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This article contains spoilers.4/5 starsThe highest grossing Hong Kong film of all time returns for another crack at the local box office with this extended version, which starts screening on April 4 – just in time for the Ching Ming Festival – with 12 minutes of previously unseen footage.The Last Dance revolves around Dominic (Dayo Wong Tze-wah), a debt-ridden wedding planner who tries his hand at being a funeral agent out of desperation, and Master Man (Michael Hui Koon-man), a Taoist priest who struggles to stay on good terms with his offspring, Ben (Chu Pak-hong) and Yuet (Michelle Wai Sze-nga).The breakthrough third feature of writer-director Anselm Chan Mou-yin, this poignant family drama is the front runner for this month’s Hong Kong Film Awards with 18 nominations, including best p...

It takes Rolex five to seven years to create a new watch model, I just learned.It is March 24, and I am sitting in the Geneva headquarters of the watchmaker with the platinum version of its brand-new, not-yet-announced Rolex Oyster Perpetual Land-Dweller in my hands.It is a fresh entry in a lineage that includes such legends as the Datejust, the GMT-Master II, the Submariner and the Cosmograph Daytona.I was summoned to this top-secret meeting to discover the wonders of this new timepiece. A week later, the Land-Dweller will be introduced during the Watches and Wonders trade fair across town in the Swiss city, and within minutes of its debut, collectors and fans around the world will be dissecting it.A close-up of the Oyster Perpetual Land-Dweller 40.A totally new collection from Rolex is a...

Saan Saan Cafe, a place for Hong Kong-style dishes at the edge of Vancouver’s Chinatown, feels nostalgic and contemporary at the same time.The high ceiling and pale-pink painted walls make the space feel airy, while leafy plants in Chinese ceramic pots and a dark-blue Kjeldsens butter cookie tin filled with sewing items behind the counter evoke the past.The building in which the cafe is housed has been in founder Eric Siu’s family for decades; his grandparents first settled there in 1950 with his father and aunt.“I learned how to cook rice here, I have my grandmother’s wok. I remember playing outside in the backyard with broken pots that you couldn’t use any more,” Siu, 43, recalls with a chuckle.Eric Siu’s paternal grandparents in the early 1960s, outside the building where Saan Saan Cafe...

As we darted through Addis Ababa’s morning rush hour, my jet lag could not dull the energy of Ethiopia’s capital.We wove through crowds of office workers headed to high-rises and families leading goats home for Orthodox Christmas feasts while our guide explained how one needs at least three weeks to fully experience his country.From the dramatic peaks of Simien Mountains National Park to the sprawling salt plains of the Danakil Depression, natural wonders alone could fill a month of adventure.But there is also plenty for time-pressed travellers like we were.“With a few days, you can get a taste,” guide Yonas Zewede of Landscape Ethiopia Tours assured me.A view of Addis Ababa’s skyline from the rooftop 360 Lounge at the Monarch Parkview Hotel. Photo: APWe embarked on a whirlwind trip that w...

3/5 starsLead cast: Park Hae-soo, Shin Min-a, Lee Hee-joon, Lee Kwang-sooAfter watching the first few episodes of Karma, a gruelling new original Korean thriller presented by Netflix, you might come away with the idea that it is a loosely connected anthology series about desperate characters doing very bad things.That is because those first episodes, which are largely about different characters and narratively self-contained, are reminiscent of the many omnibus films and series that long-time viewers of modern Korean media will be familiar with.While we expect some interconnectedness in omnibus stories, the true scope of the web that is this series only comes into view starting with episode three, when the characters really begin to overlap.

Apple TV+ has a huge hit on its hands with the workplace thriller Severance.Even though its second season has concluded, fans will probably flock to various Reddit channels to decode the puzzle-box-style show and discuss the fate of the Macrodata Refinement team at Lumon Industries.For Apple, the question is whether it will be able to cash in on Severance’s momentum.Unlike Netflix, which has amassed a content library of thousands of titles, Apple TV+ – with only around 270 shows – has prioritised quality over quantity. So far, however, Apple has struggled to attract and retain subscribers despite the popularity of comedy-drama Ted Lasso and critical praise for thriller Slow Horses.Now, thanks to shows like sci-fi drama Silo, comedy-drama Shrinking and Severance, there are signs that might ...

When director Gints Zilbalodis accepted his Oscar last month for his ethereal new animated film Flow, he thanked his parents and his “cats and dogs” – fitting, given that the charming cartoon follows a feline and other animals as they survive a huge flood.Then he added a rallying cry for the industry: “I’m really moved by the warm reception our film has had … and I hope that it will open doors to independent animation filmmakers around the world.”Flow’s success in beating huge American studio animations like Inside Out 2 and The Wild Robot to the Academy Award, and the Golden Globe back in January, will surely be encouraging to other animators outside Hollywood.Made in Latvia for US$3.7 million (HK$28.8 million), Flow has grossed over 10 times that in ticket sales to date. Perhaps it helps...

The 2025 Michelin Guide handed out new stars to 68 restaurants in France at a ceremony that celebrated emerging young talent and proposed food as a tonic for the world’s worries.Two restaurants joined the highest and most coveted three-star category in Michelin’s 2025 France guide, seafood specialists Christopher Coutanceau in La Rochelle and Le Coquillage in Brittany.“The world is worried, the tensions, crises, war at the gates of Europe,” Michelin Guide director Gwendal Poullennec told a crowd of 600 chefs at the ceremony in the city of Metz.“And in the middle of all that, men and women continue to cook, welcome people, pass on knowledge and to create beauty.”Hugo Roellinger, chef at Le Coquillage (The Seashell) restaurant, and his wife, Marine, after his restaurant was awarded three Mic...

Recently the area in front of Inspire Arena on Yeongjong Island, Incheon, South Korea, was packed with fans in their twenties eagerly waiting for the first Korean concert of Japanese superstar Kenshi Yonezu.The 22,000 tickets for the two-day event sold out immediately when they opened in October, a clear indication of J-pop’s growing presence in Korea’s music market.Yonezu, who began as a Vocaloid producer in 2009 and officially debuted in 2012, is known for his artistic versatility – writing, composing, arranging, mixing, performing and even creating visuals for his work.His Korean fan base has grown steadily, drawn to his emotionally charged rock-influenced pop sound. During the two-hour concert, he performed hit songs like “Lemon”, which became the first J-pop music video to surpass 900...

Richard Norton, a veteran stunt performer, actor and martial artist who traded blows with action icons including Chuck Norris and Jackie Chan, has died. He was 75.Norton’s wife, Judy Norton, announced her husband’s death in an emotional Instagram post shared over the weekend. “I am numb and devastated, I have no words I have lost my everything,” Judy Norton said. The post did not disclose additional information, including a cause of death. Norton was 75.“I know there is, and will be lots of love and shock that we lost this incredible human being. The love of my life,” she added. “I’m using this time to come to terms with my great loss.”Norton, born in Croydon, Australia, in January 1950, enjoyed a varied career that spanned from the 1980s to 2024 and resulted in on-screen battles against N...