SUMMARY: For avid fans of JOHN WOO’s Action films, this TWO-PARTER, after a 5-year long absence is DEFINITELY one of WOO’s EPIC BEST. So don’t miss it!
“All WARS are the same. Either you KILL or get KILLED.”
THE CROSSING is in part, a romance film, a disaster film and a war film all rolled into one. The battle cries make you wanna go home and hug Mama dearest.”
You won’t like him one single bit in the beginning.
He’s arrogant, cocksure and bullish.
Until you learn that he has A BIG HEART to match his GENEROUS SOUL.
THE GLOOM OF WAR. Pathetic.
THE DOOM OF WAR. Scary!
SHE PINES FOR HER LOVER TO RETURN SAFELY. Yet will she survive the swallowing waves in PART TWO?
MASAMI NAGASAWA and TAKESHI KANESHIRO play a doomed couple.
HUANG XIAO MING and SONG HYE-KYO play a happily MARRIED COUPLE. Will they survive the deadly storm?
SHE SCREAMS IN FEAR, FIGHTING FOR DEAR LIFE.
TONG DA WEI may be understated, but he is an accomplished actor.
” THE CROSSING 1 / 太平轮 (上) 2014″
MOVIE PREVIEW
” THE CROSSING 1 / 太平轮 (上) “ is, by all accounts, an eye-opening feature taking us through the bloody horrors of war.
You have, on dry land, the civil wars that are brewing non-stop to a broil.
Out on stormy seas, another kind of danger lurks.
It’s a no-win situation.
Either way you get to die, or be eaten alive!
THE BRIEF:
The significant date is Jan. 27, 1949. The luxury liner Taiping is fast sinking after it collides with a cargo ship near Taiwan’s Chou Shan Archipelago. Panic prevails on board.
Only a handful of 50 out of the 1,000-plus passengers is going to see the light of day. Which one of the leads will perish in the perilous waves?
We will be shown how Mao Zedong’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) closes in on the Nationalist government, peremptorily exercising mastery over the ship.(known for often making the numerous escapist trips between Shanghai and Keelung (eastern Taiwan).
It would be one of the last lifeboats ferrying escapists to freedom in a foreign country, far away from the communist rule.
Set during the turbulent war years of the 1940s, when Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) and his nationalist army flees to Taiwan after losing the civil war to the communists, the NT$2 billion (US$ 64 million) film is gracefully decked with a pan-Asian, all-star cast headed by China’s Zhang Ziyi (章子怡), Huang Xiaoming (黃曉明) and Tong Dawei (佟大為), Taiwanese-Japanese actor Takeshi Kaneshiro (金城武), Japanese actress Masami Nagasawa and Song Hye-kyo from South Korea.
Dubbed the Chinese version of Titanic, “The Crossing” is a weepie, albeit a love story — or three, to be exact, as the film zooms in to highligt three star-crossed couples fleeing China on an ill-fated ship bound for Taiwan in 1949, during the retreat of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT)
THE PLOT:
Tong Daqing (Tong Da Wei), a common soldier, meets an impoverished Yu Zhen (Zhang) over posing for a fake “happy family with baby in tow” photo assignment in Shanghai. Tong needs this photo to apply for a “food sanction” for his aged parents. Yu Zhen needs the money.
Their paths cross and quickly separate again, leaving Tong longing for a second encounter. By this time, he is in love.
Released from the prisoner-of-war camp when the war ends, Yan Zen Kun (Takeshi Kaneshiro) returns to Taiwan, only to find that his Japanese girlfriend, Noriko (Nagasawa), has been repatriated to Japan.
The final looming civil war is soon to become a dire reality. Lei Yifang (Huang Xiao Ming) sends his wife (Song Hye-Kyo) to Taiwan before departing for the frontline.
Across the Taiwan Straits, Zhou has a premonition that she might never see her husband again as he is fighting a doomed battle against the Communist Chinese army.
“The Crossing” is a magnificent project that unites three parallels to tell an epic tale of love and courage in a turbulent age.
