16 發光的城市 A R O U N D T O W N FRIDAY, JANUARY 1, 2010 • TAIPEI TIMES FILM REVIEW OTHER RELEASES COMPILED BY Martin WILLiams The Private Lives of Pippa Lee Robin Wright Penn is Pippa Lee, a housewife in Connecticut whose psychological history and social milieu makes it to the big screen courtesy of Rebecca Miller (daughter of Arthur Miller), who adapted her own work and directed. Pippa is married to publisher Alan Arkin and has an interesting network of friends, family and associates, but there’s no shortage of dissatisfaction in her life. Flashbacks to Pippa as a young woman (played by Blake Lively from TV’s Gossip Girl) help explain why. The tragedy of Big cast includes Winona Ryder, Julianne Moore, Keanu Reeves, Monica Bellucci and Maria Bello, but critics were divided on this one. Couples Retreat Vince Vaughn and wife travel to lovely Bora Bora for therapy along with three other couples, genius but the program on offer by the local resort chief (Jean Reno) is not quite what they BY HO YI expect. American critics STAFF REPORTER liked the actors but retreated from the rest of the production, which — as with many mainstream US comedies these days — injects surprisingly crude material throughout in the hope of appearing lively, if not funny. Om Shanti Om Bollywood films never took off in Taiwan, and while this week’s release (under the mini-festival title “Bling! Bling! Bollywood!”) of two big-budget odes to the movie industry won’t change that, it will surely remind adventurous local audiences of the dynamism of India’s filmmakers. In Om Shanti Om, Shahrukh Khan (Slumdog Millionaire) plays the two “Oms” in segments set decades apart, but possibly connected through reincarnation, while Deepika Padukone is his love interest, Shanti. Packed ‘KJ: Music and with musical numbers, action, romance, color and dance, Life’ takes a India’s trade office couldn’t have asked for a more majestic advertisement for Indian tourism. sensitive look at KJ: MUSIC AND LIFE the mind of a child 音樂人生 Billu Barber prodigy struggling DIRECTED BY: In this accompanying CHEUNG KING-WAI (張經緯) Bollywood release made with the demands last year, the wildly popular of his own talent STArriNG: Shahrukh Khan is back as a WONG KA-JENG (黃家正) AS HIMSElf, movie star whose struggling NANcy LOO (羅乃新) AS HERSElf barber friend, Billu, enjoys young musician from Wong Ka-jeng struggles with the big a new lease of life when the a well-to-do family village Khan is shooting in questions. PHOTOS COURTESY OF CNEX RUNNING tiME: studying at a private 90 MINUTES learns of their connection. This is not, however, a standard school hardly makes adolescent, the sense of urgency happy tale, even though it is laced with Bollywood Afor a fascinating documentary, and the candor in his voice will LANGUAGE: exuberance: Billu’s newfound popularity is mostly based on unless the subject is Wong Ka- remind viewers of their own IN CANTONESE AND ENGLISH WITH the opportunism and insincerity of his neighbors. jeng (黃家正), the music prodigy old. He behaves arrogantly in from multiple angles as Cheung forgotten youthful passions. CHINESE AND ENGLISH SUBTItlES and tormented protagonist in front of friends, peers and family aims to show KJ’s relationships With KJ’s mother curiously KJ: Music and Life (音樂人生), a members, and cares little about with his mentor, his friends, missing from the documentary, TAIWAN releAse: Noriben: The Recipe of Fortune Hong Kong production that won competitions and awards. But he his siblings and his father. The the father-son relationship is TODAY A woman in her early thirties top honors in three categories is also a sensitive soul, one who extensive interviews shot at two featured predominantly as a key leaves her husband and including Best Documentary, longs for recognition from the different periods of KJ’s career factor in the young man’s music returns to her family home Best Editing and Best Sound people he cares about and broods (ages 11 and 17) are deployed in career. One of the most powerful too-early success and talent make and community with child in Effects at this year’s Golden over