Hero [2002] (product link) Martial Arts / Action/Adventure
Those who are familiar with Legend of Zu, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, and Stormriders will no doubt attest to the fact that belief must be suspended when watching Chinese fantasy. It is the same with Western fantasies such as The Lord of the Rings, Dragonslayer, and Conan. While modern special effects can add some believability to these films, it seems, more often than not, that filmmakers will use these tools to realize their even more fantastical ideas instead of grounding them.
This is good in my opinion. However, I find that it needs to be said considering that some might mistake this for a straight-up kung fu film. However, Martial arts fans will have much to gape at.
The King of Qi has thousands of soldiers. He has so many that one ponders whether the king shopped for his henchmen at the same place Cobra Commander and Destro procured theirs. Oddly, these soldiers seem to be there at the director's whim. Unlike the 80's ninja or the red uniformed crew of Star Trek lore, these minions do not seem to exist due to their ability to die on cue. They are placed there, one posits, in order to induce you to gasp at the multitude.
And there is much to gasp at here. I think that visual artists will eat this up like so much candy. Indeed, it is syrup for the eyes. The legend, "Refrain from licking the screen." should flash periodically to keep certain instincts in check during the scenes where this ambient pizzazz is on display. Particularly worth a mention is that certain sequences are given a dominant tint to them. Somehow the colors seem to match the emotional content of these sequences.
This is one film that has lived up to the anticipation. Miramax has the rights to it in the states, so pick it up before they show the butchered version!
The first thing most will take note of concerning the movie Ping Pong is its subject matter. Yes, it's about ping pong! Get over it! If you can do that, then you can enjoy not only the ping pong, but also the other themes found underneath and around all that table tennis.
To be quite honest, these characters could be playing football, baseball, tennis or soccer and the tale of Smile and Peco's friendship would bleed through with just as much clarity. So, while ping pong does take a prominent stage, (I mean check out the title, for instance!) it is not the spine of the film.
Films like Remember the Titans have portrayed much of what there is to say about sports and athletes in general. The passion and sometimes obsession of the players, the sacrifices they often make, the pain they endure, and their place as role models in society. Ping Pong not only covers some of the ground other sports films have, but it also shows other aspects that make it a worthy edition to the sports film canon.
For example, Ping Pong shows the isolation that some players experience. Smile got his name from his refusal to smile. He is soft spoken when he actually speaks (which is rare). And he often pulls himself out of life by concentrating on his Rubic's Cube. Kazama hides himself in a bathroom stall before tournaments, and he spends his spare time practicing. Meanwhile, Peco wears his headphones a lot, and ditches practice whenever he can.
Don't let me fool you into thinking this is high drama. Far from it. These things are just there for whoever wants them. If you simply want a fun, I mean FUN, film, then you have got to get this film. Somehow the filmmakers were able to pull off a film that really entertains! It made me want to know more about the game of ping pong. Just check out www.butterflyonline.com to see how much there is to it.
Enough discussing. Just go get it! Pay any price! You'll be glad you did!
I read a few reviews of this movie around the net and found that it had received a lukewarm reception. Keys to this prevailing sentiment can be found in its well trodden premise and use of the Chinese national past-time, mahjong, as the primary story driving force. I feel that the former is a fair criticism whereas the latter is simply a matter of taste.
Admittedly, this comedy does revolve around repeated sessions of tile slapping. I am quite fond of the game myself. This does on some level skew my sympathy for this film so keep that in mind. If you are looking for a film involving a lot of mahjong, then read no further kind sir or madam! Go out and acquire this gem from the nearest video emporium or favorite online retailer.
As for the rest of you, please digest the following paragraphs with the utmost attention. Let me tell you of the days of high adventure!
Um...I might have overstated the action element in the prior sentence. Sorry. Anyway, Andy Lau is the Mahjong Warrior. A moniker that must be admitted as being poorly suited to imbue fear in ones opponents. I guess that observation is a product of my western eyes because his adversaries "drop a pant load" at his mere appearance (if I may employ a rather crude colloquialism). These adversaries are best described as mahjong gangsters. Their leader dons the regalia , exhibits the locomotion, and cops the attitude of a hip-hop artist. These mahjong gang-bangers are unique enough to entertain and ludicrous enough to coax the occasional guffaw. Also assisting Andy in this comedic enterprise are his single-celled brother, a bottomlessly naive IT professional, his ex-girlfriend, a pining stalker that won't quit till she's Mrs. Mahjong Warrior (she has a rather short fuse too), and his mom, a completely senile kook who plays mahjong (of course!) to help her memory (it doesn't seem to help much).
I really enjoyed this film. It's fun and that's it. It's shallow on plot but somehow heavy on entertainment. You see Andy Lau and mahjong fans can find a common ground!
