GREAT ORIENTAL EPICS TO CONCLUDE THE YEAR

LEGENDARY AMAZONS

“Legendary Amazons” which was formerly titled “Lady Generals of The Yang Family”, is based on a famous Chinese opera set in the Song Dynasty. When the men of the Yang Clan were massacred in battle, the women, from elderly grandmother to little sisters, put on armor and led the army to victory. A Yang family daughter-in-law, Mu Guiying, is a celebrated woman warrior in Chinese folklore. Directing the movie will be Frankie Chan (The prodigal Son, Outlaw Brothers) who has also worked on a few Jackie Chan movies back in the day, also Jackie is producing this movie. Plays Mu Guiying is Hong Kong actress Cecilia Cheung while

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SUMMER REVIEWS: AUGUST MOVIE RECAPS II

THE CAT

There’s word of mouth that cats are extremely capable of being aware of what is happening within their environment. How many pet owners have witnessed their cat seeing something that frightens it? Almost every cat owner can tell the tale of their beloved kitty having its hair stand up on its back, while hissing and spitting at seemingly thin air. Ghost stories would indicate that cats are very perceptive of both

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When a Samurai Seek an Honorable End in Hara-kiri Way

Takashi Miike’s “Thirteen Assassins” remake has widely considered as one of Japan’s best films of 2010, therefore, the director is back with another effort to remake another classic in Japan’s movie history. This time, Miike’s target is the 1963 Cannes Film Festival’s Special Jury Award winner “Harakiri” (Japanese: Seppuku) directed by acclaimed filmmaker Masaki Kobayashi. Miike’s new film originally titled “Ichimei” in Japan language that loosely translated as “A Life”, a complete contradictory to the international release title “Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai”, right? The 1962 film itself was actually an adaptation of “Ibun rônin-ki” novel written by Yasuhiko Takiguchi about an out of work samurai who wants to commit seppuku

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Rattle Up to the Mythical World of The Sorcerer and the White Snake

Asia is rich of folklores from its many different cultures, heritage and environment which are more than worth lavish cinematic treatments. But rather than introducing some worldwidely unfamiliar ones, movie producers are still thinking it’s better to remake some those have been adapted countless times and just furnish them with the advanced special effect technology. So, then we get a list of renewing, repolishing, reproducting like “Monkey King”, “Chinese Ghost Story”, “Mulan”, and “White Snake Legend”, that has since a long long time become a major subject of myriad Chinese opera, films and television series. “White Snake Legend”, which existed as oral traditions before any written compilation, has became

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Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark! Now Let’s Turn All the Lights Off!

On October 10, 1973, just in time for Halloween, television audiences were treated to a spooky offering from the ABC network that stayed with them long after they watched it. Following a young couple who inherit an old mansion, a demon-infested old mansion, as the hellish occupants attempt to take the wife for their own, it didn’t rely on outward gross-out violence, like many modern horror films, but “Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark” has remained a staple late-night creep-fest for over the

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Review Mix: A Chinese Fairy Tale & Mindfulness and Murder

A Chinese Fairy Tale
Score: 6/10

The success of 1987 Hong Kong classic “A Chinese Ghost Story” lies in its mix of genres and the appeal of its stars. As the most well-known version to the original tale, written by 17th century Chinese author Pu Song Ling, the film has everything that makes Chinese fantasy films so much fun, and has it in spades. Even more than two decades later, it still remains one of the finest examples of its genre—a sumptuous, breathtaking masterpiece that brilliantly blends horror, comedy, fantasy and romance. So, it does gonna be a very bold move for any filmmaker to try bringing their new reinterpretation of it. But director Wilson Yip who just had the most successful years in his directing career with “Ip Man” films is bravely enough to go and waking the monsters of Black Mountain. Not only that, Yip also changes a lot of the details of the familiar tale. Instead of a straight-forward

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An Enchanting Chinese Fairy Tale Reborn

A Chinese Ghost Story was one of the first Hong Kong movies to really break through to a Western audience in the form it was made, finding considerable success on the UK and US arthouse circuits back in the late 80s. The story was loosely based on a Qing Dynasty literature ‘Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio’, which is a collection of nearly five hundred mostly supernatural tales written by Pu Songling. While it has been retold several times, Tony Ching Siu-Tung directed and Tsui Hark produced version is still the

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Experience A Bold New Vision for Jane Eyre

