REVIEW “Riders” fulfills comic-book image: Lots of flying bodies and blood plus high-energy, staccato storytelling make for a fun movie
“The Storm Riders, ” the latest action epic from Hong Kong, has the maniacally laughing villain, the sullen, moody hero, the love quadrangle and the old revenge motif multiplied exponentially. Lifted from the comic book serial stowed in every Asian kid’s backpack, the film outsold “Jurassic Park: Lost World” and…
Video rushed to meet demand
Are people willing to buy footage of one of the most appalling moments in American history? The answer, it would seem, is yes. Since late June, when the Washington Post ran a story that the Zapruder documentary would be released this summer, MPI Home Video has been inundated with calls…
HE’S THE MASTER OF ALL THINGS ZORRO The famous character is the domain of Berkeley’s John Gertz
Ohn Gertz owns Senor Zorro, lock, stock, body and sword. From his office in the Berkeley marina, Gertz oversees Zorro Productions Inc., which has licensed the night horseman’s likeness around the world for the past 15 years. Comic books, television shows, cartoon series, stage productions, merchandise, endorsements, children’s books a…
BEARER OF GOOD FORTUNE Architecture graduate shelves degree to build acting career in Hong Kong
ONE YEAR AGO, Dan Wu returned to his homeland of Hong Kong to become a star. Well, not exactly his homeland: Wu is a Bay Area boy, Berkeley-born, Orinda-raised and Oakland-educated (Head Royce). A pleasant, smart guy with modestly handsome looks, he actually visited Hong Kong to witness the handover…
IN SEARCH FOR SELF For Asian American Eric Liu, looking back is a big step forward
I AM FOLLOWING Eric Liu because I am Chinese. . . Naturally, I’m oversimplifying matters. Liu is promoting his first book, “The Accidental Asian: Notes of a Native Speaker, ” in which he interweaves political and cultural essays with intimate recollections. I don’t normally stalk authors or Chinese people, but…
CAN’T GET IN A CLASS? ITEMS TEACH YOUNG DRIVERS From computer programs to behind-the-wheel safety courses, there are many ways to help teens learn
During the summer, kids usually don’t even look at the calendar until August or September, when courses begin again. This year, however, hopeful teen-age drivers are keeping an eye on the calendar so they can enroll in driver education and training before the Brady-Jared Teen Driver Safety Act becomes law…
OFF THE COUCH Novel toys will have everyone playing in the pool
AN IMAGINARY poolside conversation: “Hey, Joe, did you hear about Cyrus? He’s stoked ’cause he got himself a XP-110 Super Soaker. He said he was tired of Samantha mowing people down with her XP-70.” “A 110, is that all? I could spit farther than that. I just got myself a…
HIS CANDID CAMERA “Truman” director exposes media’s mighty influence
“The Truman Show” gives off a surreal pastel Technicolor, like the eerie glow that emanates from a TV set in an unlit living room. That must have been the same radioactive cling that encircled director Peter Weir’s head after he read the script by Andrew Niccol. In 1995 Weir, who…
TO MARKET, TO MARKET These grocery stores offer international ingredients, ethnic diversity for those who want more than a quart of milk and loaf of bread
THE TRIP to the store. Not a traipse to the corner store for a carton of milk. Not a hop on the Huffy to the market because Mom ran out of butter while mixing her chocolate chip cookies. This trip was a pilgrimage. Mom and Dad would empty out the…
SHALL WE DANCE? Movies keep sneaking in those swing-and-song numbers
Slow, slow, quick, quick. That about measures the beat of the musical number’s return to film. The latest couple sashaying onto the dance floor is Jennifer Aniston and Paul Rudd in “The Object of My Affection.” Despite incompatible sexual proclivities, the two court one another within the rhythmic intimacy of…