Supported by a super duper technical crew led by top-notched Director-of-Photography Zhao Fei, the film’s graphic battle sequences brilliantly depicts the cruelty of war, and serve as a counterpoint to the characters’ longing for peace.
A combination of health issues and some difficulties winning script approval from Chinese authorities partly account for the four year hiatus.
“The Crossing,” previously known as “1949,” has subject matter that could certainly be sensitive in China: it depicts the voyage of three refugee couples from mainland China to Taiwan during the War of Liberation.
The ill-fated Taiping ferry capsized on January 27th, 1949 in the Baijie Straits.
WHO LIVES? WHO DIES?
The answers lie in Part 2.
Don’t miss this romance-amid-the-war epic.
RATING: 4 out of 5.
Local Distributor: GSC Movies
THREE-SOME?
Oh No … We are the BEST of FRIENDS. (IF you BELIEVE).
I LOVE HER, YOU LOVE HER, WE CANNOT SHARE.
SOMETHING’S GOTTA GIVE!
There’s NOTHING like a MOONLIGHT SWIM …
Far away from the madding crowd.
I feel my LOIN stirring. I feel good. Shall WE …?
GOD HELP ME!
I am TRAPPED in my own
vicious delusional WORLD!
I have a SEXY BOD, I know.
To CHOOSE between TWO SEXY HUNKS can pose a DILEMMA …
I can hear her SPIRIT crying for help.
The DEEP BLUE is where I can FORGET ALL my WOES!
” THE SWIMMERS ” ( 2014) THAI Movie Review.
Hey, if you are the type who love to ogle at pretty boys and sunshine girls, then don’t miss out on this pretty movie.
It’s crafted for the bold, brazen and arty, packaged with a wisp of raw sexuality to affix your eyes onto the cinema screen for 2 hours.
“THE SWIMMERS” is stacked with all kinds of horrors.
It is also a taut psychological thriller with twisted revelations to keep you guessing from start to finish.
The titular swimmers are two best buddies competing in the varsity swim team. They are Perth (Juthawut Pattarakamphon) and Tan (Thonphop Lirattanakhachon) .
Perth fantasizes about sex with Tan’s girlfriend called Ice (Supatsara Thanachart).
Having successfully wooed Ice, both of them set out to enjoy one torrid night of sex.
No, they did not use the rubber (condom).
Ice eventually becomes pregnant and she commits suicide by plunging down from the highest floor diving board onto the empty varsity pool below.
If not suicide, then is it murder most foul?
Because it is touted as a horror film, the female apparition eventually comes a-haunting.
The morale here is:
Please refrain from unprotected sex without using a rubber.
Should there be a leakage of sperm, you might get more trouble coming your way than you ever imagine.
The leads are not the star of this film.
Nope, the real stars of this movie are the tiny sperm, the tweeny-bit swimmers who deposit themselves inside a teenage girl creating an unwanted baby and generating consternation for everyone.
Ice’s mode of death is macabre, her body is splattered precariously at the bottom of the school’s empty swimming pool.
Suicide or murder? You guess.
For all that is worth, Perth is now guilt-and-grief stricken, despite a couple of red herrings signifying that there’s more than meet the eye, and that are other culprits .
He is haunted by the girl’s spirit nevertheless.
His buddy Tan,who is also grieving and angry, is determined to uncover the culprit who’s gotten his girlfriend pregnant. Ironically, he asks for Perth’s help.
Directed by Sophon Sakdapisit the film rocks with spooky hauntings, gore and is a nail-biter of a terrifying whodunit.
So you think the bad will be punished for his misdeed?
THE SWIMMERS will provide this answer.
And the end result will shatter your senses and leave you breathless!
It is superbly scripted with fine acting from the movie’s young trio.
Don’t miss this great movie that ends with a diabolical twist.
RATING: 4 out of 5
Local Distributor: GSC MOVIES
An Erotic Aesthetic Movie that challenges your Mindset.
“I have to be NAKED in order to romp in the Nude.”
