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: The Narrow Road (2022) (DVD) (Taiwan Version) Louis Cheung (Actor) | Angela Yuen (Actor) | Tommy Chu (Actor) | Qu Jia Wen (Actor)

No rest for the weary
October 30, 2023 Picked By Sanwei See all this editor's picks
There's a Chinese saying that enemies are bound to meet on a narrow road. While there are no concrete enemies in Lam Sum's 2022 film The Narrow Road, there are many tangible troubles that are clearly coming and yet can't be avoided when all of life itself is a narrow road for those living hand to mouth. Set during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, the poignant yet low-key drama offers a realistic look into the daily lives and struggles of Hong Kong's low-wage working class. Louis Cheung is excellent as Chak, a decent hardworking everyman who runs a small one-man cleaning company. While it may seem like pandemic is great business for cleaners, he is barely getting by with limited help... [read more]

: Lost Love (2022) (Blu-ray) (Hong Kong Version) Sammi Cheng (Actor) | Hedwig Tam (Actor) | Alan Luk (Actor) | Ka Sing Fung (Director, Writer)

Sammi Cheng's award-winning performance
September 30, 2023 Picked By Sanwei See all this editor's picks
Sammi Cheng was nominated for Best Actress at the Hong Kong Film Awards eight times previously before finally winning the prize this year with her performance in Lost Love. Different from the lovable, quirky romantic heroine roles she's best known for, Sammi Cheng's character Mei in Lost Love is a normal, slightly gloomy woman carrying an unspeakable pain. When we first meet Mei, she seems like a typically jaded, irritable and resourceful working Hong Konger who takes up foster parenting at least partially for the foster care allowance. We gradually learn that Mei and her husband Bun (Alan Luk) lost their son when he was three-years-old, and she has never really come out of the grief. Mei's... [read more]

: The Falls (2021) (DVD) (English Subtitled) (Taiwan Version) Alyssa Chia (Actor) | Gingle Wang (Actor) | Michael Chang (Actor) | Jennifer Hong (Actor)

This too shall pass
April 30, 2023 Picked By Sanwei See all this editor's picks
Misfortunes never come alone. The COVID-19 pandemic broke out in early 2020 and eventually affected every corner of the world, changing the way we lived and the way we died. In the years when life seemingly stood still with home isolation and social distancing, the public health crisis ushered in ripples of personal crises as many individuals and families struggled with stress, mental health and financial strain. Chung Mong Hong's The Falls starts in March 2020, with daughter Xiao Jing (Gingle Wang) having to home quarantine due to a positive case in her class. Xiao Jing's stressed-out mother Pin Wen (Alyssa Chia) also gets told to stay home by her company. During the quarantine period, the... [read more]

: Detective VS. Sleuths (2022) (Blu-ray) (Hong Kong Version) Charlene Choi (Actor) | Lau Ching Wan (Actor) | Timmy Hung (Actor) | Li Jing (Actor)

He who fights with monsters
November 30, 2022 Picked By Sanwei See all this editor's picks
Detective vs. Sleuths is Wai Ka Fai's first directorial effort in over a decade, and apparently he put all his creative juices into this, because it is impressively over the top. The writer-director packs twist after twist and a whole variety of unhinged characters into this wild Hong Kong crime action thriller with a very high body count. Lau Ching Wan – always the first pick to play Wai Ka Fai characters who are losing a handle on reality (see: Written By and Mad Detective) – anchors the madness as the protagonist who is the maddest yet shrewdest of them all. Detective vs. Sleuths begins with vignettes of notorious past murder cases before introducing crimes happening in the present day.... [read more]

: Raging Fire (2021) (Blu-ray) (Hong Kong Version) Nicholas Tse (Actor) | Donnie Yen (Actor) | Qin Lan (Actor) | Kenny Wong (Actor)

Benny Chan's action-packed swansong
May 31, 2022 Picked By Sanwei See all this editor's picks
When people think of Hong Kong's greatest action film directors, Benny Chan may not be among the first few names to come to mind – but he should be. From the late 90s onwards, there have been few directors as reliable for solid, unpretentious and entertaining Hong Kong action as Benny Chan. From Big Bullet, Divergence and Rob-B-Hood to Connected, The White Storm and Call of Heroes, his films may not have traveled as many fests and won as many awards as those of his more famous contemporaries, but they sure were fun to watch. Even the bad Benny Chan films, like City Under Siege and Meow, were spectacularly bad rather than bleh. Benny Chan's final feature Raging Fire is everything great about... [read more]

: Man In Love (2021) (DVD) (Hong Kong Version) Tiffany Ann Hsu (Actor) | Roy Chiu (Actor) | Tsai Chen Nan (Actor) | Chung Hsin Ling (Actor)

