Archive for 'Hong Kong and Chinese Movies' Category
My Blueberry Nights by Wong Kar Wai (2007)
3 March 2008I have been so excited to see Wong Kar Wai’s American Feature Debut, and have to say I was a bit disappointed. While this film is ostensibly a single film, it feels more like 3 films stuck together with an actress without the chops to make it one film. In fact Nora Jones acting, while […]
The Warlords 投名狀 by Peter Chan Ho Sun (2007)
15 February 2008A gorgeous and moving remake of Chang Cheh’s classic BLOOD BROTHERS (which was a better title for this film) about 3 sworn brothers who are torn apart by infidelity and want of power. The film also features some intense and nasty battles, but that is not what the film is about. And I just loved […]
The Mad Detective by Johnnie To Kei Fung and Wai Ka Fei (2007)
14 February 2008I have been waiting for another team of Johnnie To, Wai Ka Fai and Lau Ching Wan for so long, it is ridiculous, and this film does not disappoint. In fact this one has you rethinking the whole film by the time you get to the end, and thinking about it for days later. This […]
Bullet and Brain by Keung Kwok-Man (2007)
22 January 2008You have to be wary of any film with Wong Jing attached, and since he wrote and produced this one, I should have known that it might be time to stay away, but having Anthony Wong and Francis Ng in the leads with Eric Tsang in a supporting role made me buy it. This was […]
Comrades, Almost a Love Story by Peter Chan Ho-Sun (1996)
5 January 2008I originally saw this at the now defunct Garfield theater in San Gabriel in a double feature with the amazing 8 1/2 send up Viva Erotica. This is one of my top 10 movies, and certainly one of my favorite love stories, and it doesn’t hurt that it features my favorite actress, the lovely Maggie […]
Lady of Steel by Mo Meng Hua (1969)
28 December 2007Another overly complex martial arts film, with some pretty cheesy special effects. Cheng Pei is as great as always, but the film is a little much, and certainly not one of the Shaw’s best films. Only go for it if you are a huge Cheng Pei Pei fan. This is of course another Region 3 […]
Ju Dou by Zhang Yimou and Yang Fengliang (1991)
18 December 2007The first Chinese language film to be nominated for an academy award, and is of course a partnership with Gong Li, who really makes the film with her amazing performance. This is a horrible tragedy, but an an amazing film about that time in Chinese history and what it could be like for women.
Ju Dou […]
Interpol 009 by Yang Shu Hsi (1967)
18 December 2007Another swinging 60’s James Bond rip, and with a quick cameo by Ho Li Li, so I am of course there. Not the best film certainly, but still fun overall in a ridiculous over the top way. And amazingly the music is not a bond rip-off and is actually good. This film is silly fun.
Tang […]
Contract Lover by Alfred Cheung Kin Ting (2007)
18 December 2007I have to admit I only saw this for Fan Bing Bing after seeing her in Flash Point, and she is certainly cute here. This is a stupid romantic comedy all the way around, but I have to admit i did laugh. It is pretty funny, and I actually liked the ending. And of course […]
Duel of Fists by Chang Cheh (1971)
17 December 2007I am a huge Ti Lung and David Chiang Dai Wei fan and also Chang Cheh, but for being the number 2 to Bruce Lee’s the Big Boss, this could have been a better film. Sure the action is great, but there is too much use of shaky camera moves and zooms, that do detract […]
Blood Brothers by Alexi Tan (2007)
9 December 2007The curse of the music video director’s, this is a gorgeous, even sumptuous film, but even with an all star cast, action by Phillip Kwok Chun Fung, and not only an adaption of John Woo’s A Bullet In the Head (but moved to 1930’s Shanghai), but with John Woo attacked as an extecutive producer, but […]
Going Home by Yang Zhang (2007)
15 November 2007A lovely mainland Chinese film about a man doing all he can to bring his friend’s body home from the city to the family in the North East who he can’t find. It is all about loyalty, and the people one meets when going on such an adventure, and it really is a lovely little […]
King Drummer by Inoue Umetsugu (1967)
15 November 2007I am a big fan of not only Lily Ho Li Li, but also of Inoue Umetsugu and his swinging sixties musicals. I love this ridiculous ideal world with bad ass and suave boys who are also musicians and the beautiful women that love them. And this fun romp with a battle for the best […]
