Hong Kong's Tony Leung Chiu-wai
"What a difference a day makes." Thus goes the line in a Dinah Washington song that prominently features in a 1994 Hong Kong movie that stars Tony Leung Chiu-wai. This time yesterday, I was floating on air after watching Shang Chi and the Legend of the 10 Rings, the latest Marvel superhero movie that had Hong Kong's Tony Leung Chiu-wai stealing the show. Whereas tonight had me spending time decompressing with friends and musing, among other things, about whether we would leave Hong Kong as emigrants or refugees.
The events that brought about that change of mood as well as conversation involved the arrests this morning of four leading members of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, including Chow Hang-tung, who, just yesterday, told her fellow Hong Kongers: "do not live grovelling. We should try our best to follow our conscience in our own life and space. Of course different people bear different concerns and calculations but I believe each of us still has some personal space to defend, and some work waiting at our hands."
The Alliance are suspected with "colluding with foreign forces". But the police have not furnished any evidence for their allegations and went ahead and arrested four of their key members anyways. Chow Hang-tung's arrest also has meant that she was not able to appear in court this afternoon in her capacity as a barrister to represent Gwyneth Ho, 47 activists and former lawmakers charged under Hong Kong’s national security law, who ended up cancelling her application for bail after the court decided against allowing the media to report details of her hearing.
In Ho's view, "Bail is important, but it's meaningless if it's a closed-door, unfair process." And about the best thing that came out of her having sought bail today was that Chow managed to write a document to help Ho present her case. It can be seen here and is worth a read -- if nothing else than to emphasize that the likes of Chow and Ho believe that the law is on their side and are seeking to apply the law in Hong Kong; something that many other people believe is useless and have even stopped trying to do so -- and how badly does this reflect on Hong Kong that this is so (as does the territory's increasingly high emigration numbers).
Returning to the subject of Shang Chi and the Legend of the 10 Rings: oh, for a righteous (ethnic Chinese) hero like that who can save us/the world. And in lieu of that being the case, there are people wondering for how much longer Tony Leung Chiu-wai and his ilk will want to remain in Hong Kong; this especially now when Hollywood appears ready to welcome him/them much more than circa 1997 and the future of Hong Kong cinema is appearing constricted, if not outright bleak, thanks to the new censorship laws that soon will be in place in the territory!
18 comments:
HiThere,
For these kind of action movies, how I miss those really BIG screens back in the 1970s\1980s. I have already seen this in a small cinema. Hope I could squeeze out some slots and see it again in an IMAX theatre. I missed the Suicide Squad IMAX slots owing to my odd work hours.....
And Dune is on next week.
T
Hi T --
Woah, you sound like a way bigger fan of IMAX screens than I am! Actually, I recently watched "Annette" and "This Flickering Life". Didn't care much for the former but really enjoyed the latter -- but, in truth, I reckon I'd have like the latter even if I had seen it on a smaller screen!
Have you watched "Shang Chi & The Legend of the 10 Rings"? Recommended!
Hi There,
I have already watched Shang-Chi in a small cinema just opposite home last week, on a late Sunday night slot. I just want to watch it again on a bigger screen.
Considering getting Dune's IMAX tickets ahead of time now.
T
Hi again T --
Glad you watched "Shang Chi" and are considering watching it again on a bigger screen! Re "Dune": I'm not sure yet if I'll go view it. It doesn't sound like my type of movie... ;)
Hi There,
Went to iSquare on Tuesday for the IMAX version. It had been a better experience as the screen is bigger while closer, especially only about twenty to thirty persons was in the late show that day. Strange enough, the audio was not as loud as the small MCL Ciname last time.
On Dune, checked a moment ago, the IMAX theatres are already half filled. I guess I'll have to find a later evening with fewer participents.
Anyway, based on the trailers so far, some significant changes had been done by Villeneuve. In the norval there had been many Arabic references. Herbert used 'Jihad' for the war in the saga while Villeneuve changed it to 'Crusade' (as shown in the Trailer's narative). I do not know what to expect at the moment as it is said the movie is only half of the first volumn. Anyway.......
