Movies Worth Seeing

Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame (2010)

2012-02-15T08:00:00.000+07:00

Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame (Traditional Chinese : 狄仁傑之通天帝國（臺：通天神探狄仁傑）; Simplified Chinese : 狄仁杰之通天帝国 ) is a 2010 epic mystery film that is a fictional account of Di Renjie, one of the most celebrated officials of the Tang Dynasty. A co-production between China and Hong Kong, the film was directed by Tsui Hark from a screenplay written by Chen Kuofu.

The film stars Andy Lau as the lead role, and features art direction and fight choreography by Sammo Hung. The film's supporting cast includes Carina Lau, Li Bingbing, Deng Chao and Tony Leung Ka-fai.

Principal photography for Detective Dee began in May 2009; the film was shot at Hengdian World Studios in Zhejiang, China. Detective Dee was released in China on 29 September 2010 and in Hong Kong on 30 September 2010.

The film was nominated for the Golden Lion at the 2010 Venice Film Festival. The film also made its North America debut by premiering at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival.

The character of Judge Dee was made famous in western countries by Robert van Gulik, who wrote 17 new Judge Dee mysteries between 1946 and 1967. The series is now being continued by French author Frédéric Lenormand.

Casting
For the lead role as Di Renjie, Tsui originally had Tony Leung Ka-fai, along with Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, and Jet Li in mind. Jet Li mentioned while promoting Tsui's other film The Flying Swords of Dragon Gate that he had a chance to read the script though he wasn't able to be part of the project due to some unknown reason.

Tsui commented on choosing an actor to play Di Renjie: "Who said that Di Ren Jie must be plump and old? He could also be very handsome. Wits and looks can balance one another." On 5 January 2009, The Hollywood Reporter announced that Andy Lau would star in the lead role.[4] On 29 April 2009, it was announced that Carina Lau, Li Bingbing, Deng Chao and Tony Leung Ka-Fai would appear in supporting roles.

* Andy Lau plays Di Renjie, an exiled detective of the Tang Dynasty. Lau felt that the character's psychic abilities was one of his greatest traits: "He is a forensic psychologist who knows what you're thinking, from your eyes, your breathing, the pauses in your speech, he could tell what you're withholding, a melancholic detective." To prepare for his role in the film, Lau studied criminal psychology.

* Carina Lau plays Wu Zetian, the Tang Dynasty empress of China. The film marks Lau's first feature film role in four years. On her role in the film, she commented on the strength of the empress: "I feel that Wu Ze Tian is a 'superman', her fate is very tragic, but she would find opportunities to defy her fate, to bring her, step by step, closer to her dreams. She has very strong willpower and is very wise, unlike myself." Lau had to practice horse riding for the film, accepting help from a professional trainer: "I have always been rather afraid of horseriding, afraid of such a large animal; but now I have overcome the mental obstacle and the lessons have been rather smooth."

* Li Bingbing plays Shangguan Jing'er, a highly skilled martial artist, who serves as Wu Zetian's maid and right-hand "man". The character is loosely based on Shangguan Wan'er, who was a poet, writer and politician of the Tang Dynasty. Director Tsui Hark decided to change the character, feeling that a more fictitious character would provide more room for creativity: "There're some things that Wan-er couldn't do, like being a top-notch martial arts expert."

From Wikipedia

Firewall (2006)

2012-02-01T08:00:00.001+07:00

Firewall is a 2006 British-American thriller film directed by Richard Loncraine and written by Joe Forte. Harrison Ford stars as Jack Stanfield, a security expert at a bank faced with a corporate merger and the offer of a new job.

Plot
The film opens with Jack Stanfield (Harrison Ford) leaving his content, loving wife Beth (Virginia Madsen), two children, and a beautiful house to go fulfill his duties as Vice President of Security at Landrock Pacific Bank in downtown Seattle (actually shot in Vancouver, British Columbia as was most of the film).

The day goes smoothly until Jack is visited by a collection agency, claiming that he owes $95,000 in debts to their online gambling site. He trusts a colleague to take care of it (as he is convinced of some form of identity theft) and goes out for dinner with colleague Harry and potential employer, Bill Cox (Paul Bettany).

After the meal, Harry leaves in a taxi and Jack gets in his car. Unexpectedly, Cox follows him into the back seat. Cox then goes on to tell Jack that his family is being held hostage at their home to ensure Jack's cooperation. He then points a gun to Jack's head and forces him to drive home.

Upon their arrival, Jack sees that, although his family is unharmed, they are under heavy watch by Cox's henchmen. Jack is not told what to do until the next morning, when he is told that he must give Cox $10,000 each from the bank's 10,000 largest depositors ($100 million total). He is outfitted with audio and video devices in the form of a pen and a body microphone, making any intentions to resist useless.

Once at work, Cox makes a surprise visit, reintroducing himself as Bill Redmond. Next, Jack gives him a tour of the facilities and security system. On the way back home, Jack attempts to bribe a henchman into betraying Cox, yet this only results in Cox killing the man.

The Stanfields attempt an escape, but the plan fails just barely. In retaliation, Cox tricks the Stanfields' son Andy with a cookie containing nut products. Because he's allergic, Andy goes into anaphylactic shock. Cox withholds the treatment (an EpiPen), until Jack acquiesces to their plan.

The next day, Cox forces Jack to fire his secretary Janet Stone (Mary Lynn Rajskub) fearing she is growing suspicious. Jack downloads the files for the $100 million onto his daughter Sarah's iPod mini hard drive and then initiates a wire transfer to send the money to Cox's offshore accounts.

Before leaving, Jack uses an employee's camera phone to take a picture of the account information on the screen. Cox then sets about wiping his tracks clean, deleting security data and surveillance tapes and using a virus to put the network on the entire building into disarray, setting Jack up to take the fall for the embezzlement. Returning home, Jack finds the house empty except for Liam, one of Cox's men.

Realizing Liam is still around for no reason other than to kill him, Jack turns to survival instinct; he pushes Liam over a chair, grabs a heavy glass blender, and viciously beats him in the head with three blows, killing him. He then tries to call Harry using Liam's unmonitored cell phone but cannot reach his friend.

Instead, he sneaks into Harry's apartment to wait for his friend's return. Both Cox and Harry enter. Cox suddenly shoots Harry from behind, using the gun he had earlier confiscated from Jack. Because of this, along with a message planted on Harry's answering machine by Beth as she is held at gunpoint, it appears that Jack killed Harry in a jealous rage over Beth.

Jack runs to the only ally he has left: his "fired" secretary Janet. He asks her for help, and she provides him with transportation to a late-night branch of the bank at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. There, he uses the picture from the phone he took earlier to get access to Cox's account and calls him.

Jack tells him that there’s been a change of plans: he has hacked into his Cayman Island accounts and is stripping five accounts, $20,000,000 apiece. Cox tries forcing Jack to put the money back, but it is a futile threat. Jack informs Cox that he will get his money when he gets his family. Next, Jack tells Cox that he will call him when the banks open to make the exchange before hanging up on him.

During the conversation, Jack hears the family dog in the background, and realizes that the family can be located and followed by the GPS tracking unit in the dog's collar. This leads him and Janet to an abandoned house. He leaves Janet on the road to call the police.

Cox shoots one of his henchmen (Vel) who had compassion for the hostages and removed the Stanfields' tape gags after Andy began to suffocate. Another henchman (Vince Vieluf) chases after Sarah, Jack runs into the chaser with Janet's car, hurling him into an RV, which then explodes, burning the RV, killing him and destroying Janet's car. Cox, seeing that the tide is turning against him, panics and takes Beth and Andy to the upper level of the house.

Jack scales the side of the house, destroys a window and comes to rescue his wife and son, tackling Cox to the floor and forcing him to a final showdown. After a long and grueling struggle with Cox, Jack finally gains the upper hand, impaling him through the back with a pickaxe, and winning his family's freedom.

Cast
* Harrison Ford as Jack Stanfield
* Paul Bettany as Bill Cox
* Virginia Madsen as Beth Stanfield
* Mary Lynn Rajskub as Janet Stone
* Jimmy Bennett as Andy Stanfield
* Carly Schroeder as Sarah Stanfield
* Robert Forster as Harry
* Robert Patrick as Gary Mitchell
* Nikolaj Coster Waldau as Liam
* Kett Turton as Vel
* Vince Vieluf as Pim
* Vincent Gale as Willy
* Alan Arkin as Arlin Forester

Reception
Filmed for $60 million, Firewall grossed $82,751,189 worldwide, including $48,751,189 in the United States and $34,000,000 in foreign grosses. It opened at No 4 on February 10, 2006 with a total first weekend gross of $13,635,463 in 2,840 theatres for an average per theatre gross of $4,801.The critical reception of the movie was widely negative.

According to Rotten Tomatoes, only 19% of movie critics were positive. The critic's consensus states that "Harrison Ford's rote performance brings little to this uninspired techno-heist film whose formulaic plot is befuddled with tedious and improbable twists." However, it was nominated for two awards, the Taurus World Stunt Award for Best Fight, and the Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a Feature Film - Young Actor Age Ten or Younger (Jimmy Bennett).

From Wikipedia

The Pursuit of Happyness (2006)

2012-01-12T08:00:00.004+07:00

The Pursuit of Happyness is a 2006 American biographical drama film based on Chris Gardner's nearly one-year struggle with homelessness. Directed by Gabriele Muccino, the film features Will Smith as Gardner, an on-and-off-homeless salesman-turned stockbroker. Smith's real-life son Jaden Smith co-stars, making his film debut as Gardner's son Christopher Jr.

The screenplay by Steven Conrad is based on the best-selling memoir written by Gardner with Quincy Troupe.

The film was released on December 15, 2006, by Columbia Pictures. For his performance, Will Smith was nominated for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe for Best Actor.

Production
Development
Chris Gardner realized his story had Hollywood potential after an overwhelming national response to an interview he did with 20/20 in January 2002.[1] He published his autobiography on May 23, 2006, and later became an associate producer for the film. The unusual spelling of the film's title comes from a sign Gardner saw when he was homeless. In the film, "happiness" is misspelled (as "happyness") outside the daycare facility Gardner's son attends.

The movie took some liberties with Gardner's true life story. Certain details and events that actually took place over the span of several years were compressed into a relatively short time and although eight-year-old Jaden portrayed Chris Jr. as a five year-old, Gardner's son was just a toddler at the time.

Casting
Chris Gardner reportedly thought Smith, an actor best known for his performances in action movies, was miscast to play him. However, he said his daughter Jacintha "set him straight" by saying, "If Smith can play Muhammad Ali, he can play you!"[2]

Filming
Gardner makes a cameo appearance in the film, walking past Will and Jaden in the final scene. Gardner and Will acknowledge each other; Will then looks back at Gardner walking away as his son proceeds to tell him knock knock jokes.

From Wikipedia

Rio (2011)

2012-01-01T07:00:00.004+07:00

Rio, often promoted as Rio : The Movie, is a 2011 American 3D computer-animated musical comedy film produced by Blue Sky Studios and directed by Carlos Saldanha. The title refers to the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro, in which the film is set.

The film features the voices of Jesse Eisenberg, Anne Hathaway, George Lopez, Jemaine Clement and Jake T. Austin. It tells the story of Blu (Eisenberg), a male blue macaw who is taken to Rio de Janeiro to mate with a female.

He eventually falls in love with Jewel (Hathaway), a free-spirited macaw, and together they have to escape from being smuggled by Nigel (Clement), a cockatoo. The theme song, "Telling the World" was sung by Taio Cruz.

Saldanha developed his first story concept of Rio in 1995, in which a penguin is washed up in Rio. However, Saldanha learned of the production of the films Happy Feet and Surf's Up, and changed the concept to involve macaws and their environments in Rio.

He proposed his idea to Chris Wedge in 2006, and the project was set up at Blue Sky. The main voice actors were approached in 2009. During production, the crew visited Rio de Janeiro and also consulted with an expert on macaws at the Bronx Zoo to study their movements.

20th Century Fox released the film on March 22, 2011 in Brazil and April 15, 2011 in the United States. The film received generally positive reviews from film critics. Observers praised the visuals, voice acting, and music. The film was also a box office success, grossing over $484 million worldwide.

From Wikipedia

The Guardian (2006)

2011-12-08T13:58:00.006+07:00

The Guardian is a 2006 action-adventure drama film starring Kevin Costner, Ashton Kutcher, and Melissa Sagemiller. The film was released on September 29, 2006, and was directed by Andrew Davis, director of The Fugitive. The setting for the film is the United States Coast Guard and their Aviation Survival Technician (AST) program.

The plot follows Ben Randall (Kevin Costner) and Jake Fischer (Ashton Kutcher) at the United States Coast Guard's Aviation Survival Technician (AST) Program.

Randall is the top rescue swimmer who continues to work against regulation past the age of 40. Fischer is a hot-shot candidate for AST who was ranked as a top competitive swimmer in high school with scholarships to every Ivy league college and university but opted to enlist in the Coast Guard.

The film's title is introduced by a mythic tale: people lost at sea often claim they feel a presence lifting them to the surface, breathing life into their bodies while they are waiting for help to arrive. They call this presence "The Guardian."

Box Office
The film earned $18 million on its opening weekend, and almost $95 million worldwide by January 4, 2007.

Critical Reception
The Guardian received average reviews: Rotten Tomatoes currently has it at 37% rotten (141 reviews: 52 fresh, 89 rotten) while Metacritic rates it a 53/100 based on 29 reviews.

Stephen Hunter pans it in The Washington Post, calling it "a good little film" for the first hour then it "begins to overload its frail reed of a structure with giant sloppages of cliches from other movies, some so bad it's almost comical", concluding that the movie "veers off into slobbery touchy-feeliness, and the tone becomes mock-religious, almost liturgical." Wesley Morris of The Boston Globe called it "dutiful but dull."

For The New York Times, A.O. Scott notes that participation by actual members of the Coast Guard "lends an air of authenticity" and concludes "[i]t’s not a great movie, but it’s certainly one of the finest Coast Guard pictures you’re likely to see anytime soon."

In a Variety review, Joe Leydon says the movie is "overlong but [the] involving drama has obvious cross-generational appeal."

Ed Blank in The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review acknowledges there is plenty to snipe at yet also adds The Guardian "regurgitates formulaic elements in a way that pays off repeatedly and potently.

From Wikipedia

Alvin And The Chipmunks (2007)

2011-11-11T11:11:00.002+07:00

Alvin and the Chipmunks is a 2007 comedy film directed by Tim Hill. Based on the animated series of the same name, the film stars Jason Lee, David Cross, and Cameron Richardson with the voices of Justin Long, Matthew Gray Gubler, and Jesse McCartney.

It was distributed by 20th Century Fox and produced by Regency Enterprises and Bagdasarian Productions. The film was critically panned, but was a major financial success : on a budget of $60 million, it made $217 million in North America and $361 million at the box office worldwide, and was the seventh-best selling DVD of 2008, earning over $101 million.

