the secret of kells is a 2009 french-belgian-irish animated fantasy film animated by cartoon saloon that premiered on 8 february 2009 at the 59th berlin international film festival .

it went into wide release in belgium and france on 11 february , and ireland on 3 march .

it was directed by tomm moore and nora twomey , produced by paul young , didier brunner and vivian van fleteren , written by fabrice ziolkowski , distributed by gébéka films , kinepolis film distribution , studiocanal and buena vista , edited by fabienne alvarez-giro and music composed by bruno coulais and kíla .

it stars evan mcguire , brendan gleeson , christen mooney , mick lally , michael mcgrath , liam hourican , paul tylak and paul young .

the secret of kells

the secret of kells screens sunday the 10th of february 11 . 30am @ fact
read more about the making of the secret of kells in the new york times’ feature .
the secret of kells ( amv ) | talisman ft . elena - aisling ' s song
the secret of kells is one of the most beautifully animated films of the past decade . directed by irish animator tomm moore , it’s a retelling of the origins of the book of kells .
is a fictional cat from the movie
the secret of kells
. it is the cat of aidan .
steeped in both magic and mythology , the secret of kells offers a refreshing alternative to hollywood fare .
is a fictional character from
the secret of kells
. she is voiced by christen mooney .
is a fictional character from
the secret of kells
. he is voiced by mick lally .
the secret of kells is a magical adventure unlike anything we ' ve seen on screen before .
brendan is a fictional character from the movie
the secret of kells
. he is voiced by evan mcguire .
“the secret of kells , ” well directed by tomm moore , will likely appeal to older fans of fantasy and animation .
five years after its debut , the oscar - nominated irish feature “the secret of kells” finally has its own art - of book .
abbot cellach is a fictional character from the movie
the secret of kells .
he is voiced by brendan gleeson .
looking for movie tickets ? enter your location to see which movie theaters are playing the secret of kells near you .
animat ' s classic reviews : the secret of kells ( 2013 ) ( tv episode ) reviewed , clips shown .
the irish animation studio behind oscar - nominated ‘song of the sea’ and ‘the secret of kells’ just landed an oscar winner for its next feature .
irish animator tomm moore follows his celebrated feature debut , the secret of kells , with another ravishing fantasy based on irish folklore .
the secret of kells might rush it plot , but it visuals and what it culturally shares are mesmerizing . while it ' s not a faithful historical account of the creation of the book of kells it is a rewarding visual experience .
[ … ] fairies and angels , monsters and missionaries comingle in stories and legend . his first film , the secret of kells , is a fanciful and wondrous imagining of the creation of the book of kells . his second , song of the [ … ]
the secret of kells has elements of a quest adventure and a coming - of - age story , but it ' s more beautifully stylized and astutely abstracted than the average kiddie cartoon .
urltoken beautifully drawn and refreshingly calm , the secret of kells hearkens back to animation ' s golden age with an enchanting tale inspired by irish mythology .
ireland has produced a similarly idiosyncratic and equally effective piece of cultural animation . the secret of kells is quite simply one of the most beautiful pieces of cinema ever created . criminally overlooked on release ( academy award nomination aside ) the film tells the story of the composition of the legendary book of kells , an early christian illuminated manuscript , against the backdrop of the viking invasion of ireland .
other winners at the ceremony include another oscar - nominated feature the secret of kells , and flogging molly ' s : float , which landed the best music video prize .
[ … ] we first watched tomm moore’s the secret of kells together , my kids were enthralled . we went online after the movie ended and looked at the images of [ … ]
the new animated masterpiece from the producers of kirikou and the sorceress and the triplets of belleville , the secret of kells film blends fantasy and mythology to create a richly detailed and striking visual landscape , folding traditionally celtic influences into a riot of color and detail that dazzle the eyes . hailed by international critics as one of the most beautiful films of the year and winner of the audience award at the prestigious annecy animation festival , the secret of kells has also been nominated for the academy award for best animated film .
secret of kells was directed by tomm moore and nora twomey and voice actors include brendan gleeson , christen mooney , mick laffy , michael mcgrath and evan mcguire .
if , like me , you have wearied of a steady diet of pixar and disney animation , you will be intruiged and dazzled by
the secret of kells .
the movie is . . . continue reading
strangely , the filmmakers never explain exactly what is inside the book of kells . why do you suppose that might be ? does the movie make you curious to investigate the real book of kells ?
“the secret of kells , ” directed by tomm moore , concerns the book of kells , a medieval illuminated manuscript that ranks among the most important artifacts of irish civilization . and it is only fitting that a movie concerned with the power and beauty of drawing — the almost sacred magic of color and line — should be so gorgeously and intricately drawn .
3 . about the book of kells• the actual book of kells is an illuminated manuscript of the gospels of the new testament . illuminated manuscripts were elaborately copied and decorated religious books created by monks in the early middle ages . • the book of kells was created by celtic monks sometime around the 9th century ce . in addition to the text , the book contains images of mythical creatures , humans , celtic knots , and various elaborate patterns in different colors . the book was kept at the abbey of kells for many centuries . it now is on permanent display at the trinity college library in dublin , ireland . cover of the book of kells
great observation about abbot cellach ! do you think the way he was drawn reflected the type of person he was ? how does the
lost thing
and
the secret of kells
relate to each other ? again , nicely done .
mostly hand - drawn with a few digital effects , “the secret of kells” is not only not in 3 - d — the images are so deliberately flat that they often seem less than 2 - d .
a gentle spirit of syncretism suffuses “the secret of kells , ” which mixes folklore and history without too much piety or violence . the exact nature of the manuscript — the real book of kells contains the four gospels of the new testament — is left vague . and the brutality of the faceless , relentless marauders from the north is suggested rather than graphically shown , so that the cruelty is likely to sail over the heads of very young children while giving older ones a not - too - upsetting thrill of danger .
in its refreshingly untouristy view of ireland , the secret of kells offers a third way for animators . to find originality , by all means make use of the founding myths of civilisation and the art and music of legend . just steer clear of green - lighting disney’s ‘the emerald oisle’ , starring johnny depp , with songs by u2 .
one of the experts on the manuscript bernard meehan writes
for many in ireland it symbolises the power of learning , the impact of christianity on the life of the country , and the spirit of artistic imagination . ” that ' s true for the tens of thousands of visitors who pay homage to the manuscript each year and it’s even captured the imagination of filmmakers . the secret of kells , an animated feature about a young boy’s passion for the manuscript was nominated for an oscar .
the secret of kells ( working title : brendan and the secret of kells ) is an animated fantasy feature film distributed by cartoon saloon . it premiered on february 11 , 2009 in france and belgum , march 3 , 2009 on ireland , and march 12 , 2010 in the united states . on february 2 , 2010 , it was nominated for an academy award for best animated feature , but lost to up .
of the small walled in community , abbot cellach tries to keep his nephew brendan out of trouble and focus on building the wall that will keep the vikings out . when aidan of iona finds refuge in the abbey of kells , brendan soon finds out about the secret book that aidan keeps and the mysteries out side the wall .
for those of you who haven’t heard yet… brendan and the secret of kells has been nominated for an oscar in the animated feature film category . it will be up against coraline , up ! , disney’s the princess and the frog , and fantastic mr fox . here is a link to director - animator tomm moore’s the blog of kells . most of his posts for the last year have been about the reception of the movie around the world .
[ i recommend the secret of kells for teenagers and adults . young children might be frightened by the abstract but alarming northmen , by the snake - like villain crom cruach , and by some wolves with big nasty teeth . ]
the secret of kells ( working title : brendan and the secret of kells ) is a 2009 irish - french - belgian [ 1 ] animated fantasy film by cartoon saloon that premiered on 8 february 2009 , at the 59th berlin international film festival . it went into wide release in belgium and france on 11 february , and in the republic of ireland on 3 march . it was nominated for the academy award for best animated feature . [ 2 ] [ 3 ]
families can talk about brendan as a hero . in what way is brendan ' s adventure in the secret of kells similar to other fictional quests ? who are his helpers , his mentors , his nemeses ?
