https://www.scmp.com/rss/322296/feed en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Associated Press Associated Press Remember the iPod? It is making a quiet comeback. Four years after Apple killed off its digital music player, second-hand sales are surging – fuelled in part by young people interested not just in its retro looks but in listening to music in a focused way and with playlists not determined by algorithms. “There’s a growing trend, particularly among younger users, to mitigate the ease with which they can be distracted by smartphones, often driven by mental health and well-being concerns,” says Ben... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/gadgets/article/3349514/how-get-ipod-and-set-it-apples-music-device-makes-comeback?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/gadgets/article/3349514/how-get-ipod-and-set-it-apples-music-device-makes-comeback?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 11 Apr 2026 11:15:08 +0000 Pierce Conran Pierce Conran Byeon Woo-seok’s star has been on a sharp rise over the past few years. After sitting out last year’s drama release schedules, he returns this weekend in what is arguably his most hotly anticipated role to date: Grand Prince Ian in the alternate-history fantasy romance Perfect Crown opposite K-pop idol IU (aka Lee Ji-eun). Born in Bucheon, a satellite city southwest of Seoul, in 1991, Byeon spent his early childhood there before relocating to the capital. Influenced by his older sister, he... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/k-drama/k-drama/article/3349509/who-byeon-woo-seok-model-turned-actor-starring-opposite-iu-perfect-crown?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/k-drama/k-drama/article/3349509/who-byeon-woo-seok-model-turned-actor-starring-opposite-iu-perfect-crown?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 11 Apr 2026 07:15:08 +0000 Tribune News Service Tribune News Service What is busier than booked and busy? Whatever it is, Zendaya is exactly that this entire year, with a slate filled with high-profile screen projects, including those dropping her back in the drama of Euphoria and the desert sands of Arrakis in the Dune franchise. The 29-year-old, a Disney Channel star who has become one of Hollywood’s most in-demand actors, kicks off her impressive run this month with the dark romantic comedy The Drama, which co-stars Robert Pattinson, who will also join her for... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3349270/2026-year-zendaya-drama-and-euphoria-spider-man-and-dune?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3349270/2026-year-zendaya-drama-and-euphoria-spider-man-and-dune?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 10 Apr 2026 11:15:07 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse With its grey front door and battered picket fence, No 4 Plaistow Grove in the anonymous London suburb of Bromley is unremarkable in every way except for one. The modest town house – originally built as a cottage for railway workers in the late 19th century – is the childhood home of pop phenomenon David Bowie. An inscription on a small blue plaque to the right of the front door is the only clue to the property’s extraordinary past. “David Bowie Singer and Talented Musician 1955 to 1968”, it... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3349500/david-bowies-former-london-home-where-pop-star-dreamed-fame-open-public?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3349500/david-bowies-former-london-home-where-pop-star-dreamed-fame-open-public?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 10 Apr 2026 09:15:08 +0000 Lisa Cam Lisa Cam This is the 74th instalment in a biweekly series profiling major Hong Kong pop culture figures of recent decades. When a young Joey Yung Cho-yee was dropped by her first record label for her supposedly ordinary looks, few would have bet she would one day stand atop Cantopop as one of its most decorated performers. Yet nearly three decades later, the 45-year-old Hong Kong singer has outlasted her critics and claimed, among other accolades, a dozen most popular female singer trophies from TVB’s... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3349329/not-pretty-enough-joey-yung-became-one-hong-kongs-biggest-cantopop-idols-anyway?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3349329/not-pretty-enough-joey-yung-became-one-hong-kongs-biggest-cantopop-idols-anyway?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 09 Apr 2026 23:15:07 +0000 SCMP SCMP We have selected five Trending in China stories from the past seven days that resonated with our readers. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. How Gingle Wang went from clueless novice to one of Taiwan’s top young actresses For an actress often hailed by the Taiwanese press as the “box office guarantee” of her generation, Gingle Wang Ching began her career with a startling lack of vocabulary: she had no idea what the word “action” meant on a film... https://www.scmp.com/news/article/3349505/gingle-wangs-rise-top-apps-help-fight-jet-lag-7-lifestyle-highlights?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/article/3349505/gingle-wangs-rise-top-apps-help-fight-jet-lag-7-lifestyle-highlights?