Plot
The tree that the chipmunks Alvin (Justin Long), Simon (Matthew Gray Gubler), and Theodore (Jesse McCartney) live in is cut down and driven to Los Angeles.

Once in L.A., the Chipmunks meet struggling songwriter David Seville (Jason Lee) who had his latest song rejected by JETT Records executive Ian Hawke (David Cross), his old college roommate. Dave also once had a relationship with his next door neighbor, Claire Wilson (Cameron Richardson).

After winding up at Dave's interview, the Chipmunks hop into his basket and follow him home. Once at home, Dave discovers the Chipmunks, and is accidentally knocked unconscious. Upon waking, he kicks them out until hearing them sing "Only You (And You Alone)". Dave then makes a deal with them; they sing the songs he writes, and in exchange he provides food and shelter for them. However, all does not go well, as Dave's job presentation is ruined by their coloring on it, and when Alvin tries to set the mood for his dinner with Claire, things become weird and she rejects him after he tells her, "My life is being sabotaged by talking chipmunks." To make it up to Dave, the boys go to Ian in an attempt to record a song and get a record deal.

Once the Chipmunks sing Dave's song to Ian, Ian signs them to the label and rehires Dave the next day. After a few singles, the Chipmunks become wildly popular. When Dave expresses concern for their well-being and insists that the Chipmunks are "kids" who don't need so much craziness in their lives, Ian convinces the Chipmunks that Dave is holding them back. Eventually, Dave tells the Chipmunks that if they like "Uncle Ian" so much, they should just go live with him. They become enchanted with Ian at first, but once they set off on a coast-to-coast tour, Ian takes advantage of their naivete, changing their image and working them constantly. Meanwhile, Dave misses the chipmunks and he wishes they would come back home. He calls Ian to see if he can talk to them but Ian refuses, and then conceals Dave's motives from the boys. Later, the Chipmunks are wearing out, and it is all over the news. Dave, infuriated by what Ian has done to the three, decides to take matters into his own hands by infiltrating their concert.

Just before the big concert, a doctor says that the Chipmunks are unable to sing due to their voices given out. Ian refuses to hand out refunds and orders the Chipmunks to lip sync. With Claire's help, Dave sneaks into the concert, but is grabbed by the security guards. When the Chipmunks see Dave being taken away, they decide that they have had enough of Ian, revealing that they were lip-syncing and ruin the concert. They are soon caught by Ian just when Dave is about to rescue them. He locks them up in a cage and prepares to take them to Paris. Dave tries to convince Ian to let the boys go but Ian refuses. Ian then leaves in his limo with the boys and Dave chases them but the boys have already escaped to Dave's car. Dave immediately pulls over and admits that he loves them like his own family. Meanwhile, Ian looks in the cage and is shocked to see the boys have replaced themselves with merchandising dolls.

Sometime later, when the boys are fully accepted as part of the family, they invite Claire over for dinner again. Alvin accidentally creates a short circuit while having difficulty opening a bottle of champagne. Dave is trying not to say it, but the short circuit causes a blackout in the kitchen. Dave can hold it in no longer and says it, letting out his trademark yell "ALLLLVINNN!!", to which Alvin responds with "Okay!".

In the film's epilogue, Ian (now unemployed) tries to make three squirrels sing, but fails.

Box Office
Alvin and the Chipmunks was released in North America on December 14, 2007. Despite negative reviews, the film grossed $44,307,417 in 3,475 theaters its opening weekend averaging to about $12,750 per venue, and placing second at the box office behind I Am Legend. According to Box Office Guru, the first weekend was twice as much as Fox originally expected. Its second weekend was $28,179,556, behind National Treasure: Book of Secrets and I Am Legend. On its third weekend, it surpassed I Am Legend for #2 at the box office, but still ranked behind National Treasure : Book of Secrets.

The film closed on Thursday June 5, 2008, making $217,326,974 domestically and $144,009,659 overseas for a total of $361,336,633 worldwide, making it a huge commercial success considering the film's modest $60 million budget. The sustained box-office success of the film surprised 20th Century Fox; Elizabeth Gabler of Fox 2000 told the Los Angeles Times "I look at the numbers every day, and we just laugh." Given its budget, Alvin was far more profitable than either I Am Legend or National Treasure: Book of Secrets. According to MTV, it also became the highest-grossing talking animal/live-action cartoon adaptation until its sequel. It is also 20th Century Fox's highest grossing film domestically to be released in 2007.

Awards
* 2008 Kids' Choice Awards: Favorite Movie (winner)
* 2008 Young Artist Awards: Best Family Feature Film (Fantasy or Musical) (nominee)
* 2008 BMI Film & TV Awards: BMI Film Music Award (winner)

From Wikipedia

The Smurf (2011)

2011-10-01T07:00:00.002+07:00

The Smurfs is a 2011 American 3D family film based on The Smurfs comic book series created by Peyo and the 1980s animated TV series it spawned.

It was directed by Raja Gosnell and stars Neil Patrick Harris, Hank Azaria, Jayma Mays, and Sofía Vergara. It is the first CGI/live-action hybrid film to be produced by Sony Pictures Animation and in The Smurfs trilogy. During early production the film was known as The Smurfs Movie.

After five years of negotiations, Jordan Kerner bought the rights in 2002 and was in development with Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies until Columbia Pictures and Sony Pictures Animation obtained the film rights in 2008. Filming began in March 2010 in New York.

After having the release date changed three times, Columbia Pictures released The Smurfs on July 29, 2011.

Box office analysts initially predicted the film would tie with Cowboys & Aliens, but The Smurfs ultimately came in second grossing $35.6 million against Cowboys & Aliens's $36.4 million. The Smurfs received generally negative reviews from film critics but has been a box office success, and CinemaScore polls showed a positive score from audience voters.

The film's North American theatrical release date was originally December 17, 2010, but it was pushed to July 29, 2011. It was pushed back again to August 3, 2011. On March 25, 2011, the release date was reverted back to July 29, 2011. For marketing, Sony teamed up with marketing partners in the United States and Canada to promote the film with McDonald's Happy Meals and with Post Foods brand cereal with special blue-and-white cereal box.

Reception
Box office
The Smurfs opened on approximately 5,300 screens at 3,395 locations, with 2,042 locations being 3D-enabled theaters. On July 28, 2011, Exhibitor Relations predicted The Smurfs would rank third its opening weekend with $24 million but analyst Jeff Bock added that the film "could be a dark horse and do better than expected". That same day, John Young of Entertainment Weekly predicted a $32 million opening and a second place ranking behind Cowboys & Aliens. He also stated that the ticket service Fandango reported that the film was leading in ticket sales. The Smurfs came in number one on Friday making an $13.2 million, ahead of Cowboys & Aliens $13 million.

According to Sony's research, 65% of Smurfs' audience was parents (40%) and their children under 12 years old (25%). Overall the audience breakdown was reported as 64% female and 55% age 25 years and older.

Estimates later showed that Cowboys & Aliens and The Smurfs were tied at the number spot for the weekend with $36.2 million each. However, actual figures showed Cowboys & Aliens won the weekend with $36.4 million just beating The Smurfs's $35.6 million. The Smurfs's opening was still stronger than anticipated since some box office analysts predicted that it would open below $30 million. For its second weekend the film remained at number two with Rise of the Planet of the Apes taking Cowboys & Aliens's spot. It made $20.7 million (41% being from 3D showings), a 42% decrease from it opening weekend.

The Smurfs opened to $4.4 million from seven territories with Spain taking in $4 million of that total. On its second weekend it expanded to 42 territories, taking first place in most of its markets and grossing $45.2 million. Among the markets the film opened in first place were Brazil ($6.65 million), France ($5.93 million), Mexico ($5.53 million) Germany ($5.43 million) and India (INR17,200,000). As of Sep. 18, 2011, the film has grossed $137.5 million in the United States and Canada, along with $345.4 million in other markets, for a worldwide total of $483 million.

From Wikipedi

The Sorcerer And The White Snake (2011)

2011-09-14T17:00:00.003+07:00

The Sorcerer and the White Snake (Traditional Chinese:白蛇傳說之法海, Simplified Chinese:白蛇传说之法海, Mandarin Pinyin:Bái Shé Chuán Shuō Zhī Fǎ Hǎi) previously known as, It's Love and Madame White Snake is an upcoming film directed by Ching Siu-tung and starring Jet Li.

It is based on the Chinese Legend of the White Snake. Production started in September 10, 2010 and ended on January 16, 2011. The film will be in 3-D and will be shown out of competition at the 68th Venice International Film Festival. It will be released in Hong Kong on 29 September 2011.

Cast : Jet Li as Reverend Fahai (法海) , Eva Huang as White Snake (白娘子) , Raymond Lam as Xu Xian (許仙), Charlene Choi as Green Snake (小青), Wen Zhang as Neng Ren (能忍), Jiang Wu as Turtle Devil (龜妖), Vivian Hsu as Snow Goblin (千年雪妖), Miriam Yeung as Rabbit Devil (兔妖), Chapman To as Toad Monster (蛤蟆怪), Law Kar-ying as Mysterious Herbalist (神秘藥師), Lam Suet as Chicken Devil (雞妖), Sonija Kwok as Bu Ming (不明)

Production
Leading actors Ethan Ruan, Peter Ho, Mark Chao and Raymond Lam fought for the lead role in the film. In the end, Lam got the role. It was reported that Ruan and Chow were dropped as they were deemed to be not well known enough in China and Ho's image did not suit the male lead.

Jet Li was announced to be part of the cast during early pre-production however his role was not revealed until September 2010, when some actors' roles were announced including Jet Li as Fa Hai, Eva Huang as White Snake, Raymond Lam as Xu Xian, Charlene Choi as Green Snake and Wen Zhang, whom Li invited to play his disciple Neng Ren.

Regarding the action scenes, Jet Li said he had never been this exhausted before. Li says, "After fighting the White Snake, fight the Green Snake. After fighting the Green Snake, then fight the Demon. After fighting this Demon, then fight another Demon. After fighting this Demon, then fight the Water Monster. Everyday on set I was letting out a big sigh."

Raymond Lam said he was always being hit by others, "Especially Ah Sa, she even requested for the director to add fight scenes. As a result, added scenes to hit me! Furthermore she fought much more fiercely than before !"

Filming wrapped on January 16, 2011. Originally titled Madame White Snake in English, the film logo was unveiled during the production wrap press conference with the new official English title, It's Love.

However, the English title was changed to The Sorcerer and the White Snake when the distributor was announced.

From Wikipedia

X-Men Origins : Wolverline (2009)

2011-09-01T07:00:00.002+07:00

X-Men Origins: Wolverine is a 2009 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics' fictional character Wolverine. The fourth installment in the X-Men film series, it was released worldwide on May 1, 2009.

The film is directed by Gavin Hood and stars Hugh Jackman as the title character, along with Liev Schreiber, Danny Huston, Will.i.am, Lynn Collins, Dominic Monaghan, Taylor Kitsch, Daniel Henney, Kevin Durand and Ryan Reynolds.

The film acts as a prequel/spin-off for X-Men trilogy, focusing on the violent past of the mutant Wolverine and his relationship with his half-brother Victor Creed.

The plot also details Wolverine's early encounters with Major William Stryker, his time with Team X, and the bonding of Wolverine's skeleton with the indestructible metal adamantium during the Weapon X program.

The film was mostly shot in Australia and New Zealand, with Canada also serving as a location. Production and post-production were troubled, with conflicts arising between director Hood and Fox's executives, and an unfinished workprint being leaked on the Internet one month before the film's debut.

Reviews for X-Men Origins: Wolverine were mixed, with critics considering the film and its screenplay uninspired, but praising Hugh Jackman's performance. It opened at the top of the box office, and has grossed $179 million in the United States and Canada and over $373 million worldwide.

From Wikipedia

Enemy Of The State (1998)

2011-08-25T08:00:00.002+07:00

Enemy of the State is a 1998 spy-thriller film about a group of rogue NSA agents who kill a US Congressman and try to cover up the murder. It was written by David Marconi, directed by Tony Scott, and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, and it stars Will Smith, Gene Hackman, Jon Voight, Lisa Bonet and Regina King.

The film grossed over US$250,000,000 worldwide ($111,549,836 domestically).

Although the story is set in both Washington D.C. and Baltimore, most of the filming was done in Baltimore.

Mel Gibson and Tom Cruise were considered for the part that went to Will Smith, who took the role largely because he wanted to work with Gene Hackman and had previously enjoyed working with producer Jerry Bruckheimer on Bad Boys.

George Clooney was also considered for a role in the film. Sean Connery was considered for the role that went to Hackman. The film's crew included a technical surveillance counter-measures consultant who also had a minor role as a spy shop merchant.

Reception
Enemy of the State was generally well-received by critics. Rotten Tomatoes presented a 70% "Fresh" rating for the movie, with 57 critics approving of the movie and 24 noting the film as "Rotten;" similar results could be found at the website Metacritic, which displayed a normalized ranking of 67 out of 100 on the basis of the views of 22 critics. Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times expressed enjoyment in the movie, noting how the movie's "pizazz [overcame] occasional lapses in moment-to-moment plausibility;" Janet Maslin of the New York Times approved of the film's action-packed sequences, but cited how it was similar in manner to the rest of the members of "Simpson's and Bruckheimer's school of empty but sensation-packed filming." In a combination of the two's views, Edvins Beitiks of the San Francisco Examiner praised many of the movies' development aspects, but criticized the overall concept that drove the movie from the beginning — the efficiency of government intelligence — as unrealistic.

Box Office
The film opened at #2, behind The Rugrats Movie, grossing $20,038,573 over its first weekend in 2,393 theaters and averaging about $8,374 per venue.

From Wikipedia

The Mummy : Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (2008)

2011-08-15T08:00:00.002+07:00

The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor is a 2008 American action adventure film that follows a sequel to The Mummy (1999) and The Mummy Returns (2001). The film stars Brendan Fraser, Maria Bello, John Hannah, Luke Ford, and Jet Li, and was released on August 1, 2008 in the United States.

The film was directed by Rob Cohen, written by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, and produced by Stephen Sommers (director of the previous two installments), Bob Ducsay, Sean Daniel, and James Jacks.

This film departed from the previous Egyptian setting.

The story has Rick O'Connell's son Alex, now an adult, discovering the tomb of The First Emperor of China, Emperor Han. This leads Rick and his wife Evelyn to travel to China, where an evil Chinese general causes the resurrection of the Emperor.

The Emperor then tries to break an ancient curse set on him by the witch Zi Yuan so he can use his magical powers to bring his army back to life to conquer the world.

The emperor, "Emperor Han" in the film, is based on Qin Shi Huangdi of the Qin Dynasty, and the first emperor of China, not the first Emperor of the Han Dynasty, Emperor Gaozu of Han.

