Wild Horse from Shangri-La (命懸800公里)
An ethnic Tibetan “boy” — who looks more like a young man, possibly even Daniel Day Lewis in The Last of the Mohicans — refuses to let his sister lie down and die when she is afflicted with a life-threatening condition. Nicknamed “Wild Horse” for his running prowess, our hero learns of a marathon to be held in Kunming whose first prize is just enough to cover his sister’s medical expenses ... but he has to run there before he can compete. Any Chinese film with Tibetan content instantly raises red flags, but this one seems more aimed at kids than anyone else. Amusingly, and apparently without irony, the English-language trailer uses a snippet from Run Like Hell by Pink Floyd.
Bottle Shock
This is based on a true story of a clever wine taste test in 1976 that saw French judges unwittingly declare an American wine to be superior. Alan Rickman plays an elite British wine merchant in Paris who sets up the competition, Bill Pullman is the eccentric winemaker in Napa, Chris Pine is Pullman’s maturing son and co-worker and Dennis Farina is Rickman’s loyal customer and cheerleader. This film was in the cellar for more than a year before securing a release here, but its dividends should be no less bountiful.
Le Secret
Possibly taking advantage of today’s more permissive censorship regime, this obscure French drama has been dusted off after nine years for a release in Taiwan. An encyclopedia saleswoman does the dirty on her husband and child with (gasp) an American choreographer. He’s a recluse ... but he sure knows how to push her buttons. Possibly a feature-length warning against such behavior, the way Le Secret is packaged is more likely to trigger mid-life crises throughout the theater. Stars Tony Todd (Candyman) as the illicit lover; his presence makes this worth a look.
Phobia 2
The original Phobia was a Thai compendium of four horror tales; in English it was also called 4bia. But Thai audiences were not at all phobic about seeing it, hence this energetic sequel, which offers a bonus fifth tale of fear. Sinister religious practices and figures, zombie attacks, murderous vehicles and ghosts enter the frame in a selection that pleased audiences and critics, claiming the highest-grossing Thai horror movie crown.
The Triumphant Return of General Rouge
A sequel of sorts to The Glorious Team Batista, a Japanese hospital murder-mystery released here 18 months ago, Rouge places put-upon medicos in a more bureaucratic fix as the government investigators from the previous installment probe dodgy budgeting and claims of unethical practices involving a surgeon gruesomely tagged “General Rouge.” This has to be more entertaining than it sounds, especially as it stars Yuko Takeuchi (Ringu, Spring Snow) and the prolific Hiroshi Abe (Hero). Also known as The Triumphant General Rouge.
Twin Daggers
Shades of Kill Bill at the Baixue in Ximending this week as the latest DVD promo gets a run in this most inelegant of theaters. Aussie journeyman Rhett Giles stars as “Scholar,” a chappie who spends more time unraveling assassin intrigue and kicking butt than producing refereed publications. He joins a number of other would-be killers hired by a sultry lady (Coco Su) to off her identical twin (Coco Su again) before things start getting really complicated. This derivative Chinese production starts tomorrow.
Nov. 11 to Nov. 17 People may call Taipei a “living hell for pedestrians,” but back in the 1960s and 1970s, citizens were even discouraged from crossing major roads on foot. And there weren’t crosswalks or pedestrian signals at busy intersections. A 1978 editorial in the China Times (中國時報) reflected the government’s car-centric attitude: “Pedestrians too often risk their lives to compete with vehicles over road use instead of using an overpass. If they get hit by a car, who can they blame?” Taipei’s car traffic was growing exponentially during the 1960s, and along with it the frequency of accidents. The policy
Hourglass-shaped sex toys casually glide along a conveyor belt through an airy new store in Tokyo, the latest attempt by Japanese manufacturer Tenga to sell adult products without the shame that is often attached. At first glance it’s not even obvious that the sleek, colorful products on display are Japan’s favorite sex toys for men, but the store has drawn a stream of couples and tourists since opening this year. “Its openness surprised me,” said customer Masafumi Kawasaki, 45, “and made me a bit embarrassed that I’d had a ‘naughty’ image” of the company. I might have thought this was some kind
What first caught my eye when I entered the 921 Earthquake Museum was a yellow band running at an angle across the floor toward a pile of exposed soil. This marks the line where, in the early morning hours of Sept. 21, 1999, a massive magnitude 7.3 earthquake raised the earth over two meters along one side of the Chelungpu Fault (車籠埔斷層). The museum’s first gallery, named after this fault, takes visitors on a journey along its length, from the spot right in front of them, where the uplift is visible in the exposed soil, all the way to the farthest
The room glows vibrant pink, the floor flooded with hundreds of tiny pink marbles. As I approach the two chairs and a plush baroque sofa of matching fuchsia, what at first appears to be a scene of domestic bliss reveals itself to be anything but as gnarled metal nails and sharp spikes protrude from the cushions. An eerie cutout of a woman recoils into the armrest. This mixed-media installation captures generations of female anguish in Yun Suknam’s native South Korea, reflecting her observations and lived experience of the subjugated and serviceable housewife. The marbles are the mother’s sweat and tears,
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