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Set Off (DVD) (Hong Kong Version)
Fan Wei (Actor)
| Ju Wen Pei (Actor)
| Liu Hua (Actor)
Although it's not billed as such, Mainland movie Set Off can actually be branded a romantic comedy - just not a typical one. The film delivers the laughs and gets a message across: beautiful babes don't just favor bad boys. Our good old Lao Cui can attest to that. Cui (veteran comedian Fan Wei) starts off in the Beijing airport as he flies back from Cyprus to divorce his wife, who has cheated on him with his best friend. Barely landed, he receives another smack to the ear: his business partner is selling his restaurant in Cyprus, so he needs to fly back asap. While on his way to the airport, he gets carjacked by a drunken damsel-in-distress, who throws up all over his body. Cui then makes a... [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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Attitude (DVD) (English Subtitled) (Taiwan Version)
Circus (Director)
| Lin Jia Wei (Director)
| Liao Ren Shuai (Director)
| Charles "Blackie" Chen (Producer)
In Taiwan, it's easy to see how popular basketball is among the younger generation. At night neighborhood courts are lit bright and filled with sweaty guys, basketball-themed idol dramas abound, Jay Chou made that silly basketball movie, and the only time the high school boys I used to teach showed any interest in anything I said was when I gave away a basketball. Taiwan has a professional basketball league of its own called SBL (Super Basketball League), notable for its scrappy play and spiky-haired players. Take a walk in Ximending and you'll see plenty of Kobe jerseys and Lebron ads. But you just may also catch sight of a T-shirt bearing the logo "Attitude", the popularized slogan of... [read more]
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Ip Man (DVD) (2-Disc Special Edition) (Hong Kong Version)
Donnie Yen (Actor)
| Simon Yam (Actor)
| Gordon Lam (Actor)
| Sammo Hung (Action Director)
Donnie Yen isn't just the Man, he's Ip Man. Hong Kong's most prolific martial arts actor goes for Fearless-type cred in director Wilson Yip's biopic of the legendary Wing Chun master. The film tells the tale of Ip Man (Yen) during the 1930s and 40s, covering his rise to prominence in 1930s Foshan, plus his involvement with the imperialist Japanese . Noted for its many famous kung-fu masters, Foshan comes under siege from surly kung fu master Jin Shan Zhao (Fan Siu-Wong), who's looking to rob Foshan's resident martial arts masters of their fame and face. They're quick to jump to the challenge, and all are quick to lose - that is, all except Ip Man, who seems to have zero ego and is... [read more]
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Dreamtrips (DVD) (Hong Kong Version)
Ng Ka Lung (Director)
An admirable effort at sci-fi from Hong KongThe year before the turn of the millennium, the Wachowski Brothers enslaved the world in The Matrix, David Cronenberg created eXistenZ, and Hong Kong indie filmmaker Kal Ng embarked on his ambitious Dreamtrips exploring similar subjects. Science fiction has always been a rarity in Hong Kong films. An architect and part-time filmmaker, Kal Ng broke the deadlock with his own conception of Dreamtrips - an advanced technology that creates a virtual reality for its user to roam around in - complete with its own rules, purposes, and internal logic no less. This in itself is a feat too significant to ignore. Like Michel Gondry's Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Ng anchors his Philip K.... [read more]
February 3, 2009 Picked By dian See all this editor's picks
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All About Women (DVD) (US Version)
Zhou Xun (Actor)
| Guey Lun Mei (Actor)
| Kitty Zhang (Actor)
| Tsui Hark (Director)
Two minuses do make a plus, at least in the case of Tsui Hark's latest film All About Women. In recent years, I've come to greet every Tsui Hark film with a sort of morbid anticipation, wondering how much more the Hong Kong Cinema great of yesteryear could possibly disappoint me. For All About Women, Tsui Hark went ahead to tempt fate further by teaming up with Korean director Kwak Jae Yong who has long used up his My Sassy Girl goodwill in my books. To put things blankly, I haven't liked a Tsui Hark or Kwak Jae Yong film in years and yet in 2008, their creative (destructive?) forces combined delivered All About Women, a movie that I wholeheartedly enjoy. All About Women is certainly as... [read more]
