Chinese New Year Parade

Today is the Lantern Festival (元宵节), marks the end of the Chinese New Year celebration. The spectacular annual Chinese New Year Parade took place on Saturday. Unlike in the past, it was a picture perfect day for the festivity — no rain! I went to downtown before the parade started so I could take pictures when it’s still bright. It was a joyful time, with many colorful floats, fantastic costumes, and loud firecrackers. Those adorable kids marching in the parade gave everybody a big smile. It became chilly when the night sank in, so I came home and watched the end of the parade on TV. http://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf However, I am saddened to learn the tragic fire in China that destroy the 44-floor luxary Mandarin Oriental Hotel in downtown Beijing. The hotel was not even completed yet! My heart also goes to those victims in a devasting fire that killed 170 people so far in Australia. I am glad that the firecrackers at the Chinese New Year Parade on Saturday didn’t cause any harm. To complete the celebration of Chinese New Year, we are supposed to eat Tangyuan (汤圆) in Soutern China, and Yuanxiao (元宵) in Northern China. It’s more complicated to make Yuanxiao, so I decided to make some Tangyuan instead, even I am a Northerner. I picked up some sticky rice flour, and some ground pork for fillings, because I don’t like sweet fillings. After I mixed the dough, I was shocked how sticky it is. It’s incredibly difficult to make a wrapper and to put the filling in, because the dough stuck all over my hands. After I made about dozen of Tangyuan, I decided to quit. The ones I already made would be enough to give me good luck and fortune. Luckily, they turned out pretty decent. None of them broke. Of course, the filling tastes just the way I like it. I need to work on the dough though to make it more workable. I am taking tomorrow off from work, to watch movies, three of them. The joy begins. The 27th San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival (SFIAAFF) will announce its program tomorrow! I am so excited. Another review I wrote last Friday. Donkey Punch Four guys, three girls, and one gorgeous yacht in the sea. That might sound like a great party if it’s not in the British thriller "Donkey Punch" (UK 2008, 95 min.). "Donkey Punch" is part of Magnet‘s Six Shooter Film Series, a showcase of six of the best films from the vanguard of international genre cinema. In "Donkey Punch," three young British girls Kim (Jaime Winstone), Tammi (Nichola Burley), and Lisa (Sian Breckin) are having a great time in Majorca. They met three boys at a party: smooth talker Marcus (Jay Taylor), drug dealer Bluey (Tom Burke), and handsome Josh (Julian Morris). The boys invite the girls to their gorgeous yacht and spent the night out at the sea to see the sunset. Once they board the yacht that Josh’s older brother Sean (Robert Boulter) operates, Bluey begins to share ecstasy and his knowledge about "donkey punch" with everyone. Predictably, an orgy is followed. However, when Josh throws his "donkey punch," all hell break out. The situation gets worse and worse — everybody wish that they had not been part of it. They turn against each other in order to survive. Obviously, the party is over. Although the heavy British accent and inaudible dialogues are very frustrating during the first part of the film, the second part of the film changes the pace and tune completely. It becomes a horror film soaked in blood with convincing performance. The logic of their behavior vanishes. Shocking violence leaves the audience no time to sympathize these characters or to understand their motivations. "Donkey Punch" opens on Friday, February 6, at the Lumiere Theatre in San Francisco and Shattuck Cinemas in Berkeley.