10 . “ the secret of kells” : dubbed “irish anime” by some observers , “the secret of kells” offers stylized designs , sumptuous backgrounds and an exciting story that will appeal to anime fans . twelve - year - old brendan lives at the monastery of kells , guarded by its walls and under the stern eye of abbot cellach . when brother aidan arrives bearing a wondrously beautiful but unfinished manuscript , brendan realizes he wants to become an illuminator and complete it . his determination wins the friendship of aisling , a silver - haired wood fairy , and enables him to defeat the serpentine god , crom cruach .
so begins this extraordinary animated film . the secret of kells might be a rewarding choice for your family during the christmas season . it’s bursting with imagination , music , inspiring characters , and a celebration of a holy book that brings light into the darkness .
the secret of kells is available on dvd / bluray as well as on many streaming services . you can read my review of tomm moore’s second film , the song of the s ea , here at the ignatius press novels blog as well . if you want a child’s perspective on it : for quite a while the secret of kell s was my six - year - old daughter’s favorite movie , but the song of the sea has now been awarded that honor .
either this artist is the beginning of a lineage , or we don ' t know exactly who influenced his work . don ' t feel bad . while you meditate your next search , you can hear some of secret of the kells ' s most famous songs .
the book of kells isn’t the only illuminated manuscript in the so - called insular style . monks from the original monastery founded by st columba also set up other monastic communities including one on the great rock of lindisfarne in northumberland , established by the ionan monk aidan in 635 . there monks created the lovely lindisfarne gospel but the irish would claim the book of kells is the finest of its kind . the 11th century annals of ulster describe the book of kells as “ primh - mind iarthair domain ” , “the most precious object of the western world” .
that ' s the best anime film of the year , hands down , and it ' s an egregious oversight to not include it on this list – esp . when ( the wonderful ) the secret of kells was released last year , and isn ' t even anime !
in a time when many seem willing to set aside the gospel of “love your neighbor” for the sake of self - preservation , this fusion of irish history and myth seems urgent . just as the nativity itself reveals believers , pagans , and even ordinary animals gathering around the prince of peace , so the secret of kells shows the living word calling those inside and outside the walls of a church and offering them the sanctuary of grace .
suddenly , the vikings attacked . fortunately , aidan and brendan were able to escape kells .
“we’re still pinching ourselves , ” mr . moore , 33 , a self - described cartoon geek with a goatee and rectangular glasses , said in an interview in new york last week . he began working on “the secret of kells” while studying animation in college , driven by an interest in history and particularly in the ornate graphic style of the real book of kells .
when he finds a mentor in brother aidan , a renowned artist of illuminated manuscripts , his conviction “fails . ” aidan is crafting a masterpiece— the book of kells —and he needs some special berries from the forest . they’re the secret ingredient of an ink essential for the “most glorious page” of this book : the “ chi ro” page .
moore is working on a second feature film entitled song of the sea ( 2014 ) . [ 5 ] like the secret of kells , it will also be traditionally animated and will be based on irish folklore . it is currently in post - production .
we do use the celtic cross in the film ; in fact the layout of kells is based on it . i believe the celtic cross shows the merging of pagan worship of the sun god lugh and the new christian faith . the circle that holds the arms of the cross can be seen as the overlaying of the old gods on the new faith .
brendan , the young ninth - century hero in the 2007 animated feature the secret of kells , has learned similar lessons . monstrous marauders are on the march , seeking to slay anyone in their path . and the woods are full of pagan forces . stay inside , says brendan’s guardian . be safe .
« gkids came along organically as ( the organizers ) and filmmakers coming to the festival felt that some really wonderful films were not being distributed in the u . s . , » gkids prexy and nyicff co - director eric beckman said . nyicff hosted the u . s . premiere of « the secret of kells » at a special event last summer . »the secret of kells » was directed by tomm moore and backed by french - belgian - irish co - producers les armateurs , viva film , cartoon saloon and france 2 cinema .
the scale and ambition of the book of kells is incredible . written on vellum , it is estimated that the skins of 185 calves were needed for the project . practically all of the 680 pages are decorated in some way or another . on some pages every corner is filled with the most detailed and beautiful celtic designs . this is a description thought by many to be of the book of kells by the 12th century writer gerald of wales :
the film is a gorgeous reminder of the beauty of god that waits beyond our walls of fear .
the book cover design for the book of kells had to be created based on the writings on what it had looked like before it had been stolen .
the oscar animated feature race is getting crowded , with an old - school handdrawn toon ( « the secret of kells » ) and a spanish - made cg talking - critter movie ( « the missing lynx » ) pushing the category over the 16 - film submission threshold needed to support five nominations .
even in a year with a lot of unlikely oscar nominees , tomm moore is a reach . mr . moore , the director of the animated film “the secret of kells , ” grew up and still lives in kilkenny , ireland , a one - cathedral town of a few thousand people about an hour and a half south of dublin and 5 , 160 miles from hollywood .
the secret of kells is a story about a 12 year old boy who is sent on a journey to find the legendary crystal and complete the mythical book of kells . through the movie he is met with moments in which his quest is brought into question by not just his uncle but even himself . with the help of some friends he meets on the way including a little white cat and a magical little girl in the forest the story moves at a great pace and keeps the viewers interest .
2 . released in february of 2005 , the secret of kells was an irish / belgian co - production that went on to garner various nominations and awards in film festivals , including an academy award nomination for best animated feature . the film is loosely based on the story of the actual book of kells , an irish illuminated manuscript from the late 9th century . the film follows brendan , a young monk at the abbey of kells inireland , as he seeks to discover what lies outside the massive walls of the abbey , and also to help the old monk from iona named aiden complete the book he has been working on . the film was directed by tom moore , and written by tom moore and fabrice ziolkowski .
amazingly since they were written , the majority of the pages have been passed down through the generations with just 60 pages missing . but medieval sources do record that an illuminated manuscript was stolen from the stone church of kells in 1006 which is likely to have been the book of kells . according to the annals of ulster it was found “two months and twenty days” later “under a sod . ” after fighting in the cromwellian period , the church at kells lay in ruins , and in 1653 the book was sent to dublin by the governor of kells for safekeeping . a few years later it reached trinity college where it remains today .
14 . christianity continued more than a light in the darkness , the wallsthat abbot cellach construct around kells canbe seen to represent the walls that christianity builds around the dangers of the vikings and also the old beliefs , of demons and bloodthirsty spirits of the old celts .
on a less troublesome note , the secret of kells doesn’t shy away from dark material . though safe for a family audience , some of the sequences grow fairly intense , especially towards the end , when marauding vikings come a - callin’ . coupled with the slow pace , it makes the film more of a treat for adult animation fans than kids looking for a good time .
the secret of kells began development in 1999 , when tomm moore and several of his friends were inspired by richard williams ' the thief and the cobbler , disney ' s mulan and the works of hayao miyazaki , which based their visual style on the respective traditional art . they decided to do something similar to studio ghibli ' s films but with irish art . [ 15 ]
the secret of kells is a wonderful film experience . it has a unique look that might be called irish or celtic modern , and a compelling well - told story that is as charming as it is exciting . moreover the story seems quite real as opposed to the elaborate tall tales hollywood invents .
gkids picked up u . s . rights to « the secret of kells » just three days before the oscar submission deadline and plans to open the 2d toon for a one - week qualifying run on dec . 4 at the amc burbank 8 in los angeles , followed by a wider release in march 2010 .
brendan’s busy adventures load the film with a bit too much narrative for its brief running time , but the sometimes hectic plot ultimately serves as scaffolding for moore’s visual brio . using the vivid colors and delicate lineations of the book of kells for inspiration , he establishes a surprising and persuasive link between the ancient art of manuscript illumination and the modern practice of animation . like the crystal lens that is a crucial element of aidan’s craft — an enchanted eye that refracts and renews his , and then brendan’s , perception — “the secret of kells” discloses strange new vistas that nonetheless seem to have existed since ancient times .
moore’s film ( the co - director is nora twomey and the screenwriter fabrice ziolkowski ) was a somewhat surprising nominee for best animated feature at this year’s oscars , rounding out a gratifyingly diverse field . the flat , stylized drawings in “the secret of kells” complement the 3 - d flights of “coraline” and “up , ” the stop - motion inventions of “fantastic mr . fox” and the old - school cel compositions of “the princess and the frog , ” and together the five movies testified to the robustness and visual variety of animation today .
secret of kells was later nominated for an oscar for best animated feature in 2009 . but kells , produced by moore’s cartoon saloon studio in kilkenny city , was a flop at home ( recouping only €700 , 000 out of a €6 . 5m budget ) . audiences had no interest in a gorgeous animation that drilled deeply into the country’s rich mythological heritage . they would rather watch cars 2 instead .
kc : most people from abroad say it is difficult to get distribution in the us . was that the case with kells ?
gkids was aided by a “superfan , ” jamie bolio , an animator who had fallen in love with the film at edinburgh . the company essentially enabled her to be a citizen publicist , allowing her to post on “the secret of kells” facebook page and giving her 200 dvds to distribute to the los angeles cartooning industry .
hello there , and welcome ! this is an encyclopedia about everything and anything related to the best movie ever ,
the secret of kells !
we ' re having a little trouble with the articles , links , pictures and most especially the homepage , so you are free to edit or create your own articles .
it was the surprised gasp heard round the world . as oscar nominations were being handed out a few weeks ago , the animated film category got a resounding studio slap in the face when ireland ' s the secret of kells walked away with one of the five coveted slots . no cloudy with a chance of meatballs . no astro boy or ice age : dawn of the dinosaurs . instead , amongst the usual suspects from disney and pixar , along with the equally wonderful work of coraline and the fantastic mr . fox was this little known , little seen effort focusing on one of the emerald isle ' s greatest national treasures and long dead art of book illumination . don ' t think this is a case of academy voters patronizing some independent artists in their attempt to main creatively relevant within a domain dominated by the house of mouse , however . in this case , the secret of kells deserves all the accolades - and potential awards - it ' s receiving .
i’ve become positively evangelical for the secret of kells ; i delight in sharing it with friends and loved ones . the animation—from the explosive imagination of filmmaker tomm moore—is breathtakingly beautiful , the scrollwork of celtic art winding like vines all around its imagery : they make the four gospels look like a living word . the voice actors ( including brendan gleeson as cellach ) are uniformly strong , and the music is as boisterous and bold as the imagery .
