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Boston Globe
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
From ‘Flow' to ‘Apocalypse Now': Boston's week of timeless cinema screenings
It's the middle of July and, well, let's just say it's the If summer blockbusters aren't doing it for you this year, Boston cinemas play host to repertory screenings to revisit favorites: from last year's Oscar-winning 'Flow' to the aviation action film 'Top Gun,' here are Boston area screenings for the week of July 15–20. No Country for Old Men (2007) It all starts with a briefcase. When Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin) stumbles across $2 million dollars — the result of a failed drug deal — in the West Texas desert, his big break becomes his worst nightmare as both sides of the law pursue him. Good-natured sheriff (Tommy Lee Jones) and an inhumanly relentless hitman (Javier Bardem) cross paths in an endlessly entertaining three-way entanglement of justice in one of the defining Westerns of the 21st century. July 16, 4 p.m. Brattle Theatre, 40 Brattle St., Cambridge. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Rick Rossovich, Val Kilmer, Anthony Edwards, and Tom Cruise in the 1986 film "Top Gun," directed by Tony Scott. Advertisement Top Gun (1986) Before Tom Cruise was July 17, begins at dusk. Free . 410 Revere Beach Blvd., Revere. Advertisement In the Mood for Love (2000) Summer yearners rejoice: Wong Kar-wai's masterful portrait of withheld emotion returns to cinemas this week for its 25th anniversary. 'In the Mood for Love' follows Maggie Cheung and Tony Leung — two of Hong Kong's biggest stars at the time — as neighbors who learn their respective partners are in an affair, and the romantic gray zone they enter. The restoration includes a new final chapter, previously only seen at the film's original Cannes premiere. July 15-18, various showtimes. Coolidge Corner Theatre, 290 Harvard St., Brookline. Tony Leung in "In the Mood for Love 2001," the rarely-seen chapter included with the 25th anniversary restoration. Janus Films Flow (2024) A July 18, 6 p.m. Free admission, RSVP required. Kendall/MIT Open Space, 292 Main St., Cambridge. Apocalypse Now (1979) At the tail end of director Francis Ford Coppola's legendary '70s run sits 'Apocalypse Now,' a Vietnam War film about a group of soldiers sent on a mission to kill a rogue colonel (Marlon Brando) who has fled into the depths of the Cambodian jungle. As the captain (Martin Sheen) becomes consumed by his quest, he loses sight of his own humanity, and the journey down the river leads to one of the great depictions of human madness. Not bad enough? Catch the making-of documentary ' July 19, 7:30 p.m. Somerville Theatre, 55 Davis Square, Somerville. Advertisement Ryan Yau can be reached at
The Guardian
01-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
‘Joyous and uplifting': why Chungking Express is my feelgood movie
Chinese auteur Wong Kar-Wai is not a director you'd immediately seek out for a cosy feelgood experience. His films delve into loneliness, yearning and doomed love affairs, carried along by a melancholy undercurrent. Chungking Express, the story of two Hong Kong cops reeling from being dumped by their respective partners, doesn't deviate from these obsessions of his but the quirky romantic comedy also manages to be his most joyous and uplifting offering. The film has a playful energy and is brimming with offbeat humour. Tony Leung Chiu-wai and Takeshi Kaneshiro play the heartbroken policemen, both deep in denial over the end of their relationships. We watch them cope in very different ways with their heartache. Kaneshiro's Cop 223 pines outside his ex's flat, buys cans of pineapple because they were her favorite food and goes on jogs so his body has no water left for tears. One night, he comes across Brigitte Lin's mysterious femme fatale in a dimly lit bar. Decked out in a bouncy blonde wig, sunglasses and a trench coat, perpetually prepared for both sunshine and rain, she has problems of her own. Their encounter is told as a noir-style crime caper that looks at the seedy underbelly of Hong Kong complete with shootouts and runaway drug mules. The film then moves on to Leung's Cop 663, whose story combines light-hearted romance with a dash of screwball comedy. He mopes at home in his underwear after his girlfriend leaves him, giving objects around his flat a tough talking to for letting themselves go. Cantopop singer Faye Wong plays a music-loving fast-food worker, also named Faye, who develops a crush on him and tries to work her way into his heart by secretly cleaning his flat. It's an act that is less domestic servitude and more a cunning plot to change someone on a cellular level without them realising. If that all sounds too zany and affected, it's not. Chungking Express somehow manages to be both gently whimsical and beautifully profound while mining plenty of laughs even in the desolate gloom of breakup