Man in Love remake that improves on the original
January 21, 2022 Picked By Sanwei See all this editor's picks
Before watching Yin Chen Hao's blockbuster romance Man in Love, I was rather surprised about its box office success. I did not love the original Korean film from which it was adapted, and was skeptical of how the remake managed to enter Taiwan's top ten domestic films of all time. After I watched it, I completely understood why it's such a crowd-pleasing hit. On paper, the Taiwan remake of Man in Love tells just about the same story as the Korean film. Ah Cheng (Roy Chiu) is a street gangster who collects debt for a living. Though he's quick to yell and fight, he has a kind heart, and looks out for struggling debtors in his own way. He coerces bank clerk Hao Ting (Tiffany Ann Hsu) to take... [read more]

: Endgame (2021) (Blu-ray) (Hong Kong Version) Andy Lau (Actor) | Xiao Yang (Actor) | Wan Qian (Actor) | Guo Jing Fei (Actor)

Key to a good remake
November 30, 2021 Picked By Sanwei See all this editor's picks
Uchida Kenji's 2012 comedy-drama Key of Life about a hitman and a failed actor swapping identities picked up a slew of prizes, and its 2016 Korean remake Luck-Key was a box office hit. In 2021, the third iteration of the story arrives with the ambiguously titled Chinese remake Endgame. So what does this version offer that hasn't already been covered in the previous two films? Well, for one thing, it has Andy Lau. Endgame also has director Rao Xiaozhi, who brings a different vibe to this same story. Andy Lau wears the heck out of a black suit as precise and unflappable professional killer Zhou Quan whose downfall turns out to be a slippery bar of soap. After taking a fall at the bathhouse,... [read more]

: The Magician On The Skywalk (2021) (DVD) (Ep. 1-11) (End) (Taiwan Version) Lin Jie Yi (Actor) | Luo Shi Qi (Actor) | Berant Chu (Actor) | Yang Da Zheng (Actor)

Life, death and disappearance in 1980s Taipei
October 29, 2021 Picked By Sanwei See all this editor's picks
Chunghwa Market was an expansive integrated shopping mall located in Taipei's Ximending area from 1961 to 1992, when it was closed to make way for urban redevelopment. A skywalk over an intersection of roads carried foot traffic directly to the second level of Chunghwa Market, which bustled with people and activity as one of the city's most popular landmarks. This shopping market of yesteryear serves as the setting of the acclaimed 2021 PTS drama The Magician on the Skywalk, which won Best Television Series, Best Director and other prizes at the 56th Golden Bell Awards. Yang Ye Che honed his talent for telling human stories at PTS in the 2000s before going on to direct feature films like... [read more]

: Tears on Fire (2021) (DVD) (Ep. 1-10) (End) (Tote Bag Limited Edition) (Taiwan Version) Liu Kuan Ting (Actor) | Annie Chen (Actor) | Hu Shi An (Actor) | James Wen (Actor)

Firefighters do more than fight fires
August 30, 2021 Picked By Sanwei See all this editor's picks
On days of disaster and tragedy, we laud the heroics and sacrifices of firefighters and first responders. But are we providing the needed resources and understanding to support their work and livelihood every day of the year? The ten-episode PTS series Tears on Fire depicts the experiences and challenges of firefighters and EMTs in Taiwan. The drama follows a typical brigade in the Tongan Branch of Dayuan City Fire Department. The team, which includes James Wen, Annie Chen, Liu Kuan Ting and Austin Lin, works around the clock to respond to emergency calls. In Taiwan, EMS (emergency medical service) is provided by the fire department, so firefighters are also trained as EMTs (emergency... [read more]

: Detective Chinatown 3 (2021) (Blu-ray) (English Subtitled) (Hong Kong Version) Wang Bao Qiang (Actor) | Liu Hao Ran (Actor) | Tsumabuki Satoshi (Actor) | Nagasawa Masami (Actor)

More of the Detective Chinatown universe
July 31, 2021 Picked By Sanwei See all this editor's picks
Out of all the films that were originally set for theatrical release in China for Chinese New Year in 2020 and then pushed back due to COVID, only two films delayed their release dates all the way to 2021 Chinese New Year – the cartoon feature Boonie Bears: The Wild Life and Detective Chinatown 3. Most of the other big-name titles, like Leap, Vanguard and Jiang Ziya, opened later in 2020 or, in the case of Lost in Russia, premiered on digital platforms instead. Detective Chinatown 3, however, was held an entire year for the Spring Festival opening, because it's very much a Lunar New Year film. Despite the detective buddy comedy being a surefire blockbuster anytime of the year based on its... [read more]

