Monday, March 22, 2010

3.22.2010 - News (Part 2)

THR: Echoes of the Rainbow
Bottom Line: A nostalgic and unabashedly sentimental family picture.
THR: 14 Blades
Bottom Line: A traditional martial arts thriller beefed up by gimmicky weaponry.
Bottom Line: A rom-com that is more comical than romantic.
Bottom Line: Little thematic and less narrative sense make for difficult viewing that often tests the patience.
Bottom Line: Aesthetic aspirations killed the camp.
Bottom Line: Evidence that the digital revolution isn't necessarily a good thing.
Bottom Line: A teasingly original idea from a new filmmaker wrapped up in the familiar.

THR: Wong Jing tackles 3D comedy
'King of Jesters' to be produced by Mega-Vision
Wong also returns to familiar grounds with "Naked Soldiers", the US$4 million three-quel to his sex and crime series "Naked Weapon" and "Naked Killer," which raised to cult status in Europe with their main draw of T&A and guns. Next, Mega-Vision will also begin production of the 30 million yuan (US$4.4 million) action adventure "Aladdina," starring Louis Koo and the Hong Kong pop group Twins.
THR: Filmko on a quest to make 3D 'Quixote'
First Chinese stereoscopic 3D period drama, helmed by Chinese director Agan
...starring Karena Lam ("Claustrophobia") and Liu Ye ("City of Life and Death"), the film was produced with the Chinese Academy of Sciences, utilizing the academy's stereoscopic 3D camera, the first in China. The film also hired a group of 3D experts from Germany as consultants during the shoots.
The company is now developing its next 3D epic, "The Monkey King," a 180 million yuan retelling of the Chinese mythical literature "Journey to the West" with a script written by "Ip Man" writer Edmond Wong. Filming is scheduled for October with a 2011 release date.
Fresh from his win at the Berlin International Film Festival for his romantic comedy “Au Revoir Taipei,” Chinese-American director Arvin Chen is at this week’s Hong Kong-Asia Film Financing Forum to meet with potential investors for his new movie,“Nan Jing East Road.”

East Wind Rain poster

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Jeez, those THR reviews sure tempered my enthusiasm for Echoes of the Rainbow and Crossing Hennessy. But I figure it's always better to go into a film with low, or no, expectations than high ones.

Glad to read that Arvin Chen's next project will be set in Taipei.

dleedlee said...

I was surprised when I read them, too.

Hmm, just noticed that the morning Screen Daily reviews expired. FYI, they're still available via hkmdb news - under Reprints, and/or Google reader subscription, though.