reign of assassins is a 2010 wuxia film directed by su chao-pin and co-directed by john woo .

the film is shot in china and set during the ming dynasty .

the film stars michelle yeoh , who plays an assassin who tries to return to a normal life after being counseled by a monk .

after saving her husband and herself from robbers , she attracts the attention of her former assassin gang .

the film began production on october 30 and was shot in china and taiwan .

while shooting , john woo was on set continually advising director su chao-pin , which led to woo being credited as a co-director .

reign of assassins had its premiere on september 3 , 2010 at the 67th annual venice film festival , where it met acclaim from critics .

it premiered in china on september 28 , 2010 and has been purchased by the weinstein company for north american release rights and by lions gate pictures for united kingdom release rights .

reign of assassins

reign of assassins excels all around and is a film out of china to check out .
reign of assassins - sword fight scene - ah sheng vs . lei bin & turquoise
a classic in the making ? the second reign of assassins trailer says maybe so .
reign of assassins -
the best wuxia film since crouching tiger , hidden dragon .
actress michelle yeoh attends the ' reign of assassins ' photocall during the 67th . . .
reign of assassins offers plenty of exciting sequences , but it frustratingly never fully delivers what it promises to .
reign of assassins - sword fight scene - ah sheng vs . lei bin & turquoise - youtube
actress pace wu attends the ' reign of assassins ' photocall during the 67th venice . . .
this cast list of who was in reign of assassins includes both lead and minor roles . ( 11 items )
( left ) michelle yeoh , and ( right ) jung woo - sung in reign of assassins .
reign of assassins
is a delightful martial - arts romp that occasionally lacks clarity , finesse .
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if you want to answer the questions ,
who starred in the movie reign of assassins ?
and
what is the full cast list of reign of assassins ?
then this page has got you covered .
reign of assassins cast list , listed alphabetically with photos when available . this list of reign of assassins actors includes any reign of assassins actresses and all other actors from the film . you can view additional information about each reign of assassins actor on this list , such as when and where they were born . to find out more about a particular actor or actress , click on their name and you ' ll be taken to page with even more details about their acting career . the cast members of reign of assassins have been in many other movies , so use this list as a starting point to find actors or actresses that you may not be familiar with .
golden lion for lifetime achievement recipient john woo attends the ' reign of . . .
woo , whose martial arts epic
reign of assassins
premiered at the festival , told variety he considers himself a bridge between china and hollywood .
- german dvd / blu - ray of the film ( title :
dark stone - reign of assassins
) is scheduled to release on september 20 , 2012 .
i was asked to remove the reign of assassins promo reel video as it was not an official release . sorry , you will have to wait for an official trailer .
actress michelle yeoh attends the ' reign of assassins ' photocall during the 67th venice film festival at the palazzo del casino on september 3 , 2010 in venice , italy .
actress pace wu attends the ' reign of assassins ' photocall during the 67th venice film festival at the palazzo del casino on september 3 , 2010 in venice , italy .
now going by the english title of reign of assassins , the first promo reel for the john woo / su chao - bin co - directed feature is available for buyers at the efm .
actress michelle yeoh attends the
reign of assassins
premiere during the 67th venice film festival at the sala grande palazzo del cinema on september 3 , 2010 in venice , italy .
golden lion for lifetime achievement recipient john woo attends the ' reign of assassins ' photocall during the 67th venice film festival at the palazzo del casino on september 3 , 2010 in venice , italy .
on that day , our beloved director john woo was presented with the
golden lion for lifetime achievement
and his latest production
reign of assassins
thrilled the international audience in its world premiere .
is scheduled to be released on australian dvd and blu - ray on june 22nd , by madman entertainment . region 4 ( pal ) , mandarin chinese with english subtitles , 115 min , with making of reign of assassins and theatrical trailer .
two female assassins brandishing poison needles killed the casino - loving half - brother . . .
beijing , aug . 20 ( xinhuanet ) - - john woo ' s new multi - million dollar martial arts film
reign of assassins
set up its official website on thursday , august 19 , and released posters of the twelve leading roles .
reign of assassins ,
shot in china and set during the ming dynasty , stars michelle yeoh as an assassin who falls in love with the son of a man killed by her gang . it is woo ' s first film with a female protagonist .
currently in post production , john woo and su chao - pin’s martial arts action thriller reign of assassins stars michelle yeoh as a retired female assassin whose past returns to haunt her . the film will have its world premiere at venice .
in the world of “ reign of assassins , ” plastic surgery is accomplished by inserting poisonous insects into one’s nasal cavity , a procedure that apparently leaves you looking like michelle yeoh . that’s what happens to the wonderfully named drizzle ( played initially by kelly lin ) , a top member of the dark stone assassins squad famed for her lethal “water - shedding” sword technique , who decides she’s had enough of her life of crime and wants to settle down .
lion rock productions has also independently produced , in addition to its numerous studio films , red cliff , the highest grossing film in china at the time of its release , as well as the upcoming martial arts swordplay drama reign of assassins , released by the weinstein company .
mainland veteran actor wang xueqi will be the leader of a group which rivals michelle . barbie hsu and shawn yue are both members of this group as assassins .
the writer and director of “bodyguards and assassins” , teddy chen , reunited with donnie yen in 2014 for “ kung fu killer “ .
i have seen many chinese martial arts movies and the reign of assassins gave me the feeling of watching one of the classics . the action choreography is top notch and most importantly , believable . story wise is not the most original out there , but if you ' re looking for action , look no further .
reign of assassins in ancient china , drizzle ( michelle yeoh ) is the most deadly and ruthless assassin . after a life of theft and murder , she seeks to atone for her ways . she starts a new life in the capital , but her old gang are hot on her trail .
plot - wise reign of assassins reminds me a lot of the martial arts productions from the early 90s , a golden period for hong kong cinema and its martial arts films . the film follows zeng jing , an assassin trying to retire from the world of martial arts . complicating her retirement is the theft of an important artifact , which sets a crew of angry adversaries on her tail .
a delightful martial - arts romp that makes up in wit and exuberance what it occasionally lacks in clarity and finesse , “reign of assassins” unspools in a version of ancient china where killers yearn for lives of quiet domesticity , secret identities abound and death rarely has the last word . while the film takes some time setting up [ … ]
from the commercial perspective , bodyguards and assassins by teddy chen reached the top of the asian box office chart by taking in about 300 millions rmb .
as the tension mounts and the action begins to crescendo , leon lai holds off dozens of assassins using his metal fan as a weapon . there is quite a bit of wirework that is captured with dizzying camerawork , as lai navigates a stone staircase dispatching assassins all the while . when hu jun arrives on the scene , we are left in no doubt as to who is the most skilled and deadly of the assassins , as he strives to stop the bodyguards once and for all .
reign of assassins is a pretty good continuation of the martial arts genre . it ' s not often that female characters get a lead in these type of films , yeoh demonstrates it ' s not because they lack the ( screen ) fighting skills . the only post - 80s film featuring female leads i can actively remember is the heroic trio , which incidentally also features yeoh in one of the key roles . i for one think the lack of testosterone is a welcome change of scenery .
reign of assassins started life when producer terence chang , partner with john woo in lion rock productions , was looking for an action vehicle for international star michelle yeoh . after several meetings with taiwanese writer - director su chao - pin , he decided on a wuxia film to showcase yeoh’s skills as a martial artist .
venice ( hollywood reporter ) -
mr . & mrs . smith
relocate to ancient china in the dazzling martial - arts epic
reign of assassins ,
in which asian superstars michelle yeoh and jung woo - sung play an ordinary married couple , each unaware the spouse is a world - class assassin .
in a mere five seconds , the pudgy playboy son of late north korean dictator kim jong - il was taken down by a team of poison - toting assassins in a 007 - style murder plot .
woo , who co - directed
jianyu
( reign of assassins ) , which premiered friday on the venice lido out of competition , returned to china two years ago after directing hollywood films for 16 years , including broken arrow ,
face / off
and
mission impossible 2 .
jianyu
is his third film since his return .
john woo , praised for his ability to depict the friendship between men in his work , has decided to turn his attention on women . the director explained ,
' reign of assassins ' is not a film that simply focuses on kung - fu and hatred . in fact , it tells a romantic love story . ' '
as far as amazon goes , as of the time of this posting , only an all - region import dvd of reign of assassins seems available , though the cover art incorrectly states it was directed by john woo . su chao - pin , a relatively inexperienced and unknown director , received almost constant council from john woo on set , but woo himself said he “didn’t want to impose [ his ] style on su… [ he ] only gave advice and shared [ his ] experience . ” putting john woo as the director on the dvd cover will no doubt help it to sell more copies , as when quentin tarantino or robert rodriguez put their names under a “presented by” banner for the less mainstream movies they support , but su did write and direct reign of assassins himself .
