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The latest action flick from French writer-producer Luc Besson is notable for enjoying sustained box office success in the US nearly two months after its release. Liam Neeson is a former US spook who comes to the rescue of his kidnapped daughter, now apparently bound for a Middle Eastern harem. Carnage follows in his wake as he puts paid to his mid-life crisis — as well as a white slavery network. Sensitive souls might find this one a little hard to watch in the next few weeks given the sad fate of Neeson’s real-life wife, Natasha Richardson.
Young@Heart
Genuinely emotion-filled release of the week is this British documentary from 2007 about a choir of senior citizens with an average age of about 80 and who specialize in modern, rock-oriented fare. It follows their rehearsals, a number of individual stories and the last-minute deaths of choir members before closing with energetic performances. Winner of several awards, this film has real heart and has left audiences teary and delighted at the same time.
Make It Happen
Poor reviews in Britain and Australia may have helped keep this formulaic aspirational teen dancer movie from a US release, but Taiwanese youngsters besotted with dancing might find something of interest, though even they might be disappointed at the number of dance sequences on show. Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Bruce Willis’ daughter in Die Hard 4.0) is a rural lass dreaming of entering a Chicago dance academy, but has to triumph the hard way, etc etc.
Stars on Earth
Bollywood identity Aamir Khan directs this drama from 2007 about a precocious but dyslexic and misunderstood child whose condition is recognized by a sympathetic teacher. Not many Bollywood features reach Taiwan, and this one is rather atypical, though its length (more than two-and-a-half hours) is not. Child actor Darsheel Safary has impressed many with his lively performance. Also known as Little Stars on Earth and Taare Zameen Par: Every Child is Special.
Homeless Boy
Based on a best-selling autobiography, Homeless Boy is the latest import to coincide thematically with the economic crisis. The boy is Hiroshi, whose already depleted family suffers a double blow when they are evicted and the father leaves the kids behind. Hiroshi follows suit and hits the streets, but, as the Japan Times observes, his fate is far kinder than most street people might experience, and casting an overaged pop star in the role hardly helps. This is no Vagabond or Pixote, then, but most of the kids who see this feel-good flick will probably be grateful for that.
Kamome Shokudo
In a treat for fans of Japanese cinema and the offbeat, the Spot theater in Taipei is screening the two most recent films from Japanese writer-director Naoko Ogigami. Kamome Shokudo (2006) follows the exploits of three Japanese women in Finland who end up working at the restaurant of the title. Quiet, subtle and charming, this film can be added to the list of fine features over the years that have seduced audiences by prominently featuring good food. Also known in English as Kamome Diner or Seagull Diner.
Megane
In Megane (2007), Ogigami sets the action much closer to home, though still rather remotely for most Japanese. Okinawa offers another space for older Japanese women to experience life as it isn’t lived back in the suburbs, and the results are equally quirky and slightly surreal. Their adaptation process and the eccentric locals in this case have hints of that underwatched British classic, Local Hero, and with a psychological payoff to match. English title: Glasses. VIEW THIS PAGE
On a hillside overlooking Taichung are the remains of a village that never was. Half-formed houses abandoned by investors are slowly succumbing to the elements. Empty, save for the occasional explorer. Taiwan is full of these places. Factories, malls, hospitals, amusement parks, breweries, housing — all facing an unplanned but inevitable obsolescence. Urbex, short for urban exploration, is the practice of exploring and often photographing abandoned and derelict buildings. Many urban explorers choose not to disclose the locations of the sites, as a way of preserving the structures and preventing vandalism or looting. For artist and professor at NTNU and Taipei
March 10 to March 16 Although it failed to become popular, March of the Black Cats (烏貓進行曲) was the first Taiwanese record to have “pop song” printed on the label. Released in March 1929 under Eagle Records, a subsidiary of the Japanese-owned Columbia Records, the Hoklo (commonly known as Taiwanese) lyrics followed the traditional seven characters per verse of Taiwanese opera, but the instrumentation was Western, performed by Eagle’s in-house orchestra. The singer was entertainer Chiu-chan (秋蟾). In fact, a cover of a Xiamen folk song by Chiu-chan released around the same time, Plum Widow Missing Her Husband (雪梅思君), enjoyed more
Last week Elbridge Colby, US President Donald Trump’s nominee for under secretary of defense for policy, a key advisory position, said in his Senate confirmation hearing that Taiwan defense spending should be 10 percent of GDP “at least something in that ballpark, really focused on their defense.” He added: “So we need to properly incentivize them.” Much commentary focused on the 10 percent figure, and rightly so. Colby is not wrong in one respect — Taiwan does need to spend more. But the steady escalation in the proportion of GDP from 3 percent to 5 percent to 10 percent that advocates
From insomniacs to party-goers, doting couples, tired paramedics and Johannesburg’s golden youth, The Pantry, a petrol station doubling as a gourmet deli, has become unmissable on the nightlife scene of South Africa’s biggest city. Open 24 hours a day, the establishment which opened three years ago is a haven for revelers looking for a midnight snack to sober up after the bars and nightclubs close at 2am or 5am. “Believe me, we see it all here,” sighs a cashier. Before the curtains open on Johannesburg’s infamous party scene, the evening gets off to a gentle start. On a Friday at around 6pm,
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