This past weekend, Jeremy Lin threw out the ceremonial first pitch at a Los Angeles Dodgers game. Los Angeles is welcoming Jeremy Lin with open arms. The two Los Angeles baseball teams are both headed for the post season. I would love to see a freeway series like they've had in New York and San Francisco.
Jeremy Lin's pitch made it over the plate and to someone he used to coach basketball to in Joc Pederson. Awesome weekend!
Divergent (分歧者) is a 2014 film. The movie stars Shailene Woodley and Theo James. The supporting cast include Ashley Judd, Jai Courtney, Ray Stevenson, Zoë Kravitz, Miles Teller, Tony Goldwyn, Maggie Q, and Kate Winslet. The movie is an adaption of an young adult book of the same name.
In a future Chicago, the city is split up into 4 fractions in order to keep the peace. The city is walled off as the rest of the world seems to lay in waste Shailene Woodley plays Tris, who's about to choose her fraction as she comes of age. Along the way, she's challenged and has to overcome a life that's foreign to her. Her main trainer and her start to display signs of being Divergent, someone who doesn't fit into the 4 fractions. Divergents are eliminated. Tris fights back and now has to choose a life of hiding now.
The movie was pretty entertaining. I love these dystopian fiction in general. Because the worlds it creates isn't bound by the laws of our current world. Things happen and it can because its a different world! In this case, we have a world that seems to have destroyed enough of civilizations that they have to create a big wall and go into military rule.
The story or Tris and how she starts a revolution is interesting as this film does the set up. It starts with skills training and halts in the middle of a coming of age story. I am looking forward to the sequel.
It's hard being a super star. People think you live like a king and have a entourage. Well, that all takes money. And you've heard of the epic failures of major stars with huge entourages that are now bankrupted. Jeremy Lin goes the opposite direction. Jeremy Lin is Mista Frugal. And the products that he endorses is for the common man.
So many pop culture references in this video it makes yo head hurt.
Welcome to your birth city Jeremy Lin, you're second home away from your NoCal roots.
The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty (白日夢冒險王) is an 2013 film. The movie stars Ben Stiller. The supporting cast include Kristen Wiig, Shirley MacLaine, Adam Scott, Kathryn Hahn, and Sean Penn. The movie is a remake of a 1947 film of the same name. The story is modernized for the 2010s.
Walter Mitty is the head negative assets manager at Life magazine. Walter lives a pretty mundane life and day dreams a lot. So much so that he literally freezes up and people throw things at him. When a famous photographer sends a negative that he cannot find, the search is on to find it. However, the search takes Walter really really out of his comfort zone.
This movie was pretty amazing visually. The movie makes pit stops in Greenland, Iceland, and to the Himalayas. In all cases, the visual aspect of each location is amazing. I don't think they green screened those, but actually goes to those locations. The movie does have a lot of Ben Stiller. Even in your 40s, you can make a coming of age movie. The day dreaming parts are pretty ridiculous, but I think it could only happen in the movies.
If you're looking for a middle aged coming of age story with great acting and stunning locales, this movie is for you. I also like the translation of "Day Dream King".
Godzilla (哥吉拉) is an 2014 film. The movie stars Godzilla! The supporting cast include Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Ken Watanabe, Elizabeth Olsen, Juliette Binoche, Sally Hawkins, David Strathairn, and Bryan Cranston. The movie's Godzilla is based on the Japanese character of the same name. You may call this an US reboot.
The story starts in 1999 when a couple of scientist visit a mine in the Philippines to discover two chrysalises. The cave was wrapped around what appears to be a large dinosaur skeleton. At the same time, 1999, in Japan, a nuclear plant explosion is triggered and kills some people. Fast forward 15 years to the present day, the same plant in Japan becomes active again to reveal a giant monster with wings that seems indestructible by modern weapons. They figured out that the winged monster is a male on its way to mate with the female monster. They are set to converge upon San Francisco. Godzilla appears to try to take them down. To restore order to the world.
This movie held on to suspense as long as possible. The movie was presented as both an action film and as great acting. In general, the acting was pretty spot on and very very believable. The "secrets" were kept to a minimum and we felt like we were along for the ride. I didn't think Aaron Taylor-Johnson's role would be as big as it was, but it was on par with Godzilla himself.
As a popcorn movie, I might not have liked. But as a rental in the comfortable surroundings of home, it was a good watch. I grew up watching terrible English dubbed Godzilla movies and the Thanksgiving marathons. This did not bring that nostalgia feeling back. But its ok, the recent Japanese Godzilla movies have not had success in bringing back those nostalgic feelings.