“ reign of assassins ” star wang xueqi plays “li yutang” a businessman who provides financial support for the revolutionaries and rallies a group of bodyguards to protect sun wen ( sun yat - sen ) . “ashes of time” star tony leung ka - fai is “chen shaobai” , a real life character who was a supporter of sun yat - sen and the revolutionaries . he established the china daily newspaper in hong kong to increase support for the revolutionary cause .
korean action star jung woo - sung ( reign of assassins , the good , the bad , the weird ) will attempt to fill the shoes of chow yun - fat as a hitman who “risks everything to protect a beautiful singer that he unintentionally blinded . ” john h . lee ( a moment to remember ) will direct from a script written by newcomer josh campbell .
i frequently read movie website pajiba , a site whose non - hollywood columnists like…practically none of the movies that come out in both the cineplex and the arthouse . but they happen to be really excited about the teaser trailer for the new john woo - produced ( and some sources say co - directed ) film called reign of assassins which according to imdb is technically still filming .
the spy - movie - worthy attack went off with just one hitch — jong - nam’s assassins were caught on cameras throughout the airport .
our first taste of martial arts action comes with an attack on simon yam’s opera troupe . abseiling from a theatre ceiling whilst throwing acid over their opponents , the qing assassins waste no time in their brutal assault on yam’s men . the assassins are armed with poles , tipped with vicious barbed spikes and hooks on chains . it’s a rare treat to see yam using a traditional broadsword as he fights with three assassins led by “wrath of vajra” star xing yu . rather like the kung fu films of old , a lot of blood sprays about , but being a product of the 21st century , it is represented digitally .
the convoy is diverted into a street lion dance , which is cover for an ambush by the assassins . nicholas tse uses his rickshaw as a weapon , whilst li yuchun faces xing yu . she gets her chance to shine as she heroically fights off xing yu’s team of assassins whilst he prepares an explosive booby trap .
reign of assassins should also be lauded for being the first proper lead role for michelle yeoh since crouching tiger , hidden dragon . the former international queen of martial arts cinema has seen her stock drop quite a bit since her james bond + crouching tiger one - two punch , with vehicles like the touch and silverhawk arguably hurting her leading lady cred . indeed , reign warns of a mismatch due to her romance with the clearly younger jung woo - sung . and yet , the pairing is handled well , with yeoh ' s quiet strength and maturity proving a perfect fit for zeng jeng . the film isn ' t flawless ; at some points , the plot twists and revelations don ' t seem to entirely gel , but those moments come late in the film , far after reign of assassins has likely won its audience over . at first glance , the film looks like just another genre flick aimed at the west , but its old school narrative and excellent characterization make it a standout in a could - be played - out genre . hopefully su chao - bin gets another shot at this genre – and this time , he should get sole director credit . su likely wants that credit , and reign of assassins demonstrates that he ' s earned it . ( kozo 2010 )
the re - make will be shot in 3d and is set to be directed by john h . lee ( a moment to remember , saying good - bye , oneday ) starring jung woo - sung ( reign of assassins , the good , the bad , the weird ) . woo will be sitting in the producer’s chair on this one .
reign of assassins started life when producer terence chang , partner with john woo in lion rock productions , was looking for an action vehicle for international star michelle yeoh . after several meetings with taiwanese writer - director su chao - pin , he decided on a wuxia film to showcase yeoh ' s skills as a martial artist . . . .
i should change the title of this thread soon . here ' s the new trailer : reign of assassins - promo trailer tt : jianghu literally means ' river lake ' and it refers to itinerant martial artists that traveled the waterways of china . wulin means ' martial forest ' and it refers to the community of chinese martial artists . wulin is a bigger term - we are all wulin . jianghu is a little more secular , a little more ' street ' if you will .
a delightful martial - arts romp that makes up in wit and exuberance what it occasionally lacks in clarity and finesse , “ reign of assassins” unspools in a version of ancient china where killers yearn for lives of quiet domesticity , secret identities abound and death rarely has the last word . while the film takes some time setting up its convoluted specifics , the essentials seem to have gone satisfyingly right in the collaboration between taiwan’s su chao - pin and a resurgent , post - “ red cliff ” john woo . “ reign ” should please local crowds starting sept . 28 , but will undergo some tinkering before opening stateside as a weinstein release .
the latter film is the one that really endeared me to michelle yeoh and i was first introduced to woo - jung sung in the film musa . seeing them together in reign of assassins should be fantastic , not just because they’re great actors and aesthetically pleasing , but because this film will not feature zhang ziyi as a spoiled princess - type . yeah , i said it .
rumoured to bestow supernatural powers on the people who possess them , the remains of an indian monk are prized by dark stone , an ancient order of assassins . but one of their number - drizzle ( michelle yeoh ) - has taken them and disappeared . it ' s only a matter of time before her past catches up with her .
reign of assassins has a 70 % score on rotten tomatoes with 10 reviews , although i suspect the score will change when more reviews are published after the film reaches a wider western audience . the weinstein company , known for their dragon dynasty releases , owns the release rights in the u . s . and it should hopefully find its way into more american homes soon . ( ssw )
( french title :
le regne des assassins
) will be screened at the 7th chinese film festival in paris on september 23rd , les 3 luxembourg .
holy shit , has wuxia cinema truly make a comeback ? reign of assassins is a very well crafted film , with an engaging plot and well written characters . some fight sequences could have been a bit more fluid , but i ' m not complaining . it ' s the kind of movie we don ' t get very often , so it ' s very much a welcome gift . fantastic antagonist , and the wizard guy rocked too .
reign of assassins is basically a history of violence set in feudal china and with martial arts assassins instead of mobsters . due to the council of a monk named wisdom , shortly after her betrayal of dark stone , drizzle chooses to try to shed herself of her old violent life and begin anew . she gets married , and everything seems to be going along nicely , but , as the good surgeon says later on , “karma really is a bitch . it’s tough being a person . ” that’s the lesson we’ll take from the movie . it’s tough being a person . almost every character , including the dark stone assassins , who are each humanized and not presented as mere villains meant to be dispatched , seems to want to shed their old identities and start over , but whether through tradition , obligation , bad habits or just karma , starting over isn’t as easy as all that . the thematic currents of identity and karma flow through every character , and even jiang , the seemingly simple courier with whom drizzle falls in love , has a buried secret .
the biggest problem is that reign of assassins has some stellar competition amongst its peers . it can ' t battle with the best , but still manages to impress on most levels . it ' s no new hero or the banquet , it simply doesn ' t push the boundaries as much like these films could , but apart from that ( and the mediocre soundtrack ) there really isn ' t much to complain about .
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 .
should have a heroine named drizzle . she ' s a member of the dark stone assassins and , like many hit persons , decides to go straight . taking a hint from co - director john woo ' s hollywood movie
list is made up of a variety of actors , including michelle yeoh and jung woo - sung .
woo and su turned reign of assassins into a true visual spectacle . the cinematography is stunning , using lots of dark yet powerful colors , trusting the majestic camera work to do the rest . all the fight scenes are a joy to behold and even the more toned - down and dramatic scenes are exquisitely photographed . it makes films like these a lot easier to watch . from the opening to the very last scene , there isn ' t a boring or dull scene to be found .
this is a bold kill . especially because the assassin ( or assassins ) couldn’t possibly have planned for everything , like obscene dwarf burlesque ( 41 : 30 ) or joffrey whimsically demeaning his uncle ( 44 : 35 ) . how did the assassins know joffrey would dump wine all over tyrion’s head ( 45 : 37 ) , thus providing them a perfect opportunity ?
it was decided when reign of assassins was being financed that woo would co - direct the film . su is one of taiwan’s hottest young talents – in 2002 he wrote and directed the hit comedy better than sex and has also written high - concept thrillers double vision and silk . he also directed the latter film , but as he only has two directing projects under his belt , and is relatively unknown in mainland china , the investors said they would be more comfortable if woo co - directed .
