Rating: 
Summary: An absolutely wonderful film.
Review: Now Chinatown is one of the rare (these days) films that sneaks under the Hollywood radar ... a film that is well acted, staged, written, produced, directed ... Steven Dunning has created a film that sheds some light onto the world of immigrant workers ... new arrivals to our country ... aliens in an alien land ... but does so through empowering his main character ... and in a realistic way ... one which most people can easily identify wth in their own way. Lianne X. Hu does a remarkable job portraying the main character Lee, who is abused by circumstance and status ... friendless but yet hopeful. Steven Dunning also does a remarkable job ... not only acting in this film, but also producing, directing and authoring Now Chinatown. I would have loved to have seen this film in a theatre ... however ... Steven Dunning has done such an excellent job producing the DVD that watching this film at home
Rating:
Summary: NOW WONDER THIS GOT ON E!'S TOP TEN DVD'S OF THE YEAR LIST!
Review: NOW WONDER THIS GOT ON E!'S TOP TEN DVD'S OF THE YEAR LIST!
THIS THING IS INCREDIBLE, THE BEST AND MOST DIVERSE FEATURES I'VE EVR SEEN, EVEN NEW CATEGORY NAMES, AND I HARDLY HEARD OF IT AND IT GETS ON E'INSIDERS TOP TEN DVD'S OF THE YEAR WITH SPIDERMAN. HARRY POTTER, ETC., YOU CAN SEE THIS DIRECTOR MADE THE DVD RIGHT FOR THE VIEWER, IT'S LIKE HANGING OUT WITH A CLOSE FRIEND, AND HE'S FUNNY IN HIS COMMENTARY TOO, BUT VERY POIGNANT, THE SINGLE DISC IS A DVD 9 SO YOU GET A TON OF MATERIAL, TWICE AS MUCH FOR THE PRICE OF ONE DISC, YOU CAN TELL HE THOUGHT ABOUT THIS DVD, PUSHED IT TO A NEW LEVEL AND MADE IT FOR US, NOT JUST THROWING MONEY AT ITLIKE THE STUDIOS AND BORING US WITH A BUNCH OF FEATURETTES WE'RE GONNA SEE ON TV ANYWAY, EACH SECTION IS LIKE A LITTLE TREASURE, A SURPRISE BEHIND EACH DOOR JUST LIKE THE FILM ITSELF, AND ON THAT NOTE-WHAT A MOVIE! NO WONDER IT WON SO MANY AWARDS, CHECK OUT THE REAL AUDIENCE REACTION ON THE DVD FROM PREMIERES IN U.S., LONDON, HONG KONG, AND EVEN IN MAINLAND CHINA! THOSE WERE SO COOL, AND THE TRIPS YOU TAKE AROUND THE WORLD WITH THE DIRECTOR IN DVD-O-RAMA ARE AWESOME. WHAT A TALENT. I'M ROOTING FOR THIS GUY, HE'S LIKE THE ROCKY OF THE DVD WORLD AMONGST THE REST OF THE GIANTS! GO GET 'EM STEVE, WE'RE RIGHT BEHIND YOU! Also Recommended: my big fat greek wedding, crouching tiger hidden dragon, joy luck club, casablanca
Rating:
Summary: The complaining Asian males are embarrassing us!
Review: Okay, I don't know Steve Dunning but I know because I am not narrow minded that he is no racist and he could have made a film of facts ten times worse than this. And for my Asian brothers who are throwing the word racist around, you are only showing your own ignorance, you do not make us look good, but I know not all of us are that irresponsible. I work in this field and will add some truth to what is already in this film, even though it is slight and mild in comparison to many, many realities in our community and others. Do you also believe that Dunning would be racist if he had made Boyz in the Hood where real situations are also shown? And if you saw that film I suppose now you believe that all black people live that way, right? Human trafficking according to the UN Jan 25 2004 New York Times Magazine story "Sex Slaves on Main Street" "are horrendous factual lives which constitute only part of this international problem, instances involving people brought to this country under false pretenses remain a woefully overlooked and misunderstood crisis" International experts have called this "the human rights issue of the 21st century" "It's not about chains and whips: it has to do with psychological imprisonment- as well as physical and sexual abuse" -Joy Zarembka of Wasington, DC based Institute for Policy Studies which offers legal help and social services to trafficking victims. "People are threatened or spoken to in a way that makes them feel compelled to work because they believe there will be negative consequences if they don't." Such a larger problem across the United States, The Trafficking Victims Act of 2000 was passed in Congress, making it easier to prosecute traffickers while also offering protection to victims under the newly created "T" visa. Before the act was passed, abused, exploited and trafficked workers- whose immigration status is linked to their employer- had nowhere to run. Even if they had the opportunity to escape, they might still face deportation. As President Bush himself recently said in a speech, "There's another humanitarian crisis spreading, yet hidden from view. Each year an estimated 800,000 to 900,000 human beings are being bought, sold or being forced across the world's borders. Among them are hundreds of thousands of teenage girls, some as young as 5, who fall victim to the sex trade." The United Nation figures reflect this staggering truth.
