Category: Chinese Movies&TV

The Spy Next Door 邻家特工(2010)

The Spy Next Door (邻家特工lín jiā tègōng)  is a 2010 American spy comedy family film starring  Jackie Chan   (成龙Chéng Lóng) , Amber Valletta, Billy Ray Cyrus and George Lopez. Filming started in late October in New Mexico and was finished in late December 2008. The film was released on January 15, 2010 in the United States. The film was released on DVD, and Blu-ray on May 18, 2010. The film tributes Chan's films by showing clips, references and even referencing Chan's real life childhood. 

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Chinese Film: Teeth of Love 爱情的牙齿

Set in China in the '70s and '80s, Teeth of Love tells the tale of three painful romances in the life of Qian Yehong(钱叶红 Qián Yèhóng) (played by Yan Bingyan), as a young woman and in middle age. And while the film is all about love – unlike most films set in this era, which usually focus on how China was affected socially – director Zhuang Yuxin's(庄宇新 Zhuāng Yǔxīn) take is a particularly pessimistic one: His characters are forever suffering. There are female and male protagonists – all tortured by love.

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Chinese Film: the War 战争

War is director Philip G. Atwell's Hollywood feature debut, after cutting his teeth on hip-hop music videos – experience that translates onto celluloid in the form of flying bullets, swords and fists, punctuated by dramatic explosions, fast cars, and some very beautiful women.

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Chinese Film: The Go Master (Wu Qingyuan) 吴清源

An aged Wu Qingyuan(吴清源 Wú Qíngyuán), the real-life protagonist of this movie, is pictured at the beginning of the film with his Japanese wife, Kazuko. At the age of 14 Wu moved to Japan where he embarked upon a professional career as a Go player(围棋国手 Wéiqí guóshǒu) and soon became the game's most lauded star. Even in the most turbulent years of the Sino-Japanese War(抗日战争 Kàngrì Zhànzhēng), Wu declined to take sides since his loyalty lay with the game, which he regarded as his true faith. In 1955, Wu had to stop playing after a motorcycle accident but, as the film shows, he never lost his passion for the game.

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Chinese Film: Nanking 南京

Based on Iris Chang's book The Rape of Nanking(南京大屠杀 Nānjīng dà túshā), this film-length documentary relates the terrible events that lasted for six weeks from December 13, 1937, following the entry of the Imperial Japanese Army into Nanjing(南京 Nánjīng), the Chinese capital of the time.

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Chinese Film: The Case (Xiangzi) 箱子

From young actress-turned-director Wang Fen(王分 Wáng Fēn) comes this offbeat tale of intrigue and suspense, set in Lijiang(丽江 Lìjiāng). Anyone who has experienced the tourist hell of this UNESCO-listed town may be surprised to see it quiet, atmospheric and free of hordes of people. Wang uses the old streets to lend a sense of claustrophobia to her tale.

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Chinese Film: the Park (Gong Yuan) 公园

  In recent years, the Chinese park has become a venue where concerned parents convene to discuss potential partnerships for their children. Set in a Kunming park, first-time director Yin Lichuan(尹丽川 Yǐn Lìchuān) focuses her story on this matchmaking ritual, with a delicate story of a father-daughter relationship.

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