Crime stories are familiar territory for HK film goers as well as certain actors. Tony Lueng & Co. are no strangers to the undercover cop gets in deep and now he doesn't know who he is and cops on the outside don't know he's a cop so he feels all alone sort of story. And even though this sort of thing has been done, when you see the actors all bunched into a movie like this, it still causes an eyebrow to be raised. There have been times when the eyebrow's predictive abilities have failed me, but not often enough to pass up it's gentle nagging.
I'm glad I went with my eyebrow.
Have you ever made a bad choice and because of it more bad choices were taken by you until there was no way out? Deceit was required to keep up the facade, and the weight of it all became so great that doom became the inevitable conclusion? This movie explores that scenario to the limit.
Fate is a theme often found in Asian cinema because of the influence of Buddhism. Our lives are not ours to control. Our end is sure. Sound depressing? You bet! If there is one criticism I can fairly level at this film is that it is depressing. I understand that life can be depressing and that filmmakers want to make "realistic" films. O. K. Let's be realistic for a moment. People go to see movies to be entertained, not depressed! How many people want to go to a film where the character they are made to care about so much gets beat down through the movie only to get shot to pieces at the end?! None! That's how many. This DVD version of Infernal Affairs contained an alternate ending where the character still gets shot up at the end! I think that this movie would have been better if it ended happier. I can hear some people complaining that for a movie to end with the good guy winning the day and walking into the sunset with the girl is so cliche. To you I say.."Whoop de doo!" (to use the technical phrase) That's what I like!
Anyway, all in all this movie is good. A credit to the cop undercover genre. Just don't expect to have your heart uplifted though.
Warriors Of Heaven And Earth (product link) Drama / War This is really an excellent film. It reminds me of an old western. Warriors of Heaven and Earth is full of adventure and a good dose of action without straying very far into the Chinese fantasy genre.
The fight scenes are well done, but the quick fights involving Kiichi Nakai are the best in my opinion.
The music is by Bollywood composer A.R. Rahman and is one of the strong points of the movie. Top notch!
The ending will irk some, but I thought it ended quite nicely.
The first films that got me interested in Chinese cinema were actioneers. Films like Hard Boiled, Drunken Master 2, and the Police Story series gave me a good showing of what the Chinese could do with that genre. Given time, I have moved on to drama, romance, science fiction, and comedy. I was fully introduced to the comedic side of things with Stephen Chow's Shaolin Soccer and have gobbled up most of his outings since. I have also enjoyed the occasional laugh getter by Andy Lau as well as the numerous Kung Fu comedies (Sammo Hung pops up a lot there) available. I have found that the majority of these are a lot of fun with gags that transcend the cultural divide.
At least for now, Ronald Cheng gives much hope towards the future of the Chinese comedy genre. Dragon Loaded 2003 is his first salvo, and it is a good one. He plays a well meaning but mincing dope named Dragon. Flanked by the often ludicrously dressed Wong and Ng, you might be fooled into thinking of the old saw "three heads are better than one." Then you speedily realize that adding three zeroes together still equals zero!
Seriously though, Ronald Cheng is pretty hilarious by himself, but he gets a tremendous boost from cohorts Sam Lee and Cheung Tat Ming. At times, they cause you to recall some famous American comedy trios. Comparing them to the Three Stooges or the Marx Brothers would be stretching it a bit, though. Because the regalement you'll get from Dragon Loaded 2003 don't come from eye gouges and quickly uttered jests. This movie is humerous because it's one big string of absurdities and assorted takeoffs of popular cinema (Matrix is a prominent example).
In one instance, Dragon gets promoted to a brief position as TV host of a crime show in the America's Most Wanted vein. Those bizarre dramatizations of crimes on that show become even more so at the hands of Dragon and Company. He proceeds to narrate and afterwards participate in an insane recreation of a crime revolving around a con artist who sells human lungs to unsuspecting old ladies! The cad! Has he no shame! Ronald Cheng is a riot as the passing by airline stewardess.
Hong Kong cinema fans should keep an eye out for Eric Tsang (Accidental Spy, Infernal Affairs) as Dragon's commanding officer,Jacky Cheung as a Tuba playing cop, Law Kar-Ling (God of Cookery, Forbidden City Cop) as Dragon's dad, and Vincent Kok (God of Cookery, Shaolin Soccer) as Dragon's karate instructor and arms dealer (you'll see).
To sum up: this film is a lot of fun, has good action, excellent special effects, and contains a slightly flawed but engaging story. Highly Recommended!
Wait. That needs some background, doesn't it?
While those in the know evangelize the creative, innovative, and downright entertaining films that Japan produces, movies that spring from its fertile shores haven't been big expensive blockbusters that are enjoyed on a regular basis by American moviegoers. This may change. Returner might be in hindsight the shot across the bow, so to speak.
