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Tag: Taiwan

drama, reviewLeave a comment

REVIEW: The Rice Dumpling Vendors (1969)

November 8, 2021 Grant Watson

In a moment of rage, a man destroys his entire life. Now destitute with three children to care for, he struggles to make ends meet in this Taiwanese melodrama from director Hsin Chi. And what a melodrama it is. There … Continue reading REVIEW: The Rice Dumpling Vendors (1969)

comedy, reviewLeave a comment

REVIEW: As We Like It (2021)

July 17, 2021July 17, 2021 Grant Watson

William Shakespeare has inspired filmmakers since the very origins of the form. Starting with Dixon and Dando’s King John in 1899, there have been in excess of 400 films produced that are either adapted from or inspired by Shakespeare’s work. While the … Continue reading REVIEW: As We Like It (2021)

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REVIEW: Su Mi Ma Sen, Love (2009)

June 18, 2021 Grant Watson

A chance meeting leads to a day of romance in this odd, modest little drama from Taiwan. Broadly akin to an Asian remake of Richard Linklater’s Before Sunrise (1995), director Lin Yu-hsien adds an unusual level of metatextuality to its simple … Continue reading REVIEW: Su Mi Ma Sen, Love (2009)

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REVIEW: Gatao: The Last Stray (2021)

May 29, 2021 Grant Watson

Gatao, a series of Taiwanese crime dramas, are shaping up to be one of the world’s more promising ongoing screen franchises. Gatao: The Last Stray (2021) is the third film to date and easily the strongest of the set. Gatao is … Continue reading REVIEW: Gatao: The Last Stray (2021)

comedy, reviewLeave a comment

REVIEW: Get the Hell Out (2020)

April 30, 2021May 28, 2021 Grant Watson

Zombie movies have always been an excellent outlet for social comment. George A. Romero’s Dawn of the Dead (1978) famously used the shambling masses to interrogate consumerism. Danny Boyle’s 28 Days Later (2002) traded on public fears over a viral outbreak – a … Continue reading REVIEW: Get the Hell Out (2020)

drama, reviewLeave a comment

REVIEW: Your Name Engraved Herein (2020)

December 30, 2020 Grant Watson

Two young men share a forbidden romance in Your Name Engraved Herein, the latest in a string of queer films emerging from the Chinese-speaking world. While LGBTIQ cinema has been evident in the region for many years, including a range of … Continue reading REVIEW: Your Name Engraved Herein (2020)

arthouse, review1 Comment

REVIEW: Walker (2012)

September 29, 2020August 22, 2021 Grant Watson

Taiwanese director Tsai Ming-Liang is, I think, one of the world’s most interesting filmmakers. It is not simply that he produces interesting and deepful artful narrative features including Rebels of a Neon God and Goodbye, Dragon Inn. He also makes a broad range … Continue reading REVIEW: Walker (2012)

action, review1 Comment

REVIEW: The Assassin (2015)

July 2, 2020 Grant Watson

Yinniang (Shu Qi) was taken from her home at the age of ten and trained to become a master assassin. Now an adult, she fails to undertake her latest mission when she sees her target cradling his infant son. As … Continue reading REVIEW: The Assassin (2015)

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REVIEW: Cha Cha for Twins (2012)

May 26, 2020May 26, 2020 Grant Watson

Mini and Poni (Huang Pei-Chia) are twin sisters enrolled in their senior year of high school. They’re both star players on the basketball team. When Mini begins to be pursued by one of the boys in their school, and then … Continue reading REVIEW: Cha Cha for Twins (2012)

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REVIEW: Heavy Craving (2019)

March 9, 2020 Grant Watson

Ying-juan (Tsai Jia-yin) is a 30 year-old woman, still living with her mother and working as a cook at her mother’s child care centre. She is overweight: the children at her workplace tease her, neighbours resent and bully her, and … Continue reading REVIEW: Heavy Craving (2019)

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