T
Hi T --
I went off peak hours to watch "Shang Chi" too. Definitely prefer to be in a less/uncrowded cinema -- usually, and especially these days!
I'm actually not a fan of the IMAX screen for blockbusters. Years ago, I got a migraine midway through watching one of the Harry Potter films on an IMAX screen! So if I do watch "Dune", it won't be on one! :D
Hi there,
Was that the 3D version of HP? Both Shang-Chi and Dune are 2D IMAX thus less troublesome and don't have to care about a pair of polarizer specs.
Might not be able to go for the late IMAX next week owing to Mid-Autumn Festival. May have to opt for an early weekend one, provided I could get up early.
T
Hi There,
Unable to get good seat in any not crowded IMAX sessions thus went to the small cinema opposite home to watch Dune. I am not going to spoil it, but would like to mention, for those who had read the book, the essence are there. But details had been omitted, characters readjusted or simplified, even a gender swap for one major character. IMO some crucial details are actually missing. I guess this is normal for movies based on a novel.
This is my second Villeneuve movie anyway. The previous one was Arrival (which I sort of like, despite those non-linear narrative is still a bit difficult to get use to.
I have 'Blade Runner 2049' bluray disc but had not watched it yet.
T
Hi once more T --
Yes, that was the 3D version of the Harry Potter movie -- and yes, 3D *and* IMAX really was a case of sensory overload as far as I was concerned!
Re Dennis Villeneueve's films: I've only seen "Sicario" (2015). Watchable but it didn't make me think "I MUST view more films by this director"!
Hi There,
The Visual Effect is sort of OK for Dune, but story telling is not so. What's presented is much too simplified. For those who had not read the books, one could be confused. For those who had read them, it would be more complicated. Much had to be explained. The script may have intentionally omitted the organizations involved, the traditions of the groups involved. Characters had been toned down, a lot.
Say, the character Pietor de Vries, in the book, he is sort of a psychopath kind of person. He is also a Maentat (sort of a Human computer). There is no computers in the Dune Worlds owing to the Butlerian Jihad. From his sort of short screen time until his dismise I did not see any of these.
Very very complicated, even for me who had only read some of the Dune books twice. Maybe Dune is really unadoptable to cinema.
T
Hi once again T --
I had little intent to go view "Dune" before but after reading what you have written about it, I have now have zero!
Hi There,
Yes, maybe Dune is really not adaptable as a movie. The story telling format may not be right. I guess a TV series for a longer run may be more suitable for Dune. Better save the money for either the books, or the Bond movie by month end.
T
Hi T --
The Bond movie probably won't be my cup of tea either. Have you noticed that I tend to prefer watching Asian films/non-Hollywood blockbusters?
Hi There,
That I noticed. But movies like Bond's are generally for blowing off steam without too much thinking. The scripts usually have loads of hysterical one liners. They have their uses.
For more detail viewing I would usually go for discs on my desktop computer as I could pop-up English sub-titles if the accents are too difficult, or rewind\rewatch some scenes if in doubt. Chinese sub-titles sucks in the past few decades. The translators sometimes do not know what they are talking about.
T
Hi There,
Just finished my first pass on Orell's 1984. Very terrifying. Will have to go back later.
Now switched to 'Appeasement' that you recommended. At least 'Appeasement' is sort of on the History side. I have read Churchil's WWII Memoir quite a few times before thus appeared to be more at east on this, despite the unpleasant content.
T
Hi again T --
Glad you noticed my movie preferences. Re the Bond films: I used to enjoy them when I was much younger; less so now. To blow off steam, I prefer more action-packed films like Gareth Evans' "The Raid" (1 and 2). ;)
Re Orwell's "1984": yeah, terrifying. "Appeasement" is slow going initially but it gets more and more involving as you go along and can be terrifying in its own too if you're a Hong Konger reading it in 2021.
Hi There,
Went to 'No Time to Die' last night. I am not going to spoil it, but it is a good one. The only hazzard is that its run time is 2 hrs 43 minutes.
T
Hi T --
Yeah, I heard about its surprisingly lengthy running time as well as many people enjoying the latest Bond movie! :D
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