Watch

Lust, caution (Ang Li) Tang Wei, Tony Leung, Wang Leehom, Joan Chen . 2007

Lee’s follow up to the Oscar winning Brokeback Mountain is a hugely ambitious and immensely rewarding film. The famed director delivers both halves of the movie title in spades as his slow burn period tale builds toward an erotic crescendo. Tang Wei’s abandoned heroine finds a family of sorts in a group of militant drama students plotting to murder a traitorous chief of police in Japan occupied China during World War 2. Her acting talent and beauty make her the ideal candidate to infiltrate the target’s world. What follows is a two part struggle of conscience and courage as Lee offers several startling set-pieces not all of them involving mahjong. Tony Leung as the monstrous antagonist is astonishing, his quiet charisma and handsome face negating the most evil deeds. Wei, in her film debut is also outstanding. Moreover, Lust, Caution looks glorious, Lee’s attention to period detail gives us a ravaged, terrified 1940’s China, teetering on the brink of rebellion. 4.5/5

stream@:
https://play.google.com/store/movies/details/Lust_Caution_Rated_R?id=ACBwwFr-BlE&hl=en

Hard Boiled ( John Woo) Chow Yun Fat, Tony Leung. 1992

Great fun Hong Kong action bonanza which placed both director and star firmly in the Hollywood shop window. Woo’s precursor to a big budget stateside career is etched in the annals of action movie history. There is little doubting the influence Hard Boiled had on 1990’s American crime films from Tarantino and every single one of his imitators to the Wachowski’s at the tail end of that decade. Interestingly, whilst American cinema certainly took its cue from Woo stylistically, Hard Boiled’s plot does borrow heavily from U.S 80’s action movie staples. Specifically this tale of two grizzled cops hunting down gun runners turns into Die Hard in a hospital about halfway through (‘This Summer, these Hong Kong cops are running out of patients.”). But the plot here is as inconsequential as it is nonsensical. A feast of balletic shoot em up and a must see for fans of the genre. 3.5/5

stream@:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crY_HlF5z9w

Dumplings (Fruit Chan) Bai Ling, Miriam Yeung, Tony Leung. 2004

To describe a movie about human consumption of aborted foetuses for anti-ageing purposes as morally dubious is probably a touch ambiguous. This bat shit crazy mid nought’s offering powered by Bai Ling’s maverick turn as a back street chop-shop surgeon who produces and sells the delicacies of the title, cares little for convention. At its core however, Dumplings verges beyond urban horror story and offers acidic statement on China’s obsession with youth, beauty and virility. It’s a tense, moody, often gut-wrenching but undeniably stylish piece of work. 3.5/5

Stream@:
https://play.stan.com.au/programs/926509/play

listen

Higher Brothers: Five Stars

Hip-hop has finally hit in the worlds most populous nation and you know it’s relevant when the government places a media ban on the genre. Chengdu quartet Higher Brothers have largely managed to avoid any state-sponsored heavy handedness by repping China and its many virtues in their lyrical content. On this their sophomore album, the brethren slide between Mandarin and English language delivery with an impressive fluidity. It’s not difficult to see why the group’s brief career to date has earned them crossover success with western audiences as they embrace hedonistic lifestyles over polished trap beats. Helping prove the group’s legitimacy is a stacked line-up of noteworthy U.S spitters who accommodate rather than dominate proceedings. Denzel Curry, JID, Schoolboy Q and Ski Mask all drop beefy verses without neccesarily outshining their hosts for the occasion. Offering a critique of the lyricism of the Brothers themselves is difficult for obvious reasons but that which is intelligible to your average Aussie rap fan stays confined within the trappings of modern mumble rap. Clearly the group have opted for style over substance but the limited amount that HB do, they do well. Check out infectious lead single Open it Up for a taste of their goofy but enjoyable machismo over a delectable old school beat. It’s an album bursting with confidence as evidenced by the title, even if they eventually fall a couple of planetoids shy of the ultimate accolade.

Five Stars is available for download on spotify.

read

The Explosion Chronicles, Yan Lianke. 2016

Or don’t read. Lianke’s tortuous attempted epic fails to entertain or enlighten in equal measure. The narrative of two families propelling their home town from shanty village to city to proposed megalopolis is promising in theory and early on the author presents some compelling ideas. A village elder being drowned by the spit of a thousand locals who are paid a dollar per golly for example is a nice metaphor for capitalism. Lianke’s clunky absurd imagery wears wafer thin very quickly however as does his tin ear for dialogue and excruciating prose. The grand scope of the plot concerning dynastic families scrapping for power coupled with an underscoring spiritualism is surely an attempt to mimic magic realism and more specifically the most celebrated novel of that movement. Going cover to cover with Chronicles however is more akin to 100 hours of sufferance.

Borrowed from Five Dock Library.

eat and drink

Seabay restaurant, 372 Pitt St Sydney.

Spicy beef salad, fried dumplings, Tsingtao beer.

No frills CBD institution which passes the immediate test for any Chinese restaurant by having Chinese people dining in it. Seabay offers the type of bare minimum interior design that whispers authenticity. The extensive menu is further confirmation that you’re in for a genuine experience. This is not what you’ll find at your local suburban Chinese so push aside thoughts of Mongolian Lamb and Sweet and Sour Pork. You can rarely go wrong with dumplings (except of course in the movie Dumplings) so be sure to grab a plate of boiled or fried, meat or veg and get dipping in that complimentary chilli sauce. The beef salad is a worthy addition to your meal but just one of so many interesting choices. Compliment it with a frosty Tsingtao which predictably hits the spot or stick with the provided Chinese tea which is, well it’s tea. Next time you’re in town hankering for an oriental meal, avoid the kitsch trappings of Chinatown and wander up the hill for a back street treat.

goal of the month

erm……