Cinematheque: A classic French filmmaker´s latest movie - Alain Resnais is still going strong (and other film news)

In 2008, at the age of 86, Alain Resnais, one of the most prominent filmmakers in French film history, once again got behind the camera. The result was Les Herbes Folles (Wild Grass), which earned him a lifetime achievement award in Cannes, as well as a nomination for the Palme d´Or (The Golden Palm). This upcoming Friday you have a chance to enjoy the romantic drama at Alliance Française!

Alain Resnais started his career in the mid 40s and has since then made a long list of classics, of which Nuit et brouillard (Night and fog, 1955), Hiroshima mon amour (Hiroshima my love, 1959) and L’année dernière à Marienbad (Last year at Marienbad, 1961) are considered his masterpieces. These three pictures gained him a reputation as one of the French New Wave (La Nouvelle Vague) directors - the group of critics-turned-filmmakers that included François Truffaut and Jean-Luc Godard among others. Resnais, however, didn't really consider himself as part of the movement.

French New Wave or not, Resnais did belong to the filmmaking and literary community of La Rive Gauche (The Left Bank) in Paris, including Agnès Varda, Jacques Demy and other filmmakers, authors and artists. His films range from abstract and inaccessible to more easily digested mainstream pictures.

Cinematheque´s movie of choice for this week, "Les herbes folles", is based on the novel "L`Incident" by Christian Gailly, and it marks the first time that Resnais has taken a novel as the basis of a film. The director put together a cast that included his usual collaborators Sabine Azéma and André Dussollier who are making their ninth and seventh feature with Resnais respectively. The plot goes like this:
Marguerite (Sabine Azéma) had not expected that her handbag would be stolen out of the shop. Even less than the thief would throw the contents in a parking lot. As for George (André Dussolier) if he could suspect the reaction of this woman, he would perhaps not bend down to pick it up ... This is the beginning of a little game of cat and mouse between these two lonely people and a indescribable love story...


To explain the title and characters of the movie, Resnais said, as quoted in The Village Voice:
I have the impression that these are two people who have no reason to meet, no reason to love each other. In French, 'les herbes folles' means a plant that grows in a place where it has no hope of developing - in a crack in a wall, or a ceiling. I wanted to say that I consider these two characters to be completely deprived of reason. - - - But aren't we all?


The film includes several references to cinema, and for one specific sequence, Jacques Saulnier constructed a set of a street scene in where the viewers eyes are drawn to an old style local cinema theatre. Making film references and sneaking in items, scenes or conversations that revealed the director´s love for cinema was a popular habit among the auteurs of the French New Wave - so there we have at least one approach that connects Resnais to the group.

The screening on Friday will be followed by a discussion with Liu Wei, animator and producer for radio, and Thierry Berthommier, professor at Alliance Française. For info on where and when to cinematify and frenchify yourself, go to Alliance Française´s website. Don´t ezitate, be zere!

Check out what other movies are showing in Shanghai this coming week. Links lead to info about times and venues.

MOVIE EVENTS
The Public Enemy: SubCinema screening at Dada, Tuesday the 25th: "The Public Enemy" is a 1931 American crime film starring James Cagney and directed by William A. Wellman. The movie relates the story of a young man's rise in the criminal underworld in prohibition-era urban America. The supporting players include Jean Harlow, Edward Woods, Joan Blondell, Beryl Mercer, Donald Cook, and Mae Clarke. The film, which was based on the novel Beer and Blood by John Bright, launched Cagney to stardom. Plot description: A young hoodlum rises up through the ranks of the Chicago underworld, even as a gangster's accidental death threatens to spark a bloody mob war.
Tuya's Marriage: Free screening at Vienna Café on Thursday the 27th: This 2006 Chinese film took home a Golden Bear at the 2007 Berlin Film Festival, the highest prize to be awarded. It tells the story of Tuya, a nomadic herder living in Inner Mongolia, who divorces her disabled husband in the hope of finding an able-bodied man can take care of not only herself and her children but her former husband as well. In Chinese with English subtitles.
Action Cinema at Cinemayhem: Orang3 and Independent Media join hands once again to bring you "Cinemayhem!" On Friday, May 28th, join in for a celebration of action cinema with the debut screening of locally produced kungfu short film @ Orang3, with live martial arts demonstrations to dazzle you with those lighting moves. To top it off, the tribute to action cinema will continue with renditions of action-inspired jams, courtesy of DJ DSquare from Holland, who will be spinning tracks til late for nonstop partying.
Red Kite: On Saturday the 29th, Image Tunnel presents, "Red Kite", a film directed by Mao Guangju: It was a tranquil summer, such a melancholy silence doping, bringing along all kinds of imagination. Standing under the welkin, with the kite flying high, he spent his youth time doing nothing, simply enjoying the leisure. When the kite was blow off, he just let it gone with the wind. During this kind of period, it is his kite that took him flying to love. Stilly, he made the perfect life for her. Maybe, that was his most pure and wonderful moments. 46 minutes, 30 RMB/person.
It’s Time for Dinner: On Saturday the 29th, Image Tunnel presents "It;s Time for Dinner", a film directed by Wu Yifei and Gao Yanfei: In Lianzhuang village, Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, there are two groups. One is the students who come here for art training preparing for College Entrance Examination. Because of the needs of these students, another group virtually comes into being, which is the old models from different areas and of different backgrounds. 69 minutes, 30 RMB/person.

