Editor's note: There are a huge number of movies, TV series and variety shows broadcast every week. How do you choose? You might want to take a look at the recommendations of The Paper.
【Movie】
Cinema Information
According to Lighthouse Professional Edition, as of 15:00 on March 7, the top five movies at the box office that day were: "Nezha: The Devil Child Conquers the Dragon King", "Detective Chinatown 1900", "How Lucky to Meet You", "Your Voice", and "Number 17", among which "How Lucky to Meet You" and "Number 17" were new films of the day.
International Women's Day is approaching, and the new films released this week are full of feminine elements and literary and artistic temperament.
The movie "Cangshan" was released on the National Art Film Screening Alliance's special line on March 4. The film has previously received rave reviews at many domestic film festivals and tells the story of a woman and her hometown that she can never return to.
Poster of "Cat's Fantasy Adventure"
The newly-crowned Oscar winner for Best Animated Feature Film , "Life of Cats," is now showing in theaters. The big screen experience is a masterpiece that can move the whole world without the need for words. This cat is well worth going to the theater to see.
→ Why did this low-budget production win an Oscar?
Of course, "Anora," which won this year's Oscar for Best Picture, is also worth catching up on.
→ "Anora": Embrace the fleeting and capture the profound
On March 8, a total of 5 new films were released. Except for "SpongeBob SquarePants: The SpongeBob Movie" , all of them can be labeled as feminine, literary, etc.
There is Tomorrow poster
There is Tomorrow is the ninth-highest-grossing film in Italian film history. The film was written, directed and starred by national treasure actress Paola Cortlesi. It is set in post-World War II Italy and reveals social cancers such as domestic violence and workplace discrimination through the awakening journey of Delia, a low-class woman. Douban scored 9.1 points and ranked first among the best unpopular films of the year. It is a female declaration that transcends time and space.
Poster of "The Girl Who Wants to Fly"
"The Girl Who Wants to Fly" is director Wen Yan's new work that will compete in the main competition unit of the Berlin Film Festival after "Carnival". Liu Haocun and Wen Qi interpret the cruel story of youth.
"Flames on the Plains" poster
The long-awaited "Flames on the Plain" is adapted from Shuang Xuetao's novel of the same name and produced by Berlin Golden Bear Award-winning director Diao Yinan. Zhou Dongyu and Liu Haoran interpret the bloody bond on the snowy plains of Northeast China. The unsolved case and first love spanning twenty years are intertwined into a fiery elegy of life in the ice and snow.
In the healing road movie "Heaven Travel Group" , adapted from Zhang Jiajia's novel of the same name, Peng Yuchang plays a frustrated young man and Yang En plays a terminally ill girl, who complete their spiritual journey towards death in the beautiful scenery of National Highway 318.
→ March cinema new movie guide: plan your spring movie-watching schedule
Other recommendations:
In Memory of Yu Yang: A Better Tomorrow, a Tough Guy on Screen
【TV drama】
New drama information
The B station costume web drama "Zhao Jing Ci" starring Chen Yao and Quan Yilun started filming at Hengdian Film and Television City on March 2.
The suspense drama "Cicada" started filming on March 2, starring Zhong Chuxi, Wu Zhenyu, Zheng Yunlong, Wu Xingjian, Zhou Fang, Yu Entai, Yi Daqian and others.
The TV series "The Protagonist" started filming on March 3 and will be exclusively broadcast on Tencent Video. The series is produced by Zhang Yimou and stars Zhang Jiayi, Liu Haocun, Qin Hailu, Dou Xiao, Zhai Zilu and others.
Adapted from the novel of the same name, the web drama "Hush, the King is Hibernating" starring Yu Shuxin and Lin Yi is scheduled to be exclusively broadcast on Youku from March 11.
The 2024 highly acclaimed Chinese drama "The Queen of Screen" was launched on Bilibili with all 12 episodes on March 7. The drama currently has a Douban score of 8.1.
"Northward"
Poster of "Northward"
The play is adapted from the novel of the same name by writer Xu Zechen, which won the 10th Mao Dun Literature Award in 2019. It is directed by Yao Xiaofeng and written by Zhao Dongling, starring Bai Lu, Ou Hao, Hu Jun, Wang Xueqi, Sarina and other powerful actors. The play is set against the backdrop of the century-long changes of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, focusing on the growth and struggle of six families along the canal from 2000 to 2014. Through the youthful group portrait of the "Six Sons of Flower Street", it connects realistic issues such as intangible cultural heritage inheritance and entrepreneurship in Beijing. The production team built the "Flower Street Courtyard" in real life, incorporating intangible cultural heritage elements such as bamboo carving and Kunqu Opera, and used long lenses and delicate light and shadow to restore the fireworks of the canal, showing the persistence and innovation of the three generations of people in the spirit of the canal.
On the second day of its premiere on CCTV-1's prime time, "Northward" had an average audience rating of 3.826% per episode, and won a 15.380% audience share. Both episodes ranked first in the ratings of various programs in the same period! The average audience rating of the first four episodes was 3.877%, leading the way in the same period. The popularity on iQiyi exceeded 8,500, and the market share on Yunhe Data ranked among the top five in the same period, and it also rose strongly to second place on Lighthouse.
The long shot at the beginning of the first episode and the real-life reproduction of the canal streets and alleys in the 1990s were praised as "textbook-level period drama aesthetics". Veteran actors such as Hu Jun and Li Naiwen contributed highlights, while Bai Lu's "black skin and steel teeth" breakthrough was recognized, and the young actors' acting skills were smart. Some viewers also believed that the epic sense of the original work was weakened and focused on the youth line, which was questioned by book fans as "magic changes", and the first four groups of characters were also considered "trivial and noisy" by some viewers.
