Last gasp heroics

By Chen Nan (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-08-29 09:00

Last gasp heroics

Veteran comedian Ge You plays a miserable investor in first-time director Zheng Zhong's movie Gasp. Instead of his usual bald and cap-wearing look, Ge wears a wig and speaks English. Instead of playing for laughs, Ge plays a man on the edge of collapse.

The small-budget movie is the realization of a 10-year promise made between Ge and producer Li Xiaodian, who met at the set of director Feng Xiaogang's Be There, or Be Square, in 1998. The movie also stars American actor John Savage (The Thin Red Line and Hair), Hong Kong actress Kelly Lin, and mainland actor Liu Hua. Savage portrays a businessman who tries to solve his financial crisis by finding a buyer for his struggling cheese factory so that he can go to live in Spain. He comes to Beijing and meets a Chinese investor, an actress-to-be and a mine owner. Though she claims that she wants to buy Frank's factory, she also has business problems and a dysfunctional family.

Ge, who is regarded as a box office sure-thing, especially during the Spring Festival season, brings his unique skills to the summer market. The film opened at cinemas yesterday.

Haeundae is the biggest budget Korean movie to date and is set on Haeundae, Korea's most popular beach, in Busan. The movie has drawn over 10 million viewers since opening in Korea on July 22, according to film distributor CJ Entertainment. Visual effects are supervised by Hans Uhlig (The Day after Tommorrow). Haeundae is directed by Yoon Je-kyoon and stars Seol Kyeong-gu, Ha Ji-won and Park Joong-hoon. The film opened on Tuesday.

Other films shown at cinemas including:

Kungfu Cyborg: Metallic Attraction

Combining artificial intelligence with kungfu, Chinese robot K-1 is sent to live in Ningbo, where it falls in love with a local girl. Jeff Lau directs.

G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra

The Hasbro toys come to life in this film set 10 years into the future, which shows the origins of G.I. Joe operatives and their terrorist enemies, Cobra. Starring Channing Tatum. Stephen Sommers directs.

Sophie's Revenge

Sophie is a cartoonist, who is beautiful, successful, and has a perfect fiance, Jeff. But when she finds out that Jeff had an affair with an actress, Sophie wants revenge. She follows their steps to win him back, only to find that true love is just around the corner. Starring Zhang Ziyi, Fan Bingbing, directed by Jin Yimeng and produced by Zhang Ziyi.