So I just got back from seeing I Am Legend. Great movie, even though the last twenty minutes or so were totally different from the novel. It’s rare that I see movie of a book that I’ve read and yet I’m happy with the flick even though it diverges a little. If you’ve read the original, you might remember that the ending wasn’t so upbeat. Not good for the Christmas crowds?
Anyway, I noticed this pic below as a promotional poster here in Taiwan:
A larger version is here. This is Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall or at least it used to be known as that.
What struck me about seeing the “memorial formerly known as C.K.S Hall” in a half-destroyed state was that this kind of mirrors what’s been going on over there recently. The DPP has seen fit to go around and try to change names they find politically incorrect, like the name of this memorial, which is the largest of its kind in Taiwan. Like all political correctness, it smacks of heavy-handedness and totalitarianism — ironically what they say they are against. So naturally, the KMT were out in force in stop the name change. Fortunately, no actual riots have occurred. Yet. But elections are coming up in March.
A haunting image, to be sure.
8 responses so far ↓
1 Hermann // Dec 15, 2007 at 1:32 pm
Ja, and they even quote their Germans friends form Munich, saying Munich women think Ma Yingjiu looks too female, or major Hao is gay. Real amazing stuff, as I’m from Munich, where in fact nobody whatsoever cares about Taiwan’s pliticians’ fiews.
It will be interesting, hopefully not dangerous times, ’till all has settled down in March/April.
2 Thomas // Dec 15, 2007 at 2:03 pm
I just can’t figure out why the trees are growing in such an orderly way in the foreground of the pic. It is reassuring to know that someone is still in Taipei tending the grounds after the plague.
3 Poagao // Dec 15, 2007 at 8:54 pm
I saw it on Thursday night, and the plotholes kept me from enjoying it that much. That and the multitude of SURPRISE IT’S A ZOMBIE! shots.
4 Dave Chesser // Dec 15, 2007 at 11:53 pm
Poagao,
I think you’d like the book better. The story unfolds differently and has a different ending. It’s nowhere nearly as overwrought as the movie.
One reason I liked this version was because of Will Smith. He apparently has a very strong connection to his kids, and used his real daughter to play his daughter in the film. He did the same thing with his son in the “Pursuit of Happiness.” As the father of two kids myself, the plot arcs involving his family really resonated with me. When he loses his daughter in the movie, I could feel his pain. That was part of why I liked the movie.
5 Prince Roy // Dec 16, 2007 at 1:46 am
I’m with Poagao. Very disappointing. The plot holes are too numerous to forgive. Do they even mention anywhere in the film that the Smith character is supposed to be a military research scientist? For all we know, he was just an army officer who started his own lab out of sheer boredom after the plague.
And the cheap cinematic trick of sudden objects, zombies flying into the screen to scare the audience is very amateur.
Plus the special effects on the monsters was awful.
6 Patrick Parker // Dec 16, 2007 at 1:50 am
We saw it last night and loved it. I was prepared for bad effects and didnt see any. I was prepared for plotholes and didnt see any. Overall a really good zombie film (better than 28 Days Later), even though the book says they are vampires. I have ordered the two older versions of the film (Last man on Earth, and Omega Man) on Netflix and look forward to seeing them.
7 amylia // Dec 17, 2007 at 4:40 pm
the best part of the movie was the promo post of CKS hall.
I really didn’t like that movie. It was torturous and I was annoyed I spent 600 NT on 2 tickets! Grrrr…
8 JohnM // Dec 19, 2007 at 1:11 am
Saw the film..liked it, but I wouldn’t say it’s better than 28 days later. I left the movie with an interest in reading the book but hoping that the book wouldn’t end the same. *Spoiler alert*: God swooping in and saving the day was just pretty lame.
By the way, I happened to get into a dumb argument with my friend after the movie. I’m 90% sure I was right. He suggested that the girl zombie that Will Smith was experimenting on was the Alpha Male’s girlfriend and that’s why the zombies became more aggresive in coming after Will Smith, but I didn’t take that from the movie at all. Zombies are pretty much sexless, right? I thought seeing a boyfirend-girlfriend relationship there was pretty silly. Anyone think I need to find new people to hang around with?
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