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Tokyo Godfathers [Movies] FEATURED
The setting of Christmas has often played a crucial role in films, such as with "Miracle on 34th Street" and "It's a Wonderful Life". First released in 2003, "Tokyo Godfathers" also centers around Christmas. But it is anything but your typical feel-good holiday movie. Instead, director and writer Satoshi Kon delivers an animated story that involves many real world problems and dire conditions. Yet, it is also a story of hope, humor, and the little miracles that can happen during the Christmas season.
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justinli |
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Jul 22, 2008
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Tampopo [Movies] FEATURED
Tampopo, written and directed by Juzo Itami, was first released in Japan in 1985, and then subsequently in the U.S. in 1987. Even though the story is set in modern times, Itami himself calls the film a "noodle western", obviously a clever play on words to classify it as the Asian counterpart of "spaghetti westerns." Although the plot is a bit formulistic at times, it is still a quirky and creatively made comedy that I found thoroughly enjoyable.
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justinli |
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Jun 03, 2008
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Rashomon [Movies] FEATURED
Akira Kurosawa is rightfully revered as one of the greatest directors, producers, and screenwriters the world has ever known. To me, his greatest masterpiece was portraying the simple poignancy of a humble government worker's life and death in Ikiru, but every Kurosawa film has its devotees. Among the most beloved is Rashomon, which is credited with opening Japanese cinema to the world through its success at the 1951 Venice Film Festival, and later winning the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar.
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Andante |
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May 15, 2008
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The Namesake (2006) [Movies] FEATURED
Based on Jhumpa Lahiri's acclaimed novel, The Namesake follows the quiet history of an Indian-American family. It is convincing in its portrayal of the conflicts, sacrifices, and betrayals that connect one generation with the next. Unfortunately, it tells us nothing we haven’t heard before, and it takes too long to tell it.
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Andante |
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Apr 05, 2008
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Christmas in August [Movies] FEATURED
With "Christmas in August", director Hur Jin-Ho gives us a touching film of a quiet, dying man and how he deals with his last days and the prospect of a new romance. In addition to winning best film at the 1998 Korean Film Awards, it has also won awards at various Asian film festivals.
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justinli |
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Mar 18, 2008
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A Tale of Two Sisters [Movies] FEATURED
This film (entitled "Janghwa, Hongryeon" in Korean) was originally released in 2003 in South Korea. Since then, it has won multiple awards in international film festivals, including best actress, best director, and best picture. Inspired by a famous Korean folk tale, this movie is a smart, thought-provoking thriller about two sisters and the trouble they have with their father and cruel stepmother.
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justinli |
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Feb 19, 2008
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Mar 19, 2008 |
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After This Our Exile [Movies] FEATURED
With 'After This Our Exile', director Patrick Tam tells us the story of a family's breakdown in a most dramatic and heavy handed fashion. Yet, the story is so well told that the audience is kept riveted and can't help but care about the characters.
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justinli |
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Sep 07, 2007
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Sep 14, 2007 |
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Long Life, Happiness, and Prosperity [Movies] FEATURED
In "Long Life, Happiness, and Prosperity", twelve-year old Mindy Ho (Valerie Tian) tries Taoist magic to fix her single mother's (Sandra Oh) financial situation and seemingly hopeless romantic prospects. Mindy's misdirected charms appear to cause an aging security guard to lose his job and a local butcher to win the lottery. The guard, the butcher and her mother's stories all intersect, bound together by Mindy's attempts at magic intervention. Set in the Chinese Canadian community, "Long Life, Happiness, and Prosperity" is a story of hope and the importance of keeping faith in this sometimes difficult world.
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Cythera |
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Aug 19, 2007
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Hiding Divya [Movies] FEATURED
Linny Shah returns home after the death of her Uncle John, expecting an inheritance of $20,000. She begrudgingly lives with her mother Divya for a week, while she waits for the money. Living uneasily together with her teenaged daughter Jia and her mother under one roof, Linny finally confronts what she had hastily left behind as a pregnant teen: her mother's mental illness, responsibilities of a daughter and a mother, and struggles of keeping a family together.
Families coping with mental illness in South Asian communities find themselves enduring cultural stigma, bias, and humiliation. Often denied and viewed as a failure or a shortcoming rather than a treatable condition, mental illness often tears families and relationships apart. HIDING DIVYA does not flinch away from showing the devastating effects of the illness, but handles it matter-of-factly. Yet at the same time, it makes you believe that what tears a family apart can also make it stronger. During the moments of tenderness between the three generations of women, their humanity and courage in their hour of grief all but shine through.