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Bullets Over Summer (DVD) (Hong Kong Version)
Francis Ng (Actor)
| Louis Koo
| Wayne Lai
| Law Lan (Actor)
Compared with the explosive Chinese title that literally means "Cracked Cops", the more poetic-sounding English title Bullets Over Summer may be a better match for Wilson Yip's 1999 film, which ably mixes ingredients of romance, comedy, action, and thriller with the character-driven drama for a real winner. In typical buddy cop movie fashion, this movie stars the great Francis Ng and Louis Koo as a pair of cops of contrasting styles and personalities who often clash but complement each other perfectly, as exemplified in the convenience store robbery sequence that opens the film. Koo's Brian is the laidback, wisecracking rookie that seems more interested in wooing women, but is still dashing... [read more]
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Rule#1 (DVD) (Hong Kong Version)
Ekin Cheng (Actor)
| Shawn Yue (Actor)
| Stephanie Che (Actor)
| Fiona Xie (Actor)
On the upper deck of a bus sits a sexy and alluring woman. When her lipstick drops to the floor, the only other passenger, a man sitting across the aisle with desires raging in his eyes, picks it up and, slowly, reaches his hand out to hers. Just as their hands are about to meet, a guy with a gun (played by Shawn Yue) pops into the scene and bang! He shoots the woman right in the forehead. This opening sequence is crosscut with a scene showing a policeman chasing a man, overlaid by Shawn's narration saying, "the truth is not what it seems". Now when a ghost movie defies genre convention by starting more like a cop/killer actioner, the director is either very confident or just utterly... [read more]
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Legend of The Wolf (DVD) (Multi-audio) (US Version)
Donnie Yen (Director, Actor, Producer)
| Dayo Wong (Actor)
| Carman Lee (Actor)
| Edmond Leung (Actor)
Donnie Yen has forged a formidable directing partnership with Wilson Yip in recent years. With Yip taking charge of the drama and Yen focusing on action, the pair has made some of the most enjoyable action films of this decade with SPL (2005), Dragon Tiger Gate (2006), and Flash Point (2007). Their latest love child, Ip Man, is a highly anticipated biopic of Bruce Lee's martial arts mentor, even though Yen is credited only as an actor this time. So what about the very first film that Donnie ever directed? In 1997, he made his directorial debut Legend of the Wolf on a decidedly low budget, and although a flop in terms of box-office gross, it was overall a moderate success considering that he... [read more]
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Ironside 426 (DVD) (Hong Kong Version)
Jason Pai (Actor)
| Michelle Yim (Actor)
| Raymond Chow (Producer)
| Lam Kok Cheung (Director)
Undercover cop is an ever-popular sub-genre in Hong Kong films and long before Infernal Affairs and the likes, we had Ironside 426. Presented by Golden Harvest, the 1977 actioner stars the popular duo of Jason Pai and Michelle Yim, who were fresh off the television as the first-generation Guo Jing and Huang Rong in 1976’s The Eagle Shooting Heroes adaptation. It was the 1970s, when the ICAC (Independent Commission Against Corruption) was not yet in business. The crime rate of Hong Kong was escalating, which was attributed to the triad world, so the police were determined to spoil their party. Our hero Damon (Jason Pai) hooks up with old friend Doggie (Hon Kwok Choi). The two set up a stall... [read more]
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Kung Fu Panda (DVD) (Hong Kong Version)
Josie Ho
| Jackie Chan
| Eason Chan
| Denise Ho
