Star Runner (2003) Movie Review

The biggest problem I can foresee with Daniel Lee’s “Star Runner” is keeping the men in the audience from walking out before the film kicks in gear at about the 40-minute mark. Of course I wouldn’t blame the men one bit, since Lee, who shares writing credits, has dived headfirst...

December 18th, 2003 | Read More

Tiramisu (2002) Movie Review

I guess it’s a new law now that every movie that comes out of Hong Kong has to have a ghost in it for one reason or another. In “Tiramisu”, the ghost is Karena Lam, who plays Jane Chan, a free-spirited dancer who meets an untimely end and must ask for help from deaf mailman/delivery...

November 16th, 2003 | Read More

Shiver (2003) Movie Review

Although 2003’s “Shiver” is more Serial Killer/Murder Mystery than Horror movie, that doesn’t stop the distributors from trying to lure audiences in with false advertisement. Even the movie’s poster, showcasing severed heads inside body bags, gives off vibes that we’re...

November 2nd, 2003 | Read More

New Blood (2002) Movie Review

I would be curious to learn who was it that decided that all Hong Kong horror films must be shot with a somber green tint. I would also be curious to learn who made Shock Flashes — where the audience is treated to a flash of horrific images for about a split-second accompanied by shrieking loud...

October 25th, 2003 | Read More

Infernal Affairs 2 (2003) Movie Review

“Infernal Affairs 2″ comes to us a quick one year after the critical and commercial success of the original. The sequel — or prequel, actually — returns almost all of the same faces behind and in front of the cameras, including young bucks Edison Chen (“The Twins Effect”)...

October 12th, 2003 | Read More

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 in the same way that “Ichi the Killer” and “National Security” are atrocious, it...

October 9th, 2003 | 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 Heavy. The latter is the man behind “The Mission” and “PTU”, and the former is...

October 5th, 2003 | 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 actually seeing ghosts a year earlier in 2001’s “Visible Secret”....

September 21st, 2003 | 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 movie has led to some unmitigated disasters in a number of genres. Working...

September 15th, 2003 | 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 is by Gordon Chan and Hing-Ka Chan, with Chan (“2000 A.D.”) and Dante Lam...

September 9th, 2003 | Read More

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 doubt that the movie’s original creators (and screenwriters) Alice Mak and Brian Tse have more...

September 4th, 2003 | 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 this is the case. I’ve seen Chung in numerous non-Chinese films, like the...

August 27th, 2003 | 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 besides the matriculating of new recruits to join the elite SDU unit (the Hong Kong police’s version...

August 24th, 2003 | 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 filmmakers, is completely different. I expected to find images moving onscreen to form a coherent story, whereas the filmmakers...

August 23rd, 2003 | 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 the new movie “Drunken Monkey”, even though from everything I’ve read these are well known names within...

August 17th, 2003 | 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. Leon Lai elicits about the same response; the pop singer could rival Cheng for having the same level of ability to project passion —...

August 5th, 2003 | 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 like the next, with story serving only as an excuse to move onto the next sfx sequence. Recent...

August 4th, 2003 | 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” and “Double Team”. Both American films having the unenviable distinction of starring...

August 4th, 2003 | 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, then I don’t recall them. Having seen “Soccer”, I can safely say that 1996’s “Forbidden...

July 31st, 2003 | Read More

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, if I’m correct, a completely new “Americanized” soundtrack,...

July 30th, 2003 | Read More