Chinese Movie Reviews »
Peace Hotel (1995) Movie Review
Instead of reviewing “Peace Hotel”, I find it more interesting to talk about the people who made this movie. The film itself is not worth an entire review; and while it is not atrocious...
Read More »Running on Karma (2003) Movie Review
I was anxious to see “Running on Karma”. No, it’s not the idea of seeing yet another Johnnie To movie in 2003, since this is Johnnie To Lite we’re dealing with, not Johnnie To...
Read More »Visible Secret (2001) Movie Review
Don’t let “Visible Secret” fool you — it’s less of a horror movie than it is a clever comedy and touching human drama. Qi Shu, last seen seeing ghosts in 2002′s “Haunted Office”, was...
Read More »The Mission (1999) Movie Review
If 1999′s “The Mission” proves anything, it’s that filmmaker Johnnie To is better as a solo filmmaker than he ever was when working with frequent collaborator Ka-Fai Wong, whose presence on a Johnnie To...
Read More »Beast Cops (1998) Movie Review
“Beast Cops” cleaned up the hardware in its native Hong Kong’s annual movie awards in 1998. The film was highly acclaimed by the critics and was, most importantly, a box office hit. The screenplay...
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My Life as McDull (2001) Movie Review
If there’s one thing I can fault “My Life as McDull” for, it’s that the movie, running at a scant 70 minutes, gets perhaps a bit too somber toward the end. While there’s no...
Read More »Asian Charlie’s Angels (2001) Movie Review
Here’s the odd thing: most of Christy Chung’s co-stars record their dialogue using sync sound, but only Chung’s dialogue is entirely dubbed from beginning to end! It would be interesting to find out why...
Read More »The New Option (2002) Movie Review
“The New Option” is more police drama than an action movie. If one were to excise the film’s only gunbattle, which closes out the movie, the film would be devoid of any gunplay. And...
Read More »My Dream Girl (2003) Movie Review
So excuse me if I thought I was watching a movie when I put on “My Dream Girl”, and not listening to a musical CD. Apparently my definition of movie, and that of the...
Read More »Drunken Monkey (2003) Movie Review
I must confess that when it comes to Old School Hong Kong martial arts period films, I’m not privy to a lot of background. For instance, I am familiar with exactly zero actors in...
Read More »Heroic Duo (2003) Movie Review
I’ve never been a big fan of Ekin Cheng. Whatever it is that the Hong Kong film industry sees that makes them give the guy 10 movies per year is a mystery to me....
Read More »Shaolin Soccer (2001) Movie Review
Computer effects have become a bane for many filmmakers. So many movies are so CGI-reliant these days that the movie themselves have lost any sense of personality. One effects-laden movie has begun to look...
Read More »Legend of Zu (2001) Movie Review
I will first admit to not having followed the career of Tsui Hark, the writer/director of “Legend of Zu”, besides what I have seen of his work in such American fare as “Knock Off”...
Read More »Forbidden City Cop (1996) Movie Review
Stephen Chow is, I am told, a pretty big star over in his native Hong Kong, although I’ve only seen him in “Shaolin Soccer” — and if he was in other movies I’ve seen,...
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Contract Killer (aka Hitman, 1998) Movie Review
This review of “Hitman” is based on the American version, which is dubbed in English and was re-released under the title “Contract Killer”, with an all-new poster (that is also a bit misleading) and,...
Read More »Colour of the Truth (2003) Movie Review
“Color of the Truth” sports such a dubious pedigree that I sat on it for nearly a month before finally taking a stab at it today. Yes, I’m talking about the presence of the...
Read More »Looking for Mr. Perfect (2003) Movie Review
If you’ve seen enough Hong Kong movies you may start to notice that a lot of the same people keep showing up in the same movies. It’s because the present Hong Kong film industry...
Read More »Haunted Office (2002) Movie Review
“Haunted Office”, a 2002 offering from Hong Kong, is a horror anthology consisting of 3 episodes set in the same haunted office building. Unlike other anthologies, there isn’t a middleman (e.g. the Crypt Keeper)...
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The Twins Effect (2003) Movie Review
Using manipulative music in movies is nothing new. Steven Spielberg used to make a living off it. Such is the case with “The Twins Effect”, the new “it” movie from Hong Kong starring two...
Read More »Killer (2000) Movie Review
Movies like Billy Chung’s “Killer” makes me break out that old standby: It ain’t bad, but it ain’t all that good, either. “Killer”, not to be confused with John Woo’s “The Killer”, stars Jordan...
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