Kung Fu Classics
Blood of the Dragon (DVD, China, 1973, 96 min.)
by Pao-Shu Kao; with Yu Wang, Chiao Chiao, Fei Lung, Yeung Yeung.
Talvez você tenha visto esse filme em alguma sessão da tarde na TV. Eu lembro dos meus irmãos assistindo filmes de kung fu quando éramos crianças (enquanto eu era fã dos musicais naqueles dias).
De qualquer modo, esse Blood of the Dragon parece meio 'cult', se não é com certeza. A qualidade da cópia em DVD é horrível, o som tem falhas, a cor está seriamente danificada. Deixando isso de lado, a estória é bem divertida, a coisa do "exército de um homem só" funciona muito bem. As clássicas batalhas de espada, o alto e carismático Yu Wang enfrentando sozinho um pequeno exército, até o trágico e sangrendo final.
Special Movie Review
The Departed: no departure (by David Bordwell)
"I’d love to join the applause that welcomes Scorsese back, but for these and other reasons I have to sit on my hands. For me, the inventiveness of the Asian tradition still reigns supreme in the crime genre. I grant that Infernal Affairs accepts the energy-aesthetic, with its swooping camera moves and its 3.2 second ASL. But the camera gives its actors room to breathe, and it spares some time to define a scene’s locale."
read all comment at:
http://www.davidbordwell.net/blog/?p=18
1. Your Eyes Open [Keane]
2. Just Breathe [Anna Nalick]
3. Semi Charmed Life [Third Eye Blind]
4. This Years Love [David Gray]
5. Looking At The World...[Mike Doughty]
6. High [James Blunt]
7. Hands Open [Snow Patrol]
8. I Can't Seem To...[The Clientele]
9. Life is Short [Butterfly Boucher]
10. Somewhere A Clock Is Ticking [Snow Patrol]
11. Fortress [Pinback]
12. I Me You I'm Yours [Jim Noir]
13. Old Habits Die Hard [Jaegger, Stewart]
14. The Reason Why [Rachael Yamagata]
15. When You And I Were Young [Clientele]
16. Silence is Easy [Starsailor]
17. May Angels Lead You In [Jimmy Eat World]
18. I Do [Better Than Ezra]
19. You Only Live Once [Strokes]
20. Drifting [Jay Chou]
1962 – born in Seul, South Korea.
1982 – graduates actor at Drama and Film department of Dongguk University. Works mostly in theater.
1989 - Kuro Arirang, Park Chong-won's first film.1992-93 – stars in Park Chong-won's film Our Twisted Hero, inspired by writer Yi Munyol ´s homonym book; Our Love This Way.
1993-94 - works in tv dramas, like Moon Over Seoul with old friend actor Han Suk-kyu; and Sara Is Guilty.
1997 – Choi plays a tough-talking police investigator in Song Neung-han's No.3.
1998 – Kim Jee-woon's debut film The Quiet Family.
1999 – plays a North Korean agent in Swiri (Shiri), Kang Jae Gyu's blockbuster, co-starring Han Suk-kyu and Song Kang-ho; gets Best Actor prize at Grand Bell awards. Stars a korean theater production of Hamlet. Plays a husband who discovers his wife's infidelity in Ji Woo-chung´s Happy End (Asia-Pacific Film Festival 2000, Best Actor).
2001 – Plays a small-time gangster in Failan, a melodrama directed by Song Hae Sung, from Jiro Asada´s novel, “Love Letter “, co-starring Cecilia Cheung. Wins Best Actor Award at 2002 Deauville Asia Film Festival.
2002 – In film Chihwaseon (Drunk on Women and Poetry), directed by Im Kwon-taek (Best Director at Cannes), played the famous nineteenth-century Korean painter Jang Seung-up.
2003 – Park Chan-wook's Oldboy (based on manga by Tsuchiya Garon and Nobuaki Minegishi) is considered his best work until now, a tour de force, gave him world star status (Best Actor at Grand Bell Awards and Blue Dragon Film Awards). Oldboy won the Grand Prix at Cannes Film Fest.
Choi and the film directors: "When I'm working with a director, I don't force my own world...A movie is a work of art made by the director. An actor shouldn't try to change the director's world from outside, but rather, the actor must enter the world of the director, like a member of an orchestra would enter the world of the conductor."
2004 – A music teacher in Springtime; and a North Korean commander in Taegukgi : The Brotherhood of War; directed by Ryu Jang-ha.
