Eden Lake
Just in time for the global economic morass comes a pitiless British horror thriller that pits a well-to-do middle-class couple on holiday against nasty kids from the local working-class community who don’t limit themselves to throwing rocks and abusive language. Distressing images of fear and brutalization on the film’s posters should keep most adults away, but for anyone into horror or British cinema, this is the pick of the week. Comparisons have been drawn with Wes Craven’s The Last House on the Left, a notoriously vicious horror milestone from 1972 that was never released in Taiwan. House’s inspiration, Ingmar Bergman’s The Virgin Spring (1960), screened here a few weeks ago, however, and that title’s similarity to Eden Lake can’t be a coincidence.
The Midnight Meat Train
Clive Barker hit his bankable peak in the late 1980s when a number of his grim horror tales were turned into films, most famously Hellraiser, which Barker also directed. The Midnight Meat Train is a short story from his Books of Blood that started it all, and stars ex-soccer star Vinnie Jones as a beefy killer prowling an American subway late at night as a photographer tries to track him down. Like Eden Lake, this film has higher ambitions and attention to style (including an excellent poster), possibly thanks to the presence of Japanese director Ryuhei Kitamura (Azumi, Versus). Also stars Brooke Shields.
Orochi – Blood
The week’s third horror outing is a more stately, elegant and restrained affair from Japan. Based on a work by horror manga specialist Kazuo Umezu, this film explores the sinister underpinnings of beauty as an actress mother takes a strange young female visitor into her home with a curse. Japanese gothic horror or baroque horror might be too crude a description, but the visuals are lush and detailed, and the satirical message of female physical decay from age 30 has resonance in Taiwan in particular. This Umezu adaptation comes courtesy of Hiroshi Takahashi, the writer responsible for the Ringu films, and horror director Norio Tsuruta.
Two-Legged Horse
Not quite horror, but close. A parable of political servitude sees a legless Afghan child from a comfortable family use a poverty-stricken child in the neighborhood as the “horse” of the title for a daily pittance. As time goes on, the brutalities mount and the “horse” ... becomes one. Robert Koehler, reviewing the film for Variety, lent the film some notoriety of his own when he wrote “anger is likely to be directed at [award-winning director Samira Makhmalbaf] herself rather than at her subject, totalitarianism. Pic will raise festival howls and walkouts, with distribs certain to consider it untouchable,” because of the apparent suffering of the actors. Aha, but not in Taiwan, Mr Koehler.
The Chaser
Not quite horror, but very close. A cop-turned-pimp searches for one of his hookers after she is tortured and left for dead by a hitherto reliable client. Problem is, everyone who is supposed to do this rescue work for a living is corrupt, incompetent or ill-willed. This is a serial killer thriller with horrific elements (and a restricted rating) from South Korea that treats the audience with keen intelligence and the establishment with utter contempt. It was a monstrous hit at home.
The Code
Morgan Freeman, who rejoins director Mimi Leder after their work together in Deep Impact, stars as an aging thief who returns from retirement for, all together now, one ... last ... heist. Antonio Banderas is his younger partner and foil who is attracted to Freeman’s goddaughter (Aussie actress Radha Mitchell) in addition to some almost priceless Faberge Eggs. The rest of the story writes itself. Also known as Thick as Thieves, this one is struggling to secure a US release date.
To Life
A troubled Mexican photographer reunites with her estranged father in Chile in this chirpy, warm drama about healing and renewal. While there, she falls in love with one of her father’s closest friends, a rabbi, who has a few problems of his own. It goes without saying that the backdrop is all gorgeous mountains, vineyards, lakes, rustic villages and quaint villagers. Spanish title: El Brindis (“The Toast”), and shot in 2006.
No Regret
Purportedly the first feature to be directed by an openly gay Korean director, this film from 2006 covers a lot of ground. A grown orphan moves to Seoul in search of work and a future but circumstances conspire against him and he ends up working at a gay bar. While there he falls in love with a smitten boss from a former workplace and their relationship blossoms. Seedy settings and intense sex scenes rarely engender happy endings, however, and in this case, as the Village Voice states, “Korean melodrama hell” and the underworld sting wait in the wings.
That US assistance was a model for Taiwan’s spectacular development success was early recognized by policymakers and analysts. In a report to the US Congress for the fiscal year 1962, former President John F. Kennedy noted Taiwan’s “rapid economic growth,” was “producing a substantial net gain in living.” Kennedy had a stake in Taiwan’s achievements and the US’ official development assistance (ODA) in general: In September 1961, his entreaty to make the 1960s a “decade of development,” and an accompanying proposal for dedicated legislation to this end, had been formalized by congressional passage of the Foreign Assistance Act. Two
Despite the intense sunshine, we were hardly breaking a sweat as we cruised along the flat, dedicated bike lane, well protected from the heat by a canopy of trees. The electric assist on the bikes likely made a difference, too. Far removed from the bustle and noise of the Taichung traffic, we admired the serene rural scenery, making our way over rivers, alongside rice paddies and through pear orchards. Our route for the day covered two bike paths that connect in Fengyuan District (豐原) and are best done together. The Hou-Feng Bike Path (后豐鐵馬道) runs southward from Houli District (后里) while the
March 31 to April 6 On May 13, 1950, National Taiwan University Hospital otolaryngologist Su You-peng (蘇友鵬) was summoned to the director’s office. He thought someone had complained about him practicing the violin at night, but when he entered the room, he knew something was terribly wrong. He saw several burly men who appeared to be government secret agents, and three other resident doctors: internist Hsu Chiang (許強), dermatologist Hu Pao-chen (胡寶珍) and ophthalmologist Hu Hsin-lin (胡鑫麟). They were handcuffed, herded onto two jeeps and taken to the Secrecy Bureau (保密局) for questioning. Su was still in his doctor’s robes at
Mirror mirror on the wall, what’s the fairest Disney live-action remake of them all? Wait, mirror. Hold on a second. Maybe choosing from the likes of Alice in Wonderland (2010), Mulan (2020) and The Lion King (2019) isn’t such a good idea. Mirror, on second thought, what’s on Netflix? Even the most devoted fans would have to acknowledge that these have not been the most illustrious illustrations of Disney magic. At their best (Pete’s Dragon? Cinderella?) they breathe life into old classics that could use a little updating. At their worst, well, blue Will Smith. Given the rapacious rate of remakes in modern
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