Are the directors and film producers of the world running out of imagination? Something about the film climate of Shanghai, and most of the worlds mainstream cinema this last year has been a bit... repetitive.. with remakes, sequels, new versions of old movies, adaptations of comic books or literary classics or just movies on the exact same theme we´ve seen popping up in the theatres lately. We've had Transformers 2, Ip Man 2, Iron Man 2, Step Up 2, Kung Fu Hip Hop 2, Shrek 4, Alice In Wonderland, Doraemon, Astro Boy, G.I. Joe, Black Cat Detective, kung fu kicks here and kung fu tricks there and god knows how many government made flicks with the single goal to place an air of glory around The People's Republic of China. more ›

"David Cronenberg and William S. Burroughs invite you to lunch". This Tuesday´s SubCinema at Dada presents Naked Lunch, (1991) a partially biographical interpretation of William Burroughs book with the same name. It might be a bit dark and gory, but isn´t that how we know Cronenberg´s movies best? more ›

So dooown the rabbit hole we go again! We´ve been waiting for months and here it finally comes, the Tim Burton - Johnny Depp - Helena Bonham Carter-fueled version of the classic tale Alice in Wonderland. more ›

Not many new movies showing up in Shanghai this week as it seems, but at least Alliance Francaise offers "a movie - a book" event on Wednesday that sounds tempting. It goes in the footsteps of Marcel Proust, so for literature lovers it should be a mind treat. more ›

Think Rocky V, but during the Olympics. Jackie Chan, 54, will engage in some kind of fighting? boxing? kung fu? exhibition against Tszyu, 38, a welterweight boxer from Russia and former Olympian. However, as this is China's Olympics, we suspect that, like in the movies, Chan will triumph over the white man in the final, climactic scene. If he's in top form, he might be able to rescue some Ming vases and other priceless artifacts of Chinese culture at the same time! The exhibition has been agreed upon by both parties and would be set for August 22 or 23, depending on whether or not it gets final IOC approval. more ›

Well, it's all over the news. Hunan TV is going to do a Chinese version of the hit US TV show Ugly Betty. According to a report from the BBC, the lead character—the Chinese Betty—has already been chosen. A Chinese article that we read, dated March 7, says that Hunan TV wants to hold nation-wide auditions to find the ugliest girl possible. So we're not sure what the case is, but in any case, whoever is chosen will soon have their identity known to the world, because the show is supposed to start shooting in April. The plans are to stretch the show out over ten seasons, with about 40 episodes each, for a total of 400 episodes. However, unlike in the US, there aren't going to be longish breaks between seasons (and presumably, no writers' strikes either). more ›