Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen

More Donnie Yen goodness!

Sailor Moon re-runs on HK television

Source: chinaSMACK

A commercial for a live action television show of the anime “Sailor Moon” is thoroughly criticized by Chinese netizens who find it horrifying and shocking. The TV show, appearing on Hong Kong’s J2 TVB network, appears to be a re-imagining of the Sailor Moon characters having matured into middle age with familial responsibilities. Chinese take offense at the ages of the actors as well as the weight of one of them.



[script from the video； scene occurs in the summer of 2010]

Mother: [to child] Remember, when attending class study hard!

Woman: Serena (Usagi Tsukino)， Mr. Wong wanted you to have this.

Mother, now identified as Serena (Sailor Moon): Ami? Rei?

Serena: Moon prism power!

Ami Mizuno: Mercury power!

Rei Hino: Mars power!

All together: Uniform change!

Female announcer: Sailor Moon, premiering this Friday, broadcasting from Monday to Friday, 6 P.M. Let [Hong Kong television station] J2 accompany you on all of your little girl dreams!

Waiter: It’s been a long time since I last last saw you three; is discounted dim sum alright?

I did some further investigation and in fact they are not creating a live-action Sailor Moon show but in fact they are just re-broadcasting the old anime for the newer generation today. The commercial itself is trying to show how the typical Sailor Moon fan is older today and this re-airing of the show will being out the old Sailor Moon in them.

I kind of like the commercial but I do understand how all you Sailor Mars fans got scared for a second there!

Trailer: 十月圍城 Bodyguards and Assassins

I'm really really looking forward to this movie that comes out in Asia just before Christmas. It features an all-star cast and a good storyline.

Hong Kong: Ani-Com and Games

Source: Calgary Herald

Young fans of anime and comics pose in their costumes during the Ani-Com and Games Hong Kong (ACGHK) fair at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre on July 31, 2009. Cosplay, which combines costume and roleplay based on characterisations in Japanese manga, graphic novels and video games, is popular among youngsters in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Japan.

Once a year Hong Kong kids get together to go crazy on the latest in the world of comics and plastic figurines at the Ani-Com & Games Hong Kong. The kids with fertile imaginations let them run riot in the (mostly Japanese-inspired) world of super heroes and cartoon characters, whether that be in 'graphic novels' or computer games, or both. Looks like any other anime convention. I need to get my ass to Calgary's Otafest one of these years. I went like 10 years ago and am still a little scarred.

TV Show: Beautiful Cooking 2

Wikipedia


Was surfing the other day and bumped into Beautiful Cooking II, a HK TVB show. Looks like this is like Iron Chef but with pretty girls cooking.



Youtube Link

They seemed impressed with her!

Hong Kong teacher who had sex with pupil 280 times jailed

Source: Earth Times

A Hong Kong schoolteacher was jailed Monday for 10 years after being convicted of having sex with one of his pupils 280 times starting when she was 12 years old. Chu Chi-wah, 39, was found guilty at a May hearing of 11 counts of having sex with a minor over a two-year period from 2004 to 2006.

A High Court judge described his acts as a "nightmare for parents" at Monday's sentencing and said that by refusing to plead guilty, he forced the girl to testify in court and relive the abuse.

The girl, now 17, testified that she had sex with Chu 10 times a month on average and slept with him around 280 times over the course of their relationship.

Chu, who taught the girl physical education and maths at primary school, started having sex with the girl when he gave her private tutorials after she began high school.

She would have sex with Chu after private tutorials and was even allowed by her mother to stay at his home overnight, the High Court was told.

Chu, who denied all charges, was acquitted on one count of allegedly inducing the girl to have an abortion when she got pregnant early on in their relationship.

280 times? Who counted? Did she write in her diary each time?
And the mom let him stay over? He was probably doin her too.

It's a son for Isabella Leong

Source: The Standard

What do you give a man who has everything? Ask PCCW chairman Richard Li Tzar-kai.

The second son of Li Ka-shing gave Hong Kong's richest man a grandson with the help of the delightfully beautiful Isabella Leong Lok-si.