Box office performance
The film premiered in Moscow on July 24, 2008. With it, the first official trailer of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince was released.[31] The film had a wide release of 3,760 theatres in North America on August 1, 2008.

The film was the top-grossing film the day it opened, earning $15.2 million (The Dark Knight was in second place with $12 million) on Friday. However, the film did not become number one overall in the box office on opening weekend, claiming only $40.4 million, which allowed The Dark Knight to claim the top spot for the third week in a row with $42.6 million.

The film however scored a bigger success at the international box office where it opened at the first position in 26 of the 28 released markets over the weekend and grossed over $59.5 million in the three-day period.

It substantially outpaced comparable openings for 1999's The Mummy ($16.7 million) and 2001's The Mummy Returns ($21.5 million) in the same markets. The film also set opening records for the distributor in Korea (drawing $13.3 million), Russia ($12.7 million), Spain ($6.7 million), and Thailand. As of October 10, 2008, the film's domestic total stands at $102,491,776, with a much stronger international intake of $298,636,863. This brings its worldwide total to $401,128,639.

From Wikipedia

Ratatouille (2007)

2011-08-01T08:00:00.003+07:00

Ratatouille (French pronunciation: [ʁatatuj], English: /rætəˈtuːiː/) is a 2007 American computer-animated film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures.

The film was the eighth film produced by Pixar, and was directed by Brad Bird, who took over from Jan Pinkava in 2005.

The title refers to a French dish (Ratatouille) which is served in the film, and is also a play on words about the species of the main character.

The plot follows Remy, a rat who dreams of becoming a chef and tries to achieve his goal by forming an alliance with a Parisian restaurant's garbage boy. Ratatouille was released on June 29, 2007 in the United States, to both critical acclaim and box office success, and later won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, among other honors.

Ratatouille's world premiere was on June 22, 2007 at Los Angeles' Kodak Theater. The commercial release was one week later, with the Academy Award nominated short film Lifted preceding Ratatouille in theaters. A special pre-release of the film was shown at the Harkins Cine Capri Theater in Scottsdale, Arizona on June 16, 2007 at which a Pixar representative was present to collect viewer feedback.

In its opening weekend in North America, Ratatouille opened in 3,940 theaters and debuted at No.1 with $47 million, the lowest Pixar opening since A Bug's Life. However, in France, where the film is set, the film broke the record for the biggest debut for an animated film. In the UK, the film debuted at No.1 with sales over £4million. The film has grossed $206,445,654 in the United States and Canada and a total of $623,722,818 worldwide, making it the fifth highest grossing Disney·Pixar film now, just behind Toy Story 3, Finding Nemo, Up and The Incredibles.[

From Wikipedia

Infernal Affairs III (2003)

2011-07-21T15:20:00.004+07:00

Infernal Affairs III is a 2003 Hong Kong crime thriller film directed by Andrew Lau and Alan Mak.

It is the third installment in the Infernal Affairs film series, and is both a sequel and a semi-prequel to the original film, as it intercuts events before and after the events in the first film.

Andy Lau, Tony Leung, Kelly Chen, Anthony Wong, Eric Tsang, and Chapman To reprise their roles again, joined by new cast members Leon Lai and Chen Daoming.

Despite grossing higher than the second film at the box office with HKD 30,225,661 (over HKD 5 million more than Infernal Affairs II), Infernal Affairs III received lower ratings than the former. Channel 4 awarded the film a 3 out of 5 rating. The plot is also seen as confusing due to the constant flashbacks depicting Chan Wing-yan alive.

LoveHKFilm rated the film as pushing beyond its original intentions, leaving more questions than answering them at the end of the run.

While a relatively enjoyable film, it was obviously commercialized, citing scenes where all lead actors are crammed into one room or bringing back characters who were killed in the previous film in order to garner screentime for them. Although Tony Leung won the Best Actor award at the Hong Kong Film Awards and the Golden Horse Awards for his portrayal of Chan Wing-yan in the original Infernal Affairs, Andy Lau was the one who won the Best Actor award at the 41st Golden Horse Awards for his portrayal of Lau Kin-ming in Infernal Affairs III.

There are two cuts of the film: a 107-minute version which was released in Hong Kong theatres, and a 118-minute version, which is the directors' cut. Both are available on DVD. According to LoveHKFilm, the longer version is the superior cut.

From Wikipedia

National Treasure (2004)

2011-07-10T07:00:00.004+07:00

National Treasure is a 2004 mystery adventure film from the Walt Disney Studios under Walt Disney Pictures.

It was written by Jim Kouf, Ted Elliott, Terry Rossio, Cormac Wibberley, and Marianne Wibberley, produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, and directed by Jon Turteltaub.

It is the first film in the National Treasure franchise and stars Nicolas Cage, Diane Kruger, Justin Bartha, Sean Bean, Jon Voight, Harvey Keitel, and Christopher Plummer.

Cage plays Benjamin Gates, a historian and amateur cryptologist searching for a lost treasure, once protected by the Knights Templar and hidden by the Freemasons during the early years of the United States.

A coded map on the back of the Declaration of Independence points to the location of the "national treasure", but Gates is not alone in his quest. Whoever can steal the Declaration and decode it first, will find the greatest treasure in history.

The film received a mixed reaction from critics, some of whom lauded it as a fun, straightforward family adventure, while others ridiculed its numerous implausibilities and unbelievable plot twists.

Roger Ebert gave National Treasure two stars (out of four), calling it "so silly that the Monty Python version could use the same screenplay, line for line."

Academic David Bordwell has expressed a liking for the film, placing it in the tradition of 1950s Disney children's adventure movies, and using it as the basis for an essay on scene transitions in classical Hollywood cinema.

From Wikipedia

MADAGASAR (2005)

2011-07-02T10:21:00.004+07:00

Madagascar is a 2005 computer-animated film produced by DreamWorks Animation, and released in movie theaters on May 27, 2005.

The film tells the story of four Central Park Zoo animals who have spent their lives in blissful captivity and are unexpectedly shipped back to Africa, getting shipwrecked on the island of Madagascar.

The voices of Ben Stiller, Jada Pinkett Smith, Chris Rock, and David Schwimmer are featured.

Other voices include Sacha Baron Cohen, Cedric the Entertainer, and Andy Richter.

Madagascar was released on DVD on November 15, 2005, along with the short film, The Madagascar Penguins in a Christmas Caper.

A Blu-ray Disc version was released on September 23, 2008. A sequel, Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, was released on November 7, 2008. The third film in the series is planned for summer 2012.

From Wikipedia

The Lost Bladesman (2011)

2011-06-25T08:00:00.005+07:00

The Lost Bladesman (Traditional Chinese : 關雲長 ; Simplified Chinese : 关云长 ; Pinyin : Guān Yúncháng) is a 2011 Hong Kong historical martial arts film adapted from the story of Guan Yu crossing five passes and slaying six generals in Luo Guanzhong's historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms. It stars Donnie Yen as Guan, who also served as the film's action director. Written and directed by Alan Mak and Felix Chong.

Filming began in March 2010 and wrapped up on 30 June 2010.

Plot
The film opens with a scene of Cao Cao attending Guan Yu's funeral - Guan's decapitated head is buried with a wooden statue in place of his body.

The scene then flashbacks to 20 years ago : Guan Yu had been separated from his worn brother Liu Bei, and he temporarily served Cao Cao while he waited for news of Liu's whereabouts.

At the Battle of Baima between Cao Cao and his rival, Yuan Shao, Guan Yu slew Yuan's general Yan Liang and lifted the siege on Baima. As a reward, Cao Cao recommended that the emperor grant Guan Yu the title of "Marquis of Hanshou" (漢壽亭侯) and promote him to the rank of a lieutenant general (偏將軍).

Liu Bei's family and his concubine, Qilan, were staying in Cao Cao's territory together with Guan Yu. Cao Cao constantly presented Guan Yu with precious gifts, hoping that the general will be touched and decide to remain by his side, but Guan refused to renounce his loyalty to Liu Bei.

When there were news that Liu Bei had sought refuge under Yuan Shao, Guan Yu negotiated with Cao Cao to release Liu Bei's family, and Cao agreed, while Qilan remained behind with Guan. As Cao Cao was aware that Guan Yu was secretly in love with Qilan, he tricked Guan into consuming food spiked with aphrodisiac, in hope that Guan would express his feelings to Qilan and rape her as she was put under paralysis. However, Guan Yu managed to remain rational and did not take his sworn brother's concubine for himself. He and Qilan made preparations to leave Cao Cao after he knew Liu Bei's whereabouts from a messenger sent by Liu Bei himself.

Cao Cao's followers strongly opposed his decision to let Guan Yu leave, as they felt that Guan might become a threat to their lord in future. Despite so, Cao Cao gave a strict order that no one was to stop Guan Yu.

However, along the way, Guan Yu encountered resistance and had to fight his way through the passes. Guan Yu slew Kong Xiu, Han Fu, Meng Tan, Bian Xi, Wang Zhi and Qin Qi, consecutively after they attempted to stop him. It was eventually revealed that it was the emperor, and not Cao Cao, who issued the order to kill Guan Yu. Guan Yu agreed to kill Yuan Shao and could not decide whether to stay or leave in favor of their relationship before reuniting with Liu Bei.

However, before Qilan left, she pretended that she loved Guan Yu and said that she would ask for Liu Bei's consent so that they can marry in order to stop Guan from helping Cao Cao. Guan Yu refused and was stabbed by Qilan before the emperor sent assassins to kill him. After a final conversation, Guan Yu turned his back on Cao Cao and the emperor. He headed to reunite with Liu Bei, fighting on Liu's side against the rival states of Wei and Wu for the next two decades until his death.

The scene then turns back to Guan Yu's funeral. Cao Cao is sad and sheds tears for the loss of his friend. Before the film ends, Cao Cao makes some final remarks on how not him, but others such as Sun Quan, Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang, are responsible for Guan Yu's death. In a post credits scene, Guan Yu is seen wielding his Green Dragon Crescent Blade upright and stroking his long beard.

From Wikipedia

Marley & Me (2008)

2011-06-15T09:00:00.001+07:00

Marley & Me is a 2008 American comedy-drama film directed by David Frankel. The screenplay by Scott Frank and Don Roos is based on the memoir of the same name by John Grogan. The film was released in the United States and Canada on December 25, 2008, and set a record for the largest Christmas Day box office ever with $14.75 million in ticket sales.

Plot
Soon after their wedding, John and Jenny Grogan (Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston) escape the brutal Michigan winters and relocate to a cottage in southern Florida, where they are hired as reporters for competing newspapers. At The Palm Beach Post, Jenny immediately receives prominent front-page assignments, while at the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, John finds himself writing obituaries and two-paragraph articles about mundane news like a fire at the local garbage dump.

When John senses Jenny is contemplating motherhood, his friend and co-worker Sebastian Tunney (Eric Dane) suggests the couple adopt a dog to see if they're ready to raise a family. From a litter of newborn yellow labrador retrievers they select Marley (named after reggae singer Bob Marley), who immediately proves to be incorrigible. They take him to Ms. Kornblut (Kathleen Turner), who firmly believes any dog can be trained, but when Marley refuses to obey commands, she expels him from her class.

Editor Arnie Klein (Alan Arkin) offers John a twice-weekly column in which he can discuss the fun and foibles of everyday living. At first stumped for material, John realizes the misadventures of Marley might be the perfect topic for his first piece. Arnie agrees, and John settles into his new position.

Marley continues to wreak havoc on the household, providing John with a wealth of material for his column, which becomes a hit with readers and helps increase the newspaper's circulation. Jenny becomes pregnant, but loses the baby early in her first trimester.

She and John travel to Ireland for a belated honeymoon, leaving the rambunctious dog in the care of a young woman who finds him impossible to control, especially during the frequent thunderstorms that plague the area. Soon after returning from their vacation, Jenny discovers she is pregnant again, and this time she delivers a healthy boy, Patrick.

When she has a second son, Connor, she opts to give up her job and become a stay-at-home mom, prompting John to take on a daily column for a pay increase. Due to the crime rate, the couple decides to move to a larger house in the safer neighborhood of Boca Raton, where Marley delights in swimming in the backyard pool.

Although she denies she is experiencing postpartum depression, Jenny exhibits all the symptoms, including a growing impatience with Marley and John, who asks Sebastian to care for the dog when Jenny insists they give him away. She quickly comes to realize he has become an indispensable part of the family and agrees he can stay. Sebastian accepts a job for The New York Times and moves away. A few years later, John and Jenny welcome a daughter, Colleen, to their family.

John celebrates his 40th birthday. Increasingly disenchanted with his job, he decides to accept a position as a reporter with The Philadelphia Inquirer with Jenny's blessing, and the family moves to a farm in rural Pennsylvania. John soon realizes that he is a better columnist than reporter and pitches the column idea to his editor.

Life is idyllic until the aging Marley begins to show signs of arthritis and deafness. An attack of gastric dilatation volvulus almost kills him, but he recovers. When a second attack occurs, it becomes clear surgery will not help him, and Marley is euthanized with John at his side. The family pay their last respects to their beloved pet as they bury him beneath a tree in their front yard.

From Wikipedia

Air Bud (1997)

2011-06-01T07:00:00.000+07:00

Air Bud is a 1997 American family/Comedy film that sparked the franchise centered on the real-life dog, Buddy, a Golden Retriever. The film's title may be wordplay with "Air Jordan", a nickname of basketball superstar Michael Jordan.

The original film was financially successful, despite being defeated by Air Force One for the #1 spot on the film's opening weekend, grossing US$4 million in its opening weekend and totaling US$24 million for its final run, against an estimated $3 million budget. On Cartoon Craze's Top 50 Movies of All-Time, Air Bud came in at number two behind Toy Story.

Plot
The plot revolves around a 12-year-old boy, Josh Framm. After the death of his father, who has died in a plane crash, Josh moves with his family to Washington State and is too shy to try out for his middle school's basketball team and too shy to make any friends.

He meets Buddy, a Golden Retriever who had escaped from his cruel owner, an alcoholic clown named Norman Snively, who had locked Buddy in a kennel after causing trouble at a birthday party and was taking him to the dog pound when the kennel fell off the truck.

Josh soon learns that Buddy has the uncanny ability to play basketball. Josh's mom initially only agrees to let him keep the dog until Christmas and she plans to send him to the pound if the true owner isn't found. However, Josh's mother sees how much Josh loves Buddy. When Josh wakes up on Christmas Day and Buddy is not in his room, he goes downstairs and sees Buddy with a bow on his head. She gives Buddy to Josh as a Christmas present.

Josh wants to join the basketball team but chickens out at the last minute and becomes the water boy. After two slots are opened up and learning of Buddy's talent, Josh tries out despite basketball coach Joe Barker's reluctance and makes the team. At his first game Buddy shows up and disrupts the game and causes mayhem, but the audience loves him.

