Rene Liu – Heroic Cinema

Starry Starry Night (2011)

John Snadden — Tue, 15 May 2012 06:36:31 +0000

Hardly ever do the diverse elements of film production blend so seamlessly and appeal to such a wide audience as they do in Starry Starry Night, a recent Taiwan-China co-production. Based on a childrens’ picture book by world-famous Taiwanese artist Jimmy Liao and directed by Taiwan’s Tom Lin, this is one of the best films of the year.

“Coming of age” movies is a sub-genre in most film cultures, mainly because the often painful and confusing time between childhood … (read more)

20:30:40 (2004)

James — Sun, 15 Apr 2007 02:07:09 +0000

Thankfully, 20:30:40 is not – as some marketing material has suggested to the contrary – a Sex in the City replicate with a Taipei backdrop. Unless you are the type of person that gets really upset when films about women are not also films that deconstruct feminism, try to ignore this kneejerk promotional tactic. I certainly wouldn’t climb over mountains to chase down a movie so advertised, but I might be inclined to set up a base camp, fire up … (read more)

Double Vision (2002)

Eugene — Wed, 25 Jan 2006 21:28:27 +0000

I really didn’t know what I was getting into before walking in on this one. I knew it involved a serial killer and had Tony Leung Ka Fai and David Morse in it. So pretty much I skipped along to my screening of Double Vision with expectations of Silence of the Lambs or Seven. After the second or third macabre ritualistic murder, it was really hard to not draw parallels with Seven. However, while that may very well … (read more)

A World Without Thieves (2004)

Alison — Sat, 29 Oct 2005 21:25:03 +0000

A World Without Thieves is a crime caper, a personal drama, a morality play, and a travelogue all rolled into one. Pretty impressive stuff, and a lot to pack into a bit less than 2 hours. The fact that it worked so well is a testament to the skills of cast and crew, and the fine script that managed to weave these disparate threads into whole cloth.

Mind you, the fact that the director is Feng Xiao Gang has a … (read more)