看見台灣 (Beyond Beauty: Taiwan from Above) was released in Hong Kong last weekend. But it was released in Taipei last year. The movie stayed for over a dozen weeks on the Taiwan Box Office top 20.
June's Blockbusters may get all the attention, but there also are those that dare to walk the path less traveled. You might be one of them. Here's a few "offbeat" movies for you to chew on. This list is based on USA release dates.
Some of these releases are already available via VOD or iTunes.
Hong Kong's box office reporting has been a bit strange these last few weeks. Overheard (竊聽風雲3) was the #4 movie on WMOOV, but it doesn't show up for Box Office Mojo or Entgroup. Box Office Mojo reports "Heaven Is For Real (天堂是真)", but both WMOOV and Yahoo! Movies HK do not. 白日焰火 (Black Coal, Thin Ice) was reported on WMOOV but not on Box Office Mojo for couple of weeks. 歸來 (Coming Home) is on WMOOV but not on Box Office Mojo. Strange stuff.
R.I.P.D. (降魔戰警) is an 2013 film. The movie stars Jeff Bridges and Ryan Reynolds. The supporting cast include Kevin Bacon, Mary-Louise Parker, and Stephanie Szostak. James Hong and Marisa Miller are the shells (see below for more info). The movie was not that successful at the box office and showed up on many list for flops of the 2013 summer movie season.
Ryan Reynolds plays Nick Walker, a married police officer of the Boston Police Department. A sting to bring down a known drug dealer, he falls from 4 stories high to his death. On his way to the after life, he's given a chance to join the Rest In Peace Department (R.I.P.D.). Nick is partnered with a R.I.P.D. from the Civil War era, Roycephus "Roy" Pulsipher, played by Jeff Bridges. Together, they are to bring back the souls that slipped through the cracks back in onto Earth. However, when they are on Earth, they are no longer the people they use to be, they are given new shells. Nick is a old Chinese fellow while Roy is a hot blonde.
This movie had its faults, but it was entertaining. I had to pause it multiple times, but whenever free time became available, I finished it over a 2.5 day period via HBO VOD. You have this absurd concept of the afterlife and that the R.I.P.D. is set up like a police television serial. I didn't give away the plot behind Nick's back story being a major part of the story.
No sequels for this one. I think trying to build the next M.I.B. isn't going to happen.
But again, I thoroughly enjoyed the movie. If it comes on while I am washing my dishes, I wouldn't change it.
Phil Yu, the Angry Asian Man, has spent more than a decade behind the helm of AAM. Keep the world abreast of all things Asian. If you don't know if its racist, you might want to check it out at AAM.
Recently, the angry man started a video-cast. I've not seem them all, but the first two were pretty dope.