s connections to Japan when unveiling her appointment.
“Ms. Taymor...
- 9/16/2022
- by Patrick Brzeski
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Veteran film, theater and opera director Julie Taymor has been set as the president of the competition jury at next month’s Tokyo International Film Festival.
Taymor (“The Lion King”) will head a small group that selects the winners from the 15 competition titles that unspool in Tokyo between Oct. 24 and Nov. 2, 2022. The other four members of the jury will be announced later.
Taymor is the second woman to head the jury in as many years and follows Isabelle Huppert in 2021. There was no competition in 2020 due to Covid. And in 2019, the jury was headed by China’s Zhang Ziyi.
The Kurosawa Akira Award is to be revived after also being put on hiatus since 2008. The award will be presented to a filmmaker who “is making extraordinary contributions to world cinema and is expected to help define the film industry’s future.” Previous recipients have included Steven Spielberg, Yamada Yoji and Hou Hsiao-Hsien.
Taymor (“The Lion King”) will head a small group that selects the winners from the 15 competition titles that unspool in Tokyo between Oct. 24 and Nov. 2, 2022. The other four members of the jury will be announced later.
Taymor is the second woman to head the jury in as many years and follows Isabelle Huppert in 2021. There was no competition in 2020 due to Covid. And in 2019, the jury was headed by China’s Zhang Ziyi.
The Kurosawa Akira Award is to be revived after also being put on hiatus since 2008. The award will be presented to a filmmaker who “is making extraordinary contributions to world cinema and is expected to help define the film industry’s future.” Previous recipients have included Steven Spielberg, Yamada Yoji and Hou Hsiao-Hsien.
- 9/16/2022
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Unless you spent the whole 2016 growing potatoes on Mars, there’s a good chance you got some echoes of the controversy and headlines generated by the release of “The Great Wall”. Directed by veteran Chinese director Zhang Yimou, and produced by the Hollywood-based – but Chinese-owned – Legendary studio, it was the most expensive film made in China to that date and was thought to have opened a new era of collaboration between China and the US. The cast includes some of the most famous Chinese actors and A-list star Matt Damon. Certainly, an easy target for criticisms, and even just the release a few months prior of the first teaser and trailer had in fact unleashed an avalanche of comments and accusations, mainly of whitewashing and in particular of re-proposing the same old tale of the white hero who arrives, saves the whole China and possibly snatches a trophy-woman too. But...
- 8/17/2022
- by Adriana Rosati
- AsianMoviePulse
The following article contains Godzilla vs. Kong spoilers.
The future of the MonsterVerse is uncertain. If you had any doubt, just look at the lack of a post-credits scene in the latest installment, Godzilla vs. Kong. While Kong: Skull Island teased the coming storm of King Ghidorah and other kaiju, and Godzilla: King of the Monsters ended its actual credits sequence with the big ape waiting in the wings, there is a sense of closing out a chapter (if not the book) in the MonsterVerse’s Godzilla vs. Kong.
This is in large part because it is up in the air how Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures will proceed with Toho Co. Ltd., the creators and owners of Godzilla and his assorted monster friends. Under the previous contract, which concluded with this year’s monster mash-up, Toho was unable to produce any live-action Japanese Godzilla movies until after 2020, leaving room...
The future of the MonsterVerse is uncertain. If you had any doubt, just look at the lack of a post-credits scene in the latest installment, Godzilla vs. Kong. While Kong: Skull Island teased the coming storm of King Ghidorah and other kaiju, and Godzilla: King of the Monsters ended its actual credits sequence with the big ape waiting in the wings, there is a sense of closing out a chapter (if not the book) in the MonsterVerse’s Godzilla vs. Kong.
This is in large part because it is up in the air how Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures will proceed with Toho Co. Ltd., the creators and owners of Godzilla and his assorted monster friends. Under the previous contract, which concluded with this year’s monster mash-up, Toho was unable to produce any live-action Japanese Godzilla movies until after 2020, leaving room...
- 4/1/2021
- by David Crow
- Den of Geek
The Criterion Collection’s March 2020 lineup has been unveiled, and it’s an epic one. Along with their previously announced Wong Kar Wai box set, they will also release Jacques Rivette’s masterpiece Céline and Julie Go Boating, which was long unavailable in good quality and recently debuted on The Criterion Channel.
Also arriving in March is Mike Leigh’s Palme d’Or winner Secrets & Lies, Albert Brooks’ Defending Your Life (with a new essay by Ari Aster), and, getting a solo release after its inclusion in a World Cinema Project box set, Djibril Diop Mambéty’s Touki Bouki, which we discussed on The Film Stage Show below.
Check out the lineup and special features below, with more details on their official site.
New 2K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-rayAudio commentary from 2017 featuring critic Adrian MartinJacques Rivette: Le veilleur, a 1994 two-part feature documentary by Claire Denis,...
Also arriving in March is Mike Leigh’s Palme d’Or winner Secrets & Lies, Albert Brooks’ Defending Your Life (with a new essay by Ari Aster), and, getting a solo release after its inclusion in a World Cinema Project box set, Djibril Diop Mambéty’s Touki Bouki, which we discussed on The Film Stage Show below.
