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Noble House (1988) |
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 It's stereotypical, it's bombastic but it's also a lot of fun. And that's just the novel. Based on Clavell's seminal Noble House, this mini series/TV event manages to capture most of the shenanigans and drama of the source material, and has a heaping amount of Hong Kong thrown into the mix. The story of the premier HK trading house, aka Noble House, aka the famous real-life Jardines, is a cheesy yet quality-infused treat those with a fondness for the overpriced gem of Asia can't afford to miss.
 They say you’ve never been to Hong Kong if you haven’t read James Clavell’s classic page turner Noble House, and this reviewer tends to agree.
Often derided for its bombastic plot and over the topness, Noble House remains none the less a gripping read and true statement of love for the city and culture comprising Hong Kong, even though ask most locals and they won’t know what you’re talking about. Indeed, Noble House is more for those transplanting to the city, but not for those reading from afar – most of the nuances and cool factor are lost on people who don’t actually live there.
Now, Noble House was made into a TV mini series twenty years ago, and that one has recently appeared on DVD, and at long last, we say. The short and quick of it is that if you have any feelings about Hong Kong and any degree of familiarity with the place, you’ll enjoy this version. However, if you’ve never been and don’t really care, it’ll probably be wasted on you.
Clavell’s work, which includes likewise grandiose Shogun and Tai Pan (all occur in the same universe), is always a joy to behold, whether in writing or on the screen, and Noble House is no exception. The main draw here is the sheer addictive nature of the man’s writing – it’s like Dynasty or Dallas only with a good dollop of mostly credible history thrown in. Well, at least credible in the sense that it fits in very well with the multitude of characters and story arcs.
This was more of a mean feat, of course, in the huge novel – Noble House came in at over 1000 pages and was action packed to the hilt. In that respect, the Gary Nelson-led TV production deserves respect, since they succeeded in cramming most of that into just six hours.
They also did something interesting with the setting. While Clavell’s original story was set in early 60’s HK, the show takes place in the late 80’s, and does a good job with the update. Characters frequently refer to the looming 1997 handover, ponder its consequences and make predictions. A complete subplot involving Soviet spies was taken out, I guess because they decided it was no longer relevant – although disappointing from a cold war nostalgia standpoint, it was a clever choice.
But above all else, anyone who’s read the book will be impressed at how the locales look like what you imagined before – no doubt helped by the fact that they shot almost everything on the ground in HK. And the effects are pretty impressive, this must have been a big deal on TV back then, but honestly I can’t remember! Just behold the floating restaurant scene – very well done!
What’s the story about? Got a few hours? Well, you get Pierce Brosnan back in his Remington Steel days as tai pan Ian Dunross of House Struan, or the titular Noble House (Jardines in real life). He’s struggling to keep the company ahead of the ravenous HK pack against the usual backdrop of intrigue, conniving and greed. Besetting him is rival Quinlan Gornt (John Rhys-Davies) of Rothwell-Gornt (aka Swire), who’s trying to depose the Noble House and take over. This character is infinitely nastier on TV than he was in the book, one alteration we don’t really understand. Two Americans also enter the fray, upstart tycoon Linc Bartlett (Ben Masters) and his VP Casey Tcholok (Deborah Raffin). Both are in town scouting for opportunity, but there’s a lot more than meets the eye.
A whole range of supporting characters are on hand, including police, triads, bankers and a couple of lovelies like a very young Tia Carrere and Suzie Wong - OK, Nancy Kwan. Most do an adequate job, but Pierce Brosnan is just too stiff and appears lacking in range. Additionally, for something so obviously set in Hong Kong, the production has a surprisingly small number of local talents on show – actually, I’d say none. Maybe they were trying to send a message?
They also toned down the very prominent theme of racism that was readily found in the novel, likely to appease primetime TV censors. There’s almost no swearing, several characters from the book didn’t make it or were drastically altered, and the back-story was indeed trimmed down.
But if you’ve read the novel, you must watch this and I guarantee you’ll at least like it. It’s one of those enjoyable romps you won’t easily put down, and being familiar makes it even easier since it doesn’t feel as goofy. Plus, anyone living in HK owes it to themselves to indulge in Noble House – Nelson and crew did good capturing both the feel of the place and the mood of the period. This really does feel and act like what I imagine Hong Kong to have been like in the 80’s.
