News

“Bound in Heaven” emerges as a strong romance drama brimming with genuine emotions and social insight. The film, directed by first-time filmmaker Huo Xin, transforms Li Xiuwen’s novel into a visceral study of love, survival, and personal liberty set in contemporary China.

The main characters of the story are Xia You, a successful businesswoman imprisoned in an abusive relationship, and Xu Zitai, a modest noodle shop owner with a fatal disease. Their paths cross spectacularly in 2010 during a fortuitous encounter at a Faye Wong concert and a ticket-scalping situation that turns surprisingly amorous. Following a passionate one-night stand, their lives become inextricably linked.

The narrative recounts Xia’s transformation from a battered spouse to an independent woman in the urban environments of Shanghai and Wuhan. Xu, knowing that his time is limited, becomes an unexpected catalyst for her liberation. Their relationship defies conventional boundaries; it is formed not just...

San Sebastian – “Bound in Heaven,” the directorial debut of experienced screenwriter Xin Huo, best known for “Kung Fu Hustle,” is the sole Chinese production in the Official Selection at San Sebastián, following its world premiere in Toronto’s Centrepiece section. The film is an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Li Xiuwen, a Huading Award winner as part of the writing team for “Medal of the Republic.”

The story turns on Xia You (NiNi), a successful but emotionally drained woman trapped in a violently abusive relationship with her fiancé, played by Liao Fan, who won a Berlin Silver Bear for “Black Coal, Thin Ice.” In a harrowing early scene, Xia You defies her abuser, uttering the chilling and foreboding line, “Don’t smudge my makeup, the guests are still here,” a reflection of the fragile facade she is forced to uphold.

“The theme of domestic violence against women,...

Theirs is a love without name in “Bound in Heaven,” when the connection between Xia You (Ni Ni) and Xu Zitai (Zhou You) is so primal that neither bother to introduce themselves to one another until after spending a night together. Details like these can seem besides the point in Huo Xin’s torrid adaptation of Li Xiuwen’s novel of the same name. Passion trumps all else, both in front and behind the camera, in an auspicious directorial debut from the veteran screenwriter, who sees a doomed romance as an opportunity for a spirited drama when its central duo lives each day like their last.

Any day could well be for Xu, who knows the expiration date for the relationship will come sooner than later due to a terminal illness. As the humble owner of a noodle shop in Wuhan, getting treatment or even a proper diagnosis is out of reach.

Oof, "Madame Web." Critics have savaged the latest Spider-Manless Spider-Man spin-off from Sony Pictures (read /Film's review here). Unlike the Sydney Sweeney picture I'm actually looking forward to this year, "Madame Web" is not "Immaculate." It's a hackneyed joke that in bad movies of this sort, the best part is when the credits hit. In "Madame Web," that's doubly true because you'll get to hear some nice music: "Dreams" by The Cranberries.

Released in 1992, "Dreams" is the Irish band's debut single, part of their first album "Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We?" Dolores O'Riordan, The Cranberries' late singer, and guitarist Noal Hogan wrote the song about the experience of love. O'Riordan's whimsical brogue becomes a melody played against the soft rock instrumentals from her bandmates. It's not just a great love song, but a song about how it feels to be in love: the floating excitement, how...

The title of Fruit Chan’s Made in Hong Kong cheekily references a phrase you might have seen printed on the packaging for an action figure way back in 1997, the year of the film’s original release. But it also refers to the young, wannabe triad member with the unlikely name of Autumn Moon (Sam Lee), as well as to the production circumstances of the film itself. Its declarative label is somewhat excessive, though, as there’s no mistaking where and when Moon’s misadventures take place: Chan’s quirky, gangster-adjacent flick, so infused with washed-out and blue-filtered imagery, presents a portrait of Hong Kong that bears more than a passing resemblance to Wong Kar-wai and Christopher Doyle’s early collaborations.

From its handheld shots racing through open-air markets, to its use of expressionistic step-printed slow motion, to the way its perspectives on the city take inspiration from the cramped...

Ten years after he attended the Tokyo International Film Festival for the screening of The Grandmaster, Tony Leung returned to the festival on Thursday to conduct a masterclass.

The Hong Kong acting icon, dressed in a black tailored suit and fashion-forward Kolor sneakers, was met with warm applause at a packed house at Tokyo’s Hulic Hall. Festival programmer Shozo Ichiyama began proceedings with Leung’s early years as an actor, namely his work with Taiwanese filmmaker Hou Hsiao-hsien on the classic A City of Sadness, which Ichiyama considered one of his personal favorites. A City of Sadness was notable as it was set in Taipei, and Leung, at the time, had no experience working outside of Hong Kong and couldn’t speak Mandarin.