Several months ago, my family and I went to watch Kung Fu Panda with low expectations, but in the end we couldn't have been happier about the decision because it turned out to be a dazzling martial arts surprise filled with loads of humor. As a life-long fan of Bruce Lee, the legendary king of kung fu himself, I was a bit turned off by the idea of Kung Fu Panda at first, because it just didn't sound appealing enough to me. My adored icon, as everybody knows, is remembered as a perfectly trained living weapon, swift as lightning and agile as a cat and with the right physical appearance to match, whereas this tale's protagonist, Po, is anything but. If anything, he is just a very clumsy,... [read more]
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Flaming Brothers (DVD) (Remastered) (Hong Kong Version)
Chow Yun Fat (Actor)
| Alan Tang (Producer, Actor)
| Wong Kar Wai
| Jenny Tseng
After A Better Tomorrow opened the floodgate to triad hero movies in 1986, Chow Yun Fat went on to star in numerous similarly styled movies, and Flaming Brothers was one of the more remarkable works that would make even John Woo proud. In fact, this flick evokes many gangster symbols made popular by the genre maestro: trench coat-donning, shades-wearing mobsters glorified with a strict code of honor, gun in each hand downing enemies without breaking a sweat, their ever-slick hairdo never getting messy in the process. Flaming Brothers is made in the grand tradition of heroic bloodshed movies. Director Joe Cheung obviously understood the material well enough to do a decent job. The story... [read more]
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The Way We Are (DVD) (Hong Kong Version)
Idy Chan (Actor)
| Paw Hee Ching (Actor)
| Clifton Ko (Actor)
| Leung Juno
If Hong Kong newspapers are to be believed, Tin Shui Wai is not a good place to be. This New Territories town in northern Hong Kong has become the poster child for urban tragedy with stories of suicides, poverty, unemployment, broken families, wayward youth, and mothers throwing their children out the window. For more on why living in Tin Shui Wai completely bites, you can refer to Lawrence Lau's sensationally dismal teen-gone-wrong tale Besieged City, but that's not the only side to life in Tin Shui Wai. There are also all the people who just have normal lives, and it's their humble experiences that take center stage in Ann Hui's remarkable docudrama The Way We Are. The Way We Are is just... [read more]
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Kung Fu Hip-Hop (DVD) (Hong Kong Version)
Jordan Chan (Actor)
| Fan Bing Bing (Actor)
| Poppin Hyun Joon (Actor)
| Yang Yang
There's good, there's bad, and then there's Kung Fu Hip-Hop. As the silly title and Jordan Chan's even sillier thumbs-up pose on the cover indicate, this is not a movie to be taken seriously. Those looking for kung fu action or quality cinema should steer clear, but if you're in the market for a cheesy inspirational dance film and unintentional comedy, Kung Fu Hip-Hop is a groan-out-loud guilty pleasure prime for late-night rewatch. The story is the stuff of B-movie dreams. A kung fu-savvy street vendor (Jordan Chan) with mad dancing skills enters a dancing contest in hopes of winning the prize money to pay for his blind sister's operation. But to get the prize he has to beat the reigning... [read more]
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Bee Movie (DVD) (Hong Kong Version)
It's a bird, it's a plane ... it's a beeLike the title reveals, Bee Movie revolves around our useful black and yellow insect friends that have the inclination to sting from time to time. The fast-paced colorful animation comes packed with stinging humor and buzzing action. In this bee-populated big-screen feature, writer and producer Jerry Seinfeld also lends his voice to the animated answer to Benjamin Braddock, new-generation graduate and wanna-bee success Barry Bee Benson. Not only revolving around Barry's life, Bee Movie introduces the viewers to the most vibrant beehive ever to appear in a film and much more. Among the secrets revealed are the size and kind of magazine you need to take out a bee, exactly what kind of jobs are... [read more]
August 21, 2008 Picked By A-Xiang Joe See all this editor's picks
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Lost In Time (DTS Version)(US Version)
Cecilia Cheung (Actor)
| Lau Ching Wan (Actor)
| Louis Koo
| Derek Yee (Director)