despair. All four leads are unbelievably charismatic, and watching the two couples dance tentatively around each other is an unadulterated delight. I was 16 when I first saw Chungking Express and even though I grew up in Surrey, there was something about its depiction of alienation and not quite belonging in the big city that resonated with me. Perhaps because I also felt the same way as a second-generation Chinese immigrant; my family was one of the few ethnic minorities living on a very white council estate. I would borrow arthouse films from my local library, dreaming of a more exciting life. My parents were big fans of mainstream Chinese blockbusters, martial arts epics and triad crime films. When they brought home a VHS copy of Chungking Express, they had no idea of the impact it would have on me. It wasn't so much a breath of fresh air as a neon-hued tornado obliterating everything I knew about Hong Kong cinema. Over the years, I've rewatched all of Wong's films many times. I am just as smitten by his romantic masterpiece In the Mood for Love and the moody drama Days of Being Wild, but Chungking Express is the one I return to the most. It is as effervescent as the Coca-Cola that is blatantly plugged in the film and as exhilarating as the Mamas & the Papas' song California Dreamin' that Faye plays on repeat. It never fails to cheer me up. Each and every time I'm ridiculously charmed by the sight of Leung asking a giant white teddy bear if he's been in a fight, Faye dancing behind the snack bar counter brandishing condiments like glow sticks, and Kaneshiro trying to hit on women in a bar by awkwardly asking them if they like pineapple. The film is just so incredibly sweet, so astute about our interior lives, and so stylish in a way that still feels fresh and exciting even years later. Despite the sadness at the heart of Chungking Express, watching it feels like basking in sunlight. One of my favourite lines from the film comes from Cop 223, touched by a surprise message, as he speculates: 'If memories could be canned, would they also have expiry dates? If so, I hope they last for centuries.' My love for Chungking Express will never expire. Unlike other, more straightforward feelgood movies, it doesn't shy away from depicting the rough edges of urban life and how it can leave you feeling unmoored. But it shows how there's always a chance to make a meaningful connection, hope emerging like a rainbow after the rain, scattering the grey clouds from the sky. Chungking Express is available on Max and The Criterion Channel in the US and to rent digitally in the UK and Australia
The Guardian
30-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
‘Joyous and uplifting': why Chungking Express is my feelgood movie
Chinese auteur Wong Kar-Wai is not a director you'd immediately seek out for a cosy feelgood experience. His films delve into loneliness, yearning and doomed love affairs, carried along by a melancholy undercurrent. Chungking Express, the story of two Hong Kong cops reeling from being dumped by their respective partners, doesn't deviate from these obsessions of his but the quirky romantic comedy also manages to be his most joyous and uplifting offering. The film has a playful energy and is brimming with offbeat humour. Tony Leung Chiu-wai and Takeshi Kaneshiro play the heartbroken policemen, both deep in denial over the end of their relationships. We watch them cope in very different ways with their heartache. Kaneshiro's Cop 223 pines outside his ex's flat, buys cans of pineapple because they were her favorite food and goes on jogs so his body has no water left for tears. One night, he comes across Brigitte Lin's mysterious femme fatale in a dimly lit bar. Decked out in a bouncy blonde wig, sunglasses and a trench coat, perpetually prepared for both sunshine and rain, she has problems of her own. Their encounter is told as a noir-style crime caper that looks at the seedy underbelly of Hong Kong complete with shootouts and runaway drug mules. The film then moves on to Leung's Cop 663, whose story combines light-hearted romance with a dash of screwball comedy. He mopes at home in his underwear after his girlfriend leaves him, giving objects around his flat a tough talking to for letting themselves go. Cantopop singer Faye Wong plays a music-loving fast-food worker, also named Faye, who develops a crush on him and tries to work her way into his heart by secretly cleaning his flat. It's an act that is less domestic servitude and more a cunning plot to change someone on a cellular level without them realising. If that all sounds too zany and affected, it's not. Chungking Express somehow manages to be both gently whimsical and beautifully profound while mining plenty of laughs even in the desolate gloom of breakup despair. All four leads are unbelievably charismatic, and watching the two couples dance tentatively around each other is an unadulterated delight. I was 16 when I first saw Chungking Express