GET READY FOR SOME ASIAN FALL MOVIE RELEASES

SEEDIQ BALE

Director Wei Te-sheng's epic “Seediq bale" aka "Warriors of the Rainbow” will represent Taiwan in the foreign-language film category at the 84th Academy Awards, and the most expensive film in Taiwan's history, which portray a 1930 uprising by aboriginal Seediq warriors against the Japanese when Taiwan was colonized, has just been premiered at Venice Film Festival.
The film, set in 1930s Formosa (now Taiwan) tells the true story of the Wushe Incident in which Seediq tribe warrior Mouna Rudo led his people to rebel against the Japanese occupation.

During the Japanese rule of Taiwan, the Seediq were

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INTRIGUE AND UNCERTAINTY ABOUNDS IN YE OLDE ANONYMOUS

There have been and still arguments that someone other than William Shakespeare of Stratford-upon-Avon wrote the works attributed to him. Suggestions of other authors and doubt actually begins during Shakespeare's life and for many years some people have doubted, from what we know of the actor's life, that he would have been able to write the plays and poems, and may therefore have served as a 'front' for a hidden author. Experts have debated, books have been written, and scholars have devoted their lives to protecting or debunking theories surrounding the authorship of the most renowned works in English literature. Now, the cinema’s most

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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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Witness the Tragic Love and Incredible Life of The Lady

Shot under a veil of secrecy due to the sensitive nature of its subject, "The Lady," an inspiring drama based on the life of the Burmese pro-democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi, has finally finished filming and is ready to premiere at the Toronto Film Festival next month, also expected to be screened at a number of international film festivals in the fall before widely release in theaters everywhere. Inspired by one of the greatest love stories set against a background of political turmoil that still continues to this day, “The Lady” is the extraordinary story of how Aung San Suu Kyi and her husband Michael Aris gave up their happiness at great cost when the wife's country called upon her. Yet despite

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Will The All-Star Cast Ensemble Continue To Work Wonders?

Do you think a star studded cast is still one of the most important ingredients to create a major blockbuster nowadays? In reality, there were good number of box office flops despite how stellar and lustrous was the cast those films have. Certain, while the lineup alone should attract moviegoers to go watch a given film, but not all these ensemble cast movies are created the same. At times some of those just don’t live up to the impressive list of performers it’s made up of, no matter how notable it is. So, what will happen to these upcoming movies that possibly still consider their huge stars are one of the main keys of success?

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Commemorate the Centenary of Jackie Chan and Xinhai Revolution

Jackie Chan movies are often characterized by three things: Exciting martial arts fights, stunts that are not for the faint of heart, and comedy. The world’s most famous martial arts actor, director and stuntman, he is famous for doing most of his own stunts as well as acting in and producing some of the best martial arts action films of all time. Since began his film career as a stuntman in the Bruce Lee films “Fist of Fury” (1972) and “Enter the Dragon” (1973) to “Drunken Master” that finally propelled him to mainstream success, Chan has both directed and starred in a string of international hits, delivered to

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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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Review Mix: Norwegian Wood, Bangkok Knockout, Scream 4

Norwegian Wood
Score: 7/10

Some have thought that most novels of one of Japanese great writers, Haruki Murakami, are unfilmable. It because not only much of the content of his books were based on the characters’ observation and their state of emotion, or even the writer’s observation on the world he creates, but they also have complex themes and heavily poetic prose. However, unlike his former stories, Murakami’s “Norwegian Wood” is one of the most down to earth of his works, setting in a real world with a realistic tone, which made it quite a good entrant to be adapted into a film. And in the hands of Vietnam-born director whose past works include the award winning “Cyclo” (1995) and “The Scent of Green Papaya” (1993), Tran Anh Hung, Murakami’s bestselling 1987 novel has indeed successfully turned into a feature film. Set in late 1960s Tokyo, the story focuses on Watanabe (Kenichi Matsuyama), a student who begins a relationship with beautiful but

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Some Thing Within the Super 8 Has Found Us

Two of the most marvelous writers in blogosphere, Matthew Vanacore from wonderful movie blog Filmmatic and JL from the fantastic Couch Potato Club, have awarded the café with Versatile Blogger Awards recently. Thank you so much, buddies! And talking about versatile, I think J.J. Abrams is one of the very versatile as a writer/producer/director. Between a variety of different action and sci-fi movies and shows that includes Felicity, Lost, Mission Impossible 3, Cloverfield, Star Trek, and Fringe, all were just drastically different from one another. He has successfully brought "Star Trek" back to life in an ambitious reboot of the classic franchise that

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Keep the Wheels Rollin’, It's Cars 2 Drive Time!

