Amen to that, Stevie. Amen to that. more ›

Shanghaiist greeted the news that Zhang Yimou had gone back to making touching humanistic films set in the backwaters of China with some trepidation. We hope, after the disappointment of Hero and the even more atrocious House of Flying Daggers that Zhang has gotten this whole slick martial arts fantasia thing out of his system, like Michael Jordan and his minor league baseball lark. Zhang even managed to get veteran Japanese actor Takakura Ken for the lead role. Like Not One Less and The Road Home, the film is shot in a fairly realistic, almost documentary style and the plot is fairly lean, more a short story than a novel. more ›

Ever since Matrix: Revolutions in 2003, select Hollywood blockbusters have been released simultaneously worldwide in an effort to combat the DVD guy on the corner, whose suitcase fills magically on opening night. Star Wars III? Got it. Mr. and Mrs. Smith? Got it. Sure, the frame rate can't keep up with the action, and the camera man, having sat too close to the screen, has to pan a little to see each side of a conversation. But hey, it's 8 kuai. (Or 7, depending on where you shop.) more ›