The hardest part was the name, of course, and the two tycoons kept it all in the family: Grandpa Li named the boy Li Chang-zhi while the father christened him Ethan.

Leong's manager, Michelle Lo, said the big day was on April 26 in Toronto, Canada, with Ethan Li weighing in at seven pounds.

If you aren't sure who Isabella is, she played "Lin", the young girl in The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor.

Wow this kid's got it made. Grandson of the richest man in Hong Kong and more importantly, born in CANADA! He might already be the richest man in Canada. The kid immedaitely qualifies to buy a hockey team now.

Enter The Dragon: Shih Kien dies at age 96

Source: SF Gate

Veteran Hong Kong actor Shih Kien, who played Bruce Lee's archrival in the 1973 movie "Enter the Dragon," has died at age 96.

"With his death, Hong Kong has lost an outstanding performing arts talent," Acting Hong Kong Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Gregory So said in a statement.

Shih died Wednesday afternoon at a Hong Kong hospital with his children by his side, the Ming Pao Daily News reported Friday. The cause was kidney failure, the Apple Daily newspaper said.

Shih made his film debut in 1940 and went on to act in about 350 films, most notably playing villains in films about Chinese folk hero Wong Fei-hong, according to Ming Pao.

He was best known to Western audiences for playing the evil martial arts expert Han in "Enter the Dragon." In the movie, Lee's character is hired by a foreign government to infiltrate Han's island and seeks to avenge his sister's death by Han's bodyguard.

Hong Kong's movie industry mourned Shih's death, with "Infernal Affairs" star Tony Leung Chiu-wai saying he was a big fan of the late actor.

"I grew up watching Uncle Kien's movies. He's an actor I admire and respect a lot. I'm very sad that he has passed away," Apple Daily quoted Leung as saying, referring to Shih by his nickname.

Enter the Dragon was my favorite Bruce Lee movie. Who could forget all those battles on the island, in the caves and the final duel with Shih Kien as the villian with those steel claws in the house of mirrors.

RIP Uncle Kien


Youtube Link

Edison Chen: CNN Interview

Unless you've been living under a rock you already know about the Edison Chen Sex Photo scandal. Here is his first formal interview since the incident last year.

Source: CNN TalkAsia

He has been at the center of Asia's biggest sex scandal, but now actor Edison Chen has broken his silence on the public episode that has ended careers and caused him to face at least one reported death threat.

Talking exclusively to CNN on his return to Hong Kong, where he had been forging a career in the movies, Chen reveals his side of the scandal that broke in early last year when hundreds of sexually explicit photos of Chen with other celebrities turned up on the Internet.

"There's been a lot of talk through the past year and a half about this or that and a lot of rumors, a lot of hearsay, and I feel, you know, I've kept quiet just to kind of respect everyone and respect the law," Chen told CNN

There are 3 parts: Scandal, Photos and The Women.

If the embeded videos don't work they can be seen here The embedding on CNN is working at times.. it's kind of stupid.







What do you think? I thought he sounded very upfront and sincere. The pictures are very old and his current girlfriend made him delete everything "empty trashcan".

And again the people who spread his photos are so stupid. No money? No blackmail? Just for laughs? Hope the guy rots in jail.

Movie Reviews - June 2, 2009

Source: LoveHKFilm

City of Life and Death - Nanjing! Nanjing! (China)

Lu Chuan's City of Life and Death impresses by eschewing patriotic pride for a surprisingly balanced portrait of the Nanking Massacre. The themes sometimes speak louder than the characters or the situations, but overall this is a powerful achievement and required viewing for anyone who cares for Chinese film.

Youtube Link


The First 7th Night (HK)

It looks like a horror movie, but it really isn't one. Director Herman Yau takes elements of horror, crime film and supernatural drama and mixes them into an unassuming and engaging little genre film.

Youtube Link


Tombstone of the Fireflies (Japan)

It’s an admirable attempt at a live-action adaptation of the classic anti-war story, but Tombstone of the Fireflies is too calculated in its portrayal of war to leave any lasting impact like its animated predecessor did.



