Movie Trailers For Confession Of Pain (傷城) and Battle Of Wits (墨攻)

Here are trailers for two upcoming movies in Hong Kong and China.

The first trailer is from "Confession of Pain" (傷城) which stars Tony Leung, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Shu Qi, and Chapman To. This film is a crime/thriller about a detective who tries to solve the murder of his father-in-law and enlists the help of another detective. But things don't quite add up and as these two troubled detectives try to figure out what's going on, suspicions start pointing to someone close to them.

"Confession of Pain" (傷城) is scheduled for release on December 14, 2006 (sorry for the poor quality of the trailer - this was the best I could find).

The second trailer is for the film "Battle Of Wits" (墨攻). This film stars Korea's Ahn Sung Kee, Korea's Choi Shi Won, China's Fan Bingbing, Hong Kong's Andy Lau, and Taiwan's Nicholas Wu. This movie is set during the Warring States period and of how the small Liang Kingdom beat the powerful Zhao Kingdom. This highly anticipated film was 10 years in the making and had a budget of $16 million US dollars.

"Battle Of Wits" (墨攻) is scheduled for release at the end of November.


Here is the trailer for "Confession of Pain" (傷城):



Here is the trailer for "Battle Of Wits" (墨攻):

Entertainment News For Week Of Oct 21 - 28, 2006

Leehom Wang Loses A Lot Of Weight Because Of Busy Schedule

Leehom Wang is currently finishing up his "Heroes of Earth" concert tour and at the same time, finishing up filming "Lust, Caution". Many worry that Leehom looks like on the verge of collapsing and Leehom himself admits to eating less and lack of sleep. He promises that once filming is complete, he'll go back to his old self.

Story courtesy:
AsianFanatics: "Fan Complain: Wang Leehom Too Skinny!"

43rd Golden Horse Award Nominees Named

The 43rd Golden Horse Awards announced the list of nominees on Tuesday. "Perhaps Love" had 12 nominations this year. The Awards ceremony will be held on November 25, 2006 in Taipei, Taiwan.

Story courtesy:
CriEnglish: "Golden Horse Awards Announce Nominees"

Vivian Hsu's Photos From Her New Album

Vivian Hsu's new album is called "Mermaid" (see album cover at left). I've listened to a couple of her songs off the new album and they aren't that bad! Here is a link to a photobook of the pictures for that album.

Story courtesy:
CriEnglish: "Vivian Xu's Photo Album For New Album"

Universal Music To Merge With Go East Entertainment Due To Declining Music Sales

Music sales in Hong Kong has been on the decline for several years and has recently declined by 20%. Because of this, several big name artists are simply not producing any new albums. To counter low sales and low profits, Univseral Music group will merge with Go East Entertainment (which also owns Cineopoly Records and What's Music).

Story courtesy:
AsianFanatics: "HK Music On A Decline, Universal Music To Combine With Go East Entertainment"

Hong Kong Box Office Also On Decline

In related news, Hong Kong box office reported the lowest sales in the past 10 years. What used to be a movie powerhouse, Hong Kong is now only producing about 50 films a year, compared to 150 movies in previous years. Only 7 films grossed over $10 million HK dollars. The top movie this year was Jet-Li's "Fearless", which took in $30 million HK dollars.

Story courtesy:
CriEnglish: "HK Film Box Office Slides To Lowest In Past 10 Years"

Jerry Yan Appointed Asia's Child Sponsorship Ambassador

Jerry Yan, from the popular TV series "Meteor Garden" (流星花園) has been appointe Asia's Child Sponsorship Ambassador by World Vision. Jerry is now visiting several countries as the new ambassador.

Story courtesy:
AsianFanatics: "Jerry To Visit Mongolia's Poor Children"
AsianFanatics: "Jerry To Go To Singapore For World Vision"
AsianFanatics: "Jerry To Go To Japan For World Vision"

15th Annual Golden Rooster & Hundred Flowers Film Festival Gets Under Way

The 15th annual Golden Rooster & Hundred Flowers film festival began on Wednesday in Hangzhou, China. This will be the first time films from Hong Kong and Taiwan will compete in the film festival. There will be 15 awards up for grabs, with 65 movies from China. Awards ceremony will be held this Saturday.

Story courtesy:
CirEnglish: "Curtains Up on Nation's Prestigious Film Festival"

Supergirl's Photos Too Hot To Handle?

"Supergirl" contestant Shao Yuhan recently posed for a magazine, but admits that some of the photos were a little too racy. "Supergirl" is a singing competition in China and is similar to "American Idol". Shao's mother was one of the ones who complained the most, writing an angry letter in response to the pictures. Click on the link below to see the pictures.

Story courtesy:
AsianBite: "Supergirl's Racy Pics Spark Harsh Rebukes"

"Curse Of The Golden Flower" To Push Release Date Up A Week In China

The long-awaited, big budget film "Curse Of The Golden Flower" pushed it's release date to a week earlier in China. After participating in several film festivals, the earlier release was in part, due to audience demands and to allow the film to take in more box office sales before the end of the year. The previous release date was December 14, 2006.

