Shu Qi

Those coming to The Assassin, the new wuxia from Taiwanese director Hou Hsiao-hsien (winner of the Best Director prize at this year’s Cannes Film Festival), expecting an all-out action martial arts fest are in for a bit of a rude surprise. There certainly is action, and it carries considerable weight in the story. But rather than glorify the violence, the weight serves to magnify its importance and emphasize its effect upon those involved.

It is somewhat amazing to think that in 2015, a fourth Transporter film (The Transporter Refueled) was released in theatres. Whether that is a testament to the franchise’s longevity or the studios desperation that make whatever money they can out of a series of films that admittedly has its fanbase but is mostly just a drop in the ocean compared to the Marvel Cinematic Universes and James Bonds of the movie world is another debate altogether.

Tai Chi Zero Directed by Stephen Fung Written by Kuo-fu Chen, Cheng Hsiao-tse and Zhang Jialu China, 2012 If you find yourself at the cinema, and you happen to have a fistful of quarters, then, by all means, go and see a discount matinee of Stephen Fung’s Tai Chi Zero. But if for whatever reason you can’t, …

Though time will only tell if Baz Luhrmann is the right filmmaker to tackle The Great Gatsby, I remain a skeptic. The material may suggest a certain grandiosity that Luhrmann has proved to be able to bring to life but the story remains fundamentally simple and down to earth. The novel is highly critical of …