Tag: china

  • AfterElton Top East-Asian Suggestions 2010

    Dear AfterElton,

    I love that Taye Diggs topped your list of Top10 Men of Color, and that you also included Ricky Martin. Though, I still wonder… really? Eddie Cibrian? Anyway…

    I like that you tried to include 1/5 of Asians… but there’s too much Asian hotness in the world to only count Daniel Dae Kim (from Lost), and John Cho… it just makes it seem like you know two Asians in the west.

    So here is a list of Asian male that I’m pimping so you could check out for future editions. I would be more than happy (and I’m sure my friend Julz would also be happy) to contribute weekly or monthly posts of Asian hotties on AfterElton.

    So… in no particular order…

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  • Ip Man: The Movies

    Dude! Bad-ass with a heart.

    Ip Man, for the people who don’t know, is Bruce Lee’s martial arts master.

    Though, from the little info I could read on the real Ip Man, they do make him look like a total hero here. I mean, you watch the first Ip Man film [semi-biographical], and he’s painted like a real nice man who likes to spar with other martial artists. He’s just a family man, and good to everyone, but he does sure love his martial arts.

    Ip Man is the hero. He is the man, and this is a total blockbuster, but with a lot more heart. I teared up a bit in parts, and I’m not even supposed to feel “patriotic” about it. But this is not about that, right? Wow, Ip Man… or I mean, Donnie Yen can totally kick ass.

    I suspect my grandfather would have enjoyed this movie very much. My dad sure did.

    And because Ip Man 2 [pretty much not biographical] has just opened in China and some other territories (including Australia, damn those lucky SOBs xD), Ip Man has been battling it out on the box office against Iron Man. However, despite Ip Man 2 not being as good as the original Ip Man… it totally beats Iron Man 2 to a pulp… in quality, not in box office power.

    Yeah, sure. Ip Man 2 is a little bit Rocky and a little No Retreat, No Surrender — and all the many fighting movies — but I can’t deny Ip Man has a lot of heart. I mean, can’t get more patriotic than fighting to “defend all Chinese culture.” How was the line? Something like you can put me down, but not all Chinese martial arts?

    And oh man, Bruce Lee was such a total cocky child actor.

    *sighs* if he only were alive.

  • Liu Zhu Cross-dressing on Super Boy

    In the latest edition of Super Boy — the show like American Idol in China but only for guys — had contestant Liu Zhu, who’s now shot to popularity in Baidu searches after appearing on the show dressed like a girl.

    His feminine look and delicate voice made guest-judge Annie Meigui turn on the interrogation hat with questions regarding gender-testing, and even asking for Liu Zhu’s address (so that people could harass?). In the end, judge Ding Wei intervened by saying they were not there to judge his gender identity, but his talent.

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  • YAM008 for the Metal Tiger~

    Happy Chinese New Year!

    Yes, it’s your favorite movie to hate. LOL

    We’ve got a very cool issue this month, but I’m not gonna ramble what’s in it.
    Just head over here to download it and read it.

  • Why Is Avatar? – 2009 Films in Review

    I enjoyed Avatar. I did. When those flighty things were hovering on screen, I playfully stretched my arm and tried to grab one. I’m sure if it had been my first 3D film, I would have ended with a terrible headache. However, did it need a nomination? And most important, did it need winning?

    I remember on 2008, I was uncertain which film to choose as a favorite. I had loads of fun with Slumdog, and I was one of those that actually liked Benjamin Button. Obviously, there was The Wrestler, Milk, Doubt, Entre les Murs, Il y a Longtemps que Je t’Aime, The Dark Knight, Revolutionary Road, Waltz with Bashir.

    But my favorite of 2008 was Let the Right One in.

    Obviously, LtROi didn’t win anything. But still, 2008 was a great year for films. And it was a pretty good year for acting as well! With Richard Jenkins’ The Visitor (though I think this is technically 2007), and Michael Shannon’s Revolutionary Road — which I totally called for Best Supporting, by the way.

    With 2009, however, I kept waiting and waiting. Kept telling myself that studios wanted to push their films for late releases for award season. After their release, I felt mostly underwhelmed with a vast majority of films. And I have seen nearly 100 films dated 2009, and I haven’t given none of them a 9 rating on IMDb. Merely 12 of them with an 8 rating, which include (500) Days of Summer, Red Cliff Part II, District 9, Inglourious Basterds, Mother, Mary and Max, Precious, Public Enemies, Star Trek, Up, Up in the Air, Where the Wild Things Are.

    Out of 117 films in 2008, with 22 at an 8 rating. That’s double the films! LOL

    So did Avatar win because it’s a weak film year?

    Discuss. LOL

  • Experiment Awards 2009 Nominations

    Behold!

    Nominations are done!!

    It’s actually kind of exciting, even if not that many people sent nominations. However, it’s actually a really great way to hear about all these many other films that people mentioned so many times, and I knew nothing about.

    Of course, if more people had actually sent nominations, the experiment would’ve worked better. Maybe next time… so watch many more films this 2010, so you can participate next time around.

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  • Faye Wong – You Lan Cao MV for Confucius

    The video is pretty disappointingly average,
    but the song is quite good. =)

  • Best Songs of 2000-2009 – Part 4/5

    We are nearly at the end of our list of 100 Songs of the Decade~~~

    Some really great songs on this one, with loads of variety
    with music of many genres and different languages.

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  • Last batch of films seen Nov-Dec 2009

    Two months worth of films to close the year,
    let’s hope 2010 brings loads of good ones…

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  • Best Songs of 2000-2009 – Part 3/5

    We are still going backwards with this listing of songs…

    I think 2006 and 2007 marked my shift of Asian focus in music. It’s weird, I don’t think it’s about lyrics as I most often than not don’t search for lyric translations. I have just found Asian music to be more “musically” interesting than their Western counterparts.

    I once had a throughout conversation with a friend online who lives in Morocco, and is a huge fan of Asian entertainment, and has lost all notion of Western entertainment. I asked him why his interests shifted, and he told me it was because there was a point in his life where everything looked and sounded the same to him.

    Others have commented on the topic with regards of idols’ image and the degradation of the business.

    With the turn of the new decade, we will see how big the Asian entertainment industry gets. Many will be watching… I will keep an eye on this.

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