I certainly hope so.
The problem I find with much of modern sci-fi, is that it tends to be regurgitations of past sci-fi films. The cinema watching masses are then forced to masticate the same scenarios again and again. The only draw becomes the whos and the whats. Who is in it and what are the special effects like.
Returner is definitely a sci-fi event that rises above the rabble. The whos and the whats are great. Kaneshiro and Suzuki make an interesting duo and Kishitani is actually a good (in an evil way of course!) antagonist. Which is an excellent change from the loser villains that Hollywood has been manufacturing (Tomb Raider anyone?). Plot wise, Returner is solid. Oh yeah, it does suffer from the holes that are usual to time travel plots, but the refreshing story, which is based on but expands the science fiction plots that have gone before, balances out any detriments.
With a few Andy Lau films under my belt, I feel that I am an Andy Lau aficionado. His acting ability and warm smile have endeared him to me. However, I profess that I am to be considered but a snot nosed babe among the Andy Lau fan club. A "nubie," a "fish," or simply "fresh meat," would be adequate terms of description. Imagine then, my wondrous surprise, nay ecstatic shock, on the occasion of discovering that A.L. has made frequent brushes with the comedy genre.
Fulltime Killer, Infernal Affairs, and the like are dramatic pieces devoid of the staples that typify their laugh getting cousins. Considering that these were the only films exposed to me, perhaps you will understand my apprehension towards viewing anything else. But I called on the spirit of such adventurers as Lewis & Clark, Columbus, and Indiana Jones (yes a fictional character tis true, but motivation knows no bounds) and forged into unknown and potentially disastrous territory. Hang on while I go watch it...
Hooray! It is good! No Stephen Chow mind you...but still!
Yes indeed. Andy Lau plays defender of the weak, Zhan! Gentlemen, swordsman, and chick magnet (particularly the cross-dressing mustachioed outlaw kind), Zhan is famous for rounding up criminals vast and sundry with partner in crime...er..justice, Bau. Andy does a good job of laugh-getting through the use of his ticket selling features.
As good as Zhan is, I have to say that Cecilia Cheung steals the show as an extremely feminine Bai. Donning mustache and men's clothing, Bai fools everyone into believing that she's a he (it's an old chestnut, I know). Strangely this is not the only time Ms. Cheung has plastered hair in the vicinity of her gob. Fans will remember her appearance alongside Karen Mok in Shaolin Soccer as a particularly attractive, yet bearded, soccer player.
The bottom line? Cat and Mouse is funny, yet it won't make your sides hurt. But if you are looking for an Andy Lau movie that will make you laugh a few times and that gives you Cecilia Cheung with a Charlie Chan mustache, look no further.
Yuen Wo Ping is everywhere! The prolific Ping has been involved in past greats like "Wing Chun" here and "Fist Of Legend", present blockbusters like "The Matrix" films and future films like "Kill Bill" by that Tarantino character. Good for him and definitely good for Ping pals (Sorry! I will henceforth abstain from alliteration! Sorry!) like myself.
At the outset, I must confess a slight distaste for the more wacky wirework (Sorry! This time I promise!) found in Mr. Ping's fight scenes. You know the stuff like when in "Crouching Tiger" a couple of the main cast were attempting to accost one another from their respective perches atop flimsy tree branches. No I do like the genius of the fight scenes that remain grounded. This movie has both types. It has more of the latter than the former.
This movie is of course kung fu comedy. And this is really where it separates itself from the rest of not only the kung fu genre but also the Yuen Wo Ping canon. The wonderfully strange characters are the main cause of this. One of my faves is the lecherous Scholar Wong. First of all, just what is this individual a scholar of? If his actions can stand as an indication, then I can safely conjecture that he has a bachelor's of science in ogling and a doctorate in pervert. I have to wonder at the extent of the emotional scars inflicted on the females who have had to endure his numerous advances! Also, where does he get his money? I am not aware of the current conversion rate from taels to dollars, but he is called upon at different stages of the film to divulge amounts that are given a context in which you can draw that this is no small amount! Does he get paid to harass members of the opposite sex? Despite these certainly (insert sarcasm) important queries, he is a funny character.
Basically you've got good martial arts action and silly hijinx to accompany it. You can't go wrong! Unless you don't like good martial arts action and silly hijinx. I am ashamed for you.
Running On Karma (product link) Drama / Dark Comedy Andy Lau dons a muscle suit to play a muscled up monk that can see a person's karma. He meets up with Cecilia Cheung, a cop witha terminal case of karma.
On the whole, this isn't a bad film. However, it shoots itself in the foot several times and gives a depressing ending that may irritate you. This is supposed to be a drama, yet I found myself distracted and pulled away from the movie by Lau's muscle suit and the wire-fu shenanigans.