Don’t listen to the doubter and haters – Clavell, who personally supervised the production’s screenwriting, was a scribbling machine and did the writing profession proud, outrageously cheesy names or not. It’s too bad he passed away young – I’m sure today’s Hong Kong would have provided him with ample inspiration.
If you can forgive the occasional soap opera super-tack assault and the awkward soundtrack, Noble House is a pretty enjoyable marathon, the main drawbacks being the DVD edition’s mediocre appearance and dearth of special features.
Rating: * * * ½
Tv Series Directed by Gary Nelson (1988, 355 minutes, English)
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Lee Alon 6/16/2008 - top |
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Forbidden Kingdom (2008) |
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A 21st Century American teenager takes a spellbinding, dangerous journey into martial arts legend in the new action/adventure epic FORBIDDEN KINGDOM. While hunting down bootleg kung-fu DVDs in a Chinatown pawnshop, Jason (Michael Angarano) makes an extraordinary discovery that sends him hurtling back in time to ancient China. There, Jason is charged with a monumental task: he must free the fabled warrior the Monkey King, who has been imprisoned by the evil Jade Warlord. Jason is joined in his quest by wise kung fu master Lu Yan (Jackie Chan) and a band of misfit warriors including Silent Monk (Jet Li). But only by learning the true precepts of kung fu can Jason hope to succeed - and find a way to get back home.
The feng shui for this one wasn’t really all that great from word one – bound to be a big release that at this juncture audiences in Asia see as generic, wannabe fare for Westerners, while viewers in the West consider it overly stereotypical and too late an arrival, almost a decade after the major mainstream success of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. And if it hasn’t occurred to you nearly eight years have passed since that classic came about – yep, we’re getting old!
But look beyond these obvious hurdles and Forbidden Kingdom is really an enjoyable movie if you try to overlook certain flaws. In fact, it’ll work best with exactly the kind of demographic its main protagonist belongs to – impressionable kids with a love of kung fu cinema and little or no actual experience with the issues and facts at hand.
Such is the existence of Jason Tripitikas, a hapless Southie geek who’s like the uncool version of Will Hunting, only he loves Hong Kong actioners, so he’s OK in our book. Done well by Michael Angarano, Tripitikas is a compromise character – yes, he’s white, but no, he’s not what moviegoers in Asia would identify as a typical American, so there’s less chance of a backlash. Yes, we notice these things. Just like we noticed the plot rehashes the old “putting order into chaos” theme so familiar from other wuxia pictures, only this time in a Western-crafted movie, and just in time for the Olympics.
At any rate, Tripitikas is a regular at a local store down by what appears to be Chinatown, where he frequents a Hop’s Pawn Shop, an emporium straight out of the Gremlins era. Now, we’ve never met anyone called Hop, but we have been the movie nerd exclaiming “Chinese - No English Subtitles” many, many, many times, so this wins major credits for authenticity.
After a big-time ruckus at Hop’s, Tripitikas sort of becomes a failed Neo and drops off a roof directly into a Shaw Brothers/King Hu et al version of “Ancient China”. There, all the essentials converge. He meets a drunken master in the form of Jackie Chan, who the reviewer now officially likes after watching him in this movie. It’s by far one of his better outings, and the more mature but lighthearted stuff he can be really good at when he’s not doing mindless comedy. Tripitikas then joins with gorgeous Golden Sparrow, an obvious allusion to Golden Swallow and Come Drink with Me. She’s done by youngster Liu Yifei, who although truly beautiful and talented, is trying too hard to be Zhang Ziyi. Rounding up the good guys, Jet Li plays warrior monk Lu Yan and Sun Wukong aka the Monkey King, and he, too, does well.
Most of the acting is pretty good, extending to the villains. Collin Chou does a hyperbolic evil warlord, and his right hand woman is no other than our Li Bingbing. She looks awesome as a twisted Bride with White Hair, but doesn’t quite get to the standards set by Her Wuxia Highness Brigitte Lin.
The story is replete with nods and tributes to numerous classics, and plays out like just the kind of illusion an excitable loner would cook up after getting hit on the head. In this regard, Forbidden Kingdom is surprisingly subtle and may be interpreted in several ways, something you don’t expect it to do.
What you do expect is a given number of pitfalls, such as a trite, overdone story form and a whole bunch of clichés. They’re all here. But does consciously falling into a trap constitute a mistake? Enough with the strategic thought.
