Cinema Escapist

Aug 1, 2024 | cinemaescapist.com | Brian Hioe |Anthony Kao |Jamin Shih

Gold Boy is a middling film at best. This is a shame, as it wastes what would have otherwise been an engrossing premise. Set in Okinawa, Gold Boy follows thirteen-year-old honors student Amuro Asahi. Amuro’s longtime friend Hiroshi Uema and his adoptive sister Natsuki Uema reenter Amuro’s life after Natsuki stabs her adoptive father in self-defense from an attempted sexual assault. Amuro provides them shelter, while the Uema siblings ponder whether they might have killed their father.

Jul 19, 2024 | cinemaescapist.com | Richard N. Yu |Anthony Kao

Earlier this year, Thai family drama How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies became a box office and social media sensation. The film—from famed studio GDH, which also produced other hits like Bad Genius—quickly became the top-grossing Thai movie of 2024 thus far, and also the 11th-highest grossing Thai film of all time. When released in other Southeast Asian countries like Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, and beyond, How to Make Millions continued its box office success.

Jul 16, 2024 | cinemaescapist.com | Anthony Kao |Richard N. Yu

Heist movies and shows have shown their appeal worldwide, from classics like Ocean’s Eleven to recent streaming sensations like Money Heist. Taiwan hasn’t seen too many domestically produced heist movies, which isn’t too surprising given the small size of its film market and relative lack of violent bank robberies in recent memory. This makes Breaking and Re-entering worth noting.

Jul 14, 2024 | cinemaescapist.com | Brian Hioe |Anthony Kao |Jamin Shih

18×2 Beyond Youthful Days, a Taiwanese-Japanese co-production directed by Michihito Fujii and featuring a mixed Taiwanese and Japanese cast, proves to be a well-executed melodrama centered around themes about first love and growing up. 36-year-old Taiwanese video game developer Jimmy (Greg Hsu Kuang-han) finds himself adrift. Feeling devoid of the passion that first led to his success and fame within the video game industry, Jimmy sets out on a solo journey in Japan.

Jul 8, 2024 | cinemaescapist.com | Brian Hioe |Anthony Kao |Xingting Gong |Jamin Shih

The Time of Huan Nan is a multifaceted movie. Though the aim of the film–to depict the historic Huan Nan Market in Taipei’s Mongka district–is self-evident, The Time of Huan Nan is more than the sum of its parts, and it proves a heartful film. The Time of Huan Nan follows brash high schooler Chen Yao-hua, who works in the Huan Nan Market at the butcher stall run by his family.