After the game Buddy finds coach Barker abusing Tom, one of Josh's fellow teammates and friend who gave him a lucky orange peel he got at a Seattle SuperSonics game, by trying to make him catch better by pelting him with basketballs. Barker is fired and replaced by the school's engineer, Arthur Chaney, who Josh discovers is a former New York Knicks player.

Buddy becomes the mascot of Josh's school's basketball team and begins appearing in their halftime shows. But just before the championship game, Buddy's former owner, Snively, tricks his mom and steals Buddy from Josh. Josh then infiltrates Snively's backyard where Buddy is chained up.

Snively initially can't see Josh due to a stack of cans on his windowsill until it falls and Josh is caught infiltrating Snively's backyard. Josh gets Buddy off, causing Snively to chase Josh in his clown truck. The chase rages on to a parking lot near a lake, during which the van begins to fall apart, causing Snively and his clown truck to fall into the water but he doesn't drown.

A few minutes after the chase, Josh then decides to set him free to find someone else. Initially, his team is losing at the championship until Buddy shows up. When it is discovered that there is no rule that a dog cannot play basketball, Buddy joins the roster to lead the team to a come from behind championship victory.

Snively sues the Framm family for custody of Buddy. Fortunately, at the suggestion of coach Chaney, who the judge was a fan of, it is decided that the dog will choose who will be his rightful owner. During the calling, Snively takes out his roll of newspaper, which he often used to beat Buddy, and snaps at him, causing Buddy to attack Snively, tearing up the weapon of abuse and run towards Josh.

The judge grants custody of Buddy to Josh while Snively, who runs at Buddy and Josh in a last-ditched effort to get the dog back, is dragged away by the police and arrested, while Josh and the rest of the citizens rejoice for the new home of Buddy.

From Wikipedia

Kung Fu Panda (2008)

2011-05-25T11:54:00.004+07:00

Kung Fu Panda is a 2008 American computer-animated action comedy film produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by Paramount Pictures. It was directed by John Wayne Stevenson and Mark Osborne and produced by Melissa Cobb, and stars the voice of Jack Black along with Dustin Hoffman, Jackie Chan, Angelina Jolie, Ian McShane, Seth Rogen, Lucy Liu, David Cross, Randall Duk Kim, James Hong, Dan Fogler and Michael Clarke Duncan.

Set in a version of ancient China populated by anthropomorphic animals, the plot revolves around a bumbling panda named Po who aspires to be a kung fu master. When an evil kung fu warrior is foretold to escape from prison, Po is unwittingly named the chosen one destined to bring peace to the land, much to the chagrin of the resident kung fu warriors.

Although the concept of a "kung fu panda" has been around since at least 1993, work on the film did not begin until 2004. The idea for the film was conceived by Michael Lachance, a DreamWorks Animation executive.

The film was originally intended to be a parody, but director Stevenson decided instead to shoot an action comedy Wuxia film that incorporates the hero's journey narrative archetype for the lead character. The computer animation in the film was more complex than anything DreamWorks had done before.

As with most DreamWorks animated films, Hans Zimmer (collaborating with John Powell this time) scored Kung Fu Panda. He visited China to absorb the culture and get to know the China National Symphony Orchestra as part of his preparation. A sequel, Kung Fu Panda 2, is in production and set for release on May 26, 2011.

Kung Fu Panda premiered in the United States on June 6, 2008, and has since received very favorable reviews from critics and most of the movie-going public, including Chinese audiences who were impressed with the film's faithfulness to their culture.

The film currently garners an 88% "Certified Fresh" approval rating from review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. Kung Fu Panda opened in 4,114 theaters, grossing $20.3 million on its opening day and $60.2 million on its opening weekend, resulting in the number one position at the box office.

The film became DreamWorks's biggest opening for a non-sequel film, highest grossing animated movie of the year, the fourth-largest weekend for a DreamWorks animated film at the American and Canadian box office, behind Shrek the Third, Shrek 2, and Shrek Forever After, and the 49th highest-grossing film of all time.

From Wikipedia

A Chinese Ghost Story (1987)

2011-04-11T17:42:00.004+07:00

A Chinese Ghost Story is a 1987 Hong Kong romantic comedy horror film starring Leslie Cheung, Joey Wong, and Wu Ma, directed by Ching Siu-tung, and produced by Tsui Hark. The plot was loosely based on a short story from Qing Dynasty writer Pu Songling's Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio (聊齋誌異). The film was popular in Hong Kong and several Asian countries, including South Korea and Japan when released. Most notably it boosted the stardom of Joey Wong, won Leslie Cheung popularity in Japan, and sparked a trend of folklore ghost films in the Hong Kong film industry.

Plot
Ning Choi-san is a timid tax collector whose job requires him to travel to rural areas. He arrives at a town but is forced to seek shelter in a deserted temple in the forest on the outskirts because he did not have money to afford lodging at the town. That night in the temple, Ning meets a beautiful and alluring young maiden called Nip Siu-sin and falls in love with her.

However, when he later recalls last night's events the next day, he becomes increasingly fearful and superstitious because a Taoist told him that the people he saw at the temple were ghosts. That night, he returns to the temple to spend his night there and confirms his theory that Nip is actually a spirit.

Nip tells him her story of how she became eternally bound to the servitude of a sinister Tree Demon. She explains that as long as her remains are buried at the foot of the tree, her spirit will be forever enslaved by Tree Demon. Ning attempts to free her from her suffering. He seeks the help of a powerful Taoist priest and master swordsman called Yin Chik-ha, whom he met earlier. Yin battles the Tree Demon and attempts to free Nip's soul but fails. Nip's soul is taken to the Underworld for betraying her master.

Ning is unwilling to give up on Nip and insists that Yin helps him. Yin manages to open a temporary portal to the Underworld. Ning and Yin enter the Underworld and attempt to free Nip's soul from suffering once more. They are unable to find her in the midst of thousands of other spirits. Eventually, Ning and Nip are able to see each other briefly near dawn when sunlight shines on the urn containing Nip's cremated remains. Nip tells Ning that the only way to save her soul is to place her remains to rest at another more auspicious burial site before she returns to the darkness. Ning follows her instructions and with Yin's advice, Ning buries Nip's remains near the crest of a hill. He burns a joss stick for her and prays for her soul while Yin watches solemnly behind him.

From Wikipedia

Space Jam (1996)

2011-03-28T17:59:00.004+07:00

Space Jam is a 1996 American live-action/animated film starring Michael Jordan and Wayne Knight and the voices of Billy West, Dee Bradley Baker and, Danny DeVito. The movie also marks the debut of Lola Bunny, who in this film is voiced by Kath Soucie. It was produced by Ivan Reitman, and directed by Joe Pytka (live-action), Tony Cervone, and Bruce W. Smith (animation)

The film was released theatrically by Warner Bros. Family Entertainment on November 15, 1996. There was also a licensed pinball game by Sega based on the film and a video game by Acclaim Entertainment.

It plays out as an alternate story of Michael's return to basketball, this time with him being inspired by Bugs Bunny and others. Although the film received mixed reviews overall, it was a box office success, opening at #1 in the US, and grossing over $230 million worldwide. It was also the fastest-selling home entertainment subject as sales reached $100 million.

Plot
As NBA superstar Michael Jordan retires from basketball to pursue a career in baseball, Mister Swackhammer, the proprietor of the extraterrestrial theme park "Moron Mountain", is seeking new attractions for his failing park. He sends his minions, the "Nerdlucks", to capture the Looney Tunes, who reside deep below the surface of the Earth. The Looney Tunes retaliate by challenging the Nerdlucks to a basketball game (seeing as that they aren't very tall). To prepare for the game, the Nerdlucks return to Earth and steal the talent of Charles Barkley, Patrick Ewing, Muggsy Bogues, Larry Johnson and Shawn Bradley. The Nerdlucks use the stolen talent to become the "Monstars" (or as one of them put it, the "MEAN Team", a play on the Dream Team), gigantic creatures that the Looney Tunes are unable to defeat by themselves. To aid them, the Looney Tunes summon a reluctant Jordan and his wormy and rotund publicist Stan Podolak. Soon after, the game between the Looney Tunes and the Monstars begins, but the Looney Tunes are roughed up by the brutal playing style of the Monstars until only Jordan, Bugs, Lola and Daffy are left standing leaving them short one player. Bill Murray, being friends with the producer of the film, is able to enter the Looney Tunes' world and join their team, averting forfeiture. By the climax of the game, the Tunes are down by one and it is up to Michael to score the final point for his team. Using his infamously extendable arm, Michael manages to make the basket and win the game. Afterwards, the Looney Tunes return Michael back to Earth, where he returns the stolen talent back to their respective owners. He is later prompted by his rivals to return to the NBA, mirroring his real-life comeback.

Reception
Space Jam received mixed reviews. According to Rotten Tomatoes, only 37% of critics, and 46% of their selected "Top Critics", gave the film a positive review; this gave it a "Rotten" rating. Notable critic Roger Ebert gave Space Jam an enthusiastic "thumbs up," which Gene Siskel also gave the film, although his zeal was more subdued. Leonard Maltin also gave the film a positive review. Some critics compared it unfavorably to Disney's Who Framed Roger Rabbit, a popular film in which cartoon characters and live-action humans coexisted. Those who liked the film praised the visual effects, which were groundbreaking at the time.

The soundtrack sold enough albums to be certified as 6x Platinum. It also served as a high point for musical artist R. Kelly, whose song "I Believe I Can Fly" became a hit after it was featured on the film's soundtrack. Other tracks included a cover of "Fly Like an Eagle" (by Seal), "Hit 'Em High (The Monstars' Anthem)" (by B-Real, Busta Rhymes, Coolio, LL Cool J, and Method Man), "Basketball Jones" (by Chris Rock & Barry White), and "For You I Will" (by Monica). The movie's theme song was performed by the Quad City DJ's.

Box Office
Despite the mixed reviews, Space Jam was a box office success. At the end of its run, it grossed $90,418,342 in the United States and approximately $230,000,000 internationally.

From Wikipedia

The New Shaolin Temple (2011)

2011-01-28T20:27:00.007+07:00

Shaolin also known as The New Shaolin Temple (Chinese : 新少林寺
Pinyin : Xīn Shàolín Sì) is a 2011 Hong Kong action film. It is to be an updated version of Jet Li's movie debut, The Shaolin Temple. Filming started in October 2009 with a jubilant ceremony held inside the Shaolin Temple. News first spread of the project when the films co-star Jackie Chan announced on his official website that he was involved with the project but wasn't able to talk about it due to contract restrictions.

There is a quotation from Buddhism as this movie prologue : "The Three Poisons - Greed, Hate and Ignorance - are the primary causes of evil (akusala)"

Production
Jackie Chan and his crew built their own "Shaolin Temple" in Zhejiang Province that cost 10 million yuan (US$1.47 million) to avoid damaging the actual temple. The cast members shaved their heads bald for filming, whereas Chan, who wore a hat, shaved around his head where his hair was sticking out.

Andy Lau's left hand was injured while he was filming a fight scene.

Cast :* Jackie Chan as Cook * Andy Lau as Hou Jie * Nicholas Tse as Cao Man * Fan Bingbing as Yan Xi * Wu Jing as Jing Neng * Yu Shaoqun as Jing Hai * Xing Yu as Jing Kong * Yue Hoi as Abbott * Hung Yan Yan as Sou Xiang Tu

From Wikipedia

Finding Nemo (2003)

2011-01-01T09:28:00.004+07:00

Finding Nemo is a 2003 American computer-animated film written by Andrew Stanton, directed by Stanton and Lee Unkrich and produced by Pixar Animation Studios. It tells the story of a journey, of an overly protective clownfish Marlin (Albert Brooks) in search for his home, his son Nemo and to return home in the Coral reef as a changed Fish, Marlin helped by a regal tang called Dory (Ellen DeGeneres), who also help him search for his son Nemo (Alexander Gould), in the vast ocean of the Great Barrier Reef. Seeking help from other creatures on his journey, Marlin learns to take risks and to let Nemo take care of himself.

The film received overwhelmingly positive reviews and won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. It was the 2nd highest-grossing film of 2003, behind Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, earning a total of $867 million worldwide. Finding Nemo is also the best-selling DVD of all time, with over 40 million copies sold as of 2006 and is the 2nd highest-grossing G-rated movie of all time, after Pixar's own Toy Story 3. In 2008, the American Film Institute named it the 10th greatest animated film ever made during their 10 Top 10.

In an interview with National Geographic magazine, Andrew Stanton stated that the idea for the character of Nemo came from a photograph of two clownfish peeking out of an anemone:

"It was so arresting. I had no idea what kind of fish they were, but I couldn't take my eyes off them. And as an entertainer, the fact that they were called clownfish—it was perfect. There's almost nothing more appealing than these little fish that want to play peekaboo with you."

Pre-production of the film took place in early 1997. Film production began, according to IMDb, in January 2000 with a crew of 180. It was Pixar's final use of Sun Microsystems.

In an interview, Megan Mullally revealed that she was originally doing a voice in the film. According to Mullally, the producers were quite disappointed to learn that the voice of her character Karen Walker on the television show Will & Grace wasn't her natural speaking voice. The producers hired her anyway, and then strongly encouraged her to use her Karen Walker voice for the role. When Mullally refused, she was fired.

Box-office performance
Finding Nemo set a record as the highest-grossing opening weekend for an animated feature, making $70,251,710 (surpassed a year later -in 2004- by Shrek 2, which was in turn out-grossed by Shrek the Third in 2007). It earned $339,714,978 in the U.S.A. and Canada and $528,179,000 overseas for a worldwide total of $867,893,978. It was the second highest-grossing movie of 2003, behind The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. Domestically, overseas and worldwide, it was the highest-grossing Disney·Pixar film, up until 2010 when Toy Story 3 surpassed it ($415.0 million domestically, $648.1 million overseas and $1.063 billion worldwide).

Finding Nemo became the highest-grossing animated film in the U.S.A. and Canada ($339.7 million), overseas ($528.2 million) and worldwide ($867.9 million), in all three occasions having outgrossed The Lion King ($328,541,776 in North America, $455,300,000 overseas and $783,841,776 worldiwde). In 2004, it was overtaken by Shrek 2 domestically ($441,226,247) and recently by Toy Story 3 ($415,004,880). Overseas, it was surpassed by Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs ($690.1 million) and Toy Story 3 ($648.1 million). Worldwide, it now ranks fourth among animated movies after Toy Story 3 ($1,062,806,932), Shrek 2 ($919,838,758) and Ice Age 3 ($886,686,817).

Among its international markets, in many it had impressive box-office runs. In Japan, it ultimately grossed $102,441,470 becoming the highest-grossing Western animated film of all time until it was out-grossed by Toy Story 3 ($126.7 million) and currently ranks eleventh on the country's all-time chart. $20 million-plus-grossing markets include the ones following. In UK, Ireland and Malta, it grossed £37,178,973 ($67,117,404) being the seventh best animation film. In France and the Maghreb region ($64,781,395) it is third among animation films behind Ice Age 3 and Ratatouille and 8th best film on the all-time chart. In Germany ($53,926,684), it is third behind the two first Ice Age sequels, while in Spain ($29,462,544), in Italy ($27,701,112) and in Australia ($26,820,431) it also had great earnings.