Rating: 
Summary: lopsided
Review: On a normal occasion I would commend the movie maker for making the film with limited resources. HOWEVER, regardless of the aesthetic qualities of this film, the images and message inherent in the movie nullifies all of this. Dunning addresses these images from a perspective that is far from the reality of the situation. The reality is that Dunning must learn to limit himself when trying to "represent" the perspectives of Asians in America. The reason for this is that he himself is limited in understanding our struggles, in the way that I would be of his. I bring this up because in the interview sections in the DVD, he mentions how this portrayal is a potential stereotype. But with out offering any substantive reply he simply says, that these things actually take place. I MIGHT have been somewhat sympathetic, if he said that this isn't characteristic of all Asian. However he didn't. BUT even if he did the question lays: "who made him our spokesman?" Did you guys see that in the DVD when someone said that Dunning was like the Buddha? He should've left that out from the DVD. I feel that the movie was extremely lopsided in presenting the Asian American experience. In reference to Dunning's commentary I feel that the movie did draw upon the stereotypes or at least contributed to them. Dunning might've commented on certain realities within the Asian Community but I don't think these realities are all encompassing. His representation of them are caricatures that are demeaning to the Asian viewer. The family and coworkers of the heroine are cruel and merciless. Leaving the image that such personalities are characteristic of most of our immigrant counterparts. Sure there are misunderstandings between younger and older but the caricatures that Dunning presents are extreme for many immigrant Asian Americans. Excluding two workers who offer slight sympathy but are not-surprisingly powerless in dealing with the evil powers that be. The young heroine must endure terrible psychological, emotional and sexual abuse. Her disclosure of a rape at the end brings no mercy from the elders. Though a young Americanized Asian offers some sympathy, but her sympathy is devoid of justice and she too is someone who is very cruel towards the younger immigrant heroine in the beginning. Is it any wonder that in the backdrop of such cruelty, Dunning the non-Asian is the voice of sanity? That it is his voice that inspires the young girl to overcome the entrapment? Is traditional Asian culture that backwards when faced to faced with American perspectives? First generation Immigrant culture always endures the weight of adapting, this is characteristic of many if not all immigrant communities (not just Asian). Despite their hard efforts mainstream culture always charges them as backwards and primitive, But in the backdrop of any foreign cultures (that is to the immigrant), the immigrant minorities are easily caricatured this way by the mainstream culture. I believe immigrants deserve a better treatment. EVEN for immigrants rape is a horrible thing! We are not that backwards! Dunning should have just exploited the gangster genre and made a movie of the snakeheads smuggling in people! He should've just stated that this is the way Asians really are! Because the actions of the family are just that way. As an Asian American, born in this country, even I know that the images of immigrants is far from Dunning's caricatures. Dunning should also acknowledge his limitations before he decides to speak to us!
Rating:
Summary: i like it
Review: see here for a short film steven dunning did about bringing different people together, yu can see he is not racist, maybe you take now chinatown the wrong way http://www.ifilm.com/ifilmdetail/2398060
Rating:
Summary: i like it
Review: see here on ifilm for a short film steven dunning did about bringing different people together, yu can see he is not racist, maybe you take now chinatown the wrong way http://www.ifilm.com/ifilmdetail/2398060
Rating:
Summary: Don't miss this DVD, it's pushed dvd's to the next level.
