| Curse of the Golden Flower
A pageantry of pageantry that would put Bertolucci or Lean to shame, Zhang Yimou's The Curse of the Golden Flower piles spectacle upon spectacle, and tragedy on top of tragedy, until the whole contraption fairly disintegrates under the fervid weight of it all. Normally this wouldn't really be an issue, as late period Yimou films like House of Flying Daggers and Hero have been perfectly acceptable as period-piece baubles, rife with dynamic wuxia action sequences and dashing costumes -- things that Golden Flower has in abundance. While packed with emotion, those earlier films could certainly be enjoyed on surface detail alone, but there was still some heft to them; one doesn't buy for a second that Zhang Ziyi could fight like that without some help from gravity-defying wires, but the films were still able to dance that line between escapism and drama without leaving either behind.
Gellar, Evans, Smith and Ziyi Board TMNT!
USA Today has published a big feature article with many new details about Warner Bros. Pictures' TMNT, in theaters on March 30. The article includes new photos and says that Zhang Ziyi voices the villain Karai, who leads an evil army known as the Foot Ninjas into battle against the turtle brothers. Sarah Michelle Gellar is the voice of April, the human researcher who serves as the Turtles' tech-services worker and mother figure. "Fantastic Four" star Chris Evans is the hockey-stick-swinging Casey Jones, and Clerks filmmaker Kevin Smith also voices a cameo as a greasy-spoon chef. The Turtles themselves will not have celebrity voices, however. As reported earlier, "X-Men" star Patrick Stewart is voicing Max Winters, a tech industrialist who is amassing an army of monsters in the city.
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Martial arts students punch up their fitness
HILLSBORO -- Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, film stars including Bruce Lee and Chuck Norris inspired martial arts students with their power and athleticism. In the 1990s, Steven Seagal and Jackie Chan took charge, adding humor and personality to the discipline. These days, Jet Li, Zhang Ziyi and Jean-Claude Van Damme combine dance, strength and artistry as they fend off would-be aggressors before millions of movie fans. Much of this resonates with a new generation of karate and judo students who are leading the resurgence in self-defense programs. "I really like to watch the Van Damme movies and some of the new hero films that are out there, but mostly I do karate to stay fit," said national brown belt champion Fred Allen, 18, of Hillsboro.
From Teen Movies to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Sarah Michelle Gellar, star of the teen sci-fi drama, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Fantastic Four's Chris Evans and Memoirs of a Geisha actress, Zhang Ziyi will be among some of the voices featured in the new animated Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film produced by Imagi Animation Studios, and distributed by Warner Bros. and The Weinstein Company.
Gellar will be the voice of April, the woman researcher who helps keep the Ninja turtles, Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello and Raphael safe, while Evans will voice the part of Casey Jones, April's boyfriend. Ziyi will lend her voice to Karai, a female villain who leads a dangerous band of ninjas. Patrick Stewart, of X-Men: The Last Stand and Star Trek: The Next Generation, will also be featured in the film as will Kevin Smith, filmmaker responsible for such classics as Clerks, Dogma, and Chasing Amy.
Casting TMNT: Patrick Stewart, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Chris Evans ...
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon actress Zhang Ziyi will voice the villain Karai, who leads an evil army known as the Foot Ninjas. Buffy the Vampire Slayer star Sarah Michelle Gellar is the new voice of April, the human reporter who serves as the Turtles' tech-services advisor.Fantastic Four star Chris Evans will voice Casey Jones, the hockey-stick-swinging human.X-Men and Star Trek: TNG star Patrick Stewart voices Max Winters, a tech industrialist who is collecting an army of monsters.The Turtles will be voiced by non-celebrity voice talent.Clerks director Kevin Smith voices a cameo as a greasy-spoon chef.TMNT will hit the big screen on March 30th 2007.Credit: USA Today Did You Know: The Ninja Turles were created in 1984. Intended to be a one issue parody of Marvel Comics' The New Mutants, which featured teenage mutants, and Frank Miller's work on Daredevil, which featured ninja clans dueling for control of the New York City underworld.
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