Orphan
A family with too many problems adopts Esther — a Russian-accented nine-year-old girl — who becomes a much, much bigger problem that any nightmare could have predicted. This is a graphic thriller-cum-horror flick that will offend those who wish to be offended and entertain those who wish to be entertained — and contains a plot revelation that has world-weary critics searching for superlatives. Not suitable for children, and probably unsuitable for a lot of grown-ups as well (the San Francisco Chronicle approvingly called it a “two-hour nervous breakdown,” while the sniffy Washington Post called it “depraved ... filth”). From the director of the House of Wax remake and co-produced by Leonardo DiCaprio.
My Sister’s Keeper
The plot for this one is so outlandish and histrionic at first glance that you could be forgiven for staying well clear: A pre-teen discovers that she was conceived to help her sister survive a would-be genetic death sentence, and sues her family to gain distance from the medicos who need bits of her body. But the cast (Cameron Diaz as the mother, Jason Patric as the father, Alec Baldwin as the lawyer) and the director (Nick Cassavetes, John Q) treat the audience with respect and the end result is a tearjerker with a nod to the dilemmas of modern science.
Spread
Poor prospects for this sex-laced drama about a Los Angeles gigolo and the women who stump up cash for his services. Any such sleaze requires strong characters and a clever script, but neither is on display if you believe early notices from Europe. Worse, there’s no sign of Richard Gere; audiences instead must entertain the thought of Ashton Kutcher (That ‘70s Show, The Butterfly Effect) being the main man and Anne Heche his leading customer. Vulgarities abound, starting with the title.
Handsome Suits
An unattractive loser finds himself the center of much-appreciated attention when a bloated white outfit transforms him into a hunk — but will he find or lose wisdom along the way? This Japanese comedy may sound like a cross between Shallow Hal and that awful Jackie Chan (成龍) movie The Tuxedo, but reviewers in Japan and Hong Kong think some might get a kick out if it. Those not in the mood to be reminded of the superficiality of physical beauty are better off seeing Orphan.
Dream
One of the clever ideas in the original A Nightmare on Elm Street was having petrified teenagers force themselves to stay awake to avoid the razor talons of Freddy Kreuger. In this South Korean fantasy from niche director Kim Ki-duk, a similar situation emerges when a man (who only speaks Japanese) concludes that a sleepwalking woman is acting out his dream world in the real world — with sinister consequences. As with most of Kim’s films, this will leave you exhilarated or in a stony cold funk, which might just allow us to call him the Korean David Lynch.
Keroro The Movie 4
Failed interstellar conqueror Keroro, aka Sgt. Frog, is back in the fourth feature-length anime based on the popular Japanese manga. This time around, the impossibly lazy Keroro travels across the world with his host Earth family to combat a sinister dragon whose massive tail, in the visual tradition of Independence Day, has draped itself across the skylines of cities that boast the world’s most recognizable monuments. Loosely subtitled “Crushing Invasion! Dragon Warriors,” this film should deliver the goods for young fans of this most unusual anti-hero. Screens with a Keroro short, as usual.
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
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
Last week the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said that the budget cuts voted for by the China-aligned parties in the legislature, are intended to force the DPP to hike electricity rates. The public would then blame it for the rate hike. It’s fairly clear that the first part of that is correct. Slashing the budget of state-run Taiwan Power Co (Taipower, 台電) is a move intended to cause discontent with the DPP when electricity rates go up. Taipower’s debt, NT$422.9 billion (US$12.78 billion), is one of the numerous permanent crises created by the nation’s construction-industrial state and the developmentalist mentality it
Experts say that the devastating earthquake in Myanmar on Friday was likely the strongest to hit the country in decades, with disaster modeling suggesting thousands could be dead. Automatic assessments from the US Geological Survey (USGS) said the shallow 7.7-magnitude quake northwest of the central Myanmar city of Sagaing triggered a red alert for shaking-related fatalities and economic losses. “High casualties and extensive damage are probable and the disaster is likely widespread,” it said, locating the epicentre near the central Myanmar city of Mandalay, home to more than a million people. Myanmar’s ruling junta said on Saturday morning that the number killed had
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