From Wikipedia

A Bug's Life (1998)

2010-12-19T11:16:00.007+07:00

A Bug's Life is a 1998 American CGI film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures and Buena Vista Distribution in the United States on November 25, 1998.

A Bug's Life was the second Disney·Pixar feature film and the third American computer-animated film after Toy Story and Antz. Based on Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai, it tells the tale of an oddball individualist inventor ant who hires what he thinks are "warrior bugs" — actually circus performers — to fight off a small band of grasshoppers who have made the ant colony their servants.

The film was directed by John Lasseter, and was co-directed by Andrew Stanton. It also inspired a 3D show at Disney's Animal Kingdom called It's Tough to Be a Bug!'.

Plot
Every season, a colony of ants are expected to gather food for a gang of bullying grasshoppers. One ant, Flik, is a promising inventor who isn't appreciated due to his inventions causing trouble. While trying out a mechanical harvester, he accidentally knocks the pile of food into a stream just before the grasshoppers arrive.

The grasshopper leader, Hopper, gives the ants the rest of the season to gather more but orders double after Flik stands up to him in defense of the Queen's young daughter and his only supporter, Dot. As a result of his mistake, Flik is admonished by the colony's council. When Flik suggests that he try to recruit warrior bugs to fight the grasshoppers, Dot's older sister and the successor to the Queen, Princess Atta, allows him to do so, but only as a fool's errand to get rid of him.

Flik reaches the insect city, which is actually garbage under a trailer. He encounters a troupe of unemployed circus performers whose latest performance has just ended in disaster and mistakes them for the warriors he needs. At the same time, they believe him to be a talent scout who wants to book their act. They return to the colony, to Atta's surprise, and are greeted as heroes who can fight the grasshoppers. In a conversation, Flik and the troupe realize their misunderstandings with each other, which Atta nearly overhears. While about to leave the colony, the troupe reconsider when they manage to save Dot from being attacked by a hungry bird.

Flik proposes to build a model bird to scare Hopper away. Whilst working together on the bird, the troupe members bond with the colony. Atta and Flik, who share mutual feelings of pleasing everyone, begin an awkward attraction for each other. At the grasshopper's hideout, Hopper's brother Molt suggests that they do not come back, since they have more than enough food and that it will rain. Hopper reminds him and everyone else to keep ants living in fear because of the latters' superior numbers, and they all set out to collect their due.

Eventually, circus master P. T. Flea arrives looking for his missing performers and unknowingly exposes them. Upset at Flik's deception, Atta orders him exiled from the colony, while the other ants rush to collect whatever food they can for Hopper. When the grasshoppers arrive, the ants are unable to meet Hopper's demands, so Hopper and his cronies take over the colony and force them to bring them food. Dot overhears their plans to kill the Queen, catches up with Flik and the troupe, and persuades them to return and put their plan into action.

Flik, with help from Dot and her friends, fly the bird, which frightens the grasshoppers senseless, but P. T. Flea, thinking the bird to have injured Manny, sets it on fire. Realizing the bird is a fake, Hopper berates and beats Flik to the ground. Flik, however, is able to stand up and reveals that the ants are more powerful than they are led to believe, with grasshoppers being the weak, reliant ones. Realizing this, the colony swarms against the gang and forces all, except a captured Hopper, to leave. However, a rainstorm begins, causing panic in which Hopper grabs Flik and flies off. Atta rescues Flik and they lure Hopper toward the bird's nest. When they reach the birds nest, Hopper corners Flik, and then is confronted by the bird, whom he at first believes to be another fake, but eventually discovers it to be real. Hopper runs and almost manages to escape, but the bird corners him and picks him up in his beak. As Hopper screams "no" over and over again in panic, Flik and Atta look away as the bird lowers Hopper into its nest, where Hopper is promtly devoured by the bird's chicks.

The next spring, the colony has adopted Flik's harvester to speed up grain collection, and Atta becomes the new queen, passing the princess crown to Dot and choosing Flik as her mate. They wave goodbye to the troupe, now joined by Hopper's younger brother Molt, who all stayed over winter as guests.

Production
DreamWorks Animation's similar film Antz was released a little more than a month before A Bug's Life. DreamWorks' Jeffrey Katzenberg left Disney in 1994 and said the idea for Antz came from a 1991 story pitch by Tim Johnson that was related to Katzenberg in October 1994. However, Disney had been working on developing an ant film since 1988. Pixar head John Lasseter pitched A Bug's Life the day Katzenberg left Disney in August 1994, and said he felt "betrayed" when he learned Antz was scheduled for release before A Bug's Life. According to Lasseter and Steve Jobs, Katzenberg offered to stop development of Antz if Disney moved the release date of A Bug's Life, which was coming out opposite DreamWorks Animation's The Prince of Egypt. Pixar refused.

The release date of Antz was moved up from March 1999 to October 1998 in response to Disney's refusal. Even though A Bug's Life was the first to be pitched, Antz was finished and released first. A Bug's Life, however, was more profitable.

Reception
The film received very positive reviews. Review aggregate Rotten Tomatoes reports that 91% of critics have given the film a positive review based on 81 reviews, with an average score of 7.9/10. The critical consensus is "A Bug's Life is a clever and enjoyable movie with great animation."

Box office
A Bug's Life made approximately $162.7 million in its United States theatrical run, easily covering its estimated production costs of $45 million. The film made $200,600,000 in foreign countries. The film made a worldwide gross of $363.3 million, surpassing the competition from DreamWorks Animation's Antz.

From Wikipedia

The Swordsman (1990)

2010-11-08T20:50:00.005+07:00

The Swordsman or Swordsman (Chinese : 笑傲江湖, Pinyin : Xiào Ào Jiāng Hú) is a 1990 Hong Kong martial arts-action film. King Hu was credited as the director but he had allegedly left the project, and the film was completed by a team led by producer Tsui Hark. The film is based on Louis Cha's novel The Smiling, Proud Wanderer. The theme song of the film, Chong Hoi Yat Sing Siu / Cang Hai Yi Sheng Xiao (滄海一聲笑) or "A Laugh At The World" aka "Hero of Heroes" aka "A Single Laughter in the Sea"), was written by Wong Jim and performed by lead actor Sam Hui.

Swordsman is a film that can stand on its own, but it works even better as a prequel for viewers who have only seen Swordsman II and/or III. The film provides a lot of helpful backstory, such as how Ling learned his distinctive swordplay style, how he became friendly with the Sun Moon Sect, why he and his buddies are retiring from the martial world in II, where the song "Hero of Heroes" ("A Single Laughter in the Sea") comes from, and ultimately how much blood was shed in pursuit of the Sacred Scroll before it fell into the hands of Asia the Invincible.

Though Fennie Yuen is the only actor who appears in both films as the same character, the difference in casts shouldn't be a turnoff for the uninitiated. Sam Hui and company acquit themselves quite nicely in their respective roles, turning in several noteworthy performances.

One of the more interesting aspects of the film is the fact that Swordsman has the peculiar distinction of having six different directors! Though rumors of "creative differences" abound, the official story is that original director King Hu became ill and had to be replaced midway through shooting. To complete the film, Tsui Hark split up directorial duties between himself, Ching Siu-Tung, and Raymond Lee. Though uncredited, Ann Hui and Andrew Kam also lent helping hands to finish the movie. In all this confusion, it's a miracle that Swordsman is even a coherent film, but even more amazing is the fact that it's a pretty good one, too.

As the opening statement of the film suggests, this film has an underlying message. One character laments, "Another lot of victims under the sword. We are all made of flesh and blood. Why do we make such a mess of our own world?" As evidenced by the unrelenting quest for the Sacred Scroll, the film suggests that all the problems of the world can be traced back to the guiding principle embraced by many of the film's characters, the obsession with "Name" recognition. The movie shows that the true "Hero of Heroes" is the one who does not seek recognition for his actions. It is remarkable that Swordsman, a film that could be written off as mindless HK entertainment, can still retain some moral resonance. (Calvin McMillin 2002)

Plot
During the Ming Dynasty, the Sunflower Manual (葵花寶典) was stolen from the Chinese palace and a team of Jinyi Wei is sent to retrieve it. They attack Lin Zhennan and his son, Lin Pingzhi, and the Lins separate to avoid their pursuers. Lin Zhennan meets Linghu Chong and Yue Lingshan from the Mount Hua Sect, requesting them to inform his son about where the manual is hidden. Just then, Zuo Lengchan appears and a fight ensues, but Linghu and Yue manage to escape.

They journey to meet Yue Buqun at a retirement ceremony and encounter Liu Zhengfeng and Qu Yang along the way. Linghu strikes up a friendship with them and they perform their musical piece Xiaoao Jianghu (笑傲江湖). On the day of the ceremony, Zuo shows up and attempts to force Liu to hand over Linghu, accusing Liu of conspiring with the Demonic Cult. Liu and Qu manage to fight their way out despite being surrounded by several enemies. At the same time, Linghu is wounded by Zuo and he escapes and hides near the river. He hears Liu and Qu playing their musical piece and finds them. Liu and Qu present Linghu with their instruments and the music score.

Cast
* Sam Hui as Linghu Chong
* Cecilia Yip as Yue Lingshan
* Jacky Cheung as Ouyang Quan
* Sharla Cheung as Ren Yingying
* Fennie Yuen as Lan Fenghuang
* Lau Siu-ming as Yue Buqun
* Yuen Wah as Zuo Lengchan
* Lam Ching-ying as Qu Yang
* Wu Ma as Liu Zhengfeng
* Lau Shun as Gu Jinfu

Awards
10th Annual Hong Kong Film Awards
• Winner - Best Action Choreography (Ching Siu-Tung)
• Winner - Best Song ("A Single Laughter in the Sea", performed by Sam Hui Koon-Kit)
• Nomination - Best Supporting Actor (Jacky Cheung Hok-Yau)
• Nomination - Best Supporting Actor (Lau Shun)
• Nomination - Best Editing (David Wu Dai-Wai, Marco Mak Chi-Sin)
• Nomination - Best Art Direction (Leung Wah-Sang)
• Nomination - Best Original Score (James Wong Jim, Tai Lok-Man)

27th Annual Golden Horse Awards
• Winner - Outstanding Feature
• Winner - Best Supporting Actor (Jacky Cheung Hok-Yau)
• Winner - Best Song ("A Single Laughter in the Sea", performed by Sam Hui Koon-Kit)

Box Office
The film grossed HK $16,052,552 at the Hong Kong box office.

From Wikipedia, LoveHKFilm.com

Chasing Liberty (2004)

2010-10-24T10:05:00.004+07:00

Chasing Liberty is a 2004 romantic comedy film about the American President's daughter. It was directed by Andy Cadiff and stars Mandy Moore and Matthew Goode.

Anna Foster (Mandy Moore) is the daughter of the President of the United States, James (Mark Harmon) and First Lady Michelle Foster (Caroline Goodall).

When a hassle of Secret Service agents ruins a first date, Anna demands some freedom. Her dad agrees to send only two agents with Anna and Gabrielle La Clare (Beatrice Rosen) to a concert when Anna goes to Prague with her parents. A sexy new look for Anna causes her father to renege.

When Anna discovers the concert is filled with agents and that her father has broken his promise, Gabrielle helps Anna elude her protectors. Outside the concert, Anna meets Ben Calder (Matthew Goode), and asks him to drive her to escape the agents. Anna goes to a bar with Ben and proceeds to get drunk.

Unbeknownst to Anna, Ben is with the Secret Service, and tells agents Alan Weiss (Jeremy Piven) and Cynthia Morales (Annabella Sciorra) where Anna is. The President orders the three agents to have Ben guard Anna without telling her who he really is, to give her an illusion of freedom with a guarantee of safety.

Believing herself free of her guards for the first time in years, Anna jumps into the Vltava River naked, mistaking it for the Danube, and Ben has to fish her out (he stays clothed). Weiss and Morales buy the camera from someone taking pictures of the skinny-dipping Anna. Anna and Ben climb a rooftop to watch an opera being shown in a plaza, where Anna eventually falls asleep with Ben guarding her, and Weiss and Morales watching from another roof.

...

The scenes involving the White House were in fact filmed at Hylands House in Chelmsford, Essex, England, which resembles the White House. Blueprints of the White House were also used to create a digital replica, which helped make it seem real. These blueprints caused the director some trouble when traveling to Washington DC, as his suitcase also contained source material about the Oval Office, among other things.

The storyline was directly inspired by Chelsea Clinton, who was photographed trying to blend in with other students at a Stanford basketball game.[1] The film received a lukewarm response from critics, but won three Teen Choice Awards.

From Wikipedia

Legend of the Fist : The Return of Chen Zhen (2010)

2010-10-06T21:06:00.003+07:00

Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen (traditional Chinese: 精武風雲－陳真; simplified Chinese: 精武风云－陈真) is a 2010 Hong Kong martial arts action film directed by Andrew Lau. The film is a continuation of the 1995 television series Fist of Fury, with Donnie Yen reprising his role as Chen Zhen, a role made famous by Bruce Lee in the 1972 film Fist of Fury.

Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen is set during the Second Sino-Japanese War in Japanese-occupied Shanghai, seven years after the events of the series. Principal photography for the film began in November 2009 and ended in early February 2010; filming took place in Shanghai.

The film was shown out of competition during the opening night of the 67th Venice International Film Festival, and 2010 Toronto International Film Festival. The film was released theatrically in Hong Kong on 23 September 2010.

Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen is a continuation of the 1995 television series Fist of Fury, with Donnie Yen reprising his role as Chen Zhen. Yen will also serve as the film's fight choreographer.

The film will be directed by Andrew Lau, who will also co-produce the film and serve as a cinematographer alongside his frequent partner Ng Man-Ching; Gordon Chan will co-write and co-produce the film; John Chong will serve as an executive producer. The film is a co-production between Hong Kong film distributor Media Asia Films, Lau's production company Basic Pictures, and Chinese film producer Enlight Pictures.

From Wikipedia

Aftershock (2010)

2010-09-17T21:05:00.004+07:00

Aftershock or Aftershocks (Chinese: 唐山大地震; Pinyin: Tángshān Dàdìzhèn) is a 2010 Chinese drama film directed by Feng Xiaogang. The film stars Xu Fan and Zhang Jingchu, with a supporting cast including Li Chen. It was released in China on July 22, 2010, and is the first "big commercial film" IMAX film created outside the US.

In 1976 Tangshan, Yuan Ni lives in a small apartment with her husband and their twins Fang Deng and Fang Da.

Yuan Ni expresses to her husband her desire to have one more child, and they get into the back of their truck after putting their son and daughter to bed.

