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Spy Girl (Hong Kong Version)
Jadu
| Nam Sang Mi
| Kim Jung Hwa
| Gong Yoo
What images appear in your head when you think of South Korea's neighbor North Korea? Likely candidates that come to mind are stoic behavior, dictatorship, and sad faces. Maybe you'll change your mind a little bit after you meet a unique North Korean super spy who shows us a somewhat different side of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea in Spy Girl. Clinging to the recipe made popular through My Sassy Girl, Spy Girl introduces its male protagonist Ko Bung (Gong Yoo) with his narration of events that have occurred earlier. We get to know him as a shy somewhat silly high school student who is still looking for the girl that will change his life. He is invited to a party under the... [read more]
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Games Gamblers Play (DVD) (Digitally Remastered) (Hong Kong Version)
Samuel Hui (Actor)
| Michael Hui (Director, Actor)
| Raymond Chow (Producer)
The Hui brothers are comedians you can bet your money onOn the Hong Kong music scene, Sam Hui has earned his eternal place as Godfather of Canto-pop through such evergreen songs as "Genius and Fool", "Paper Boats", and "The God of Fortune Has Arrived". Teaming up with his brothers Michael and Ricky, he shows that his acting skills also deserve attention. In Games Gamblers Play Hui portrays Kit, a small-time criminal whose luck is in a critical phase. To make things worse, after trying to outsmart a thief of stolen gambling money at a casino, he gets caught red-handed and is put behind bars. As luck would have it, he runs into professional con man Man (Michael Hui) with whom he hopes to get his hands on some extra money after their prison term is... [read more]
June 9, 2009 Picked By A-Xiang Joe See all this editor's picks
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City On Fire (DVD) (Digitally Remastered) (Hong Kong Version)
Chow Yun Fat (Actor)
| Danny Lee (Actor)
| Chuen Yet (Actor)
| Karl Mak (Producer)
If you thought Tony Leung Chiu Wai's undercover role in Infernal Affairs offered viewers an unprecedented role model, think again. In City on Fire veteran actor Chow Yun Fat encounters his share of criminal hell as an undercover cop up against all odds. Chow Yun Fat plays Ko Chow, a do-all police officer who finds himself in the uncomfortable presence of a merciless gang of jewel robbers after he is assigned to take up the role of a former undercover cop who was killed in the line of duty. Originally planning to put down his gun for good to marry his beloved girlfriend Hung, Chow, to his dismay, is soon assigned to tread the line between good and bad again. Moving deeper and deeper into the... [read more]
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If You Are The One (DVD) (Hong Kong Version)
Shu Qi (Actor)
| Ge You (Actor)
| Feng Xiao Gang (Director)
| Vivian Hsu (Actor)
Shu Qi and veteran actor Ge You experience an extended blind date on the sea, in the air, and on land in Feng Xiaogang's romantic comedy If You Are The One. Ge You plays inventor Qin Fen whose financial situation couldn't look any better thanks to his latest invention. His personal life however is somewhat of a problem as he enters a stage in his life in which he becomes increasingly tired of being alone. He posts an online ad to finally find the right person to spend the rest of his life with him. As a result, he meets all kinds of women, few of whom he really considers to be the right choice. When he runs into sympathetic stewardess Smiley (Shu Qi), he seems to have found his match, or has... [read more]
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She's On Duty (DVD) (Hong Kong Version)
Kim Sun Ah
| Nam Sang Mi (Actor)
| Gong Yoo (Actor)
| Park Sang Myun (Actor)
Leaning on the tough girl formula a la My Sassy Girl, Park Kwang Choon's She's On Duty gives the often told story a fresh twist, inviting viewers to a different kind police action comedy. The film revolves around female police officer Chun Jae In (Kim Sun Ah) who never misses a chance to see that justice is being served. After she fails to accomplish her latest assignment, her commanding head has the brilliant idea of using her as an undercover agent to observe and protect the daughter of a criminal on the loose who is related to the criminal syndicate that she wants to bust. The bad news for Jae In is that she has to return to school in order to complete her assignment. Jae In's initial... [read more]
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The Art Of Seduction (Hong Kong Version)
Son Ye Jin (Actor)