Sure, you’ll wince quite often as this unfolds, especially when the bumbling Westerner gets made a fool of and Asian people around him insist on acting like characters out of a comic book. But it’s all supposed to be that way and is (hopefully at least…) in good fun. And please don’t be offended by the decidedly textbook title – it’s also a cliché within a story about clichés, so what can you do?
The dialog, while again rather expectable, isn’t half bad and does have its moments – even funny ones. And the fight choreography is pretty good, gladly not relying too heavily on CGI. Forbidden Kingdom is a good looking package, but to its credit avoids the ridiculously lush vistas. Instead, it’s got heaps of craggy Wudang-like mountains, and those we love.
To say this is a masterpiece would be too much propaganda even for old China hands like us. Maybe if you’re a first time martial arts viewer, Forbidden Kingdom may be breathtaking. Who knows. For the 99% who aren’t, it’s a pleasant, professionally made movie that, again -- hopefully -- doesn’t take itself too seriously. And it does have that Li vs. Chan matchup, which is a bonus.
6/10
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Lee Alon 5/6/2008 - top |
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Three Kingdoms - Resurrection Of The Dragon (2008) |
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The Three Kingdoms story gets treated to an A list cavalcade of names but suffers from a rendition lacking in flair and passion.
Andy Lau’s been making war movies like they’re going out of style, but his latest is a long arrow shot off the almost-classic A Battle of Wits, the anti-war actioner with the humane moral we liked so much.
Three Kingdoms, which to its credit is at least somewhat historically accurate, is very much removed from anything to do with discouraging carnage. In fact, it’s one of those patriotic affairs where the opening sequence (yet again) bemoans the land’s splintering into hostile polities, and the need to consolidate.
Not only have we seen exactly this kind of rhetoric a million times before, we’ve seen it in what feels like a million better, more fun movies. This Three Kingdoms isn’t about fun, it’s a laborious film whose greatest achievement is squandering tremendous star power on trivialities and a formulaic story.
Just to make sure you know, it’s got Andy Lau, Sammo Hung, Maggie Q (why can’t she just be Margaret Quigley we don’t know), our beloved Andy On, Ti Lung AND Yu Rong guang. Even with all of these obviously talented and well-trained professionals on board, Three Kingdoms still ends up a disappointment. And we won’t even go into this being a DANIEL LEE flick. Yes, one of our fave directors in HK and the guy that kindly gave us awesome fare like Black Mask and Dragon Squad.
OK, it’s not all bad. The basic premise is entirely trite but could have worked had it been treated well. We have one Zhao Zilong (Andy Lau), a regular guy from Changsha who joins the army in defense of his kingdom, one of three main ones competing for primacy over the realm. Yes, it’s the story straight out of the novel and previous iterations, more or less, with sort of the same characters. Zhao Zilong befriends senior troop Luo Pingan (Sammo Hung), who guides the younger man into combat, where Zhao promptly proves his mettle and proceeds to rise through the ranks until making it as a nigh on invincible hero general.
Along the way he meets a cast of warriors, including Andy On and Vanness Wu in supporting and ultimately unfulfilled roles (and some awkward hairwork on the part of makeup). On the opposing side, we find Maggie as “warlordess” Cao Ying, aided by her general Han.
None of these characters get sufficient room to breathe and grow, resulting in something more akin to Konami’s Dynasty Warriors – there’s constant hacking and slashing, with protagonists hard to believe since they’re so powerful but with no likable goal. The only motivation seems to be a jingoistic “unite the word by killing everyone”, which is fair enough, but not enough to make a film good.
The battle sequences aren’t the best, and you’ve sat through much more exciting ones very recently. There’s some good CGI blood splattered all over the shop, which is an added bonus, but the inverse ninja law here simply isn’t as amusing as it usually is – the two Andies go through so many enemy black armors it’s literally not funny anymore, proof positive that if you want to make a massive swordplay movie, either endow it with a strong, heartfelt message, or render it a la the insane wuxia of the early to mid ‘90’s. As it stands, Three Kingdoms is like Zhang Yimou’s Hero without the pretty, artistic visuals and buzz power, or like Musa without the visceral grit and cynicism.
On the plus side, Three Kingdoms ends by mentioning the Jin dynasty, one of history’s less remembered mainland dynasties. Yes, we get to avoid another heralding of Qin Shihuang.
