Hebe - 田馥甄 - Upcoming

I am not much of a fan of S.H.E. in general. None of their music to date has inspired me to purchase their CDs. However, this past week, a light hearted song was released into the open from Hebe's upcoming solo effort.

I loves me the pop stuff, but whenever a folksy song like this come outs, it gets my attention.

On the strength of this song alone, it'll seek out her CD.

True Legend - 蘇乞兒

True Legend (蘇乞兒) is a 2010 film out of Hong Kong. The movie stars Vincent Zhao, Zhou Xun, and Jay Chou. The supporting cast include Cung Le, Michelle Yeoh, Andy On, Guo Xiaodong, and David Carradine. The movie was directed by Yuen Woo-Ping.

The movie starts with a rescue mission of a prince of the Qing Dynasty. Vincent Zhao as Su Qi Er is the head of the mission and seemingly sacrifices himself so the others can take the prince to safety. Back at the camp now, the prince is confident the Su is still alive. Andy On plays Yuan, Su's adapted brother. Su is also married to Yuan's younger sister, Ying, played by Zhou Xun. However, Su's father killed Yuan and Ying's father 15 years earlier and adapted them into his household. Yuan still holds a grudge. Ying has moved on and is now a devoted wife and mother. Yuan is given a governor position in the Hubei region and goes back to Su's hometown for revenge. Yuan gets his revenge and kills Su's father and succeeds in eliminating Su's household. Su and Yuan fight for an extended period of time. But Yuan's five vemon technique is too much for Su. Su is thrown into a running river and Ying follows to save him. Yuan captures Su's son, Feng. Ying rescue's Su and takes him to Beido mountain, where they meet Yu, played by Michelle Yeoh. Yu is a expert doctor and cures Su of his wounds from the five venoms. Su's right arm is severely injured, but nurses it back to health. Su also starts to go a little mad and practices with a Wushun, a God of martial arts. After 3 years, he is fully recovered and goes back to save Feng from Yuan. But due to his madness, Ying goes ahead to save Feng. Yuan buries Ying when Su arrives. Su and Yuan battle again. This time, Su wins, but Ying suffocates from being buried. Su goes mad again and becomes a beggar. Feng and Su now travel from town to town looking for food as beggars. Su is drawn into a fight with the foreigners and wins.

Yuen Woo-ping directs his first film in more than 10 years. And its a doozy. The film has 3 main story arcs that cover Su's life. The calm, the suffering, and how he became a legend. In each arc, it feels very familiar. LIke comfort food. But it also throws in very modern elements. Like the drunken fist being half break dancing.

Jay Chou was blamed for this movie not doing well at the box office. Jay's character is barely in the movie and is part of Su's imagination.

If you're a fan of old skool and like the new skool martial art movies, True Legend gives you both and the fighting is quite entertaining. The movie is long due to the 3 storyarcs.

The Book of Eli - 奪天書

The Book of Eli (奪天書) is a 2010 film out of the USA. The movie stars Denzel Washington, Mila Kunis, Gary Oldman, and Jennifer Beals.

Set in the future, the world was bombed 30 years prior. Now, the United States is an apocalyptic wasteland. Denzel plays Eli, who has the goal of going west. Eli also has in his possession a very special book. As Eli travels west, we see his interaction with those in the wasteland. In essence, humans now feed off each other. Cannibalism. A sign of this is that people will shake. Eli lands in a town run by Gary Oldman as Carnegie. Carnegie rules the town because he can supply the water. Eli befriends Solara, played by Mila Kunis. Solara reveals to Carnegie that Eli has the book he's been waiting for. Eli makes it out of town, but not before a gun fight. Carnegie and company make chase and try to track Eli down. Solara decides to tag along with Eli. Will Eli and Solara make it out alive?



The movie was pretty awesome. One of the best of the year. The pacing, the "world", and the actors and actresses make this a pretty entertaining watch. You can't just make another Mad Max type movie without a great plot and story. In this case, they had a great cast with a great premise.

Asians in the film? I didn't see or notice any. Must have all been wiped out by the nuclear bombs.

Jeremy Lin in the NBA

Jeremy Lin made history last month as the NBAs only Asian-American player. The deal is 2 years long with the first year guaranteed. A dream come true for Jeremy Lin, a kid from the bay area.

Invited to play in the NBA summer league by the Dallas Mavericks. The Mavs did not have Lin in line for a starting job, but most likely a stint in the d-league or on a practice squad.

The Los Angeles Lakers had also shown interest. It's too bad my hometown team will only get to see him twice this year. I may have to get out to a Lakers game again this season when the Warriors are in town.

Just as the dust was settling on his signing with the Golden State Warriors, Yao Ming recruited Jeremy Lin for an NBA function in Taiwan.

Check out the highlights and cheer him on!

愛你一萬年 - Love You 10,000 Years - Upcoming

愛你一萬年 (Love You 10,000 Years) is being released in Taipei on August 6th. The movie stars Vic Zhou and a Japanese lady named 三村恭代 (can not find a English name yet). A Japanese director is at the helms of this movie set in Taiwan.

That Japanese lady comes to Taiwan to learn Chinese, but somehow has to learn to live with Vic Zhou's rocker persona. They have to deal with cross-cultural barriers and find love.

Sounds interesting and its being sold as a LOL comedy.