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 09 Apr 2026 07:37:01 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press A very grown-up Malcolm turns to the camera at the beginning of the Malcolm in the Middle revival and, weirdly, has nothing to complain about. “Yeah, I look different, but, hey, everything about me is different. I’m happy. I’m successful,” he says. “My life is fantastic now. You want to know how I did it? All I had to do is stay completely away from my family.” That is going to be very hard to do in Hulu’s four-part Malcolm in the Middle: Life’s Still Unfair, which reunites one of the zaniest... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3349467/how-malcolm-middle-reboot-lifes-still-unfair-came-being-and-keeps-crazy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3349467/how-malcolm-middle-reboot-lifes-still-unfair-came-being-and-keeps-crazy?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 09 Apr 2026 07:15:08 +0000 James Marsh James Marsh 3.5/5 stars After winning the Cristal for a Feature Film at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, French filmmaker Ugo Bienvenu’s directorial debut Arco went on to be nominated at every major awards ceremony this past season, only to be eclipsed by Netflix’s cultural juggernaut, KPop Demon Hunters. While the latter’s success is undeniable, Arco is more than worthy of recognition, emerging as a charming and delicately handled sci-fi fable with a powerful ecological message. In the... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3349216/arco-movie-review-annecy-cristal-winner-peter-pan-esque-sci-fi-tale-our-times?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3349216/arco-movie-review-annecy-cristal-winner-peter-pan-esque-sci-fi-tale-our-times?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 08 Apr 2026 13:15:07 +0000 James Marsh James Marsh 3.5/5 stars Shifting gears between careers as a writer, entrepreneur, rally driver and filmmaker, post-80s poster boy Han Han adds another accolade to his cluttered trophy cabinet, scoring the biggest hit of 2026 so far with the motor-racing sequel Pegasus 3. Having clocked up more than 4.3 billion yuan (US$625 million) at China’s box office since its Chinese New Year release, the blockbuster sequel finally brings the continuing exploits of former champion Zhang Chi (Shen Teng) roaring into Hong... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3349140/pegasus-3-movie-review-shen-teng-roars-back-han-hans-blockbuster-racing-sequel?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3349140/pegasus-3-movie-review-shen-teng-roars-back-han-hans-blockbuster-racing-sequel?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 07 Apr 2026 09:15:08 +0000 Associated Press,Agence France-Presse Associated Press,Agence France-Presse As The Super Mario Galaxy Movie crushed the competition at the North American box office on its opening weekend, with an estimated US$130.9 million in ticket sales, this screen adaptation of the wildly popular Nintendo video game may have succeeded in enticing arguably the most prized film-goers to Hollywood today: children. The five-day opening of the Super Mario sequel reached US$190.1 million domestically, and around US$372.5 million worldwide. “This is a sensational opening for the second... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3349137/how-generation-alpha-could-save-hollywood-pg-rated-films-lead-way?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3349137/how-generation-alpha-could-save-hollywood-pg-rated-films-lead-way?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 06 Apr 2026 11:15:07 +0000 Edmund Lee Edmund Lee For an actress often hailed by the Taiwanese press as the “box office guarantee” of her generation, Gingle Wang Ching began her career with a startling lack of vocabulary: she had no idea what the word “action” meant on a film set. Her very first scene in her debut feature, 2017’s All Because of Love, required her to walk down a school corridor, open a classroom door and step inside. What should have taken minutes instead took 33 takes. “I didn’t understand anything at all,” Wang, 28, tells the... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3348889/how-gingle-wang-went-clueless-novice-one-taiwans-top-young-actresses?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3348889/how-gingle-wang-went-clueless-novice-one-taiwans-top-young-actresses?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 05 Apr 2026 23:15:10 +0000 Richard James Havis Richard James Havis Celebrated novelist Eileen Chang Ai-ling was not only a film fan, but she also worked as a film critic and wrote movie scripts. Chang’s own novellas were often considered difficult to adapt for the screen. “Her stories are beautiful because of their language and details, not their plots,” critic Paul Fonoroff wrote in the South China Morning Post. Nevertheless, the great Hong Kong director Ann Hui On-wah has tried three times, with Love in a Fallen City (1984), Eighteen Springs (1997) and Love... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3348750/how-did-ann-hui-bring-eileen-changs-love-fallen-city-and-eighteen-springs-life?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3348750/how-did-ann-hui-bring-eileen-changs-love-fallen-city-and-eighteen-springs-life?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 05 Apr 2026 11:15:08 +0000 Reuters Reuters After ⁠losing its bid to acquire Warner Bros Discovery and its rich trove of characters and stories, Netflix ⁠is forging ahead with the challenging work of building culture-defining franchises on its own. Chief creative officer Bela ⁠Bajaria says Netflix will keep investing in original ideas, and partner with established studios such as MGM and Warner Bros, to try and produce movies and series that live on for years, in the vein of Stranger Things, Wednesday and Bridgerton. “To me, that’s just... