Film

New Releases 3D Sex and Zen: Extreme Ecstasy (III) (Cantonese) See review on this page. Rango (I) (Cantonese and English versions) See review on next page. I Saw the Devil (III) (Korean) Crime horror about a secret agent (Lee Byung-hun) who blurs the line between good and evil in his pursuit of revenge after his pregnant wife becomes a serial killer's latest victim. Also starring Choi Min-sik. CT Mr and Mrs Single (I) (Putonghua) Eason Chan Yik-shun and Rene Liu Ruo-ying star in a Yip Lim-sum (aka Patrick Kong) romantic comedy about a man who keeps his marriage a secret in order to get a new job as an assistant at a perfume company and the love triangle that forms when his female chief executive becomes attracted to him. Not reviewed. Scream 4 (IIB) The ghostface killer returns for another round with the survivors of the Woodsburrow murders in the latest instalment of Wes Craven's horror series. Not reviewed. The Tree (IIA) Drama about a suburban Australian family who, after the patriarch prematurely dies, seek comfort under a protective tree in their garden. Stars Charlotte Gainsbourg and Morgana Davies. CT General Releases The Adjustment Bureau (IIA) Matt Damon stars in a romantic drama dressed up as a political sci-fi thriller about a young congressman whose attempts to connect with a ballerina are hampered by mysterious forces. Also starring Emily Blunt. CT A3D Ayumi Hamasaki Arena Tour 2009 - Next Level (I) (Japanese) Shot-in-3-D concert film featuring a headlining performance by the J-pop singer-songwriter. CT Beastly (IIA) Contemporary take on the Beauty and the Beast fairy tale centring on an American high school student (Alex Pettyfer) who is transformed into a monster and has one year to find someone to fall in love with in order to reverse the curse. CT Beautiful Lies (IIA) (French) Audrey Tautou stars in a drama about a hairstylist who causes a series of misunderstandings after sending an anonymous love letter to her widowed mother. CT Black Swan (IIB) Natalie Portman stars in Darren Aronofsky's thriller about a ballerina who wins the lead part in Swan Lake but slowly loses her mind as she tries to capture the essence of the ballet's twin roles. CT Carmen in 3-D (IIA) (French) Stereoscopic film adaptation of Georges Bizet's opera about a beautiful gypsy with a fiery temper, an inexperienced soldier who falls for her and a bullfighter she lusts after. Starring Christine Rice. Bryan Hymel and Aris Argiris. KK Choi Lee Fut (IIA) (Cantonese) Actioner about two martial arts enthusiast friends (Timmy Hung Tin-ming and Kane Kosugi) who journey to China to learn Choi Lee Fut kung fu and get involved in a martial arts tournament as representatives of that kung fu school. Also starring Sammo Hung Kam-bo and Yuen Wah. CT Don't Go Breaking My Heart (IIA) (Cantonese, Putonghua and English) Johnnie To Kei-fung's romantic comedy about a love triangle involving a playboy (Louis Koo Tin-lok), a female executive (Gao Yuanyuan) and an architect (Daniel Wu Yin-cho). PF The Eagle (IIB) (English and Gaelic) Epic historical adventure about a Roman centurion (Channing Tatum) and a courageous slave (Jamie Bell) who embark on a mission to find a missing legion and its golden eagle symbol. CT Gnomeo & Juliet (I) (Cantonese and English versions) Animated comedy take on Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet that reimagines the young protagonist couple as a pair of garden gnomes caught up in a feud between neighbours. CT Hanna (IIB) (English and German) Action thriller centring on a 16-year-old girl (Saoirse Ronan) raised by her ex-CIA agent father (Eric Bana) to be the perfect assassin who is sent on a deadly mission across Europe. Also starring Cate Blanchett. CT In A Better World (Danish, Swedish and English) Susanne Bier's drama centring on two boys whose lives are put in danger after they seek revenge on a bully. CT Inside Job (IIA) Documentary about how the financial institutions on Wall Street deliberately defrauded ordinary investors by betting against their own customers, leading to the 2008 financial crisis. Charles Ferguson directs. CT The King's Speech (IIB) Historical drama about King George VI of Britain and the speech therapist who helped the monarch overcome a debilitating