Desires of the Heart (China)

A female-centered comedy-drama, Desires of the Heart possesses well-observed characters hidden beneath its deceptively lightweight exterior. The resolutions to each of the love stories don't completely satisfy, and director Ma Liwen's technique is a bit clumsy. Nevertheless, this is worthwhile commercial stuff and much better than it initially seems.

'Happy Girl' Not Cecilia Cheung

Gong Mi (left), is nicknamed "little Cecilia Cheung" for her resemblance of the Hong Kong actress (right).

Source: CriEnglish

She is not a celebrity yet but her face is already well known. At least it appears that way.

Gong Mi, an 18-year-old undergraduate at Beijing Film Academy, has just advanced into the regional finals of the "Happy Girl" singing competition in Zhengzhou. Yet she is at the center of attention not for her voice, but her face that some Internet users exclaim some "90 percent" close to Hong Kong singer-actress Cecilia Cheung.

"I'm not going to deny my pleasure to hear that," Gong Mi told reporters on Sunday. She went on to deny rumors of plastic surgery, saying "my parents gave me what I have and any change to that would be disrespectful to them."

Gong, who is studying acting at China's most prestigious film school, is not as avid as her classmates about becoming a star. She signed up for "Happy Girl" to find something to do while traveling with her mother in Zhengzhou, and she has no filming plans before graduation, because "mom doesn't allow it."

While not aspiring, Gong is preparing for her breakthrough. She says she is currently attending classes in martial arts, singing, dancing and equitation, hoping these skills will someday come in handy after she launches her acting career.

Youtube Link

Want to really know if she looks like Cecilia? Just give Edison a camera. :)

Movie Reviews - May 22, 2009

Source: LoveHKFilm

Movie reviews for this week. Nothing really outstanding. I'm waiting for reviews of the Cannes entries.


The Scandal Makers (Korea)

Blockbuster Korean film about a single man in his mid-thirties whose life is turned upside down by his long-lost daughter and an adorable, precocious grandson. This high-concept comedy may sound like commercial fluff, but talented performers, smart direction and agreeable laughs make this a crowd-pleasing winner.

Youtube Link


Night and Fog (HK)

The surprising follow-up to The Way We Are, Ann Hui's Night and Fog is harrowing and genuinely involving. There are occasional moments where the film goes too far, but on the whole this is an impressive and compelling motion picture, and Hui's direction is sharp. Based on a true story.

Youtube Link

Mandate (Korea)

This low-budget supernatural thriller will find audiences who like their horror cheap and cheesy, but it won't do much for anyone else.

Youtube Link




The Triumphant General Rouge (Japan)

Like its predecessor, The Triumphant General Rouge is an entertaining medical thriller. Also like its predecessor, the film is so glossy and commercial that it starts to feel cheesy. Featuring the always-entertaining Hiroshi Abe.

Sorry, can't find trailer for this. If you find one let me know :)

Asia's dark pics make a splash at Cannes

Source: Yahoo!

Asia made a splash at Cannes with films from Korea, Hong Kong and the Philippines this weekend, almost all throwing dark violent blood-spattered visions of the world onto festival screens.

Hong Kong's Johnnie To offered "Vengeance", starring aging French rock idol Johnny Hallyday as a father out for blood after a family murder. A gangster movie shot like a western peppered with Triad shoot-outs, it is one of 20 films competing for the festival's coveted Palme d'Or.

From the Philippines, and also vying for the Palme, controversial love-him-or-hate-him director Brillante Mendoza's "Kinatay" (meaning "massacre") notably features corrupt cops hacking a prostitute to pieces with blunt kitchen knives.

Lone exception to the blood-and-gore on offer was "Mother" by Korea's young cult director Bong Joon-ho, although he is no stranger to violence in previous films such as "The Host" and "Memories of Murder".

.....more

Vengeance:

Youtube Link

Mother:

Youtube Link

Kinatay: Youtube Link (Sorry can't embed)

Hong Kong technician jailed over celebrity sex pics

Can I come out and play now?

Source: Asiaone

A Hong Kong computer technician was Wednesday jailed for eight and a half months for stealing more than 1,000 sexually explicit photos of singer Edison Chen with a string of starlets.

Sze Ho-chun, an employee of computer shop Elite Multimedia, was sentenced by magistrate Tong Man at Kowloon City Magistrates' Court.

