I ran across the site MonkeyPeaches some time back, and although I’m still not completely sure how to describe it, I’ll give it a try:
MonkeyPeaches provides details about new and upcoming Chinese/Hong Kong films, collecting together information from several other Internet sites, providing links to reviews, rumors, and reports, and throwing in the occasional original interview or story.
Design-wise, the principle seems to be to “jam as much onto a page that will fit”–sometimes you’re not sure where the articles begin and where the affiliate ads end (or is it the other way around), but I have yet to find another English language site with so many “scoops” on current Chinese films–I just have to remember to take some aspirin immediately after each visit (Ouch! Those crowded graphics!).
There’s a lot of information in them there pages. Did you know, for example, that:
I knew none of this either, until visiting this bizarrely-named site, which sometimes makes you think that someone is sitting in a dimly-lit room somewhere, in front of a computer and a stack of magazines 24 hours a day, compiling all this information. Also, most of the images shown on the site are “leeched” from other sites like sina.com–but having it all here saves you the search time. You’ll learn a lot and nearly feel that you have your finger on the pulse of Chinese Cinema by spending some time at MonkeyPeaches. Just don’t forget the aspirin.
Disclaimer: The site also offers a number of videos and DVDs for sale, but at those prices, they’re unlikely to be “originals.” Caveat emptor. Purchasing pirated videos is not recommended.
October 2003
