Reunion

"Reunion" (2013) - A NYU Tisch Asia Film, Written & Directed by Joseph Hsu.

- A family struggles to hide the demise of a family member from the matriarch during the Lunar New Year Reunion Dinner.

This is one of my favourite short films, rich in cultural context and acting. I love the last part - the revelation - delivered very delicately by Kelly Lim and Madam Low Heng Joo. This film won the Grand Prize (Student Category) in the 1st Taiwan Weifilm Festival in 2013.

I love the Tisch Asia scripts, as they are very thought provoking. Tisch Asia was the place where I learned a lot of acting from. The stories usually involve major transformations as the plot unfolds, requiring the actor to deliver a wide emotional range in a short time. A hallmark of good scripts. I wish their Asian campus is still here.

Here is the film:

This script is inspired by a true story.

Trivia: 

The Yusheng (a very Singaporean Chinese New Year raw fish salad) was prepared by my sister with the finest ingredients. It was very yummy. We finished it after the shoot.

Here is another Reunion Dinner tragic story I did ... click here.

Kungfu Yoga - Movie Review

Kung Fu Yoga is clearly a sign that Chinese movies have entered the market of big budget visuals involving multi-national co-productions, breathtaking sceneries, fast cars, fights and dashing good looking actors. 

Jackie Chan plays the part of a Chinese version of Indiana Jones, an archeology professor/treasure hunter that takes on the bad guys in exotic places  - a well tested plot.  Add that with Jackie's actions and humour and you get a sure winner.

What is most outstanding in this Jackie Chan movie is that it captured some fascinating and daring skirmishes with nature, like the dive into a deep icy lake inside a colossal cave in Iceland and the scene with lions and hyenas. The latter no doubt done together with CGI, but still it is impressive. It is probably the first Chinese movie to do so in this scale.

The dive into the icy lake is an amazing feat for any actor, let alone for Jackie, as he had a surgery just two days before the act, to realign his intestines. At 62, he is a legend,  still doing his own stunts.

Go watch Kung Fu Yoga. You will be entertained.

From Variety.com (5 Feb 2017):
“Kung Fu Yoga” dominated the foreign box office, racking up a hefty $51.4 million. The action-comedy with Jackie Chan represents the union of two of the largest film markets — China and India. It was backed by companies in both countries and has resonated with audiences in both places, grossing $177.9 million globally. 

From Firstpost.com (5 Feb 2017)
Kung Fu Yoga earned US $ 138.8 million (around Rs 940 crore) at the box office in China alone during the first week of its release. That is double the estimated cost of the film. Notably, the film’s takings are already way higher than the worldwide collections of India’s most successful film, Dangal. More importantly, it reminds us of the size of the Chinese market and the drawing power of Jackie Chan.

Trailer:

Interview 1:

Interview 2:

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Behind the Scenes:

And about the man himself - Jackie says that he is happiest when making movies.



For detailed data on the film, click here.


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For other movie reviews in this blog, click here.