“It was the start of my career, and I wanted to challenge myself,” Leung said through an interpreter on why he took on the role, given...

Wong Kar Wai's Chungking Express (1994) is now streaming on Mubi in Latin America, India, the Netherlands, and many other countries.Shot on a shoestring in six wild weeks, Chungking Express (1994) is the movie that put legendary Hong Kong filmmaker Wong Kar Wai on the international map—along with his star, pop diva Faye Wong...and her Cantonese cover of The Cranberries's hit "Dreams."Host Rico Gagliano learns how the song, the director, and the singer all came together to capture Hong Kong at a moment of anxiety and hope—and how the tune still unites people in karaoke bars across Asia. Featuring Cranberries guitarist Noel Hogan, Hong Kong-born indiepop star Emma-Lee Moss (aka Emmy The Great), and NPR critic-at large John Powers—the author, with Wong Kar Wai, of Wkw: The Cinema of Wong Kar Wai.Listen to episode 4 below or wherever you get your podcasts: Apple PodcastsStitcherSpotifyGoogle PodcastsMore...

Long before “Stranger Things” led to the rediscovery of “Running Up That Hill” and “The Last of Us” brought audiences back to a “Long Long Time” ago, cinema has hinged on famous needle drops throughout history.

Now, distributor and streaming platform Mubi’s award-winning audio-documentary series “Mubi Podcast” tunes into the best needle drops throughout film. Titled “Needle on the Record,” Season 3 dives into the unifying power of movie music and tells the stories behind some of cinema’s most renowned “needle drops,” defined as moments where filmmakers deployed pre-existing music instead of an original score. The third season premieres March 30, with new episodes releasing every Thursday.

Podcast host Rico Gagliano discusses famed needle drops with Noel Hogan of The Cranberries, Richard Kelly (“Donnie Darko”), Jena Malone (“The Hunger Games“), and iconic music supervisor Randall Poster (“The Wolf of Wall Street”), among other interviewees.

Per the official synopsis of the season,...

by Simon Ramshaw

Few production companies hold the same strength of trademark from its creator than Wong Kar-wai’s Jet Tone Films. While many of us know the celebrated Hong Kong filmmaker for his sumptuous romantic works like “Chungking Express” and “In the Mood for Love”, his career as a producer for other directors holds some of the same trail-blazing intrigue he brought to Hong Kong cinema since the 1980s. Set up in 1991, Jet Tone Films has been responsible for funding Wong’s oeuvre and has recently expanded overseas to collaborate with Japanese and Thai directors (Sabu and Nattawut Poonpiriya respectively) alike. But in this period of blossoming experimentation in the 1990s, Wong set prolific Hong Kong actor Eric Kot Man-Fai a challenge to direct a project about first love, and thus, the sprawling, affectionate “First Love: Litter on the Breeze” was born.

on Amazon by clicking...

"At the high point of our intimacy, we were just 0.01 cm from each other. I knew nothing about her. Six hours later, she fell in love with another man."

These lines spoken by Cop 223/He Qiwu (Takeshi Kaneshiro) mark the end of the first vignette in Wong Kar-Wai's intensely lovelorn, melancholic "Chungking Express." Two people who will never interact ever again bump into one another, but this seemingly-serendipitous encounter means nothing in the bigger scheme of things. There's a sense of longing in He Qiwu's words, who is still nursing the cruel sting of heartbreak after the woman he loves unceremoniously dumps him over a phone call. Wong explores these turbulent emotions via vivid, dreamlike sequences in "Chungking Express," a film about the agonies and ecstasies of love in an urban landscape.

The impromptu vibe that permeates "Chungking Express" can be attributed to the fact that Wong made the film in three months.

The films of Shunji Iwai present a view of the world in an almost dreamlike manner. That said, no matter how stylized his work can be, he’s never afraid to offer a raw portrait of reality. The youthful years of people’s lives are generally a time of happiness and growth, building memories that, years later, can be looked back on with a happy sense of nostalgia. Yet, the harsh truth is that’s heartbreakingly not always the case, and in a country like Japan, issues such as bullying remain a major problem. Combined with experimental filmmaking, Iwai would make a feature following Japanese youth lost in sorrow and partaking in misguided behavior. That harrowing film is “All About Lily Chou-Chou.”

on Amazon by clicking on the image below

Throughout the 1990s in Japan, music was super popular, and there was a noticeable rise in juvenile delinquency,...

The final entry in Wong Kar-wai’s informal love trilogy after “Days of Being Wild” (1990) and “In the Mood for Love” (2000) is set in the 60’s and took 4 years to complete before it came out in 2004. As the informal sequel to “In the Mood for Love” which is considered as his masterpiece “2046” had a lot to live up to. Even with such hype “2046” lived up to the expectations and can be argued as even better than its predecessor.