Story courtesy:
CriEnglish: "Curse Of Golden Flower Will Screen One Week Earlier"

Some Jolin Tsai (蔡依林) Videos

I don't own any of her albums, but here are two songs that I really like. Both are off of Jolin's "J-Top" album (album cover on the left).

I've listened to a couple of Jolin's songs, but for some reason, I couldn't really like most of her songs. With her kind of music, I really have to listen to her songs several times before I really get to like them.

Perhaps the next time I decide to buy a bunch of albums, I might consider getting her latest album called "Dancing Forever", which is a collection of remixes and songs from her concerts, otherwise I might just pick up her "J-Top" album.

Here is the video for "The Greek Girl Next To The Wishing Pond" (許願池的希臘少女):



Next is the video for "Rewind" (倒帶):

Entertainment News For Week Of Oct 14 - Oct 21, 2006

Three Kingdoms To Become A Movie

One of my favorite historical stories from China will become a movie! "The Three Kingdoms - Resurrection of the Dragon" has a budget of $25 million USD, will start filming in China next year, and has a cast of Andy Lau (who will play General Zhao Yu), Sammo Hung (who will play General Zhang Fei), Leon Lai (who will play General Zhao Yun) and Maggie Q (who will play Cao Cao's granddaughter Cao Ying).

Story courtesy:
AsianFanatics: "Three Kingdoms" Stars Meet Press in S. Korea
AndyLauSounds: Andy to be Zhao Zhi-Long
AsianFanatics: Andy to be Zhao Zhi-Long

Hacken Lee To Be Married In November

Singer Hacken Lee announced that he will be wed in November, with Andy Lay to be the best man. He will marry his long-time girlfriend of 13 years Lo Suk Yee.

Story courtesy:
Jayne Stars: Hacken Lee to get Married In November, Andy Lau to be Best Man
AsianFanatics: Andy Lau to do his Best As Hacken's Best Man

Meteor Garden Heading To Airwaves In Japan

The wildly popular TV series Meteor Garden will be heading to the airwaves in Japan on free TV. Previously Meteor Garden had run on cable TV, which is why the cast is popular in Japan, but this is the first time the series is heading for free TV.

Story courtesy:
AsianFanatics: Meteor Garden First to Attack Japanese Wireless TV

Top 10 Most Charming Chinese Women

A survey jointly held by Sina.com, Women of China Paper, and the committee of China International Beauty week. Please note that the key word is CHARMING, not the most beautiful (which is why the list has a few older names as well as writers and TV hosts). The top 10 were: Chiling Lin, Maggie Cheung, Yan Lan, Wang Xiaoya, Sun Li, Zhang Haidi, Li Bingbing, Zhang Xiaomei, Hong Huang and Zhang Liangying. For full story and pictures, follow link below.

Story courtesy:
Crienglish: Who Are The Most Charming Chinese Women?

Chinese Movies Frequent Oscars Nominations List

Every year it seems like more and more Chinese movies are being nominated for the Oscars. This year, four Chinese movies are being nomintated for the 2007 Oscars. They are "Curse of the Golden Flower", "The Banquet", "Curiosity Kills The Cat", and "The Road". I am also very glad that more Chinese movies are getting more recognition world-wide as more and more international film festivals and movie awards are including Chinese movies. I believe that the more exposure the world has of Chinese movies, the better!

Story courtesy:
AsianFanatics: Chinese Movies Crazy For Oscars, Ignore Results

Carina Lau Admits To Being Married To Tony Leung

After 20 years of being together, Carina Lau recently admitted she is married to Tony Leung. She admitted this shortly after her fathers death.

Story courtesy:
Crienglish: Carina Lau Admits she is Married

Can "Super Girls" Make It Into Chinese Dictionary?

"Super Girls" is a popular show in China and is a singing competition similar to "American Idol". The question becomes - is it popular enough to make a new entry into the Chinese dictionary? Since the popularity of this show is so great, many think that "Super Girl" has become a household name. Only time will tell if it can stand the test of time and forever be inserted into the official Chinese dictionary.

Story courtesy:
Crienglish: Are Super Girls Super Enough to be in China?

Tse Ting Fung Says Marriage Is Great

On September 29, 2006, singer/actress Cecilia Chung and singer Tse Ting Fung were married. When asked, Tse Ting Fung said that "marriage is a gamble, but he feels great".

Story courtesy:
Crienglish: Tse Ting Fung: Marriage is a Gamble, But It's Great

Some Music Videos

I absolutely love music videos. I'm not talking about music videos from North America...I'm talking about Chinese music videos. Why? Because most Chinese music videos actually tell a story and even if you don't understand the lyrics, you can sort of feel what the song is about.

Below I have posted 4 music videos (two by S.H.E. and two by Jay Chou). All four music videos are off of new albums by Jay Chou and S.H.E. The next time I go buy some CDs, these two albums are definitely on the wish list.

So how does this help in my learning Mandarin?

