Tuesday's Film Roundup
Red Cliff
If you take a look at the screening times below, it becomes obvious that there really isn't much to choose from this week. Red Cliff has dominated at the box office since it opened at midnight last Thursday and it hasn't all been down to brute popularity. The two-hour plus epic broke the record for a midnight opening and then went on to collect a cool RMB 180 million on the mainland over the rest of the weekend. John Woo's return to films targeted at a Chinese market (his next film, after the second installment of Red Cliff, is going to be called 1949) also did well throughout the region with Variety reporting takings of USD 23 million across Asia on the opening weekend.
The question everybody is asking this week is whether Red Cliff is any good? AP says yes, giving John Woo props for restoring credibility to Chinese epics and although this ringing endorsement rings false to the few people who I've talked to, they're not the only foreign media outlet giving the film a thumbs up. For me, while the film didn't plumb the depths of The Promise, it's a weird hodge podge of a movie that wavers uncertainly from comedy, to bloody battle scenes and is interspersed with really weird scenes that include Zhu Geliang playing midwife to a horse.
The Mummy's Release Date Pushed Back?
Variety reports that the third installment of the Mummy has run into problems with it's release date in China. For clues of what might be holding things up, take a look at this NBC clip over at CNET Asia. Maybe "A new evil awakens" was not the best choice of a tagline for the film.
Keep reading below for a comprehensive list of all the films showing around town this half-price Tuesday.
Films Around Town
Screening Times for Films in Beijing – Tuesday July 15
(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)
» Red Cliff
Red Cliff (赤壁 Chibi), alternatively known as The Battle of Red Cliff, recreates the story surrounding the legendary Battle of Red Cliff that took place immediately prior to the Three Kingdoms period. Red Cliff is to be released in two parts throughout Asia, with the first part premiering last Thursday and the second part in January 2009. Outside of Asia, a single 2½-hour film will be released in January 2009. With an estimated budget of USD 80 million, The Battle of Red Cliff is the most expensive Chinese film to date. Trailer (with English subtitles) available here.
CBD
10:40 13:30 16:20 19:10 22:00 11:30 14:20 17:10 20:00
22:50 9:30 12:20 15:10 18:00 20:50 12:45 15:35 18:25
21:15 18:50 21:40 11:55 14:45 17:35 20:25 23:15 11:05
13:55 16:45 19:35 22:25
Xidan
10:15 10:35 11:05 11:25 11:45 12:05 12:25 12:45 13:05 13:05
13:25 13:55 14:15 14:35 14:55 15:15 15:35 15:55 15:55 16:15
16:45 17:05 17:25 17:45 18:05 18:25 18:45 18:45 19:05 19:30
19:55 20:15 20:35 20:55 21:20 21:35 21:35 21:55
Haidian
Digital 09:00 09:40 10:30 11:00 11:40 12:20 13:10
14:20 15:00 15:50 17:00 17:40 18:00 18:20 19:00 19:40 20:20
20:40 21:00 21:40 22:20 23:00 23:20
Wangjing
Stellar International Cineplex
Digital 09:20 12:10 13:40 15:00 16:30 17:50 19:20 20:40 22:20
Wangfujing
09:40 10:50 11:20 11:50 12:30 13:00 13:40 14:10 14:40 15:20 15:50
16:30 17:00 17:30 18:40 19:20 19:50 20:20 21:00 21:30 22:10 22:40
Theater 1 11:40 14:30 17:20 20:10 Theater 3 11:10 14:00 16:50 19:40 22:30
Theater 5 10:40 13:30 16:20 19:10 22:00 Theater 6 12:10 15:00 17:50 20:40
theater 7 10:10 13:10 16:00 18:50 21:40 Theater 8 09:40 12:40 15:30 18:20 21:10
Zhongguancun
10:20 10:50 11:20 11:50 12:20 13:00 13;30 14:00 14:30 15:00 15:40
16:10 16:40 17:10 17:40 18;20 18:50 19:20 19:50 20:20 21:00 21:30
22:00 22:30 23:00
Xinjiekou
09:45 10:30 11:05 12:30 13:00 13:30 14:00 14:45 15:30 16:00 16:30
18:00 18:30 19:00 19:30 20:35 21:00 21:30 22:00 22:25 23:30
Haidian
9:30 10:00 12:40 14:20 15:20 17:00 18:00 19:40 20:40 21:40 22:20
Yayuncun
Digital 09:40 10:20 12:20 13:00 15:00 15:40 17:40 18:20 20:20 21:00
East Fourth Ring Road
10:00 10:40 11:15 12:10 12:45 13:15 13:50 14:20 14:45 15:20 15:50
16:25 16:55 17:25 17:55 18:25 19:00 19:30 20:00 21:00 20:30 21:35
22:05 22:35
Jul 2
Hancock
After the Pursuit of Happyness and I am Legend, this film marks Will Smith's third appearance on China's big screens in 2008. This time he's playing a down and out superhero who gets little in the way of moral support from his wife, played by Charlize Theron. Reviews tend to go either way, this write-up in last week's Sydney Morning Herald being a good example of a more positive review and this recent review on Slate an example of a less than glowing recommendation. Synopsis available here and trailer here.