speech impediment on the eve of the second world war. Starring Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush and Helena Bonham-Carter. CT Limitless (IIB) Action thriller about a New York writer (Bradley Cooper) who, after coming into possession of a designer drug that bestows him with superhuman abilities, is pursued by mysterious antagonists. Also starring Robert De Niro. CT The Lincoln Lawyer (IIB) Thriller about a streetwise lawyer (Matthew McConaughey) whose first big case involves defending a Beverly Hills playboy (Ryan Phillippe) accused of attempted murder. Also starring Marisa Tomei. CT Morning Glory (IIA) Dramedy about an upstart television producer (Rachel McAdams) who accepts the challenge of reviving a struggling morning television news show with warring co-hosts (Harrison Ford and Diane Keaton). CT Rio 3-D (I) (Cantonese and English versions) Animated comedy adventure revolving around a domesticated macaw from small-town Minnesota who goes off with his owner and best friend on an adventure to Rio de Janeiro to find the bird of his dreams. Carlos Saldanha directs. LKW Sacrifice (IIB) (Putonghua) Chen Kaige's period epic about a Chinese court doctor during the seventh century BC who plans revenge after being forced to sacrifice his son to save his master's child. Starring Ge You. CT Sucker Punch (IIB) Action fantasy that delves deep into the vivid imagination of a young woman (Emily Browning) whose dream world provides the ultimate escape from her dark reality. CT Umizaru 3: The Last Message (IIA) (Japanese) Third action drama outing for a group of Japan Coast Guard rescue divers who, in this shot-in-3D instalment, get trapped in a giant natural gas plant after trying to rescue the people in it from an accident. CT World Invasion (IIA) Sci-fi actioner in which a US Marine staff sergeant (Aaron Eckhart) and his new platoon battle against alien attackers in Los Angeles. CT Art House HK Turkish Film Festival Izmir Cinema Association presents films from Turkey, including the following seven features and a short film selection. Until Apr 17. The Grand Cinema, 2/F Elements, 1 Austin Rd West, Kowloon, HK$65 Inquiries: 2196 8170 My Only Sunshine Reha Erdem's drama centring on a young girl who lives a harsh and unrelenting life with her father and sick grandfather in a riverside dwelling near the Bosphorus in Istanbul. Apr 14, 7.20pm, The Grand Cinema. Honey The final film in Semih Kaplanoglu's reverse-order dramatic trilogy centring on a six-year-old son of a beekeeping father. In Turkish with English subtitles. Apr 14, 9.30pm, The Grand Cinema. The Magician Road movie following a magician who embarks on a tour with his grumpy and senile father to save his career but finds things really go downhill after he makes a bride disappear. In Turkish and English with English subtitles. Apr 15, 5.15pm, The Grand Cinema. A Run for Money Reha Erdem's drama about a man known for his honesty and integrity who finds a bag full of money in a taxi. In Turkish with English subtitles. Apr 16, 12.20pm, The Grand Cinema. Mustafa Biographical documentary about Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, founder of the Republic of Turkey. In Turkish with English subtitles. Apr 16, 2.15pm, The Grand Cinema. Crossing the Bridge: The Sound of Istanbul Faith Akin's documentary capturing the musical diversity of Turkey's largest city. In German, Turkish and English with English subtitles. Apr 17, 4.10pm, The Grand Cinema. Times and Winds Reha Erdem's drama revolving around three children growing up in a poor Turkish village. In Turkish with English subtitles. Apr 17, 5.50pm, The Grand Cinema. Shorts from Turkey Selection of five short films including Snow, which tells the story of the relationship between a grief-stricken mother who resides in a small village and her now deceased son, and No Today about a young man who embarks on a search for his sister after she fails to return home. In Turkish with English subtitles. Apr 17, 8pm, The Grand Cinema. Morning Matinee The Leisure and Cultural Services Department presents a continuing series of old Hong Kong movies, including the following two features. Film Archive, 50 Lei King Rd, Sai Wan Ho, HK$20 Urbtix. Inquiries: 2739 2139 Chai Kung Versus