| Song Il Kook (Actor)
| Oh Ki Hwan (Director)
The Art of Seduction invites you to a lovely journey about the pleasures and hardships of enticing the person of your dreams. Han Ji Won (Son Ye Jin) is a girl who enjoys putting a spell on outsiders with her gorgeous looks just for the thrill of it, and proving to herself that no man can resist her charms. Seo Min Joon (Song Il Kook) is her perfect male counterpart, a super macho who drives women from all walks of life crazy whenever he loosens his tie. Bound to create all sorts of fireworks, their encounter signals the beginning of a clash between a first-class femme fatale and a high-caliber super Romeo The Art of Seduction surprised me as a delightful comedy entry. There are quite a few... [read more]
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Cape No. 7 (DVD) (English Subtitled) (Hong Kong Version)
Van Fan (Actor)
| Tanaka Chie (Actor)
| Atari Kosuke (Actor)
| Wei Te Sheng (Director)
Taiwan greets the world with own dose of musicA love story revolving around a bundle of lost love letters and a stand-by rock group in a faraway Taiwanese coast village, Cape No. 7 builds up to an engaging film about past and new lovers wrapped up in a lot of situational comedy. The film begins with a flashback to postwar Taiwan when the Japanese who earlier occupied Taiwan are returning to Japan. Among them is a teacher who is unable to express his feelings to his love, and later decides to make up for it by sending a series of love letters. The film moves on to the present with Aga (Van Fan), a rebellious Taiwanese musician riding his motorbike and angry about the fact that he still hasn't become a big star. The film also introduces... [read more]
April 21, 2009 Picked By A-Xiang Joe See all this editor's picks
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Cyborg She (DVD) (English Subtitled) (Hong Kong Version)
Ayase Haruka (Actor)
| Koide Keisuke (Actor)
| Takenaka Naoto
| Taguchi Hiromasa
Kwak Jae Yong unveils his multi-genre cyborgCyborg She offers a Korean-Japanese collaboration comedy of the destructive kind. Also known as Cyborg Girl, this movie balances comedy, romance, and sci-fi. Typical for director Kwak Jae Yong (My Sassy Girl) is his use of recalling an earlier happening, in this case the first encounter between Kitamura Jiro (Koide Keisuke) and his female cyborg acquaintance (Ayase Haruka). Their first meeting comes as more than a surprise for the male protagonist, leaving him with a lot of question marks. After all, Jiro is used to life as a single, the highlight of his year being that he celebrates his birthday alone. Suddenly, he finds himself in the strange situation of having a mysterious, attractive... [read more]
April 9, 2009 Picked By A-Xiang Joe See all this editor's picks
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Slave Love (AKA: 100 Days with Mr. Arrogant) (DVD) (Hong Kong Version)
Ha Ji Won (Actor)
| Kim Jae Won (Actor)
| Kim Tae Hyeon (Actor)
| Shin Dong Yeob (Director)
This shrieking film packs a good punch, delivering some well-made ingredients distinctive to Korean comedies. I first saw 100 Days With Mr. Arrogant a few years earlier by chance and had an amusingly good time. Recently, I was lucky enough to enjoy a second viewing with a dear friend of mine who was equally impressed by all the hilarious fun. The film stars actress Ha Ji Won in the role of Kang Ha Young, a happy-go-lucky high school student whose high spirits are not meant to last as her boyfriend dumps her on what was supposed to be their hundredth-day anniversary as a couple. In walks, or rather drives, macho lawyer student Ahn Hyung Joon (Kim Jae Won) who ends up the target of a soft... [read more]
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Short Circuit (US Version)
David Oliver (Actor)
| Fisher Stevens (Actor)
| Ally Sheedy (Actor)
| Steve Guttenberg (Actor)
John Badham's Short Circuit from the latter half of the 80s presents a very different type of robot you'll love to like. Robots here, robots there, robots everywhere. We often meet the calculating, sterile, metal-clad companions of man in literature and films. However, apart from the droids R2-D2 and C-3PO in the Star Wars series and the titular protagonist in the animation Wall-E, there perhaps never was a robot more adorable than Short Circuit's Number Five. Number Five is a super intelligent prototype robot constructed by a military research lab to serve the country in eliminating all kinds of invading dangers. However, as luck would have it, he is struck by lightning and later deported... [read more]
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Amadeus