Check out the lineup and special features below, with more details on their official site.
New 2K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-rayAudio commentary from 2017 featuring critic Adrian MartinJacques Rivette: Le veilleur, a 1994 two-part feature documentary by Claire Denis,...
- 12/16/2020
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
The premiere of career-spanning restorations has been a time to again celebrate the cinema of Wong Kar-wai—but not without complications and conflicted feelings. Rather than give his tales of love, crime, and Hong Kong a 4K sheen and call it a day, Wong’s taken the opportunity to rejig his material in ways both minor and major. There’s a new, uniform style of closing credits to create “a reminder to our audience that these are the restored versions,” which most won’t notice. But in the case of Fallen Angels, he’s expanded the aspect ratio and made certain coloring changes that, as our Managing Editor discovered, are more than a little tinker. Predictably, people have strong feelings.
You can preview this new look and feel in a trailer for the 4K restoration. Having seen it myself, I can at least say the new widescreen transfer works: the images remain fluid,...
You can preview this new look and feel in a trailer for the 4K restoration. Having seen it myself, I can at least say the new widescreen transfer works: the images remain fluid,...
- 12/11/2020
- by Leonard Pearce
- The Film Stage
Hollywood has struck again, further perpetuating the idea that all Spanish accents are created equal, and every Hispanic is a Latino. Universal Pictures released the first trailer for “The 355” starring Jessica Chastain, Lupita Nyong’o, Diane Kruger, Penélope Cruz and Fan Bingbing. As the trailer unfolds, with action that’s a mix of “Ocean’s Eleven” and “The Bourne Identity,” the first look showcases all the protagonists’ ethnic backgrounds as a dangling carrot to our “woke” generation.
In a voiceover, Nyong’o describes the intelligence agencies the women work for — American (Chastain), British (Nyong’o), German (Kruger), Colombian (Cruz), Chinese (Fan). Furthermore, the film’s official synopsis describes Cruz’s Graciela as a “skilled Colombian psychologist,” alongside Kruger’s Marie (“badass German agent”).
The use of the American and British cultural identities allows for a broader interpretation of what each of the women’s characters is, and what they may look like.
In a voiceover, Nyong’o describes the intelligence agencies the women work for — American (Chastain), British (Nyong’o), German (Kruger), Colombian (Cruz), Chinese (Fan). Furthermore, the film’s official synopsis describes Cruz’s Graciela as a “skilled Colombian psychologist,” alongside Kruger’s Marie (“badass German agent”).
The use of the American and British cultural identities allows for a broader interpretation of what each of the women’s characters is, and what they may look like.
- 10/7/2020
- by Clayton Davis
- Variety Film + TV
With so many of us staying safe and staying home, we may be finding ourselves with an abundance of screen time compared to our normal lives. If you’re looking for some ideas of what to watch with your kids (that won’t drive you crazy), you can try some of these movies on Netflix.
Incredibles 2 (2018) – U.S. Only
The Incredibles has long been one of my favorite superhero movies (and I love superhero movies). I was worried that when the sequel came out that it wouldn’t live up to my expectations, but it managed to surpass them, sticking with the Parr family through both super and mundane problems. Launching immediately after the end of the first Incredibles movie, the sequel reveals the ongoing problems of being super in a world that doesn’t want to acknowledge superpowers. Helen Parr (Holly Hunter), aka Elastigirl, becomes the spokesperson for reintroducing supers,...
Incredibles 2 (2018) – U.S. Only
The Incredibles has long been one of my favorite superhero movies (and I love superhero movies). I was worried that when the sequel came out that it wouldn’t live up to my expectations, but it managed to surpass them, sticking with the Parr family through both super and mundane problems. Launching immediately after the end of the first Incredibles movie, the sequel reveals the ongoing problems of being super in a world that doesn’t want to acknowledge superpowers. Helen Parr (Holly Hunter), aka Elastigirl, becomes the spokesperson for reintroducing supers,...
- 4/2/2020
- by David Crow
- Den of Geek
During a year in which the world finds itself increasingly in the throes of totalitarianism and corruption, when institutions, traditions and good old common sense seems to be crumbling before our very eyes, when the world itself appears to be catching fire, a spirit of thanksgiving may be one that is hard to come by. But there are reasons to give thanks even in light of those realities, ones even directly to those realities, and I encourage you to seek out those reasons, be as grateful as is warranted, and find ways to express that gratitude. In other words, don’t let the bastards get you down.
In the world of the movies, there was the usual degree of lousy movies, some franchise-related, of course, but some that were pretty shitty of their own accord. And at the same time, there were lots of reasons to justify gratitude. Here are...
In the world of the movies, there was the usual degree of lousy movies, some franchise-related, of course, but some that were pretty shitty of their own accord. And at the same time, there were lots of reasons to justify gratitude. Here are...
- 11/25/2019
- by Dennis Cozzalio
- Trailers from Hell
The Chinese mountain-climbing adventure “The Climbers” works best when it’s an old-fashioned macho melodrama about the hardships faced by the first mountaineering team to document their summit of Mount Everest’s treacherous North-side in 1975.