ENGLISH LANGUAGE MOVIES
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time: Based on the the 2003 video game of the same name, this action-adventure fantasy film transports you back in time to sixth-century Persia, aka Iran. Jake Gyllenhall plays street urchin Dastan who is adopted by the king as his heir. He then teams up with Princess Tamina (Gemma Arterton) to rescue the Sands of Time - a gift from the gods that controls time - from evil nobleman Nizam (Ben Kingsley).
How To Train Your Dragon (驯龙高手): This computer-animated fantasy film by DreamWorks Animation is loosely based on the 2003 book of the same title. The story takes place in a mythical Viking world where a young Viking teenager named "Hiccup" aspires to kill a dragon in order to get notice in a viking society. He finally shoots down a dragon, capturing it with a bolas cannon, though no one sees his feat nor believes him. But even with his chance at finally proving himself, he finds that he no longer has the desire to kill the dragon he captured and with time, befriends it.
Step Up 2: The Streets is the 2008 (舞出我人生：街舞): sequel to Step Up from Touchstone Pictures. The movie was directed by Jon Chu, and choreographed by Jamal Sims, Hi-Hat (Bring It On) and Dave Scott (Stomp the Yard). It follows Andie West (Briana Evigan) as she pursues her big dream of becoming a street dancer. She trains with her dance crew, the "410" (pronounced four-one-oh), to keep the title of the illegal competition 'The Streets'. Tyler (Channing Tatum) meets her at the dance club, The Dragon. Tyler tries to persuade her to audition for the Maryland School of the Arts (MSA), where Andie has to compete for a place, thinking it will help her life as it did his.
Iron Man 2 (钢铁侠2): With the world now aware of his dual life as the armored superhero Iron Man, billionaire inventor Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) faces pressure from the government, the press, and the public to share his technology with the military. Unwilling to let go of his invention, Stark, along with Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow), and James "Rhodey" Rhodes (Don Cheadle) at his side, must forge new alliances and confront powerful enemies.
Echelon Conspiracy (夺命手机): Max Peterson is a globe-trotting techno-whiz who installs security systems on computers. In the Czech Republic he receives an anonymous gift: a phone which sends messages that enable him to win at a casino. Max soon finds himself pursed by hit men, the casino's security chief, and a CIA operative. Who's sending Max messages? Previous recipients of similar windfalls have ended up dead. After a couple of close scrapes, Max realizes he's in danger, so he tries to find out the root of the conspiracy - which seems to have access to every security camera in the world - before he's the next victim. Why is this happening to him, and who can he trust?
In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale (地牢围攻): "In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale" is a 2008 fantasy film inspired by the Dungeon Siege video game series, which was directed by Uwe Boll. Set in the kingdom of Ehb, the story follows a man called Farmer (Jason Statham), who was adopted by his village. When Farmer's wife, Solana (Claire Forlani), and his son leave to sell vegetables at the town of Stonebridge, Farmer's farm is attacked by creatures called Krugs. With the help of his friend and neighbor Norrick (Ron Perlman) he travels to Stonebridge; however, the Krugs kill his son and capture his wife. With the help of Norrick and Bastian (Will Sanderson), Farmer's brother-in-law, he intends to find and rescue his wife.
Clash of the Titans (诸神之战): "The Clash of the Titans" is set in the Greek city of Argos where a war is about to explode between man and the gods. Perseus (Sam Worthington) raised as a fisherman, but is actually a demi-god. Perseus is the son of Zeus (Liam Neeson) who is about to take on the gods after the death of his family. Zeus' brother Hades (Ralph Fiennes) was the one who killed his family, and Perseus wants to kill him. However, it is Perseus's destiny to rescue the city of Argos from the ruthless rage of Hades and his Kraken monster. With nothing to lose, Perseus leads a band of soldiers on a quest to defeat the Kraken. In doing this, Perseus will prevent Hades from overthrowing Zeus and in turn destroying mankind.

CHINESE LANGUAGE MOVIES

The Three Smiles: The Scholar and the Beauty (三笑之才子佳人): A young girl is determined to win the heart of a pop singer, by all cost...Loosely inspired by the love story of scholar Tang Yi (Tang Bohu) and house maid Qiu Xiang, which originated in the 16th Century, this off-beat comedy is created by Chinese comedian Guo Degang and his colleagues and disciples. Starring Stephen Chow and Gong Li's.

Beyond the Sacred Land (圣地额济纳): Beyond the Sacred Land is a propaganda film chronicles the history of Chinese space programs, starting with the establishment of a missile base in a Mongolian grassland.

Road To Revival (复兴之路): "Road to Revival" is a film based on the musical staged in 2009 to celebrate the nation's 60th birthday, one of the most popular shows in Beijing last year. Zhang Jigang, director of the stage epic, also directs the film, presenting the nation's revival over the past 169 years since Western powers invaded China in the 1840s Opium Wars. When brought to the big screen, it maintains the magnificent setting and stellar cast including Peng Liyuan and Song Zuying.

The Perfect Match (终极匹配): A womanizer does not know who should be his perfect match, an energetic college graduate or a mature working business woman... From first time director Cheng Long, who has been working as the editor of three Zhang Yimou's films, "Curse of the Golden Flower", "Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles" and "House of the Flying Daggers".

Black Cat Detective (黑猫警长): One of the most popular animated television series in China in the 1980s is now a feature-length film. THe original five stories of the animated series are merged into one, with some modern touches. According to director Dai Tielang, who created the original series, there are no major changes. The popular theme song is remixed and trendy modern elements have been added to some dialogue and to the settings.

East Wind, Rain (东风雨): In the film, Fan Bingbing plays a spy during WWII. In order to fulfill her mission and keep the organization's information secret, she sacrifices herself. Director Liu set the film, which takes place in Shanghai, before and after the attack on Pearl Harbour. The Shanghai of 1941, as presented in the movie, is filled with spies working for different countries and organizations. An Ming, a Chinese agent, works undercover as a pianist in a local pub. He decodes the "East Wind, Rain" message and tries to pass on the information. Director Liu plays An Ming.

Go Lala Go! / Du Lala's Promotion (杜拉拉升职记): Helmed by actress-turned-director Xu Jinglei, the film is adapted from a novel entitled "Du Lala's Promotion". The best-seller centers on a woman named Du Lala who takes the high road to get promoted. The film stars director Xu Jinglei herself as Du Lala, as well as Stanley Huang, Karen Mok, Li Ai, and Pace Wu.