2005 – Ryoo Seung-wan´s Crying Fist; Park Chan-wook ends his “revenge trilogy” with Sympathy for Lady Vengeance.The director Ryoo Seung-wan, on Choi´s personality: “I noticed that Mr. Choi is always joking, eating snacks, and generally not paying much attention to filming but when the camera light turns on and I shout 'action!', he suddenly snaps right into character and becomes a different man.”
Choi talks about Crying Fist: "This film was very hard work and the character I played didn't suit my style, but what attracted me to this role was the fact that it is about an ordinary person in an extraordinary situation. This project was meaningful and quite satisfying for me. The movie may seem rather crude at first but it is a deep penetrating look at human nature and the way a man is made or ruined under pressure. I believe that the inspirational message of this movie is needed in today's society of indifference. There's a saying that goes: 'a sliver under my fingernail hurts more than a crack in another man's skull.' This is the kind of thinking that needs to change. I recently heard stories of people committing suicide in the Kangnam area and it really pierced my heart as I was able to see the kind of pain these people go through while filming this movie."
2006 – The Year of Politics – In february, the actor returns a government decoration in protest against decision to halve the screen quota for domestic movies. Choi said the medal (the Og-Gwan Order of Cultural Merit), once a symbol of pride, was now “nothing more than a sign of disgrace, and it is with a heavy heart that I must return it." In march, Choi joins film students at a rally to protest against a cut in the screen quota reserved for Korean movies in domestic theaters, in Seoul. And more protests in may: Choi Min-Sik, Bong Joon-Ho and others, make night vigils in front of the Palais des Festivals, at the 59th Cannes Film Festival, protesting against the reduction of the South Korean screen quota system, trying to aware the people about the struggle of their cinema to keep its identity and independence, against the American hegemonic cultural policy.
New projects: Directed by Yoon Jong-chan, Hamonica and Friend is “a story of homeless people who live in the underground subway station, and even though they look miserable, each people have their own friendship, humor, hope and love.”
HK star Jackie Chan plans to retire from action movies. After more than one hundred films made, and the natural limitations of the age, he is thinking about new chalenges in the profession. Chan talks to the press: "I must say that I've been willing to change my roles for some time. I've been quite fed up with the roles I've been playing. I want to put myself to the test in future, interpreting different characters...And then we all know that the life of an action hero is quite short. In future I would like people to consider me as not just a martial arts character but for other roles as well."
In the meantime, kung fu master Jet Li has declared his intention of quiting the action films too. And in despite of being younger than Jackie Chan, and looking in very good shape, Li seems to have some health issues this days. His latest action film, Fearless, maybe will be the last one. Let´s hope that´s not truth.With this sad news, one has to wonder, what will be the future of the kung fu action films? Who will be the sucessor, or sucessors of this great stars? I can´t think about anyone, do you?
'I'm a Cyborg, But That's OK': A love story about a girl (Im Soo-Jung, “A Tale of Two Sisters”) who thinks she's a cyborg, and a young man (pop singer Rain) with a compulsive theft disorder, and imagine that can steal the abilities and personalities of other people. The movie is scheduled to be released in early December.
Jackie Chan's new film "Rob-B-Hood" premiered in Beijing. Chan plays a gambling-addicted thief who, along with two other crooks, kidnaps the infant grandson of the richest woman in town. The co-stars are Louis Koo, Michael Hui, Gao Yuanyuan and Chen Baoguo. The director of the HK$130 million project is Benny Chan.
Taiwan stars Sylvia Chang and Rene Liu are working together once again (after "20, 30, 40") on the movie "Happy Birthday", based on Liu's short novel "I Want to Go with You". It´s about a decade-long love story that persists through sending and receiving birthday cards. Hong Kong star Louis Koo and director Jingle Ma will join the project, scheduled to be release at the end of November.
Director Ning Hao's next project is "Crazy Racer", tells the story of two mail carriers from different express companies who compete with each other, and their flying speeds are used by a group of mobsters to deliver dynamite. The original lineup from "Crazy Stone" will also star in the new "Crazy" series, including lead actor Guo Tao. Andy Lau will play a traffic policeman. The film starts filming at the end of this year.
Director Feng Xiaogang is about to start shooting his new film, a war epic called "The Assembly Call”. The story is set in 1948, at the turning point of the last Chinese civil war and ends in 1956, three years after the end of Korean War. The film is inspired by Yang Jinyuan´s short story "The Law Suit", based on a true story.