zeng jing is skilled enough to escape them and retires after signing up for cosmetic surgery to hide her old face . she marries and seems to be living a happy life , until fate comes to collect her dues . from that point , it ' s all battles and twists that make up the bulk of this film . told in a somewhat atypical chronological order , reign of assassins has a stronger and more developed plot than most peers , most probably because chao - bin does a great job of handling both script and direction at the same time .
in the midst of the chinese revolution during the late 1940s , couples flee to the island of taiwan .
team on the red carpet of the opening ceremony of the 13th shanghai international film festival , june 12th .
this article aims at explaining the plot of the movie reign of assassins . spoiler alert . this 2010 film was directed by su chao - pin and john woo . the film stars michelle yeoh and jung woo - sung in the lead roles . it is a period film set in china during the ming dynasty . the movie is fast paced and is nonlinear with surprise elements thrown in . the fight choreography is quite majestic with innovative swordplay . great film , go watch , come back , read spoilers .
the last emporer a dramatic history of pu yi , the last emperor of china , from his lofty birth and brief reign in the forbidden city , the object of worship by half a billion people ; through his abdication , his decline and dissolute lifestyle ; his exploitation by the invading japanese , and finally to his obscure existence as just another peasant worker in the people ' s republic .
with no heir to succeed him , the elderly prefect , pertinax , became emperor . however , he proved unpopular and his reign was short - lived . thus began a crisis of succession and the year of the five emperors . nevertheless early in 195 commodus achieved the godhood he seemingly so desired when he was deified by septimius severus .
likely after jung woo sung is done with promoting reign of assassins , he will dive back into athena filming , which remains his only project for the remainder of the year . there is a woman hanging all over my i lub you , which normally makes me all ragey and grrrr . but said lady happens to be michelle yeoh , who is exquisite and his co - star , not to mention can kick my ass six - ways to sunday . for those reasons alone , i give her an exemption to paw at my honey .
john fremes , president of worldwide distribution at essential entertainment said : “john woo’s the killer is one of the most influential and classic action films of all - time . the 3d version will no doubt appeal to fans of the original as well as capture a new generation of enthusiasts . ”
commodus ( caesar marcus aurelius commodus antoninus augustus ) was born on 31 st august 161ad to marcus aurelius and his wife , faustina the younger . he was the sole surviving son of marcus aurelius ; his elder twin brother died in 165ad , and his younger brother in 169ad . commodus was later to become emperor of rome and was the first to have been born during the reign of his father . he was also the last of the nerva - antonine dynasty .
in 182ad lucilla , his eldest sister and window of a former emperor ( lucius verus ) , conspired to assassinate commodus . the conspirators failed , however , and would - be - assassins were executed , and lucilla exiled to capri where she was later killed .
: the central character of the story . john woo ' s ideal image of a xia nv ( swordswoman ) for the sake of love , she stops killing . also for the sake of love , she picks up her sword again
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chao - bin su and john woo delivered a great film , filled with awesome action scenes and above - par dramatic filler that stands its ground amongst all the other martial arts films coming from hong kong . if you ' re looking for a quality martial arts epic , look no further because this film has everything to quench your thirst . as long as you don ' t expect to be totally blown away by , there isn ' t much that will keep you from enjoying reign of assassins .
ratpack films will bring to uk cinemas the period action thriller reign of assassins , co - directed by john woo ( red cliff , face / off ) and su chao - pin ( silk ) and produced by terence chang ( woo ' s regular producer ) . the film stars michelle yeoh , kelly lin , barbie hsu , shawn yue , jung woo - sung , and xueqi wang . release date is february 15th . in ancient china ,
drizzle
is the most deadly and ruthless assassin of the dark stone gang . after a life of theft and murder , she seeks to atone for her ways and leave the gang forever . undergoing a drastic procedure to alter her appearance , she changes her name to jing and starts a new life in the capital . even with her newfound life as a shopkeeper and a budding romance to ah - sheng , the dark stone gang is hot on her trail . she alone holds the secret of the mystical buddhist monk ' s remains , which legend says the possessor will gain control of the whole world . the gang will stop at nothing in their pursuit to control this power . note : reign of assassins is already available on blu - ray in hong kong . urltoken has reviewed the release here .
mark lisanti : there’s nothing quite like watching your favorite villain get got , especially when it’s a bad guy you’ve been tortured by for years , enduring his operatic cruelty with the clenched anticipation of the delicious justice surely to be served at any moment , but which eludes him again and again , extending his reign of terror and intensifying your well - earned bloodlust .
the flashing blades and swirling choreography of the endless fight scenes and the charisma of yeoh keep you engaged but the end result falls far short of her crouching tiger triumph a decade ago .
the action really kicks off in the last third of the film as a convoy of rickshaws surrounded by the bodyguards makes its way through the crowded streets of hong kong . dozens of assassins appear from upper floor windows and roofs , armed with crossbows . former nba star , mengke bateer uses his basketball skills to launch water melons at the attackers , as the convoy weaves and dodges a hailstorm of arrows . li yuchun is no shrinking violet as she takes out one of the crossbow snipers using traditional kung fu strikes , whilst donnie yen punches and kicks his way across the balconies above the streets .
jung woo - sung is actually a pretty good choice for the new killer , assuming someone has to be chosen . he was ‘the good’ in the good , the bad , the weird and stars in the john woo - produced reign of assassins . he also appeared in john h . lee’s film a moment to remember , in which i recall him being rather effective . all things considered , i’d rather see this version filmed with a korean script , but if it has to be in english to score international sales , so be it .
the footage included is still quite rough , looking to be completely raw and fresh out of the camera , but still shows plenty of the good stuff . before making his name as a heroic bloodshed director focused on massive amounts of gunplay , woo directed films of all genres including classic wuxia films and this is very much a return to that . michelle yeoh stars as a woman defecting from a clan of assassins who are less than pleased to see her go . lot ' s of old school martial arts action ensues and while the tone of the film seems to be generally quite straight faced there are definite nods to the goofier sides of wuxia as well , including one warrior who fights with a flaming sword clenched in each hand .
in october 1906 , sun wen makes plans to visit the british - controlled colony of hong kong , under the premise of seeing his ailing mother . in reality , he is there to discuss his campaign with fellow tongmenghui revolutionary members to overthrow the corrupt and crumbling qing dynasty in china . upon learning these plans , the qing empress dowager cixi sends a group of assassins , led by yan xiaoguo , to kill sun .
as the tale of a star femme assassin choosing married life over mayhem , the scenario has more than a whiff of “kill bill” ; indeed , “reign” reps a frenzied stew of references , well - worn twists and unabashed cliches — executed by filmmakers who take palpable pleasure in reheating and recombining familiar genre elements . su’s script has all kinds of fun with gags about eunuchs ( a key plot point ) and off - the - wall dialogue , though its sentimental refrain about lost love ( “i would turn into a stone bridge and endure 500 years of wind and rain” ) harks back to the drippiest romantic aphorisms of mid - ’90s wong kar - wai .
opinions tend to differ , but personally i feel it ' s been years since john woo managed to direct a truly satisfying film . his chi bi project was decent enough but didn ' t hold up against the competition and his late hollywood work just isn ' t good enough to compare to the the highs in his oeuvre . a little ironic as woo ' s name seems mostly attached to this film for the guidance he gave chai - bin ( and for obvious commercial reasons of course ) . chao - bin is credited as both writer and prime director for reign of assassins , so it ' s really his film .
a story of three couples and their intertwining love stories set in 1940s taiwan and shanghai , centered around the 1949 sinking of taiping .
not sure about the actual film , in this trailer the voices of some of the actors are dubbed , including michelle ' s .
set in ancient china , zeng jing is a skilled assassin who finds herself in possession of a mystical buddhist monk ' s remains . she begins a quest to return the remains to its rightful resting place , and thus places herself in mortal danger because a team of assassins is in a deadly pursuit to possess the remains which holds an ancient power - wielding secret .
los angeles , 31 january 2011 : essential entertainment has joined lion rock productions in its remake of the killer in 3d , currently in pre - production , which will be directed by john h . lee ( a moment to remember , saying good - bye oneday ) and written by josh campbell . jung woo - sung ( reign of assassins , the good , the bad , the weird ) will star in this english language re - telling of john woo’s iconic action masterpiece , with additional cast to be announced shortly . the film will be produced by woo ( face / off , mission : impossible ii ) and terence chang under their lion rock productions banner . essential entertainment will be handling worldwide sales .