“2046” Screened at Five Flavours Asian Film Festival

Unlike any other films by Wong, “2046” has a much more complex story, told by jumping through time and reality. After the events of “In the Mood for Love”, Chow Mo-wan spends life as a writer and returns to Hong Kong after spending some years in Singapore. Getting over his idealized love for Su Li-zhen, he has become a womanizer. The hotel...

Twenty-four years ago, on the evening that the U.K. handed political control of Hong Kong to China in 1997, Hong Kong leading man and Cantopop superstar Andy Lau performed in state broadcaster CCTV’s song-and-dance spectacular to mark the occasion.

As the camera panned through an audience waving both Chinese and Hong Kong flags, he sang a dulcet duet with Chinese singer Na Ying of one of iconic Taiwanese singer-songwriter Lo Ta-yu’s most famous songs, “Pearl of the Orient.”

Lo had written the song in 1986 as an ode to Hong Kong and its unique identity as a haven and hub between east and west. The song nods to the territory’s troubles under British colonial rule, and implores it not to lose sight of its Chinese identity. At a time of growing anxiety about Hong Kong’s future after the handover, its lyrics posed the question: “Pearl of the Orient,...

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,...

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,...

Wong Kar-wai has written a sequel to his 1994 Hong Kong classic “Chungking Express,” but much of the project remains a mystery. A report from Variety states the sequel is titled “Chungking Express 2020” and that the script, written by Wong Kar-wai, was “submitted for government approval in Shanghai in April and approved on Wednesday, Sept. 23, meaning it can now move forward with plans for production.” The project is backed by the Shanghai Fanhuali Development Company, which is also working with Wong on his new project “Blossoms.”

The filing for “Chungking Express 2020” includes this cryptic plot synopsis: ““In ’90s Hong Kong, broken-hearted Policeman 223 encounters a blonde female assassin, and they spend a short time together overnight. Policeman 663, who also is getting over heartbreak, sees his life gradually changed by the intrusions of the ‘person of his dreams.’ In 2036, young Xiao Qian and May are unwilling to be held back by genetic partnering,...

Chinese authorities have registered and approved a new project written by Hong Kong-based auteur Wong Kar-wai, listed as “Chungking Express 2020.”

According to an official filing on the National Film Bureau’s website, the script was submitted for government approval in Shanghai in April, and was approved on Wednesday, Sept. 23. This means it can now move forward with plans for production.

The project was listed by Shanghai Fanhuali Development Company, a firm that is also involved in the TV serial “Blossoms,” which credits Wong as creator and producer. The company has previously been involved in just two films: Pema Tseden’s arthouse stunner “Jinpa,” and, incongruously, “Atm,” a slapstick-y 2019 remake of a Thai rom-com.

The filing offers a short, but slightly cryptic, plot summary: “In ’90s Hong Kong, broken-hearted Policeman 223 encounters a blonde female assassin, and they spend a short time together overnight. Policeman 663, who also is getting over heartbreak, sees...

The final entry in Wong Kar-wai’s informal love trilogy after “Days of Being Wild” (1990) and “In the Mood for Love” (2000) is set in the 60’s and took 4 years to complete before it came out in 2004. As the informal sequel to “In the Mood for Love” which is considered as his masterpiece “2046” had a lot to live up to. Even with such hype “2046” lived up to the expectations and can be argued as even better than its predecessor.

Unlike any other films by Wong, “2046” has a much more complex story, told by jumping through time and reality. After the events of “In the Mood for Love”, Chow Mo-wan spends life as a writer and returns to Hong Kong after spending some years in Singapore. Getting over his idealized love for Su Li-zhen, he has become a womanizer. The hotel room number from “In the...

Get in touch to send in cinephile news and discoveries. For daily updates follow us @NotebookMUBI.NEWSLil Peep and Terrence MalickHere's a surprising one: Terrence Malick is set to executive produce a documentary about the late rapper Lil Peep. Ang Lee has begun preparing to direct a biographical film about Teresa Teng, the Taiwanese pop icon who passed away in 1995 at the age of 42. There's also some very exciting rumors that the role of Teng is to be played by pop icon Faye Wong.Lucrecia Martel is mounting her next feature, her first documentary chronicling "the murder of indigenous activist Javier Chocobar and the removal of his community from their ancestral land in Argentina."Recommended VIEWINGThe Coen brothers' forthcoming anthology western, starring the likes of Liam Neeson, Zoe Kazan, Tom Waits, and Tim Blake Nelson, gets its 2nd trailer ahead of its Netflix release.This one caught us by surprise:...

Hong Kong pop queen Faye Wong, mainland Chinese actress Zhao Wei and Taiwan’s Shu Qi are believed to be among the celebrities from around greater China who are now rushing to ensure their finances are on the right side of the law in the Middle Kingdom.