Sze had copied 1,300 sex photos from Chen's laptop when the Canadian-born singer-actor brought it in for repairs in 2006.

The prosecution said that the 24-year-old saved the images of Chen and other local celebrities on a compact disc, which he then passed to another of his customers.

The images began spreading online in February last year and sparked one of the city's biggest sex scandals.

The photos, which Chen has admitted taking himself, showed him in compromising positions with celebrities including Canto-pop star Gillian Chung, actress Cecilia Cheung and former actress Bobo Chan.

The scandal saw Chen flee to his childhood home of Canada and damaged the careers of several of the stars involved.

Sze had been found guilty at an earlier hearing on three counts of obtaining access to a computer with a view to dishonest gain for himself or another.

Eight and a half months doesn't seem enough.

A) This has been in the news since early 2008 so the ordeal has lasted longer than the sentence will be.

B) The victims involved have lost alot and will continue to lose

C) Alot of normal guys were traumatized after looking at those awful pictures. Where's the justice for them! :)

Faye Wong's Comeback Ad Released

Source: CriEnglish

An advertisement featuring China's semi-retired pop queen, Faye Wong, was officially released on the internet on Wednesday. The ad is widely speculated to be the mark of her comeback.

Faye Wong is the spokesperson of a new brand of shampoo that is now available for sale at supermarkets throughout Beijing. The bottles of shampoo come with leaflets bearing the ad that features Wong.

A commercial showcasing the brand will be aired on major TV stations across the country beginning May 20th. In the commercial, the 40-year-old pop icon plays an ancient queen, donning a golden robe similar to that of Gong Li's in the movie "Curse of the Golden Flower," a spokesperson from the shampoo company says.

Last month, Faye flew to Thailand to shoot the new ad. Renowned stylists including William Chang, Zing and Elaine Wong were responsible in creating her new look.

The songstress is recieving 20 million yuan for the endorsement deal, outweighing Jackie Chan's payday of 14 million yuan for endorsing a seperate product line for the same company.

She really does have a cult following. She would sell any product, album or movie. Lets see if this comeback is real and what she will be in next.

Movie Reviews - May 11, 2009

Source: LoveHKFilm

Departures (Japan) 2009 Oscar Winner Best Foreign Film

Even though it doesn't meet the astronomical expectations it has earned by now, Departures is a touching and well-calculated commercial film that is deserving of its commercial success.

Youtube Link

I Corrupt All Cops (Hong Kong)

A rare serious Wong Jing film that’s actually respectable in quality, I Corrupt All Cops is entertaining and can sometimes be gripping cinema. But it’s also too sprawling without the focus or filmmaking to justify it. Nevertheless, it possesses a solid cast and is easily the best Wong Jing film in years, whatever that means.

Youtube Link

Hello Schoolgirl (Korea)

Thanks to a great cast, striking visuals and observant storytelling, Ryoo Jang-Ha’s first film in 4 years is a good one. A resoundingly successful film adaptation of Kang Pool’s charming web comic about May-December romances.

Youtube Link

20th Century Boys: Chapter 2 - The Last Hope (Japan)

20th Century Boys: Chapter Two should be a slam dunk for fans because it adapts the manga in a truncated, but still slavishly faithful manner. For non-fans, this film is so dense and convoluted that confusion is a likely result. Maybe it'll seem like a better film after the third one is released.

Youtube Link


The Bluebird (Japan)

A stuttering, earnest substitute teacher makes waves in a class trying to get over an attempted suicide of one of its students. Fine themes, compelling emotions and solid acting lift The Bluebird, but the measured, too-reverential storytelling doesn't entirely convince.

Sorry, couldn't find a subtitled trailer.


Youtube Link

Asian Ripoff LVII - Love Me With All of Your Heart

Artist: Stephanie Lai
Language: Cantonese


Youtube Link

Proof that being cute doesn't ensure a good singing voice or a famous career :)

See other Asian Ripoffs!

Chinese gambler scoops jackpot, threatens lawsuit

Source: Google News

A Chinese businesswoman who has blown 6.8 million US dollars in the gaming haven of Macau in two years, scooped a slot machine jackpot just as she was threatening to sue the casino, a report said Thursday.