: The Con-Heartist (2020) (DVD) (English Subtitled) (Hong Kong Version) Baifern Pimchanok Luevisadpaibul (Actor) | Nadech Kugimiya (Actor) | Phuak Pongsatorn Jongwilas (Actor) | Bank Thiti Mahayotaruk (Actor)

Heart, humor and hijinks
July 1, 2021 Picked By Sanwei See all this editor's picks
When it comes to glossy commercial films that hit you in the feels and the funny bone, it's hard to go wrong with GDH. The 2020 comedy The Con-Heartist deploys the blockbuster studio's tried-and-true formula of pretty people engaging in cute romance and wacky comedy, but this crowd-pleaser leads with crime caper elements. Romcom favorite Baifern Pimchanok gives one of her most lovable performances as Ina, a humble banker who wears her heart on her sleeve. That's how she ended up getting scammed by ex-boyfriend Petch (a wily, smiley Thiti Mahayotaruk) and saddled with debt. When she encounters suave con artist Tower, played by Channel 3 heartthrob Nadech Kugimiya, she ropes him into helping... [read more]

: Future Cops (1993) (Blu-ray) (Hong Kong Version) Chingmy Yau (Actor) | Aaron Kwok (Actor) | Jacky Cheung (Actor) | Andy Lau (Actor)

90s Hong Kong comedy at its craziest
June 30, 2021 Picked By Sanwei See all this editor's picks
Some people may say that Future Cops is a terrible motion picture. And those people would not be wrong, but that doesn't stop me from wholeheartedly loving this wacky 90s Hong Kong classic. The sci-fi action comedy is directed by – who else? – Hong Kong cinema's king of low-brow comedies Wong Jing, and it aims to entertain by throwing everything but the kitchen sink into its nonsensical fun. One of the biggest draws of Future Cops is that it's packed with stars, and they all dress up in ridiculous cosplay-quality costumes, as the film giddily rips off characters from Street Fighter II. Future Cops enjoys the distinction of having three Heavenly Kings – Andy Lau, Jacky Cheung and Aaron Kwok... [read more]

: A Little Reunion (2019) (DVD) (Ep. 1-49) (End) (China Version) Hai Qing (Actor) | Huang Lei (Actor) | Sha Yi (Actor) | Wang Yan Hui (Actor)

A little something called family
April 30, 2021 Picked By Sanwei See all this editor's picks
With the family drama A Love for Dilemma currently trending in China, now seems like a good time to revisit the acclaimed 2019 series that came before it, A Little Reunion. A Love for Dilemma, A Little Reunion and 2016's A Love for Separation are all family stories based on novels by Lu Yingong. All three are worthwhile watches, but A Little Reunion is the highest-rated on Douban for good reason. A Little Reunion is centered around three families during a crucial period: the final year of high school when students prepare for the gaokao, China's all-important national college entrance exam. A Love for Separation's Huang Lei and Hai Qing return as parental figures of free-spirited,... [read more]

: Get The Hell Out (2020) (DVD) (Hong Kong Version) Lin He Xuan (Actor) | Megan Lai (Actor) | Gao Hui Chun (Actor) | Bruce Hung (Actor)

Zombies in parliament
March 31, 2021 Picked By Sanwei See all this editor's picks
The zombie genre gets a zany, blood-spurting entry in the Taiwan horror action comedy Get the Hell Out. If you've ever thought politicians are just blood-sucking creatures who prey on the people, then Wang I Fan's debut feature is here to validate your suspicions with unsubtle satire and lots of blood. Bruce Hung plays Wang You Wei, who is on security detail at the Legislative Yuan, Taiwan's parliament, for his alternative military service. He has a crush on short-tempered legislator Hsiung Ying Ying (Megan Lai), who became a politician to block the construction of a foreign chemical plant in her hometown. Rumors are that the chemicals are linked to a new rabies virus. After Hsiung is... [read more]

: We Are Champions (2019) (DVD) (Taiwan Version) Fandy Fan (Actor) | Berant Chu (Actor) | Li Lin Fei (Actor) | Wei Yu Ren (Actor)

High school hoops and hopes
January 27, 2021 Picked By Sanwei See all this editor's picks
High school basketball is a pretty big deal in Taiwan. While the island's professional leagues have struggled in recent years to maintain attendance and a sustainable business model, the High School Basketball League (HBL) has ballooned in popularity over the past decade. Bolstered by government support, big-name brand sponsorship and broadcast deals, the HBL commands a considerable following and boasts way higher attendance than the beleaguered SBL. HBL's Division 1 tournament is Taiwan's answer to March Madness, with final games held in packed stadiums. It's the HBL championship tournament that provides the crucial backdrop for Chang Jung Chi's 2019 youth film We Are Champions. The... [read more]

