This is China's "golden" screening time - from Christmas season through Spring Festival - when cinemas are thronged and the year's biggest releases premiere.
Hesui pian or movies celebrating the New Year are a special genre of this period and the most successful are lighthearted and heartwarming with star-studded casts. Nothing too heavy, serious or violent.
At this time last year, two powerful war epics opened - Peter Chan's "The Warlords" and Feng Xiaogang's "Assembly." Both featured bloody battle scenes and somber plots and big issues.
The consensus: Both were stressers, too weighty for a festive season. Give us something frothy and fun, a bit of satire, a touch of insight.
Cinemagoers this year, however, can choose among milder fare.
So far the curtain has gone up on films that fit the traditional menu: two biopic movies and two comedy romances.
"During this season, many people go to movies to laugh or to create sweet memories with family and friends," says Wu Hehu, deputy director of Shanghai United Cinema Lines, the city's major cinema chain.
On Christmas Eve, he says, Hong Kong police film "Lady Cop and Papa Crook" and Disney's digital 3D animated feature "Bolt" hit screens.
Next month John Woo's second part of the mega-budget historical drama "Red Cliff" and the Hollywood animation "Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa" will open.
'Ip Man'
The sensational biopic about Yip Man, a master of Wing Chun kung fu and mentor of Bruce Lee, is sure to draw moviegoers.
It follows the recent opening of Chen Kaige's "Forever Enthralled" about the 50-year career and romances of the late Peking opera master Mei Lanfang. It has mainly attracted many middle-aged people who understand traditional Chinese opera.
"Ip Man" featuring dazzling kung fu, a brotherhood theme and powerful patriotism targets a much wider audience.
Kung fu superstar Donnie Yen plays Wing Chun master Ip Man in the namesake film "Ip Man." (Shanghai Daily)
After the success of the action-packed police film "Sha Po Lang," this is the second time action superstar Donnie Yen teams up with Hong Kong director Wilson Yip and action choreographer Sammo Hung.
"It is far more than a kung fu flick," director Yip says. "Our challenge is to depict the complicated interior world of the protagonist who witnesses the collapse of his hometown Foshan, Guangdong Province, in cruel war."
Though the movie is mainly set in the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression (1937-1945), it doesn't focus on war scenes. Instead, the emphasis is on the kung fu master's efforts to unite Chinese people against violence.
Ip Man remained faithful to his country and refused to join the Japanese militia when Foshan fell to the Japanese. He started teaching Wing Chun in his good friend's cotton mill factory. At the end of 1949, Ip Man opened his first martial arts school in Hong Kong, teaching the art of Wing Chun.
Yen's portrayal of Ip Man has been praised by critics and the public.
"For a long time I have been stereotyped as an action star," Yen says. "Over the past two decades of acting, I've always been looking for a role that can combine my understanding of martial arts. Here I found it."
Director Yip is considering a sequel next year.
Veteran film maker Wong Kar-wai has also planned his own Ip Man biopic, "The Great Master," currently in development hell, despite being announced several years ago.
'If You Are the One'
Before filming of "If You Are the One," director Feng Xiaogang, known for his hesui comedies "A Sigh" and "Be There or Be Square," took risks with a martial arts film "The Banquet" and a war epic "Assembly."
Though both pictures have been praised, Feng says it was tough work making epic films.
His latest moderate-budget film "If You Are the One" doesn't tax cinemagoers in the festive season. The director reaches back to what he does well - biting comedies.
This one again stars top Chinese comedian Ge You.
It's the story of a rich middle-aged man's attempts to find a wife. His ad for a mate is answered by a number of unusual women. His funny interviews and dates set of gales of laughter in the audience.
Director Feng says the film is not only a comedy, it's also a realistic that raises serious issues about love and marriage.
Feng says the secret to almost all his films' box office success is that he knows his audience extremely well and audience feedback plays a big part in developing projects.
'All About Women'
The romantic comedy offers some surprises. Hong Kong director Hark Tsui now uses avant-garde cinematography and a pop rock soundtrack on this film.
Tsui is famous for his martial arts fantasies like "A Chinese Ghost Story," "Green Snake" and "Seven Swords" that throw in some Oriental philosophy and culture.
"All About Women" centers, however, on three women's bitter-sweet adventures in pursuit of love and career.
All three women have their insecurities. Zhou Xun plays a doctor who sets out to seduce men with the help of a pheromone patch she devised herself.
Taiwanese actress Kwai Lun-mei plays a singer who is absorbed in fantasies about finding love while Zhang Yuqi takes on the role of a seductive and ambitious white-collar worker.
"This stylish film touches on issues women in contemporary China are facing," says Qiu Zhonglin, a moviegoer. "The soundtrack is a highlight, which gives the film a young and light hearted feel."
To attract young viewers, director Tsui has posted a hilarious online parody of this film. The video clips are posted on Websites and Internet communities and got a lot of laughs.
'10 Promises to My Dog'
This heartwarming family picture from the producer of Japanese hit "Quill" will be released at the end of this month.
Directed by Motoki Katsuhide, the film brings smiles and tears with its cute puppy and touching story of family and friendship.
Akari, a 14-year-old girl, finds a Golden Retriever puppy in her backyard. Her mother lets her keep the dog on condition she never forgets "10 Promises" of dog ownership.
They include "talk to me," "try to spend a lot of time with me," "place your trust in me" and "when I leave this world, promise me you'll be by my side."
At first, girl and dog are inseparable, and the dog is a great comfort as Akari grieves over her mother's death. As Akari grows up, however, her feelings and interest shift away from her dog. When she moves to a far-off city, she has to leave the dog behind with a childhood friend.
One day Akari remembers the 10 promises that she had made to the dog and her mother.
The picture delivers a sweet, simple, warm and fuzzy message. According to Dadi Century Film (Beijing) Ltd, the mainland promoter, "10 Promises" will remind each dog owner in this fast-paced society that pets only have us as their companions - and family is more important than career.
(By Xu Wei)
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