OTHER LANGUAGE MOVIES
Ip Man 2: Legend of the Grandmaster (叶问2：宗师传奇): Two years after the film "Ip Man" (叶问) a sequel is now released, once again under the direction of Wilson Yip (Yip Wai Shun) and with Donnie Yen in the leading role. The film follows Ip Man, the kung fu master who among others taught Bruce Lee some of his tricks and kicks. After killing a Japanese army official to defend his honor, Ip Man flees to Hong Kong with his family to start a new life. Ip attempts to propagate his discipline of Wing Chun, but faces rivalry from other practitioners, including the local master of Hung Ga martial arts. In Cantonese.
El Orfanato / The Orphanage (孤堡惊情): The former orphan Laura raises her adopted son Simón with her husband Carlos in an old house and former orphanage where she was raised. Simón is HIV positive and tells Laura that he has five invisible friends, and she believes they are fruit of his imagination. Laura decides to reopen an orphanage for handicapped children in the location and during the opening party, Simón calls her to show the little cabin of his friend Tomás. The busy Laura does not gives much attention to her son; then she sees a mysterious masked boy and Simón vanishes. Laura feels the presence of other persons in the house and months later, the desperate Laura invites a team of parapsychologists to try to unravel the mystery. In Spanish.
Crossing Henessey (月满轩尼诗): "Crossing Hennessy" is an engagingly fresh and enjoyable dramatic comedy that makes great use of its Hong Kong locations as it delves into the romantic complications of modern urban life. 41-year-old slacker Loy (Jacky Cheung) sleeps in all the time and doesn´t do much with his life. His widowed but flamboyant mom (Paw Hee-ching) sets him up on a matchmaking dim sum lunch with Oi Lin (Tang Wei), a quiet mainland girl-next-door (well, a few streets away). Before long, mom starts to arrange the marriage details, not knowing that Loy is still into, and seeing his ex-girlfriend, who´s now divorced and back on the market. Meanwhile Oi Lin is waiting for her bad boy lover to get out of jail soon. Directed by Ivy Ho. In Cantonese and Mandarin.

See Also :

Boy Spies of America

Ode to ‘Chuck’…And to John Casey! 

DC And NYC, Arm In Arm 

 

Cinematheque: A classic French filmmaker´s latest movie - Alain Resnais is still going strong (and other film news)

In 2008, at the age of 86, Alain Resnais, one of the most prominent filmmakers in French film history, once again got behind the camera. The result was Les Herbes Folles (Wild Grass), which earned him a lifetime achievement award in Cannes, as well as a nomination for the Palme d´Or (The Golden Palm). This upcoming Friday you have a chance to enjoy the romantic drama at Alliance Française!

Alain Resnais started his career in the mid 40s and has since then made a long list of classics, of which Nuit et brouillard (Night and fog, 1955), Hiroshima mon amour (Hiroshima my love, 1959) and L’année dernière à Marienbad (Last year at Marienbad, 1961) are considered his masterpieces. These three pictures gained him a reputation as one of the French New Wave (La Nouvelle Vague) directors - the group of critics-turned-filmmakers that included François Truffaut and Jean-Luc Godard among others. Resnais, however, didn't really consider himself as part of the movement.

French New Wave or not, Resnais did belong to the filmmaking and literary community of La Rive Gauche (The Left Bank) in Paris, including Agnès Varda, Jacques Demy and other filmmakers, authors and artists. His films range from abstract and inaccessible to more easily digested mainstream pictures.

Cinematheque´s movie of choice for this week, "Les herbes folles", is based on the novel "L`Incident" by Christian Gailly, and it marks the first time that Resnais has taken a novel as the basis of a film. The director put together a cast that included his usual collaborators Sabine Azéma and André Dussollier who are making their ninth and seventh feature with Resnais respectively. The plot goes like this:
Marguerite (Sabine Azéma) had not expected that her handbag would be stolen out of the shop. Even less than the thief would throw the contents in a parking lot. As for George (André Dussolier) if he could suspect the reaction of this woman, he would perhaps not bend down to pick it up ... This is the beginning of a little game of cat and mouse between these two lonely people and a indescribable love story...


To explain the title and characters of the movie, Resnais said, as quoted in The Village Voice:
I have the impression that these are two people who have no reason to meet, no reason to love each other. In French, 'les herbes folles' means a plant that grows in a place where it has no hope of developing - in a crack in a wall, or a ceiling. I wanted to say that I consider these two characters to be completely deprived of reason. - - - But aren't we all?


The film includes several references to cinema, and for one specific sequence, Jacques Saulnier constructed a set of a street scene in where the viewers eyes are drawn to an old style local cinema theatre. Making film references and sneaking in items, scenes or conversations that revealed the director´s love for cinema was a popular habit among the auteurs of the French New Wave - so there we have at least one approach that connects Resnais to the group.

The screening on Friday will be followed by a discussion with Liu Wei, animator and producer for radio, and Thierry Berthommier, professor at Alliance Française. For info on where and when to cinematify and frenchify yourself, go to Alliance Française´s website. Don´t ezitate, be zere!

Check out what other movies are showing in Shanghai this coming week. Links lead to info about times and venues.