Simply Actors by Ching Hing Kai and Patrick LEung Pak Kin (2007)
13 November 2007Another ridiculous Hong Kong comedy, and starting one of the twins, that being Charlene Choi Cheuk Yin (who is actually very good in the film, too bad everything else is bad). The movie has a ton of great Cameos, but they don’t really elevate the material, nor does the fact that they put a silly […]
Mr. Cinema by Samson Chiu Leung Chun (2007)
6 November 2007A decent enough little love story, that purports to follow 40 years of Hong Kong history as seen by a die hard communist sympathizer, and it’s effects on his family who are best friends with some Taiwanese who have diametrically opposed viewpoints. It is cute, and comes out as a nice love story, but it […]
Lady with A Sword by Kao Pau Shu (1971)
2 November 2007Any Lily Ho Li Li film I will certainly see, and especially another martial arts film, and this one does not disappoint. This is another fun Shaw classic. This is a classic tail of revenge, though with a female martial arts protagonist, and the fight being with the intersection of two families, and the downfall […]
Jade Warrior by Yu Yan Kai (2006)
1 November 2007I had really been looking forward to this one since I heard about it, I mean a Finish directing mixing the epic national Poem of Finland the Kalevala and Chinese and Tibetan mythology is certainly an interesting goal, but I must say I came out a bit disappointed. First it seems to be a Wuxia […]
Twin Dragons by Tsui Hark and Ringo Lam Ling Tung (1992)
1 November 2007A ridiculously fun and silly Jackie Chan romp. Absolute silly action, with Jackie playing twins separated at birth in a film that was all done pro bono by the cast and directors to make money to build a new headquarters for the Hong Kong director’s guild. And featuring the amazing Maggie Cheung Man Yuk which […]
Flash Point by Wilson Yip Wai Shun (2007)
16 October 2007I have been looking forward to this film since I heard about. A new hardcore brawler by Donnie Yen Ji Dan, and I finally managed to pick up the Region 3 DVD, and must say I was not disappointed. Sure the story is simple and some could stay stupid, but it is the action that […]
Lethal Angels by Steve Cheng Wai Man (2006)
29 August 2007Another sub par remake of Naked Killer, and one I was suckered into by the lure of the 2 leads, Jordan Chan Siu Chun and the super cute Cherrie Ying Choi Yi, but they are really nothing more than extended cameos. Now the film isn’t awful, you still get the silly female assassin fun, and […]
Undercover by BIlly Chung Siu Hung (2007)
28 August 2007Yet another movie about the horrible life of an undercover cop, though this one even with the great Sam Lee is an absolutely terrible film. What was producer Andre Lau Wai Keung thinking? This is terrible!! Even the badly shot HD photography is not the issue though, the story is bad, and completely contrived with […]
Eye in the Sky by Yau Nai Hoi (2007)
26 August 2007This Johnnie To Kei Fung produced film starts off very well, with a great story, some great characters and a great setup, but the last act of the film doesn’t work so well, has some lame happenings and kind of ends with a whimper. I usually love Milkyway films, but this was a bit of […]
Love Battlefield by Coi CHeang Pou Soi (2004)
13 August 2007Damn this is a really good film, and one I would have completely missed out on if not for the Kung Fu Cult Cinema Message Boards, I would have totally missed out on this one if not for them. Previously I had never really like Eason Chan in anything, but he is really good. This […]
Spider Lilies by Zero Chou (2007)
6 August 2007An interesting Taiwanese Lesbian Drama, that has great atmosphere, and is almost suffocating in the characters repression, though it does have some lift at the end. The film is beautifully shot, and keeps the film interesting as the story unfolds, but the real message of the film does not really come through. More than anything […]
AV by Edmond Pang Ho Cheung (2005)
5 August 2007A fun little film with a funny premise, but doesn’t seem to have too much depth to it, and the main interesting plot point, never really pans out, in fact it fizzles about as heavily as it could. Cool to see a young new group of actors up and coming, but they seem to have […]