Why a muscle suit in the first place? The only reason I can think of is that it is a good gimmick to get you to watch this. It makes Lau's character distinctive, but it does not really add to the plot.
AGREE?
READER COMMENTS
AUTHOR
Y
You raise a valid point. To and Lau have said the purpose of the muscle suit is to make Biggie's physical feats believable, but as a martial monk such bulk is unnecessary. (I liked it anyway.)
Memories Of Murder (product link) Thriller / Crime Wow! This is a very well done film. The mood set by the filmakers is spot on. The bizarre nature of these events, the twisted characters that are involved, the frustration of the investigation crew and the clumsy nature of North Korea at the time paint a compelling picture.
Since this is a remake, those who know the history that inspired this movie will know its ending. But I don't think this will detract from Memories of Murder's power.
It's only drawbacks, in my opinion, come from the adult content and its rewatchability factor. After you have seen it once, there's not much reason to watch it again.
This movie came out earlier this year patterned after the Hollywood type summer movie. Keen special effects and a star studded cast raised hopes of a sure fire winner. It's too bad they didn't take time to figure out what type of movie they were going to make. There's lots of good stuff here to like, it just feels uneven.
Take for example the vampires. When you make a movie that involves something that doesn't exist in real life or is not experienced or seen by most viewers, a filmmaker should be careful to fill in the blanks with rules that govern this particular thing's existence. Vampires in western movies cannot be seen in mirrors, burn in direct sunlight, hate crucifixes, etc. Vampires in Hong Kong films tend to hop instead of walk, Taoist priests are their hunters, they see a person by their breath, etc. The vampires in this movie tend to mix, discard, and create new rules seemingly at their whim. What seems to hold one vampire, later in the movie, may not hold to another. It gets a bit frustrating.
This experience extends to other areas of the film where events occur and you aren't sure how to react. Should I laugh, gasp, smile, cry, or what? It seems a bit forced to me. Like they are trying a little too hard. I think this may stem from this possibly being one big commercial for Emperor Media Group's recording artists. Strangely enough, this movie was made by EMG and starred musical artist that they publish (Jackie Chan, Edison Chan, Ekin Cheng, the Twins, Karen Mok etc.) Hmmmm...
There are good things to say about this film. The cast for one. It was really fun watching Jackie Chan and Karen Mok getting married. Jackie is in this film a bit more than the term "cameo" justifies. I found all of the cast pretty likeable. I even found myself liking the twins of the title, Gillian Chung and Charlene Choi. They are a singing duo (called "Twins" oddly enough) that's hot right now. They're cute but not annoyingly so, and they are actually funny at times. Also, there's some pretty good fight scenes choreographed by Donnie Yen. Some of it relies too much on wirework though.
This is the kind of film that gives the anti-freemarket crowd ammunition."See!" They screech (they tend to screech). "This is yet another example of market failure. The funding for this film was obviously wasted. This money could have been used in positive ways!" I will not take the time to point out all the logical flaws in this argument here. Economic scholars, particularly of the Austrian School, have exposed the fallacies involved. However, I would like to amen the one logical point implied in the above that is, without a doubt, correct. This is a bad movie.
I say that with a bit of damaged pride. I have to admit that I purchased this film in the DVD format! Yes, yes I know! Why couldn't I have seen the warning signs! Such as the curious lack of Stephen Chow, and the glaring inclusion of Jo Ma. Why did I not see! Take heart, friends. Out of this truly evil event good will come. For now you are now warned of the suffocating terror that is LOVE UNDERCOVER: 2!
Was it really that bad? Absolutely! To be fair, I did grin a time or two, but my face was screwed up in a rictous of horror for the remainder of the time. It's just not funny. Kuen's failures are so unfunny that the "so stupid it was funny" designation cannot be applied here. Kuen lives with her boyfriend and his father who is an ex-mobster and thinks that Kuen quit the police to work at a beauty salon. Not funny. Convoluted and frustrating? Yes. Funny? No.
The failure at comedy must not have been good enough for the movie crew. They had to go and even botch the production quality. Where was the cinematography here? It looks made for TV. They didn't even to bother shooting the guns in this movie! Oh sure, guns were jostled in mock "kick" action, but the muzzle flashes were obviously added post production! It's not even convincing!
Love Undercover 2. How do I hate thee? Let me count the ways. Bad acting. Bad cinematography. Bad special effects. Bad comedy. Bad plot. Do not waste your hard earned cash!
By the way, I understand that making a movie requires a lot of effort. I also understand that there are a million places where a movie can go wrong. But I cannot let sympathy for the cast and crew of this film deter me from warning those who may contemplate watching this film! Lives are at stake here buddy!
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