Vampire An adventure movie revolving around Chai Kung, the monk known affectionately in folklore as Living Buddha, and his investigation into a mysterious case involving missing young women. Starring Sun Ma Si-tsang, Josephine Siao Fong-fong and Connie Chan Po-chu. In Cantonese. Apr 15, 11am, Film Archive. Affection and Hatred of the Knight Wuxia film about a carefree martial artist (Patrick Tse Yin) who unwittingly gets involved in a highway robbery and, in the process, has to use his manly charm on a young woman in order to save the life of another. Also starring Patsy Kar Ling and Tam Sin-hung. In Cantonese. Apr 22, 11am, Film Archive. HK International Film Festival The HK International Film Festival Society presents 335 films from 56 territories, including the following 14 films. Part II: until May 1. HK Arts Centre, 2 Harbour Rd, Wan Chai; Science Museum, 2 Science Museum Rd, TST East; and Space Museum, 10 Salisbury Rd, TST, HK$60 Urbtix. Inquiries: hkiff.org Modern People Post-war Japanese drama about a man working at the lands ministry who is lured into corruption after falling in love with his boss' daughter and a shady man who has both government officials in his pocket. In Japanese with English subtitles. Apr 15, 7.30pm, Space Museum. Doctor's Day Off Minoru Shibuya's adaptation of novelist Masuji Ibuse's tragicomic melodrama chronicling the problems faced by the working class in post-war Japan through the patients of a kindly doctor (Eijiro Yanagi). In Japanese with English subtitles. Apr 15, 9.45pm, Space Museum. The Shrikes Melodrama revolving around a headstrong, long estranged mother and daughter who are drawn into a cycle of love, jealousy and loss. Starring Chikage Awashima and Inako Arima. In Japanese with English subtitles. Apr 16, 2.30pm, HK Arts Centre. A Good Man, A Good Day Minoru Shibuya's comic drama revolving around an eccentric professor and his adopted daughter, who seeks his approval to marry the scion of a well-respected ink-merchant family. In Japanese with English subtitles. Apr 16, 5pm, HK Arts Centre. Where is the Friend's Home? Abbas Kiarostami's drama about an eight-year-old boy who must return his friend's notebook he took by mistake, lest his friend be punished by expulsion from school. In Persian with English subtitles. Apr 16, 5pm, Space Museum, Apr 25, 2.30pm, HK Arts Centre, May 1, 4.45pm, Science Museum. The Days of Evil Women Campy suspense comedy about a long-suffering common law wife who seeks help from an illegal driver to murder her wily and wealthy old husband. In Japanese with English subtitles. Apr 16, 7pm, Space Museum. Drunkard's Paradise Dramatic look at Japanese drinking culture during the post-war recovery period revolving around a father and son, the son's fiancee and a famous baseball player. In Japanese with English subtitles. Apr 16, 9.15pm, Space Museum. Winter Days Kihachiro Kawamoto's animated adaption of the 17th-century Japanese poet Basho's 36-stanza renga poem. In Japanese with English subtitles. Apr 17, 2.30pm, HK Arts Centre. The Book of the Dead Kihachiro Kawamoto's stop-motion puppet animation film centring on a scholarly female who is as easily distracted by a ghostly pseudo-lover as she is devoted to Buddhism. In Japanese with English subtitles. Apr 17, 5pm, HK Arts Centre. The White-eye Bird + The Story of the Luc Couple Double bill consisting of a drama about a family whose pastoral idyll is shattered when the area where they live becomes the arena of conflict between Vietnamese revolutionaries and French agents, and a collectivist domestic drama centring on a man who is asked to literally sacrifice his house for a village. In Vietnamese with English subtitles. Apr 17, 7pm, HK Arts Centre, Apr 23, 2.30pm, Space Museum. Homework Abbas Kiarostami's documentary companion piece to Where is the Friend's Home? exploring the everyday trials of children, with a particular focus on school homework. In Persian with English subtitles. Apr 17, 7.30pm, Space Museum, Apr 23, 5pm, HK Arts Centre. Close-Up Abbas Kiarostami's fusion of documentary and fiction about an unemployed man who successfully impersonates the famous Iranian filmmaker Mohsen Makhmalbaf for a time. In Persian with English subtitles. Apr 17, 9.30pm, Space Museum, Apr 