MOVIE EVENTS
The Public Enemy: SubCinema screening at Dada, Tuesday the 25th: "The Public Enemy" is a 1931 American crime film starring James Cagney and directed by William A. Wellman. The movie relates the story of a young man's rise in the criminal underworld in prohibition-era urban America. The supporting players include Jean Harlow, Edward Woods, Joan Blondell, Beryl Mercer, Donald Cook, and Mae Clarke. The film, which was based on the novel Beer and Blood by John Bright, launched Cagney to stardom. Plot description: A young hoodlum rises up through the ranks of the Chicago underworld, even as a gangster's accidental death threatens to spark a bloody mob war.
Tuya's Marriage: Free screening at Vienna Café on Thursday the 27th: This 2006 Chinese film took home a Golden Bear at the 2007 Berlin Film Festival, the highest prize to be awarded. It tells the story of Tuya, a nomadic herder living in Inner Mongolia, who divorces her disabled husband in the hope of finding an able-bodied man can take care of not only herself and her children but her former husband as well. In Chinese with English subtitles.
Action Cinema at Cinemayhem: Orang3 and Independent Media join hands once again to bring you "Cinemayhem!" On Friday, May 28th, join in for a celebration of action cinema with the debut screening of locally produced kungfu short film @ Orang3, with live martial arts demonstrations to dazzle you with those lighting moves. To top it off, the tribute to action cinema will continue with renditions of action-inspired jams, courtesy of DJ DSquare from Holland, who will be spinning tracks til late for nonstop partying.
Red Kite: On Saturday the 29th, Image Tunnel presents, "Red Kite", a film directed by Mao Guangju: It was a tranquil summer, such a melancholy silence doping, bringing along all kinds of imagination. Standing under the welkin, with the kite flying high, he spent his youth time doing nothing, simply enjoying the leisure. When the kite was blow off, he just let it gone with the wind. During this kind of period, it is his kite that took him flying to love. Stilly, he made the perfect life for her. Maybe, that was his most pure and wonderful moments. 46 minutes, 30 RMB/person.
It’s Time for Dinner: On Saturday the 29th, Image Tunnel presents "It;s Time for Dinner", a film directed by Wu Yifei and Gao Yanfei: In Lianzhuang village, Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, there are two groups. One is the students who come here for art training preparing for College Entrance Examination. Because of the needs of these students, another group virtually comes into being, which is the old models from different areas and of different backgrounds. 69 minutes, 30 RMB/person.

ENGLISH LANGUAGE MOVIES
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time: Based on the the 2003 video game of the same name, this action-adventure fantasy film transports you back in time to sixth-century Persia, aka Iran. Jake Gyllenhall plays street urchin Dastan who is adopted by the king as his heir. He then teams up with Princess Tamina (Gemma Arterton) to rescue the Sands of Time - a gift from the gods that controls time - from evil nobleman Nizam (Ben Kingsley).
How To Train Your Dragon (驯龙高手): This computer-animated fantasy film by DreamWorks Animation is loosely based on the 2003 book of the same title. The story takes place in a mythical Viking world where a young Viking teenager named "Hiccup" aspires to kill a dragon in order to get notice in a viking society. He finally shoots down a dragon, capturing it with a bolas cannon, though no one sees his feat nor believes him. But even with his chance at finally proving himself, he finds that he no longer has the desire to kill the dragon he captured and with time, befriends it.
Step Up 2: The Streets is the 2008 (舞出我人生：街舞): sequel to Step Up from Touchstone Pictures. The movie was directed by Jon Chu, and choreographed by Jamal Sims, Hi-Hat (Bring It On) and Dave Scott (Stomp the Yard). It follows Andie West (Briana Evigan) as she pursues her big dream of becoming a street dancer. She trains with her dance crew, the "410" (pronounced four-one-oh), to keep the title of the illegal competition 'The Streets'. Tyler (Channing Tatum) meets her at the dance club, The Dragon. Tyler tries to persuade her to audition for the Maryland School of the Arts (MSA), where Andie has to compete for a place, thinking it will help her life as it did his.
Iron Man 2 (钢铁侠2): With the world now aware of his dual life as the armored superhero Iron Man, billionaire inventor Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) faces pressure from the government, the press, and the public to share his technology with the military. Unwilling to let go of his invention, Stark, along with Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow), and James "Rhodey" Rhodes (Don Cheadle) at his side, must forge new alliances and confront powerful enemies.
Echelon Conspiracy (夺命手机): Max Peterson is a globe-trotting techno-whiz who installs security systems on computers. In the Czech Republic he receives an anonymous gift: a phone which sends messages that enable him to win at a casino. Max soon finds himself pursed by hit men, the casino's security chief, and a CIA operative. Who's sending Max messages? Previous recipients of similar windfalls have ended up dead. After a couple of close scrapes, Max realizes he's in danger, so he tries to find out the root of the conspiracy - which seems to have access to every security camera in the world - before he's the next victim. Why is this happening to him, and who can he trust?
In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale (地牢围攻): "In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale" is a 2008 fantasy film inspired by the Dungeon Siege video game series, which was directed by Uwe Boll. Set in the kingdom of Ehb, the story follows a man called Farmer (Jason Statham), who was adopted by his village. When Farmer's wife, Solana (Claire Forlani), and his son leave to sell vegetables at the town of Stonebridge, Farmer's farm is attacked by creatures called Krugs. With the help of his friend and neighbor Norrick (Ron Perlman) he travels to Stonebridge; however, the Krugs kill his son and capture his wife. With the help of Norrick and Bastian (Will Sanderson), Farmer's brother-in-law, he intends to find and rescue his wife.
Clash of the Titans (诸神之战): "The Clash of the Titans" is set in the Greek city of Argos where a war is about to explode between man and the gods. Perseus (Sam Worthington) raised as a fisherman, but is actually a demi-god. Perseus is the son of Zeus (Liam Neeson) who is about to take on the gods after the death of his family. Zeus' brother Hades (Ralph Fiennes) was the one who killed his family, and Perseus wants to kill him. However, it is Perseus's destiny to rescue the city of Argos from the ruthless rage of Hades and his Kraken monster. With nothing to lose, Perseus leads a band of soldiers on a quest to defeat the Kraken. In doing this, Perseus will prevent Hades from overthrowing Zeus and in turn destroying mankind.

CHINESE LANGUAGE MOVIES

The Three Smiles: The Scholar and the Beauty (三笑之才子佳人): A young girl is determined to win the heart of a pop singer, by all cost...Loosely inspired by the love story of scholar Tang Yi (Tang Bohu) and house maid Qiu Xiang, which originated in the 16th Century, this off-beat comedy is created by Chinese comedian Guo Degang and his colleagues and disciples. Starring Stephen Chow and Gong Li's.

Beyond the Sacred Land (圣地额济纳): Beyond the Sacred Land is a propaganda film chronicles the history of Chinese space programs, starting with the establishment of a missile base in a Mongolian grassland.

Road To Revival (复兴之路): "Road to Revival" is a film based on the musical staged in 2009 to celebrate the nation's 60th birthday, one of the most popular shows in Beijing last year. Zhang Jigang, director of the stage epic, also directs the film, presenting the nation's revival over the past 169 years since Western powers invaded China in the 1840s Opium Wars. When brought to the big screen, it maintains the magnificent setting and stellar cast including Peng Liyuan and Song Zuying.