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3348894/how-netflix-seeking-next-stranger-things-after-failed-warner-bros-bid?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3348894/how-netflix-seeking-next-stranger-things-after-failed-warner-bros-bid?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 04 Apr 2026 13:15:08 +0000 Pierce Conran Pierce Conran As the cherry blossoms begin to bloom, K-drama stars are busy signing on to a variety of coming projects, among them a period crime series, a fantasy romance, a mystery melodrama and a film-industry-set romantic drama. Read on for the latest casting news. Born Guilty Itaewon Class star Park Seo-joon is set to act opposite Uhm Tae-goo (My Sweet Mobster) and Jo Hye-joo (Dear Hyeri) in the coming Disney+ drama Born Guilty. Based on a webtoon of the same name, this crime-action series will be set in... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/k-drama/k-drama/article/3348891/k-drama-casting-news-about-park-seo-joon-park-eun-bin-lee-young-ae-and-more?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/k-drama/k-drama/article/3348891/k-drama-casting-news-about-park-seo-joon-park-eun-bin-lee-young-ae-and-more?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 04 Apr 2026 11:15:07 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto never imagined that the “little character I drew would become so big”, bouncing through the decades from pixelated New York sewers to a silver-screen space epic. There were more technical constraints when the red-capped plumber made his 1980s debut, says Miyamoto, the design mastermind of Japan’s Nintendo, as The Super Mario Galaxy Movie hits the cinemas this week. In the earliest Mario arcade games, the character was only 16 pixels tall, a far cry from the rich... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3348737/tough-choices-mario-creator-shigeru-miyamoto-made-new-movie?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3348737/tough-choices-mario-creator-shigeru-miyamoto-made-new-movie?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 04 Apr 2026 09:15:08 +0000 Matt Glasby Matt Glasby This is the latest instalment in our From the Vault feature series, in which we reflect on culturally significant movies celebrating notable anniversaries. Released 25 years ago this month, the 2001 film Bridget Jones’s Diary was a huge success, earning its star, Renée Zellweger, an Oscar nomination and spawning three sequels that helped the franchise gross nearly US$900 million worldwide. A London-set romcom about one woman’s search for a “nice, sensible man”, it cleverly repackaged certain... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3348077/why-bridget-joness-diary-feels-so-dated-25-years-after-beloved-romcoms-release?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3348077/why-bridget-joness-diary-feels-so-dated-25-years-after-beloved-romcoms-release?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 03 Apr 2026 11:15:08 +0000 Pierce Conran Pierce Conran Lead cast: Woo Do-hwan, Lee Sang-yi, Rain Woo Do-hwan (Mr. Plankton) and Lee Sang-yi (Spice Up Our Love) return as happy-go-lucky bruisers Gun-woo and Woo-jin in season two of the acclaimed Netflix action-drama Bloodhounds, directed by Kim Joo-hwan (also known as Jason Kim). The young boxers have trimmed their locks and risen up in the world, but their good intentions are once again thwarted by the arrival of a money-hungry villain, this time played by K-pop icon Rain (Red Swan). Following their... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/k-drama/k-drama/article/3348869/netflix-k-drama-bloodhounds-season-2-k-pop-star-rain-joins-menacing-villain?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/k-drama/k-drama/article/3348869/netflix-k-drama-bloodhounds-season-2-k-pop-star-rain-joins-menacing-villain?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 03 Apr 2026 07:15:12 +0000 James Marsh James Marsh One of the highlights of this year’s Hong Kong International Film Festival (HKIFF) is a collection of five animated short films from Taiwanese director Joe Hsieh Wen-ming. Awash with vivid imagery of an often erotic and violent nature, Hsieh’s work also channels a palpable sense of compassion, not least in its depictions of mother-child relationships. His latest film, Praying Mantis (2025), marks the animator’s second collaboration with celebrated Hong Kong art-house auteur Yonfan, following the... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3348633/why-fierce-mothers-and-violent-monsters-star-joe-hsiehs-animated-films?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3348633/why-fierce-mothers-and-violent-monsters-star-joe-hsiehs-animated-films?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 02 Apr 2026 11:15:08 +0000 Lisa Cam Lisa Cam Like video games, micro dramas can be super addictive. And Timothy Oh, general manager of the Chinese digital content company COL Group, knows exactly how to get viewers hooked. Also called vertical dramas, micro dramas are a rapidly growing entertainment format featuring serialised short-form videos shot in 9:16 aspect ratio specifically for viewing on mobile devices. Series typically consist of 30 to 70 episodes, each lasting only one to three minutes, designed for fast-paced, addictive and... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3348612/how-micro-dramas-work-tiktok-trend-leaving-big-studios-their-dust?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3348612/how-micro-dramas-work-tiktok-trend-leaving-big-studios-their-dust?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 02 Apr 2026 09:15:07 +0000 James Marsh James Marsh 3/5 stars Meddlesome matchmaker Kitty Song Covey (Anna Cathcart) returns for her senior year at the Korean Independent School of Seoul (Kiss) in the third season of XO, Kitty, Netflix’s Korea-set spin-off series from Jenny Han’s hugely successful To All the Boys film franchise. Chief among Kitty’s goals this year is to define her long-running on-again, off-again “situationship” with wealthy hunk and classmate Min-ho (Sang-heon Lee), but showrunner and chief writer Valentina Garza ensures that... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3347968/netflix-drama-review-xo-kitty-season-3-all-boys-spin-picks-after-dip?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3347968/netflix-drama-review-xo-kitty-season-3-all-boys-spin-picks-after-dip?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 02 Apr 2026 07:00:08 +0000 Edmund Lee Edmund Lee 2.5/5 stars A bus blast on Valentine’s Day in 1998 that killed 16 and injured dozens in Wuhan, in China’s Hubei province, provides the blueprint for We’re Nothing at All, a trenchant drama that marks a rare rekindling of Herman Yau Lai-to’s passion for socially conscious storytelling after the veteran Hong Kong filmmaker’s mostly bombastic action blockbusters over the past decade. Anchored by visceral performances from a pair of singer-actors, who play the misanthropic gay couple at the heart of... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3348613/were-nothing-all-movie-review-herman-yaus-grim-social-critique-too-heavy-handed?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3348613/were-nothing-all-movie-review-herman-yaus-grim-social-critique-too-heavy-handed?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 01 Apr 2026 11:15:08 +0000 James Mottram James Mottram 2/5 stars It will come as a surprise to absolutely no one that Nintendo’s crown jewels, those lovable plumbers Mario and Luigi, are back. The Super Mario Bros Movie was a staggering hit in 2023, grossing US$1.36 billion and showing just how beloved these video game icons really are. Now comes the inevitable sequel, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie. Loosely inspired by the 2007 video game Super Mario Galaxy and its 2010 follow-up, the film takes us back to the hallucinogenic Mushroom Kingdom and its... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3348483/super-mario-galaxy-movie-review-nintendo-sequel-looks-great-lacks-laughs?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3348483/super-mario-galaxy-movie-review-nintendo-sequel-looks-great-lacks-laughs?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 31 Mar 2026 19:00:09 +0000 James Marsh James Marsh 3.5/5 stars The Russian city of Vladivostok provides the setting for Humint, the latest globe-trotting thriller from South Korean action specialist Ryoo Seung-wan. Set in the high-stakes world of international espionage, the film features Zo In-sung (Escape from Mogadishu) and Park Jeong-min (Uprising) as agents from South and North Korea, respectively, who attempt to foil a human trafficking ring. After opening in South Korean cinemas during the Lunar New Year holiday, Humint launches globally... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/k-drama/k-movies/article/3348472/netflix-movie-review-humint-dynamic-korean-spy-thriller-ryoo-seung-wan?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/k-drama/k-movies/article/3348472/netflix-movie-review-humint-dynamic-korean-spy-thriller-ryoo-seung-wan?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 31 Mar 2026 15:00:09 +0000 Christopher Halls Christopher Halls You have to admire long-standing ensembles that still retain the spirit and sound that their original founders intended. The acclaimed Academy of St Martin in the Fields (ASMF) began its first Hong Kong Arts Festival (HKAF) concert on Saturday, March 28, fittingly enough, with something quintessentially British: Edward Elgar’s Serenade for String Orchestra. Positioned further back on stage than most groups appearing at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall, the ASMF projected breezy wafts... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3348389/22-year-old-pianist-yunchan-lim-wows-hong-kong-arts-festival?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3348389/22-year-old-pianist-yunchan-lim-wows-hong-kong-arts-festival?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 30 Mar 2026 11:15:07 +0000 Alice Wu Alice Wu Last week, a friend and I chatted about our children’s favourite art pieces after happening upon an auction house’s exhibition in a building in the heart of Hong Kong’s business district. We both recalled stopping to look at Yayoi Kusama’s Mount Fuji prints. “I pass by the space twice every day,” my friend said. She told me that my son’s pick – a piece by Sam Francis – was a new installation, replacing what had been a display of handbags. How often do we pause to notice art, or enjoy life in... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3348095/hong-kong-can-draw-art-marchs-success-keeping-it-authentic?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3348095/hong-kong-can-draw-art-marchs-success-keeping-it-authentic?