revolutionary chen shaobai arrives in hong kong a few days before sun’s arrival , to meet li yutang , a businessman who provides financial aid for the rebel’s cause . as sun wen’s arrival draws near , li rallies a group of patriotic believers to serve as bodyguards for sun wen when he arrives . as sun wen makes his way through the streets of hong kong , the bodyguards and assassins fight for the political future of the chinese people .
los angeles , 31 january 2011 : essential entertainment has joined lion rock productions in its remake of the killer in 3d , currently in pre - production , which will be directed by john h . lee ( a moment to remember , saying good - bye , oneday ) and written by josh campbell . jung woo - sung ( reign of assassins , the good , the bad , the weird ) will star in this english language re - telling of john woo’s iconic action masterpiece , with additional cast to be announced shortly . the film will be produced by woo ( face / off , mission : impossible ii ) and terence chang under their lion rock productions banner . essential entertainment will be handling worldwide sales .
set in ancient china , zeng jing is a skilled assassin who finds herself in possession of a mystical buddhist monk ' s remains . she begins a quest to return the remains to its rightful resting place , and thus places herself in mortal danger because a team of assassins is in a deadly pursuit to possess the remains which holds an ancient power - wielding secret . written by rojak88
when john woo mentioned remaking his own the killer for american audiences who don’t like subtitles gumming up their gunplay , it turns out he wasn’t just speaking abstractly : woo has officially begun pre - production on the film , lining up director john h . lee ( a moment to remember , 71 : into the fire ) and star jung woo - sun ( reign of assassins , the good the bad the weird ) for an “english language retelling” of his 1989 original , which will , of course , be shot in 3 - d , with doves all up in your face . the rest of the cast will reportedly be announced soon . for the singer who is accidentally blinded , we nominate ke $ ha . now as to who should play the singer in the movie … [ / mimes golf swing ]
woo will supervise and su execute the direction of the film , which is scheduled to start shooting in china this september . the literal translation of the chinese title is rain of swords in the martial arts world .
- reportedly the world premiere of the film will be held on september 3rd at the 67th annual venice film festival ( out of competition ) .
. director su chao - pin will attend the new york premiere of the film which will be screened as a part of a special focus -
su chao - pin : taiwan ' s king of entertainment
.
venice - -
mr . & mrs . smith
relocate to ancient china in the dazzling martial - arts epic
reign of assassins ,
in which asian superstars michelle yeoh and jung woo - sung play an ordinary married couple , each unaware the spouse is a world - class assassin . replacing guns and bombs with flashing swordplay , aerial fighting and fantasy effects , the beautifully balanced story finds time for humor and a piercingly romantic finale . this lush visual treat should have no trouble finding kung fu audiences , with crossover potential to the western art circuit . it bears the double direction of taiwanese writer - director su chao - pin (
silk
) and genre master john woo .
- - korean indie mirovision is putting on a good show with a sales debut for
the housemaid ,
a love - triangle horror drama that is a remake of one of the best korean movies of the 1960s .
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in 428ad , bodhi , prince of southern india becomes a buddhist monk and sets off for china earning a hallowed reputation as a mystical martial artist . following his death , his remains mysteriously disappear . hundreds of years later , zhang , a high - ranking court official , is assassinated by drizzle . his son jingxiu , whilst mourning his father ' s death , is attacked by a group of assassins . they leave him for dead , but somehow he survives and escapes their clutches .
influenced by the movies of bruce lee and jackie chan , glen began training in martial arts and gymnastics in 1995 . he made his first of many visits to malaysia and singapore in 1998 to learn chin woo kung fu under the supervision of master teng wie yoo . glen is the author of
the art of coaching
and
fearless the story of chin woo kung fu
, and runs a kung fu & kickboxing school in hertfordshire , england .
) , by taiwan ' s gamania digital entertainment which is one of the investors of the film . the online game is scheduled to release this year .
let’s go through the story in a linear format . helps makes things clear . first , there was the indian buddhist monk - bodhi . it is believed that his mummified remains have supernatural powers . that one could master kung fu and rule the martial arts universe . the remains are in two halves . one of the halves is in possession with prime minister zhang and his son renfeng . a group of assassins called the dark stone gang , want the remains . the gang consists of the following :
- the turkish release date of the film has been set at december 24 .
actor javier bardem meets michael gove to discuss protection of the antarctic . . .
using the alias kim chol — the same name printed on his passport during the monday attack — the banished heir posted numerous photos of himself in front of fancy hotels and tourist sites around the world , according to the telegraph of britain .
after david lim was struck with vascular dementia as a result of three strokes , his activity is limited to his room and at the doctor’s . his youngest son , eric , took on the role of sole caregiver at the age of 24 .
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the image in question itself appears to confirm multiple rumors . for instance , the existence of boats ( or , at least , a schooner ) confirms previously reports that indicated the new installment will evoke themes from assassin ' s creed iv : black flag , arguably the most successful installment to release thus far on the new generation of consoles . furthermore , at the top - left corner , we see a mission titled ,
follow shadya to khenut’s villa .
khenut was the queen of egypt during her husband ' s ( king unas ) reign from 2375 – 2345 bc .
( 4 ) wang xueqi and the sword of king of dharma wheel . wang is the leader of the assassin group and the teacher who taught michelle the sword techniques . but he hid some unique skills and never taught her those unexpected tricky moves .
will be moving to taiwan later in the month . principal photography was completed in mainland china at the end of last month . taiwan filming will finish a couple of remaining key scenes . most of the post - production will be done in taiwan .
after this plot , commodus began to see enemies everywhere and retreated from rome to his country estates . thus began a ten - year reign of terror . he became a megalomaniac : he compared himself to hercules , calling himself the son of jupiter . sources state that he often adorned himself with a lion skin and a club to imitate the hero ; coin issues and statues depict him in this guise . he also declared himself the new romulus ; by 192 , he had in fact re - named himself , the city , the months of the year , and several other venerable institutions .
chinese tourists fined $ 8 . 50 each for disrespectful dance in front of sabah mosque
a romantic and action packed story of three best friends , a group of high end art thieves , who come into trouble when a love - triangle forms between them .
the film uses its wire - fu trappings to allegorise buddhist notions of self - transformation in a world of illusions . throw in some inventive chopsocky tempered by romance , and you have a fatalistic wuxia about the martial pursuit of a
normal life
.
fortissimo films handles the sales of the film outside mainland china , hong kong , taiwan and south east asia , while media asia is in charge of the asian territories .
i was thinking that those dark society aspects of the jianghu would be included in the wulin and of the jianghu as the itinerant sector of the wulin , thus a subset , but that ' s not quite right . wulin does imply an attitude of chivalry , so i might concede your point . rivers , lakes , trees . . .
game of thrones : seasons 1 - 7 $ 94 . 95 , save 59 %
huong’s alleged female accomplice , siti aisyah , 25 , of indonesia , was arrested thursday morning along with her boyfriend , muhammad farid bin jalaluddin , 26 , of malaysia .
to the opening ceremony of the 13th shanghai international film festival on june 12th . according to the chinese media , the main cast and crew members will accept media interviews in the afternoon and they will walk on the red carpet of the opening ceremony in the evening . the theatrical release of the film is currently scheduled for the end of september .
sbs director of audio and language content , mandi wicks , said : “sbs is committed to celebrating australia’s multicultural events , encouraging all australians to embrace our diversity . lunar new year is one of the biggest events of the year and we are thrilled to be marking the occasion with a season of special activity and programming across the sbs network . ”
this review does not contain any spoilers . as a born and bred chinese , i have seen my share of chinese martial arts movies . the reign of assassins gave me the feeling of watching one of the great classics . it ' s story is not the most original , but it gives a nice background for the viewer to see the beautiful acting and action scenes . at times it ' s a love story at others a suspense flick with all the intrigue . the actors do a good job in conveying their emotions to the audience . most of the characters get fleshed out , so your not only interested in the main characters . story wise i have to say that some of the things were a bit confusing , but if you paid attention it all made sense . the action scenes are plenty and well choreographed . the fighting was made believable , nothing was over the top . i especially liked how the action sometimes slows down just to show the viewer how things are done . this brings the action more to life and you actually notice all the small gestures the actors need to make in order to sway or dodge an attack . overall i liked the movie and i highly recommend fans of the genre to watch it . i surely enjoyed it .
yeoh plays the role of a skilled martial artist who changes her identity in order to leave a gang of deadly assassins , the dark stone , and attempts to lead a normal life . korean star jung woo - sung , who played a gun - slinger in kimchi western the good , the bad , the weird , plays her seemingly innocent husband . the cast also includes chinese character actor wang xueqi , taiwanese actresses barbie hsu and kelly lin and hong kong star shawn yue .
at the conference , the five actors were divided into two groups , a group of good guys and a group of bad guys , according to their characters in the film .
the story begins on 10th january 1901 with a depiction of the real - life assassination of revolutionary leader and english teacher yeung ku - wan . shot and killed by a qing agent , it ignites a slow - burning fuse to a powder - keg of action .
the soundtrack is of lower quality , but suffices for a film like this . sometimes a little over - dramatic , though most of it is pretty bearable . simple re - workings of classic themes that do fit the mood of the film , but don ' t go far in defining its atmosphere . luckily the visuals are strong enough to counter this , otherwise it would ' ve weighed a lot more on the overall feel of the film .
