Hong Kong Movie Reviews »
Killer 2 (2003) Movie Review
“Killer 2″ purports to be a sequel to 2000′s “Killer”, starring Jordan Chan and Simon Lui as knife assassins on the verge of retirement. But while getting into the killing business is as easy...
Read More »Expect the Unexpected (1998) Movie Review
Movies like Patrick Yau’s Expect the Unexpected needs to be seen to be believed, because it’s so good and yet so, so bad. Is such a thing even possible, you ask? Yes, Virginia, it...
Read More »In the Mood for Love (2000) Movie Review
Hong Kong writer/director Wong Kar-wai finally ditches the constraints of lousy Hong Kong filmstock and his film has never looked, or sounded, better. With his latest movie, “In the Mood for Love”, Wong has...
Read More »Chungking Express (1994) Movie Review
Wong Kar-wai’s Chungking Express is a romance picture with traces of Everybody’s Related conventions (see Fast Food, Fast Women for explanation). The movie is shot in standard (and dare I say it, awful) Hong...
Read More »Purple Storm (1999) Movie Review
In the past few years, there has been a shift in Hong Kong filmmaking towards a more Westernized standard. Films in this group have included Gordon Chan’s 2000 A.D. and Jackie Chan’s The Accidental...
Read More »Wing Chun (1994) Movie Review
Some day someone will do a serious study of woman’s roles in Ancient China, but until then, we have Yuen Woo-ping’s Wing Chun to keep us busy. Wing Chun stars action mistress Michelle Yeoh...
Read More »Once Upon a Time in China and America (1997) Movie Review
As was the case with the original Once Upon a Time in China (heretofore known as OUATIC) I don’t expect a lot of historical accuracies in Chinese movies dealing with the “outside world.” It’s...
Read More »Gen-X Cops (1999) Movie Review
At one dangerous point in Benny Chan’s Gen-X Cops, the movie’s 3 protagonists, all undercover cops, find themselves surrounded by men with guns aimed at their heads. One of the cops, thinking fast, grabs...
Read More »Once Upon a Time in China (1991) Movie Review
Jet Li’s 1990s Hong Kong career had him reprising two parts, Fong Sai-yuk and Wong Fei-hung, in a series of films starring either character. Both are supposed to be real historical figures, although I’m...
Read More »The Tai Chi Master (aka Twin Warriors, 1993) Movie Review
I can’t tell you how many Hong Kong period martial arts movies I’ve seen, and I can’t tell you how many of those involves strangers joining a group of good rebels to fight the...
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2000 A.D. (2000) Movie Review
Gordon Chan’s 2000 A.D. doesn’t represent your average Hong Kong film production. For one, one of its writers is a fellow name Stu Zicherman, a non-Chinese name as you’ll ever find. Zicherman shares screenplay...
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Ballistic Kiss (1998) Movie Review
Ballistic Kiss is the kind of movie that we in the States refer to as “Vanity Projects.” Such projects usually involve a known actor, already famous and with an established name and reputation, who...
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Gen-Y Cops (2000) Movie Review
The “men” at the core of Gen-Y Cops are 3 Chinese cops who are supposed to be an “elite” squad that handles “all of Hong Kong’s toughest cases,” but the actors playing them look...
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Danger Zone (2003) Movie Review
“Danger Zone” is one of those movies so unconcern with being even slightly competent that you just have to tip your hat to it, because to do otherwise would drive one insane. Take this...
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Ashes of Time (1994) Movie Review
Wong Kar-wai’s “Ashes of Time” is a rare film. It manages to be complex, thoughtful, and incredibly entertaining at the same time. Based on a novel of the same name by Louis Cha, “Ashes...
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New Dragon Inn (1992) Movie Review
The thing about New Dragon Inn is, I really don’t care all that much for the movie or its ridiculous plot. Still, I can’t bring myself to completely dislike it, if only for the...
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Hot War (1998) Movie Review
I’m not a big fan of movies that shows more than one scene of someone typing on a computer keyboard. I have been using computers for over 10 years and unless I’m writing on...
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Full-Time Killer (2001) Movie Review
Full-Time Killer concerns a professional assassin named O (Takashi Sorimachi), a Japanese living in Hong Kong (although he doesn’t speak Chinese) and happens to be the top assassin in Asia. All of Asia’s most...
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Fly Me to Polaris (1999) Movie Review
Fly Me to Polaris is a Hong Kong remake of the 1978 Warren Beatty movie Heaven Can Wait, which was itself a remake of the 1941 movie Here Comes Mister Jordan. Chris Rock would...
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Full Contact (1992) Movie Review
Ringo Lam’s Full Contact is a There’s No Honor Among Thieves Movie, a genre of film categorized by the presence of an anti-hero (that is, he’s a criminal but he’s also the hero of...
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