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 30 Mar 2026 00:30:11 +0000 Pierce Conran Pierce Conran Spring is here and with it an all-new line-up of tantalising K-drama offerings, ranging from fantasy, action and animation to a wide variety of romance. 1. Bloodhounds season 2 Lead cast: Woo Do-hwan, Lee Sang-yi, Rain Following their first rip-roaring adventure, Gun-woo (Woo Do-hwan) and Woo-jin (Lee Sang-yi) are back for a second helping of cathartic beatdowns in Bloodhounds 2. Jason Kim is once again at the helm, directing from his own scripts, while this season’s villain is the vicious... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/k-drama/k-drama/article/3348069/10-best-new-k-dramas-watch-april-2026-including-perfect-crown-disney?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/k-drama/k-drama/article/3348069/10-best-new-k-dramas-watch-april-2026-including-perfect-crown-disney?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 29 Mar 2026 23:15:10 +0000 Richard James Havis Richard James Havis Anthony Wong Chau-sang is generally known as a character actor who specialises in crazed and outlandish roles. However, long before the Hong Kong cinema veteran became associated with these extreme stereotypes, he spent the early 1990s proving his expansive acting range, as showcased in these three films. 1. Full Contact (1992) Wong plays second fiddle to Chow Yun-fat in Ringo Lam Ling-tung’s hyperviolent actioner, but it is a meaty supporting role that links Chow to his would-be nemesis, played... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3347937/3-anthony-wong-films-early-1990s-show-hong-kong-actors-wide-range?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3347937/3-anthony-wong-films-early-1990s-show-hong-kong-actors-wide-range?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 29 Mar 2026 03:15:07 +0000 Tribune News Service Tribune News Service Over the last decade or so, Riz Ahmed has become an actor who was reason enough to give a film or a television series a look. Also a rapper, Ahmed won the Emmy Award for outstanding lead actor in a limited series or movie for his work in the excellent 2016 HBO miniseries The Night Of and earned an Academy Award nomination for best actor for the engrossing 2019 drama Sound of Metal. Now comes Bait, a solid half-hour comedy series in which he not only stars but also serves as an executive producer... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3348160/next-james-bond-riz-ahmeds-bait-dives-one-mans-desperate-quest-fame?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3348160/next-james-bond-riz-ahmeds-bait-dives-one-mans-desperate-quest-fame?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 27 Mar 2026 11:15:07 +0000 Kamakshi Gupta Kamakshi Gupta https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3348812/new-documentary-explores-manosphere?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3348812/new-documentary-explores-manosphere?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 27 Mar 2026 10:00:00 +0000 Ashlyn Chak Ashlyn Chak This is the 73rd instalment in a biweekly series profiling major Hong Kong pop culture figures of recent decades. In the golden age of Hong Kong’s entertainment industry, Leslie Cheung Kwok-wing was a star so bright that he rewrote the rules of conservative Asian society. Affectionately nicknamed Gor Gor – Cantonese for “older brother” – the Cantopop legend’s talent spanned disciplines and extended far beyond the city’s borders. Even now, decades after his death in 2003, fans from around the... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3348009/how-leslie-cheung-broke-all-rules-become-hong-kongs-greatest-modern-superstar?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3348009/how-leslie-cheung-broke-all-rules-become-hong-kongs-greatest-modern-superstar?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 26 Mar 2026 23:15:13 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press All seven members log onto a live stream, broadcast from a beach. A few years ago, it would have been a common image. But since the K-pop boy band BTS pressed pause on their full-band duties for nearly four years, it is revelatory. That is the scene at the start of BTS: The Return, a new Netflix documentary directed by Bao Nguyen (The Stringer, The Greatest Night in Pop) and produced by This Machine (Martha, Karol G) and Hybe, the South Korean entertainment company behind BTS. The mostly... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3347781/netflix-documentary-bts-return-highlights-k-pop-kings-comeback-album?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3347781/netflix-documentary-bts-return-highlights-k-pop-kings-comeback-album?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 25 Mar 2026 11:15:07 +0000 James Mottram James Mottram 3.5/5 stars In a strange quirk of scheduling, They Will Kill You opens in the same week as Ready or Not 2: Here I Come. Both are films about estranged sisters reunited and fighting for their lives as they are hunted by a group of murderous perpetrators looking to make a satanic sacrifice. Without a doubt, They Will Kill You is bloodier and funnier, easily leaving its rival in the dust. Zazie Beetz stars as Asia Reaves, an ex-con with a bleak past. After shooting her abusive father dead and... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3347659/they-will-kill-you-movie-review-zazie-beetz-leads-delicious-slice-midnight-madness?