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this film is more than a run of the mill martial arts action picture . michelle yeoh , as ever , brings a touch of class to her role , and most of the scenes are beautifully shot . a touch on the long side perhaps , hence four stars .
, a chinese - language war epic / romance set against the back - drop of the final years of china ' s civil war . director su chao - pin was brought to the script team . after a long period of preparation the project did not work out .
the official ceremony took place in a packed palazzo del cinema , just ahead of the world premiere of
jianyu ,
which was co - directed by chao - bin su .
» best of film junk -
frank shits himself
( from ep . 515 )
but is it enough ? one of the great luxuries afforded to benioff and weiss is that , unlike shows that are still laying the track even as the locomotion of production threatens to run them over , game of thrones purrs along a preestablished path . because of this , audiences are more than willing to invest precious time and energy into story lines that have spent years meandering along the edges . this is unique , especially considering the savviness and general impatience of contemporary tv fans . homeland viewers were ready to court - martial dana brody , for example , after just three digressive episodes in her presence . yet with game of thrones there’s an implicit assumption of a payoff lurking , like one of varys’s spies , somewhere just ahead .


crying ladies is a 2003 filipino film directed by mark meily , and winner of best picture in the 2003 metro manila film festival .

it was the philippines ' submission to the 77th academy awards for the academy award for best foreign language film , but was not accepted as a nominee .

crying ladies

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' ' crying ladies ' ' opens today in new york , new jersey , los angeles , san francisco , san diego and honolulu . a . o . scott
the movie wears its many clichés lightly and without embarrassment . if it were more tightly constructed , ' ' crying ladies ' ' would probably also be more relentlessly melodramatic .
“ladies , ladies , ladies , ” kelce tells them . “fifty of the most drop - dead gorgeous women from 50 states . the courage that it takes to come out here to try to pursue love , it means more than you can imagine to me .
“crying ladies” also took home awards for best director ( debut helmer mark meilly ) , actor ( eric quizon ) , supporting actress ( hilda koronel ) and child performer ( julio pacheco ) .
manila — “crying ladies” — unitel pictures’ first venture into the film fest arena , scored big points at the metro manila film festival awards night in late december at the capital city’s philippine intl . convention center .
the movie is a lighthearted but touching look at three ladies from the back streets of manila’s chinatown who cry at funerals for a living . fantasy pics “captain barbell , ” about the adventures of a local superhero , and “fantastic man , ” another special effects - studded pic aimed at the kiddie audience , were the top grossers at the fest , with “crying ladies” taking the no . 3 spot .
a vigorous , ambitious , big - hearted comic meller about three women hired to wail at a chinese - philippine funeral ,
crying ladies
has already wept its way to good notices around the u . s . via platform releases brokered by new distrib unico entertainment .
a hit in the philippines , where it won six awards at the 2003 manila metro film festival , mark meily ' s ' ' crying ladies ' ' is a loose and genial soap opera about three working - class manila women who are hired as mourners for a funeral in the city ' s chinese community .
unlike many filipino pics , which run at a fevered emotional pitch to western sensibilities , “crying ladies , ” moves smartly and evenly under the direction of debut helmer mark meily ( although pic is ambitiously over - plotted at nearly two hours ) . perfs sparkle , with each thesp comfortable navigating between broad comedy and legitimate pathos .
manila — “crying ladies” — unitel pictures’ first venture into the film fest arena , scored big points at the metro manila film festival awards night in late december at the capital city’s philippine intl . convention center . pic took best film , beating entries of frequent fest dominators regal entertainment and viva films . grand - scale movies “mano po [ … ]
a vigorous , ambitious , big - hearted comic meller about three women hired to wail at a chinese - philippine funeral , “crying ladies” has already wept its way to good notices around the u . s . via platform releases brokered by new distrib unico entertainment . still , the just - announced philippine entry in this year’s foreign - language oscar race is an accessible crowd - pleaser ripe for [ … ]
on the first day of mourning at the paz hope funeral chapel , the three crying ladies , dressed in plain white dresses and heavy make - up , arrive to perform their services . in the process , they learn that the deceased had led a rather complicated life , in which he was estranged from his son wilson , and he carried on affairs with a number of women , with whom he fathered many illegitimate children .
overall , fest’s entries were well - liked by critics . besides “crying ladies” , lauded pics included “mano po 2 , ” an epic tale of a filipino - chinese family ; “filipinas , ” an allegorical story of a filipino family that reflects the nation’s own story ; “homecoming , ” about the sars epidemic ; “malikmata” ( mirage ) , a paranormal tale ; sex comedy “bridal shower” ; “captain barbell” ; “fantastic man” ; and “gagamboy” ( spider boy ) .
in the easygoing , unembarrassed world of ' ' crying ladies , ' ' it seems perfectly natural that a stranger should recognize aling from her decades - old role as a villager crushed by a marauding monster . this may also be a sly joke by mr . meily , since ms . koronel , like ms . cuneta , is a major philippine movie star . with a refreshing lack of vanity or pretension , these actresses play their ordinary , hard - luck characters with generosity and grace .
by the time the day of the burial finally arrives , after a four - day wake , the characters and their complicated relationships have been fully disclosed , setting the scene for a poignant climax . and when guido arrives to take bong away from stella , the moment defies any mother to hold back her tears . nonetheless , crying ladies is a comedy , and true to form , all ' s well that ends well when the outcome of the characters ' lives are revealed in its uplifting epilogue .
this being a reality show , there are tears , laughs and plenty of roll - your - eyes moments from some flat - out crazy people . the women move into a house together , which sets things up nicely for jealousy , crying and confrontations .
the story revolves around 3 matured women , stella ( sharon cuneta ) , rhoda ( hilda koronel ) and choleng ( angel aquino ) who are in badly need of cash for their family . they would do everything , from crying to funerals to dirty work just to make both ends meet .
“ladies room” is a little too neat and orderly , and a little too fond of explicitly underlining its thematic points , all in that very mad men way the show can sometimes get when it seems to be so eager of making sure we understand every point it’s trying to make . but that’s fine . it doesn’t need to be an all - time great episode of television—or even as good as the pilot . it just needs to be a pretty good second episode , an episode that assures us there’s a television show here , and we’re in good hands all around . on that level , “ladies room” more than succeeds , and the technique it uses to do so is one that would serve the show well going forward : mirroring .
charged with organizing his father ' s funeral , wilson chua ( eric quizon ) hires three professional mourners with plenty of problems and enough tears to flood manila in this heartwarming comedy . desperate for cash , stella ( sharon cuneta ) is happy to take the weeklong gig crying at the traditional chinese funeral , but the stage is set for disaster when she brings b - movie actress chua ( hilda koronel ) and the adulterous choleng ( angel aquino ) along .
really , that’s the story of this episode : the ladies room is the one place that the show’s female cast members can be recognizably themselves , but even when they step inside its comforting confines , they’re not going to find someone to stop their hands from shaking , nor is someone going to undertake the very basic and human action of asking them why they’re crying or if they’re all right . but when they leave the confines of that space to talk to the men in their lives , those men can’t help but see them as “the dessert , ” as peggy puts it . don goes out to dinner with betty , and he simply tells her stupid jokes , like a 12 - year - old boy , and she giggles dutifully , before he goes home and horribly betrays her trust . but when he’s over at midge’s , the woman he sleeps with because he seems to want something more authentic and “real” than whatever he’s built with betty , he also treats her like his property , obviously growing upset and jealous when he wonders how she possibly got herself a tv ( on which she primarily watches people are funny , one of my favorite period details in the episode ) .
