Diane Cheng Movies
Based on the novel by author Jonathan Safran Foer, director Stephen Daldry's post-9/11 drama follows the journey of a nine-year-old boy as he attempts to solve a family mystery. Two years after his father is killed in the September 11th terrorist attacks, the curious boy discovers a mysterious key hidden in a household vase and begins an exhaustive search for the matching lock. Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock star. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
Three generations of Chinese-American women struggle to reconcile tradition and family with their own needs and desires in this independent drama from first-time director Bertha Bay-Sa Pan. In 1977, Kim (Bai Ling) is an intelligent and headstrong Asian-American, whose mother (Kieu Chinh) is eager to see married off to an eligible man as soon as possible. Kim isn't interested in settling down just yet, and is dating a bright but struggling law student, Willie (Ken Leung). Kim is making some extra money by tutoring Daniel (Will Yun Lee), a handsome but irresponsible boy from a wealthy family. Daniel seduces Kim one evening after she's had an argument with Willie, and while she has no interest in seeing Daniel again, she soon discovers that she's pregnant with his child, and both her mother and Daniel's parents insist that they marry. It doesn't take long for Kim to realize that she and Daniel don't care much for one another, and Kim decides to leave America for Singapore, leaving her baby daughter Genie in mother's care. Two decades later, grown-up Genie (Kristy Wu) is even more rebellious than her mother, and while Genie pays a modicum of lip service to her grandmother, she's no more interested in settling down with a nice Chinese boy than Kim was. Genie has been dating Michael (Treach), an African-American hip-hop musician; Michael is eager to make their relationship more permanent, but Genie isn't so sure, and her grandmother has no idea what to make of Genie's new beau. When Kim arrives on one of her infrequent visits, the three generations of this family find themselves struggling to find a common ground. Face was screened in competition at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
Woody Allen's character study of a well-kept, upscale Manhattan woman (Mia Farrow) takes the title character on a journey through a Wonderland of her own making, in which she learns some truths about herself, her relationships, and the universe in general. Alice leads a comfortable life, except for some nagging aches and pains, but when she visits the mysterious Dr. Yang (Keye Luke), he discovers that what really ails Alice is her own lack of true human experience. Alice has been married for sixteen years to Doug (William Hurt), an emotionally detached stockbroker, and she lives a perfectly maintained life in a perfectly maintained apartment, with a pair of children and the requisite support staff. All that changes when a chance meeting with a neighbor (Joe Mantegna) leads Alice to consider an affair. Dr. Yang, seizing the opportunity, gives Alice herbal potions that make her both invisible and seductive, allowing her to free herself from her inhibitions. Plunging into her new fantasy world, Alice ultimately comes to terms with her family, her husband, and her life. ~ Don Kaye, Rovi
- Starring:
- Mia Farrow, Joe Mantegna, (more)
- 1987
- R
Director Abel Ferrara liberally employs his blackjack intensity in this lunatic gang romance that comes across as a cross between Mean Streets and West Side Story. The New York City street gangs of Chinatown and Little Italy are rattling their sabers and they become drawn when a Chinese restaurant opens up on the Italian side of Canal Street. In the middle of all this tension and violence, beautiful Chinese teenager Tyan-Hwa (Sari Chang) falls in love with Tony (Richard Panebianco), a pizza delivery boy. Of course, continuing with in the West Side Story vein, the parents of the two lovebirds are against the match. Not only that, but the Mafia and the Chinese mob conspire to separate the lovers in order to maintain an uncertain peace in the community. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi
- Starring:
- James Russo, Sari Chang, (more)