Suddenly the ground shakes, and buildings begin tumbling down. Running back to save their kids, Yuan Ni is pulled back by her husband, who runs ahead of her and is instantly crushed. Their house falls down, trapping her two kids.

In the aftermath of the 1976 Tangshan earthquake, a rescue team informs Yuan Ni that her twins Da and Deng are trapped together under a slab of concrete. Lifting the slab in any way will kill one of her children - lifting it one way will save the daughter at the expense of her son; lifting it the other will save the son at the expense of her daughter. Heartbroken, she is forced to choose between her children, and finally decides to save the boy.

Her decision, however, is overheard by her daughter, who tearfully whispers "Ma..." as the screen goes black. The mother clings to her daughter's body before being pulled away to take care of Da, "her one child who still lives." Later, in the midst of the rains following the earthquake, Deng wakes up in a sea of bodies, next to the body of her deceased father.

....

The film was produced by HuaYi Bros., which partnered with IMAX to produce three Chinese films (of which Aftershock is the first). In Singapore, it is distributed by Homerun Asia with Scorpio East and Golden Village Pictures.

Aftershock was released in over 5000 conventional and 14 IMAX theaters in late July. In early August 2010, the film surpassed The Founding of a Republic as the highest-grossing locally-made film in China, with a RMB532 million gross.

From Wikipedia

Arisan! (2003)

2010-09-07T19:52:00.008+07:00

Arisan! is a 2003 Indonesian film that has drawn more than 100,000 viewers. It is the first Indonesian film with a gay theme, and the first Indonesian film to use high-definition color enhancement. It uses a mixture of English, standard Indonesian and Jakartan slang.

Arisan! become the second film in Indonesian film history to won all six major awards in Festival Film Indonesia (FFI), including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Supporting Actress, after Ibunda in 1986.

Arisan! also the first in Indonesian film history to include a man-and-man kissing in front of camera, which did by Sakti and Nino (Tora Sudiro and Surya Saputra). Because of this, the two won the Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor on the Festival Film Indonesia (FFI).

A television series as a continuation of the movie with the same title has been airing on ANTV.

Arisan is a common term for a monthly social gathering between friends and relatives who chip in money to be won in turns through a lucky draw. From villagers in far-flung areas to urban professionals in big cities, arisan - initially born as a type of support network for ethnic Chinese merchants - is hugely popular among Indonesia's 210 million people, especially housewives. But some arisan in Jakarta have grown into an exhibit of wealth featuring a who's who of high society.

From Wikipedia

CJ7 (2008)

2010-08-26T18:14:00.005+07:00

CJ7 (Traditional Chinese: 長江七號; Simplified Chinese: 长江七号; Pinyin: Cháng Jiāng Qī Hào; Cantonese Yale: Cheung Gong Chat Hou) is a 2008 Hong Kong science fiction/comedy film co-written, co-produced and directed by Stephen Chow, who also stars in the film. It was released on 31 January 2008 in Hong Kong. It was also released on 14 March 2008 in the United States.

In August 2007 the film was given the title CJ7, a play on China's successful Shenzhou manned space missions—Shenzhou 5 and Shenzhou 6. It was previously been known by a series of working titles—Alien, Yangtze River VII, Long River 7 and most notably, A Hope.

CJ7 was filmed in Ningbo, in the Zhejiang province of China.

As with the title CJ7, the earlier working titles, A Hope,Yangtze River VII and Long River 7, referred to the Chinese manned space program. The mission of Shenzhou 6 was completed in 2006 and the real Shenzhou 7 successfully launched in September 2008. The film had a budget of US$20 million, and heavily uses CG effects. Xu Jiao, the child who plays Dicky Chow, is in fact female. She had to cross-dress to be in the movie.

References to Chow's other films are made during some scenes, particularly during Dicky's dream sequence. These references include Dicky using his super sneakers to kick a soccer ball into the goal, which subsequently collapses (referencing Shaolin Soccer) and Dicky flying into the sky with his sneakers, jumping from the head of an eagle, seeing CJ7's shape as a cloud and using the Buddha's Palm, (referencing Kung Fu Hustle). The scene where Dicky tosses away his glasses while they self-destruct is a reference to John Woo's Mission Impossible II.

Awards and Nominations
28th Hong Kong Film Awards
* Best Film
* Best Supporting Actor (Stephen Chow)
* Best New Performer (Xu Jiao)
* Best Visual Effects (Eddy Wong, Victor Wong & Ken Law)

From Wikipedia

The Sorcerer's Apprentice (2010)

2010-08-07T19:59:00.003+07:00

The Sorcerer's Apprentice is a 2010 fantasy adventure film produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, directed by Jon Turteltaub, and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures, the team behind the National Treasure franchise. The story is loosely based on the Sorcerer's Apprentice segment in Disney's Fantasia, which in turn is based on the late 1890s symphonic poem by Paul Dukas and the 1797 Johann Wolfgang von Goethe ballad.

Balthazar Blake (Nicolas Cage) is a sorcerer in modern-day Manhattan fighting against the forces of evil, in particular his arch-nemesis, Maxim Horvath (Alfred Molina), while searching for the person who will inherit Merlin's powers. This turns out to be Dave Stutler (Jay Baruchel), a physics student at New York University, whom Balthazar takes as a reluctant protégé. The sorcerer gives his unwilling apprentice a crash course in the art and science of magic and sorcery, in order to stop Horvath and Morgana le Fay (Alice Krige) from destroying the world.

The film was originally set to be released on July 16, 2010, but was instead released two days earlier on July 14, 2010.

The basic idea for the movie was mostly Nicolas Cage's, who wanted to make a feature length movie based upon the Fantasia segment of the same name. On February 12, 2007, this film was announced by Disney. In the early morning hours of May 4, 2009, a Ferrari F430 being driven during filming of a chase sequence, lost control and careened into the window of a Sbarro restaurant in Times Square, injuring two pedestrians, one of whom was struck by a falling lamppost. Filming resumed the following night, when yet another accident occurred. The two accidents were blamed on rain making the roads slick.

The Sorcerer's Apprentice made an opening gross of $3,873,997. It debuted at #3 at the box office behind Inception and Despicable Me with $17,619,622. As of August 01, 2010, The Sorcerer's Apprentice has made $51,881,000 in the United States and $40,800,000 in other countries which totals up to $92,681,000 worldwide.[citation needed] In July 2010 Parade Magazine listed the film #1 on its list of "Biggest Box Office Flops of 2010 (So Far)."

From Wikipedia

The Legend is Born – Ip Man (2010)

2010-07-05T14:22:00.000+07:00

The Legend is Born – Ip Man (simplified Chinese: 叶问前传; traditional Chinese: 葉問前傳) is 2010 Hong Kong martial art movie. Herman Yau is director of the “The Legend is Born: Ip Man”. Dennis To plays lead role as Ip Man in this film. Sammo Hung is the movie’s action director and choreographer, also makes an appearance as Chan Wah-Shun, Ip Man’s master and teacher, at the beginning of the movie. The viewers are little confused those who watched Ip Man 2 in which Sammo plays martial arts Master Hung.

Movie review:
The Legend is Born: Ip Man movie starts in Foshan, southern China in 1905. Ip Man (Dennis To) and adopted stepbrother Tien-Chi (Fan Siu-Wong) become students of Wing Chun Master Chan Wah-Shun (Sammo Hung). Then a year later the master dies and the school is acquired by his old friend Ng Chun-Sui (Yuen Biao).

In 1915, Ip Man captures the heart of Cheung Wing-Sing (Crystal Huang) while defending her in a fight, prompting jealousy from his childhood friend and fellow student Lee Mei-Wai (Rose Chan), who is secretly in love with him. Then Ip Man goes to Hong Kong for further his studies at a university where he meets old Wing Chun master Leung Bik (Ip Chun), who trains him new and powerful moves which never seen before in Wing Chun. But Ip Man is then punished as these new moves were considered unauthentic to Wing Chun. In the meantime of film, Japanese businessman Kitano (Louis Cheung) leads a group of Japanese smugglers. When the president of Tien-Chi’s company is assassinated with Ip Man recognizing Tien-Chi as main suspect, stir up trouble, and tension between the Chinese and Japanese reaches boiling point.

In the film, speaking of the fight scenes, there are lots of them sprinkled in the whole movie, demonstrating some of Wing Chun’s lesser-known moves, like wrestling and leg moves. Other martial arts like Karate, Jiu-Jitsu and boxing are also showing, all brilliantly choreographed by Hung.

The whole plot of the movie might be cheesy to some while the fight scenes are entertaining. It is almost a “boy meets girl” situation, when Ip Man infatuates the deputy mayor’s daughter Cheung Wing-Sing after he protects her from harm in a street fight. Then she tries to court him against the wishes of her father, but her efforts are hindered by Lee Mei-Wai, who has a crush on him.

As a part of the love story, the rest of the plot is entertaining and well paced, except for the ending, which feels slightly rushed, and rather clichéd and boring.

The Last Airbender (2010)

2010-07-04T14:09:00.002+07:00

The Last Airbender is an American epic adventure fantasy film released on July 1, 2010. It is a live-action film adaptation based on the first season of the animated television series Avatar: The Last Airbender. The film stars Noah Ringer as Aang, a reluctant hero who prefers adventure over his job as the Avatar. Aang and his friends, Katara and Sokka, journey to the North Pole to find a Waterbending master to teach Aang and Katara the secrets of the craft.

At the same time, Fire Lord Ozai, the current Fire Lord of the Fire Nation, is waging a seemingly endless war against the Earth Kingdom, the Water Tribes, and the already vanquished Air Nomads. The film also stars Nicola Peltz, Jackson Rathbone, and Dev Patel.

The first of a planned trilogy, The Last Airbender was produced by Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies. Development for a film began in 2007; it was adapted into a film by M. Night Shyamalan, who also directed and produced.

Other producers include Frank Marshall, Kathleen Kennedy, Sam Mercer and Scott Aversano. The series from which it was adapted was influenced by Asian art, mythology and various martial arts fighting styles and was created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko.

The Last Airbender was made for $150 million and marketed with a budget of $130 million, making total costs at least $280 million. Other estimates put the cost between $100 million and $110 million, while various news sources reported the whole Last Airbender trilogy would be made for around $250 million. Filming began in mid-March 2009; the movie was released in both traditional two-dimensional projectors, as well as in 3D, grossing an estimated $16 million on opening day.

Release
The Last Airbender was rumored to be released in the summer of 2010 before it received a formal release date of July 1, 2010.[11] In order to avoid confusion with James Cameron's Avatar, the title was changed from Avatar: The Last Airbender to simply The Last Airbender. On June 16, 2010, it was revealed that the film would be released on July 1, 2010, and after questions about the definition of the release being limited or wide, was later confirmed by the studio to be a full nationwide release. The film opened in 3,169 theaters, against The Twilight Saga: Eclipse.

Box office
The Last Airbender opened with an estimated $16 million, ranking fifth for a Thursday opening. Its mid-night showings earned an estimated $3 million.

Ip Man 2 (2010)

2010-07-03T13:50:00.005+07:00

Ip Man 2 (traditional Chinese: 葉問2:宗師傳奇; simplified Chinese: 叶问2:宗师传奇; ) is a 2010 semi-biographical martial arts film based on the life of Ip Man, a grandmaster of Wing Chun martial arts. A sequel to the 2008 film Ip Man, the film was directed by Wilson Yip, and stars Donnie Yen, who reprises the leading role. Continuing after the events of the earlier film, the sequel centers on Ip's movements in Hong Kong, which is under British colonial rule. He attempts to propagate his discipline of Wing Chun, but faces rivalry from other practitioners, including the local master of Hung Ga martial arts.

Producer Raymond Wong first announced a sequel before Ip Man's theatrical release in December 2008. Ip Man 2 was intended to focus on the relationship between Ip and his most famed disciple, Bruce Lee. The filmmakers, however, were unable to finalize film rights with Lee's descendants and decided to briefly portray Lee as a child.

Principal photography for Ip Man 2 began in August 2009 and concluded in November; filming took place inside a studio located in Shanghai. For the sequel, Yip aimed to create a more dramatic martial arts film in terms of story and characterization; Wong's son, screenwriter Edmond Wong, wanted the film to portray how Chinese people were treated by the British, as well as the Western perceptions towards Chinese martial arts.

Ip Man 2 premiered in Beijing on 21 April 2010. The film was released in Hong Kong on 29 April 2010. Ip Man 2 was met with positive reviews; critics praised the film's storytelling, as well as Sammo Hung's martial arts choreography. Other critics ultimately agreed that the sequel was not as good as its predecessor. The film grossed over HK$13 million on its opening weekend, immediately surpassing Ip Man’s opening weekend gross. During its theatrical run, Ip Man 2 brought in over HK$43 million domestically, and an estimated US$14 million worldwide.

Film title
The Chinese title of the film (traditional Chinese: 葉問2:宗師傳奇; simplified Chinese: 叶问2:宗师传奇; ), literally means Ip Man 2: Legend of a Grandmaster. The title is a play on the first film's working title which was Grandmaster Ip Man, a title that was changed when Wong Kar-wai clashed with producers, while trying to make his own Ip Man biopic. Wilson Yip explained that the title of the film as being purely coincidental rather than intentional: "The sequel is about Ip Man being elevated from a master, a hero to a grandmaster, so we have 'grandmaster' in the title."

Release
Ip Man 2 was released in select Asian countries and in Australia on 29 April 2010. Prior to its release, Mandarin Films publicly launched the film's official website in Beijing on 6 April 2010. The film held a premiere press conference in Beijing on 21 April 2010, only seven days after the 2010 Yushu earthquake. Guests were asked to wear dark-colored clothing in show of mourning; there was a moment of silence for the victims of the disaster. The film’s cast, Donnie Yen, Sammo Hung, Huang Xiaoming, Lynn Hung, and Kent Cheng attended the premiere, and donated a total of ¥500,000 (US$73,200) to relief efforts helping in the disaster recovery. The film held private screenings in Chengdu on 21 April 2010, and in China on 27 April 2010, receiving positive reactions from audiences. Mandarin Films has sold North American distribution rights for the film to distributor Well Go USA. Ip Man 2 will receive a 2011 theatrical release in the United States.

Box office
In Hong Kong, Ip Man 2 faced competition with the international release of Iron Man 2, which premiered in Hong Kong one day later than Ip Man 2. During its opening weekend, Ip Man 2 grossed HK$13 million (US$1,736,011), surpassing Ip Man’s opening weekend gross of HK$4.5 million (US$579,715). The sequel claimed first place at the box office, grossing HK$1 million more than Iron Man 2. The film's revenues decreased by 28.1% in its second weekend, earning HK$9,719,603.56 (US$1,248,996) to remain in first place. The film dropped 45.7% in its third week, bringing in HK$5,293,401 (US$678,613) while still remaining in first place. Ip Man 2 continued to stay at number one at the box office, dropping an additional 39.4% in its fourth week and grossing HK$3,199,567 (US$411,115). During its fifth week, the film moved to fifth place at 79.3%, grossing HK$664,535 (US$85,325). Ip Man 2 grossed HK$43,268,228.72 (US$5,558,704) domestically. The sequel's domestic gross in Hong Kong puts it ahead of Ip Man’s total box office gross of HK$25,581,958.69 (US$3,300,847).

