YESASIA: YumCha! - Asian Entertainment: Editor's Picks, Articles, Professional Reviews, News

Kung Fu Chefs (DVD) (2-Disc Edition) (Hong Kong Version)
Sammo Hung (Actor) | Vanness Wu (Actor) | Cherrie Ying (Actor) | Fan Siu Wong

Kung Fu in the Kitchen
October 30, 2009 Picked By Sanwei See all this editor's picks
After Kung Fu Fighter, it's understandable to want to run away screaming at the mere thought of another Ken Yip-directed Kung Fu-titled movie starring the tagteam of Vanness Wu, Fan Siu Wong, and those Kung Fu Hustle guys. I certainly went in expecting the worst, but Kung Fu Chefs turned out to be surprisingly enjoyable. The film has way better production values than Kung Fu Fighter, and there's a feel-good, self-effacing wackiness to the whole thing that makes it hard to hate on. Plus, Sammo Hung is in it! As a kung fu-in-the-kitchen action movie, Kung Fu Chefs is as silly and chop-socky as the premise and production pedigree promise. Sammo Hung plays a master cook who gets kicked out of... [read more]
COLORS - Melody and Harmony / Shelter (Japan Version)
JEJUNG & YUCHUN (from Tohoshinki) | Dong Bang Shin Ki (TVXQ)

Soulmates Single
October 15, 2009 Picked By Sanwei See all this editor's picks
Dong Bang Shin Ki's "Soulmate Couple" Jae Joong and Yoo Chun offer some hope and music in the midst of the controversy with their new J-pop single COLORS ~Melody and Harmony~. All five members of Dong Bang Shin Ki have tried their hands at songwriting, but Jae Joong and Yoo Chun are thus far the two more notable composers of the group, and they further confirm their talents with this very agreeable self-composed release. Composed by Jae Joong and Yoo Chun, COLORS ~Melody and Harmony~ ranks among the higher echelon of Dong Bang Shin Ki ballads. The title very much reflects the song, which has an almost lulling quality to its easy-going melody, light beats, and gentle harmonization. COLORS... [read more]
Life: Tears In Heaven (DVD) (English Subtitled) (Hong Kong Version)
Osawa Takao (Actor) | Ito Misaki (Actor) | Ishimaru Kenjiro | Hakamada Yoshihiko

A windsurfer's proud fall
November 9, 2009 Picked By A-Xiang Joe See all this editor's picks
There's possibly nothing more terrible for me than watching a film about a romance overshadowed by a fatal illness, which makes my selection of Life: Tears in Heaven quite exceptional. The film tells the real-life story of Iijima Natsuki, from his sudden rise to the top as an international windsurfing champion to his demise at the hands of an invisible enemy he can't overcome. Osawa Takao portrays the ambitious windsurfer who competes with a true passion for the sport, moving from place to place with his lover Hiroko (Ito Misaki). Despite often being chased for outstanding rent, Hiroko is still convinced that Natsuki will become a top sportsman some day and supports him every step of the... [read more]
Castaway On The Moon (DVD) (2-Disc) (First Press Limited Edition) (Korea Version)
Jung Jae Young (Actor) | Jeong Ryeo Won (Actor) | Lee Hae Joon (Director)

Hope is a bowl of black bean noodles.
October 31, 2009 Picked By Sanwei See all this editor's picks
Seoul's Han River should be familiar to anyone who's watched The Host as the breeding waters for monster entertainment. But did you know there's also a nature preserve island smack in the middle of the river? That's where Mr. Kim (Jung Jae Young) ends up when he attempts to drown himself, and instead wakes up a castaway on the deserted island. The cityscape shines brightly from the opposite bank, but Kim - who can't swim - is preposterously stranded. Desperation and suicidal thoughts, however, give way to glee when he realizes that he's found his escape from all the debt, heartbreak, and worldly problems that drove him to seek death. Enjoying a newfound life of "perfect boredom", he lives by... [read more]
The First 7th Night (DVD) (US Version)
Julian Cheung (Actor) | Gordon Lam (Actor) | Michelle Yip (Actor) | Fung Hak On (Actor)

A worthwhile little horror flick
October 30, 2009 Picked By dian See all this editor's picks
Is there any film director working in Hong Kong nowadays who is more prolific than Herman Yau? Just in the last 12 months alone, he's got five films released theatrically: the award-winning prostitute pic True Women For Sale, horror drama The First 7th Night, Shaw studio reviver Turning Point, thriller-comedy Split Second Murders, and gangster actioner Rebellion. Despite being small low-budget quickie fare, Yau's films are often well crafted and original, but some do slip off the radar of the cinema-going public. The First 7th Night unfortunately was doomed to such undeserved oblivion, as it is actually one of the better Hong Kong horror films out there most filmgoers have never seen. An old... [read more]
The Way Home ....(Hong Kong Version)
Kim Eul Boon (Actor) | Yoo Seung Ho (Actor)

Brings back some fond childhood memories
November 3, 2009 Picked By A-Xiang Joe See all this editor's picks
No doubt we all had our naughty moments when we were young, especially when things didn't go our way. Everyone has their own little story to tell about childhood, like female director Lee Jung Hyang's The Way Home. In The Way Home Yoo Seung Ho portrays Sang Woo, a small boy addicted to playing video games and eating junk food. His nightmare arrives in the form of a stay at his grandmother's (Kim Eul Boon) place far away from the heart of Seoul, where he was immersed in all the things he likes best. Told to behave while his single mother tries to find a job, Sang Woo isn't quite willing to oblige. Staying with his deaf and mute grandmother doesn't make things easier. Of course, he is just his... [read more]

Feature Articles

Sono Sion - Sharing the Poetry of Perversion
Written By YumCha! Editorial Team

Japan has more than its share of controversial filmmakers, but it takes a certain audacity to kill 54 schoolgirls at once with a smile as director Sono Sion did in his 2001 cult hit Suicide Club. Even Fukasaku Kinji, whom Sono cites as an influence, took out his students one at a time in Battle Royale. One of Japanese Cinema's most interesting and inventive filmmakers over the last two decades, Sono is a familiar name on the international festival circuit and a cult favorite to fans of extreme cinema. From Suicide Club to Strange Circus to Love Exposure, Sono's films tackle ills like family dysfunction, suicide, youth disaffection, cult obsession, and social decay with a gripping collage of... [read more]

Review Highlights

Entertainment News

The Girl Who Leapt to the silver screen... for the fourth time!

The Lady Iron Chef (DVD) (Hong Kong Version)

Popular juvenile fantasy novel Toki wo Kakeru Shojo (a.k.a. The Girl Who Leapt Through Time) is making its fourth leap to cinemas in Japan in March 2010.

Published in 1967 by novelist Tsutsui Yasutaka (his other notable works include Paprika), Toki wo Kakeru Shojo... [Read More]