In these scenes, writer-director Daniel Lee (“Black Mask”) and his colleagues deliver a less flamboyant but equally nationalistic mountain-climbing answer to “Top Gun,” one that’s mostly focused on the camaraderie and heartbreak that the (predominantly male) National Mountaineering Team faces whenever their stubborn but resourceful leaders Wuzhou Fang and Qu Songlin (Zhang Yi) press on in the face of avalanches, snow drifts, and other killer weather conditions.
Most action set pieces — which are the movie’s biggest selling point, given its IMAX presentation here in America — are marred by cheap-looking computer graphics and image-compositing, especially whenever the mountaineering team is super-imposed on the side of Everest during helicopter or crane shots. But impressive sound design,...
In these scenes, writer-director Daniel Lee (“Black Mask”) and his colleagues deliver a less flamboyant but equally nationalistic mountain-climbing answer to “Top Gun,” one that’s mostly focused on the camaraderie and heartbreak that the (predominantly male) National Mountaineering Team faces whenever their stubborn but resourceful leaders Wuzhou Fang and Qu Songlin (Zhang Yi) press on in the face of avalanches, snow drifts, and other killer weather conditions.
Most action set pieces — which are the movie’s biggest selling point, given its IMAX presentation here in America — are marred by cheap-looking computer graphics and image-compositing, especially whenever the mountaineering team is super-imposed on the side of Everest during helicopter or crane shots. But impressive sound design,...
- 10/1/2019
- by Simon Abrams
- The Wrap
Burbank, CA, July 16 – Experience the epic monstrous action as legendary Titans collide when Godzilla: King of the Monsters arrives on 4K Uhd Combo Pack, Blu-ray Combo Pack, DVD Special Edition and Digital. Directed by Michael Dougherty, the film stars Kyle Chandler, Oscar nominee Vera Farmiga and Millie Bobby Brown (Stranger Things) in her feature film debut.
From Legendary Pictures and Warner Bros. Pictures, in association with Toho Co. Ltd. and Huahua Media, the film’s acclaimed ensemble cast also includes Bradley Whitford, Oscar nominee Sally Hawkins, Charles Dance, Thomas Middleditch, Aisha Hinds, O’Shea Jackson Jr., Oscar nominee David Strathairn, Oscar nominee Ken Watanabe and Golden Globe nominee Ziyi Zhang.
Dougherty directed from a script he wrote with Zach Shields, story by Max Borenstein, Dougherty and Shields, based on the characters Godzilla, King Ghidorah, Mothra and Rodan owned and created by Toho Co., Ltd. The film was produced by Mary Parent,...
From Legendary Pictures and Warner Bros. Pictures, in association with Toho Co. Ltd. and Huahua Media, the film’s acclaimed ensemble cast also includes Bradley Whitford, Oscar nominee Sally Hawkins, Charles Dance, Thomas Middleditch, Aisha Hinds, O’Shea Jackson Jr., Oscar nominee David Strathairn, Oscar nominee Ken Watanabe and Golden Globe nominee Ziyi Zhang.
Dougherty directed from a script he wrote with Zach Shields, story by Max Borenstein, Dougherty and Shields, based on the characters Godzilla, King Ghidorah, Mothra and Rodan owned and created by Toho Co., Ltd. The film was produced by Mary Parent,...
- 7/19/2019
- by ComicMix Staff
- Comicmix.com
After stomping onto the big screen in May, Godzilla: King of the Monsters is looking to reign supreme in your own home when the latest movie in Legendary and Warner Bros.' Monsterverse comes to Digital on August 6th, followed by a Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD release on August 27th:
From the Press Release: Experience the epic monstrous action as legendary Titans collide when “Godzilla: King of the Monsters” arrives on 4K Uhd Combo Pack, Blu-ray Combo Pack, DVD Special Edition and Digital. Directed by Michael Dougherty, the film stars Kyle Chandler, Oscar nominee Vera Farmiga and Millie Bobby Brown (TV’s “Stranger Things”) in her feature film debut.
From Legendary Pictures and Warner Bros. Pictures, in association with Toho Co. Ltd. and Huahua Media, the film’s acclaimed ensemble cast also includes Bradley Whitford, Oscar nominee Sally Hawkins, Charles Dance, Thomas Middleditch, Aisha Hinds, O’Shea Jackson Jr.
From the Press Release: Experience the epic monstrous action as legendary Titans collide when “Godzilla: King of the Monsters” arrives on 4K Uhd Combo Pack, Blu-ray Combo Pack, DVD Special Edition and Digital. Directed by Michael Dougherty, the film stars Kyle Chandler, Oscar nominee Vera Farmiga and Millie Bobby Brown (TV’s “Stranger Things”) in her feature film debut.
From Legendary Pictures and Warner Bros. Pictures, in association with Toho Co. Ltd. and Huahua Media, the film’s acclaimed ensemble cast also includes Bradley Whitford, Oscar nominee Sally Hawkins, Charles Dance, Thomas Middleditch, Aisha Hinds, O’Shea Jackson Jr.
- 7/16/2019
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.