American Hustle (瞞天大佈局) is an 2013 film. The movie stars Christian Bale, Bradley Cooper, and Amy Adams. The supporting cast include Jeremy Renner, Jennifer Lawrence, and Robert De Niro. The movie had a nice run during the 2012 movie awards season.
Christian Bale and Amy Adams play a couple that are running scams in the New Jersey area during the late 1970s, Irving Rosenfeld and Sydney Prosser. Even though they were a couple, Irving was married to Rosalyn Rosenfeld, played by Jennifer Lawrence whom came to the marriage with a boy the Irving adopts and treats like his own son. Bradley Coopers character, Richard "Richie" DiMaso, is an FBI Agent that bust Irving and Sydney. In exchange for leniency, they help Richie bust dirty government officials. Enter Mayor Carmine Polito, played by Jeremy Renner. The set up a sting to bring him down and those he has connections to. Let the hustle begin!
This movie was a trip. The 1970s was only a decade away, but it was constantly on TV and movies during my childhood that I feel that I know it. Shows like Charles Angels, Three's Company, 6 Million Dollar Man, and Hulk got me really into era as a kid. These days, the 1970s are still looked back to fondly in the media. American Hustle does it the same, nostalgia at its core. But the story was the main driver.
The STORY was a trip. You better have your thinking cap on. There's a main storyline that intersects with many others ones. And the movie has flashback moments. Its no wonder that it did well at the box office. Its an excellent film due to the story, great acting, and period its set in.
Black And White: The Dawn of Justice (痞子英雄:黎明升起) is an upcoming film being released in Asia in early October. The trailer was released a couple of weeks back. he movie stars Mark Chao, Lin Gengxin, and Huang Bo.
Outcast (絕命逃亡) is being released in Zhong Guo the following weekend. The movie stars Crystal Liu, Hayden Christensen, Nicolas Cage, Ji Ke Jun Yi, and Andy On.
Nicolas Cage and Hayden Christensen but make their way to Zhong Guo after suffering guilt as warriors in Briton's involvement of the Crusades. Crystal Liu plays a princess with the named heir to the throne being chased by Andy On as their throne stealing older brother.
From the trailer, looks like the Asian actors all speak English. Crystal Liu and Andy On both spent many many of their education years in the United States.
Revenge Of The Green Dragons (青龍復仇) is an upcoming film helmed by acclaimed Hong Kong director Andrew Lau and Andrew Loo. The cast includes Justin Chon, Harry Shum, Jr., and Kevin Wu (KevJumba). The films is based in 1989's New York Chinatown.
I am a fan of both Harry and Kevin and see this as great opportunity for them. Given that they both do not have many options in hollywood for regular roles, they are playing gangsters, and Asian gangsters like what Hollywood expects. The film has Martin Scorsese as a producer too.
I am a bit conflicted. I am sure this is a valid slice of Asian life in the US and very exciting to watch. However, it does continue to perpetuate the Asian gangster stereotype. The faux FOB accents were a bit distracting too. If you're gonna go FOB, do it as good as Russell Peters.
Ariel Hsing made history at the start of summer by becoming the first American-born player in the China Table Tennis Super League, playing for the Zhejiang Jinhua Bank team.
Jeremy Lin's statue was unveiled at the San Francisco Madame Tussauds Was Museum a couple weeks ago. Madame Tussauds released a prank video of Jeremy Lin pretending to a wax figure and also jumping out and dunking on patrons.
Things like this make liking a sports star so easy. So easy.
The Walking Dead Season 5 premieres on Sunday, October 12, 2014. The last we saw at the end of Season 4 is that our beloved characters are trapped at Terminus from what appears to be cannibals.
From the trailer, leaks, teases, etc., the upcoming fifth season promises to be the most brutal. The love relationship between Maggie and Glenn has been played up. As the cover suggest, lots of fighting coming up.
Kung Fu Jungle (一個人的武林) starring Donnie Yen, the strongest man in the universe, is getting released during Halloween this year across Asia.
From the trailer, seems like a hannibal type story with a revenge subplot. Other familiar faces from the HK movie landscape show up. Making it seem like a retread in a since. But that's how its been recently, for many years now. Taiwan is even more guilty of re-casting the same people over and over again in movies.
Here's the September edition of movies to look out for this month. September is traditionally a slow month for Blockbusters, but a great time to start releasing films that studios want to put up for the awards season.