Their haste has been triggered by the recently announced punishment of superstar Fan Bingbing for tax evasion, and by the Chinese government’s campaign to make public examples of misbehaving celebrities.

Tax officials Wednesday revealed that Fan, star of Hollywood’s “X-Men: Days of Future Past” and recent Chinese hit “I Am Not Madame Bovary,” could be liable for up to $129 million (Rmb 883 million) in back taxes, late payment penalties and fines.

The hefty penalty imposed on China’s most famous actress – who was reportedly detained and questioned by authorities for months – signals the beginning of an aggressive crackdown on the country’s booming entertainment business,...

Singapore is 22% larger than it was in 1965, and home to twice as many people. That sort of thing doesn’t happen naturally — but, thanks to the industrial sorcery of land reclamation (a process that involves importing rock and sand from other places and using them to build out the seas), there’s almost no limit to the boundaries of urban development. Who needs oceans when you could have a globally interconnected network of strip malls, office parks, and power plants? Now that human civilization’s disastrous effect on the environment is already past the point of no return, what’s the harm in just terraforming the rest of the Earth?

The newly crowned winner of this year’s Locarno International Film Festival, Yeo Siew Hua’s “A Land Imagined” attempts to answer those questions by distilling them into an elusive dream noir that borrows from a dozen bigger movies in...

Get in touch to send in cinephile news and discoveries. For daily updates follow us @NotebookMUBI.News We are devastated to learn that the late Theodoros Angelopoulos' home, which housed the director's archives, has burnt down amidst the Attica wildfires in Greece. It is currently unclear what has been lost in the fire. This is the house that housed the whole archives of late director Theo Angelopoulos. Everything has been burnt. A massive loss to not only modern Greek culture but world culture. pic.twitter.com/DM60QxWP6a— Konn1e (@ntina79) July 25, 2018Recommended Viewing The ever-elegant "Mandopop diva" Faye Wong reprises her cover of The Cranberries' "Dreams"—best known for its appearance in Wong Kar-Wai's Chungking Express—in the first episode of Phantacity, a Chinese variety show that creates "music video-worthy performances." The full episode can be viewed here. Lucrecia Martel has directed a music video for Argentine...

Se Asian movies, at least as they are perceived in their whole by the majority of international audience, are known for a number of things: Horror, violence, Wong Kar Wai, Park Chan-wook and Takashi Miike (ok, I am just oversimplifying things here). So, for this list I decided to show another aspect of Asian movies, not so frequently mentioned or even considered for that matter, apart from the Bollywood movies that is. Without further ado, here are 12 great dancing scenes from Asian movies, with the lion’s share belonging to Wong Kar Wai, who has presented a number of astonishing sequences through the years.

1. Lai Yiu-fai and Ho Po-wing are dancing in a kitchen (Wong Kar Wai, Happy Together,1997, Hong Kong)

Tony Leung and Leslie Cheung are tangoing in the middle of a kitchen, with their love and adoration for each other becoming evident by the way they look at and lean on each other.

A significant film

Despite the fact that it was produced on a budget of merely Hk$500,000 (Us$64,000), with a cast and crew mainly comprised of volunteers, “Ten Years” was one of the most successful films of the last years, particularly due to the controversy it spawned. Being highly accusing of the mainland’s efforts to assimilate Hong Kong with the rest of China (currently, it is an autonomous territory), it was banned or censored continuously. However, this effort actually helped the film gain more exposure.

5 segments

The film is comprised of five segments, each with its own director and cast, which portrays how Hong Kong will be in ten years, if the mainland’s efforts continue.

“Extras”

Kwon Zune’s “Extras” tells the story of Hairy, a triad member, and Pete, an Indian, who are paid by the government to shoot two local political leaders, in order to instigate panic...

Wong Kar-wai at the Berlin Film Festival 2013/Cc-Attribution 3.0 Unported

Wong Kar-wai’s Jet Tone Films Ltd. will be honored at the upcoming Hong Kong Film Festival on March 21 to April 4, 2016 and some of the production company’s well-known movies will be screened during the course of the festival in spring.

Although a definitive list is yet to be released, you can look forward to some of these movies on the Hkiff screening.

Days of Being Wild

This 1990 drama stars Leslie Cheung, Maggie Cheung, Andy Lau, Carina Lau, Tony Leung Chiu-wai, and Jackie Cheung. Leslie Cheung plays Yuddy, a consummate playboy who breaks the heart of Li-zhen (Maggie Cheung) and Mimi (Carina Lau). The film casts light into the characters’ psychological drama, but has been labelled as frustrating by many audiences because it does not present a clear plot. This project started Wong Kar-wai’s collaboration with premier cinematographer Christopher Doyle...

