Alex Kuo’s latest book, “White Jade and Other Stories” rides a rocky divide. Writing from a ChineseAmerican perspective, the short pieces that make up this collection support his personal political agenda. As such his voice does need to be heard, but literature does not sit easy with work that is one-sided, driven by emotion instead of reason and flagrantly guilty of the twin sins of omission and distortion.
Trick or treat!
‘Pool’ film hypnotic and deep
A languorous meditation on free will versus destiny, Chris Smith’s fine film “The Pool” traces a few weeks in the life of Venkatesh, a teenager who labors at a modest hotel in the dusty city of Panjim, Goa.
Animator the new Miyazaki?
Thirty-five-year-old Japanese animator Makoto Shinkai often gets called “the new Miyazaki.” Having learned this, you should forget it. Hayao Miyazaki represents the gold standard of Japanese anime to the West.
Maggie Q: Good Hollywood roles rare for Asians
HONG KONG (AP) — Despite landing roles alongside Tom Cruise and Bruce Willis, Maggie Q says Asian actors still have a hard time getting good roles in Hollywood movies.
Director fights hatred with martial arts
Diana Lee Inosanto describes herself as a multi-tasker. The Filipino American stuntwoman, martial arts instructor, actress and mother of two is also the writer and director of a new independent movie, “The Sensei.” Screened in packed theatres at numerous film festivals, “The Sensei” will be playing in the upcoming Seattle Gay and Lesbian Film Festival on Oct. 24.
‘Flowers’ not very good
The Taiwanese lesbian drama “Drifting Flowers,” written and directed by Zero Chou, isn’t intended to be a horror movie — but it certainly could be.
Become a spice master at home
Smell is one of life’s most evocative senses. A whiff of cologne takes me back to a dim-lit street where I walked hand-in-hand with my high school sweetheart; the assault of trassi (Indonesian shrimp paste) on my nostrils recalls the days in my mother’s kitchen as she pounded this pungent paste with chilies and garlic in her weathered stone mortar.
Another go for Cho
Kathy Griffin got an Emmy for it. Denise Richards actually got renewed. Now comedienne Margaret Cho is having a go at the reality TV genre. After over a decade of absence, Cho is giving television another shot after her sitcom, 1994’s “All American Girl,” about a Korean American family bombed.
Gangster Daddy’s Little Girl
Shoko Tendo grew up a yakuza’s daughter turned into a juvenile delinquent, then a drug addict, then finally a sturdy writer with a compelling memoir. Being daddy’s girl didn’t shield her from much, and her life bore no resemblance to the Western image of a coddled “mafia princess.” Underneath her walking, talking, I-don’t-care exterior is someone who never knew love, security and stability.