here’s the thing about narcos season 3 : it can be a tense and exciting cat - and - mouse game that quite literally makes your heart pound . it’s also a near - reboot of the pedro pascal - starring netflix series . gone is drug kingpin pablo escobar ( wagner moura ) , and in his place are escobar’s former competition , the godfathers of the real - life cali cartel , led by the rodriguez brothers . if you’ve noticed anything about the previous three sentences , it’s filled with genius , ambitious , and powerful men — and they’re all absolutely devoid of women . in narcos season 3 , when women aren’t the objects of pure lust , they’re either crying or screaming in a corner .
the third woman to appear in “kingpin” is the one to truly fill narcos ’ crying woman trope : maria salazar ( andrea londo ) . maria makes her debut as arm candy to her husband claudio salazar ( carlos camacho ) . maria is made to follow her spouse like his trusty canine companion as opposed to his actual human wife . the beautiful young woman immediately catches the eye of druglord miguel rodriguez ( francisco denis ) . when drug drama ends with the murder of claudio , miguel decides to break the news to maria , since his associates did all the killing . immediately , the newly - minted widow crumples into a basket of tears in an empty restaurant . of course , this emotional display follows an episode of a wide - eyed maria running around cali , near tears , asking if anyone has seen her husband .
and it’s here that “ladies room” subtly tips its hand toward what the whole series is up to , because the character we’re meant to mirror peggy with isn’t joan or even the other young woman in the bathroom . it’s don himself , her boss but also her weird shadow twin for the episode . we saw in the pilot and again here how people are able to project what they want to see on don , even though he resists that sort of thing , and now we see how the same thing happens with peggy . ostensibly , it’s because she’s the “new girl , ” and all of the guys in the office—even sal , who does his very best checking a girl out impersonation—want to look over the fresh meat . but there’s also an element of her keeping herself at arm’s length . she blushes at sex jokes , and she doesn’t let all that much slip about who she actually is to paul when he regales her with stories of the office . she’s staying mysterious , and that more or less sounds like the man she works for .
because let me tell you , that kind of storyline is murder to dramatize in a visual medium . that “ladies room” does as good of a job at this as it does is to be commended , even if it over - relies on visual tricks like betty’s shaking hands . ( though to that end , i really like the moment when betty is driving and sees helen bishop the divorcee moving into her new home , and that triggers her hands shaking . ) whenever fans of the show complain about betty in the later seasons—something i’ve done many a time—i want to remind them to go back and watch these episodes , to remember the way that the show introduced her and all of the things that don was doing to damage her , sometimes intentionally and sometimes just because he wouldn’t have had a second thought that what he was doing could hurt her . yes , betty’s storyline doesn’t always intersect with the action at sterling cooper , but that’s by design . this is a series about how the main character has segmented his life , and in betty , we’re already seeing the most potent consequences of keeping someone who should be the love of your life out on an island , then turning to other people—like midge—for the things you actually want . don draper is a man obsessed with images , and this might be his norman rockwell .
my favorite shot of the episode involves young secretary peggy , walking into the bathroom to freshen up , another young woman crying off in the corner . the mirrors in the bathroom are situated so that we can see the woman in the mirror on the wall perpendicular to peggy , but we can’t actually see her , nor can we see peggy reflected in the same mirror . instead , we see peggy looking directly into the mirror over the sink . though she casts a glance toward the other woman when she enters the room , for all intents and purposes , the two might as well be in entirely different worlds , an effect director alan taylor accomplishes through that careful segmentation using the mirrors . but he’s also setting an agenda for the series’ most important female character going forward : the place to look when we’re looking for peggy’s motivations isn’t in the sorts of places we might expect , in romance plots and in stories where she comforts sad girlfriends . the other woman’s problem goes unresolved . indeed , we never find out what it is . peggy is in her own little box , reflecting back at herself . when we want to know what’s driving peggy , it’s best not to look at the story around her but at the woman herself , who’s almost as opaque at times as the main character .
brendan connell , jr . appointed chief operating officer of the academy museum of motion pictures
the academy’s board of governors awards an oscar® to alejandro g . iñárritu’s “carne y arena” virtual reality installation
the academy continues residency at the metrograph theater in new york with “the ballad of gregorio cortez” and tribute to george a . romero
academy rescinds sound mixing nomination for greg p . russell on “13 hours : the secret soldiers of benghazi”
jennifer aniston , jason bateman , warren beatty , sofia boutella , matt damon , faye dunaway , michael j . fox , ryan gosling , salma hayek , taraji p . henson , dev patel , seth rogen , octavia spencer , meryl streep and vince vaughn announced as presenters
halle berry , jamie dornan , chris evans , gael garcía bernal , samuel l . jackson , scarlett johansson , dakota johnson , kate mckinnon , shirley maclaine , hailee steinfeld will be presenters on oscars® stage
jackie chan , anne v . coates , lynn stalmaster and frederick wiseman to receive academy’s 2016 governors awards
oscar winners morgan freeman and john legend added as presenters along with j . j . abrams , sacha baron cohen and henry cavill dave grohl will give a special performance
kathy baker , o’shea jackson jr . , freida pinto and jimmy smits to perform at academy nicholl fellowships live read
kristen bell and michael b . jordan to host academy ' s sci - tech awards
lacma and the academy co - present a major u . s . exhibition highlighting the prolific career of mexican cinematographer gabriel figueroa
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a lonesome and alcoholic woman attempts to fulfill a local legend about the family that doesn ' t weep with the help of her nanny and her nanny ' s uncle in the hopes of reuniting her own estranged family .
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a middle aged housewife struggles to cope when her husband leaves her for a younger woman .
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washington chua is dead , of cardiac arrest in his sleep , and his son wilson ( eric quizon ) suddenly finds himself in charge of planning a traditional chinese funeral for his father , complete with professional wailers to help ease his passage into the afterlife . according to traditional beliefs , if the deceased has many mourners openly expressing their grief at the funeral , then it is assumed that the deceased must have been a worthy person and will be welcomed into a heavenly afterlife . unfortunately in the city of manila , the number of chinese families in need of professional funeral criers is dwindling , and there are few if any left . nonetheless , wilson chua is determined to provide his father with a top - notch send off , and he seeks until he finds stella mate ( sharon cuneta ) , the last of her kind .
stella is a woman of questionable morals and integrity , and has just been released from a year - long prison sentence , during which she lost custody of her son bong to her ex - husband guido and his new wife cecille . but at a
recognition day
ceremony , in which bong received a medal for academic achievement , guido agrees to allow stella to have bong for three weeks , until time for the family to transfer to the remote city of cagayan de oro for cecille ' s job .
early on , it is revealed that stella had been sent to prison for
estafa
, which is spanish for fraud or swindling , and it isn ' t long before she ' s up to her old tricks again . not a day goes by that she doesn ' t swindle the bus driver for her fare , and in one scene , also on the city bus , she poses as a labor union protester collecting donations , which go right into her own pocket . she does , however , work for an honest wage at a shop that sells chinese funeral accessories , which is where wilson chua first meets her . and although stella isn ' t technically a professional crier , her mother once was , so stella knows the trade , and wilson engages her services at 500 pesos a day for a five - day service . wilson also asks stella to recruit the services of two more criers . so stella goes in search of her two best friends , choleng , and ailing .
choleng is a beautiful young single woman who is having an affair with her friend myra ' s husband ipe . and each week , she goes to church to confess the same sins . as her penance , the priest who hears her confessions has assigned her to perform an act of charity . ailing doray ( hilda koronel ) , aka rhoda rivera , is a has - been film star whose only claim to fame was her appearance in a horror film called darna and the giants , in which she played a bit part as a fleeing villager who is trampled by a menacing giant . yet , so memorable was her performance that total strangers still recognize her years later .
in the hours that stella isn ' t wailing for money , she spends every precious moment with her son bong , and even drags him along as she goes to an audition for a singing gig , to line up for a game show called cash or stash , and to the radio station to collect her 1 , 000 peso prize for correctly singing a jingle in a phone - in contest . stella spoils bong as best she can on her meager salary , and they spend their evenings at stella ' s squalid apartment , singing along with her karaoke machine .
