The Ghosts of Girlfriends Past
Matthew McConaughey is putting together a lengthy portfolio of pretty but off-putting romantic roles, and this film is at the top of the list. He plays a photographer and professional cad who goes through women like fast food, but this being an American comedic take on Dickens, moral accountability lies in wait — after the audience has got off on a heap of crudity and sexism — in the shape of his once randy but now cautionary uncle (Michael Douglas) and his very first conquest (Emma Stone), both back from the dead. Can these spoilsport specters steer marauding Matthew toward marital bliss with sweetie-pie Jennifer Garner? Who gives a crap?
You Will Be Mine
No less dysfunctional, but more intense, is the main relationship in this lustful psychodrama from France. A university student and musician discovers that her roommate wants more from her than rent and good conversation and that getting sexually involved with her isn’t such a good idea. The French title of this classical music-garnished obsession romp is Je te mangerais, but the delicate Chinese title translates as “You are my lesbian,” which gets more confusing the more you think about it.
The Shonen Merikensack
The title of this Japanese comedy refers to a punk rock band that is brought back from the dead — figuratively, that is (this isn’t Dickens). The three-decade-old outfit comes together after the discovery of a music video by a would-be go-getter in the music industry, but the aging band members are worse for wear after all that time in the real world. Big laughs abound.
Nekonade
The problem with cute animal movies is that in the real world they fuel demand for pets among smitten youngsters — only for a good proportion of the poor creatures to be abandoned by callous parents when they’re not cute anymore. In this Japanese film, however, the protagonist is a crusty, aging middle manager who does the opposite: He takes in a stray kitten, and his life — a mixture of ruthlessness and suppressed emotion — is turned upside down. The Chinese title misleadingly tags this fictional yarn as a sequel to A Tale of Mari and Three Puppies, which was based on a true story.
Home
This environmental documentary offers two firsts: It’s the first film to secure advertising on Taiwanese garbage trucks, and the first film to feature narration by Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌, presumably riding on his CV as former head of the Environmental Protection Administration). Neither curio is likely to make this offspring of Powaqqatsi and An Inconvenient Truth a blockbuster in a busy line-up of new releases this week, but co-producer Luc Besson might find solace in an emerging environmental awareness in the Taiwanese market, especially on Earth Day. The overbearing narration in the English version is by Glenn Close.
The Qinghai-Tibet Line (青藏線)
If you loved Trail of the Panda and are blind to politics, this Chinese melodrama about the epic construction of the railway to Tibet may entertain with lots of trains, pretty scenery and dramatic chutzpah. For others, it may be a sickening mask for state oppression and domination of minorities in a propaganda format not seen much anymore. According to the China Tibet Information Center, “It is among the 50 films to be shown in theaters [in China] during September 15 to October 31 [in 2007] as recommended by the State Administration of Radio, Film and TV, the country’s top regulator of the industry.” The icing on the cake? It’s being released here on a key anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre.
Taiwan, once relegated to the backwaters of international news media and viewed as a subset topic of “greater China,” is now a hot topic. Words associated with Taiwan include “invasion,” “contingency” and, on the more cheerful side, “semiconductors” and “tourism.” It is worth noting that while Taiwanese companies play important roles in the semiconductor industry, there is no such thing as a “Taiwan semiconductor” or a “Taiwan chip.” If crucial suppliers are included, the supply chain is in the thousands and spans the globe. Both of the variants of the so-called “silicon shield” are pure fantasy. There are four primary drivers
The sprawling port city of Kaohsiung seldom wins plaudits for its beauty or architectural history. That said, like any other metropolis of its size, it does have a number of strange or striking buildings. This article describes a few such curiosities, all but one of which I stumbled across by accident. BOMBPROOF HANGARS Just north of Kaohsiung International Airport, hidden among houses and small apartment buildings that look as though they were built between 15 and 30 years ago, are two mysterious bunker-like structures that date from the airport’s establishment as a Japanese base during World War II. Each is just about
Japan is celebrated for its exceptional levels of customer service. But the behavior of a growing number of customers and clients leaves a lot to be desired. The rise of the abusive consumer has prompted authorities in Tokyo to introduce the country’s first ordinance — a locally approved regulation — to protect service industry staff from kasuhara — the Japanese abbreviated form of “customer harassment.” While the Tokyo ordinance, which will go into effect in April, does not carry penalties, experts hope the move will highlight a growing social problem and, perhaps, encourage people to think twice before taking out their frustrations
Two years ago my wife and I went to Orchid Island off Taitung for a few days vacation. We were shocked to realize that for what it cost us, we could have done a bike vacation in Borneo for a week or two, or taken another trip to the Philippines. Indeed, most of the places we could have gone for that vacation in neighboring countries offer a much better experience than Taiwan at a much lower price. Hence, the recent news showing that tourist visits to Pingtung County’s Kenting, long in decline, reached a 27 year low this summer came