The Perfect Match (终极匹配): A womanizer does not know who should be his perfect match, an energetic college graduate or a mature working business woman... From first time director Cheng Long, who has been working as the editor of three Zhang Yimou's films, "Curse of the Golden Flower", "Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles" and "House of the Flying Daggers".

Black Cat Detective (黑猫警长): One of the most popular animated television series in China in the 1980s is now a feature-length film. THe original five stories of the animated series are merged into one, with some modern touches. According to director Dai Tielang, who created the original series, there are no major changes. The popular theme song is remixed and trendy modern elements have been added to some dialogue and to the settings.

East Wind, Rain (东风雨): In the film, Fan Bingbing plays a spy during WWII. In order to fulfill her mission and keep the organization's information secret, she sacrifices herself. Director Liu set the film, which takes place in Shanghai, before and after the attack on Pearl Harbour. The Shanghai of 1941, as presented in the movie, is filled with spies working for different countries and organizations. An Ming, a Chinese agent, works undercover as a pianist in a local pub. He decodes the "East Wind, Rain" message and tries to pass on the information. Director Liu plays An Ming.

Go Lala Go! / Du Lala's Promotion (杜拉拉升职记): Helmed by actress-turned-director Xu Jinglei, the film is adapted from a novel entitled "Du Lala's Promotion". The best-seller centers on a woman named Du Lala who takes the high road to get promoted. The film stars director Xu Jinglei herself as Du Lala, as well as Stanley Huang, Karen Mok, Li Ai, and Pace Wu.


OTHER LANGUAGE MOVIES
Ip Man 2: Legend of the Grandmaster (叶问2：宗师传奇): Two years after the film "Ip Man" (叶问) a sequel is now released, once again under the direction of Wilson Yip (Yip Wai Shun) and with Donnie Yen in the leading role. The film follows Ip Man, the kung fu master who among others taught Bruce Lee some of his tricks and kicks. After killing a Japanese army official to defend his honor, Ip Man flees to Hong Kong with his family to start a new life. Ip attempts to propagate his discipline of Wing Chun, but faces rivalry from other practitioners, including the local master of Hung Ga martial arts. In Cantonese.
El Orfanato / The Orphanage (孤堡惊情): The former orphan Laura raises her adopted son Simón with her husband Carlos in an old house and former orphanage where she was raised. Simón is HIV positive and tells Laura that he has five invisible friends, and she believes they are fruit of his imagination. Laura decides to reopen an orphanage for handicapped children in the location and during the opening party, Simón calls her to show the little cabin of his friend Tomás. The busy Laura does not gives much attention to her son; then she sees a mysterious masked boy and Simón vanishes. Laura feels the presence of other persons in the house and months later, the desperate Laura invites a team of parapsychologists to try to unravel the mystery. In Spanish.
Crossing Henessey (月满轩尼诗): "Crossing Hennessy" is an engagingly fresh and enjoyable dramatic comedy that makes great use of its Hong Kong locations as it delves into the romantic complications of modern urban life. 41-year-old slacker Loy (Jacky Cheung) sleeps in all the time and doesn´t do much with his life. His widowed but flamboyant mom (Paw Hee-ching) sets him up on a matchmaking dim sum lunch with Oi Lin (Tang Wei), a quiet mainland girl-next-door (well, a few streets away). Before long, mom starts to arrange the marriage details, not knowing that Loy is still into, and seeing his ex-girlfriend, who´s now divorced and back on the market. Meanwhile Oi Lin is waiting for her bad boy lover to get out of jail soon. Directed by Ivy Ho. In Cantonese and Mandarin.

See Also :

Boy Spies of America

Ode to ‘Chuck’…And to John Casey! 

DC And NYC, Arm In Arm 

 

DC And NYC, Arm In Arm

TNC has more qualms with Conor's attacks on New York. E.D. Kain thinks Friedersdorf's criticisms of both NYC and DC are off the mark:

The question to me is not whether centers of power or culture or economy are good or bad, but whether there are appropriate checks and balances on their influence, and whether that influence then results in (cultural/political/economic) growth across the country or whether it simply saps the rest of the country of its resources. Is New York robbing the rest of the country of its art and culture? Probably not. Likely quite the contrary occurs. Wall Street, on the other hand, is a lot more culpable when it comes to our financial situation and the drain bad finance has placed on people on Main Street as it were – and there is certainly a problem with letting one industry, largely centered in one city, become so dominant. And in that regard, DC is also culpable. The two cities are partners in that crime, and they really have become tyrants in a way, or at the very least the relationship between the two – between our financial sector and our political elite on both left and right – has become incestuous and unsustainable.

On that I agree. I've lived in DC for twenty years or more and I always find myself defending it - usually in Manhattan. Its theater and fine art are world-class; it's easy to get around everywhere on a bike; we have marriage equality and medical marijuana; there's the Great Ape House at the zoo (better viewing than the Senate); the men are beautiful, if somehow unsexy (the white ones, that is); the general level of education and smarts is extremely high; and vast expanses of it have nothing to do with politics at all. Really. I couldn't live there if it were the way outsiders see it.

Yes, there are a lot of future Elena Kagans, punctiliously networking their twin-set way to total elite acceptance.


But there are also oddballs and eccentrics, musicians and actors, potheads and tech-nerds, old soldiers and drunk spies, a litany of ethnic groups that reads like an index for the failures of American foreign policy, and more folks straight out of Middle America (and not always escaping it) than most places I've lived in. I'm a rural boy at heart, except for the boredom. But this is the best way of being urban in a very green and lush and low-storied gully.