Ip Man 2 has also broken box office records in Singapore. The film is currenty the highest-grossing Hong Kong film to be released in the country, beating a five-year record held by Kung Fu Hustle. On its opening weekend Ip Man 2 came in second place behind Iron Man 2, grossing SG$1.74 million (US$1,264,919). The film’s opening weekend gross surpassed Ip Man’s 2008 weekend gross of SG$827,000 (US$463,946).

In total, Ip Man 2 has grossed an estimated $14,546,583 worldwide during its theatrical run.

Source : Wikipedia

Cast Away (2000)

2010-05-30T11:06:00.004+07:00

Cast Away is a 2000 adventure film directed by Robert Zemeckis and starring Tom Hanks. Hanks portrays a fictional FedEx employee who is stranded on an uninhabited island after his plane crashes on a flight over the South Pacific.

The film depicts his attempts to survive on the island using remnants of his plane's cargo, as well as his eventual escape and return to society. Hanks was nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role at the 73rd Academy Awards for his critically acclaimed performance.

Production
The film is unusual in that it was not shot consecutively. Hanks gained fifty pounds during pre-production to make him look like a pudgy, middle-aged man. After a majority of the film was shot, production was halted for a year so that he could lose the weight and grow his hair and beard to look like he had been living on the island for years. During the year-long hiatus, Zemeckis used the same film crew to make another movie, What Lies Beneath.

Cast Away was filmed on Monuriki, a member of the Mamanuca Islands.[1] It is in a subgroup of the Mamanuca archipelago, which is sited off the coast of Viti Levu, Fiji's largest island. The island became a tourist attraction following the film's release. Although it is identified by Kelly after Chuck's return as being "about 600 miles south of the Cook Islands," there is actually no land between Antarctica and the southern-most Cook Islands of Mangaia.

The producers made up a list of seemingly useless items that would be in the packages that Noland recovered: party dress, ice skates, divorce papers, video tapes, and other sundries. They turned this over to a group of survival experts who decided how the protagonist might be able to use them. In a panel discussing the movie, director Robert Zemeckis joked that the unopened package contained a waterproof, solar-powered satellite phone. This led to a Super Bowl commercial that parodied the movie, which shows Chuck (though not played by Hanks) delivering the unopened package; as he does so, he asks the recipient "by the way, what's in the package?" and she replies "nothing much, just a satellite phone, GPS locator, fishing rod, water purifier, and some seeds."

Cast
* Tom Hanks - Chuck Noland
* Helen Hunt - Kelly Frears
* Wilson the Volleyball - Wilson
* Nick Searcy - Stan
* Jenifer Lewis - Becca Twig
* Chris Noth - Jerry Lovett
* Lari White - Bettina Peterson
* Vince Martin - Albert "Al" Miller
* Geoffrey Blake - Maynard Graham

Reception
Cast Away was acclaimed by critics, with particular praise for Tom Hanks' role as Chuck Noland. The film holds a score of 89% on Rotten Tomatoes. The film was a success at the box office, earning over $429,632,142 worldwide in ticket receipts.

The film received several award nominations.
* 73rd Academy Awards: Best Actor in a Leading Role (Tom Hanks), Best Sound
* BAFTA Awards: Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role (Tom Hanks)
* 58th Golden Globe Awards: Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama: For which he won (Tom Hanks)
* Screen Actors Guild: Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role (Tom Hanks)
* 2001 MTV Movie Awards: Best On-screen Team (Tom Hanks and Wilson)

Source : Wikipedia

Clash of the Titans (2010)

2010-05-10T19:32:00.004+07:00

Clash of the Titans is a 2010 fantasy film and remake of the 1981 film of the same name, as noted in the credits. As with the 1981 film, the story is very loosely based upon the Greek myth of Perseus. Directed by Louis Leterrier and starring Sam Worthington, the film was originally set for standard release on March 26, 2010. However, it was later announced that the film would be converted to 3D and was finally released on April 2, 2010.

Production
The Clash of the Titans remake project started in 2002 under producer Adam Schroeder and writers John Glenn and Travis Wright. They wanted to drop the "cheesy chessboard manipulation of characters" by the gods. Producer Basil Iwanyk revived the project in 2006 with a rewrite by Travis Beacham, a fan of the original, who intended the script to be "darker and more realistic".

Lawrence Kasdan and director Stephen Norrington signed on in 2007. Kasdan gave the script another rewrite from the Beacham version. But Norrington was unsure about his direction for the project because he did not grow up with the original. Leterrier, who did, contacted Norrington through their shared agent about replacing him. By June 2008 Leterrier joined the project and Warner Bros. greenlit the film. Leterrier noted the original Clash of the Titans inspired the climax of his previous film The Incredible Hulk – a battle in a burnt-down courtroom with temple-like columns – and has compared modern superheroes to Greek mythology.

Writers Phil Hay and Matt Manfredi took over the script during July 2008 and used Beacham's draft as a starting point. They focused on the mythology and telling the story through Leterrier's eyes. Hay and Manfredi had to rewrite the script in less than a year using a very active process. Leterrier sought Ray Harryhausen's involvement, and reunited with Hulk concept artist Aaron Sims, who had already been working on Clash of the Titans with Norrington.

Louis Leterrier, during an interview, revealed that he is a big Saint Seiya fan. He specifically cited the armor that the gods wear in his film remake as a sign of homage and respect to Saint Seiya. Masami Kurumada (the author of Saint Seiya) was even asked to collaborate with the production team on poster designs.

Sam Worthington took the role of Perseus because he wanted to make a Clash of the Titans for his nine year old nephew's generation. During filming the cast had a few laughs about the costumes but he took it very seriously "so the audience doesn't have to!" Worthington also did not wear sandals while filming, he instead painted toes on his Nikes so he could perform the stunts better.

Filming locations
Filming began April 27, 2009, in London at Shepperton Studios. Filming also took place in Wales and the Canary Islands (Spain), primarily in Tenerife (more specifically in the Teide National Park, World Heritage Site). Similarly, in Maspalomas Dunes, in Gran Canaria, and Timanfaya National Park in Lanzarote. While aerial photography was to be conducted in Iceland and Ethiopia.

Filming of volcano scenes at the Harriet hole in Dinorwic Slate Quarry in Wales wrapped at the end of July. This slate quarry has also been used for locations for Willow and Street Fighter.

Release
Clash of the Titans was originally set for standard release on March 26, 2010. The Heat Vision Blog reported on January 27, 2010 that after a 3D conversion test of the film which Warner Bros. found to be a "roaring success", the film would be converted to 3D and would premiere on April 2, 2010. The national premiere in Spain took place on Tuesday 30 March in the capital of the Canary Islands (Santa Cruz de Tenerife).

Box Office
Clash of the Titans earned $61 million in its opening weekend in the United States and Canada (not including Thursday previews). In a close photo-finish with the new film Date Night and the previous winner How to Train Your Dragon, it was #1 for two weeks in a row. As of May 4, 2010, Clash of the Titans made $154,348,211 in domestic with $273,000,000 in other countries which totals it $427,348,211.

Sequel
It's been stated that a sequel will be developed. Director Louis Leterrier will not come back to direct but will be an executive producer on the project. Clash of the Titans II has a tentative 2012 release date.

Source : Wikipedia

Confucius (2010)

2010-05-10T19:19:00.006+07:00

Confucius (Chinese: 孔子 ; Pinyin : Kong Zi) is a Chinese biographical film first released in Beijing on 14 January 2010. Directed by Hu Mei, the film stars Chow Yun-fat as the titular philosopher.

Production on the film began in March 2009 with shooting on location in China's Hebei province and in Hengdian World Studios in Zhejiang.

The film was scheduled to screen later in 2009 to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, as well as the 2,560th birthday of Confucius himself. However, the release date was later moved to January 2010.

Theme music
Faye Wong sang the theme song for the film. Her "soothing and ethereal voice" was considered appropriate for the lofty spirit of the song, "You Lan Cao", which is based on an ancient work by Han Yu.

Wong, a Buddhist, stated that she recorded the song "for Confucius" as his writings still provide the answers to modern questions.

Screening
During the film's launch in China, the Hollywood blockbuster Avatar is reportedly being pulled from nearly 1,600 2-D screens across China, to benefit the wide release of this film. Instead, Avatar will continue to be shown on the fewer, but more popular 900 3-D screens throughout China, which has generated over 64% of the film's total ticket sales in China.

The Hong Kong newspaper Apple Daily speculates that the Chinese authorities were worried Avatar had seized the market share from domestic films and noted that many of the vacant cinema slots will be replaced by Confucius, and the film would be "drawing unwanted attention to the sensitive issue" concerning forced evictions of Chinese homes. However, China's State Administration of Radio, Film and Television responded by stating it was a "commercial decision", and because the "box office performance of the 2D version has not been great." However, due to low attendance for Confucius, and high demand for Avatar, the Chinese government reversed their decision, and allowed Avatar to remain on some 2-D screens in China. This choice appeared to be at least partly based on the financial performance of the two films, with Avatar grossing nearly 2.5 times more money per day.

Source : Wikipedia

Flightplan (2005)

2010-05-05T18:23:00.007+07:00

Flightplan is a 2005 thriller film directed by Robert Schwentke and starring Jodie Foster, Peter Sarsgaard, Erika Christensen, and Sean Bean. It was released in North America on September 23, 2005.

Synopsis
A woman is forced to prove her own sanity to save the life of her daughter in this taut thriller. Kyle Pratt (Jodie Foster) is a successful aircraft designer who has recently been dealing with the traumatic death of her husband. After traveling to Berlin on business with her six-year-old daughter, Julia (Marlene Lawston), Kyle falls asleep on their flight back to New York, only to discover that her daughter has gone missing. While not knowing where Julia has gone is troubling enough, even more disturbing is the insistence by sky marshal Gene Carson (Peter Sarsgaard) and Captain Rich (Sean Bean) that no records indicate that the child ever boarded the jet.

As Kyle becomes increasingly desperate to find her daughter, she must prove to the men in charge that her daughter did in fact board the plane with her, and that this turn of events is not a product of her imagination. But if Julia has gone missing, who has taken her and why? Also starring Erika Christensen and Kate Beahan, Flightplan was the first English-language feature from German director Robert Schwentke. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Box Office and Reaction
Flightplan grossed $89,602,378 at the box office and over $223,000,000 worldwide[1]. It also grossed $49,270,000 on DVD rentals. The movie was met with mixed reviews from critics. It has a 38% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. In his review Roger Ebert described the film as 'a frightening thriller with an airtight plot', but James Berardinelli saw it as plotwise 'going into a tailspin from which it never recovers.'

The Association of Professional Flight Attendants, called for an official boycott of the film, which they say depicts flight attendants as rude, uncaring, indifferent, and even one as a "terrorist."

Source : Wikipedia & Fandango

Needing You...(2000)

2010-05-04T19:39:00.005+07:00

Needing You... (AKA: Orphaned Male Widow ; Traditional Chinese: 孤男寡女 ; Cantonese : Goo Naam Gwa Neui ; Mandarin : Gu Nan Gua Nü ) is a 2000 Hong Kong romantic comedy film, produced and directed by Johnnie To and Wai Ka-Fai and starring Andy Lau and Sammi Cheng.

Needing You's most extended—and winning—joke could be lost on many new fans of HK Cinema. The film possesses many references to the 1990 romantic drama A Moment of Romance, which starred Andy Lau and was produced by Johnnie To. In that film, Lau played a going-nowhere gangster named Wah Dee, and many of Needing You's more subtle joys are derived from the constant lampooning of Lau's role in that film, as well as his own established screen persona. As a result, those who know Lau as just "the guy who appeared in Infernal Affairs" might not get what other people find so funny.

Plot Summary
Needing You... is a comedic love story about Kinki Kwok (Sammi Cheng), a dysfunctional office worker at an electronics firm down on her luck with love. She's just as her name describes, a little out of order, with her refusal to cry when she's upset and preferring to do something more useful like clean the office's washroom or the interior of a car. And it just so happens she's secretly seen her boyfriend with another woman. All she has is her lucky charm inscribed with the words she wants her true love to say, but even that winds up missing.

Enter Andy (Wah-Siu) Cheung (Andy Lau), the manager in her department full of gossipy co-workers. Things seem to only to be getting worse for Kinki with Andy around, as she is constantly receiving the blame for the office's misfortunes. However, when Kinki manages to get Andy out of a sticky situation, he discovers some newfound respect for her loyalty and willingness to help, while Kinki thinks she may have deeper feelings for him. Together, they plot to get back at Kinki's double-crossing boyfriend and Andy's feelings for Kinki reciprocate. To further complicate things, Fiona (Fiona Leung), an old flame of Andy's reappears and tries to hook Kinki up with young .com billionaire Roger (Raymond Wong), while Andy has been accused of wasting company money on a failed project.

Box Office
During the slump in the Hong Kong film industry of the late 1990s, Needing You... raked in HKD 6.5 million during its 1st 3 days of opening in Hong Kong, and amassed a total of HKD 35 million in Hong Kong alone, rivaling John Woo's American film Mission: Impossible II which screened during the same period in Hong Kong and triumphing all other Hong Kong films screened for the past few years. In the same year, Summer Holiday earned HKD 21 million, which was ranked 2nd best-selling local film after Needing You... in Hong Kong.

Awards :
20th Annual Hong Kong Film Awards
• Nomination - Best Picture
• Nomination - Best Director (Johnnie To Kei-Fung, Wai Ka-Fai)
• Nomination - Best Actress (Sammi Cheng Sau-Man)
• Nomination - Best Screenplay (Wai Ka-Fai, Yau Nai-Hoi)
• Nomination - Best Song ("On the Love Line", performed by Sammi Cheng Sau-Man)

7th Annual Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards
• Recommended Film

37th Annual Golden Horse Awards
• Nomination - Best Actress (Sammi Cheng Sau-Man)

Source : Wikipedia & LoveHKFilm.com

Infernal Affairs (2002)

2010-05-03T19:48:00.006+07:00

Infernal Affairs (Traditional Chinese :無間道 ; Cantonese : Mou Gaan Dou ; Mandarin : Wu Jian Dao) is a 2002 Hong Kong crime-thriller film directed by Andrew Lau and Alan Mak. It tells the story of a police officer who infiltrates the Triads, and a police officer secretly working for the same gang. The Chinese title means "the non-stop path", a reference to Avici, the lowest level of hell in Buddhism. The English title is a word play combining the law enforcement term 'internal affairs' with the adjective Infernal. Due to its commercial and critical success, Infernal Affairs was followed by a prequel, Infernal Affairs II, and a sequel, Infernal Affairs III, both released in 2003.

