The Asian movies are piling up fast and furious right now.
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On Tuesday, August 24 @ 7pm, the Korean Cultural Service is screening not one but TWO free movies at the Tribeca Cinemas. Both are made-for-tv movies and each runs about an hour. The first is the sexy comedy, A LITTLE NAUGHTY ROMANCE OF OURS, starring the king of television romance, Lee Seon-Gyun. Then, it’s gangsters vs. ghosts in the horror-comedy, THE SCARY ONE, THE GHOST AND I, starring character actor Lee Won-Jong, who you’ve seen in a million movies before. (full details)
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Acclaimed Bollywood movie, PEEPLI LIVE, is still playing up at Big Cinemas in Manhattan. The Village Voice raves, the LA Times raves and the Hollywood Reporter does too. Produced by Bollywood superstar, Aamir Khan, it’s probably the best-reviewed movie to play at the Big Cinemas all year. (tickets and showtimes)
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Also playing at Big Cinemas, whenever PEEPLI LIVE isn’t, is HIDING DIVYA, a South Asian drama about mental illness, set in New Jersey and originally shot way back in 2006. Reviews haven’t been kind. (tickets and showtimes)
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The very stodgy animated film, TALES FROM EARTHSEA, is still plodding away down at the Angelika. This blog is so angry about this film because there are so many better movies that could use the screen space.
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Bruce “Driving Miss Daisy” Beresford directed the new film, MAO’S LAST DANCER, about a Chinese dissident ballet dancer trying to follow his art during the Cultural Revolution. Joan Chen, Kyle MacLachlan and Bruce Greenwood also star. It’s the twelfth highest grossing Australian movie of all time. (read the reviews) (now playing at the Kew Garden Cinemas, Landmark Sunshine and the Paris Theater)
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Hey, that’s Jet Li actually playing an actual character in THE EXPENDABLES. Too bad the action is shot and edited really poorly, because the remarkable Corey Yuen was brought in just to choreograph the Jet-ster’s big fight scene.
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“They’re only giving one award for
‘Best Over-Actor’ in this movie. You
gonna let me take that from you, little girl?”
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John Woo’s delirious FACE/OFF is screening at midnights this weekend at the IFC Center. Come on, you know you want to see it – two of cinema’s biggest hams in an action movie that redefines “over the top.” This and CON AIR are in a league of their own. (tickets and showtimes)
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Whenever FACE/OFF is mentioned, you have to
show the inside of Nic Cage’s gun box in the film.
It’s the law.
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The IFC Center’s Ozu retro continues with 11am Fri, Sat and Sun screenings of A HEN IN THE WIND, a straight-up melodrama about a soldier who returns from the big war to discover his wife has turned to *choke* *gasp* prostitution! (tickets and showtimes)
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And this weekend marks the beginning of a run of Lou Ye’s SPRING FEVER, a drama about a married man’s infidelity with his male lover boy. Lou’s the director of the astonishing PURPLE BUTTERFLY and SUZHOU RIVER and although this movie doesn’t live up to those previous works, it’s still a worthwhile drama about modern day China. (tickets and showtimes)
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And don’t miss SUMMER WARS, screening August 28 and 29 at the IFC Center.
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Aug 20 2010