The swamp thing is why I found myself a place in Provincetown years ago. I figured if I had only a few more years to live, I sure wasn't going to endure another unbreathable pressure-cooker atmosphere for three months of the year (but the late afternoon thunderstorms had their moments). I'm not sure if I would have survived DC intact for decades without the annual safety-valve of Ptown. But Ptown has the same combo as DC: in the summer, it's essentially a tiny slice of deeply urban living on a deserted sandbar. And sixteen years later, I find myself today on a ferry to the little town of award-winning fudge and mannish women. In fact, as I write this, I can just see the awful Pilgrims Monument on the horizon as the ferry approaches the harbor.

At last, as a friend of mine once said, some normal people.

And my husband and my beagles. It's been so long.

See Also :

Boy Spies of America 

Ode to ‘Chuck’…And to John Casey! 

 

DC And NYC, Arm In Arm

TNC has more qualms with Conor's attacks on New York. E.D. Kain thinks Friedersdorf's criticisms of both NYC and DC are off the mark:

The question to me is not whether centers of power or culture or economy are good or bad, but whether there are appropriate checks and balances on their influence, and whether that influence then results in (cultural/political/economic) growth across the country or whether it simply saps the rest of the country of its resources. Is New York robbing the rest of the country of its art and culture? Probably not. Likely quite the contrary occurs. Wall Street, on the other hand, is a lot more culpable when it comes to our financial situation and the drain bad finance has placed on people on Main Street as it were – and there is certainly a problem with letting one industry, largely centered in one city, become so dominant. And in that regard, DC is also culpable. The two cities are partners in that crime, and they really have become tyrants in a way, or at the very least the relationship between the two – between our financial sector and our political elite on both left and right – has become incestuous and unsustainable.

On that I agree. I've lived in DC for twenty years or more and I always find myself defending it - usually in Manhattan. Its theater and fine art are world-class; it's easy to get around everywhere on a bike; we have marriage equality and medical marijuana; there's the Great Ape House at the zoo (better viewing than the Senate); the men are beautiful, if somehow unsexy (the white ones, that is); the general level of education and smarts is extremely high; and vast expanses of it have nothing to do with politics at all. Really. I couldn't live there if it were the way outsiders see it.

Yes, there are a lot of future Elena Kagans, punctiliously networking their twin-set way to total elite acceptance.


But there are also oddballs and eccentrics, musicians and actors, potheads and tech-nerds, old soldiers and drunk spies, a litany of ethnic groups that reads like an index for the failures of American foreign policy, and more folks straight out of Middle America (and not always escaping it) than most places I've lived in. I'm a rural boy at heart, except for the boredom. But this is the best way of being urban in a very green and lush and low-storied gully.

The swamp thing is why I found myself a place in Provincetown years ago. I figured if I had only a few more years to live, I sure wasn't going to endure another unbreathable pressure-cooker atmosphere for three months of the year (but the late afternoon thunderstorms had their moments). I'm not sure if I would have survived DC intact for decades without the annual safety-valve of Ptown. But Ptown has the same combo as DC: in the summer, it's essentially a tiny slice of deeply urban living on a deserted sandbar. And sixteen years later, I find myself today on a ferry to the little town of award-winning fudge and mannish women. In fact, as I write this, I can just see the awful Pilgrims Monument on the horizon as the ferry approaches the harbor.

At last, as a friend of mine once said, some normal people.

And my husband and my beagles. It's been so long.

See Also :

Boy Spies of America 

Ode to ‘Chuck’…And to John Casey! 

 

Ode to ‘Chuck’…And to John Casey!

It might not be my place to do the first “Chuck” post at Big Hollywood, what with Adam Baldwin being a contributor here and all, but one needed to be done (especially since the season finale airs tonight) and I am all about stepping up. It is probably better for a fan of the show to write about it anyway because it would be a bit embarrassing for Baldwin to have to go on and on about how incredible his John Casey character is.



For those who have not yet watched “Chuck,” let me explain what you are missing while you still have time to rent and watch the first seasons on DVD before reruns of the current season begin. “Chuck” is an hour-long comedy/action/drama airing Monday nights on NBC. The show is now completing its third season and has just been renewed for a fourth.

The series follows the adventures of Buy More electronics store employee, Chuck Bartowski, who is sucked into the world of spies when his former college roommate downloads the “Intersect” into Chuck’s brain via encrypted email. The “Intersect” turns Chuck’s brain into a super computer full of the country’s most vital security secrets. Later in the series, Chuck downloads the Intersect 2.0 which not only fills him with information about foreign agents and secret missions, but gives him special skills that enable him to function as a kickass trained spy.

The show follows Chuck navigating his way through a double life between his cover job at Buy More and his spy life going on top secret missions. Chuck is the quintessential “every guy.” He is smart, but a bit geeky. He is cute, but not a pretty boy. He is genuinely good with a moral compass that is sometimes at odds with the missions he is tasked to perform. His handlers, spies Sarah Walker and John Casey, act at times as his protectors and at other times as fellow agents. Chuck is in love with Sarah so there is a romantic angle as well. Other characters include Chuck’s sister Ellie and her husband Devon (nicknamed Awesome because he is, well, awesome), his best friend Morgan, his boss Big Mike, and Buy More co-workers Jeff and Lester.

The show has it all – great action scenes, adventure, mystery, romance and humor. The show is, above all, very funny. At times it is hilarious. The characters are caricatures in some ways, but they are written and acted with hearts and souls and humor that make them so much more than that.

Adam Baldwin’s John Casey character is a perfect example. If you have ever heard those super tough guy jokes about Chuck Norris (or Dick Cheney or Jack Bauer), you will immediately recognize the type of character John Casey is. You know, jokes like “there is no theory of evolution, just a list of animals Chuck Norris allows to live” or “some people wear Superman pajamas, but Superman wears Chuck Norris pajamas.” Just swap out Chuck Norris’s name with John Casey’s and that is the kind of character he is.

This is my favorite Casey quote so far:

Lester: How do we know we can trust you, son that you’re not some kind of spy for the man?

Casey: Because the only thing I hate more than hippie and neo-liberal fascists and anarchists are the hypocrite fat cat suits they eventually grow up to become.