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3347659/they-will-kill-you-movie-review-zazie-beetz-leads-delicious-slice-midnight-madness?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 24 Mar 2026 16:00:09 +0000 Pierce Conran Pierce Conran Since the pandemic, the once-mighty South Korean film industry has struggled to return to its former glory. The year 2025 proved particularly trying, as it failed to produce a large-scale breakout capable of reminding audiences what they were missing. That dry spell finally came to a decisive end over the past few weeks, thanks to the staggering success of the Lunar New Year holiday title The King’s Warden, a broadly appealing period drama that continues to defy expectations on its... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/k-drama/k-movies/article/3347651/10-most-watched-korean-films-ever-kings-warden-draws-nearly-15-million-film-goers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/k-drama/k-movies/article/3347651/10-most-watched-korean-films-ever-kings-warden-draws-nearly-15-million-film-goers?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 24 Mar 2026 09:15:07 +0000 Ken Smith Ken Smith Since its first Hong Kong appearance in 2017 with the Asian premiere of The Makropulos Case, the National Theatre Brno has twice been awarded festival of the year for its Janacek Brno Festival at the International Opera Awards in 2018 and 2025, and best new production for The Excursions of Mr Broucek in 2025. The thread connecting these distinctions is the modernist Leos Janacek (1854-1928), who spent most of his life in Brno, in the Czech Republic, and whose often-bracing music the company... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3347662/hong-kong-performance-tchaikovskys-eugene-onegin-subtle-yet-powerful?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3347662/hong-kong-performance-tchaikovskys-eugene-onegin-subtle-yet-powerful?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 24 Mar 2026 07:15:13 +0000 James Mottram James Mottram 2/5 stars Ready or Not injected some freshness into the horror genre back in 2019. Samara Weaving was terrific as Grace, the sacrificial spouse who survives a deadly game of hide-and-seek with her Satan-worshipping in-laws. Unfortunately, the sequel feels stale by comparison. Ready or Not 2: Here I Come is a follow-up devoid of original ideas and too reliant on bone-crunching violence. Picking up directly after the events of the original, with dead bodies aplenty, the story finds Grace in... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3347529/ready-or-not-2-here-i-come-movie-review-elijah-wood-joins-samara-weaving-gory-sequel?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3347529/ready-or-not-2-here-i-come-movie-review-elijah-wood-joins-samara-weaving-gory-sequel?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 23 Mar 2026 09:15:08 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Ryan Gosling wanted a friend. Directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller were in the midst of their largest production ever, the US$200 million science-fiction adventure Project Hail Mary. They were shooting some of the movie’s early scenes, when middle school biology teacher Ryland Grace (Gosling) wakes up in deep space. After realising he is the sole survivor on board the spaceship, he turns depressed and, eventually, drunk. “Ryan was like, ‘I just feel like I need a friend. I need a scene partner... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3347344/project-hail-mary-ryan-gosling-rock-alien-and-us200-million-gamble?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3347344/project-hail-mary-ryan-gosling-rock-alien-and-us200-million-gamble?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 22 Mar 2026 13:15:08 +0000 Richard James Havis Richard James Havis The late Hong Kong action maestro Benny Chan Muk-sing made his name with the hit triad love story A Moment of Romance (1990) and the acclaimed police thriller Big Bullet (1996), before going on to direct popular action extravaganzas such as 2013’s The White Storm. Bridging these two eras are two pivotal films from the early 2000s that demonstrate Chan’s unique flair for action – Heroic Duo and Invisible Target. Heroic Duo (2003) Shot before 2002’s mega-hit Infernal Affairs fully rejuvenated the... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3347240/how-two-benny-chans-2000s-films-bridged-old-school-stunts-and-modern-hong-kong-action?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3347240/how-two-benny-chans-2000s-films-bridged-old-school-stunts-and-modern-hong-kong-action?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 22 Mar 2026 10:15:11 +0000 Winnie Chung Winnie Chung When the Hong Kong political crime thriller Cold War was released in 2012, it arguably shook up the market. Here was a big-budget actioner helmed by two industry veterans – Longman Leung Lok-man and Sunny Luk Kim-ching – making their directing debut, and headlined by a cast of some of Hong Kong’s biggest names such as Tony Leung Ka-fai, Aaron Kwok Fu-shing and Andy Lau Tak-wah. But if the directors were still unrecognisable, the film’s producer was not. Bill Kong Chi-keung, known for producing... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3347175/downton-abbey-game-thrones-actors-starring-cold-war-1994-exploring-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3347175/downton-abbey-game-thrones-actors-starring-cold-war-1994-exploring-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 21 Mar 2026 04:15:08 +0000 Pierce Conran Pierce Conran In this week’s K-drama production round-up, stars gravitate towards a corporate succession drama, an artificial intelligence-themed vigilante thriller, a heart-warming food-themed gangster comedy and a tale of long-term romance. Read on for the latest casting news. Another Romance Besides You Seo Kang-joon and Ahn Eun-jin have officially been cast in the coming KBS2 drama Another Romance Besides You, as a couple who have been together for 10 years. Despite their enduring loyalty, they are... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/k-drama/k-drama/article/3347255/k-drama-casting-news-about-seo-kang-joon-ju-ji-hoon-kim-nam-gil-and-more?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/k-drama/k-drama/article/3347255/k-drama-casting-news-about-seo-kang-joon-ju-ji-hoon-kim-nam-gil-and-more?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 20 Mar 2026 23:15:09 +0000 Matt Glasby Matt Glasby This is the latest instalment in a feature series reflecting on instances of East meets West in world cinema, including China-US co-productions. In the early 2000s, long before China began opening up to the commercial possibilities of Western cinema, the idea of filming a potential blockbuster in the country seemed nothing short of revolutionary. Previous efforts were either prestige pictures, such as 1987’s The Last Emperor or tiny indies like A Great Wall (1986). But anyone who could mount an... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3346728/how-doa-dead-or-alive-tried-create-new-kind-blockbuster-amid-chaotic-china-shoot?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3346728/how-doa-dead-or-alive-tried-create-new-kind-blockbuster-amid-chaotic-china-shoot?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 20 Mar 2026 09:15:07 +0000 Bloomberg Bloomberg Netflix is planning a KPop Demon Hunters world tour, seeking to capitalise on the company’s most popular movie ever. The streaming leader is negotiating with concert promoters to stage a live show featuring performances of the songs from the film, which have topped the Billboard charts and been a massive cultural phenomenon, according to people familiar with the talks. The aim is to perform around the globe next year, ahead of the sequel to the animated film about three Korean pop stars who... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3347149/kpop-demon-hunters-world-tour-it-could-happen-stops-dozens-major-cities?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3347149/kpop-demon-hunters-world-tour-it-could-happen-stops-dozens-major-cities?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 19 Mar 2026 11:15:10 +0000 Pierce Conran Pierce Conran Lead cast: Ju Ji-hoon, Ha Ji-won, Nana, Cha Joo-young Latest Nielsen rating: 3.8 per cent Ju Ji-hoon returns to our screens following last year’s hit medical drama The Trauma Code: Heroes on Call, once again playing the smartest man in the room. While his previous role used that intellect to save people, in the new ENA drama Climax, he plays a man who seeks only to serve himself. Co-starring Ha Ji-won (Curtain Call), Nana (Mask Girl) and Cha Joo-young (The Glory), this scheming tale of... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/k-drama/k-drama/article/3347143/k-drama-climax-ju-ji-hoon-covets-high-society-power-slick-and-juicy-prime-time-soap?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/k-drama/k-drama/article/3347143/k-drama-climax-ju-ji-hoon-covets-high-society-power-slick-and-juicy-prime-time-soap?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 19 Mar 2026 09:15:07 +0000 Sam Evans Sam Evans Those who take a stroll along the tranquil streets near the post office in Sai Ying Pun, Hong Kong, are likely to hear a curious mixture of sounds – the rhythmic taps of hammers and whirring of electric drills punctuated by the muted thump of electronic music tracks being seamlessly blended. The cacophony is coming from the new space of Moth Foundation, where something special is being built. “We were planning to take a six-month break and do some fundraising and then launch our new space... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3347003/want-be-dj-hong-kongs-moth-foundation-music-school-and-lgbtq-safe-space-one?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3347003/want-be-dj-hong-kongs-moth-foundation-music-school-and-lgbtq-safe-space-one?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 18 Mar 2026 23:15:14 +0000 Pierce Conran Pierce Conran Lead cast: Ha Jung-woo, Lim Soo-jung, Kim Jun-han, Shim Eun-kyung, Krystal Jung Latest Nielsen rating: 4.5 per cent Ha Jung-woo (Narco-Saints) makes a rare appearance on the small screen in the blackly comic kidnap thriller Mad Concrete Dreams, the K-drama debut of cult genre filmmaker Yim Pil-sung (Hansel and Gretel). Ha heads an ensemble cast featuring Lim Soo-jung (Chicago Typewriter), Kim Jun-han (Newtopia), Shim Eun-kyung (Money Game) and Krystal Jung (Crazy Love) in this tale that... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/k-drama/k-drama/article/3346897/hbo-max-k-drama-mad-concrete-dreams-ha-jung-woo-leads-tale-koreas-housing-nightmare?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/k-drama/k-drama/article/3346897/hbo-max-k-drama-mad-concrete-dreams-ha-jung-woo-leads-tale-koreas-housing-nightmare?