This isn’t trying to go heavy-handed on the movie. I’m sure filmmakers worked hard and meant well, but the end result isn’t satisfying – not even close. For sure we’ll be getting better stuff soon both from the director and his cast. Skip this one, you won’t be missing much.
4/10
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Lee Alon 4/15/2008 - top |
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Fatal Move (2008) |
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In the violent world of Hong Kong's triad, one false move can be fatal. A series of unexpected misfortunes challenge gang leader Sammo Hung and his mob, eventually leading to a bloody gangster war. Sammo Hung and his gang are moving closer to destruction as their every move backfires on them - a drug deal turns bad, a kidnap victim is murdered, and a secret mission turns into a savage shoot-out with the police. Who is the mastermind behind these evil plots? Will Sammo be able to defy fate and survive? (Kam & Ronson)
There’s no guarantee in life that another day means another dollar, but you can pretty much count on a new Simon Yam movie coming along. And here he is again in a triad story, but don’t let the fact bring you down or put you off: this is actually a cool movie, marrying as it does serious underworld scheming with fantasy violence. It’s kind of like the Infernal Affairs trilogy condensed and on crack.
Fatal Move is a Category III for violence only – and it’s indeed relatively bloody, even if much of the gore is cheap CGI. This is no Hostel, but nonetheless the body count is impressive and the range of physical outrages quite extensive, including one torture scene where Simon not only says it’s pain time, but also does most of the inflicting in person.
The result of all this bears some similarity to last summer’s Invisible Target, although Fatal Move isn’t as compelling or refreshing, nor are its characters quite as appealing. It also has crooks masquerading as cops, a raid on a police station and a SWAT/SDU team being made fools of, and does possess considerable talent – in addition to Yam, we get Sammo Hung and Jacky Wu Jing, both very capable performers, albeit not in their strongest outings here. This is especially true for Jacky Wu Jing, whose looney-aggressive act appears lifted directly from SPL, only not as sincere. Sammo gets very little time to show off his moves, yet does well as clan leader Lin Ho Lung, a veteran criminal who for once bothers with differentiating between “triad” and “mafia”, a point rarely noted on the big screen.
The story begins with Boss Lin celebrating the birth of his first son, and all’s well – his deputies Ah Tung (Simon Yam) and Tin Hung (Jacky Wu Jing) seem to have things under control, while his female right hand person Soso (Tien Niu) maintains the books balanced and the money flowing in.
This being a triad actioner, calm isn’t the primary directive, and quickly things go sour as internal conniving and treachery become the order of the day on top of pressure from ever-present cops, led by Danny Lee as Inspector Liu, and with Lam Suet throwing in a cameo for some tragic-comic relief.
Soon the choppings, sword slashings, bludgeoning and outright gunning down of cronies by the van load commence, accompanied by a rather convoluted string of double-dealing and treachery that affects all involved parties. Although this means the characters aren’t totally flat and do have motivations, this facet of the story is left somewhat under-developed and thus results in mild confusion. As a consequence, the ending, which has a couple of supposed stunner-twists, fails to stuff the bucket, as they say, instead coming across as a bit of a red herring in fancy evening wear. This applies to many parts of Fatal Move – even at two hours it still feels cut in many instances, like they had to remove scenes at the last minute or something.
Overall, director Dennis Law (who did Fatal Contact before, also with Wu Jing) supervised a competent project here. This is a worthy addition to an already heavily populated herd of jiang hu [triad] flicks, and Fatal Move is all-told a memorable and visceral release that’s unlikely to go down as a classic despite being a solid viewing with a healthy dose of both Election-like gangland politics and comic book hyperbole. We’d say go for it, it’s one move you’ll live to not regret.
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Lee Alon 2/29/2008 - top |
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Exodus (2007) |
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Yuan is a poor and quiet girl from Taiwan who got married and settled down in Hong Kong. However, her marriage was soon over and she is separated from her husband Bing. One day, Bing goes missing and the police looks for Yuan to record statement. Ye is a policeman who happens to be involved in an earlier case where Bing is caught for peeping in the washroom. Bing had earlier explained to Ye that he had discovered an incredible secret: a lot of women were planning secretly to destroy men and they were exchanging their ideas in the washroom. Ye was feeling bizarre about the whole case, as whenever he found some evidence, they would go missing at a blink! Ye soon developed feelings for Yuan and the both soon discovered that Bing was killed because he knew too much about the secret organization. The both are in danger too... (twitchfilm)
Let’s skip the formalities and build up, Exodus is a capable addition to Hong Kong’s minimal catalogue of conspiratorial psychedelia, and even though it also stars Simon Yam, it actually gets the job done very well, unlike his bigger release from last year, Eye in the Sky.