Even as tough as Casey is, his character shows real human feelings from time to time, and his devotion to mission and country and his willingness to lay down his life for them is heartwarming in its own way. The other characters are very different, but every bit as good as Casey. I am focusing on him here since he is the gun-toting, commie-hating, conservative badass on the show (and because I am hoping to convince Adam Baldwin to follow me on Twitter).


I’ve watched “Chuck” since the first episode of Season 1 and have thoroughly enjoyed it, but never as much as this season when my nine-year-old daughter discovered the show. There is some sexual content on the show, between the Chuck and Sarah characters, as well as with Chuck’s sometimes disgusting and bizarre Buy More co-workers. But the episodes are mostly family friendly, and the majority of the sexual content is brief and/or insinuated.

Although this is her first season watching the show, she has a good feel for all the characters. Last week when the character Ellie was hiding with a gun while Casey approached her unaware, my daughter said, “Don’t worry. She can’t kill Casey. He is indestructible.” But my daughter’s favorite character is the hilarious, and sometimes mildly pathetic, Morgan Grimes (Chuck’s best friend played by Joshua Gomez). I have watched her laugh so hard at Morgan that she could barely catch her breath.

Monday night at 8 p.m. is now one of our favorite “together” times and as she watches the previews for the coming week’s show she complains about having to wait an entire week to see it. I don’t know how she is going to take having to wait until the next season begins, but thankfully there will be a next season, and she has not yet caught up on all the episodes from Seasons 1 and 2. We recently rented the pilot and the first few episodes and have already watched them, but we still have the rest of Season 1 and all of Season 2 to work our way through over the summer. If you have not yet discovered “Chuck,” I recommend you do the same.

See Also :

Boy Spies of America

Ode to ‘Chuck’…And to John Casey!

It might not be my place to do the first “Chuck” post at Big Hollywood, what with Adam Baldwin being a contributor here and all, but one needed to be done (especially since the season finale airs tonight) and I am all about stepping up. It is probably better for a fan of the show to write about it anyway because it would be a bit embarrassing for Baldwin to have to go on and on about how incredible his John Casey character is.



For those who have not yet watched “Chuck,” let me explain what you are missing while you still have time to rent and watch the first seasons on DVD before reruns of the current season begin. “Chuck” is an hour-long comedy/action/drama airing Monday nights on NBC. The show is now completing its third season and has just been renewed for a fourth.

The series follows the adventures of Buy More electronics store employee, Chuck Bartowski, who is sucked into the world of spies when his former college roommate downloads the “Intersect” into Chuck’s brain via encrypted email. The “Intersect” turns Chuck’s brain into a super computer full of the country’s most vital security secrets. Later in the series, Chuck downloads the Intersect 2.0 which not only fills him with information about foreign agents and secret missions, but gives him special skills that enable him to function as a kickass trained spy.

The show follows Chuck navigating his way through a double life between his cover job at Buy More and his spy life going on top secret missions. Chuck is the quintessential “every guy.” He is smart, but a bit geeky. He is cute, but not a pretty boy. He is genuinely good with a moral compass that is sometimes at odds with the missions he is tasked to perform. His handlers, spies Sarah Walker and John Casey, act at times as his protectors and at other times as fellow agents. Chuck is in love with Sarah so there is a romantic angle as well. Other characters include Chuck’s sister Ellie and her husband Devon (nicknamed Awesome because he is, well, awesome), his best friend Morgan, his boss Big Mike, and Buy More co-workers Jeff and Lester.

The show has it all – great action scenes, adventure, mystery, romance and humor. The show is, above all, very funny. At times it is hilarious. The characters are caricatures in some ways, but they are written and acted with hearts and souls and humor that make them so much more than that.

Adam Baldwin’s John Casey character is a perfect example. If you have ever heard those super tough guy jokes about Chuck Norris (or Dick Cheney or Jack Bauer), you will immediately recognize the type of character John Casey is. You know, jokes like “there is no theory of evolution, just a list of animals Chuck Norris allows to live” or “some people wear Superman pajamas, but Superman wears Chuck Norris pajamas.” Just swap out Chuck Norris’s name with John Casey’s and that is the kind of character he is.

This is my favorite Casey quote so far:

Lester: How do we know we can trust you, son that you’re not some kind of spy for the man?

Casey: Because the only thing I hate more than hippie and neo-liberal fascists and anarchists are the hypocrite fat cat suits they eventually grow up to become.

Even as tough as Casey is, his character shows real human feelings from time to time, and his devotion to mission and country and his willingness to lay down his life for them is heartwarming in its own way. The other characters are very different, but every bit as good as Casey. I am focusing on him here since he is the gun-toting, commie-hating, conservative badass on the show (and because I am hoping to convince Adam Baldwin to follow me on Twitter).


I’ve watched “Chuck” since the first episode of Season 1 and have thoroughly enjoyed it, but never as much as this season when my nine-year-old daughter discovered the show. There is some sexual content on the show, between the Chuck and Sarah characters, as well as with Chuck’s sometimes disgusting and bizarre Buy More co-workers. But the episodes are mostly family friendly, and the majority of the sexual content is brief and/or insinuated.

Although this is her first season watching the show, she has a good feel for all the characters. Last week when the character Ellie was hiding with a gun while Casey approached her unaware, my daughter said, “Don’t worry. She can’t kill Casey. He is indestructible.” But my daughter’s favorite character is the hilarious, and sometimes mildly pathetic, Morgan Grimes (Chuck’s best friend played by Joshua Gomez). I have watched her laugh so hard at Morgan that she could barely catch her breath.

Monday night at 8 p.m. is now one of our favorite “together” times and as she watches the previews for the coming week’s show she complains about having to wait an entire week to see it. I don’t know how she is going to take having to wait until the next season begins, but thankfully there will be a next season, and she has not yet caught up on all the episodes from Seasons 1 and 2. We recently rented the pilot and the first few episodes and have already watched them, but we still have the rest of Season 1 and all of Season 2 to work our way through over the summer. If you have not yet discovered “Chuck,” I recommend you do the same.

See Also :

Boy Spies of America

Boy Spies of America

CIA's bizarre plot to air fake gay Saddam Hussein sex tape in lead up to 2003 invasion of Iraq

A campaign to shame Saddam Hussein was devised by American spies during the planning for the 2003 invasion of Iraq, it was revealed last night.