Well there are great sources out on the Internet where you can get lyrics and their English meanings. For example, I get all my S.H.E. lyrics from the S.H.E. Angelic Fansite. Below is a sample of the lyrics they house there (this sample is from the song "Wisteria", which by the way, is a type of viney flower that can be found in Asia):

花纏繞的神情懸秘 你像蒸發的背影
hua chan rao de shen qing xuan mi, ni xiang zheng fa de bei jing
The flower emits a sense of secretiveness; You're like the shadow of the bloom

我垂墜的心情搖曳 不出聲音
wo zui chui zhui de xin qing yao ye, bu chu sheng yin
My crestfallen heart droops, not making any sound

Not only do I get the Chinese words and the English meaning, I also get the PinYin (romanization of how to say the Chinese word). I've actually picked up quite a lot just by learning lyrics of some of my favorite songs.

Anyways, I've neglected this site for too long. I'll start doing more regular posts and I'll have a feature starting this weekend that rounds up some of the top entertainment news from China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan.

In the meantime, enjoy the music videos - these are my favorites off their new albums (see album covers below).

S.H.E.'s Music Video - Wisteria (紫藤花)

One of S.H.E.'s music videos from their new album "Forever"

S.H.E.'s Music Video - Electric Shock (觸電)

S.H.E.'s music video from their new album "Forever"

Jay Chou's Music Video - White Windmill (白色風車)

Another music video from his new album "Still Fantasy"

Jay Chou's Music Video - Faraway (千里之外) Featuring Fei Yu Ching

Jay Chou's new music video from his new album "Still Fantasy"

CD Review: Jay Chou (周傑倫) - November's Chopin (十一月的蕭邦) (Rating: 7/10)

Track Listing
Track 01: 夜曲 (Nocturne)
Track 02: 藍色風暴 (Blue Hurricane)
Track 03: 髮如雪 (Snow Like Hair)
Track 04: 黑色毛衣 (Black Sweater)
Track 05: 四面楚歌 (Beseiged from All Sides)
Track 06: 楓 (Maple)
Track 07: 浪漫手機 (Romantic Cellphone)
Track 08: 逆鱗 (Counter Scale)
Track 09: 麥芽糖 (Maltose)
Track 10: 珊瑚海 (Coral Sea) Featuring Lara
Track 11: 飄移 (Drifting)
Track 12: 一路向北 (All the Way North)

Review
Before buying this album, I never really listened to any of his songs before and when I saw this album on the store shelf, I thought to myself "What the heck - let's see why they call him the King of Mandarin pop".

I wasn't expecting much, as I thought that most of his songs were going to be like Chinese "rap" (which I still can't bring myself to like). After listening to the entire CD for the first time, I was actually quite impressed!

This album has songs that can fit in several categories - there are some slow love songs, some rock songs, some R&B songs, and some rap songs. In fact, I rather enjoyed some of his R&B type songs, but the ones that I really enjoyed were his slower songs.

After listening to this CD several times, I started looking for some of his music videos (on YouTube) and managed to find most of them. There were several tracks in which I didn't really have feelings for (i.e. didn't think they were special or catchy), but after watching several music videos, I started liking those songs!

I don't know why, but music videos have that effect on me - sometimes when I hear a song, I don't really like it, but after watching the music video, I instantly fall in love with the song!

In particular, Track 06: 楓 (Maple) had this effect on me. Initially I thought this song was rather dull and I found myself pressing the "Skip" button on my CD player, but after watching the music video several times, I couldn't listen to this song enough!

Similarly, I didn't really have an opinion about Track 12: 一路向北 (All the Way North), but after seeing the music video, I loved it. This track is off the Initial D soundtrack - one in which Jay Chou himself starred in.

And the songs I liked, I liked even more after watching the music video!

Of course, with any album, there are always songs that you don't like - and there were a few on this album that I didn't really like.

I base my ratings on the number of tracks I like, the tracks I have no real opinion of (i.e. I neither like nor dislike), and the tracks that I don't like. The more tracks I like, the better the rating. And so here is the list broken down in those categories:

Tracks I Like:
Track 01: 夜曲 (Nocturne)
Track 03: 髮如雪 (Snow Like Hair)
Track 06: 楓 (Maple)
Track 07: 浪漫手機 (Romantic Cellphone)
Track 10: 珊瑚海 (Coral Sea) Featuring Lara
Track 12: 一路向北 (All the Way North)

Tracks I Have No Opinion Of:
Track 05: 四面楚歌 (Beseiged from All Sides)
Track 09: 麥芽糖 (Maltose)
Track 11: 飄移 (Drifting)

Tracks I Don't Like:
Track 02: 藍色風暴 (Blue Hurricane)
Track 04: 黑色毛衣 (Black Sweater)
Track 08: 逆鱗 (Counter Scale)

Overall, I really enjoyed this CD and I find myself reaching for this album most of the time when I'm driving. Some of the rap was bearable and some were actually not half bad. There were some songs that, upon hearing it for the first time, you liked, but there were others that you had to listen to several times before you even began liking it.

Based on this CD, I can certainly see why he is considered the King of Mandarin pop - especially since he's written and produced most of his own songs. Jay currently has a new CD out called "Still Fantasy" and based on this CD, I'll probably buy that one as well.

Overall Rating: 7/10