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according to the movie , the chinese practice of employing women to wail for the dead , once common , is on the wane , but the chua family nonetheless insists on a traditional send - off for its patriarch , a philanderer and possible gangster named washington . his son , wilson ( eric quizon ) , hires stella ( sharon cuneta ) , a sometime petty thief who has lost custody of her young son after serving a year in prison , as a crier .
stella , a second - generation crier , recruits two of her friends : choleng ( angel aquino ) , a pious roman catholic who is nonetheless having a guilty affair with another woman ' s husband , and aling ( hilda koronel ) , a shopkeeper who clings to the fading memory of her movie career , whose high point was a bit part in a picture called ' ' darna and the giants . ' '
mr . meily , who directed the film from his own screenplay , gives the audience quite a few plot lines to keep track of . some , especially those involving choleng and aling , are handled in a fairly perfunctory manner , yielding little emotional payoff .
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the main axis of the film is stella ' s relationship with her son , bong , who is staying with her for a few weeks before moving to a faraway city with his father and stepmother . his presence causes her , not unpredictably , to shed some of her irresponsibility . meanwhile , wilson , who had been estranged from his father , trudges toward an equally predictable therapeutic denouement of ' ' closure , ' ' healing and reconciliation .
but a movie about people who cry fake tears for money , and for complete strangers , would be ill advised to indulge in displays of overwrought emotion . its most winning attribute is a kind of sloppy , unassuming friendliness , a likability aptly reflected in its characters .
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bt : adopted son nina sharon cuneta at sen . kiko pangilinan , ipinakilala sa publiko
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perfs sparkle , with each thesp comfortable navigating between broad comedy and legitimate pathos .
the performances . . . are as sincere and heartfelt as the mourning is not .
best appreciated for the winning performances of its trio of stars , who convey their characters ' desperation with humor and poignancy .
it has the potential to build a word - of - mouth audience through its sweet nature and lack of pretense , two qualities that are a rarity in both multiplexes and arthouses .
there aren ' t many surprises as the story unfolds in soap - opera fashion , with a happy ending for all concerned .
in this sloppy , happy soap opera from the philippines , three working - class manila women are hired as paid mourners at a traditional chinese funeral .
it ain ' t war & peace , but there are some pleasant comedic moments here .
as the weepy days go by , transgressions are forgiven , priorities reassessed and hearts healed .
an endearing comedy that deftly blends sentiment and grit and features a clutch of top filipino stars .
in a philippine metropolis , aspiring singer stella ( sharon cuneta ) has just been sprung from jail after a year inside for the petty thievery required to keep her and her 8 - year - old son , bong ( julio pacheco ) , alive . when stiff ex - hubby guido ( ricky davao ) gives her just a few weeks with the boy before whisking him out of town along with his new wife , stella is desperate to prove her solvency .
relief comes in the form of a young chinese man , wilson ( eric quizon ) , whose father , wealthy via some possibly shady business dealings , has just died . tradition decrees that professional mourners be hired to kick up a fuss at the viewing , the theory being that the gods will be so impressed there’ll be no problem with the dearly departed gaining access into the hereafter .
with the profession’s practitioners nearly obsolete , wilson hires stella . she , in turn , rounds up old friends to harmonize alongside her at the five - day wake : churchgoing adulteress choleng ( angel aquino ) and former b - movie actress aling ( hilda koronel ) . during the five days , each of the principals manages to better her situation through hard work , understanding and more than a little luck .
tech credits are glossy , lending yet another western patina to the proceedings . pic shouldn’t be confused with liu bingjian’s similarly themed 2002 canadian - south korean co - production “cry woman . ”
production : a unico entertainment release ( in the u . s . ) of a unitel pictures ( makati city , philippines ) , unico entertainment ( new york ) production . ( international sales : unico entertainment , new york . ) produced by tony gloria . executive producers , jun reyes , vincent nebrida . co - executive producers , ray cuerdo , bobby suarez . directed , written by mark meily .
crew : camera ( color ) , lee meily ; editor , danny anonuevo ; music , vincent de jesus ; production designer , reji regalado ; sound ( dolby digital ) , raffy magsaysay . reviewed at montreal world film festival ( cinema of asia ) , sept . 1 , 2004 . running time : 114 min . with : hilda koronel , angel aquino , sharon cuneta , eric quizon , ricky davao , julio pacheco , sherry lara .
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pic took best film , beating entries of frequent fest dominators regal entertainment and viva films . grand - scale movies “mano po 2” ( regal ) and “filipinas” ( viva ) came in second and third , respectively , to the comedy produced by the unitel .
it was also the only film entry given an a rating by the cinema evaluation board . this gave its producers a 100 % tax rebate incentive from the philippine government — part of a scheme to encourage local filmmakers to produce quality material .
“we don’t need big budgets to make good films . ” says unitel ceo tony gloria . “we should learn to work with limitations . what we need is good content and good storytelling . ”
the fest pics ran for two weeks in theaters nationwide , providing filipino movie fans with a smorgasbord of all - filipino films , sans the usual competition largely provided by hollywood movies .
the problem with narcos ’ treatment of women is immediately evident from the season premiere , “the kingpin strategy . ” the first woman viewers see is lorraine ( bre blair ) , agent javier peña’s ( pascal ) ex , whom he could never fully commit to . now , years after their breakup , lorraine is a happily married woman with two adorable children . in this moment , lorraine isn’t a character , she’s a pure symbol for the life peña could have lived if he wasn’t so obsessed with his dea work .
the next woman to pop up is katie ( laura londoño ) , whose name is never said and was only found by rampant googling . katie pops up in a dea elevator behind peña and then later again at a bar , just so she can give him flirtatious eyes . the last time we see her in the installment , she ' s asleep in bed next to peña . throughout all of this , she never actually says anything . she simply fills the role of “pretty girl , ” as cia agent bill stechner ( eric lange ) calls her .
maria then switches back to the sex object role in a deeply confusing move . in episode 3 , “follow the money , ” miguel gifts the object of his lust with an apartment , to make up for the murder of her husband . she eventually asks if the cocaine king could send for her son , since his paternal grandmother won’t hand him over . when miguel agrees and confirms he’ll give maria a stipend to take care of the boy , she starts undressing as a thank you . miguel , the murderous gentleman that he is , stops her from making the deal a sexual transaction . this is good , but not anything to applaud , since miguel is simply showing basic human decency . however , the next time we see maria , she’s naked in a massive bed and riding miguel . i thought this wasn’t supposed to be a sex thing ? we never even see a “change of heart” from maria . all she does is rub miguel’s gray - haired chest and assure him , “it’s good to be here . ”
the other woman forced to go along with the whims of whatever man is closest in proximity to her is paola salcedo ( taliana vargas ) , the long suffering wife of cali cartel security chief jorge ( matias varela ) . when we first meet paola she has tears in her eyes over the fact her husband won’t leave the drug business , as they had planned , for at least six more months . the next few times we see her , paola’s sad eyes stare at jorge , assuring him either she doesn’t need a mansion or understands why he protects bloodthirsty criminals . at least after all the stress jorge puts paola through , ( spoiler alert ) he’s the one who’s sobbing at her feet by the time the season is up .
the only woman who isn’t a teary , sad mess throughout narcos season 3 is carolina alvarez ( margarita rosa de francisco ) a journalist who is hot on the trail of the cali cartel . we never see carolina even come close to shedding a tear over the men around her . in fact , she’s usually the one manipulating them into doing what she wants . when carolina is introduced , she’s smart enough to try to get a police officer to spill a story over an alleged gas leak — which was actually a rodriguez scheme gone awry — by questioning whether she should smoke in the area . if the incident truly was natural , lighting up would be the most dangerous option possible . soon enough , we also see carolina working with peña , and she’s the one asking the tough questions .
yes , the real life story of narcos was filled to the brim with men , not women . such was life in both the drug and federal agency business during the early 1990s . if the series wants to tell a true ( ish ) - to - life story , they need to at least attempt to stay close to the actual facts of the dea’s investigation of the cali cartel . but , the scenes with peña and carolina have a level of tension and spark to them that the interactions featuring the other , usually very sad , women are sorely lacking . i’m not saying narcos needs to invent women simply for the sake of having women on camera , but would it be so hard to give the women the series does need a character trait other than “needs a tissue and a better man ? ”
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my apartment costs $ 4 , 000 a month — & here ' s what it looks . . .