The CIA secretly plotted to flood Iraq with a fake video making it look like Saddam was having sex with a teenage boy.

According to the Washington Post, the U.S. intelligence agency also targetted Osama bin Laden for the bogus propaganda, making a film purporting to show the al Qaeda leader sitting around a campfire with his cronies, swigging alcohol and discussing their conquests of young boys.

Squabbling over the projects, as well as budget cuts, meant the videos never saw the light of day.

But the revelations will come as a major embarrassment to the CIA at a time when President Obama has demanded a clean-up after banning harsh interrogation methods used during the war on terror under George Bush.

Former intelligence officials claimed the video showing Hussein having sex with a boy would have been staged using actors.

‘It would look like it was taken by a hidden camera,’ said one ex-CIA agent. ‘Very grainy, like it was a secret videotaping of a sex session.'

 Dirty tricks target: The CIA reportedly planned to show Saddam Hussein having sex with a teenage boy

Other dirty tricks ideas discussed included a plan to interrupt Iraqi television with a made-up news bulletin showing a Saddam look-alike announcing his resignation.

The fake dictator would say he was handing the reigns of the country over to his hated son Uday.

‘I’m sure you will throw your support behind His Excellency Uday,’ the imposter was supposed to tell the Iraqi people.

The CIA also wanted to hack into Iraq’s TV networks and insert misleading messages into the broadcasts.

Eventually ‘things ground to a halt’, the former agent told the Post’s Spy Talk blog.

James Pavitt, then head of the agency’s Operations Division, and his deputy, Hugh Turner, were said to be opposed to the covert plans.

Saddam was eventually captured in late 2003 and hanged in December 2006. His sons, Uday and Qusay, were killed in a shoot-out with allied troops in July 2003.

Former intelligence officials dismissed the dirty tricks ideas as ‘ridiculous’.

‘They came from people whose careers were spent in Latin America or East Asia and didn’t understand the cultural nuances of the region,’ said an ex-agent.

Another CIA official, who has extensive experience in the region, said: 'Saddam playing with boys would have no resonance in the Middle East - nobody cares.

‘Trying to mount such a campaign would show a total misunderstanding of the target. We always mistake our own taboos as universal when, in fact, they are just our taboos.’

A U.S. official said last night: ‘We can’t confirm those accounts, but if these ideas were put forward at any time they clearly didn’t go very far.’

The most effective ‘information warfare’ project during the invasion was said to be emails and faxes sent to Iraqi unit commanders as the fighting began urging them to give up and go home because they were were doomed to defeat.

See Also :

Ode to ‘Chuck’…And to John Casey! 

DC And NYC, Arm In Arm 

Cinematheque: A classic French filmmaker´s latest movie - Alain Resnais is still going strong (and other film news) 

Flashforward Season 2

Alicia Keys & Swizz Beats Engaged and Expecting First Child 

Boy Spies of America

CIA's bizarre plot to air fake gay Saddam Hussein sex tape in lead up to 2003 invasion of Iraq

A campaign to shame Saddam Hussein was devised by American spies during the planning for the 2003 invasion of Iraq, it was revealed last night.

The CIA secretly plotted to flood Iraq with a fake video making it look like Saddam was having sex with a teenage boy.

According to the Washington Post, the U.S. intelligence agency also targetted Osama bin Laden for the bogus propaganda, making a film purporting to show the al Qaeda leader sitting around a campfire with his cronies, swigging alcohol and discussing their conquests of young boys.

Squabbling over the projects, as well as budget cuts, meant the videos never saw the light of day.

But the revelations will come as a major embarrassment to the CIA at a time when President Obama has demanded a clean-up after banning harsh interrogation methods used during the war on terror under George Bush.

Former intelligence officials claimed the video showing Hussein having sex with a boy would have been staged using actors.

‘It would look like it was taken by a hidden camera,’ said one ex-CIA agent. ‘Very grainy, like it was a secret videotaping of a sex session.'

 Dirty tricks target: The CIA reportedly planned to show Saddam Hussein having sex with a teenage boy

Other dirty tricks ideas discussed included a plan to interrupt Iraqi television with a made-up news bulletin showing a Saddam look-alike announcing his resignation.

The fake dictator would say he was handing the reigns of the country over to his hated son Uday.

‘I’m sure you will throw your support behind His Excellency Uday,’ the imposter was supposed to tell the Iraqi people.

The CIA also wanted to hack into Iraq’s TV networks and insert misleading messages into the broadcasts.

Eventually ‘things ground to a halt’, the former agent told the Post’s Spy Talk blog.

James Pavitt, then head of the agency’s Operations Division, and his deputy, Hugh Turner, were said to be opposed to the covert plans.

Saddam was eventually captured in late 2003 and hanged in December 2006. His sons, Uday and Qusay, were killed in a shoot-out with allied troops in July 2003.

Former intelligence officials dismissed the dirty tricks ideas as ‘ridiculous’.

‘They came from people whose careers were spent in Latin America or East Asia and didn’t understand the cultural nuances of the region,’ said an ex-agent.

Another CIA official, who has extensive experience in the region, said: 'Saddam playing with boys would have no resonance in the Middle East - nobody cares.

‘Trying to mount such a campaign would show a total misunderstanding of the target. We always mistake our own taboos as universal when, in fact, they are just our taboos.’

A U.S. official said last night: ‘We can’t confirm those accounts, but if these ideas were put forward at any time they clearly didn’t go very far.’

The most effective ‘information warfare’ project during the invasion was said to be emails and faxes sent to Iraqi unit commanders as the fighting began urging them to give up and go home because they were were doomed to defeat.

See Also :

Ode to ‘Chuck’…And to John Casey! 

DC And NYC, Arm In Arm 

Cinematheque: A classic French filmmaker´s latest movie - Alain Resnais is still going strong (and other film news) 

Flashforward Season 2

Alicia Keys & Swizz Beats Engaged and Expecting First Child