Check your brain at the door
With blockbusters like Life of Pi, Back to 1942 and 2012 3D, the last few weeks of November were filled with serious topics like life and death struggles, disasters and belief. But coming December releases will be much more relaxed, with fewer deep movies that call for thinking and instead more light ones that are mainly for entertainment.
The choices will be plentiful as well, from romantic comedies to horror flicks and action movies. There will always be one dish that's just your flavor.
Cheer up
For anyone who wants a break from thought-provoking epics and just wants to be silly sitting down for a laugh, Lost in Thailand must be the right choice.
Starring actors Xu Zheng, Wang Baoqiang and Huang Bo, who are famous for their comic roles, the movie promises to supply a real belly-laugh.
As a sequel of the 2010 work Lost on Journey, Lost in Thailand continues a similar story: Two strangers meet on the same journey, but as the two stay together, silly and unlucky things happen to them. After quarrels and fights, the two finally become good friends.
Besides comic elements, Lost on Journey also attracted audiences with its coverage of various difficulties that take place on the way home during Spring Festival, which millions of common Chinese may experience themselves.
Similarly, Lost in Thailand sets the story in Thailand, a warm tourist site that many Chinese like to visit to escape a cold New Year holiday. The beaches, sea, temples, elephant riding and oil spa - this movie can also be a tourist guide for those longing to travel there.
Let's date
Cinemas are always good choices for dates, and romantic movies are suitable for almost all couples.
In theaters since last Friday, three romantic movies - My Sassy Hubby, Lemon and My Secret Garden - are ready for your dating list.
Ten years ago in 2002, the Hong Kong romantic comedy My Wife is 18, about a romance between an 18-year-old school girl and a man more than 10 years older, made a stir among moviegoers for a long time. This year, starring the same duo, actress Charlene Choi and actor Ekin Cheng, and with the same director James Yuen, My Sassy Hubby will continue the story by checking out how the couple is enjoying married life. And by reading the current reviews from netizens, this movie has the same happy and funny effect.
Compared with My Sassy Hubby, Lemon seems to contain a bit more tear-provoking scenes. It is about a transnational romance between a South Korean woman and a Chinese man. Yet, besides romance, the movie also touches topics like dreams and promises.
Due on December 28, My Secret Garden is adapted from a 2010 South Korean TV series of the same title. Different from traditional romance stories that are based totally in reality, this one is a mixture of what is real and imagined. The leading male role (played by Wallace Chung) and leading female role (played by Sitar Tan) loath each other very much, and every time the two met, they end up in a fight. One day in a secret garden, the souls of the two are magically exchanged, and in the later days as their souls are locked up, they gradually fall in love with each other.
Lights, camera, action!
If beautiful love stories are often irresistible for girls, action movies are just the right thing to warm each boy's blood. In this category, there are also three options to choose from, and two of them are in 3D or IMAX.
CZ12, written by, directed by and starring Jackie Chan, is the action icon's 101st film. And it is said to be the last major action film to star the 58-year-old Chan. The story is based on the lost Chinese zodiac animal heads of Yuanmingyuan, and according to a report from Liaoning Daily, Chan said that he became interested in this topic when the first animal head was sold at a public auction 12 years ago.
Despite the intricate history around the animal heads, CZ12 can be a "must see" by true Jackie Chan fans. And there's an IMAX version.
The Guillotines, another 3D action movie, is about an ancient "special force."
In Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), there was a secret force under the direct control of the emperor. It was used to root out dissidents from the kingdom. Yet, the new emperor does not regard the force to be as important as his father did. When the force is sent to carry out a mission, it also finds itself in danger of being wiped out.
One of the unique features of this movie is the ancient Chinese weapon called the flying guillotine.
Against the backdrop of 1920s and 1930s Shanghai, The Last Tycoon is destined to be a movie with plenty of stories, as it was one of the time periods Shanghai experienced a most complicated history: Business was well developed, there was a society of various people from wanderers to capo-mafioso, and a war was around the corner.
The Last Tycoon is based on the real stories of Du Yuesheng, a real Shanghai capo-mafioso head at that time. The film also features the participation of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon actor Chow Yun-Fat.
Out of the ordinary
For those who like puzzle solving or thrilling stories, Singular Puzzle, Bleeding Mountain and The Basement can be options for the coming days, though many netizens do not look well on domestic-made horror movies.
Or if you prefer more artistic works, you can choose the Oscar winning movie The Artist, a work directed by French director Michel Hazanavicius and show respect to the silent film period.