if mad men ’s pilot asked viewers to wonder who don draper was , the second episode all but insists upon it . hell , the man’s wife closes one of the earliest scenes by looking over her sleeping husband and essentially murmuring to herself , “who are you ? ” the episode makes much of his unwillingness to talk about his past , drawing a sharp line between roger , who talks easily of his nanny as a child , and the main character . he’s saving up those experiences for the novel he’s planning to write someday , after all . it wouldn’t be good to go around giving them away for free . don is still the teflon man , his dazzling exterior allowing nothing to get stuck , and he takes both betty’s unhappiness and midge throwing a television out a window in stride . the episode might as well come equipped with a brass band marching down the street , carrying a banner reading , “this man keeps secrets from everyone he meets . ”
the other important mirror for don is betty , who’s suffering through a bout of unhappiness that seems much more like depression , given how unmotivated it seems to be . ( don’s idea of psychotherapy is to tell her about all of the great stuff she has , then smile winningly . it’s a credit to jon hamm that this seems like a vaguely possible remedy for what ails her . ) betty explicitly asks herself—and by extension us—who her husband is , and when she tries to ask him questions about his childhood , he rebuffs her not a little coldly . he says that talking about childhood is like talking about politics and religion , which sounds just as bizarre as you’d think it does . yet when betty goes in to see a psychiatrist and start trying to talk out just what’s on her mind in the wake of the minor car accident she’s in , she doesn’t know that don is calling said psychiatrist to find out what his wife told the doctor . don is the man betty can never know ; at the same time , he’s learning all of her most intimate secrets .
again , it’s all a little neat , in a way that mad men will get from time to time . but it’s also kind of mesmerizing . even those who’ve never seen mad men will be aware that fans get frustrated with betty from time to time , because her storylines often seem to intersect with the main storyline only haphazardly . and to be sure , in this episode , it’s frustrating to watch the beginning of this story and feel as if every beat of it is mapped out right in front of you . this is going to be a rough story of second wave feminism , it would seem , and it’s going to feature betty’s life intersecting with another betty , the author of the feminine mystique , betty friedan .
this is one of those places where it will be complicated for someone like me who’s seen the whole show to discuss something like this , because so much of what’s disappointing about this storyline in this episode hinges on the imagined storyline to come , the one we think we already know and the one that seems the most blatantly like something stolen from that terrible nbc miniseries the ‘60s . of course , mad men is still teaching us how to watch it at this point in its run , and it’s much more interested in making sure we’re following what it’s doing with don and peggy at this point than betty . to that end , playing off well - worn tropes and types in this particular storyline isn’t such a bad idea , because it keeps us more or less in tune with a story that amounts to “a woman realizes she isn’t as happy as she thinks she should be . ”
but what i also like—even trying to view this as someone who’s never seen the show before—is how formless betty’s depression seems , even to her . watch that scene with her in the psychiatrist’s office , and the primary emotion one reads coming off of betty is disappointment . nobody wants to be depressed , but betty seems at once upset by having this settling over her and upset by how prosaic and ordinary it is . if she’s going to come apart at the seams , everybody expects her to have both better symptoms and better reasons for doing so , and the number of people expecting that includes betty . january jones was the great unknown about this show heading into the second episode , since she mostly had to look pretty in the first one , but she more than manages the feat of making betty at once sympathetic and oddly unknowable . mad men ’s favorite trick is to reveal a character’s surface , then immediately see what happens once it starts to unravel , and jones keys into that straight off .
another thing we’re getting a glimpse at here is the way that the show uses don to ask big questions that are supposed to prompt big answers—here , it’s “what do women want ? ”—and then uses those questions both to interrogate the time period and ultimately deflect them with the sorts of easy bullshit an adman might come up with on the fly . the characters at sterling cooper don’t particularly care about what a woman might want . it’s more a chance to toss out some easy jokes , but when don talks about it with the rest of his creative team , he seems the most open and honest he is all episode . he’s obviously talking about how he can’t understand how to make betty feel happier , and it’s the one place where he doesn’t try to solve this problem through placating her . but when he finally comes up with what women want at midge’s apartment , it’s more easy ad slogans . what they want is to pull closer to their man , not anything more emotional or elaborate than that . it’s manipulative bullshit , plain and simple , and it’s not clear to what extent he knows that .
i said last week that the hidden story of mad men is one of privilege , of the main characters realizing that the unassailable world of plenty they live in isn’t going to last forever because other people might start to demand their own opportunities , their own pursuits of happiness . the show is already using this knowledge against us , because we live in the 21st century and understand what “the ‘60s” are going to bring ( mostly opportunities for terrible nbc miniseries ) . that’s part of why the betty storyline in this episode can feel a little weak ; we know what’s coming for this character and don’t know how closely the show is going to follow that particular story beat for beat . but watch peggy or don in this episode , or watch paul make his awkward pass at peggy , and you see another story bubbling under the surface , a story about how before women could demand equal pay or equal rights , they had to demand to be seen as people , too .
this episode shows us the first appearance of bertram cooper , played by robert morse , in a great bit of stunt casting ( he was the kid in how to succeed in business without really trying , which is an obvious influence on this show ) . right now , though , he mostly seems irritated by the way that roger sterling has instilled a bit of a navy attitude amongst the men , when he walks in on them forcibly spraying right guard in ken cosgrove’s armpits .
another first appearance : the sally draper we know and love , played by kiernan shipka . the bit where she’s running around in the plastic dry - cleaning bag is one of the show’s biggest “hey , people sure were different in 1960 ! ” moments , but i don’t mind it as much as some of the others , because the visual is so great . still , the moment when jones holds the pause between calling sally over to her and making sure she didn’t mess up the dry cleaning ( instead of making her take off the bag ) leans a little too heavily on making the audience feel superior to the characters in the past . ( they just didn’t know ! chuckle chuckle . )
pete campbell and rachel menken sit this episode out . pete , for his part , is off on his honeymoon to niagara falls , the wettest place on earth . ( the guys get a real charge out of that one . ) roger , however , bemoans pete’s unimaginativeness in even where to go on his honeymoon .
paul’s tour of the sterling cooper offices seems at once like matthew weiner ( who wrote the episode ) just wanting to show off his cool new set but also sets up some of the locations we’ll be seeing too little of in the seasons to come .
this is the first time we get a taste of paul being a sci - fi geek , a little character detail that will inform who he is throughout the rest of the series . and don’t worry , paul . you’re going to get several more seasons of the twilight zone , but rod serling is going to get increasingly tired of the grind and make for some hit - and - miss seasons .
that’s anne dudek , probably best known as amber on house , playing francine , the friend that betty has her gossip session with .
that’s john slattery’s real - life wife , talia balsam , playing roger sterling’s wife in the episode’s first scene .
okay , so i kind of talked around it up there , but even though i think this isn’t the most promising introduction for betty’s storyline ( which doesn’t really kick into gear for me until “shoot” ) , i definitely love the way the show goes against every expected beat of the “bored housewife who realizes she’s unhappy and becomes liberated” storyline in the seasons to come . betty just gets unhappier and unhappier , until the most recent season .
things are only looking up for margaret sterling . she’ll get to have her wedding shortly after john f . kennedy is assassinated !
next week : don and betty throw a birthday party , and it turns out to be much more interesting than you’d expect from that description of “the marriage of figaro . ”
kinja is in read - only mode . we are working to restore service .
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entombed in ash for more than 1 , 900 years , the tragic story behind this haunting image of what appears to be a child resting on its terrified mother ' s stomach is a step closer to being revealed .
restorers are working on the carefully preserved plaster casts of 86 of the romans trapped in pompeii in 79 ad following the deadly eruption of mount vesuvius , including a child seemingly frozen in terror .
it is thought the boy was four , based on his size , and was sheltering in a location dubbed house of the golden bracelet with his family , when tragedy struck .
this haunting image shows what appears to be a child resting on the stomach of an adult . it is estimated that anywhere between 10 , 000 and 25 , 000 residents of pompeii and nearby herculaneum were killed on the spot
restorers are working on the carefully preserved plaster casts of 86 of the romans trapped in pompeii in 79 ad , including children seemingly frozen in terror . here , stefano vanacore , director of the laboratory at pompeii archaeological site can be seen carrying the remains of a petrified child in his arms
experts at the site are readying the poignant remains for a forthcoming exhibition called pompeii and europe . it could be supposed that this victim was trapped in a building or terrified
he was discovered alongside an adult male and female , presumed to be his parents , as well as a younger child who appeared to be asleep on his mother ' s lap .
the little boy’s clothing is visible in the plaster cast , and his facial expression is one of peace , decoded past reported .
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stefania giudice , a conservator from naples national archaeological museum , told journalist natashas sheldon : ' it can be very moving handling these remains when we apply the plaster . '