After November gave us so much to choose from, it’s finally time for December. And we all know what that means! No, thankfully we don’t have to wait for another Star Wars movie to come to China. It means time to rewatch all our Christmas movies! And we even get one in the cinemas here… my, how the tides have turned.
Additionally, we have a couple holdouts from last month, not to mention a couple comedies and action-packed superhero flicks. For the kids, we have multiple cartoons too!
Friday, November 30, 2018
102 Not Out
《老爸102岁》
lǎo bà yī bǎi líng èr suì
Director: Umesh Shukla
Actors: Amitabh Bachchan, Rishi Kapoor, Jimit Trivedi
China Release Date: Friday, November 30, 2018
Dattatraya Vakharia is a 102 year old man living like a youngster. While is 75 year old son Babulal has accepted his old age and lost all excitement in life. Dattatraya wants to break the world record of oldest person living on earth held by a Chinese man. He feels that it won’t be possible to break the record by living with a boring son.
Wow, Bollywood at its finest!
Long Press and Extract to View Trailer:
Friday, November 30, 2018
Revolt
《铁甲战神》
tiě jiǎ zhàn shén
Director: Joe Miale
Actors: Lee Pace, Bérénice Marlohe, Jason Flemyng
China Release Date: Friday, November 30, 2018
There aren’t words in any language to describe how bad this movie from 2017 looks. No wonder it got added at the last minute to the end of November.
The story of humankind’s last stand against a cataclysmic alien invasion. In the war-ravaged African countryside, a U.S. soldier and a French foreign aid worker team up to survive the alien onslaught. Their bond will be tested as they search for refuge across a crumbling world.
No words.
Long Press and Extract to View Trailer:
Friday, December 7, 2018
Aquaman
《海王》
hǎi wáng
Director: James Wan
Actors: Jason Momoa, Amber Heard, Dolph Lundgren, Willem Dafoe, Nicole Kidman, Julie Andrews
China Release Date: Friday, December 7, 2018
There’s probably only one reason left in the world to want to see this movie, and that’s the main actor. Male and female alike can appreciate the aqueous physique of the Dothraki, I mean underwater god.
And the fact that China is getting this TWO weeks before the US release is telling. They know it’ll do better here than abroad.
Plot: Arthur Curry learns that he is the heir to the underwater kingdom of Atlantis, and must step forward to lead his people and be a hero to the world. We assume this is before he meets Batfleck and Superman and Wonder Woman, et al.
Friday, December 7, 2018
Adrift
《惊涛飓浪》
jīng tāo jù làng
Director: Baltasar Kormákur
Actors: Shailene Woodley, Sam Claflin, Jeffrey Thomas
China Release Date: Friday, December 7, 2018
Based on the inspiring true story of two free spirits whose chance encounter leads them first to love, and then to the adventure of a lifetime. As the two avid sailors set out on a journey across the ocean, Tami Oldham (Woodley) and Richard Sharp (Claflin) couldn’t anticipate they would be sailing directly into one of the most catastrophic hurricanes in recorded history.
In the aftermath of the storm, Tami awakens to find Richard badly injured and their boat in ruins. With no hope for rescue, Tami must find the strength and determination to save herself and the only man she has ever loved. Adrift is the unforgettable story about the resilience of the human spirit and the transcendent power of love.
Long Press and Extract to View Trailer:
Friday, December 14, 2018
My Neighbor Totoro
《龙猫》
lóng māo
aka となりのトトロ
Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Actors: Hitoshi Takagi, Noriko Hidaka, Chika Sakamoto
China Release Date: Friday, December 14, 2018
Note: this film is in Japanese with Chinese subtitles
And yes, this is the same movie as the original from 1988, but digitally remastered (we assume) and back in the cinemas in China just in time for the holidays! If you’ve never seen this movie, we highly recommend it…
Two young girls, 10-year-old Satsuki and her 4-year-old sister Mei, move into a house in the country with their father to be closer to their hospitalized mother. Satsuki and Mei discover that the nearby forest is inhabited by magical creatures called Totoros (pronounced toe-toe-ro). They soon befriend these Totoros, and have several magical adventures.
Long Press and Extract to View Trailer:
Friday, December 14, 2018
Searching
《网络谜踪》
wǎng luò mí zōng
Director: Aneesh Chaganty
Actors: John Cho, Debra Messing, Joseph Lee, Michelle La
China Release Date: Friday, December 14, 2018
After David Kim (John Cho)’s 16-year-old daughter goes missing, a local investigation is opened and a detective is assigned to the case. But 37 hours later and without a single lead, David decides to search the one place no one has looked yet, where all secrets are kept today: his daughter’s laptop.