Yam returns to his cop roots for another foray, but here we have one of the city’s more recognizable actors in a decidedly indie release that’s not very well known and has been given none of the limelight treatment many lesser releases have received.
Exodus is a tense, paranoid affair with an undercurrent of madness that’s very subtle. There’s nothing overwhelming about the story or action, but after watching the whole thing you’ll have to reflect and conclude it was well worth the time and effort.
So, we have Simon Yam as a cop again. Sure, but not the glamorous type he’s done in many instances in the past, but rather a regular beat walker of twenty years, with apparently no ambition and even less sympathy from his superiors. This Sgt. Tsim happens to be married to a wealthy young woman (Annie Liu from Ah Sou), complete with a mother in law that’s quite the nag, going on and on about how a real man should have his own business, etc.
Tsim (full name Tsim Kin-Yip, which probably has more than one meaning if you ask the filmmakers) is posted to suburban Tai Po, an area that offers several interestingly desolate and rundown location opportunities. One evening, or night, Tsim takes over a deposition from another cop, only to realize he’s happened on a corker: alleged sex maniac Kwan Ping Man (excellent Nick Cheung) was arrested for some peeping tom action, but claims to be investigating a wide conspiracy by women to kill all men.
As ludicrous as this may sound, Tsim immediately warms to the notion, and begins to look into matters. He also starts to notice a variety of clues and other suspicious occurrences around him, a gradual process the movie does very well. There’s almost no drama – Exodus is about subtlety, and this it achieves marvelously. The transition into paranoia and conspiracy-spotting is seamless.
I won’t spoil it for you, but there are a few minor surprises along the way. The main thing here is the viable mood and very flowing storytelling that Exodus pulls off. It’s a rarity in Hong Kong these days, and in fact has always been: for the surreal, one always had to turn to the mainland or Taiwan, HK has always been almost entirely about the fast and the cashious, even in its movies. But when this one opens and what you get are a bunch of barely-clothed guys beating up a hapless victim with hammers while wearing goggles and snorkels, well, you can’t help but nod the nod of warm acceptance.
Plus, we also have the long-awaited return of leggy actress Irene Wan, who’s on board and carries out her duties well.
Director Edmond Pang (credited as Pang Ho-Cheung) has delivered the goods, making sure the film features a multitude of elements to ensure multiple viewings become warranted: for example, this reviewer would like to know why there’s so much eating going on in Exodus? Seriously, of its ninety minutes, at least ten are spent taking in food.
Go figure it out – it’ll be rewarding.
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Lee Alon 1/28/2008 - top |
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In Love With The Dead (2007) |
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While a bit too late for Halloween and by no means a spectacular movie, this latest Danny Pang product, leading up to The Eye’s transformation into a Hollywood remake, is by no means a bad release, and has its fair share of little triumphs.
For starters, the handful of thespians on show here all perform well, especially leads Shawn Yue and Stephy Tang. Yue does a marvelous job, even further cementing himself as Hong Kong’s strongest male actor. Tang is also good, surprisingly creepy in a film that succeeds in throwing at least one major curveball, namely where the basic premise takes us.
Sure, the Pang connection is a dead giveaway, but still, many viewers will think they’re looking at a romantic tragedy when it starts. The setup is there and the horror doesn’t get going till a much later point in the story. And it’s a basically good premise: Tang plays Wai, a young woman diagnosed with cancer. Her life partner Ming (Shawn Yue), who loves her and her little kid sister more than anything, goes the distance and gladly sacrifices his career as a designer so he could spend more time with them.
This invariably leads to his dismissal and search for a new gig, which in turn becomes an opportunity to hook up with old childhood friend Chu Fong Ting, now a fully developed and decidedly gorgeous executive. That’s when things go awry and the film takes that inevitable turn towards grossout land. Be warned, one scene in particular will have you skipping a few meals, and kudos to Stephy for agreeing to do the repulsive honors.
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In fact, this one is probably the scariest, most disturbing release from the Pang collective. That still doesn’t mean it’s terribly frightening, but effective use of darkness and light adds volumes to proceedings, as does the superb soundtrack, once again contributed by Pang’s usual Thai collaborators.