40. Don’t Look Now (1973)

Directed by: Nicholas Roeg

A few films that could be defined as horror appear on this list, mostly because the best ones veer further into a psychological discussion on dealing with fear, death, and loss. Based on a short story by Daphne du Maurier, “Don’t Look Now” is a landmark of British-Italian cinema, thanks to its wonderfully developed characters and realistic depiction of grief. John and Laura Baxter (Donald Sutherland and Julie Christie) travel to Venice, still reeling after the accidental drowning of their daughter Christine. While there, Laura meets a psychic who claims that Christine is still trying to contact them, which she shares with John, who is skeptical. Slowly, John begins to experience supernatural moments and mysterious sightings, some of which appear to be a young girl in a red coat, similar to the one Christine was wearing when she died. While the...

As one monthly theme begins, another ends. The former is, of course, Sound on Sight’s monthlong dedication to all films that scare, terrify, or spook us in conjunction with October being the scariest month of the year. (That’s a scientific fact, folks.) The latter is our look at the works of Wong Kar-Wai, inspired by his latest film, The Grandmaster. Though September’s just now ended, a handful of your intrepid Sound on Sight contributors, as well as our benevolent editor-in-chief/overlord, came together to vote on Wong Kar-Wai’s best films, his worst, and everything in between. What follows are capsule reviews of each of his films, listed in order based on the Sound on Sight’s staffwide vote. What’s our favorite Wong Kar-Wai film? Well, read on through the entire list, and you’ll find out. Enjoy!

****

10. My Blueberry Nights

Stylistically at odds with itself,...

From the classic Wu Xia movies to the martial arts brilliance of Bruce Lee to the action extravaganzas of John Woo to the extraordinary aesthetics of Wong Kar-Wai, Hong Kong has produced some of the best and most exciting movies of the last 50 years. Hong Kong movies can be typified by their energy and bombast, because whether it’s a musical or action movie, the pictures are impossibly lively. Despite being a small country with a tiny population, Hong Kong always seems to leave an impact on cinema and has produced great directors such as Wong Kar-Wai, John Woo, Peter Chan, Stanley Kwan, Johnnie To and Tsui Hark. It’s testament to the strength of Hong Kong cinema that films from To, Kwan and Hark don’t feature on this list. And whilst this list is very Wong Kar-Wai heavy, that says more about the great auteur rather than Hong...

It’s been a while since I’ve covered anything regarding director Soi Cheang’s fantasy martial arts film “The Monkey King.” To be perfectly honest, the movie had slipped off my radar. In order to remind everyone that the picture is still on its way to the big screen, a brand new teaser has been released. Although you won’t see Yen in action, it’s nice to get a taste of things to come. Based on the classic Chinese novel “Journey To The West,” the film follows the adventures of the Monkey King as he rebels against the Jade Emperor of Heaven. “The Monkey King,” which also stars Aaron Kwok, Joe Chen Qiao-En, Chow Yun Fat, Peter Ho, Faye Wong, Gigi Leung, Cecilia Cheung, and Fan Siu-Wong, is slated for release in China on July 4, 2013. You can check out the latest poster and the aforementioned teaser below...

Hong Kong's dramatic harbour setting and skyline was made for the movies. From Suzie Wong to James Bond, the Guardian's film editor, Andrew Pulver, chooses his Hk top 10

• As featured in our Hong Kong city guide

The Dark Knight, 2008

As a land of shiny steel and glass, Hong Kong has recently become catnip for Hollywood productions looking for an extra dimension to their power buildings. In 2008, the Batman film The Dark Knight came to Hk to film a scene in which the caped crusader captures mob accountant Lau. The building in question is Two International Financial Centre, over 400m tall and at the time the tallest in the city (it has since been overtaken by the International Commerce Centre in Kowloon).

• Two International Financial Centre, 8 Finance Street, Central

Enter the Dragon, 1973

Hong Kong's greatest cinematic son is, of course, Bruce Lee (even if he was born in San Francisco). His filmography is short and sweet,...

Confectionary brand Allen’s has launched a new campaign intending to make more Australians smile more often with its new ‘Smile Makers’ initiative.

The campaign centres around the idea that people smile only 15 times a day on average, and Allen’s wants to encourage Australians to smile more by sharing the things they do and say to make others smile.

The ‘Smile Makers’ campaign is not to be confused with the new brand of sex toys, Smile Makers vibrators, led by the Monkey’s creative partner Micah Walker.

The first stage sees the campaign touring Australia, with activations in each of the capital cities along with ten towns across the nation during June. A character called Bravo Child is asking Australians in each town what makes them smile.

The work, created and directed by Tco, is intended to be participatory in nature and the content being captured during this phase...

