There was a time when the transition away from physical media to digital seemed like a gift as largely hard-to-find media became accessible. Without getting into the larger economic issues within their respective areas, the shift toward digital acquisition with… Read More ›
Beginning in 1965, actor Jimmy Wang Yu worked making films for the famous Shaw Brothers Studio operated by Run Run Shaw, making films like One-Armed Swordsman (1967) and Come Drink with Me (1966) sequel Golden Swallow (1968). It wasn’t until… Read More ›
As an adolescent, I heard about director Ang Lee’s films — Eat Drink Man Woman (1994), Sense and Sensibility (1995), The Ice Storm (1997) — but it was Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) that would be my entry point into… Read More ›
Director Ang Lee’s filmography includes such greats as Eat Drink Man Woman (1994), Sense and Sensibility (1995), Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000), and Brokeback Mountain (2005). Coming to home video from Film Movement on May 10th is a 2K restoration of Lee’s feature-length directorial… Read More ›
In 1966, director King Hu (Dragon Inn) released Da zui xia, also known as The Great Drunken Hero and Come Drink with Me, a martial arts tale that’s equal parts swordplay and drama. The film starred Cheng Pei-pei (Crouching Tiger,… Read More ›
Chinese adventure hybrid Schemes in Antiques from director Derek Kwok (Immortal Demon Slayer) may feel, to American audiences, like a mash-up between National Treasure (2004) and Ocean’s Eleven (2001). It’s at times silly, serious, delicate, and violent, all while using… Read More ›
Cultural legends and myths have been fodder for storytelling (books, music, video games, movies) since the birth of each of them. Why not take something that audiences are already familiar with and either retell or reform it in a way… Read More ›
There have been many adaptations of the mythical figure Sun Wukong, more commonly known as The Monkey King. He’s been depicted by Jet Li in The Forbidden Kingdom, Donnie Yen in The Monkey King, Stephen Chow in A Chinese Odyssey, and… Read More ›
Ideas are often one thing, whereas execution is entirely another. There are plenty of films which sound incredible, but the finished product seems entirely devoid of the potential. This is the best way to describe the frustration that comes from… Read More ›
When you think of a movie based on a video game, do pleasant thoughts come to mind? Despite some genuinely great films based on video games (Silent Hill’s 32% on Rotten Tomatoes is a homophobic microaggression; Silent Hill: Revelation’s 6%… Read More ›
Doesn’t matter the time period or culture, there’s something about food that brings people together. It doesn’t just nourish the body, it possesses the capability of nourishing the soul. The best cinematic iteration of this is the scene in Ratatouille… Read More ›
Over the last few years in America there’s been a surge of “gun fu” films: The Matrix (1999), Equilibrium (2002), all the way up to the recent John Wick series. It’s not that the combination of martial arts and weaponry… Read More ›
A good marketing campaign will make clear what the product is about so that consumers won’t feel flummoxed about how to engage with the object. It’s partly why marketing happens, so that there’s a sense of familiarity. When it comes… Read More ›
Originally slated for February 7th, 2020, the second-part of the Fengshen Cinematic Universe went into stasis until a brief theatrical rollout in October 2020. Now, though, nearly a year after it was to hit cinemaplexes, Jiang Ziya (also known as… Read More ›
The road to release has been a long one for Jiang Ziya as the theatrical release was pushed in early 2020 until a brief window was offered in October 2020. Now, however, everyone can enjoy the second installment of the “Fengshen… Read More ›
The simplest way to describe writer/director Stanley Tong’s (Rumble in the Bronx) latest film Vanguard is a mixture of the Fast & Furious, Mission: Impossible, and The Expendables series of films. You don’t even have to squint to see it… Read More ›
When it comes to crafting compelling stories, anything can inspire ideas: love won or lost, a desire to return to childhood innocence, moments of great historical significance. All of these and more provide the baseline for audiences to engage emotionally… Read More ›
If you’ve ever seen one of director Zhang Yimou’s films, then you’re aware of his general aesthetic: beautiful colors, historical periods, and performances wherein feats of martial arts are as essential to communication as dialogue. His latest work, Shadow, contains… Read More ›
Donnie Yen is one of the most prolific actors in Chinese cinema. Though modern American audiences are most familiar with Yen from his performance as Chirrut Îmwe in 2016’s Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Yen’s been working in films… Read More ›