24, 9pm, HK Arts Centre. (See Don't Miss, Pg 7) Hanoi Little Girl War drama depicting the American bombing of Hanoi in 1972 as seen through the eyes of a little Vietnamese girl. In Vietnamese with English subtitles. Apr 23, 7pm, HK Arts Centre. Kuei Chih-hung, the Rebel in the System The HK Film Archive and HK International Film Festival co-present a programme of nine films directed by the Hong Kong filmmaker, including the following two features. Until May 28. Film Archive, 50 Lei King Rd, Sai Wan Ho, HK$30 Urbtix. Inquiries: 2739 2139 The Killer Snakes Crime horror centring on a perpetually bullied, sexually frustrated shack dweller with no fear of snakes who turns to reptiles to exact his bloody revenge against those who have wronged him. Starring Kam Kwok-leung. In Putonghua with Chinese and English subtitles. Apr 15, 7.30pm, Film Archive. The Teahouse Chen Kuan-tai stars in this social drama centring on a righteous transplanted mainlander who runs a successful teahouse that employs immigrants like himself. In Cantonese with Chinese and English subtitles. Apr 23, 7pm, Film Archive. All for One and One for All: Union Film The Leisure and Cultural Services Department presents the complete retrospective of Union Film's catalogue of titles, including the following 12 films. Until May 29. Film Archive, 50 Lei King Rd, Sai Wan Ho, HK$30 Urbtix. Inquiries: 2734 2900 A Borrowed Bride Situation comedy in which two earnest young men - one from a wealthy family and the other from a poor one - get involved in a romantic triangle when one of them is forced to marry a young woman who is in love with the other. In Cantonese. Apr 16, 2pm, Film Archive. Adultery Whodunnit based on a newspaper serial series about a murder occurring in a gothic mansion where a scandalous event previously took place. Starring Ng Cho-fan, Pak Yin and Sek Kin. In Cantonese. Apr 16, 7pm, Film Archive. Road Second world war-era action thriller with guerilla exploits against Japanese occupation forces but also infighting among the Chinese populace. Starring Ng Cho-fan. In Cantonese. Apr 17, 2pm, Film Archive. Sea Second world war-era actioner centring on passengers of a boat subjected to dreadful devastations whose misadventures continue after they land on an island where guerilla warfare breaks out. Apr 17, 5pm, Film Archive. The Tormented Beauty Hybrid spy film-romance revolving around a guerilla-playwright, using his association with a Cantonese opera troupe to conceal his military intelligence gathering, who gets into a love triangle involving his old lover and her collaborator husband. In Cantonese. Apr 17, 7.30pm, Film Archive. Big Thunderstorm Ng Wui's adaptation of Russian playwright Aleksandr Ostrovsky's drama centring on a powerful, conniving village elder and a mother who is bullied by the elder but turns around to bully her own family with iron-fisted oppressiveness. In Cantonese. Apr 22, 4.30pm, Film Archive. Family Ng Wui's adaptation of a Ba Jin novel about young folks struggling to survive oppression and repression in a feudalistic family. In Cantonese with Chinese and English subtitles. Apr 22, 7.30pm, Film Archive. The Cruel Husband Horror tale of a social-climbing husband (Ng Cho-fan) who alternately seeks to woo a rich woman and scheme to drown his wife. In Cantonese. Apr 23, 2pm, Film Archive. The Bloody Sucker Chinese gothic movie loosely based on Arthur Conan Doyle's The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire sees two women attempting to blackmail a housekeeper who secretly murders one of their husbands and is attempting to kill one of the women's son. In Cantonese. Apr 23, 4.30pm, Film Archive. The Fairy Fantasy take on a moral tale about a respected scholar forced to flee after false charges are levelled against him until a fairy interferes on his behalf. In Cantonese. Apr 24, 2pm, Film Archive. Spring Second instalment of the Torrent Trilogy continues the saga of the feudalistic family whose tales were first told in Ng Wui's Family. In Cantonese with Chinese and English subtitles. Apr 25, 2pm, Film Archive. Autumn Third instalment of the Torrent Trilogy concludes the family saga previously depicted in Family and Spring. In Cantonese with Chinese and English subtitles. Apr 25, 5pm, Film