13 . christianity• though the contents of the • the book and , to a large book of kells isn’t degree , christianity specifically mentioned in represent the light in the the film , certainly the darkness , the enemy artwork is heavily against the pagan intruders influenced by illuminated and the old gods that stalk manuscript . the land .
song of the sea is a beautiful film , if rather serious . it could be interpreted as a repudiation of pixar and disney , with their emphasis on cuddly cgi and “teachable moments” . as with the secret of kells , moore , instead , looks east for inspiration — to the haunting style pioneered by japan’s hayao miyzaki ( there are echoes of miyazaki’s rumination on japanese mythology , spirited away ) .
wow ! an excellently awesome cinematic surprise . secret of kells fuses stylised animation , along with brilliant storytelling . the animation is the real star . it looks so seamless and beautiful . every shot is a miniature work of art . the story itself tells a wonderful and inspiring tale about being too overprotective , and exploring the world around us . it was nice to see a film with a calm climax , like the work of miyazaki , secret of kells refuses to stick to the formulaic layout as set by disney . it ' s not all sunshine and roses here . the voice work is also incredible , with every character brought to life thanks to some real seasoned actors . a wonderful , brilliant film for all fans of animation .
moore is about to release his second full - length animation film , song of the sea , which features the voices of brendan gleeson , david rawle ( moone boy ) and singer lisa hannigan . a retelling of the ancient irish myth of the mermaid - like selkie , the film , moore hopes , will trump the lukewarm reception of the secret of kells . it arrives in ireland with wind in its sails , having been acclaimed by critics in the us , where it garlanded cartoon saloon a second oscar nomination ( edging out the hugely fancied lego movie ) .
set in a remote abbey in medieval ireland , “the secret of kells” follows the adventures of a boy — a young monk in training — as he works with an illuminator to finish the book of kells , the latin manuscript transcribed by celtic monks around a . d . 800 and considered an irish national treasure . rich with pagan myth and jungian symbolism , the movie is lavishly illustrated to mimic the perspectiveless style of pre - renaissance art : it’s not exactly lightweight fare . except for a weeklong qualifying run in burbank , calif . , a spot at the mostly british film festival in san francisco and a few screenings at festivals in new york , “the secret of kells” has not played in the united states . it is scheduled to open in new york on friday , two days before the oscars , and go into wider release around st . patrick’s day . it is mr . moore’s first feature .
in fact , the secret of kells is eye candy sweeter than most . it’s mesmerizing in its never - ending innovation and caloric in pure creativity . from a solely enigmatic standpoint , the film stands strongly with the work of their american cousins . oscar needn’t be embarrassed over including this movie among its five finalists . when compared to the commercial crassness usually coming out of the studio system , something so dedicated to celebrating art and artisans retains a great deal of its dramatic pull . certainly , some of the material is aimed directly at a demographic that responds to pretty pictures and little else . but when mixed with the mythology and cinematic majesty , it comes across as a classic . the secret of kells may have come out of nowhere to shock the motion picture establishment , but now that it’s known , it deserves it ' s proffered place .
the secret of kells got positive reviews from almost every critic . it recieved a 90 % certified
fresh
rating from rotten tomatoes with the consensus ,
beautifully drawn and refreshingly calm , the secret of kells hearkens back to animation ' s golden age with an enchanting tale inspired by irish mythology .
it recieved 35 fresh reviews and 4 rotten ones . one critic said ,
this irish feature won’t impress anyone with its character drawings , but the backgrounds remind us what stunning imagery once resulted from nothing more than a pen and all the time in the world .
another critic said ,
a glorious throwback to the more stylized , painterly work of decades past , the kind of vividly colored , fanciful pictorials that are usually confined to the small - scale realm of animated shorts .
the secret of kells is about a boy named brendan who finds out about what is outside the walls of kells , which holds deep , dark secrets that little people know . the art style of this movie i found very intriguing , with all the patterns and designs . at the start of the movie , abbot cellach appears big and mean , and wants full authority over brendan . but towards the end of the movie , abbot cellach appears caring towards his now grown up son . he is happy and appreciative to see him . brendon grows as a character throughout the movie . at the start , he is curious and adventurous , but at the end , he is responsible and mature .
the biggest surprise when oscar nomi nations were an nounced came when “the secret of kells , ” an obscure irish - french - belgian co - production , scored a nod for best animated feature , squeezing out such high - profile contenders as “monsters vs . aliens , ” “ponyo , ” “cloudy with a chance of meatballs” and “a christmas carol . ”
a former illuminator himself , abbot cellach now utilizes his talents for the purposes of designing a wall to protect the abbey of kells from invasion . he is very concerned for everyone ' s safety , especially that of his nephew brendan .
4 . about the book of kells ( continued ) • though there is no doubt that the book of kells was created by irish monks , there are 5 different theories of exactly where and when it was produced . some say it was written entirely at the older abbey of iona , and then the illustrations were added at kells . others offer that it was produced entirely at iona , and moved to kells during the viking invasions . there is evidence that the book has changed hands several times , and was possibly stolen at least once , due to some damage and missing pages . • the filmmakers use this mystery surrounding the books history to create an ending not often seen in animated films .
the illustrations and ornamentation of the book of kells surpass that of other insular gospel books in extravagance and complexity . the decoration combines traditional christian iconography with the ornate swirling motifs typical of insular art . figures of humans , animals and mythical beasts , together with celtic knots and interlacing patterns in vibrant colours , enliven the manuscript’s pages . many of these minor decorative elements are imbued with christian symbolism and so further emphasize the themes of the major illustrations .
kells abbey was plundered and pillaged by vikings many times in the 10th century , and how the book survived there is not known . the book contains the complete text of the gospels of matthew , mark and luke , and the gospel of john through john 17 : 13 . the remainder of john and an unknown amount of the preliminary matter is missing and was perhaps lost when the book was stolen early in the 11th century ad .
the book of kells is the most famous , and one of the finest of a group of illuminated manuscripts in what is known as the insular style ( celtic style ) , produced from the late 6th through the early 9th centuries in monasteries in ireland , scotland and england . it is an illuminated manuscript gospel book in latin , containing the four gospels of the new testament located in dublin , ireland .
the academy award nomination for the secret of kells hints at the film’s brilliance . that recognition came as a major surprise as the film was only seen by a handful of people in la & ny when it qualified for a possible oscar nomination . it did not open nationally until this march , but thanks to a grassroots campaign by people who have seen it , and i’m one of them , word is spreading that the film is quite extraordinary .
the secret of kells tells the simple story of the boy behind the famed book of kells . the story while simplistic enriches us with a thoughtful story . one that put forth the importance of the written word , preservation of imagination , and the essence of civilized life . the plot while revolving around christianity never gives off a christian overtone . this aspect is rightfully downplayed so it can become accessible for anyone and making it final message delivery a reflection of what most valuable in life over a promotion towards religious views . the character archetypes despite simplicity given to them keeps the viewer interested . the world , just like the characters , are lively and energetic as well somber and sullen . though it ' s not entirely flawless . the fast pace of the story doesn ' t allow development for important characters to flourish . too many instances elements are merely commented on or significant key characteristic glossed over . leaving closure on some story line to feel empty . given it ' s a film that is about 75 minutes one will be shocked by the abrupt ending that never materialize the true power of the book of kells holds .
in paris , a cat who lives a secret life as a cat burglar ' s aide must come to the rescue of zoe , the little girl he lives with , after she falls into a gangster ' s clutches .
mr . moore and mr . beckman both said they didn’t believe “the secret of kells” had a chance of winning an oscar . but in their case just being nominated really does pay dividends : in audience awareness , dvd sales and future financing . mr . moore added that he hoped he could attract other people to create an indie animation scene in ireland .
tomm moore , ( born 7 january 1977 ) is an irish illustrator , comics artist and filmmaker . he is co - founder of cartoon saloon , an animation studio and production company , based in kilkenny , ireland . his first feature film , the secret of kells , was nominated for an academy award for best animated feature film on 2 february 2010 .
the beauty of the visuals can ' t be overstated in this absolutely lovely piece of animated storytelling .
hand - drawn animation has all - but disappeared from the american movie world . tomm moore seems determined to show the unique possibilities of the genre . the perspective of the world in the secret of kells is flattened , as if all of the action were playing out upon a literal page . the character design and backgrounds are inspired by celtic illuminations and art ; the motion suggested by the intricate knotted and scrolling artwork in the book of kells is here interpreted on screen in animated form unlike any other movie i’ve seen . moore knows just how to subvert expectations and break the conventions of traditional animation in order to give freshness and newness to 2d animation . despite being discarded in favor of 3d computer animation by most studios , traditional hand - drawn still has the ability to make you gasp in wonder , especially when handled by such a masterful director .