Review: The individual who pays serious attention to the movies is always seeking the perfect movie. That is a movie with is powerful, caring, bold, striking, original and which tells a powerful story about characters which the viewer cares for. Such a movie is Steven Dunning's `Now Chinatown' which recently was shown in the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood. This writer was blown away by the production. Set in the Chinatown neighborhood of Los Angeles, this movie explores the complex interactions in a immigrant neighborhood and the search for redemption of a young Chinese girl. There is no end to the superlatives which may be said about this movie. The acting is magnificent, the casting superb, the script is obviously crafted by a man who loves the English language, and the story line is captivating and fascinating. But what is more interesting is that this production was made with virtually no money. The producer/director/star Steven Dunning paid his dues while working for ten years in the film business and called in his chips to make this movie. Yet the movie never seems to be cheaply made and although it is clear that all the setups are shot in real places. One never notices the lack of the artificial glitz which mainstream Hollywood seem to believe may be substituted for a good script and vision. The movie tells the story of Lee, a young girl who had immigrated to the U.S. from China. She works in a small restaurant in Chinatown where she is unmercifully abused by those around her. She is eventually befriended by a American customer who mistakes her restaurant for another much better eatery with a similar name. At first the movie seems to be simply an interracial/cultural romance. Yet it quickly shifts into a deeper examination of the life of a young girl living in an alien society cut off from the cultural cues of her homeland. The character Lee is played by Lianne X. Hu, a young actress who previously played a small role which did not make the final cut in Albert Brooks's `The Muse.' Hu's performance is captivating as she combines in her character both shyness and personal strength is a character who is faced with a bleak and dreary future and yet will eventually overcome all. The climax of the film occurs at a banquet staged for Assistant Deputy Consul of the People's Republic of China. Well played by Ming Lo, whose previous credits include `E.R.', `The Practice,' `Dr. Doolittle,' and `Contact,' the diplomat explains decades of his life and the current situation in which Lee finds herself in a few short sentences. Although the diplomat is the villain of the movie, he reveals himself to be a complex character who only arrived in his current situation after years of struggle. That he criminally exploits his power over those weaker than himself is tragic. Yet he is by no means a cardboard villain. Rather he, like all the other characters in this well crafted drama, does not control his life. Everyone here is controlled by transcendental forces which are beyond their ability to manipulate or even recognize. Only in the end does Lee manage to escape the fate that everyone else in the movie seems to be foreordained to suffer. The catalyst for change is the American interloper who appears at the restaurant to purchase a meal. Well played by Steven Dunning, he is similar to the Gentleman Caller who appears halfway through Tennessee Williams's `Glass Menagerie.' His purpose seems to be to disturb the existing order and to force a new relationship of the characters. Dunning fills Steve with compassion, realism and cultural sensitivity. It is worth noting that Dunning did not wish at first to play Steve, but only took over the position when he failed to cast a suitable actor for the part. This movie is worth seeing. Unless it gets wide distribution this may be difficult to do. If you see it advertised make the effort to see it. You'll be glad that you did.
Rating:
Summary: asianMike It's really good.
Review: The only time I saw the movie was at Paramount. After watching it
again last
night, I was even more impressed. It's really good. I don't know how
you
did it. The production values of your movie were outstanding. And the acting! You really assembled a great cast. You are great, Steve. Thanks for the copy. I'll cherish it. asianMike
Rating:
Summary: pablo kleba
Review: They don't make films like this anymore. The slow, methodical pace might seem distracting at first, but it reminds you of life's genuine flow, of how a story would look if the lights and cameras weren't present. So rare, especially for Hollywood; the pull of wider audiences normally prevents such work from even making it to the screen. I'm anxious to see what this director does with his next film, if he can remain as centered as he did here. Too many films today try to do too much, but films like this remind us of the old addage that less is definitely more.
Rating: 
Summary: Asiaphiles and sellouts....
Review: This film is for you!!!
What a great way to spend your Valentine's Day cuddling up next to your "little China Doll" and watching a movie depicting "her people." It'll show her that you have an "appreciation" for her culture... and an even greater appreciation knowing that she only dates white guys.
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