existential questions. an effective and coherent manner, moments of the film occurs when him a vulnerable and sad outcast tow to find that her calling is Horse Awards (金馬獎). With KJ’s compelling as the film goes back and forth KJ explains the breakdown of who desperately seeks what he making and selling bento, and KJ is the stuff of genius. At the personality and the sense between the two time frames to his relationship with his father, cannot find in those close to him. noriben (seaweed, soy sauce tender age of 11, he is playing in of closeness he shares with paint an affecting portrait of a which is intercut with a scene The film will screen at Vie Show and rice) in particular. This is a professional orchestra in the director Cheung King-wai (張經 young, tormented mind. where the then-11-year-old Cinema, Xinyi District (信義威秀影 another in a selection of Japanese films of late that have Czech Republic. Six years later, he 緯) in front to the camera, one Though KJ’s philosophical boy weeps as his doctor father 城) in Taipei for a limited period of older women striking out on their own. Oddly enough, this is conducting his own orchestra at immediately feels absorbed questioning about life and music affectionately pats his head. two weeks with only one screening is also a manga adaptation, and it’s hard not to think of the a prestigious private school. into his life story. We learn to may sound like the empty blather Ultimately, KJ: Music and Life per day. For show times, go to first Sonny Chiba-Uma Thurman scene in Kill Bill: Vol. 1 KJ is also a complex 17 year- understand KJ’s musical talent of your average melancholy paints a tragic figure whose far- tw.myblog.yahoo.com/kjmusiclife. when our plucky heroine asks to be an apprentice chef. FILM REVIEW Treasure hunting is a dreary affair The second Chu Yen-ping-Jay Chou collaboration makes ‘Kung Fu Dunk,’ their first joint effort, look like a masterpiece BY HO YI him to a lost city brimming with and inexplicably exits the movie STAFF REPORTER riches. His companions on the with the girl he loves. ung fu mixes with journey include city gal-cum The film possesses no plot Indiana Jones, and Jay love interest Lan Ting (played other than a mad scrambling K Chou (周杰倫) and Lin by Lin), Chinese thespian Chen to grab the treasure map. THE TREASURE HUNTER Chi-ling (林志玲) are in the lead Daoming’s (陳道明) deadpan The romance between Chou 刺陵 roles. The Treasure Hunter archaeologist, and comic and Lin doesn’t work either. sounds like a film that can’t go sidekick Pork Rib played by Eric The onscreen love is killed DIRECTED BY: wrong. That is until old-time Tsang (曾志偉). prematurely by a plethora of CHU YEN-PING (朱延平) slapstick comedy whiz Chu Chou’s real-life pal Will Liu coy, mushy dialogue and feeble Yen-ping (朱延平) manages to ( ) plays the mummy-man flirting. The good news is that STArriNG: spoil the Chinese version of this villain. There is also the group despite the poorly written script, JAY CHOU (周杰倫) AS CIAO FEI, LIN CHI-LING ancient civilization adventure of thugs termed the Sandstorm baby-voiced Lin manages to play (林志玲) AS LAN TING, ERIC TSANG (曾志偉) AS PORK with an utterly nonsensical Legion who never make it back her babe-to-ogle-at role with RIB, CHEN DAOMING (陳道明) AS MASTER HUA story plagued with stale humor to the screen after pulling down dignity. Chou is his usual self as and dull, silly dialogue. a dingy bar at the beginning of a one-expression hero looking RUNNING tiME: In a role tailor-made for the the movie. good with the aid of an over-the- 106 MINUTES Mando-pop king to show off Even more puzzling is the top wire-fu show. his aloof charm, Chou plays laughable Eagle of the Desert, The final verdict: It is best LANGUAGE: Ciao Fei, a treasure hunter and who is supposed to be a to avoid The Treasure Hunter IN MANDARIN AND CANTONESE WITH CHINESE AND ENGLISH SUBTItlES kung fu master. The hero is in mysterious guardian of all things unless you want to have a good PHOTOS COURTESY VIEW SHOW CINEMA search of a map that will lead in the arid region, who suddenly laugh at the movie. TAIWAN releAse: NOW SHOWING.