“we scratched our heads and said , ‘what is the best way to get this film a nomination ? ’ ” said eric beckman , the president of gkids , the four - person company that bought the rights to distribute “the secret of kells” in the united states just days before the oscar nomination forms were due . “do we need to take out big ads in variety to reach the 100 or so people in this committee ? it seemed like a viral word - of - mouth campaign would be more successful . ”
these manuscripts also happen to be the obsession of the movie’s hero , brendan ( voiced by evan mcguire ) , an orphaned pre - teen novice at a monastery in kells , ireland .
production began in 2005 and eventually included 200 people across five countries ; to cut costs , the animation was done in batches in france , belgium , brazil and hungary . his pan - european partners include didier brunner and viviane vanfleteren , who produced “the triplets of belleville” — the sales boost it got from its oscar nomination in 2004 helped finance “the secret of kells” — and fabrice ziolkowski , a french writer who helped develop the screenplay .
completely agree with everything said above . replace naruto with summer wars . naruto has its good points , but summer wars completely would blow that out of the water . and i have no idea what secret of kells is doing on here , failing in two respects : 1 ) last year . 2 ) not anime . animation , yes . japanese animation , no .
cinema sunday’s animation presentation in august is the wonderful irish / french / belgian co - production the secret of kells , a lavishly rendered , painstakingly hand - drawn interpretation of celtic lore . irish animator and illustrator tomm moore dreamt of making this film since his college days ; in 2009 his gorgeous vision was finally realized . inspired both by celtic myth and the famous book of kells , an illuminated manuscript from medieval times that is one of ireland’s treasures , the film tells the story of brendan , a young boy living in the dark ages . coming under the tutelage of a master illuminator , he embarks on a dangerous quest to help complete a magical book and bring light back into his world . the secret of kells has been much admired by critics and audiences alike , and has garnered awards and accolades rarely received by independent films , including an academy award nomination for best animated feature . come join us for a film rich in history and folklore , with a haunting , highly distinctive visual style hailed by variety as “refreshingly different” and “absolutely luscious to behold . ” colour , blu - ray disc , english , 75 mins .
when it was time for the film’s qualifying theatrical run , gkids booked a theater in burbank near many animation studios . mr . moore did one q & a for a roomful of about 60 people , which included some top designers and executives — and academy voters — in the field . the support for “the secret of kells” became clear when it was nominated for an annie , an industry award , among the few independent films ever to do so .
11 . abbot cellach • a former illuminator • abbot cellach now uses his talents for the purposes of designing a wall to protect the abbey of kells from invasion . he is very concerned for everyones safety , especially that of his nephew brendan , to the point where he thinks of little else but the completion of his wall . eventually , this leads to his downfall .
although the characters , fantasy elements , and plot specifics of this movie are fictional , there is a real
book of kells
, an illuminated , heavily illustrated rendering of the four gospels of the christian bible , that dates from the early medieval period ( probably the early eighth century ) in ireland . the best historical and archaeological evidence suggests that , starting shortly after it was finished , the book was moved several times ( including , as depicted in the movie , during an viking invasion ) and lost for various periods . it has been housed at the library of trinity college , dublin , since the seventeenth century , and is considered perhaps the single most valuable cultural artifact of irish history that has ever been discovered . some of the design concepts for the movie echo aspects of the original book of kells ; for instance , the shapes of the repeated tree patterns as brendan enters the forest are quite similar to the arrangement and shapes of the columns and arches in the
eusebian canons , folio 5r
page of the real book . see more »
kells has a decidedly pleasing - to - the - eye , retro - cartoon vibe ( . . . ) an intriguing and rare artistic subgenre
talk about the difference between the views of abbot cellach and brother aidan . whose way of looking at the world is wiser ?
“we didn’t think we’d get it — the numbers didn’t stack up . the lego movie was in there and that was going to win . with the secret of kells , we had no idea how things worked in la . this time around , i was able to gauge the temperature . i spent a lot of time going to studios , showing song of the sea , shaking hands . i’m a member of the academy [ of motion picture arts and sciences ] and , although precluded from voting , i could go to the screenings [ of rival films ] . i came back to the lads and said , ‘i can’t see us getting a nomination’ . ”
set in medieval ireland , the secret of kells follows 12 - year - old brendan ( voiced by evan mcguire ) , who lives with his uncle abbott cellach ( brendan gleeson ) , a monk who runs the abbey of kells . the abbott is focused on fortifying kells from the imminent threat of a viking invasion , and he expects all the brothers and his nephew , to work on defending the abbey . life for brendan changes dramatically when the renowned master illuminator brother aidan ( mick lally ) arrives in kells with an incomplete illuminated manuscript . fascinated , brendan begins to disobey his uncle to help brother aidan find the right ingredients for ink , and in time discovers that he himself has a talent for illumination . as the barbarians advance closer and closer , brendan embarks on a quest to find a special crystal needed to finish the book . with the help of a beautiful fairy / wolf girl named aisling ( christen mooney ) , brendan enters a nearby enchanted forest , where he must face an ancient serpent god to find the crystal , return to the abbey and finish the sacred text .
mick lally as brother aidan ; as the vikings attacked the scottish island of iona , master illuminator brother aidan fled with his cat , pangur bán . in kells , he acquires brendan as an assistant .
the secret of kells resembles nothing else on the market : a fascinating , surreal exercise in pure artistic design . it uses a semi - mythical irish legend as its basis , then springboards into a full - bore meditation on the fragility of knowledge and the uneasy truce between nature and civilization . in medieval ireland , a conclave of monks works to “illuminate” ( transcribe ) valuable books filled with precious information . they also build a massive wall to keep out viking invaders , aided by a growing village of displaced peasants fleeing the barbarian onslaught . a young abbot named brendon ( voiced by evan mcguire ) has grown up in the monastery and seen nothing of the world beyond . he longs to visit the nearby woods , but his stern uncle ( voiced by brendan gleeson ) forbids it . the arrival of a wizened old monk—and the priceless book of kells which he carries—prompts the boy to defy his uncle’s orders , thus marking the beginning of a grand adventure .
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brendan gleeson as abbot cellach . a former illuminator himself , abbot cellach now uses his talents for the purposes of designing a wall to protect the abbey of kells from invasion . he is very concerned for everyone ' s safety , especially that of his nephew brendan , to the point where he thinks of little else but the completion of his wall . eventually , this leads to his downfall .
the plot : brendan is a twelve - year - old boy being brought up in the walled abbey of kells by his uncle , the stern abbot . the threat of invasion by norsemen hangs heavily over the community . the abbot leads the way as monks and laymen work feverishly to build a wall to keep invaders out . outside the abbey there are hints that the dark side of irish paganism may not be altogether banished from the land .
one summer a few years ago i stayed in student rooms in trinity college . although the accommodation was rather spartan with the traditional blue tack scars on the walls , it was so atmospheric to be able to wander around the old buildings of the dublin university long after all the tourists had gone . best of all was the chance to visit the book of kells as many times as i wanted . ( the library displays a different page each day . ) these illuminated manuscripts are one of the wonders of medieval europe .
dave jesteadt , director of distribution for gkids , the film’s us distributor , told me , “we could not be more thrilled at how the secret of kells has been building grassroots support and intense enthusiasm among those who have seen it , particularly in the animation community . the fans have really embraced the film , and the oscar nomination is certainly a result of this hard work and community spirit , which shows a viable alternative to the huge budgets spent on typical award campaigns . the nomination also ensures that a much wider audience will get to see the film , which is really all we ever hoped for . ”
the tomatometer score — based on the opinions of hundreds of film and television critics — is a trusted measurement of critical recommendation for millions of fans . it represents the percentage of professional critic reviews that are positive for a given film or television show .
aisling is a wolf girl and fairy , related to the tuatha de danann , living in the woods outside of kells . she is a protector of the forest , and doesn ' t like unwelcome guests . at this point her age is uncertain , but she is likely to be hundreds of years old .
the song of the sea is a children ' s film that adults will find compelling because of its emotional depth .
it’s a shame then that the level of invention in the visuals doesn’t wholly match the meaning in the narrative . the secret of kells is simplistic in its message , measuring out clear cut lessons in ways that even the youngest viewer would plainly recognize and welcome . brendan is , in general , forced to defy authority to meet his predestined fate . nothing new there . he communes with nature ( in the form of aisling ) in order to gain a greater wisdom of the world around him . uncle cellach dedication to the albatross which is the wall reveals his inherent weaknesses while the other monks tend to represent elements of life ( brains , brawn , belligerence ) that really does little to deepen the mystery . still , it’s enough to tie moore and twomey ' s brilliant work on , supportive of scenes so stunning they melt the onscreen sky and redecorate the very fabric of the organic plane presented .


cold war 2 is a 2016 hong kong-chinese crime thriller film written and directed by longman leung and sunny luk .

the film is a sequel to the 2012 box office hit , cold war , and stars returning cast members aaron kwok , tony leung , charlie young , eddie peng , aarif rahman , ma yili and alex tsui , joined by new cast members chow yun-fat , janice man , tony yang and bibi zhou .

cold war 2 was released on 8 july 2016 in 2d , 3d and imax 3d .

cold war 2 ( film )

cold war 2 寒战 2 - final trailer - opens in sg 08 . 07
• cold war 2 opens in cinemas tomorrow . look out for interviews with cold war 2 stars aaron kwok and eddie peng on saturday .
eddie peng yuyan in
cold war 2 .