F. Murray Abraham
| Tom Hulce
| Elizabeth Berridge
A preview featuring a scene with Tom Hulce's (appearing as protagonist Wolgang Amadeus Mozart) shrieking giggle and my past dislike for classical music kept me away from an early viewing of Amadeus. So what got me to watch the movie? It must have been the effect of the ongoing hype and the curiosity towards Mozart stirred up by the non-stop airing of the international pop hit Rock Me Amadeus that was inspired by the film. With respect to the movie, Hulce's invented Mozart giggle aside, I have somehow grown fond of it because of the creativity of the original script which turns Amadeus into an interesting enough "what if?" biopic. I was also delighted by the strong performances of the cast,... [read more]
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Laputa: Castle in The Sky (Hong Kong Version)
Miyazaki Hayao (Producer)
Magic on the ground, in the air, and beyondMiyazaki Hayao undoubtedly stands head and shoulders above all other contemporary animators, and among his works, I consider Laputa: Castle in the Sky to be one of the best. The tale revolving around Sheeta, heiress of a royal family from a legendary flying city called Laputa, and Pazu, who finds and takes care of her, takes the viewer on a fast-paced roller coaster-like adventure. There seem to be no limits to where a fight can take place in this Miyazaki animation that features very fascinating visuals in mid-air, on the ground, and even underground. Take a deep breath, because a chase starting in the air continues on the ground by train in the possibly grandest way ever conceived in an... [read more]
February 20, 2009 Picked By A-Xiang Joe See all this editor's picks
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Airplane! ("Don't Call Me Shirley" Edition/Widescreen) (US Version)
Leslie Nielsen (Actor)
| Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Actor)
| Michael McManus (Actor)
| Robert Stack (Actor)
Saying that Airplane left me in smiles would be nothing short of an understatement; in fact, it kept me roaring with laughter. Mad, insane, nuts you name it. Regardless of what anybody's comment to Airplane may be, I still have a hilariously good time with each new viewing. Right from the opening scene that sees the film's principal object approaching a la Jaws, the amusement factor stays high with references to movies from Saturday Night Fever to From Here To Eternity. Even if you don't know the referenced films, you will probably still be driven to laughter (I was) in this spoof loosely revolving around the romance of stewardess Elaine Dickinson and her hopeless drinking-problem-afflicted... [read more]
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The Good, The Bad And The Ugly (DVD) (Hong Kong Version)
Clint Eastwood
| Lee Van Cleef
Leone's classic portrayal of The Good, The Bad, And The UglyThe first time I watched The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly, I was barely old enough to stay up until midnight. My dad, however, made an exception, meaning that he enjoyed all the gun-slinging action just as much as my younger brother and I did. Years later, it remains a one-of-a-kind western that I would take to a faraway island any time without hesitation. Eli Wallach landed a winner with his role as Tuco, a.k.a. "The Ugly". His team-up with Clint Eastwood to portray involuntary partners, each trying to outwit the other, has to be one of the best in movie history and, for me, the best when you limit the field to westerns. Though Clint Eastwood shines in one of his trademark roles, Wallach is... [read more]
February 3, 2009 Picked By A-Xiang Joe See all this editor's picks
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Highlander (Widescreen - Director's Cut) (US Version)
Sean Connery (Actor)
| Clancy Brown (Actor)
| Christopher Lambert (Actor, Producer)
| Allan Cameron (Actor)
My main motivations for watching the late 80s film Highlander were the soundtrack songs by the legendary rock group Queen, and Sean Connery's participation in a supporting role. After revisiting it on the small screen, I am still happy about these two essential factors of the film, as well as the other ingredients that turn this fantasy film into a small favorite of mine. In a time when light sabers and the exhilarating feeling of adventure could be found in the top drawer of topics bound to capture my attention, I ran across the music video of A Kind Of Magic performed by one of my favorite rock bands, Queen. As a result, I soon found myself in a movie theater to watch Highlander, and I had... [read more]
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House Of Flying Daggers (2-Disc Special Edition)