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 18 Mar 2026 10:15:09 +0000 Edmund Lee Edmund Lee 4/5 stars Life rarely turns out the way one may have hoped – that is the core idea behind Ciao UFO. The engrossing drama takes a sci-fi-tinged urban legend as its launch pad for a nostalgic trip through instantly recognisable scenes from recent Hong Kong history, as experienced by three former childhood friends who find their dreams slipping away as adults. Having premiered at the 2019 Hong Kong Asian Film Festival, this delicate tale of longing and regret by director Patrick Leung Pak-kin... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3347002/ciao-ufo-movie-review-charlene-choi-leads-nostalgic-trip-through-recent-hong-kong-history?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3347002/ciao-ufo-movie-review-charlene-choi-leads-nostalgic-trip-through-recent-hong-kong-history?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 18 Mar 2026 09:20:31 +0000 The Korea Times The Korea Times By Bereket Alemayehu Kim Wan-jun, who calls himself a “soju artist”, published the English translation of his book, How to Drink Soju: A Guide to K-Drinking Culture & Games, last month. The 300-page book provides an in-depth look at the history of soju, a Korean distilled alcoholic drink, while exploring its cultural significance and the customs surrounding it. Kim, a self-proclaimed upcycling artist known as Funnyjun, has been documenting South Korea’s drinking culture since 2014 and sharing... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3346853/drinking-soju-south-korea-english-guide-will-teach-you-rules-you-may-not-know?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3346853/drinking-soju-south-korea-english-guide-will-teach-you-rules-you-may-not-know?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 18 Mar 2026 07:15:08 +0000 David D. Lee David D. Lee Gwanghwamun Square, the symbolic centre of the South Korean capital Seoul, is home to two statues – King Sejong, architect of the Korean alphabet Hangul, and Admiral Yi Sun-shin, the naval hero who repelled Japanese invasions – with the gates of the historical Gyeongbokgung Palace rising behind them. On March 21, this open-air plaza will play host to a different kind of national icon: BTS. The seven-member group – made up of members RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V and Jung Kook – will stage a... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3346835/free-bts-concert-mark-k-pop-comeback-no-other-are-you-ready-army?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3346835/free-bts-concert-mark-k-pop-comeback-no-other-are-you-ready-army?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 17 Mar 2026 23:15:08 +0000 James Marsh James Marsh The Hong Kong International Film Festival returns in April, celebrating its 50th edition with a mouth-watering retrospective of classics from the last half-century of Chinese-language cinema. New and old works alike from masters of the art form, including Zhang Yimou, Tsai Ming-liang and Hou Hsiao-hsien, will play alongside a typically eclectic selection of some of the finest recent offerings from around the world. Acclaimed Singaporean filmmaker Anthony Chen’s latest work, We Are All Strangers,... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3346869/hong-kong-international-film-festival-2026-highlights-12-must-see-movies-and-programmes?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3346869/hong-kong-international-film-festival-2026-highlights-12-must-see-movies-and-programmes?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 17 Mar 2026 11:15:08 +0000 Pierce Conran Pierce Conran Lead cast: Yoo Yeon-seok, Esom Latest Nielsen rating: 8.7 per cent Following last year’s Oh My Ghost Clients with Jung Kyung-ho, the worlds of jurisprudence and the supernatural collide once more in Phantom Lawyer, a legal comedy about a lawyer who unwillingly takes on the cases – and occasionally the personalities – of the ghost clients that drift into his practice. Jung’s Hospital Playlist co-star Yoo Yeon-seok leads the series, while Esom (LTNS) co-stars as an ace lawyer at a larger firm who... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/k-drama/k-drama/article/3346826/k-drama-phantom-lawyer-yoo-yeon-seok-represents-deceased-clients-jaunty-legal-comedy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/k-drama/k-drama/article/3346826/k-drama-phantom-lawyer-yoo-yeon-seok-represents-deceased-clients-jaunty-legal-comedy?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 17 Mar 2026 10:15:08 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press US and Israeli strikes on Iran have damaged at least four cultural and historical sites, including palaces and an ancient mosque, raising alarms about the impact of the widening war on protected landmarks that are important to Iranian identity and world history. The speed and extent of the damage have so concerned Iran and Lebanon that they sent a request to the United Nations’ cultural agency, Unesco, to add more sites to its enhanced protection list. Unesco confirmed that it has verified... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3346738/damage-irans-historical-sites-raises-alarm-about-impact-war-cultural-heritage?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3346738/damage-irans-historical-sites-raises-alarm-about-impact-war-cultural-heritage?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 16 Mar 2026 11:15:07 +0000