( wellgo usa entertainment )
hksar film no top 10 box office : [ 2015 . 12 . 09 ] cold war 2 wraps up production
crime thriller , “ cold war 2 ” has become the highest grossing chinese - language film of all time in hong kong .
looking for movie tickets ? enter your location to see which movie theaters are playing cold war 2 near you .
cold war 2 is produced by hong kong ' s edko films , and is slated for a july 2016 release .
longman leung and sunny luk , the directors of
cold war 2 ,
have expressed their gratitude to viewers for the good reception of the film .
taiwanese actor tony yang , who plays a cop - turned - mercenary , is another new addition to the cold war 2 cast .
cold war 2 is competently plotted , tautly edited and superbly acted across the board . this is a political thriller that deserves the billing .
actors of cold war 2 ( from far left ) eddie peng , chow yun fat and aaron kwok at the press conference on tuesday .
cold war 2
has been one of the most talked - about films following its announcement . it is the continuation of the 2012 film released under the same name .
dubious claims of municipal safety aside , ' cold war 2 ' is a smart blockbuster that showcases the best of mainstream hong kong cinema today .
summary : dubious claims of municipal safety aside , cold war 2 is a smart blockbuster that showcases the best of mainstream hong kong cinema today .
' cold war ' was the top - grossing hong kong film in 2012 and took $ 40 million at the chinese box office .
i do not like ending of the cold war . well , because they want a sequel .
train to busan has now eclipsed the hk $ 66 . 2 million box office takings of hong kong crime thriller cold war 2 to become the highest - grossing asian film in hong kong cinema history , and sits at 16th on hong kong’s all - time box office chart .
in cold war 2 , chow , 61 , plays councillor kan , a powerful lawmaker who resists being made a pivotal pawn in a high stakes game of political maneuvering .
dc entertainment , dceu , diana prince , gal gadot , patty jenkins , questions , steve trevor , the cold war , warner bros . , wonder woman , wonder woman 2
cold war 2
features the original cast of the first film including aaron kwok , who played the lead role of sean lau , and tony leung , who played the part of kwok ' s rival , waise lee .
if cold war 2 ' s complex plot confuses you , rest assured that you are not alone - the stars of the new police thriller say they were equally puzzled over the storyline .
2 . avengers : age of ultron ( hk $ 133 . 1 million )
6 . transformers : age of extinction ( hk $ 98 . 2 million )
fat gor will reportedly star as the main villain in cold war 2 , engaging in battles of wits with aaron kwok , tony leung , and new cast member , kenneth tsang ( 曾江 ) .
hong kong superstar chow yun - fat has joined the cast of cold war 2 , the sequel to the 2012 award - winning blockbuster that took in $ 40 million at the chinese box office .
now comes “ cold war 2 , ” which may be incomprehensible for those unfamiliar with the original , but it is a summer sequel worth its salt , a brisk exercise in suspense and high - gloss mayhem .
it ' s comforting to know that hollywood isn ' t the only place that produces needless sequels to box - office hits . case in point :
cold war 2 ,
the underwhelming follow - up to hong kong ' s highest - grossing domestic film of 2012 .
the film cold war 2 ( hong jin 2 ) earlier wrapped up production . the team shot on the overpass outside the wanchai police headquarters early in the morning . in the scene gordon lam ka tung who passed away in the previous film received a honorary funeral . almost 300 extras played police officers and marching band members . the team was present at 4am to prepare and rehearse in order to coordinate with the 6am morning sun .
hong kong superstar chow yun - fat ( “crouching tiger , hidden dragon” ) will star in “ cold war 2 , ” the sequel to the 2012 action thriller , which saw police under siege , and betrayed by a mole .
reviewed at shanghai film festival ( opener ) , june 11 , 2016 . running time : 110 min . original title :
hon jeen 2 .
sleek cinematography , perky editing and several stunning locations enliven the proceedings , but a finale that telegraphs
cold war 3
is disheartening .
the movie continued to thrive in the box office throughout the whole weekend in china .
cold war 2
earned $ 44 million in the country since its opening , and finished on the number one spot in the weekend box office .
15 . harry potter and the deathly hallows : part 2 ( hk $ 76 . 8 million )
according to production details on a sequel obtained by screenrant ,
wonder woman 2
may take place in the 1980s , amid the cold war . the shocker , though , is that chris pine ' s steve trevor may return , despite his heroic and sacrificial feat at the end of the first film .
with the first cold war and last year’s helios , luk and leung risked becoming synonymous with the clunky one - liners and pompous terrorist plots that peppered their first two features . but though cold war 2 fails to provide closure – yet again – it is at least far more competently plotted and tautly edited , and superbly acted across the board . this is a political thriller that deserves the billing .
on the other hand , in china ,
cold war 2
is said to have bagged $ 15 million on its opening day . the movie is now considered the highest - grossing crime thriller in china , and is also the first film under its genre to surpass $ 15 million mark , according to jaynestars .
although it has been 18 years since chow yun fat last worked on a hong kong film , the actor is still highly supportive of hong kong’s local productions . he is a regularly supporter of tvb dramas and was a vocal supporter of cold war when the film opened in november 2012 . fat gor praised cold war’s script and aaron’s improved acting , also expressing that he hopes to have a chance to work with aaron again soon .
the story of cold war 2 will kick off after the end of the first film . aaron kwok will return to star as dcp sean lau , who is now promoted to commissioner of police after the success of the cold war rescue operation . the main villain – who was briefly mentioned in the first film – returns to the scene to kidnap sean’s wife and daughter . sean convinces former rival , the retired dcp of operations officer waise lee ( tony leung ) , to return to his post to help sean solve the tricky kidnapping case .
as we will see , film critics performed a very similar operation in readings of dozens of films as blacklist or cold war allegories . these films cut across a wide range of genres and cover the entire gamut of the political spectrum . yet they all share at least one thing . they rely on a similar set of events to heighten and strengthen the analogies drawn between the film ' s dramatis personae and the totems of cold war political culture .
produced by hong kong’s edko films , it is written and directed by sunny luk and longman leung . the first “cold war , ” in 2012 , was hong kong’s top grossing film that year and went on to win 9 major prizes at the hong kong film awards , including best picture .
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slow to heat up yet quick to burn out , police procedural - thriller “cold war 2” dramatizes internal strife and conspiracy among hong kong’s police force and ruling elite , adding some new twists in a narrative framework that ultimately can’t support the film . still , directing duo longman leung and sunny luk do an admirable job walking the [ … ]
crime thriller , “cold war 2” has become the highest grossing chinese - language film of all time in hong kong . the film has grossed us $ 8 . 48 million ( hk $ 65 . 8 million ) after 24 days on release in its hong kong home territory . it overtook previous record holder , the taiwanese - made “you are the apple of my eye . ” including results from mainland [ … ]
cold war , about the hijacking of a police car and the attempt to regain control of it , was the highest - grossing hong kong film in 2012 , taking in $ 5 . 8 million in local box office . it garnered nine awards at the hong kong film awards , including best film , best director , best screenplay and best actor for leung ka - fai .
when discussing about the possible topics to explore in cold war 2 , sunny luk explained that the sequel will explore the answers to questions that were previously left hanging in the first film . he said , “the first film had three major pending questions , which will all be answered in the sequel . one – the sequel will uncover who the main villain is , the leader who was behind the hijacking case in the first film . two – the sequel will explore the backgrounds of the hijackers ; and three – the film will explain what the md57 document was . ”
this film is about two deputy commissioners of police dealing with the mysterious disappearance of a police car along with its five police officers .
cold war
wastes no time in building up suspense and thrill . within a minute we already have an explosion in the middle of the most popular hang out place in hong kong . after that , the action never stops . the plot is very fast paced , it twists and turns in unexpected directions every few minutes . it is so engaging , the story is so grippingly told , that i was completely transfixed . my mind was blank with no distracted thoughts . i was simply in awe throughout the film .
cold war
is so brilliant , from the intelligent plot , the star studded ensemble , the intense action , beautiful cinematography and great acting . everything about
cold war
is outstanding . i have heard great things about
cold war
. not only does it live up to its expectations , it certainly surpasses every single praise i have heard . in fact ,
cold war
is undoubtedly , undeniable the best hong kong film i have ever watched . i never even imagined hong kong cinema can be this excellent . words fail to describe how outstanding
cold war
is . i unreservedly recommend this film to anyone .
made in hong kong by local creators and featuring some of hong kong cinema’s brightest luminaries over the past few decades , cold war 2 is undoubtedly a homegrown triumph . despite suffering top - down pressure from the hinterland ( a state of matters subtly hinted at in the film ) and competition from a certain southeast asian island nation , the flame of hong kong cinema still burns as bright as ever , if this film is any indication .
kwok , who reprises his cold war ( 2012 ) character of the hong kong commissioner of police in the sequel , said half - jokingly with a laugh :
i , too , didn ' t really understand anything in this film .
while the story may seem heavy handed for some , cold war 2 keeps from drowning in its own narrative by using great set pieces and action to balance out it ' s pace . for all the great tension building that is presented keeping you constantly guessing the motives behind the main characters in the film , it is the dynamic action that keeps you on edge .
