Top 5 films to watch in Hong Kong this week: August 18-24
Gripping one-take thriller, an old-fashioned period action drama and a fantasy samurai animation set in feudal Japan are this week’s picks
Click on film titles to read scmp.com reviews.
Move aside Birdman. While it might sound like a gimmick, German actor-director Sebastian Schipper’s single-take sensation is in fact a tautly paced heist thriller that remains captivating throughout its 138-minute runtime. This is an incredible feat of filmmaking. (Opens on August 18)
A simple story marvellously told, director Benny Chan’s period actioner brings back the old-fashioned good-versus-evil drama of Akira Kurosawa and Sergio Leone’s 1960s classics, while adding Sammo Hung’s martial arts choreography to the delirious mix. (Opens on August 18)
After the acclaimed run of Coraline, ParaNorman and The Boxtrolls, it is remarkable to see stop-motion studio Laika come up with arguably their best outing yet with this feudal Japan-set animation, a beautiful fantasy of magical powers and mythical creatures. (Opens on August 18)
The themes of loneliness and childlike wonder make for perfect bedfellows in this winning take on Roald Dahl’s story by Steven Spielberg and ET scriptwriter Melissa Mathison. Even though he’s here only by motion capture, Mark Rylance is superb as the do-gooding giant. (Now showing)
Japanese director Masahiro Shinoda adapts a Bunraku puppet play for this 1969 precursor to J-horror, which is accompanied by a striking score by avant-garde composer Toru Takemitsu. (August 20, part of the Critics’ Choice 2016 – Six Directors In Search of Playwrights programme)
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