The kung-fu film "Fearless" will be released on DVD at the end of the year with a longer director's cut, since 40 minutes of the movie where sacrificed at the editing room, according to director Ronny Yu. Yu and Jet Li worked together on the script, the life story of kung-fu master Huo Yuanjia.
The winner of Golden Lion at Venice Film Festival, director Jia Zhang-Ke's “Still Life”, starring actress Zhao Tao, was shot in the old village of Fengjie, which has been destroyed by the building of China's Three Gorges Dam. The film recounts the story of people who come back to Fengjie during the upheaval. A miner comes back to the village to look for his wife, and a nurse for her husband.
Chow Yun-Fat's latest movie "The Postmodern Life of My Aunt", directed by Ann Hui and co-starring Si Qin Gao Wa and Zhao Wei, is set in modern Shanghai, and tells the story of a highly-educated woman's dramatic life after she retires. It will open in Chinese cinemas at the end of this year.
...the story of Chinese Martial Arts Master Huo Yuan Jia (1869-1910), the founder and spiritual guru of the Jin Wu Sports Federation.
Jet Li´s "Huo Yuan Jin" (Fearless) hits 2 at USA Box Office.
see all about the film at the official site:
http://www.jetlisfearless.com
VENEZIA 63
The Venezia 63 Jury of the 63. Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica, chaired by Catherine Deneuve an comprised of José Juan Bigas Luna, Paulo Branco, Cameron Crowe, Chulpan Khamatova, Park Chan-wook and Michele Placido, having viewed all twenty-two films in competition, has decided as follows GOLDEN LION for Best Film:
Sanxia Haoren (Still Life) by Jia Zhang-Ke
Congratulations to Jia Zhang-Ke
HORIZONS
The Horizons Jury of the 63. Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica, comprised of Philip Gröning (President), Carlo Carlei, Yousri Nasrallah, Giuseppe Genna and Kusakabe Keiko, has decided to award...
... HORIZONS PRIZE to:
Mabei shang de fating by Liu Ji
63rd Venice Film Festival (launched 30 August 2006)
Venezia 63 – Asian Films In Competition...
Paprika (Japan - 90’)
Director: Kon Satoshi (anime).
Mushishi (Japan - 131’)
Director: Otomo Katsuhiro
Starring: Joe Odagiri, Makiko Esumi, Nao Omori.
Fangzhu (Exiled) (Hong Kong, China - 98’)
Director: Johnnie To
Starring: Anthony Wong, Francis Ng, Nick Cheung, Josie Ho, Simon Yam.
Hei yanquan (I don’t want to sleep alone)
(Taiwan, France, Austria - 115’)
Director: Tsai Ming-Liang
Starring: Lee Kang-Sheng, Chen Shiang-Chyi, Norman Atun.
Sang sattawat (Syndromes And Century) (Thailand, France, Austria - 105’)
Director: Apichatpong Weerasethakul
Starring: Nantarat Sawaddikul, Jaruchai Iamaram, Sophon Pukanok,
Jenjira Pongpas.
Asian Cine News
The next project of Hong Kong actor Tony Leung Ka-Fai (Election) will be "The Blue Ocean and A Brave Heart”. Based on a true story, the film tells of a canoeist (Huang Jue) who overcomes difficulties to finally snatch the gold medal in the Olympic Games. Tony Leung will play his coach. Producer Li Xiaowan and screenwriter Chi Shao'ai teamed up for the project.
Director Park Chan-wook (Oldboy) is wrapping up´his latest project, "I'm A Cyborg (But That's Ok)", film about a girl who believes she´s a robot, starring actress Lim Su-Jeong (A Tale of Two Sisters) and pop singer Rain.
Speaking of sci-fi flicks, the new film of director/actor/writer Stephen Chow apparently will be titled “LONG RIVER 7” , refering to a satellite.
Asian Cine News
the last samurai - Another remake of Akira Kurosawa's "Seven Samurai" (1954), is supposedly in preproduction. This good, or very bad news, depending on the point of view, was announced by Donnie Yen. The chinese actor was invited by the Weinstein brothers to be part of the future hollywood project.