4 . captain america : civil war ( hk $ 113 . 5 million )
once in a blue moon , a scrappy film comes along to win over the world and mystify its few detractors . never known for being an ornery contrarian , this critic was one of the few people who weren’t at all convinced by cold war , the highest - grossing hong kong film in 2012 and the winner of nine prizes at the hong kong film awards , including , astoundingly , best picture .
to this , taiwanese hottie eddie peng , who plays a villainous ex - policeman in the film , piped in :
that ' s why you have to watch this , and then watch cold war 3 in the future to figure things out .
the first “ cold war ” was the highest grossing hong kong film of 2012 , earning us $ 5 . 78 million ( hk $ 44 . 9 million ) at the local box office and us $ 40 million ( rmb253 million ) in china .
the film has grossed us $ 8 . 48 million ( hk $ 65 . 8 million ) after 24 days on release in its hong kong home territory . it overtook previous record holder , the taiwanese - made “you are the apple of my eye . ” including results from mainland china and other territories , “ cold war 2 ” has a global cumulative of $ 115 million to date .
slow to heat up yet quick to burn out , police procedural - thriller “ cold war 2 ” dramatizes internal strife and conspiracy among hong kong’s police force and ruling elite , adding some new twists in a narrative framework that ultimately can’t support the film . still , directing duo longman leung and sunny luk do an admirable job walking the tightrope of servicing the mainland market while making an eloquent defense of the former british colony’s benchmarks , namely rule of law and clean governance . “cold war” was hong kong’s highest grossing domestic film in 2012 ; the sequel’s stellar cast has helped secure sales to nine asian countries , but it’s probably heading for middling business in china .
it also dominated the hong kong film awards , collecting nine prizes including best film , best director , best screenplay and best actor for tony leung ka fai .
china envoy seeks to defuse tensions with u . s . as a trade war brews
without the lingering goodwill from the first flick , this overcooked sequel would have left me totally cold .
the directors let on that the first movie’s beloved bad boy joe lee , played by taiwanese actor eddie peng , 33 , gets even more screen time . “when cold war 2 opened the shanghai international film festival , and eddie’s chillingly bad boy was unveiled , the ladies kept screaming for him . it turns out that girls simply love seeing him play a bad boy , ” the two directors laughed .
brushing off rumours that they waited four years to make cold war 2 just to work around a free spot in chow’s busy film schedule , the two explained that it was because they took a longer to develop the script . “the script was nine months late . but , a good script takes time . with a cast like that , we could not simply dash out a script , ” said luk .
set during the 1980s , the film will send diana against the forces of soviet union in the closing days of the cold war . the production team is expected to remain on board for the sequel , with confirmation that geoff johns is developing wonder woman 2‘s script with jenkins ( who is still in negotiations , with all evidence and word of mouth pointing to her return once the contracts are signed ) .
the new crime thriller
cold war 2
won the weekend box office competition in china and hong kong . the movie reportedly earned $ 690 , 000 on its opening on july 8 , beating stephen chow ' s
mermaid ,
which garnered $ 670 , 000 when it opened during the lunar new year holiday .
rounding out the five highest - grossing asian films in hong kong , after train to busan and cold war 2 , are you are the apple of my eye ( hk $ 61 . 9 million ) , kung fu hustle ( hk $ 61 . 3 million ) and shaolin soccer ( hk $ 60 . 7 million ) .
a hit in hong kong , the 2012 crime film “cold war” went straight to video in the united states — too bad because it’s a tense , engaging thriller that deftly plays with a template partially established by “ infernal affairs , ” an influential genre exercise that appeared in 2002 .
cold war 2
broke records in the hong kong and chinese box offices , earning more than $ 600 , 000 on friday , and later taking home an estimated amount of $ 970 , 000 in hong kong on saturday . the movie surpassed yet another one of stephen chow ' s films ,
kung fu hustle .
movie news , screening invitations and reviews from the world of independent film and beyond .
besides its impressive box - offie haul , cold war was also the biggest winner at the 2013 hong kong film awards , bagging nine awards : best picture , best director , best screenplay , best actor ( for tony leung ka fai ) , best new performer ( alex tsui ) , best editing , best sound design , best visual effects , and best original film score .
hong kong media reported that william kong ( 江志強 ) , the producer of cold war , has an interest in inviting chow yun fat to portray the film’s main villain . kenneth tsang was also cast to portray tony leung’s father , who will have a secret connection with chow yun fat’s character .
cold war 2 , which opens in cinemas tomorrow , picks up from where the first movie left off , with peng ' s villainous ex - cop character behind bars for kidnapping police officers . however , kwok ' s character receives a mysterious telephone call demanding that he release peng ' s character , or his wife and daughter will suffer the consequences .
[ 2015 . 12 . 24 ] donnie yen promotes his new film with . . .
with its cast of hong kong cinema’s finest , the film makes an engrossing spectacle of how public servants – including those at the very top level – could be corrupted by power . while not exactly meant to reflect the public’s more ambivalent sentiment towards the police force in these post - occupy times , cold war 2 makes a point of pillorying politicians who exploit the legislature and the police force to purge their opponents . still , it can get awfully conceited at times .
the director announced after the wrap , actors sing sing and charlie yeung choi nei immediately went from actors to photo opportunity targets . then sing sing worked on an additional shot . after that , the directors and the boss gave sing sing a champagne surprise for a
finale wrap
. sing sing said ,
i hope soon there will be cold war 4 , 5 , 6 and break the most films in a series record , exceed the wong fei hung film series . even in cold war 20 , at age 80 i would still be working !
he said that this time in comparison to cold war , he had better chemistry with the entire team and tony leung ka fai . he was also happy about fat gor ' s addition .
[ 2015 . 12 . 26 ] cantonese film era star tsi law lin p . . .
[ 2015 . 12 . 04 ] steven ma ' s film wins international f . . .
according to screenrant , the sequel will see diana prince battling the soviet union in the dying days of the cold war – after her first solo outing saw the dc comics hero fighting in the trenches of the western front .
whereas the first film pitted rival police departments against one another , cold war 2 sees law enforcement go up against the city’s legislature as lau is reprimanded for his actions , with independent litigator oswald kan ( chow yun fat ) brought in to oversee the hearings . the situation is further muddied when lee is cajoled into returning to work by former commissioner choi ( chang kuo chu ) , whose shady cadre of power - mongers want lee to replace lau in their planned political reshuffle .
hong kong superstar chow yun - fat ( “crouching tiger , hidden dragon” ) will star in “cold war 2 , ” the sequel to the 2012 action thriller , which saw police under siege , and betrayed by a mole . production recently began with co - directors longman leung and sunny luk again at the helm . also returning are major cast members aaron kwok , tony [ … ]
“cold war” ended with m . b . turning in renegade son joe ( eddie peng ) for orchestrating the disappearance of an armored police van . as in the original , “ cold war 2 ” conspicuously extols hong kong as “asia’s safest city , ” yet the events that unfold suggest it’s any but , starting off with a hostage crisis that goes terribly wrong on a crowded subway , with new police commissioner sean humiliatingly handcuffed to a bomb . it’s all an elaborate stunt to get joe out of prison , and sean’s leadership is called into question by an investigative committee appointed by the legislative council ( legco ) .
2 . glittering generalities -
the propagandist identifies his program with virtue by use of ' virtue words , '
such as truth , freedom , justice .
the undead have come spectacularly alive in hong kong cinemas : train to busan has taken more than hk $ 66 . 3 million in its first 34 days in cinemas , making it the most watched asian cinema release in the city’s history – beating every chinese - language film ever shown . not only that , it has become the biggest - selling zombie film in hong kong history , eclipsing world war z , which took in hk $ 46 . 2 million .
although framing effects are evident in individual interpretations of specific films , other cognitive biases and heuristics are evident in the collective work of the critical community . as i noted earlier , the development of particular interpretive strategies in relation to cold war - era cinema took place over time . appearing around the same time as a more general rapprochement with the blacklist era , these critical commentaries contributed to the elaboration of a specific reading formation that allied cold war cinema with allegorical expression . after the establishment of a small group of canonical cold war allegories , such as the crucible and high noon , later critics who engaged in this critical enterprise relied on the availability heuristic to expand the category to include other members .
starring : aaron kwok , tony ka fai leung and yun - fat chow cold war 2 official trailer 1 ( 2016 ) - aaron kwok movie rival police chiefs clash in the streets and station after a killer makes a desperate escape . subscribe to indie & film festivals : urltoken subscribe to trailers : urltoken subscribe to coming soon : urltoken like us on facebook : urltoken follow us on twitter : urltoken you ' re quite the artsy one , aren ' t you ? fandango movieclips film festivals & indie trailers is the destination for . . . well , all things related to film festivals & indie films . if you want to keep up with the latest festival news , art house openings , indie movie content , film reviews , and so much more , then you have found the right channel .
an article on nov . 25 about the film director oliver stone misidentified the television network that originally broadcast the british documentary “the world at war” in 1973 - 74 . it was itv , not the bbc .
it has been 18 years since chow yun fat ( 周潤發 ) has last starred in a hong kong film . yesterday , the hong kong media reported that the international star is considering to star in sunny luk ( 陸劍青 ) and longman leung’s ( 梁樂民 ) upcoming sequel to their successful 2012 crime thriller , cold war < 寒戰 > .