STORY 1
(LOVE in the BUFF)
Here … You can take your revenge on the sissy now.
I have this MAGIC POTION. It really works!
“SHE” (TEDDY CHIN) LOVES TO WIGGLE”. Ayoh!
YISE LOO plays dour-faced aerobic instructor FIT and she flies into a rage whenever she sees super sissy instructor MAN (TEDDY CHIN) around.
Yet they are destined to fall in love, thanks to a magical potion.
STORY 2
(A carbon-copy SNITCH a la CINDERELLA style).
“Am I the GAL you DESIRE?”
SHE OOZES SEX APPEAL, the type that gets you wet between your legs, in your wildest dreams.
You roll into bed with one …
and you WARM UP in the arms of ANOTHER.
This is crazy love, isn’t it?
This one is a complicated case. An Ad Man YI FEI (BILLY NG) falls for the attractive model he uses to promote his product. Sexual favors in return? Then go and watch the movie.
Little does he realize that this female mannequin called KATE BABY is a computertransformation of an innocent intern KATE (KOE YEET).
STORY 3
(a lukewarm spoof a la PHANTOM OF THE OPERA)
HELL knows no fury like a woman scorned is this last story.
NINE CATS played by AENIE WONG is an author enjoying rustic serenity to write her next novel. There, at a holiday resort, she bumps into her former school day bullies. She vengefully usesher magical fountain pen to “write them off”.
OLD FLAMES collide …
but FLAMES do not always IGNITE as you can see the pic below.
Murder most foul? Go examine your mindset.
PRESS CONFERENCE
(Event Photos courtesy of JUITA VIDEN).
“I am Film Director JASON KOK … (addressing the Press, pointing to the plaque on table). Thanks for Coming …. Now allow me to ROAR!”
The enthusiastic ENSEMBLE CAST striking a Pose with FILM DIRECTOR.
EVERYONE is READY to tackle the PRESS.
Fire Away, Folks!
Cutie beauty KOE YEET and her screen hunk BILLY NG.
(From left) YISE LOO, KOE YEET, AENIE WONG.
TEDDY CHIN (Picture below RIGHT in red jacket) plays the “NAKED” Gym Instructor.
Question: Is it Possible for a super girlish man to love a female?
Just tickle the realm of your senses for your answer.
You will NOTICE that come rain or shine, KOE YEET is always beaming.
SWEET!
The comely ACTORS from the last Story (AENIE WONG, JEFFREY CHENG and DENNIS LAU) ribbing one another.
A jolly THREESOME?
Not on your Life!
Film Director JASON KOK promises us a jolly great time should we purchase a cinema ticket to watch his latest screen offering called FANTASIA.
This Malaysian movie is all about mind-over-matter.
Sure, you might laugh and cry simultaneously while you watch, he assures.
JASON KOK is a prolific director mostly on TV, whose recent ventures comprise of the award-winning AGE of Glory and THE IRON LADY to cite a few. His directing career hit off in 1996 and he has since not look back.
Lucky guy!
Let’s usher in the logline of FANTASIA:
Three extremely lovelorn damsels are seeking affection.
They are all attractive pussy cats in their 20’s to 30’s with such ridiculous names as FIT, NINE CATS and KATE.
All of them come from different upbringing and pursue differing career goals. But you can’t really tell, as great minds think alike.
Nothing is going to get in their ways in their quest for true love, each aided by magical objects such as a magical potion that can transfer you to be invisible, an image editing machine that can enhance your appearance and a fountain pen that can churn fantastic ideas into reality.
JASON the film director is looking into the avant garde genre, so he invites us to venture into his imaginary realm of sensual fantasies. He demonstrates to us that anything can happen in the mind. You just got to fantasize!
FANTASIA will bring you a breath of fresh comic air as a funny romantic comedy derailing love, sex and having to say you are sorry.
The script is as powerful as it is understated.
GO WATCH IT FOR PURE LAUGHS!
RATING: 3.5 out of 5
LOCAL DISTRIBUTOR: GSC MOVIES