Golden Boy - The “Oldboy” director Park Chan-wook was invited to joint the jury of the 63rd Venice International Film Festival. The jury president will be french veteran actress Catherine Deneuve. Last year, Park’s film "Sympathy For Lady Vengeance" won the CinemAvvenire (Cinema of the Future) award in Venice, the Little Golden Lion and the Best Innovated Film award. Next Park´s project, "Cyborg Girl", will be released at the end of year.
"Operation Condor" Trilogy - The Hua Shang Bao newspaper reported that Hong Kong star Jackie Chan is making preparations to film the third installment of his "Operation Condor" (1987) and "Armor of God" (1991) series. Chan plans to direct and cast mainland Chinese actors, returning to his leading role of treasure hunter Asian Hawk.
Fist and Fun – before we can see another chapter of the “Operation Condor”,Chan and Jet Li will be working together for the first time on planned project "Monkey King" by Hollywood director Rob Minkoff.
Korean Blockbuster - "The Host" directed by Bong Joon-ho stomped past the 10 million viewer mark, already. The movie about a monster from Seoul's Han River became only the fourth Korean film to surpass that milestone after "Silmido”, "Taegukgi" and "The King and the Clown." But “The Host” set the record for the shortest period in reaching the milestone just 21 days after its release. (http://english.chosun.com/)
Shutter (DVD/ Thailand, 2004, 105 min.)
Directed by Banjong Pisanthanakun, Parkpoom Wongpoom
Screenplay: Banjong Pisanthanakun; Sopon Sukdapisit
With: Ananda Everingham (Thun), Natthaweeranuch Thongmee (Jane),
Achita Sikamana (Natre), Unnop Chanpaibool (Tonn).
One night, a young photographer (Thun) and his student girlfriend (Jane) accidentally run down a woman. They had been drinking hard at a party, so they run away of the crime scene. Some time later, strange shadows appear at some Thun´s photos and, tormented by guilt, he and Jane start investigating the possible link between the photographs and avenging spirits.
This is a very well done film, a hit at its home Thailand, good actings, impecable production, but don´t expect Pang Brothers or Shimizu brillancy, it´s more like “I´d follow the manual of asian thriller movie step by step” with sucess. And you won´t enjoy it less, for sure!
Telegraphic News
Adaptation - The names of some cast members of director Ang Lee's new project Lust, Caution were released after much speculation. The lead actress will be Tang Wei, a new film star in China's mainland. Based on a short story by Eileen Chang, the story of "Lust, Caution" is set in the Japanese occupied Shanghai during the Japanese aggression in the 1940s.
Painful Affairs – the new production of the HK directors team Andrew Lau and Alan Mak is a police thriller, entitled Confession of Pain. Starring Tony Leung Chiu Wai (as Lau, a police officer) and Takeshi Kaneshiro (as ex-cop, alcoholic private detective Yau). Aditional casting include actresses Xu Jinglei and Shu Qi.
It´s all true - Yuanmingyuan is the new documentary film of the awarded chinese director Jin Tiemu. The modern digital production tells the story of Yuanmingyuan; full of exquisite landscapes, the Old Summer Palace was once the world's largest and most luxuriant royal garden. Its construction began in 1707 during the Qing Dynasty and took more than 100 years to finish. "Yuanmingyuan" is set to be screened in China this September.
“And the winner is...” - The Hong Kong Film Critics Association announced the winners of the 11th Golden Bauhinia Awards last Sunday. The musical “Perhaps, Love” won six awards, including best director (Peter Chan), best actress (Zhou Xun), and best music. Johnny To´s “Election” received the top award of best film, and Simon Yam was crowned best actor.
Golden Lion - Chinese director Feng Xiaogang's martial arts epic The Banquet, starring incensed young actress Zhang Ziyi, will have its world premiere at this year's Venice Film Festival on Sept. 3. The 20 million U.S. dollars film, coproduced by Huayi Brothers and the Hong Kong Media Asia Films Company, will be released across Asia on Sept. 15.
Danny the Dog (DVD, 2003, 102 min.)
by Louis Leterrier; screenwriter: Luc Besson
martial arts coreography by Yuen Wo Ping; music by Massive Attack
with Jet Li, Morgan Freeman, Bob Hoskins, Kerry Condon.
Even if you disapprove Mr. Li playing such a medodramatic role (being nursed by an old blind musician and his naive teen stepdaughter), can´t miss the excellent action, the always brilliant martial arts coreography by the master Yuen Ping. And only french Luc Besson to come up with such a crazy funny story.