2 . the problem of recalcitrant data ( i . e . , how to adjust one ' s critical concepts and methods to the specific features of the text )
( 梁家輝 ) , has been a massive box office success . the film is currently the highest - grossing local film in hong kong , grossing over $ 43 million hkd in the hong kong box office .
thankfully , the writer - directors offset these scenes of confrontation over procedural anomalies by staging numerous sequences of high octane action in public places . whether it be a bomb scare in a crowded mtr station , a shootout in a subterranean highway tunnel , or an explosive stand - off in an isolated scrapyard , the action in cold war 2 - again overseen by chin ka lok - is far superior to its predecessor .
the first cold war ended on somewhat of a cliffhanger , with an unknown perpetrator threatening the lives of police commissioner sean lau’s ( aaron kwok ) wife and daughter . barring a brief interlude to mourn fallen colleagues , cold war 2 begins right where its predecessor left off , with worst - son - of - the - year joe lee ( eddie peng ) once again up to his old tricks . when lee junior escapes police custody , dear old dad waise lee ( tony leung ka fai ) is brought back into the fold after enjoying a scant two days of pre - retirement leave . as if the return of his old rival wasn’t enough , sean is also targeted by his enemies within the police force for the fiasco that was operation cold war . with his family in danger and an impeachment looming , sean has to marshal his allies to discover who is really pulling the strings behind the scenes .
it should be difficult to keep track of who everyone is and what they’re doing , but cold war 2 ’s plot is so taut and its use of its numerous characters so economical that one rarely feels lost even as new faces and plot twists continue to bombard the screen . directors sunny luk and longman leung also served as the film’s screenwriters , and they appear to have a very clear picture of what their endgame is , picking up loose threads from the first film and introducing new ones with adept perspicacity . this reviewer watched the first film shortly before the second one , and was amazed at how neatly everything adds up . if some questions are still unresolved , that’s only because luk and leung are looking ahead to the upcoming third instalment .
an article on nov . 25 about the film director oliver stone misstated the name of the city in spain where his latest film , “savages , ” was screened . it was san sebastián , not st . sebastián .
list of illustrations list of tables acknowledgments introduction : what more can be said about the hollywood blacklist ? 1 . a bifocal view of hollywood during the blacklist period : film as propaganda and allegory 2 . i was a communist for rko : hollywood anti - communism and the problem of representing political beliefs 3 . reds and blacks : representing race in anti - communist films 4 . stoolies , cheese - eaters , and tie sellers : genre , allegory , and the huac informer 5 . the cross and the sickle : allegorical representations of the blacklist in historical films 6 . roaming the plains along the “new frontier” : the western as allegory of the blacklist and the cold war 7 . loving the alien : science fiction cinema as cold war allegory conclusion : old wounds and the texas sharpshooter notes bibliography index
at the heart of captain america : civil war is an amazing shape - shifting ability . it is a film that confronts the consequences of super - heroic intervention , while also providing a popcorn - worthy bang - pow experience .
cold war 2’ s roster of top - tier players , which also includes eddie peng , charlie young and janice man , should entice audiences back for more , while the film’s up - scaled action quota will help it compete in a crowded summer marketplace dominated by hollywood blockbusters . opening day - and - date in hong kong , china and north america on july 8 , as well as in a number of asian territories , will also help the film make a strong impact . the only cause for concern may be if hong kong audiences , still reeling from the police’s heavy - handed behaviour during 2014’s umbrella revolution , prove reluctant to embrace heroic law enforcers again so soon .
2013 ( 12th ) asian film festival of dallas - july 11 - 18 , 2013 * u . s . southwest premiere
this year ' s
wonder woman
film received so much praise that calls for a sequel sounded off almost immediately .
the tomatometer score — based on the opinions of hundreds of film and television critics — is a trusted measurement of critical recommendation for millions of fans . it represents the percentage of professional critic reviews that are positive for a given film or television show .
but the machinations are just a pretext for such sequences as an escape in a crowded transit station and pursuits involving multiple teams of cars . the location work may have you pondering a hong kong vacation , which could be the goal . the movie refers to the city as the safest in asia and touts its status as a financial capital , even as the portrait of corruption — with absurd power plays that involve characters predicting moves many steps in advance — makes it seem like a dicey place to park cash . whatever it does for tourism , “cold war 2” helps affirm hong kong’s film industry as a sturdy action factory .
as for the possibility of a cold war 3 , leung said they were waiting to see the response from the audience . “honestly , we already have a framework . but , good things take time to develop . most importantly , we have to go about doing things the proper way . ”
making meaning also proves quite useful for understanding blacklist and cold war interpretations . early in his book , bordwell draws an important distinction between comprehension and interpretation . on one hand , comprehension involves the viewer ' s or critic ' s construction of referential and explicit meanings that are cued by the formal properties of the film . referential meanings are built up by the viewer in the process of constructing the film ' s fictional world and the events of the story . explicit meanings are a literal construal of a film ' s meaning , the message or
point
of the story that the film overtly communicates . interpretation , on the other hand , involves the viewer ' s or critic ' s construction of a text ' s implicit and symptomatic meanings . implicit meanings are covert or symbolic and are typically expressed as themes that the film critic explicates in reading the film . symptomatic meanings are repressed , unspoken meanings in a text that critics extract by uncovering structuring absences within the work , which are then traced back to economic , political , or ideological factors .
chow yun fat’s wife and manager , jasmine tan ( 陳薈蓮 ) , stated in a phone interview yesterday , “we’ve had preliminary discussions . the script is not even out yet , so let’s wait until he reads the script first ! as long as the script is good , it doesn’t matter if it’s a hong kong film , a co - production film , or a hollywood film . fat gor is also currently in talks to do several other films this year as well . in april , he will film wong jing’s ( 王晶 ) new movie . in the second half of the year , he will film an american movie . ”
as we reported yesterday , all signs point to wonder woman’s sequel taking place in the 1980’s , peak cold war , with some sort of soviet adversary . it’s unclear why diana , ostensibly a neutral party in “the world of men , ” would take america’s side—she ended up taking on germany in wonder woman because of her alliance with steve trevor and the german attack on the amazons . had a brave citizen from the central powers been the first to end up in themyscira and befriend her , well , that would’ve been a very different movie . and considering that the cold war is a much murkier conflict that lacks the traditional war - movie battlefield , it’ll be interesting to see how she’s positioned and what her motivation is .
. . . an odd - and oddly entertaining - type of cop thriller : interdepartmental power play directed like an action film .
scripted by luk , leung and jack ng wai - lun with unusual respect for procedural justice ( when it suits the story ) , cold war 2 then enters uncharted territory : lau finds himself the target of an impeachment hearing in the legislative council . an influential lawyer and independent legislator , oswald kan ( chow yun - fat ) , carries out the grilling . as it transpires , m . b . has joined his son and other shady ex - cops to take down lau in a larger political conspiracy .
recent research on cold war europe has sketched the image of a deeply interconnected continent , with cultural exchanges , travel and tourism , scientific collaborations , and the like creating dense networks between countries on both sides of the “iron curtain , ” and beyond . media scholars , similarly , have begun to trace the active collaborations between eastern and western european broadcasting institutions ; the networks formed by artists and technicians at and through film festivals ; the movement of samizdat and tamizdat texts ; and the relationships between professionals in specialized fields such as children’s entertainment , television , and industrial film .
as dana polan and others have pointed out , there is a long history of academic interest in film as a particular type of cultural artifact . but it was not until the 1970s that universities began awarding doctorates in film studies as a distinct and autonomous discipline . as the field developed professional organizations dedicated to film studies , academic journals turned away from evaluation and increasingly turned to the study of film theory and criticism . as david bordwell notes , film criticism was an outgrowth of film reviewing by professional journalists , but the meaning of a work supplanted its aesthetic worth as the chief object of inquiry .
now the author of a film book ,
writes bordwell ,
was apt to be an academic , whose professional career required publications bearing a scholarly imprimatur . in sum , the academicization of film publishing created an expanding institutional base for interpretive criticism .
not surprisingly , blacklist interpretations became more common as a result of this change . as film scholars combed through films of the 1950s for their implicit and symptomatic meanings , the field came to accept the premise that certain films , and even entire genres , allegorized the political tensions around the huac investigations and u . s . foreign policy .
diana will next bow in zack snyder and joss whedon ' s film
justice league ,
due out on nov . 17 .
by highlighting both the windfalls and pitfalls of film criticism , bordwell provides a set of criteria for evaluating stronger interpretations over weaker ones . if a reading of a film seems facile or unenlightening , perhaps it is because the critic has indulged an overfamiliar interpretive heuristic or because the critic generalizes too quickly about a film ' s characterizations or formal properties . most film scholars seem to acknowledge that the discipline is awash with weak interpretations of films . making meaning allows us to identify and catalog specific ways in which readings of films go horribly awry .
