The Dragon From Russia (1990) Movie Review

Clarence Ford’s “The Dragon from Russia”, essentially an adaptation of the Japanese manga “Crying Freeman”, makes Christophe Gans’ lackluster 1995 adaptation “Crying Freeman” look like a masterpiece without equal. I kid you not. There’s just something...

May 3rd, 2003 | Read More

PTU (2003) Movie Review

I can understand how some people might be confused by the oeuvre of filmmaker Johnnie To, who seems to exist as two individuals: the Cool To and the Funny To. I don’t particularly care for the Funny To, who has a bad habit of teaming up with Ka-Fai Wai for silly comedies like “Wu Yen”...

April 24th, 2003 | Read More

Zu: Warriors of the Magic Mountain (1983) Movie Review

I really am not overstating things when I tell you that Tsui Hark’s 1983 special effects opus, “Zu: Warriors of the Magic Mountain”, is a terrible, terrible movie. But on the plus side, it’s bad in the so-bad-it’s-good way. Essentially the forerunner to Hark’s 2001...

April 20th, 2003 | Read More

Inner Senses (2002) Movie Review

The Hong Kong motto is, “If it sells tickets, copy it ad nauseam until it no longer sells tickets.” As a result of that motto, 2002 has been the Year of the Ghosts — or, to be more precise, the Year of People Seeing Ghosts. Finally jumping on the “I see dead people” bandwagon...

April 17th, 2003 | Read More

Naked Killer (1992) Movie Review

Here’s an interesting survey for those of you planning on watching 1992’s “Naked Killer”: If you’re a cop, and you witness a woman repeatedly stab a guy in the balls with a scissor, should you: a) arrest her, or b) fall madly in love with her. Our brilliant cop chooses...

April 10th, 2003 | Read More

Lifeline (1997) Movie Review

I’m a sucker for cop movies, but I’ve never been all that enthusiastic about firefighter movies. I mean, besides watching firefighters battle fires, what’s the point? And really, how many different ways to show a fire ravaging a building and getting hit with water can you possible take...

April 9th, 2003 | Read More

Sleeping with the Dead (2002) Movie Review

Although sold as a Supernatural Horror film, the new Jordan Chan movie “Sleeping with the Dead” actually works better as a Drama. For one thing, the supernatural premise behind “Sleeping” is a retread of the Kevin Bacon film “Stir of Echoes”, involving a vengeful female...

April 2nd, 2003 | Read More

Running Out of Time 2 (2001) Movie Review

The motto of “Running Out of Time 2″ seems to be, if it ain’t broke, make another sequel just like it. Following pretty much the same narrative structure used in the original “Running Out of Time”, “ROOT 2″ brings back Inspector Ho (Ching Wan Lau), the Hong Kong...

March 28th, 2003 | Read More

And I Hate You So (2000) Movie Review

“And I Hate You So” is a Romantic Comedy/Chick Flick. It’s a Chick Flick in the vein of “Serendipity”, and anyone interested in knowing what that means should go back and read the review for that particular movie. For the rest of us, let’s move on, shall we? In “And...

March 24th, 2003 | Read More

Viva Erotica (1996) Movie Review

For those familiar with Hong Kong cinema, the term “Cat III” conjures up images of sex for the sake of gratuitous sex. Hong Kong films that fall into the Cat III rating belong in the “erotica” department, which is separated into two distinctive subgenres: screwball sex farce comedy...

March 15th, 2003 | Read More

Wu Yen (2001) Movie Review

“Wu Yen” looks like a play turned into a movie, but without all the trappings of a “movie world” and everything associated with that. The film purports to tell the “real” story of the Qi Emperor and his rise to greatness, which gives it some ties to the new Jet Li...

March 11th, 2003 | Read More

Bio Zombie (1998) Movie Review

More “Return of the Living Dead” than “Night of the Living Dead”, the Hong Kong salute to Zombies Attack film “Bio Zombie” is funnier and more effective than you would think at first glance. Only true fans of the genre will be able to appreciate the balance director...

March 8th, 2003 | Read More

Saviour of the Soul (1991) Movie Review

“Savior of the Soul”, made in 1991, is the epitome of Hong Kong action cinema cranked out during that particular era. The modus operandi of films in this category involves juvenile high jinks in the name of comedy and hyperbolic swordplay in the name of action. It’s all done with a...

February 28th, 2003 | Read More

The Touch (2002) Movie Review

If Michelle Yeoh’s starring vehicle “The Touch” has parts of it that looks familiar, it’s probably not because it shares more than a few surface resemblances to the “Indiana Jones” movies as many reviewers have pointed out. The fact is, the “Indiana Jones”...

February 27th, 2003 | Read More

Running Out of Time (1999) Movie Review

Don’t let the cover of the Hong Kong movie “Running Out of Time” fool you. The film, about a dying man (Andy Lau) who challenges a brilliant cop (Ching Wan Lau) to catch him as he sets about avenging an old score, is more comedy than police drama. “Time” stars prolific actor/pop...

February 21st, 2003 | Read More

Three (2002) Movie Review

The new Asian anthology movie “Three”, in which 3 directors from 3 different countries craft individual tales unrelated to the other 2, should have been called “One”, and the only writer/director who should have been invited to the party is Teddy Chan. Chan’s “Going...

February 16th, 2003 | Read More

What Price Survival (1994) Movie Review

If “What Price Survival” proves anything, it’s that the Chinese, and most Asians in general, consider melodrama as essential as breathing air or having a bowl of rice for dinner. I’m not being facetious or even over exaggerating. Chinese plays, and now Chinese films, is notorious...

February 7th, 2003 | Read More

Infernal Affairs (2002) Movie Review

Almost everyone familiar with Hong Kong films knows the names Andrew Lau, Andy Lau, and Tony Leung. (Andrew and Andy are not the same person, if you were wondering.) Andrew Lau (”Sausalito”) is a prolific director known for quantity over quality; the same is true for actor Andy Lau (“Full...

February 5th, 2003 | Read More

Hero (2003) Movie Review

Much of your ability to appreciate the finer points of Zhang Yimou’s “Hero” depends on your knowledge of Chinese culture and history. This doesn’t mean those of us completely unaware of the country’s monumental struggle to unite itself under one kingdom, or the zen-ish notion...

January 29th, 2003 | Read More

So Close (2003) Movie Review

I guess you really couldn’t say that Hong Kong filmmakers are trying to capitalize on the success of “Charlie’s Angels”, since I can think back to the early ’90s when “The Heroic Trio” made a splash. So just who is copying whom here? Regardless, “Angels”...

January 27th, 2003 | Read More