Cecilia Cheung, Lau Ching Wan, and Louis Koo star in Derek Yee's bittersweet tale Lost in Time revolving around a woman's desperate attempt to overcome the loss of the most important person in her life. Cecilia Cheung plays the female protagonist Siu Wai whose life is turned upside-down after her fiance Ah Man (Louis Koo) has a fatal accident. Now left alone to manage not only her own life, but also that of her late lover's young son, Siu Wai's formerly happy life takes on a new gloomy aspect, until an unexpected third party appears to lend her a helping hand. Cecilia Cheung offers a passionate performance in her role as single parent who struggles to make ends meet, while Lau Ching Wan... [read more]
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God Man Dog (DVD) (Deluxe Edition) (Taiwan Version)
Tarcy Su (Actor)
| Jack Kao (Actor)
| Jonathan Chang Yang Yang (Actor)
| Chang Han
Taiwan director Singing Chen waxes lyrical about religion, relationships, and stray dogs in her poetically quirky sophomore feature God Man Dog. This modern allegory follows a group of disparate souls who are very different and yet the same as they make sense of their fragile beliefs and bungled lives. Exploring self, questioning faith, and affirming life, God Man Dog's uncommon method of storytelling and odd leaps of faith should strike chords with both the doubtful and the devoted. The first half of God Man Dog is slow moving, if not downright depressive, as the characters and their various unhappy states of existence are introduced. Pianist Ching's (Tarcy Su) mental health and marriage to... [read more]
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Throw Down (DTS Version) (US Version)
Aaron Kwok
| Tony Leung Ka Fai
| Johnnie To (Director)
| Louis Koo
The world of Throw Down can only be described as judo jiang hu meets contemporary Hong Kong. Johnnie To's amusing tribute to Kurosawa and the hard-boiled samurai flicks of yesteryear, the film is an engaging, whimsical action melodrama filled with quirky, earnest characters floundering about in odd, yet oddly compelling, situations. Aaron Kwok plays a wide-eyed judo enthusiast who wants to challenge former judo champion Louis Koo to a duel, but instead finds a mumbling, stumbling, drunken man, a shadow of his former self. Refusing to leave without a match, Kwok stays on at Koo's bar as a saxophonist alongside a sexy-cute aspiring singer, played by the sexy-cute Cherrie Ying. For Kwok, Koo,... [read more]
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PK.COM.CN (DVD) (English Subtitled) (China Version)
Jaycee Chan (Actor)
| Wilson Chen (Actor)
| Niu Meng Meng (Actor)
| Xiao Jiang (Director)
I've never seen a Mainland film like PK.COM.CN. While that doesn't make it a great film per se, it does make PK.COM.CN an interesting venture for Chinese commercial cinema and a novelty well worth watching. To even consider a film like PK.COM.CN commercial cinema is already a minor surprise as its head-scratching story and pop arthouse aesthetics resemble a post-modern stage play more than anything. Not even Taiwan would throw out something like this and call it a commercial youth film. And yet, the type of buzz, budget, and promotion PK.COM.CN warranted, not to mention the casting of Wilson Chen and Jaycee Chan, makes it an undeniably commercial film, albeit one that is born from and... [read more]
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Komaneko - The Curious Cat (DVD) (Special Edition) (Taiwan Version)
Health is poor, spirits are low, work is piling, and rent remains blissfully unpaid. At least I still have Komaneko. Written, designed, and directed by Goda Tsuneo, Komaneko - The Curious Cat is a feature-length stop-motion animation starring a very cute, very cuddly, and very curious stuffed cat who happens to be an aspiring stop-motion animator herself. Clearly the paws-on type, Komaneko earnestly goes though the steps to make her very first stop-motion film, down to sewing little felt leads and creating sets and background art with paper and crayons. With everything in place, she starts snapping away with her 8mm, but that's when everything starts falling down... Komaneko's opening... [read more]
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