聽見下雨的聲音 (Rhythm Of The Rain) is being released in Taipei this weekend. The movie is translated as the sound of the falling rain. A ensemble cast of different stories based around rain and love. The cast looks to include mostly pop stars from Taiwan and Zhong Guo. New and old. The cast looks to be led by Alan Kuo, Vivian Hsu, Ginnie, Ashton Chen, Josie Xu, and Zhou Mi. The locations seem to cover Taiwan, Singapore, and Thailand.
瑪德2號 (Saving Mother Robot) was released in Taipei this past weekend. It didn't do so hot the box office and placed 13th. So far, this summer has been brutal for Taiwan's very own. However, I can see why locals would assume it was just another film from the mainland. Starring the mainland's current go to leading man in Huang Xiao Ming. That guys IS in everything it seems.
The movie combines fantasy and the real world in the minds of a child and the creative nature of a photographer. The trailer is super confusing and I really don't have a need to watch this. But I will someday, it stars Vivian Hsu, one of my favorite actresses, still.
時尚達人 (Sleepless Fashion) is being released in Taipei this weekend. The movie stars Vic Chou and Vivian Hsu. Fashion world Asian style. Let the walk off begin!
I am not sure I want to watch this. But I am a big Vivian fan and might watch it for just that.
The Sorcerer and the White Snake (法海:白蛇傳說) is an 2011 film out of Zhong Guo. The film stars Jet Li, Eva Huang, and Raymond Lam. The supporting cast include Charlene Choi, Wen Zhang, and Vivian Hsu. I watched this in the comforts of my hotel room on an recent trip to Dalian, Zhong Guo. And it was playing in the theaters, what?!
The movies follows Abott Fahai (Jet Li) with his assistant Neng Ren (Wn Zhang) as they battle an temptress demon (Vivian Hsu). After finding out how powerful Fahai is, you know you don't want to mess with him. We move to two lovely nagas played by Eva and Charlene. They decide to play a joke on a medicine picker and than save his life. In order to save the life, the naga has to kiss the person. There goes the love story. The naga now wants to enter into the medicine mans life. They marry and have an happy life. However, when demon's run amuck. Trouble follows. When the medicine man wants to save the ppl of a sick village, the naga lends her hand. Fahai enters the picture here and says that humans and deities can't co-exist. Its not part of nature. From here on out, the movie gets crazy with the fighting and special effects. Will love win out?
The movie was quite entertaining. I like Eva. I like that she's willing to play both meek and strong roles. In this movie, she plays a very strong role and it helps carry the movie while Jet is at his temple. The movie gets good when both main characters are at it with each other. However, you can see just how important Jet is to movie. When Jet is absent, the story drags and felt uninteresting. When he was there and with Eva, the movie was great. And it's a total shame to waste Vivian as a temptress demon. Only 5 minutes of film time. Weak! More Vivian!
If you're an Jet Li fan, you should watch this. If you're new to these stuff, it might be a hard watch.
If You Are The One (非誠勿擾) is a 2008 film out of China. The movie stars Ge You and Shu Qi (Hsu Chi). Supporting cast members include MiuMiu, Vivian Hsu, Alex Fong, and Fan Wei.
Qing Fin, played by Ge You, sells a rock scissor paper invention to a rich guy. Fin is looking to get married now that he doesn't have to worry about finances. Fin post an online ad about marriage. Amoung one those that answer the ad is a stewardess, Liang Xiaoxiao, played by Shu Qi. The movie is a story of Fin looking for love in all the wrong places, but finds his way eventually. The story expands to Shu Qi's love life, including Alex Fong.
In the end, its straight forward look at trying to true love through all the static.
The movie was quite entertaining. Listening to all the different dialects was fun.
The movie is about Vivian Hsu and her eventual marriage to Duncan in the movie. Vivian, prior to her marriage with Duncan, was a shoe-a-holic. Vivian would buy many many shoes and even talked to them. Duncan is a dentist and Vivian happened to chip a tooth one day. That's how they meet and fall in love. But the story is mainly on how they cope with marriage and the many many shoes that Vivian has.
I thought the movie was endearing and the set designs were top notch. I was noticing the way the world was created around Vivian and it was very unique. Sort of a sheik 60s feel.
I suggest you pick this up if you're into Taiwan cinema as its charming and shows the artistic range of the talent from Taiwan.
