Film & TV

1. Why Ghost in the Shell is the greatest and most philosophical anime ever made

   Ghost in the Shell, directed by Japanese filmmaker Mamoru Oshii and released in 1995, is not only one of the greatest anime movies ever made, it is also one of the best science-fiction films of all time. What’s more, the story of an artificial intelligence that evolves to such an extent that it demands to be treated as a new life form is more relevant today than when the film was made. Although it is pinned to an action-oriented storyline, Ghost in the Shell features many philosophical scenes…

2. Till We Meet Again film review: grief and mental illness in Steven Ma’s macabre drama

   2/5 starsFor the uninitiated viewer who knows only that this is a semi-autobiographical film, the first question to ask Steven Ma Chun-wai after watching it is surely, “Are you really OK?”. Inspired by the actor, co-screenwriter, director and producer’s own experience of getting over his mother’s death, Till We Meet Again is a much darker psychodrama than might have been expected from the veteran TV actor.Electronics store salesman Ng Ka-wai (played by Ma) leads a solitary life, harbouring the…

3. Better Days film review: Zhou Dongyu is riveting in Derek Tsang’s deeply poignant bullying drama

   4.5/5 starsHad Better Days been released in any other year, the film would have served as a far bigger endorsement of the talent of its director, the emerging Hong Kong filmmaker Derek Tsang Kwok-cheung.Still, good movies will always find their mark.With China’s censors more cautious than usual in the run-up to the 70th anniversary of the establishment of the People’s Republic, the film’s producers were forced to withdraw it from the Berlin film festival in February, and fell foul of a Chinese…

4. Cause of Korean actor-singer Cha In-ha’s death still not known, say police, as entertainment industry reels from a third death after Sulli, Goo Hara suspected suicides

   Police in South Korea said on Wednesday the cause of actor-singer Cha In-ha’s death was still not known, a day after the 27-year-old was found dead at his home.His was the latest in a string of deaths that have rocked the Korean entertainment industry.Cha, whose real name is Lee Jae-ho, made his screen acting debut in 2017 in the short film You, Deep Inside of Me, and was a member of entertainment company Fantagio’s actor group Surprise U, which released two K-pop albums.Social media reaction…

5. Korean actor Cha In-ha, 27, found dead – the third death, after those of singers Goo Hara and Sulli, to rock Korean entertainment industry in space of two months

   Rookie South Korean actor Cha In-ha was found dead on Tuesday, the latest in a string of deaths to rock the Korean entertainment industry.Police are investigating the 27 year-old’s death, and no details have been revealed.Cha made his screen acting debut in 2017 in the short film You, Deep Inside of Me, and was a member of entertainment company Fantagio’s actor group Surprise U.The actor’s last post to Instagram was captioned: “Everybody, watch out.”“We are truly heartbroken to deliver sad news…

6. Last Christmas stars Michelle Yeoh, Henry Golding say Hollywood getting better for Asian actors but still has room for more diversity, women

   Things are changing fast in Hollywood for Asian actors, and it’s about time, says Michelle Yeoh.The Malaysian-born actress, who made her name as a Hong Kong action heroine in the mid-1980s, stepped back into the international spotlight with her performance in Crazy Rich Asians , the hit romantic movie she credits for Asian performers’ increased opportunities in American film and television.“It’s been a long time coming, so let’s not make it a one-hit wonder,” Yeoh says in New York ahead of the…

7. Detention film review: Taiwan’s White Terror evoked in adaptation of fantasy horror video game

   2/5 starsThe atrocities of Taiwan’s White Terror, a period of political repression, provide the chilling backdrop for John Hsu Han-chiang’s high-school horror film, for which he won the best new director and best adapted screenplay prizes at this year’s Golden Horse film awards.Adapted from the side-scroller video game of the same name, Detention interweaves high school romance with fantastical scares, as a group of revolutionary teens risk their lives in 1962 to study literary works banned by…

8. Is Singapore Social on Netflix as bad as its critics say, or are the haters really hating on themselves when they say the show (no Singlish included) is vapid and fake?

   Last month saw the Netflix release of Singapore Social. The show follows a cast of semi-famous 20- and 30-somethings in Singapore, including pop singer Tabitha Nauser, burlesque performer Sukki Singapora and fashion influencer Mae Tan, as they attend parties and imbibe fancy drinks at swanky bars.Together with the other three co-leads – actor-host Paul Foster, blockchain entrepreneur Nicole Ong and YouTuber Vinny Sharp – they flit around their Crazy Rich Asians-esque social spheres.Local…

9. The Stranded, the first original Thai series from Netflix, has more than enough suspense to keep you engaged

   More Lord of the Flies than Love Island, less Robinson Crusoe than Castaway 2007, the first original Thai series made by Netflix comes with enough suspense, supernatural twists and cliffhangers to keep viewers rooting for characters who are, mostly, just tiresome teenagers. That they turn out to be much more engaging human beings is testament to the screenwriters on the The Stranded, a rite-of-passage adventure yarn about the pupils of a prestigious island school. Just as they are about to…

10. Hong Kong martial arts cinema: Jackie Chan, in unpublished 1998 interview, talks about his hardscrabble early career

    In this regular feature series on the best of Hong Kong martial arts cinema, we examine the legacy of classic films, re-evaluate the career of its greatest stars, and revisit some of the lesser-known aspects of the beloved genre. We begin this week with a never-before-published interview with Jackie Chan during the peak of his career. Jackie Chan worked as a stuntman during the early 1970s, notably on the Bruce Lee film Fist of Fury in 1972, before working his way up to stunt coordinator and…