The book of “Jane Eyre” by Charlotte Brontë is undoubtedly one of the most iconic in English literatures and has been one of the world’s most popular books. A mainstay of school reading lists, it also has been translated into virtually every language and the subject of numerous previous adaptations. BBC turned the 19th century story about a governess who falls in love with her surly employer who has a dark secret into a miniseries that won three Emmys in 2007, while the latest feature, made

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A Better Tomorrow: Renewal Not Always Reinstate the Dignity

In 1986, Hong Kong crime action flick "A Better Tomorrow" has acquired international attention for director John Woo and redefined the Pearl of the Orient cinema. The story of a cruel twist of fate between two brothers later even initiating what

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True Grit: Best in the Genre Since Unforgiven

Some people have wondered why Joel and Ethan Coen decided to remake the 1969 movie "True Grit" that starred John Wayne, especially since there have been so few westerns in recent years. When we see the new movie however, we’ll understand the Coens desire to do the remake. But for the

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Cafés 2011 Most Projected Carte du Jour

It feels like suddenly 2010 is almost over and 2011 is waiting for us. Time does fly right? And it flies too fast. So it has been a tradition each end of the year on Movie-Cafe to pick out the movies we're most looking forward to in the coming year. We’re just as excited about

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Green Hornet Blasts Its Way to the New Decade

When the earliest promo trailer for the updated version of classic television show “The Green Hornet” invaded the web, the mainly feedback it got was dissatisfaction. The brief look at Seth Rogen’s performance also didn’t instantly motivate optimism as the masked superhero character created by George W. Trendle and Fran Striker, which first appeared in the

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The True Hooks for American Frontier Story Grit

Even though “3:10 to Yuma”, “Appaloosa” and “Open Range” were all decent attempts to breathe life into the western genre, there hasn’t been a really good western drama since Clint Eastwood directed “Unforgiven”. But now since the talented Coen brothers were going to put their own twist on the

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It All Started When The Tourist Met A Woman

Made up of 117 islands with 409 bridges connecting them, Venice is a city like no other and offers completely unique sights and attractions. Most famous for its fascinating art, stunning architecture, a lurid history, and of course the Grand Canal (the city's main street, which is technically a river), Venice is not

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Will it be the Right One Decision to Let Me In?

An ingenious genre film that manages to terrify and endear in the same instant, Swedish “Let the Right One In” not just successfully gathered widespread critical acclaim but also won numerous awards including the "Founders Award for Best Narrative Feature" at the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival and the European Fantastic Film Festivals Federation's 2008 Méliès d'Or (Golden Méliès) for the "Best European Fantastic Feature Film." Written and adapted

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The Karate Kid: A Quite Right Way To Do A Remake

Featuring the rising star Jaden Smith in the title role and Kungfu superstar Jackie Chan as his unlikely mentor, the “Karate Kid” reboot certainly will appeal to younger audiences and nostalgic baby boomers who made the 1984 film (if not its several sequels) a smash hit. The principal disparity in this millennium edition is that the central character, the

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Robin Hood: Stand Out As A Different Telling Of The Legend

From the very start, I wasn’t expecting anything great from this Ridley Scott’s new take on “Robin Hood” account, not even think it would be much better than the already great “Gladiator” which also came from Scott and the main actor Russell Crowe. One of the reasons is absolutely because this one is again another remake from the lazy

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One More Lesson To Share With The Karate Kid

The 1984 coming of age-martial arts film “The Karate Kid” was a commercial success upon first release. It also had favorable critical attention, and earning the late Pat Morita an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. Directed by John G. Avildsen (who also did 1976's "Rocky" - another underdog story), the film probably one of the best (and frankly, most realistic) incorporation of

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There’s Seriously No Plan B For This New A-Team

Trying to transform the 1980s TV series "The A-Team" into a summer action spectacle, Twentieth Century Fox has struggled to find a way to exploit the branded TV show while avoiding the series' campy tone. Studio has found Joe Carnahan (Smokin' Aces) to direct and Ridley Scott to produce, with Tony Scott exec producing through their Scott Free banner. Carnahan and the Scott brothers say they will use the original premise of the series as the template for an action film. In the original,

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Clash of the Titans: Saved By Modernized Effects Not By 3D

When an old-fashioned action was bringing to digital life, a remake of 1981 Greek mythical flick "Clash of the Titans" kicks into action with a battle between Perseus and increasingly lethal monsters in a quest to rid humankind of the cruel gods who would rule man for all eternity. The classic film is the work of special effects pioneer Ray Harryhausen, the stop-motion king of such 1950s, '60s and '70s movie extravaganzas as

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