The animated autos of Disney/Pixar's "Cars" will be racing back into cinemas via its sequel after the original made impact in box office circuit five years ago. However, while earning more than $460 million at the worldwide box office -- and more impressively, over $5 billion in merchandising, "Cars" always remembered as the weakest link of Pixar films. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film sticks out like a sore thumb, scoring 74% positive reaction and a 6.9/10 average rating while every other feature they've ever produced scores at least 91% and 7.9/10 respectively. Yet “Cars 2” is the project they chose to do their first non-"Toy Story" sequel for, instead of any other film in their wagon that are more deserving or fitting. The decision to continuing the story of Lightning McQueen and its fellow vehicles possibly initiated by Pixar head honcho John Lasseter who always so protective of "Cars" cause it's his personal baby, and he wants it to succeed as well as anything they've ever done. In addition,

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Review Mix: The Way Back, World Invasion: Battle Los Angeles, Red Riding Hood, Rango

The Way Back
Score: 6,5/10

Based on a novel “The Long Walk: The True Story of a Trek to Freedom” written by Slavomir Rawiez, Peter Weir’s “The Way Back” traces the grueling journey of a bunch of war prisoners who try to flee from a Siberian gulag to escape the wrath of Stalinism.
A stunning tribute to human fortitude and to the command of Mother Nature, from the intense cold of Serbia to the blistering sun of the desert, Weir and cinematographer Russell Boyd effectively convey the splendor and extent of the landscape the survivors have to navigate. The film is gripping, despite being long and plodding in places. It also has quietly commanding performances from Jim Sturgess as the group’s leader and Ed Harris deliver a quietly affecting performance as an indomitable American who inspires his companions to press on. “The Way Back” certainly succeeds as a visual spectacle and continent-hopping travelogue. But is it as successful as a

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Romantic Movies You May Have Never Heard Of

Valentine's Day falls on a Monday this year, probably the least romantic day of the week. But whenever it's, Valentine always the most special time to expressing your love for your someone special, and there can be no better romantic idea than to spend quality time with your partner watching good valentine movies. You can easily find

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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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This Lunar New Year, Catch Some Fat Choi Spirits

With Lunar New Year directly around the corner, the Asian film industry is once again bracing for its busiest time of year. Keeping up with the tradition with its own genre called "he sui pian," meaning "New Year celebration movies," Asian cinema, especially

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Believe Red Riding Hood, Beware the Wolf

The famous fairy tale about a young girl and a big bad wolf in "Little Red Riding Hood", also known as "Little Red Cape", always had this kind of dark, gothic ambiance creeping within it. The best-known version of the story -- in which a wolf disguises

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127 Hours: Compelling Story of Survival and Reflection

Just like “The Fighter”, Danny Boyle’s “127 Hours” is also based on a true story which some peoples may already knew how the tale gonna end. But other than that, “127 Hours” would seem a more impossible prospect for a cinematic experience as the focus will

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The Fighter: A Boxing Movie with Oscar Written All Over It

Inspired by the remarkable true-life story of a champion welterweight boxer “Irish” Micky Ward and his erratic brother, Dicky Eklund, a former welterweight whose career was KO’d by crack, director David O. Russell’s affecting sports drama “The Fighter” done really

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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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Black Swan: Psychological Thriller at Its Most Unique Form

The legend of the Swan-Maiden goes back for centuries, appearing in differing forms in both eastern and western literature. Women who turn into birds and vice versa were popular themes, and the swan was particularly favored due to

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Café’s 2010 Best of Western Cinema

Although the year has delivered quite a disappointing summer and pretty indifferent mainstream prospects at movie centre Hollywood, but we were able to pull together a list of our favorite movies of the year. From the mind-bending “Inception” to the movie that may have defined our generation, “The Social Network,” following below in no particular order are the 10 of Movie Cafe's 2010 Best of Western Cinemas. And since tonight we all will celebrate the New Year 2011, above we have prepared our sparkly Singapore Happy New Year card specially to you, all our lovely and awesome readers. We hope 2011 will be a much better future for all of us and for movie industry of course.

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