The Eye 10 (DVD, Hong Kong-Thailand, 2005)
by Pang Brothers; with Chen Po Lin (Ted), Isabella Leung (April), Kate Yeung (May), Kris Gu (Gofey), Ray McDonald (Chongkwai).
Pang Brother´s last film inside this kind of “trilogy of the spirits”, The Eye 10 turns back to its sucessors, The Eye 1 and 2, with a revisionist but, at the same time, ironic and openly comic looks. You can count on the frighting moments, anyway. This film has the flavor of the classic american teen horror movies, enjoying the group histeria factor, but keeping an eastern vision of the spirits world, in contraposition to the usual psicokiller plus urban legend staged until the exaustion it the hollywood productions. It´s a must see for the genre´s fans. With all the theme´s recycling one must wait to see what´s next in the filmography of this creative chinese directors. (see the post of june 29)
News: The Pang Brothers took home the Most Creative Award, at the 11th Golden Bauhinia Awards, for their box office hit, the horror flick "Re-Cycle"; the brothers will do the remake of their 1999 action thriller "Bangkok Dangerous", with Hong Kong actress Charlie Young and Hollywood star Nicolas Cage.
Coming soon...
aChinese Hamlet: veteran "master of humor" director Feng Xiaogang´s latest movie "The Banquet" is an epic drama, a big budget movie (150 million yuan), staring Zhang Ziyi, Ge You, Zhou Xun, Huang Xiao Ming and Daniel Wu. It centers on the royal power struggle in ancient China, a tragic and romantic story.
aThe romantic Johnnie: Johnnie To's new film is an art house love story! Writed by awarded An Xi , the untitled film will star Chinese mainland actress Li Bingbing and Taiwan actor Zhou Yumin . Shooting will begin this August.
aChinese Wall: choreography master Yuen Wo-Ping will return to the director's chair for "The Great Wall". The story is set between the Qin and Han Dynasties and is about fighting the nomadic invaders from the north, the Xiongnu, known as the Huns in the West. The director has invited Jet Li to be the leading man, yet to be confirmed.
aFunny Alien: Stephen Chow will start directing and staring in his new film, working-titled Wai Xing Ren (The Aliens) next month in Ningbo city (director´s hometown). In the sci-fi flick, Chow will play an astronaut who accidentally lands on an alien planet, where he becomes some sort of father figure of an alien boy, with help from a female translator android (Zhang Yu Qi). The film has a budget of $12.5 million US, and it is expected to have a lot of CGI.
aZhang Yimou will shoot his new film "The City of Golden Armor" (or "Curse of the Golden Flower"?) at Tiankeng, a famous scenic spot in Chongqing. A Tang dynasty inn has been built for the shoot as well as other facilities. Chow Yun Fat stars as the emperor and Jay Chou as a rebellious prince.
aAn adapation of the novel “Lust, Caution”, by Zhang Ai Ling is Ang Lee's new project. Lee ("Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon") is currently in preproduction of the film. The leading male role will be Ge You, and the leading woman role is yet to be determined.
aA live-action version of "Mulan" is set to begin shooting in October. Director Stanley Tong announced the new film’s schedule in Beijing, noting that the crew will travel to Yunnan province for its first shoot this October. Mulan is a traditional chinese story that has been told for centuries , about a young woman who disguised herself as a man to take her father's place in battle some 1,500 years ago. The film, with its 200 million yuan budget, has yet to reveal the lead actress.
"Hide and Seek"
1.The Eye (DVD, Hong Kong/ 2002)
Director: Pang Brothers
Actors: Angelica Lee, Lawrence Chou
A blind young woman gets her vision back after a surgery and, with a very creepy bonus, starts to see evil spirits.
2.The Eye 2 (DVD/ Hong Kong/ 2004)
Director: Pang Brothers
Actors: Shu Qi, Jesdaporn Pholdee
As the first “The Eye”, the malevolent spirits are all around, frigthening the living ones. A girl is dumped by her boyfriend and, after a failed suicide attempt, starts to see spirits that, aparently, are trying to make harm to her unborn child.
3.Dark Water (DVD/ Japan/ 101 min.)
Director: Hideo Nakata
Actors: Hitomi Kuroki, Rio Kanno
A divorced young woman struggle to raise alone her daughter. They move to a suburbian building, were strange things happen, like growing stains on walls, and visions of a child´s angry ghost. It´s a very dark and sad tale, and a very interesting study of the women position in the opressive niponic society.