So we have good acting from everyone involved (even the brief hello from Patrick Tam works well), potent atmosphere, a few genuine moments to take home with you, and effective movie magic.
What we don’t have is a solid punchline. Unlike the deceptive opening portions, you could see the ending coming from miles away, and one has to conclude the writers and director really didn’t mind or even intended for this to be the case. As a consequence, forget about any Sixth Sense-esque revelations.
But in the context of horror releases from HK, In Love with the Dead not only features one of the more original and intriguing titles, it’s also more heartfelt and intelligent than the rather mediocre average, and as such definitely warrants perusal.
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Lee Alon 12/6/2007 - top |
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Naraka 19 (2007) |
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"Naraka 19" is based on a popular teenage thriller fiction by Choi Tsun about a mobile phone game called Naraka 19 - The 19th of Hell. In this terrifying story, the nightmare begins for Rain, who is living in a dorm with her three best friends - Eva, Mandy and Violet. Rain notices that Eva is always sending text messages late at night, and seems to be addicted to her phone. One day, Rain receives a text message from Eva with the message "Help me" and later finds Eva dead in a gruesome manner. However, Eva's mobile phone keeps receiving the mysterious messages and Rain discovers that one of them says "Game Over". Whoever receives this text message would then turn up dead. What game are they playing and who would be the next victim?
(Grand Brilliance Sdn. Bhd.)
It’s a sad thing when you need to recycle the Pang Brothers’ Re-Cycle, for that one to begin with wasn’t much more than impressive CGI vistas and little in the way of story.
Naraka 19, apparently titled so to make us think it’s one of those high-schooler oriented Japanese horror flicks, admittedly has more atmosphere to it than Re-Cycle did, but its visuals don’t come close and in terms of story it’s just as shallow.
This Gillian Chung vehicle purveys only one major thing: mood. It was shot mostly in Hong Kong’s Chinese University campus in the hills overlooking Shatin, and as such is eerie and foreboding in a way. But beyond this and a few instances of excellent cinematography, Naraka 19 (referring to the 19th level of hell) is a pale, clumpy haired afterthought with almost no lasting power.
They also apparently decided to be inspired by Flatliners, since here too characters are pulled into a vicious game where their worst memories come alive and haunt them to a bitter end. Since most of Naraka 19’s target audiences are too young to remember 1990, this can be overlooked.
But A-Giu’s lackluster performance here can’t. As college student Rain, she experiences first hand how a demented horror-survival game, based on the wonderful plot device of cell phones, whisks away her friends to some nether realm where they one by one meet with grisly outcomes.
Of course, Rain also gets involved, but the same can’t be said of Gillian. Acting-wise, she’s probably even less appealing here than in 49 Days.
Patrick Tam Yiu Man makes an appearance as Dr. Yan, a university shrink that’s either trying to help the girls or quite the contrary. Also into the mix are thrown cop Inspector Yip (Shaun Tam, who’s the best among all performers here) and Bonnie Sin Sik Lai as Rain’s friend Mandy. She’s also pretty decent, but her fear of monkeys does grate after a while.
A few harsh words must be uttered regarding the production’s decision to go with Nokia as sponsors. Forget the product placement; we’re cool with that, but cell phones as the main engine for a story? Isn’t that so 2001? And the exaggerated clicking sounds whenever a phone gets picked up or used are just too over the top.
So the basic premise of fears coming to life and biting people in the posterior doesn’t cut it, what else? Well in a proper B movie the women would be hot and get a bit naked, but of course this doesn’t happen in HK movies. Effects and graphics? Some of them are OK, but nothing particularly artful or memorable ever transpires, we’re sad to report. The imagery is kind of generic, even though there’s a story arc about European cultists and lunatic-fringe artisans that doesn’t get fully explored. Even a cameo by Twin Charlene doesn’t help much.
Naraka 19 is by no means a horrible film. It has virtually no merit but nor does it outright suck. If you have nothing better to get you in the mood some late, rainy evening, you could do worse. For more significant product from director Lai, check out sentimental The Floating Landscape.
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Lee Alon 11/19/2007 - top |
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Sun Also Rises (2007) |
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Divided into four sections, looks at four different forms of passion--madness, sex, dreams and violence--following four interlocked stories that span four decades involving a mentally ill woman, a young farmer, a school teacher, a nurse, a Chinese man who used to live overseas and his wife.