Pre-release publicity for Infernal Affairs focused on its star-studded cast (Andy Lau, Tony Leung, Anthony Wong, Eric Tsang, Kelly Chen and Sammi Cheng), but it later received critical acclaim for its original plot and its concise and swift storytelling style. The film did exceptionally well in Hong Kong, where it was considered "a box office miracle" and heralded as a revival of Hong Kong cinema which at the time was considered to be direly lacking in creativity.

The film features all the members of the popular Hong Kong 'Cantopop' group EO2, playing Triad boss Hom Sam's men. One member of this group has subsequently become a lead actor (Osman Hung).

Miramax Films acquired the United States distribution rights of this film and gave it a limited US theatrical release in 2004.

The Infernal Affairs series was then remade by Martin Scorsese in 2006 as The Departed, starring Matt Damon, Leonardo DiCaprio, Jack Nicholson and Mark Wahlberg.

Awards and Nominations
Infernal Affairs did very well at the 2002 Hong Kong Film Awards, beating the blockbuster Hero for the Best Film award.

22nd Annual Hong Kong Film Awards
* Best Picture
* Best Director – Andrew Lau and Alan Mak
* Best Screenplay – Alan Mak and Felix Chong
* Best Actor – Tony Leung
* Best Supporting Actor – Anthony Wong
* Best Editing – Danny Pang and Pang Ching Hei
* Best Original Film Song – "Infernal Afairs", sung by Andy Lau and Tony Leung
* Nomination – Best Actor (Andy Lau)
* Nomination – Best Supporting Actor (Eric Tsang)
* Nomination – Best Supporting Actor (Chapman To)
* Nomination – Best Cinematography (Andrew Lau, Lai Yiu-Fai)
* Nomination – Best Costume Design (Lee Pik-Kwan)
* Nomination – Best Action Design (Dion Lam Dik-On)
* Nomination – Best Original Score (Chan Kwong Wing)
* Nomination – Best Sound Effects (Kinson Tsang King-Cheung)
* Nomination – Best Visual Effects

9th Annual Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards
* Recommended Film
* Best Actor (Anthony Wong)

Hachiko: A Dog's Story (2009)

2010-04-29T18:31:00.002+07:00

Hachiko: A Dog's Story is a 2009 American drama film based on the true story of the faithful Akita Hachikō. It is a remake of the 1987 Japanese film Hachikō Monogatari. It was directed by Lasse Hallström, written by Stephen P. Lindsey and stars Richard Gere, Joan Allen and Sarah Roemer.

The first foreign premiere was on August 8, 2009, in Japan. To date, the film has opened in over 20 countries over the past year and continues to open in foreign territories throughout 2010. In the United States, the movie was first shown at the Seattle International Film Festival on June 13, 2009. Sony Pictures Entertainment decided to forgo a U.S. theatrical release and is sending it straight to DVD in the USA on March, 9, 2010. According to the Odeon Cinema website the film will be given a UK theatrical release on March 12, 2010, courtesy of Entertainment Film Distributors. Box Office Mojo reports that total foreign box office has reached $41,492,583 as of April 4th, 2010.

Cast
* Richard Gere as Parker Wilson, the professor
* Joan Allen as Cate Wilson, the professor's wife
* Sarah Roemer as Andy Wilson, the professor's daughter
* Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa as Ken Fujiyoshi
* Eric Avari as Jasjeet, the Indian vendor
* Jason Alexander as Carl
* Davenia McFadden as Mary Anne
* Kevin DeCoste as Ronnie
* Tora Hallstrom as Heather
* Robbie Sublett as Michael
* Hachiko is played by three Akitas named Chico, Layla and Forrest - each playing a different period in Hachiko's life.

Production
The majority of filming took place in Bristol, RI, and Woonsocket, RI. Additional locations included the University of Rhode Island in Kingston, RI, along the Providence and Worcester Railroad Mechanical, and the Columbus Theater located in Providence, RI. A second production unit filmed some scenes on-location in Japan.

Source : Wikipedia

Ip Man (2008)

2010-04-28T21:16:00.010+07:00

Ip Man (read : Yip Man) (Simplified Chinese: 叶问; Traditional Chinese: 葉問; Mandarin Pinyin : Yè Wèn) is a 2008 semi-biographical martial arts film based on the life of Ip Man, a grandmaster of the martial art Wing Chun and the first person to teach Wing Chun openly. One of his students was the widely influential and acclaimed martial artist and filmmaker Bruce Lee. The film focuses on events in Ip's life that took place in the city of Foshan during the Second Sino-Japanese War. The film was directed by Wilson Yip, and stars Donnie Yen as Ip Man, with martial arts choreography by Sammo Hung. The supporting cast includes Simon Yam, Lynn Hung, Lam Ka-Tung, Xing Yu and Hiroyuki Ikeuchi.

The idea of an Ip Man biopic originated in 1998 when Jeffrey Lau and Corey Yuen discussed the idea of making a film based on Bruce Lee's martial arts master. However, the studio producing the proposed film closed, and the project was abandoned.

Producer Raymond Wong decided to develop his own Ip Man film with full consent from Ip's sons, and had filmmakers head to Foshan to research Ip's life. Ip Chun, Ip Man's eldest son, and several other Wing Chun practitioners served as technical consultants for the film. Principal photography for Ip Man began in March 2008 and ended in August; filming took place in Shanghai, which was used to architecturally recreate Foshan.

During filming, conflicts arose between the producers of Ip Man and filmmaker Wong Kar-wai over the film's working title. Wong, who had been developing his own Ip Man biopic, clashed with the producers after learning that their film would be titled Grandmaster Ip Man (traditional Chinese: 一代宗師葉問), which was too similar to the title of Wong's film. The producers of Ip Man agreed to change the title, despite Wong's film being in development hell.

Ip Man was released theatrically in Hong Kong on 19 December 2008, receiving widespread acclaim from critics and audiences. Prior to the film's release, Raymond Wong announced that there would be a sequel; a second installment, titled Ip Man 2, will be released in April 2010. Ip Man grossed over US$21 million worldwide, despite not being released in North America and most of Europe. Following its success, the film was nominated for 12 Hong Kong Film Awards, winning awards for Best Film and Best Action Choreography.

Release
Ip Man was first released in China on the week of 8 December 2008 to 14 December 2008. The film was later released in Malaysia, Singapore and New Zealand on 18 December 2008, one day prior to its release date in Hong Kong. The film was released in the United Kingdom on 2 October 2009. In 2010, Mandarin Films sold North American distribution rights for the film to distributor Well Go USA.

Box Office
Ip Man grossed ¥14,948,157 ($2,188,982) on its opening weekend in China, and went on to stay in second place for four consecutive weeks. On its fifth week, the film moved down to fifth place with a total of ¥91,783,626 (US$13,439,486). At the end of its theatrical run in China, Ip Man grossed ¥100 million (US$14,705,882).

The film was released in Hong Kong on 19 December 2008. On opening weekend, it came in first place at the box office, grossing HK$4.5 million (US$579,715). At the end of its box-office run in Hong Kong, Ip Man had grossed HK$25,581,958.69 (US$3,300,847). In total, the film had grossed $21,888,598 worldwide, despite not being released in North America and most of Europe. To date, Ip Man is the highest-grossing film featuring Donnie Yen in a leading role.

Sequels
Ip Man is the first film in a planned trilogy. Donnie Yen will reprise the lead role in the forthcoming sequel Ip Man 2, the second feature film based on the life of Ip Man. The film will focus on Ip's movements in Hong Kong as he attempts to propagate his discipline of Wing Chun martial arts; it will also focus on a young Bruce Lee prior to becoming one of Ip's most famed disciples. Ip Man 2 will be released theatrically in Hong Kong in late April 2010. Lynn Hung, Lam Ka-Tung, and Fan Siu-Wong will reprise their supporting roles, while martial arts choreographer Sammo Hung will appear as a master of Hung Ga martial arts.

Yen has expressed his disinterest in making a third film, feeling that, "Ip Man 2 will incontrovertibly become a classic, bettering the first."[36] Yen later stated that after Ip Man 2, he would no longer be involved in a film based on Ip's life. While both Donnie Yen and Raymond Wong are not keen on making a third Ip Man film, director Wilson Yip has expressed interest in making one that would focus on the relationship between Ip and Bruce Lee. While Ip Man 2 will focus on Lee as a child, Yip hopes to find a suitable actor to portray Lee as an adult for the third installment.

Awards
- Won Best Film Category, Best Action Choreography (for Sammo Hung, Tony Leung Siu-Hung)in 28th Hong Kong Film Awards
- Won Best Picture, Best Action Choreography (for Sammo Hung, Tony Leung Siu-Hung), Best Actor (for Donnie Yen)in 2nd Iron Elephant Awards
- Won Best Action Choreography (for Sammo Hung, Tony Leung Siu-Hung) in 46th Golden Horse Film Awards

Source : Wikipedia

Titanic (1997)

2010-04-28T21:00:00.007+07:00

Titanic is a 1997 American disaster/romantic/drama film directed, written, co-produced, and co-edited by James Cameron about the sinking of the RMS Titanic. It stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Jack Dawson and Kate Winslet as Rose DeWitt Bukater, two members of different social classes who fall in love aboard the ill-fated maiden voyage of the ship. The main characters and the central love story are fictional, but some characters (such as members of the ship's passengers and crew) are based on historical figures. Gloria Stuart portrays the elderly Rose, who narrates the film in a modern day framing device, and Billy Zane stars as Cal Hockley, the overbearing fiancé of Rose's younger self.

Production of the film began in 1995, when Cameron shot footage of the real wreck of the RMS Titanic. He envisioned the love story as a means to engage the audience with the real-life tragedy. Shooting took place on board the Akademik Mstislav Keldysh – which aided Cameron in filming the real wreck – for the modern scenes, and a reconstruction of the ship was built at Playas de Rosarito, Baja California. Cameron also used scale models and computer-generated imagery to recreate the sinking. At the time, the picture became the most expensive film ever made, costing approximately US$200 million with funding from Paramount Pictures and 20th Century Fox.

The film was originally to be released on July 2, 1997, but post-production delays pushed back the film's release to December 19, 1997. The film turned out to be an enormous critical and commercial success. Nominated for fourteen Academy Awards, it won eleven, including Best Picture.[8] It became the highest-grossing film of all time, with a worldwide total of over $1.8 billion, and remained so for twelve years until Cameron's directorial follow-up, Avatar, surpassed it in 2010.

The film is due to be re-released in theatres in 2012 after Cameron completes its 3-D transformation.

Release
Paramount Pictures and 20th Century Fox financed Titanic, and expected Cameron to complete the film for a release on July 2, 1997. The film was to be released on this date "in order to exploit the lucrative summer season ticket sales when blockbuster films usually do better". In April, Cameron said the film's special effects were too complicated and that releasing the film for summer would not be possible.[16] With production delays, Paramount pushed back the release date to December 19, 1997. "This fueled speculation that the film itself was a disaster." Though a preview screening in Minneapolis on July 14 "generated positive reviews" and "[c]hatter on the Internet was responsible for more favorable word of mouth about the [film]". This led to more positive media coverage.

The film premiered on November 1, 1997, at the Tokyo International Film Festival, where reaction was described as "tepid" by The New York Times. However, positive reviews started to appear back in the United States; the official Hollywood premiere occurred on December 14, 1997, where "the big movie stars who attended the opening were enthusiastically gushing about the film to the world media".

Box Office
The film received steady attendance after opening in North America on Friday, December 19, 1997. By the end of that same weekend, theaters were beginning to sell out. The film debuted with $8,658,814 on its opening day and $28,638,131 over the opening weekend from 2,674 theaters, averaging to about $10,710 per venue, and ranking #1 at the box office, ahead of the 18th James Bond film, Tomorrow Never Dies. By New Year's Day, Titanic had made over $120 million, had increased in popularity and theaters continued selling out. Its biggest single day took place on Saturday February 14 (Valentine's Day) 1998, making $13,048,711, more than six weeks after it debuted in North America. After it was released, it stayed at #1 for 15 consecutive weeks in the United States and Canada box office, which remains the record for any film. By March 1998, it was the first film to earn more than $1 billion worldwide. The film stayed in theaters in North America for almost ten months before finally closing on Thursday October 1, 1998 with a final domestic gross of $600,788,188. Box Office Mojo estimates that after adjusting for ticket price inflation, Titanic would be the sixth highest-grossing film of all time in the United States and Canada. The film made double that amount overseas with an international gross of $1,248,025,607 and accumulated a grand total of $1,843,201,268 worldwide to become the highest-grossing film in history, and remained so for twelve years, until Avatar (also written and directed by Cameron) surpassed it in 2010.

Awards and Honors
Titanic began its awards sweep starting with the Golden Globes, winning four, namely Best Motion Picture (Drama), Best Director, Best Original Score, and Best Song. Kate Winslet and Gloria Stuart were also nominees but lost. It won the ACE "Eddie" Award, ASC Award, Art Directors Guild Award, Cinema Audio Society Award, Screen Actors Guild Awards, (Best Supporting Actress Gloria Stuart), The Directors Guild of America Award, and Broadcast Film Critics Association Award (Best Director James Cameron), and The Producer Guild of America Awards. It was also nominated for ten BAFTA awards, including Best Film and Director.

The film was nominated for a record-tying 14 Academy Awards and won 11, including the Best Picture and Best Director. It also picked up Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, Best Visual Effects, Best Sound Mixing, Best Sound Editing, Best Original Score, Best Film Editing, Best Original Song, and Best Art Direction awards.Kate W inslet, Gloria Stuart and the make-up artists were the three nominees that did not win. James Cameron's original screenplay and Leonardo DiCaprio were not nominees. It was the second film to win eleven Academy Awards, after Ben-Hur. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King would also match this record in 2004, with its 11 wins from 11 nominations.

Titanic won the 1997 Academy Award for Best Original Song, as well as three Grammy Awards for Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or Television. The film's soundtrack became the best-selling primarily orchestral soundtrack of all time, and became a worldwide success, spending 16 weeks at #1 in the United States and was certified diamond for over 11 million copies sold in the United States alone. The soundtrack also became the best-selling album of 1998 in the U.S. "My Heart Will Go On" won the Grammy Awards for Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or for Television. The film also won Best Male Performance for Leonardo DiCaprio and Best Movie at the MTV Movie Awards, Best Film at the People's Choice Awards, and Favorite Movie at the 1998 Kids' Choice Awards. It won various awards outside the United States, including the Awards of the Japanese Academy as the Best Foreign Film of the Year. Titanic eventually won nearly 90 awards and had an additional 47 nominations from various award-giving bodies around the world.[104] Additionally, the book about the making of the film was at the top of The New York Times' bestseller list for several weeks, "the first time that such a tie-in book had achieved this status".

Source : Wikipedia