Hundreds of millions of viewers tuned in Sunday evening for the annual Chinese New Year television gala presented by China Central Television (CCTV), despite the show missing one of its mainstays and top stars.  Veteran actor Zhao Benshan, 53, whose comedy pieces with actress Song Dandan were an annual and anticipated part of China's biggest TV event, announced earlier this week he would not participate due to health reasons. Even without Zhao, the show went on, and featured local star power including singers Faye Wong, American-born Wang Lee-hom and Chinese piano virtuoso Yundi Li.  Part Super

read more...

Grantland Molly Lambert's incisive piece on Shia Labeouf's star persona "Tears of a Fighting Clown"

Super Punch "Zombie Snow White MacBook Stickers" Eeek and Yay!

i09 wonders which DC characters could save DC's miserable movie track record. I voted for "Aquaman but only if James Cameron directs it" because James Cameron is awesome. The end.

PopMatters muses on Marvel and whether or not they can sustain their own coherent movie universe.

The Awl "30 Ways to Say 'I Want You'"

xinmsn Tony Leung Chiu-Wai and Carina Lau are trying to get pregnant. A fan snaps them having lunch with Faye Wong. I personally think Wong Kar Wai should film all such too-starry lunches.

Towleroad Reason #21,318 to Love Brad Pitt. He's still fighting the equality fight with mouth and money.

Critical Condition would like to know what you think of this new serenity in the face of death as seen in Restless,...

Shahid Kapoor has voted Asia.s Sexiest Vegetarian Man in a poll conducted by PETAAsiaPacific.com..I have always supported the cause of being a vegetarian, and it.s nice to be felicitated for something so close to my heart. Being voted as sexy is a matter of perception, but being vegetarian is a lifestyle change and something that comes from a sense of responsibility,. said Shahid in a statement.Singer Faye Wong has been crowned Asia.s Sexiest Vegetarian Woman. Other popular contenders included actors Kareena Kapoor and R. Madhavan, model-turned-Hollywood actress Maggie Q and Mongolian singer Nominjin, Taiwanese actor Blue Lan, actors Gao Yuanyuan and Barbie Hsu, and songwriter Louis Cheung..Going vegetarian is the best thing that you can do for animals, the earth and your health. Plus, there.s no easier way to stay slim and sexy . and Faye Wong and Shahid Kapoor are living proof,...

Andreas from Pussy Goes Grrr here, with a special Mix Tape double feature.

Although released over a decade apart, Wong Kar-wai's Chungking Express and Andrea Arnold's Fish Tank (one of last year's best films) have a shared emblem for their characters' longings and frustrations: The Mamas and the Papas' song "California Dreamin'," a staple of classic rock stations that has taken on a cultural life of its own.

In Chungking Express, it's the anthem for lonely waitress Faye (Faye Wong) as she fixates on an equally lonely policeman. In Fish Tank, the impoverished Mia (Katie Jarvis) wants to use Bobby Womack's cover version for her ill-fated dance audition. These women come from radically different places -- Hong Kong and eastern England, respectively -- but they still each dream of a "California."

After the jump, one song seen from two very different perspectives...

Here at HeyUGuys, we aim to provide you with an all-encompassing look into the world of film. Whether you’re a fully-fledged cineaste, or just possess a casual interest, there’s something for anyone with our alternative A-z of cinema, which starts today and runs through the week.

If you’ve ever wondered just what it is an Executive Producer does, or maybe you’ve heard the ambient soundscape of Tangerine Dream in an 80’s film favourite without knowing who you were listening to, this is the list for you!

Here are the letters A-e…

American Movie is the title of an award-winning 1999 documentary which follows the exploits of wannabe auteur Mark Borchardt as he attempts to pull together the funds to make his long-cherished feature film, “the great American movie” Northwestern.

Borchardt (with best friend and acid/booze casualty Mark Schank in tow) embarks on the making of a...

Sure, “Dog Bite Dog” director Soi Cheang’s “The Monkey King” might be a year and some change away from hitting theaters, but that hasn’t stopped the promotional machine from unleashing a teaser trailer to get you pumped and prepared for the splendor to come. Although there’s no actual footage from the production in the clip you’re about to watch, getting a look at all of the talent associated with this very interesting project is reason enough to keep this flick on your cinematic radar. Granted, this could always be a case of too many cooks in the proverbial kitchen, but I’m more than willing to give Donnie Yen and his impressive team the benefit of the doubt. You’ll see what I mean in a minute. “The Monkey King”, which stars Donnie Yen, Donnie Yen, Aaron Kwok, Chow Yun-fat, Peter Ho, Faye Wong, Cecilia Cheung,...

