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Matt Glasby
Matt Glasby is a UK-based critic and author. His latest work, The Book of Horror: The Anatomy of Fear in Film, is an in-depth, illustrated guide to the scariest movies ever made.
The Wachowkis and Tom Tykwer’s adaptation of David Mitchell’s novel was a box-office flop everywhere except China, despite a starry cast.
The Godfather Part II delves deeper into the history of the Mafia family at its heart. 50 years on from its making it remains a masterpiece.
Despite a cast that included Depp, Morgan Freeman, Cillian Murphy and Rebecca Hall, sci-fi film pitched at China tanked at the box office.
Wes Craven’s 1984 horror classic that introduced us to Freddy Krueger was inspired by an article about Asian Death Syndrome.
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Chan was so unhappy with his role as a cold-blooded killer in the James Glickenhaus-directed film he asked for a new version for Hong Kong.
James Wan’s low-budget horror film Saw spawned a US$1 billion franchise and inspired numerous ultra-violent films.
South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone’s puppet film, full of hilarious songs and biting satire, still resonates today.
Released in 1955 and starring Clark Gable and Susan Hayward, Soldier of Fortune came into its own as an exposé of expat life in Hong Kong.
The Stephen King novella adaptation with Morgan Freeman and Tim Robbins lost out to Forrest Gump at the 1995 Oscars but holds up 30 years on.
21 & Over, the 2013 comedy from The Hangover writers, raised eyebrows with its racism and sexual objectification. Extra scenes shot for a Chinese cut made it a quite different film but not a better one.
Released 30 years ago, Natural Born Killers – starring Woody Harrelson and Juliette Lewis – remains the most provocative film of Oliver Stone’s career and one of the most controversial movies ever.
Casablanca meets The World of Suzie Wong in the 1959 movie Ferry to Hong Kong, whose cast – specifically stars Curt Jürgens and Orson Welles – nearly sank it for James Bond director Lewis Gilbert.
Daring, original and completely sincere – how often can you say that about a Hollywood film? The Village, 2004 M. Night Shyamalan thriller that vexed critics, remains one of his best films 20 years on.
Alec Baldwin is currently on trial for an accidental on-set shooting – a tragedy that sadly echoes the death of Bruce Lee’s only son
Starring Samantha Morton and Tim Robbins as forbidden lovers in a story with echoes of 1984 and Blade Runner, Code 46 was shot largely in Shanghai and Dubai, the real locations lending it authenticity.
Tom Cruise, George Clooney and Britney Spears were all considered for The Notebook before John Cassavetes’ director son Nick picked Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams, and made them A-list stars.
Michael Cimino’s New York-set triad thriller Year of the Dragon, with Mickey Rourke and John Lone, wasted the chance to thoughtfully explore the American melting pot and instead went the racist route.
Jennifer Kent’s thrilling 2014 debut The Babadook poses the questions no one dare ask about motherhood. It’s a supernatural psychological horror film even Stephen King called ‘deeply disturbing’.
In 2009, Dragonball Evolution adapted Akira Toriyama’s Dragon Ball for the big screen, but the result was a low-budget, laughably bad movie that sidelined Asians and debased the iconic manga series.
As the quintessentially British Shaun of the Dead turns 20, we look back at this genre-defining rom-zom-com and how it came to be lauded by cinema luminaries in America as well as at home.
Flower Drum Song (1961), the first Hollywood film with a mostly Asian cast, was a rare box-office dud for Rodgers and Hammerstein. Was it a coincidence? We look back at the groundbreaking musical.
The 2004 film by Michel Gondry and Charlie Kaufmann, starring the unlikely pairing of Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet, puts a deliciously surreal twist on the love story.
Bloodsport is not a great movie but it always entertains. The Hong Kong-set action drama is best known for propelling Belgian martial artist Jean-Claude Van Damme into the Hollywood big league.
Calling it a masterpiece might be a stretch but the 2004 time-travel thriller The Butterfly Effect – despite its chaotic plotline – filled a void left by a dearth of quality horror films.
Jet Li received praise for his role as Danny the dog in Luc Besson’s gritty 2005 action movie. While he shone among co-stars such as Morgan Freeman, it didn’t help the martial arts actor crack Hollywood.
12 Years a Slave, director Steve McQueen’s 2013 adaptation of a book about a man sold into slavery, gave an unflinching portrayal of abuses inflicted upon African Americans in the Antebellum South.
Jackie Chan may be a household name today, but it took 15 years of trying and 1995’s Rumble in the Bronx for the Hong Kong martial artist to win over international audiences and become a Hollywood star.
2001’s Rush Hour 2, starring Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker, was a major box office success. Chan hated the film – although not for its crude stereotypes and overt sexism.
Rowan Atkinson plays British spy Johnny English, who travels to Hong Kong to prevent an attack on a Chinese premier, in a film meant to court Chinese audiences but which was packed with stereotypes.
Starring John Cusack, Roland Emmerich’s disaster movie ‘2012’ broke box-office records in China after its release in 2009. But why? It’s hardly a flattering ‘love letter’ to China, as some at the time thought.