"Like Brocade"
Poster of "Like Brocade"
The drama is adapted from the novel of the same name by Dong Tian De Liu Ye, starring Jing Tian, Zhang Wanyi, Guo Tao, Huang Yi, Ma Su and others. It is a costume emotional drama that combines rebirth, power struggle and Song Dynasty aesthetics. The drama tells the story of Jiang Si (played by Jing Tian), the fourth daughter of Dongping Bo Mansion, who was reborn and joined hands with her mortal enemy Yu Jin (played by Zhang Wanyi) to rewrite her fate, fight against the conspiracy in the mansion, solve the unsolved case, and finally protect the peace of her country.
The peak popularity on Tencent Video reached 26,000. Both Yunhe data and Lighthouse showed that it ranked fourth among the dramas of the same period in the first week, and the overall popularity was good.
The series is set up with unit cases connecting the main line (such as the Changxing Hou murder case), female mutual assistance group portrait (rescuing the eldest sister who was abused by her husband), etc., which breaks away from the traditional "female competition" framework and can attract audiences. Jing Tian and Zhang Wanyi are also "powerful" ancient puppet actors, and they have a high degree of completion of their roles. However, the series is still accused of being routine with "rebirth revenge + house fighting", and the emotional line relies too much on "industrial saccharin". The current popularity and controversy reflect the current audience's dual requirements for "exquisite skin + deep core".
The Kind Heart Club
Poster of "The Kind Club"
Directed by Tian Yu, starring Xin Zhilei, Bai Ke, Zhang Zixian, and joined by Yao Anna, Shi Mingze, etc., this is a light comedy focusing on the medical workplace and life. The series is centered on neurosurgeon Liu Ziyi (played by Xin Zhilei) and cardiac surgeon Qin Wenbin (played by Bai Ke), telling the story of five doctors with different personalities who were connected by forming a marathon club, fighting side by side on the operating table, and healing each other in life. Combining medical professionalism with workplace humor, it shows the "living" daily life of doctors after taking off their white coats.
According to Yunhe Data, the effective broadcast market share of feature films reached 4%, ranking only eighth, and the score on Lighthouse even dropped to around 20. The overall reputation of the series is also quite polarized. Positive reviews believe that the actors' acting skills are very natural, and the combination of strengths, Xin Zhilei's "sassy female A" image and Bai Ke's "cold humor male B" contrast, and they are called the "working people's mouth substitute combination"; Zhang Zixian's "workplace cow and horse" comedy performance contributed 80% of the laughs, and the plot was also innovative. Compared with previous medical themes, the absurd incident of "Stuck Chicken" used black humor to deconstruct seriousness, and the plots of medical staff complaining about their leaders and refusing to accept red envelopes were praised as "real like candid shots." However, while the plot is "good-looking", from the perspective of medical dramas, some medical cases (such as external cardiac emergency treatment) were accused of being very unprofessional, sacrificing professionalism for drama, and were complained by some medical groups and audiences with high requirements for professionalism and accuracy, and were considered to be highly imitating a Korean drama with similar themes. If the authenticity and accuracy of medical cases can be further improved in the future, it will provide new solutions to the stereotyped medical themes.
Other recommendations:
Wu Yue: The rebellious elderly mother of two is the most beautiful role I have ever played
White Lotus Resort Season 3: This time, the world is different
Short drama fans | "Rain Love Qianjin": Chen Fangtong + Dai Gaozheng are here
Youku only makes 12-episode dramas? Will shorter episodes make longer dramas better?
【Variety Show】
This Saturday, Hunan Satellite TV's "Hello Saturday" welcomed the crew of "Hush, the King is Hibernating". Yu Shuxin, Lin Yi, Jin Jing, Tang Jiuzhou, Zhang Yanqi, Shi Kai, Li Xueqin, Ding Chengxin, and Yang Di came to the Haoliu Ski Resort to perform sweet moments together.
With the red card crisis coming, which provincial team can achieve a win-win situation in terms of deployment and brainpower competition? On March 7 at 20:20 on Jiangsu Satellite TV's "The Brain 12" , host Jiang Changjian, Chinese team leader candidates You Jianing, Pang Bo, Wei Kunlin, and the strongest cheerleader Huang Shengyi will witness the showdown between the top three provincial teams.
The third poster of "Let's Farm 3"
Fewer ads, more shots of farmers. Ten hard days have not changed. On March 7, the third episode of "Let's Farm 3" aired on iQiyi. The weather was -30℃, which was a good time to harvest sea buckthorn. According to iQiyi's current broadcast schedule, the main film will be broadcast every Friday and Saturday, and the extra episode will be broadcast on Sunday.
On March 4 at 20:20, the fourth episode of "Our Dad" was broadcast on Zhejiang Satellite TV. The lineup of "neighboring parents" and parenting experts has also been upgraded. Mai Lin and Zhang Cailing have also joined the "neighboring parents". In this episode, Zhang Cailing talked about how transnational families get along with each other, and Wu Zun also shared his parenting tips without reservation.
From literary works to official ethics books to treasured cultural relics, the ancients' exploration of integrity has lasted for thousands of years. On March 6 at 19:30, the fourth episode of the second season of "Chinese Official Ethics" "Establishing Trust" was broadcast on Hunan Satellite TV and Mango TV. Learn the stories of Guo Ji's "Trust in Childhood" and Fan Shi's "Friendship over Chicken and Rice" to understand the ancients' pursuit of "establishing trust".
The four-episode series, which is entirely written in English, will premiere on Dragon TV's "New Documentary" time slot at 22:00 every Tuesday starting from March 4, and will be broadcast simultaneously on new media platforms such as the Oriental TV APP. In early April, the series will be broadcast globally on CGTN's English news channel and Phoenix TV's overseas platforms.
