With freezing temperatures sweeping across China this winter, even down in the south, it only seems like a good idea to spend more time indoors. The good news is that there are some promising movies soon to be released in theaters across China. Newly released Tron: Legacy and Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, both released in 3D, promise to be eye candy with big budget special effects and entertaining fight scenes, even if they lack on plot. Angelina and Johnny Depp stop by in theaters early February in The Tourist, and the romcom date movie and Hollywood remake I Know What Women Want is set to come out on February 14th (Valentine’s Day), starring Andy Lau and Gong Li.

Tron: Legacy 3D
Starring Jeff Bridges, Garret Hedlund, and Olivia Wilde
Directed by Joseph Kosinski
China release date: Jan 14th

This sequel to the 1982 movie Tron continues in the first movie's spirit of visually stunning imagery and groundbreaking special effects. In the movie, 27-year-old Sam Flynn (Garret Hedlund) goes looking for his father (Jeff Bridges) who was trapped within a video game at the end of the first movie. To escape the digital world together, they must play the game inside where they must contend with real life and death consequences.

The plot may sound a little out there but the movie is no doubt an amazing sight to behold on the big screen. It was shot almost entirely on a green screen with all settings, props, and even some characters digitally created to fully utilize the capabilities of 3D film technology.

Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader 3D
Starring Skandar Keynes, Georgie Henley, Ben Barnes, Tilda Swinton, Simon Pegg, and Liam Neeson
Directed by Michael Apted
China release date: Jan 14th

In this third motion picture installment of C.S. Lewis’ “The Chronicles of Narnia,” Edmund and Lucy return to the land of Narnia only to realize that 1,300 years have gone by since they were last there. Their adventure takes them on a voyage on a vessel called The Dawn Treader where they come face to face with dragons, centaurs, dwarves, and talking animals (of course). The blockbuster was originally released on Dec 10, 2010 and has grossed over $300,000 worldwide to date.

The Tourist
Starring Angelina Jolie, Johnny Depp, and Paul Bettany
Directed by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
China release date: Feb 1st

Angelina Jolie stars as a glamorous mystery woman who is on the run from the police (her boyfriend is a gangster who stole millions of dollars). She ensnares the help of Johnny Depp's unwitting character and hilarity ensues. The movie is an interesting mixture of romantic comedy and action and is a fun, if unfulfilling, romp. The movie was shot in picturesque European locations such as Paris and Venice and Jolie and Depp aren't too bad to look at either.

The Green Hornet
Starring: Seth Rogen, Jay Chou, Cameron Diaz, Tom Wilkinson, and Christopher Waltz
Directed by Michel Gondry
China release date: Feb 6th

In The Green Hornet, Seth Rogen continues his slacker shtick made famous in Knocked Up and Pineapple Express, but he is now a spoiled slacker with means. After his wealthy father dies and leaves him a gazillion dollars, he decides to don a mask and fight crime with his sidekick played by the Chinese super pop star Jay Chou (周杰伦). The French auteur, Michel Gondry, was an interesting choice to direct this movie. His only other mainstream feature film was the low-budget Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. In The Green Hornet, Gondry brings his low-fi brand of special effects to the table and creates fight scenes that are visually engrossing with a touch of wit. If you're a fan of Michael Bay action sequences and mindless explosions, this may not be your cup of tea. But if you want to see an action movie that, while short on plot, is big on inventive visuals, see it.

I Know What Women Want (我知女人的心)
Starring Andy Lau and Gong Li
Directed by Chen Daming 陈大明
China release date: Feb 14th

Andy Lau plays a chauvinist advertising executive whose outdated and sexist ideas do not go over well with his new female boss and love interest, played by Gong Li. When a lamp accidentally falls into his bathtub and electrocutes him, he wakes up in the hospital with the ability to hear women's thoughts. He at first exploits his new ability to manipulate women but then learns to understand them and appreciate them better.

This movie is a remake of the American romantic comedy What Women Want (starring Helen Hunt and a pre-meltdown Mel Gibson). The plot in this version is relatively the same but setting the comedy within the politics of a Chinese workplace should prove hilarious. Andy Lau and Gong Li also have incredible on-screen chemistry together which should make this a perfect date movie.

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan
Starring Hugh Jackman, Bingbing Li, Jeon Ji-Hyun, Vivian Wu
Directed by Wayne Wang 王颖
China release date: 2011 (TBA)

This movie is based on the best selling book of the same name by the Chinese-American novelist Lisa See. It follows the lifelong friendship of two Chinese women during the 19th century, a period in China’s history when women were considered worthless by society. From an early age their feet were bound and by the time they reached adulthood they were hobbled and could not walk by themselves. Much of there life was consequently relegated to sitting in a room all day. In the movie, the two women pass a secret fan back and forth between each other on which they write a made-up language that is only decipherable to them. It is still unclear what Hugh Jackman's role in the movie will be but the movie will be in English and will undoubtedly be a hit in the West.

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Keywords: new movies china china narnia movies playing in china china tron legacy