: Joy of Life Season One (2019) (H-DVD) (Ep. 1-46) (End) (China Version) Li Qin (Actor) | Chen Dao Ming (Actor) | Zhang Ruo Yun (Actor) | Wang Yang (Actor)

The joy of watching Joy of Life
December 31, 2020 Picked By Sanwei See all this editor's picks
One of the dramas I'm most looking forward to in 2021 is the second season of Joy of Life. The first season that aired in 2019 was a big hit in China and made our year-end picks, thanks to its unique mix of wuxia, suspense, fantasy and pure wit. Based on Mao Ni's novel Qing Yu Nian, the period series stars Zhang Ruoyun as silver-tongued swordsman Fan Xian, who lives in ancient times but has modern-day knowledge. His mysterious origin links back to his even more mysterious mother, who came from an unknown place and left behind a great legacy of innovation and larger-than-life legends. Summoned to the capital by his father and the Emperor (Chen Daoming), Fan Xian searches for his origins and... [read more]

: Tournament 7 (2019) (DVD) (Hong Kong Version) Sam Leong (Actor, Director, Writer) | Jim Bing Hei (Actor) | Julian Benedikt Gaertner (Actor) | He Ying Wei (Actor)

At least we still have Tournament films
November 28, 2020 Picked By Sanwei See all this editor's picks
Do you want to see a movie that opens with a biblical quote, followed by a scene of a mutated cabbage bloodily attacking someone? Tournament 7 is for you! Independent Hong Kong filmmaker Sam Leong's Tournament series has been one of my cinematic guilty pleasures of the last few years. In this day and age of Hong Kong cinema, there's just something wonderful about a self-produced, low-budget film series regularly churning out new installments, and also putting them on DVD. The low-rent action films run the gamut of genres from one installment to another – underground boxing, triad drama, family melodrama, revenge drama, social drama and now sci-fi gore, all with varying degrees of Christian... [read more]

: The Making of an Ordinary Woman (2019) (DVD) (Ep. 1-10) (End) (Taiwan Version) James Wen (Actor) | Xiu Qin (Actor) | Hsieh Ying Hsuan (Actor) | Wayne Song (Actor)

It's not easy being an Ordinary Woman
August 31, 2020 Picked By Sanwei See all this editor's picks
Following her Golden Horse Best Actress win for Dear Ex, Hsieh Ying Hsuan gives an even better performance in the 2019 CTS mini-series The Making of an Ordinary Woman. The ordinary woman in question is 39-year-old Chen Jia Ling, who's lived in the big city of Taipei for two decades but has yet to become a true city girl. She's not doing that bad, but she's also not doing that great. Marriage, success and just the grace and poise of being an adult woman – all these continue to elude her as she tolerates a stagnant job and relationship, and regularly gets herself into unlucky, embarrassing situations. Based on writings by Jiang E, The Making of an Ordinary Woman's heroine and crossroads are... [read more]

: Men On The Dragon (2018) (Blu-ray) (Hong Kong Version) Francis Ng (Actor) | Nancy Wu (Actor) | Kenny Wong (Actor) | Tony Wu (Actor)

A slice of Hong Kong midlife
June 24, 2020 Picked By Sanwei See all this editor's picks
With this year's dragon boat races cancelled due to the pandemic, it's time to revisit the 2018 film Men on the Dragon instead for the Dragon Boat Festival. A critical and commercial hit in Hong Kong, Sunny Chan's comedy-drama follows four ordinary men facing midlife crises who invigorate their lives through dragon boat racing. Francis Ng is at his natural best as the affable, unmotivated Lung who works for a broadband service provider. He and his co-workers Suk Yi (theater actor Poon Chan Leung) and William (Weeds on Fire's Tony Wu) fulfill your general expectations of those tech-support guys who show up late to set up your internet. Lung holds an obvious torch for his neighbor Coral (TVB... [read more]

: The Untamed Original Soundtrack (OST) (China Version) TV Series Soundtrack | Wang Yi Bo | Xiao Zhan

The Music of The Untamed
April 30, 2020 Picked By Sanwei See all this editor's picks
Good things come to those who wait. And by good things, I mean The Untamed soundtrack which I finally got my hands on last month. Though well over half a year has passed since The Untamed's broadcast in that summer of 2019, one simply does not forget about this drama. I could make a very long list of all the things great about this Chinese period fantasy series, and high up among those reasons would be the music. The Untamed's beautiful score was created by composer and pianist Lin Hai, who fuses classical Chinese instruments and traditional styles into an RPG-worthy collection of epic battle songs and delicate, evocative numbers. Notably, music itself plays a role in the story of The... [read more]

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