Chinese New Year’s Day is one of the biggest days of the year for movies, if not the biggest in China. Most of the big budget movies filmed by huge directors are released during this period and some of them end up being the #1 movies of the year when it comes to box office gross (notably: Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons ($215 million) and The Mermaid ($553 million), both by Stephen Chow).
Journey to the West 2: The Demons Strike Back
Director: Tsui Hark
Producer and Writer: Stephen Chow
Starring: Kris Wu, Lin Gengxin, Yao Chen, Jelly Lin, Bao Beier, Mengke Bateer, Yang Yiwei, Wang Likun
Plot Synopsis: Tang Monk brings 3 disciples along with him on a journey to the West. On the outside, everything seems harmonious but tension is present beneath the surface; and their hearts and minds are not in agreement. After a series of demon-capturing events, the monk and his disciples gain mutual understanding of each other’s hardships and unease, and finally resolve their inner conflict, to work together to become an all-conquering demon exorcising team.
“Spoof” trailer:
OST MV:
Kung Fu Yoga
Director: Stanley Tong
Starring: Jackie Chan, Aarif Lee, Zhang Yixing, Sonu Sood, Amyra Dastur
Plot Synopsis: Jack (Jackie Chan) is a renowned professor of archaeology who teams up with an Indian professor to find a treasure in Tibet.
Trailer:
Buddies in India
Director: Wang Baoqiang
Starring: Wang Baoqiang, Yue Yunpeng, Liu Yan
Synopsis: A modern take on ‘Journey to the West’, the film follows a young man and his three friends as they travel to India to track down his father’s will.
Trailer:
Cook Up A Storm
Director: Raymond Yip
Starring: Nicholas Tse, Jung Yong Hwa, Tiffany Tang, Michelle Bai
Synopsis: The story is built around a dramatic contest among international Michelin-starred chefs.
Trailer:
Duckweed
Director: Han Han
Starring: Deng Chao, Eddie Peng, Zhao Liying
Synopsis: The film tells the emotional story about the reconciliation between a father and his son. Ah Lang, a youth from a small town, thinks that his father Ah Zheng never understood his occupation and life. In a fateful occurrence, he is able to experience his father’s legendary and interesting life in the past.
Trailer:
The Game Changer
Director: Gao Xi Xi
Starring: Peter Ho, Huang Zitao, Guli Nazha, Wang Xueqi
Synopsis: The story revolves around a trio of gangsters battling each other and rival mobsters in 1930s Shanghai. Remake of Shanghai Bund.
Trailer:
The Village of No Return
Director: Chen Yu Hsun
Starring: Shu Qi, Wang Qianyuan, Eric Tsang, Tony Yang, Lin Mei-Hsiu
Plot Synopsis: A very strange event take place and turns a sleepy rural village’s life upside down–all while waiting for a railway to come.
Two C-Ents 