ever since details about wonder woman 2 started to leak out , i haven’t been able to think about much else , and i keep wondering what this new era will mean for diana and co . talk to me .
film criticism , the cold war , and the blacklist examines the long - term reception of several key american films released during the postwar period , focusing on the two main critical lenses used in the interpretation of these films : propaganda and allegory . produced in response to the hearings held by the house committee on un - american activities ( huac ) that resulted in the hollywood blacklist , these films’ ideological message and rhetorical effectiveness was often muddled by the inherent difficulties in dramatizing villains defined by their thoughts and belief systems rather than their actions . whereas anti - communist propaganda films offered explicit political exhortation , allegory was the preferred vehicle for veiled or hidden political comment in many police procedurals , historical films , westerns , and science fiction films . jeff smith examines the way that particular heuristics , such as the mental availability of exemplars and the effects of framing , have encouraged critics to match filmic elements to contemporaneous historical events , persons , and policies . in charting the development of these particular readings , film criticism , the cold war , and the blacklist features case studies of many canonical cold war titles , including the red menace , on the waterfront , the robe , high noon , and invasion of the body snatchers .
the film is also called
laan jin .
it has nothing to do with the cold war , nor is it much of an action thriller . the film is a hong kong police drama which utilizes a kidnapping and bombing as background for a police commissioner struggle . there are long dramatic scenes of internal office conflict and politics which follow a very orderly process . the translation is not herky - jerky , but very straight slang english , no reverse syntax . some of the dubbing made the actors look bad , especially the woman crying for her dead husband . the film focuses on deputy police commissioner sean lau ( aaron kwok ) and his relationship with the commissioner ( tony leung ka fai ) and operation cold war . cold war is a police emergency that happens when an emergency van with five hostages are stolen and a bomb goes off at a cinema . while part of the story involves solving the crime , a good two thirds of the film is a complex multi - sided office drama . the film uses a stock made for tv sound track . it has some cliche tough guy language like
desperate times call for desperate measures
and
i was never here .
it then ruins it with
i prefer latte .
there is also some mention of police and government openness , something i didn ' t know if it was a criticism of government or a government propaganda statement . the film lost me for a moment when the internal office conflict started as i was expecting a chinese dirty harry . instead i got a joe friday arguing with his boss and then apologizing . clearly the chinese don ' t have the genre down for american audiences . parental guide : some minor f - bomb usage . no sex or nudity . woman in lacy top and panties .
we have seen that a comparatively small but important group of postwar american films have been interpreted as hollywood ' s response to the red scare . but what produced this consensus view of postwar american cinema ? along with the appearance of the earliest histories of the blacklist and the memoirs of blacklisted writers , as well as the industry ' s belated recognition of those writers ' contributions , a third aspect of american film culture of this period fostered the impression that cold war - era cinema was fertile territory for the exploration of political subtexts : the introduction of film criticism into the academy . although this aspect was not specific to blacklist film scholarship , it was nonetheless a crucial element in establishing a framework within which this reading formation could develop and flourish .
tony leung ka - fai , sunny luk , leung longman , aaron kwok at the busan international film fest . ( photo : getty images )
critics performing allegorical interpretations relied on a repertoire of particular textual components that could connect the latent and manifest meanings of cold war - era films . this repertoire of elements aids the critic in solving two particular problems : the problem of plausibility and the problem of differential levels of meaning . these textual components include such elements as authorial intent , the political activities of personnel involved in the film ' s production , and specific genre conventions that lend themselves to the activation of the allegory ' s latent significance .
in the first film , the hijacking of an armoured police van and two terrorist bombings are revealed to be part of a master plan orchestrated by constable joe lee ( eddie peng yu - yan ) , who is the son of m . b . lee ( tony leung ka - fai ) , one of two deputy police commissioners – the other being sean lau ( aaron kwok fu - shing ) – fighting for control over the rescue missions under operation “cold war” . the van remains missing until the end .
jeff smith is professor of communication arts at the university of wisconsin at madison , and the author of the sounds of commerce : marketing popular film music .
it’s also claimed that the entire production crew of the film will return , despite no official agreement being announced for director patty jenkins to remain behind the camera .
instead of helping to end the great war in the trenches of no man ' s land , trevor may , in fact , be intercepting russian intelligence circa the 1980s .
civil war reminds us it ' s ok to enjoy a few laughs , even while diabolical villains plot doom , outraged citizens demand accountability and your best pal mistrusts you .
jones ' s and reisz ' s comments are a reminder that these films draw on traditional patterns of storytelling as much as they do the ideological mission implicitly mandated by huac . as daniel j . leab notes :
there can be no doubt that these post - world war ii anticommunist films are clearly a product of the cold war . yet it is important to note that the themes highlighted , the characters portrayed , the story lines set forth , and the images presented all had their roots in films produced twenty years earlier in the united states . because of the cold war , these movies heavily emphasized certain aspects , but the concept of the films was in the mainstream of american filmmaking .
as we will see , in their reliance on the conventions of crime melodramas , legal thrillers , and social problem films , hollywood ' s genre norms inflect the political message of these films in unusual and sometimes surprising ways .
hong kong superstar chow yun fat , who joins the sequel as a legislator , told singapore media at a press conference here for the film on tuesday that he had to go through the script
several times
with the film ' s co - directors longman leung and sunny luk to fully understand what it was all about .
most surprisingly , however , is the reported return of chris pine as wonder woman’s ally steve trevor – despite seemingly sacrificing himself at the end of the first film .
director patty jenkins , who hadn ' t directed a feature film since 2003 ' s
monster ,
may be in the conversation for best director at next year ' s oscars for her work on the film . the same praise was heaped on gal gadot for her portrayal of the leading lady , amazonian princess / demigod diana prince .
the film is not so lucky , as more wordy scenes anguish the protagonists ( i . e . , kwok furrows his brows ) with complex moral decisions and political compromises . while the screenplay darkly hints at the time not being ripe , yet , to blow the whistle on the corrupt political bosses who “secretly” call the shots in hong kong , these references are not going to register with most non - chinese audiences , who will want to know why absolutely nothing gets settled in the final act . of course , the door is left wide open for cold war 3 .
leung and luk’s previous instalment saw deputy commissioners sean lau ( aaron kwok ) and m . b . lee ( tony leung ) lock horns over how to handle the kidnapping of five officers that triggered a wave of terror attacks across the city . after lee’s son joe ( eddie peng ) , one of the police hostages , was revealed to be in cahoots with the terrorists , lau assumed command , while lee stepped down in shame . in cold war 2 , lau is now police commissioner , while lee sits things out on pre - retirement leave . but when lau’s wife is kidnapped by joe’s gang , who demand his release , lau botches the exchange and joe manages to escape .
the superhero film achieved the huge sum in its forth week of release , beating the record set by phyllida lloyd’s big screen adaptation of mamma mia , which grossed $ 609 . 8 million ( £479 million ) in 2008 , as well as beating 2015’s fifty shades of grey , directed by sam taylor - johnson , for the biggest launch by a female director – after taking $ 85 . 2 million ( £66 million ) in its first weekend of release .
i know at this point this is all just rampant speculation , but i had to get it out there . this is what i spend most of my time thinking about , people . what’re your thoughts about diana taking on the cold war ? how should steve trevor return ? how mad will this movie make the russians ? will diana be rocking shoulder pads and permed hair ? i have so many questions .
train to busan premiered to positive reviews at the cannes film festival in may , before proving a box office hit in south korea and across asia . a bidding war among hollywood and european studios for its remake rights was reported by the hollywood reporter in early august . on september 13 , lead actor gong yoo announced on twitter that a sequel is in the works .
however , this being said , i still have a lot of thoughts . some articles have speculated that wonder woman 2 is likely skipping over wwii ( where she originated in the comics ) in order to avoid the ground captain america already covered in his origin - story movie ( and considering that wonder woman already did a “hot war” so well , i’m not desperate to see another historical battlefield ) . but i think it’s hard not have these sequel plans also call to mind the best captain america film ( fight me ) , the winter soldier , which was , by all accounts , more of a cloak - and - dagger drama than previous marvel efforts .
captain america : civil war focuses on the approach of superheroes to what ' s right and what ' s wrong . this movie makes you pick a side because both have very valid points .
the two main critical lenses used in blacklist and cold war interpretations correlate with these processes of comprehension and interpretation . the postwar cycle of anti - communist propaganda films , for example , fall under the concept of critical comprehension insofar as propaganda depends on an overt , didactic appeal to spectators . by identifying this cycle as propaganda , film critics acknowledge that the referential dimensions of these texts involve characterizations and story events that depict communist party members as duplicitous , subversive , and criminal agents of the kremlin . the explicit message of these films is that communists pose a dangerous threat to u . s . security . in contrast , films seen as blacklist or cold war allegories fall under the concept of interpretation . in revealing the allegorical dimensions of these films , critics must
decode
meanings that are disguised through particular figurations , such as synecdoche and personification . because these allegorical meanings are seen as expressions of their creators ' political discontent , these readings , more often than not , seek to explicate implicit meanings of such films .