One major thing works against The Sun Also Rises. Its attempt to revisit the surreal mystery genre on a mainland China backdrop faces stiff competition from arguably among the best catalogs in that precise brand of storytelling, as the country witnessed a flood of excellent entries in this form circa the late 90’s to early 2000’s.
Anyone who’s ever seen Lunar Eclipse, Where Have All the Flowers Gone, Chicken Poets, Dazzling, I Love You, Spring Subway and quite a few others, will easily tell you this. Also, our friend Jiang Wen, although definitely a superb actor and major contributor to the recounting of tales, is probably better when he’s poking serious fun at something, to wit In the Heat of the Sun and the unforgettable Devils at the Doorstep.
When it comes to psychedelia he may not be our first choice, as his previous brush with something similar, albeit as an actor in Green Tea, wasn’t really all that hot. And in The Sun Also Rises, we have him as a director, which means he’s had more to do with the project, yet the result doesn’t feel all that strong. It’s in many ways akin to The Missing Gun, another one of his projects and also a decent if uninspired venture.
For Sun Also Rises, Jiang enlisted his own wife, Zhou Yun, probably taking a leaf out of Chen Kaige’s manuscript in this sense. She plays a wacky southerner in some unnamed remote village who goes nuts over a pair of fish-ornamented shoes that never seem to stay put yet always come back, or are somehow found. This comes much to the dismay of her son, a young villager especially good with an abacus (Jaycee Chan). He tries to keep her from going crazy, to no avail, until she proceeds to dig strange holes in the ground, go floating on the river and generally get up to all kinds of irrational mayhem. Nothing seems to help, nor ease her anguish as she keeps calling to someone named Alyosha.
In a different story arc, we move to another part of China (each story takes place in a compass bearing, no place names with the exception of a Beijing cameo), where academics find themselves in a bizarre twist of passion. Here, Jiang Wen and Anthony Wong play what are presumably educators in a secluded rural campus, while Joan Chen does a horny doctor who gets everyone worked up. There are accusations of perversion and hints-a-plenty that this is taking place during the Cultural Revolution.
The third segment in this multi-threaded affair brings a few of the characters together as Jiang Wen and his on-screen wife (Kong Wei) are sent off to the southern village to be “re-educated” in the proper ways of hard work, all under the tutelage of Jaycee Chan’s character. Here too lust plays a role, but no caution, it’s all friendly in the end.
Finally, the fourth part brings clever closure to the stories, featuring pretty much all the main characters and having that “Ah! That’s what that was all about!” effect to a large degree, which is nice. However, it also has Zhou Yun deliver among the most screechingly irritating scenes in movie history. The Sun Also Rises is one of those OK’ish movies that somehow leaves you thinking there’s a couple more viewing in it, so go ahead, give it a chance, you may learn something.
It also fields some of Jiang’s old gags from previous movies, another boon, but isn’t as witty as some of the other works he’s been in and basically has no strong message that we could discern. And unlike those other surreal pictures we discussed earlier, this one opts for bombastic presentation that’s completely unlike the understated beauty the genre craves. It makes us think the Kunming department of tourism had a hand in this.
But still, give it a shot, you may enjoy what you get.
6/10
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Lee Alon 10/23/2007 - top |
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Rush Hour 3 (2007) |
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Rush hour 3 is probably not the most eagerly anticipated sequel in film history, but the series has until now been popular with Jackie Chan & action comedy fans alike. Needless to say, when it was announced Brett Rattner would return to direct another instalment I was of course excited to see the team reunite once again for perhaps a final time.
When I think of what I really enjoy about the cinema experience as a whole, of course I have many favourite actors, but above all I really enjoy a film from my favourite and respected directors. To see the latest film by Wes Anderson or Jim Jarmusch is a real thrill for me. Brett Ratner is one of the popular filmmakers who doesn't fall into that group.
After Rush Hour came out, he became known as one of the best for box office draw, and was able to follow up that success at least one further time with Rush Hour 2. However rather than it being the Director at the helm of the film calling the shots, Ratner was open to admit that he allowed Jackie and Chris Tucker to 'do their thing' in terms of action and ad-libbed dialogue (something that shot Tucker into the top dollar wage bracket as well).
When it came to making Rush Hour 3 Rattner had two very solid films to build from, the original Rush Hour had not only the very enjoyable story and partnership of Chan and Tucker, but also was extremely slickly produced, and looked amazing; Cinematographer Adam Greenberg was also responsible for the amazing visuals for Terminator 2 (for which he was nominated for an Academy Award). And were Rush Hour 2 followed suit, the newest instalment clearly falls far short of the standards set by the first two.