CBD
9:50 11:50 15:50 19:50 21:50
Xidan
13:10 14:00 15:05 16:05 17:00 18:00 18:55 20:00 20:50
Haidian
09:20 11:05 12:50 14:35 16:20 18:05 22:40
Wangjing
Stellar International Cineplex
16:00 19:50
Wangfujing
09:50 11:35 15:05 18:30 20:10 21:55
09:50 12:45 16:25 21:40
Zhongguancun
10:30 12:15 14:05 15:50 17:35 19:25 21:10 22:55
Xinjiekou
10:15 16:55
Haidian
12:30 13:20 16:40 20:00
Yayuncun
11:20 13:10 16:30 20:00 21:50
East Fourth Ring Road
09:40 11:20 13:00 14:40 16:20 19:40 21:20 23:05
Kungfu Panda
The English version of the film still features the voices of Jack Black, Dustin Hoffman, Angelina Jolie, Lucy Liu and Jackie Chan (accompanied by Chinese subtitles), but there is also a Chinese version voiced by equally big name Chinese stars. Despite what appear to be rather self-serving attempts by Zhao Bandi to persuade Chinese people to boycott the film, it's still proved very popular taking over RMB 50 million over the first three days of screening. It took Iron Man 30 days to reach RMB 100 million. Reviews have also been good - most settling for the "it's all good fun" kind of appraisal. Aficionados of Chinese traditional painting have also enjoyed some of the in jokes and one review in a Beijing newspaper compared the films melding of East and West to one of KFC's "Lao Beijing" Chicken wraps. You can view the trailer here and visit the official site here (Chinese version here). The complete copy of the film is available here. The Beijing correspondent of the Guardian has also produced this audio report on the popularity of the film in Beijing.
CBD
12:00 14:00 16:00 20:00 22:10
Xidan
10:55 13:00 14:05 15:00 16:00 16:55 17:55 18:50
19:50 20:40 21:45
Haidian
09:15 11:15 13:00 14:45 16:30 18:30 20:15 22:00
Wangjing
Stellar International Cineplex
10:30 12:20 17:00 20:50
Wangfujing
13:20 16:50
10:00 11:45 13:30 15:15 17:00 18:45 20:30 22:15
Zhongguancun
12:30 16:20 20:00 21:50
Xinjiekou
09:20 12:55 18:45
Haidian
15:00 18:20
Yayuncun
10:00 14:50 18:10
East Fourth Ring Road
10:25 12:35 14:15 15:55 17:35 19:15 20:55 22:35
Butterfly on a Wheel (危情24小时 Weiqing 24 xiaoshi)
Also known as Shattered, this thriller stars Peirce Brosnan as a demented killer who has takes the daughter of a typical American family hostage and taunts the parents in a cruel game. See reviews here and a trailer here. The movie is being screened in a dubbed Chinese version at most cinemas across town.
CBD
18:00 (RMB18)
10:40 18:10
East Fourth Ring Road
10:50 12:35
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
The children return to Narnia in this sequel to The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. But it's a very different country this time. Starring the voice of Eddie Izzard as Reepicheep, and the voice of Liam Neeson as Aslan. See reviews here and trailer here.
CBD
09:55
Wangjing
Stellar International Cineplex
14:50 20:15
East Fourth Ring Road
10:00
Upcoming Films
July 26 - or maybe not?
The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor
Jet Li stars as Mummy Qin Shihuang, alongside Michelle Yeoh and Brendan Fraser in this third installment of the popular franchise. No reviews yet - not released elsewhere until July 24 but you can read more about the making of the film here. Trailer here.
Aug 10
Speed Racer
The latest project from the Wachowski brothers is a live-action version of Japanese anime series Speed Racer. The result is reportedly heavy on action and visuals, and weak on storytelling. Read some rather disappointing reviews here and take a look at the trailer here. Despite the poor reviews the film's Chinese box office takings might be helped by the presence of Korean heartthrob Rain's presence in the cast.
Aug 20
Unlike Speed Racer, The Hulk has been getting some pretty good reviews. You can take a look at the trailer here.