and even though I grew up in Surrey, there was something about its depiction of alienation and not quite belonging in the big city that resonated with me. Perhaps because I also felt the same way as a second-generation Chinese immigrant; my family was one of the few ethnic minorities living on a very white council estate. I would borrow arthouse films from my local library, dreaming of a more exciting life. My parents were big fans of mainstream Chinese blockbusters, martial arts epics and triad crime films. When they brought home a VHS copy of Chungking Express, they had no idea of the impact it would have on me. It wasn't so much a breath of fresh air as a neon-hued tornado obliterating everything I knew about Hong Kong cinema. Over the years, I've rewatched all of Wong's films many times. I am just as smitten by his romantic masterpiece In the Mood for Love and the moody drama Days of Being Wild, but Chungking Express is the one I return to the most. It is as effervescent as the Coca-Cola that is blatantly plugged in the film and as exhilarating as the Mamas & the Papas' song California Dreamin' that Faye plays on repeat. It never fails to cheer me up. Each and every time I'm ridiculously charmed by the sight of Leung asking a giant white teddy bear if he's been in a fight, Faye dancing behind the snack bar counter brandishing condiments like glow sticks, and Kaneshiro trying to hit on women in a bar by awkwardly asking them if they like pineapple. The film is just so incredibly sweet, so astute about our interior lives, and so stylish in a way that still feels fresh and exciting even years later. Despite the sadness at the heart of Chungking Express, watching it feels like basking in sunlight. One of my favourite lines from the film comes from Cop 223, touched by a surprise message, as he speculates: 'If memories could be canned, would they also have expiry dates? If so, I hope they last for centuries.' My love for Chungking Express will never expire. Unlike other, more straightforward feelgood movies, it doesn't shy away from depicting the rough edges of urban life and how it can leave you feeling unmoored. But it shows how there's always a chance to make a meaningful connection, hope emerging like a rainbow after the rain, scattering the grey clouds from the sky. Chungking Express is available on Max and The Criterion Channel in the US and to rent digitally in the UK and Australia
Yahoo
20-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Carina Lau gets fans nostalgic with recent photo with Stephen Chow
20 Jun - Carina Lau has sparked both nostalgia and speculations, after she shared a photo online of her and comedy auteur, Stephen Chow. On 18 June, the actress posted the image on Instagram of Stephen giving her a very friendly hug, writing, "Are you hungry? I'll cook some noodles for you." Fans immediately caught on, sharing how much they missed Carina and Stephen's performances in the 1996 film, "Forbidden City Cop". It is noted that the line came from Carina's character in the movie, Ling Ka Ting, who is the wife of Stephen's Ling Ling Fat. Even celebrities were excited in the comments, with Pakho Chau writing, "The most enjoyable scene" and Charlene Choi posting, "I love it so so much!!!" Others also shared their favourite scenes from the movie in the comments. At the same time, many noticed that Carina was wearing a shirt bearing the same logo that was on the wall behind them, which is the logo for Stephen Chow's upcoming movie, "Women's Soccer". Thus, the photo has now sparked speculation as to whether Carina has a cameo in the movie or that the two are planning to work together again soon. It is noted that Carina is married to Tony Leung Chiu Wai, who is also Stephen's best friend since before their showbiz days. (Photo Source: Carina IG, Stephen IG, myVideo)
South China Morning Post
12-06-2025
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
Different sides of Hong Kong shown in Tran Anh Hung's critical flop I Come with the Rain
This is the latest instalment in a feature series reflecting on instances of East meets West in world cinema, including China-US co-productions. Sometimes an outsider's perspective can tell you more about a place than you might expect. This is especially true for Hong Kong – a city of endless comings and goings – and the filmmakers who chose it as a location. Vietnamese-French director Tran Anh Hung made waves with his 1993 debut The Scent of Green Papaya, which won the Caméra d'Or at Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for best foreign language film at the Oscars. His follow-up, 1995's Cyclo, co-starred Hong Kong's own Tony Leung Chiu-wai Having established himself on the world stage, Tran attracted some big names for his fourth film, the 2009 art-house thriller I Come with the Rain, which stars Josh Hartnett ( Oppenheimer ) alongside Japanese pop icon Takuya Kimura, South Korean star Lee Byung-hun and Hong Kong's Shawn Yue Man-lok. Play