Without the style, experience and ability of the team around him, Ratner is reduced to making a cheap looking, hit and miss comedy that although laugh out load at times, sometimes just completely misses the mark. I know that fans tire of Jackie Chan's often typecast behaviour in films, but that's not the case in RH3. You will never see him doing so many sexual and toilet related jokes! I kid you not, the bottom of the barrel was really being scraped out here, especially when it comes to the character of Roman Polanski, who's part in the story is really shameful. Again, what was Ratner thinking?
To summerise, go see it if you are expecting no more than very slow action from Jackie, hardly any fighting (unless you count Chris Tucker being made out to be tougher than Bruce Lee during the finale) almost no plot, with certainly no mystery, sexist, racist jokes, and toilet gags. If you love Jackie and want to see the team together one last time, despite the very low production values, Rush Hour 3 is an 'ok' bet for a night out. But please Brett, no more.
6/10
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William Blaik 8/20/2007 - top |
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Running On Karma (2003) |
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Hong Kong superstars ANDY LAU (Infernal Affairs, House of Flying Daggers) and CECILIA CHEUNG (One Nite in Mongkok, The Promise) give award-winning performances in this offbeat murder mystery helmed by acclaimed director JOHNNIE TO (Election, Throwdown). Biggie is a buffed up monk who is clairvoyant. When his friend is murdered, Biggie rejects his faith in search of a more colorful life. However, Biggie's unusual gift soon arouses the interest of his biggest fan, Policewoman Yee, who agrees to help Biggie find his friend's murderer. Winner of 3 Hong Kong Film Awards including Best Picture, RUNNING ON KARMA is a stylish action drama with a touch of zen. (Tai Seng)
This collaboration of Johnnie To and Wai Ka Fai brings forward a new visual and lyrical style from the team that previously spearheaded such titles as A Hero Never Dies and Fulltime Killer. Acting as more of a spiritual and metaphoric tale rather than one that relies on action and a fast pace, Running on Karma works extremely well on many levels and provides the audience plenty to decipher.
One of the most frequently referenced features of the film is the ‘muscle suit’ that Andy Lau wears for the majority of the story. While looking realistic, this arguably intends to symbolize an essence of his character, ‘Big’, the former monk turned male stripper who abandons his old code when a close friend is brutally murdered. Yet he is haunted by eerie images that depict the cause and consequence of people’s deaths, and can see that someone’s life will soon end because of a seemingly unrelated chain of circumstances in a former life. After meeting a female cop (Cecilia Cheung) when the club where he performs is raided, he assists her in catching the killer in the case she is working, using his ‘karma’ to see events surrounding the murder that no ordinary human could.
Having discovered a mutual, but unspoken, affection for one another, ‘Big’ saves her life while she pursues a criminal, but realizes her death was meant to happen - according to the laws of karma. Haunted by conflicting emotions, he remains detached until she accepts her own fate and decides to hike into the mountains thought to be home to the man who killed Big’s friend years before. She decides that if death is inevitable, she would rather it happened doing something good and exposing the killer, bringing justice for Big. In a state of desperation, Big furiously runs into the mountains and seeks to challenge what is thought to be destiny. Big could not possibly be prepared for the events and the transformation that will follow.
Running on Karma has many subtleties, particularly in the later stages of the film, that will undoubtedly create debate and varied interpretation in audience members, but ultimately it is what makes the film such a vast and varied experience. It is cinematically stunning to watch, and includes some incredible urban and rural locations, all contributing to the conflicting metaphors of the whole film – Andy Lau’s highly developed physique, to Sun Ko, the mountain killer’s starkly different appearance. The spiritual, at times supernatural style of the film offers a variety of perspectives that could probably be better appreciated even more upon further viewings.
The film deservedly picked up 3 Hong Kong Film Awards, including Best Picture and Best Actor for Andy Lau, who does give an extremely deep performance that is full of conflict and subdued passion. Fans of Johnnie To will not be disappointed by yet another strong entry in an already excellent back-catalogue. Running on Karma is a perfect example of visually rich, quality filmmaking and excellent writing going hand-in-hand to create something pretty special – something that those of us in the west have to venture away from our domestic market to really experience.
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Mike Fury 8/8/2007 - top |
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