Andy Lau
| Takeshi Kaneshiro
| Zhang Ziyi
| Zhao Xiaoding
Martial arts grandeur meets visual supremacyZhang Yimou's House of Flying Daggers turned into a sort of belated discovery for me. Turned away by the fact that the follow-up to the epic Hero would lack Maggie Cheung, Tony Leung Chiu Wai, and Jet Li, I decided to skip this movie, a mistake I would later regret. When I finally saw House of Flying Daggers, I was in for a most pleasant surprise, discovering that Zhang Yimou's balanced combination of movie art and martial arts once again delivers on many levels. To put it bluntly, I found myself unable to leave my seat once the action in the story, loosely revolving around a rebellious minority clan and their ordeal with the reigning Tang regime, went full throttle. From the beginning, I... [read more]
January 7, 2009 Picked By A-Xiang Joe See all this editor's picks
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Enchanted (DVD) (Hong Kong Version)
Susan Sarandon (Actor)
| James Marsden (Actor)
| Patrick Dempsey (Actor)
| Amy Adams (Actor)
Still Disney after all these yearsBeen there, seen that? Fortunately, these are none of the expressions that come to mind for Enchanted, Walt Disney's latest live-action movie with inserted animation segments. As an ardent fan of the Disney family, I couldn't get around this one and dragged my friend to go see it with me. And to our pleasure, we soon got caught up in the magic. No doubt, everyone who has seen his share of Disney films, sometimes thinks, "If only we could switch off the cheesy over-long songs..." Well, they are alive here from minute one but are inserted in an endurable degree, and to the film's credit, with a sort of wit amiss in some of Disney's earlier offerings. With that in mind, you may back off a... [read more]
December 30, 2008 Picked By A-Xiang Joe See all this editor's picks
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Paper Moon (US Version)
Randy Quaid (Actor)
| Ryan O'Neal (Actor)
| Tatum O'Neal (Actor)
| Roy Roberts (Actor)
Meet an unbeatable brat and her adult sidekickPaper Moon is one of the movies I happened to come across in my pre-teen years. Remembering it to be quite funny, I dug it up again years later with my good friend and I am happy to say that it still sparkles as one of the best child actor movies I have had the pleasure to watch. The main credit goes to young Tatum O'Neal who plays the role of a lifetime as Addie Loggins. Delivering a tour de force performance, including superb interaction with film and real-life father Ryan O'Neal as swindling but good-hearted thief Moses Pray, she no doubt is the center attraction of the film. A unique nostalgic atmosphere underlined by traditional black and white shooting and a good script with clever... [read more]
December 18, 2008 Picked By A-Xiang Joe See all this editor's picks
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Clash of the Titans (US Version)
Rudolph Mate (Actor)
| Ursula Andress (Actor)
| Franklin J. Schaffner (Actor)
| Maggie Smith (Actor)
In a time when CGI effects are turning into the main ingredients of modern films, Clash of the Titans serves as a nice example of a solid palpable fantasy tale. Attracted to this early 80s movie because of my interest in classic Greek and Roman history, I also got an extra helping of action and adventure that stimulated my senses in a fantastic way. Admittedly, the story of Clash of the Titans is as thin as ketchup on fries, but who needs a story in a film about Olympian gods and their haphazard way of dealing with the fate of humans? Interested more in wonders and thrills than in a fact-based lecture, I was dazzled by the film's main attraction, that is the fabulous creatures starting with... [read more]
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Jacky Cheung Selections (LPCD45)
Jacky Cheung
Jacky Cheung made his entry into my list of favorite singers when I came to Hong Kong in 1994 and heard his song "Just Want To Follow You", which continues to be a favorite among people of all genders and walks of life. Ever since then, I have been spellbound by Jacky's extreme vocal range and his unique singing style. This release features a selection of his best loved hits, many of which also have become personal favorites of mine. "Waiting For You Until My Heart Aches" (Track 1) starts and ends with a classic whistle, recounting the tale of a lonely guy who longs for his past love. Jacky's passionate singing is followed by a memorable guitar solo which is followed by even more intense... [read more]
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