Well all you lucky tax-payers, you have all new Criterion Collection releases to spend that hard earned tax return on. It feels like only yesterday we were posting the June 2010 new releases from Criterion, and here we are with July’s!

First up, we’re getting two Powell and Pressburger films that have been long rumored: The Red Shoes and Black Narcissus. The Red Shoes restored print that has been making it’s way around the country has been of much talk on our podcast over the last several months, and has even found it’s way onto Netflix’s Watch Instantly feature. Soon to be available on DVD and Blu-ray, these are two titles that are clearly worth a revisiting. The restored print of The Red Shoes screened last December in Austin at Butt-Numb-a-Thon, and our own James McCormick joined us on this early bonus episode, to discuss his thoughts on the screening.

In honor of Valentine's Day, our staff will be sharing some of their favorite romantic scenes all day long.

My favorite romantic scenes are ones that show true openness and vulnerability, even when I've seen them so many times I've practically memorized them: Rick insisting that Ilsa must go (Casablanca), Benjamin rattling the glass and shouting "Elaine! Elaine!" (The Graduate), and Lloyd Dobler holding a boom box over his head (Say Anything...). Those feelings characterize the final scene of Wong Kar-Wai's Chungking Express.

The film tells two stories, both featuring Hong Kong cops dealing with the pangs of love and loss, and the very special ladies that revolve around them. In the second tale, gorgeous Tony Leung Chiu Wai (Aka Cop 663) catches the eye of food stand worker Faye Wong (Aka Faye). They meet as "California Dreamin'" (by The Mamas & the Pappas) is blaring from a radio, and it's...

Chicago – The DVD Round-Up is back with a collection of foreign films, indie flicks, a documentary, and a Kathy Griffin stand-up special. The key word for 2010 is diversity and there’s no DVD column more embracing of the variety of titles at your local store than the Round-Up.

“Kathy Griffin: She’ll Cut a Bitch” and “You, The Living” were released on January 12th, 2010.

“Chevolution” was released on January 19th, 2010.

“B-Girl,” “Fireball,” “Import Export,” and “Wushu” were released on January 26th, 2010.

“Kathy Griffin: She’ll Cut a Bitch”

Photo credit: Shout Factory

Synopsis: “The Emmy-Nominated special comes to DVD! Two-time Emmy Award-winning and self-proclaimed “D-Lister” Kathy Griffin’s latest comedy special takes you backstage in Hollywood — from the Emmys to the Grammys and even to Cher’s Malibu mansion! Appearing before a sold-out crowd at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall in Portland, Oregon, Griffin is in top form...

(Tony Leung, above.)

(As the new decade begins, we're going to be running a few interviews with top talents, and on noteworthy films, from the Naughties that we haven't posted online yet. This interview with Tony Leung, on the subject of the film 2046, appeared originally in Venice Magazine.) To 2046 and Back with Tony Leung

by Terry Keefe

2046 is a film which re-teams one of the biggest stars of Asian cinema, Tony Leung Chiu Wai, with one of its most enigmatic and innovative directors, Wong Kar Wai. It's the sixth feature collaboration between the pair, which began in 1989 with Days of Being Wild, and reached its most famous heights on these shores with Chungking Express and In the Mood for Love, the film to which 2046 is an almost-sequel. "Almost" because Leung plays what might best be described as another incarnation, or different shading, of his character from In the Mood for Love.

I love slow movies. Really slow. For the longest time I thought everyone else considered that word to signify the worst in movies. Slow meant bad enough to put you to sleep. I love movies that put me to sleep. I’ve a whole collection of movies that I can pop in the DVD player whenever I can’t sleep and they’ll do the trick. If we can agree that music peaceful enough to put you to sleep can still be great, why not movies?

So this year I’m thankful for slow movies. But I’m also thankful for others who love them, because together we inspire filmmakers to keep making them. Great modern films like Goodbye, Solo and The Assassination of Jesse James..., and The Band’s Visit and Silent Light.

I’m thankful that cinema hasn’t been completely overrun by the desire to make anything...

I’m going to double dip here because it would appear that director Tao Ming Xi is a terribly prolific and busy filmmaker. The first clip you’ll see after the break is a fight montage from a kung fu film he has just premiered in Bejing. It is called Taishan Kung Fu and it is set to expand throughout the mainland provinces.

The film showcases Mt Tai’s rare kung fu known as Stone Skill, and apart from scintillating martial arts scenes, it explores the culture of Mt Tai. Taishan Kung Fu is Tai Ming Xi’s fourth film as a director, with Huang Guan Bao as the martial arts director. The film stars Wu Yue, Wei Yu Hai, Xu Huan Huan, Zhao Pei, Cheng Pei Pei, Wang Fei Hong. Both Tao Ming Xi and Wei Yu Hai are members of Sammo Hung Stunt Team. The film is about...