The woman won a five million Hong Kong dollar (640,000 US) slot machine payout on Monday at the Wynn Macau, part of the gaming empire of US tycoon Steve Wynn, the Standard newspaper reported.

It was the second-highest slot machine payout in Macau's history, the report said.

Her win came a day after she threatened to sue Wynn Macau over the huge sum she has lost on slot machines since 2007. She claims that payout rates on the machines are too low, the English language daily said.

The woman, from the eastern Zheijiang province, was also unhappy because Wynn staff refused to let her, family and friends play 20 machines at the same time in a calculated attempt to beat the odds.

The report said the woman, who it described as a self-proclaimed billionaire, had insisted she was not addicted to gambling.

.....more

Losing 6.8 million but not addicted to gambling. Wow, people have way too much money and time on our hands. And she's still suing! The casino has it's own rules, you can never beat it. I wish that jackpot went to someone who appreciates it more!

Computer technician who leaked Edison Chen's sex photos found guilty, faces jail time

Source: channelnewsasia

In Hong Kong, a computer technician who leaked sex pictures of disgraced pop idol Edison Chen with female stars, has been found guilty, and faces a maximum of five years in jail. Sentencing will take place on May 13.

The celebrity sex photo case was the biggest scandal to hit Hong Kong's entertainment scene last year.

24-year-old Sze Ho Chun appeared in Kowloon City's magistracy on Wednesday, and was found guilty of stealing, copying and distributing about 1,300 photos showing actor Chen having sex with at least half a dozen women, including several Hong Kong starlets.

In his defence, Sze's lawyer said that his client was being made a scapegoat by those hiding their involvement in the case. In particular, fellow co-worker Chris Tse and shop owner Terry Ip were both accused of being untruthful witnesses.

But Chief Magistrate Tong Man was satisfied with the evidence put forward by prosecutors, adding that jail time was inevitable, in view of the serious breach of trust.

The lewd images that Sze stole became widely circulated on the Web in late January last year, and he was arrested by police in February.

Chen was forced to quit showbiz and fled the country, going into self-exile in Canada.

Female celebrities including Canto-pop star Gillian Chung, actress Cecilia Cheung and singer Bobo Chan have also been keeping a low profile.

He'll probably get the maximum. He may be a scapegoat but it was pretty clear he stole the pictures and put them on the internet? What was his motive? Money? Fame? Stupidity?

I think he was dumb. If I had these pictures and wanted to make money, I'd have secretly called the tabloids and make a fortune. It's hard for celebs to sue tabloids and media always protects it's sources. Gotta strategize you know! Leak pictures slowly and maximize profit.

I don't understand this guy's thinking. What was the point of plastering 1300 photos on the internet for people to see for free? Maybe he'll smarten up in jail.

Clog show given boot in Hong Kong over feng shui

Source: Yahoo!

One of Hong Kong's tallest skyscrapers has declined to hold a Dutch charity exhibition of clogs because of worries the clunky footwear will bring bad luck, a report said.

The Cheung Kong Center refused to host the show, which was organised by the Dutch consulate, because of feng shui, a diplomat told the Sunday Morning Post.

The tower's management said the wooden footwear show would cause bad luck, because the Cantonese word for shoes -- hai -- sounds similar to a sigh of exasperation, the English-language paper said.

"Cheung Kong Center rejected the exhibition because of the Chinese meaning of wooden shoes. I don't understand. It is difficult to explain as I don't know how to say shoes in Chinese," an unnamed member of staff at the consulate told the paper.

The exhibition, part of an effort to promote Dutch culture, which will raise money for Chinese children, is now being held at another tower in Hong Kong, the paper said.

Feng Shui is an ancient Chinese system, used to enhance positive energy and good luck.

The system is still very influential in superstitious Hong Kong, and highly-paid feng shui consultants are often employed to advise on the location and design of new buildings, as well as give individuals advice on how to improve their luck.

So nobody in Hong Kong can wear shoes? Shoes are not fit to be worn indoors? I don't get superstitions.