In a hyper-modern thriller told via the technology devices we use every day to communicate, David must trace his daughter’s digital footprints before she disappears forever.
I feel like we downloaded this one a couple months ago.
Friday, December 14, 2018
Padman
《印度合伙人》
yìn dù hé huǒ rén
Director: R. Balki
Actors: Akshay Kumar, Radhika Apte, Sonam Kapoor
China Release Date: Friday, December 14, 2018
Note: this film is in Hindi with Chinese subtitles
You may have read this film title and thought to yourself, “No that can’t be. They don’t mean that.” But it’s true, they do.
Upon realizing the extent to which women are affected by their periods, a man (yes, a man) sets out to create a sanitary pad machine and to provide inexpensive sanitary pads to the women of rural India. And the feminists rejoiced!
Hopefully China’s recent ambition to show more and more Bollywood films doesn’t come back to bite them.
Long Press and Extract to View Trailer:
Friday, December 14, 2018
The Grinch
《绿毛怪格林奇》
lǜ máo guài gé lín qí
Directors: Yarrow Cheney, Scott Mosier
Actors: Benedict Cumberbatch, Cameron Seely, Rashida Jones, Keenan Thompson, Angela Lansbury, Pharell Williams
China Release Date: Friday, December 14, 2018
For those who don’t know, The Grinch tells the story of a cynical grump who goes on a mission to steal Christmas, only to have his heart changed by a young girl’s generous holiday spirit.
Funny, heartwarming, and assumedly visually stunning, it’s a universal story about the spirit of Christmas and the indomitable power of optimism. Benedict Cumberbatch lends his voice to the infamous Grinch, who lives a solitary life inside a cave on Mt. Crumpet with only his loyal dog, Max, for company.
With a cave rigged with inventions and contraptions for his day-to-day needs, the Grinch only sees his neighbors in Whoville when he runs out of food. Each year at Christmas they disrupt his tranquil solitude with their increasingly bigger, brighter, and louder celebrations. What will he do when the Whos declare they are going to make Christmas three times bigger this year!?
Friday, December 14, 2018
Partner
《最萌警探》
zuì méng jǐng tàn
aka Напарник
Director: Aleksandr Andryushchenko
Actors: Elizaveta Arzamasova, Sergey Garmash, Yang Ge
China Release Date: Friday, December 14, 2018
Note: this film is in Russian with Chinese subtitles
A grizzled special operations Major wakes up after a botched drug bust to find he is now inhabiting the body of a baby. But crimes still need to be solved, so he hitches up his diaper and gets back to work.
I wonder what went through the head of the producer when the director/writers pitched this movie to him? And then… hey, we should release this in China, too!
Long Press and Extract to View Trailer:
Friday, December 21, 2018
Spider-Man:
Into the Spider-Verse
《蜘蛛侠：平行宇宙》
zhī zhū xiá ：píng háng yǔ zhòu
Directors: Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, Rodney Rothman
Actors: Hailee Steinfeld, Nicolas Cage, Mahershala Ali, Liev Schrieber, Jake Johnson
China Release Date: Friday, December 21, 2018
We’re actually really surprised to see this one on the list! And only a week after its US release. Not bad at all. An early Kwanzaa present to us!
Miles Morales comes across the long-dead Peter Parker. But this Peter Parker is not from his world, though; he’s from somewhere else in the multiverse. With Parker’s guidance, Miles will become Spider-Man: and through that he will become part of the ever-expanding ‘Spider-Verse‘…
Heard and seen good things about this one! Might wanna check it out~
Long Press and Extract to View Trailer:
Thanks to imdb.com, douban.com, all the movies’ websites, and Wikipedia for the information used. And a huge thanks to the team at Culturability. They consistently write useful content. Follow their WeChat platform by scanning below:
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Sunday nights from 8pm
Berlin Haus
SOHO Building A 1203, 60 Kehua Bei Lu 科华北路60号费城A座1203
Movie nights at Mike’s Pizza
Sunday nights (now from 10 pm)
Mike’s Pizza Kitchen
2-3 East Yujie St., 28, Sect. 4, South Renmin Rd. 人民南路四段28号玉洁东街2号附3号
Chengdu Secret Cinema Immersive Film Experiences
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