"Broken Sword" has broken his arm! It's practically all I've been thinking about today. Perhaps I should explain for those who haven't yet heard...

Tony Leung Chiu-Wai was so injured while training for Wong Kar Wai's next picture, a biopic about Bruce Lee's mentor called The Grand Master (not to be confused with Ip Man starring Donnie Yen which is on the same topic). Apparently his arm must rest for over a month (the September start date is looking shaky). My poor Tony. That arm is a cinematic treasure: it draped languorously over his head while he smoked in bed, it tenderly held stuffed animals and Faye Wong's legs, it smoked endless cigarettes and carried so many noodles, it held Tang Wei down while another appendage had its way with her, it embraced the goddess Maggie Cheung so many times. No real harm should ever come to it.

California

Nerve charts the sexiness of the entire Terminator franchise

Posterwire if you're in Southern California you'll want to check out this exhibit. Bob Peak's movie posters are a-ma-zing. The one to your left is for The Year of Living Dangerously (1983)

Gallery of the Absurd totally awesome "14" has a gallery show in June. Go! Her celebrity illustrations are so... gah

Guardian Charlie Kauffman considering a TV series. Is this a good idea?

/Film the voice of Mickey Mouse passes away. Rip

Seattle

Towleroad Seattle International Film Festival gets the premiere of Johnny Weir documentary Pop Star on Ice

NYC

Michael Musto and TransGriot salute Octavia St. Laurent from Paris is Burning. She passed away a few days ago. Rip Octavia. Boy did the Oscar documentary committee screw up in 1991 when they ignored both Paris is Burning and Madonna's Truth or Dare, two of the best docs of the entire decade.

Chicago ??? Criterion made their debut on the next-gen format this month with a series of imports from standard to Blu-Ray, the first film by a regular for the Collection, Wes Anderson’s “Bottle Rocket”, and the movie that introduced Wong Kar-wai to the world, “Chungking Express”.

“The Third Man” and “The Last Emperor” were two of the most lauded releases on standard DVD for The Criterion Collection, so their inclusion in the first wave of Criterion Blu-Ray titles makes sense, but making “Bottle Rocket” and “Chungking Express” two of Criterion’s premiere HD titles was an unusual choice from a company known for doing things a little differently.

It begs an obvious question - Was anyone dying to see the low-budget debut of the Wilson brothers in stunning 1080p High-Definition? Even “Chungking Express”, with the accomplished visual sensibility of the great Wong Kar-wai, doesn’t seem like the obvious choice...

Faye Wong in Chungking Express

I had never seen Kar Wai Wong's Chungking Express. So before I decided on whether or not I wanted to pick up the brand new Criterion Blu-ray I had to give it a once over and I must say I loved it, especially the second half as teased in the scene to the right, which features Faye Wong as Faye doing a little andquot;cleaning upandquot; at Cop 663's (Tony Leung) apartment. The song is also sung by Wong and is a Cantonese version of the Cranberries song "Dreams" (at least I am assuming it's in Cantonese). It was a turning point scene for me and I know I will be picking up the Blu-ray as I can already tell this DVD transfer did not do the film justice. Personally I connected much more with the second half of the film, but I don't...

Chinese singer/actress Faye Wong has been named Asia's sexiest female vegetarian by animal rights campaigners.

The star came top in the poll by organisers at People For the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) when the results were announced on Wednesday.

Wong edged out Die Hard 4 beauty Maggie Q to take the title.

Meanwhile, Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan was voted Asia's sexiest male vegetarian.

Hong Kong director Wong Kar-Wai insists Grammy-winning singer Norah Jones is the perfect choice for his latest film, even though she has no acting experience. Jones will star with Jude Law, Natalie Portman and Rachel Weisz in the film My Blueberry Nights, and Kar-Wai was convinced to cast her after seeing her "acting aura." He explains, "Of course everyone knows her because she's a singer, but I didn't pick her for this film because she's a very successful singer. I think she's suitable for acting. This is instinct. It's like how I felt that Faye Wong could act when I first saw her a few years ago. There's a very special aura." Wong was a Chinese pop star who appeared in his movies Chungking Express and 2046.

HONG KONG -- Universal Music Southeast Asia and Apple's iTunes said that they have struck a deal to make the record company's Chinese catalog available for legitimate downloads starting Tuesday. This marks the first time Chinese language pop music from a major label will be available online in the United States and Europe. Consumers will be able to choose from more than 1,000 tracks by Universal Music's roster of Chinese artists, which will include regional names such as Andy Lau, Faye Wong and Jacky Cheung. The new catalog is aimed at the large overseas-Chinese population where delivery in the past has been in the form of physical products through specialist retailers.