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Andante |
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Jul 29, 2007
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Aug 02, 2007 |
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The Big Bento Box of Unuseless Japanese Inventions [Books] FEATURED
The Japanese word Chindogu literally means an odd or distorted tool. But Kenji Kawakami has taken the word to a new level: the art of the unuseless idea. Kawakami's book, "The Big Bento Box of Unuseless Japanese Inventions", is a hilarious collection of 200 of such zany gadgets.
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justinli |
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Jul 23, 2007
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Jul 29, 2007 |
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Top of the Class [Books] FEATURED
Dr. Abboud and Jane Kim, sisters and co-authors of Top of the Class: How Asian Parents Raise High Achievers--and How You Can Too, promise to “reveal the practices that lead Asian Americans to academic, professional, and personal success. Households run to the rigid specifications of the Kim sisters' model (hours of "extra" homework assigned by parents, socializing only on weekends, phone calls limited to 15 minutes a night, etc.) will probably produce high test scores. Yet I question the justice of calling this an “Asian approach, especially when the worthwhile principles (when not contradicted) are ideals that should transcend such boundaries, and the less sound messages define education as little more than an achievement assembly line.
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Andante |
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Jun 30, 2007
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Jul 23, 2007 |
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Memoirs Of A Geisha [Movies]
Nominated for six Academy Awards, and winner of three, Memoirs Of A Geisha holds its own as one of the best films of 2005. Veteran Hollywood screenwriter Robin Swicord does a superb job of adapting Arthur Golden's bestselling novel to the big screen. This film has all the elements of a classic drama - jealousy, politics, intrigue, forbidden love, and an abundance of internal and external conflicts of varying types. Viewers in search of a typical Hollywood blockbuster will be greatly disappointed, but those who appreciate a good character-driven film which takes the time to develop the motivations of its cast and build to a climax will discover a splendid gem which offers a welcome escape from reality.
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Apr 13, 2007
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Children of Men [Movies]
Based on the novel by PD James, "Children of Men" is set an unsettling twenty years from today. Humanity is counting the days until the end. There have been no children in eighteen years, due to an unexplained and universal case of infertility, and how do people behave without children to nurture, shelter, and love?
The answer, according to this movie, is terrifying.
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| Submitted by: |
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Andante |
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Mar 25, 2007
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Jun 30, 2007 |
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2
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The Last King of Scotland [Movies]
Whitaker's staggering power steals every scene and keeps the movie about Amin. His acting is as nuanced as it is overwhelming, and allows glimpses of the personal demons behind the madness. As Kay comments, "He cannot trust anybody anymore." Amin's paranoia and fear, while incapable of vindicating him, does lend a pathos to what would otherwise be one-note monstrosity. As the self-titled "last king", Whitaker is unforgettable. The clips of the real Amin we see at the end are chilling as we realize just how deeply Whitaker immersed himself in the role.
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Andante |
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Mar 25, 2007
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Bridge to Terabithia [Movies]
This is en enjoyable children's story about how a boy and his friend take occurrences in real life and interpret them in their imaginary world of Terabothia.
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| Submitted by: |
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justinli |
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Mar 03, 2007
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Spirited Away [Movies] FEATURED
Although this anime won an Oscar for Best Animated Feature Film, I found this movie disappointing and hard to follow.
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justinli |
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Mar 03, 2007
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n/a |
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Shaolin Soccer [Movies] FEATURED
Shaolin Soccer is a great "underdog" sports story/comedy about Shaolin Fung Ku masters who learn to use their skills on the soccer field.
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| Submitted by: |
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justinli |
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Feb 20, 2007
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My Sassy Girl (Yeopgijeogin geunyeo) [Movies] FEATURED
A light-hearted and touching romantic comedy from Korea.
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| Submitted by: |
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justinli |
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Feb 12, 2007
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Red Shoes [Movies] FEATURED
Red Shoes, a 2005 Korean horror movie written and directed by Kim Yong-kyun, and starring Kim Hye-soo. Contains many spoilers but no mercy.
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| Submitted by: |
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Andante |
| Posted on: |
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Feb 04, 2007
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Feb 04, 2007 |
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