Tuesday's Film Roundup
Friends! The drought is over. After weeks of waiting for that alleged blackout of Hollywood movies to end, they give us … The Pursuit of Happyness … Oh, I guess beggars can’t be choosers. For a complete roundup of what's showing around town this week, keep reading below.
Director Zhang Yuan was released from jail on Saturday after being arrested for alleged drug use on January 9th. According to a Beijing TV news report, Zhang was discovered at his apartment taking ketamine and ice. Hopefully the "Sixth Generation" director, whose movies have performed well at the Venice and Berlin film festivals in the past, will be able to recover from this.
The third of the big hesui pian for this year's holiday season, Stephen Chow's CJ7 will have it's premiere at Beijing's Happy Valley this coming Thursday, Jan 24. The film will open for general release on Jan 30. You can take a look at the trailer here.
Ai Wan of China Doll fame is braving the cold Utah winter to see her movie Yasukuni in competition at the Sundance Film Festival. Intrepid reporter Oliver Robinson blogged about this one here, but now the documentary has defeated 8,000 other entries from around the world to be China's only representative at the festival. The film focuses on the infamous Yasukuni war shrine in Japan which continues to ignite Sino-Japanese relations.
If you’re in the mood for catching a movie, check out the show times and venues around town.
Films Around Town
Assembly (集结号Ji Jie Hao), the new war film from director Feng Xiaogang. Dubbed as “the Chinese Saving Private Ryan”, the critical and box office success of the film has gone someway to repair Feng Xiaogang’s reputation after the critically panned Banquet. You can take a peek at the trailer here.
The Warlords 《投名状》 Tou Ming Zhuang
A tale of struggle, betrayal and revenge in the midst of the Taiping Rebellion directed by Peter Chan - famous for Comrades: Almost a Love Story (Tian Mimi) and Perhaps Love (Ruguo Ai). The star-studded cast that includes the versatile Jet Li, Takeshi Kaneshiro (according to some - the Asian Matt Damon), Andy Lau and blogger extrordinaire Xu Jinglei is one of the main attractions. Unfortunately, according to a few of the cinemas we called, the copies of the film showing in Beijing do not seem to have English subtitles. See an interview with the director in that's Beijing's December Cinema Feature. For some reviews and a peek at the trailer click here.
Screening times for films in Beijing Tuesday Jan 22
(All times and prices have been taken from today’s Beijing News or this website – it would be a good idea to call and confirm details)
Haidian
UME International Cineplex
The Pursuit of Happyness
18:10 20:20 21:05 22:30
I Am Liu Yuejin
19:15 20:55 22:35 23:10
Assembly
19:20 21:40
My Blueberry Nights
Original English: 11:20, Chinese: 19:20 22:50
CBD
Wanda International Cinema
I Am Liu Yuejin
18:30 19:10 19:50 20:30 21:10 21:50 22:30
The Warlords
21:30
Assembly
19:20 21;20 21:50
Art Gallery
Changhong Cinema
The Pursuit of Happyness
16:40 19:05 21:15
I Am Liu Yuejin
17:10 18:50 20:35
Warlords
19:40
Dongsishitiao
East Gate Cinema
The Pursuit of Happyness
19:40 21:50
I Am Liu Yuejin
19:00 20:40 22:20
Assembly
19:20 20:30 21:40 22:40
Wangfujing
Xindong'an Cinema
The Pursuit of Happyness
19:10 21:20
I Am Liu Yuejin
18:00 19:40 21:30
Assembly
18:50 21:10
Xidan
Shoudu Shidai Cinema
The Pursuit of Happyness
19:20 21:30 19:10 21:20
I Am Liu Yuejin
18:10 19:50 21:30
Assembly
19:20 21:35
Wangjing
Stellar International Cineplex
The Pursuit of Happyness
18:45 20:50
I Am Liu Yuejin
18:00 19:45 21:30
The Warlords
16:00 22:25
Digital Screening: 21:00
Assembly
19:30 21:45
My Blueberry Nights
21:10 23:10
Links and Sources:
tbjblog: No Hollywood Movies For 3 Months?
tbjblog: My Blueberry Nights in theaters today
Danwei: Drug busts nab Zhang Yuan, Wu Lala