Archive. Classical in Cinema iMagine presents a programme of classical music concerts and operas, including the following four. Until Jan 2012. AMC Festival Walk, U/G Level, Festival Walk, 80 Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon Tong; AMC Pacific Place, L1 Pacific Place, 88 Queensway, Admiralty; Broadway The One, 6-11/F, The One, 100 Nathan Rd, TST; and Palace IFC, Podium Level 1, IFC Mall, 8 Finance St, Central, HK$75-HK$120 www.amccinemas.com.hk and www2.cinema.com.hk. Inquiries: 6336 3595 Turandot Chen Kaige directs the Cor de la Generalitat Valenciana and Escolania de la Mare de Deu dels Desemparats' performance at the Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia of Giacomo Puccini's fairy-tale opera about a Chinese princess who will only marry a prince who can solve her three riddles. In Italian with English subtitles. Apr 16, 30, 5.30pm, Palace IFC, Apr 17, May 1, 5.30pm, AMC Pacific Place. The Chopin Piano Concertos Film of a concert at the Ruhr Piano Festival in Essen during which pianist-maestro Daniel Barenboim turns over the conducting reins to Andris Nelsons to perform works by Chopin with the Staatskapelle Berlin. Nelsons also conducts the orchestra performing Haydn's Symphony in E Minor, Mourning. Apr 16, 5.40pm, AMC Pacific Place, Apr 17, 11.30am, Palace IFC, Apr 17, 5.30pm, Broadway The One. Karajan Memorial Concert on his 100th Birthday Film of a concert at Vienna's Musikverein during which Seiji Ozawa conducts German violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter and the Berliner Philharmoniker playing works by Beethoven, Tchaikovsky and J.S. Bach. Apr 23, 11.30am, AMC Pacific Place, Apr 24, 11.30am, Palace IFC, Apr 24, 5.30pm, Broadway The One. Aida Iano Tamar and Tatiana Serjan star in a production of Giuseppe Verdi's opera about an Ethiopian princess bought into slavery in Egypt who becomes torn between her family and an Egyptian general she loves. The show was performed against the backdrop of Switzerland's Lake Constance at the Bregenz Festival. In Italian with Chinese and English subtitles. Apr 23, 5.15pm, Broadway The One, also Palace IFC, Apr 24, 5.15pm, AMC Pacific Place. The Met: Live in HD in Hong Kong Foundation for the Arts and Music in Asia presents a programme of 11 operas performed by the Metropolitan Opera of New York, including the following one. Until Jul 10. Wellcome Theatre, HK Academy for Performing Arts' Bethanie Campus, 139 Pok Fu Lam Rd, Pok Fu Lam, HK$170 HK Ticketing. Inquiries: 2880 9900 Gluck's Iphigenie en Tauride Susan Graham and Placido Domingo star in a Metropolitan Opera and Seattle Opera's co-production of Christoph Gluck's adaptation of the Greek myth about the family of Agamemnon in the aftermath of the Trojan War. Stephen Wadsworth directs and Patrick Summers conducts. In French with English subtitles. Apr 16-17, 7pm, also Apr 17, 1pm, Wellcome Theatre. Two Days on the Road 2011 Goethe Institut HK and Broadway Cinematheque present the following four German road movies. Apr 23-24. Broadway Cinematheque, Prosperous Garden, 3 Public Square St, Yau Ma Tei, HK$60. Inquiries: 2802 0088 Friendship! Comedy set shortly after the fall of the Berlin Wall about a young man from East Germany who travels to the US to search for his father, who fled there 12 years ago. In German and English with English subtitles. Apr 23, 4.30pm, Apr 24, 6.05pm, Broadway Cinematheque. The Two Horses of Genghis Khan Documentary following German-based singer Urna as she fulfils a promise she made to her grandmother to return to her ancestral home in Mongolia. In Mongolian with English subtitles. Apr 23, 6.20pm, Apr 24, 9.50pm, Broadway Cinematheque. Winter's Daughter Johannes Schmid's drama about an old woman, a young girl and a clapped-out barge as they embark on an unusual journey from Berlin to Poland. In German, Russian, Polish and English with German subtitles. Apr 23, 8.05pm, Apr 24, 4.20pm, Broadway Cinematheque. Vincent Wants to Sea Ralf Huettner's drama about a Tourette's syndrome sufferer who goes on a journey to the Italian coast together with an anorexic woman and a compulsive man, with his father and a doctor in hot pursuit. In German with English subtitles. Apr 23, 9.50pm, Apr 24, 7.55pm, Broadway Cinematheque.