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If U Care ... (2002) |
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 Fai's an extremely selfish guy, but an accident changes his life. Losing everything, he's got a strange power that can undergo one's feelings whoever he hurts or touches. He gradually becomes kind and falls in love again with his puppy love, Gil. However, a secret of Fai's company wakes his instinct and he decides to take revenge on his ex-colleagues, especially his rival, Godzilla. Unable to stop this, Gil is hurt and about to leave when at this moment, an answer of all unexplainable happenings knocks the door... (hkflix)
 This is another 'moleitau' comedy worth watching. Director Adrian Kwan makes incisive critics on the money driven HK society. The story deals with a country bumpkin (Eason Chan) who is deep inside kind-hearted. The only trouble is that he doesn't remember it since he's been living in Hong-Kong, described again as a city full of sharks and venal people, where one is always looking for stealing other people ideas. To protect himself, he has established a psychological shield made of cynicism and selfishness. One day, he meets his childhood sweetheart (Gillian Chung) and finally remembers the true principles of life he once valued in his hometown with other mates. Even though the plot isn't very subtle, the sarcasm and the very black humour work fine. Eason Chan, whose acting may exasperate some, has mastered the 'commedia dell'arte'. A good production value, a neat post-production (funny sounds added give much impact to effects) and a motivated supporting cast (Candy Lo, Hui Siu-hung, Rain Li) reinforce a true sense of entertainment emanating from this comedy. Although the HK film industry as well as the HK society may be undertaking difficulties, the Cantonese sense of humour is not dead yet!
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Thomas Podvin 1/15/2003 - top |
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Hollywood Hong Kong (2001) |
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It is an independent movie written, produced and directed by independent an internationally acclaimed filmmaker Fruit Chan Gor. Reported to be the second episode of a prostitution trilogy, the film tells the story of miserable people living at the edge of the wealthy Hong Kong, in Tai Hom village. There are a butcher family, as fat as the pigs they sell, and a weird bunch close to the prostitution business (an under-aged pimp and a prostitute). Another prostitute, called Hung Hung, or sometimes Tung Tung, makes scams and blackmails in order to get money to go and study in Hollywood.
There is a very dark and cynical sense of humour all along. Hong-Kong is shown as a strange city full of lights and flashes and sometimes it really does look like hell. Fruit Chan not only crafted a film about prostitution in HK, but also about the poor forgotten by this economy-driven Asian city and also about those who'd do anything, from prostitution to blackmail passing by friendship treason, to get the hell out of there. Hollywood HK has then this incredible ability to mixes a meaningful story and a reflection on the social consequences of a very modern society with a great sense of entertainement.
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Thomas Podvin 1/15/2003 - top |
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Frugal Game (2002) |
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This is a comedy full of wit and satire and that mixes happily various topics. The main ones are ruthless TV producers whiling to make money at all costs, old-time righteousness nostalgia and the economic and social situations in HK. An unemployed father (Eric Tsang) hides his situation from his family by staying all day in a café. The unemployment rate seems to have exploded in HK since most of the café customers are in the same situation. Even the boss (Dodo Cheng) who gave Eric Tsang the sack got fired. They decide to get together in a real TV show in order to win the cash price. Despite its topics, Frugal Game is actually an optimistic and feel-good film with great pugnacious characters. Eason Chan is perfect as Tsui, a TV-series director who only believe in Wu Xia Pian (Chinese chivalry movies) and the values they used to convey. Veteran Ti Lung appears as a schizophrenic Wu Xia Pian actor. In real life he has the same chivalry spirit and the same old-fashioned gestures than in old-school films. Tsui respects him a lot and talks to him with much deference, which creates some of the most hilarious moments in the movie.
Real-TV shows, scandals or affronts to human dignity on TV seem to be popular at the moment. Tsui characters seeks in the past of HK cinema a noble and generous spirit that apparently doesn't exists any more. That's probably why he wants to recover this spirit by making Wu Xia movies.
Director Derek Chiu's final message is positive and encouraging since the rivals of the Frugal Game have preferred their relatives to money. There is not easy solutions and people have to work hard to achieve their goal. The whole family eventually opens a noodle shop, they work hard together and develop great ideas. It's the best way to solve problems for people undertaking hard times and for a film industry that keeps on declining. "Nothing is impossible for HK people!" they say.
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Thomas Podvin 1/15/2003 - top |
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Fighting To Survive (2001) |
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This is a low budget comedy produced, written and directed by comedian Dayo Wong. In a post-retrocession and economic crisis context, a young man literally fights to survive. Due to a youth trauma, he cannot take any sort of transportation mean and he is stuck in the Tuen Mun area (a poor area in HK). To make a few bucks, he uses his brain and he develops some great ideas. Surrounded by other peculiar characters and friends (especially Sonija Kwok), he organises pyramidal scams or creates a bodyguard company to bring safely back home lonely females at night. Dayo Wong childish character is a kind-hearted guy firstly blinded by the actual consumerism and venality of the society. He has that strength to always fight to get what he wants, but he'll make decisions to help people first rather than to earn a few more dollars. The refreshing thing about this 'moleitau' (non-sensical humour) movie, mainly based on situation comedy, is that without special effects but only ideas and irony, it keeps the entertainment values high all the time and the surprise effects constant.
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Thomas Podvin 1/15/2003 - top |
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Eye (2002) |
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At the age of two Mann went blind. Eighteen years later, a new and risky corneal transplant operation restores her vision. A serie of inexplicable events however lead her to believe there is more than meets the eye to her new-found gift of sight. Mysterious black-clad figures seem to foreshadow sudden deaths and horribly disfigured denizens haunt her everyday existence. Unable to define her own identity, she comes to understand that whenever she looks into a mirror she doesn't see herself but instead she sees another woman; Ling, the original owner of the corneas.
The nightmarish visions are driving Mann insane. Desperate to uncover the truth, Mann visits Ling's old village in Northern Thailand. There she discovers that Ling was clairvoyant, but Ling's inability to save the villagers from a fire that she predicted sent her into a deep depression. Overcome with sorrow and regret, she ultimately committed suicide. Now it seems that Mann has inherited Ling's fate and the misery that comes with the ability to see more than one wants to see.
The Eye by the Pang brothers (Danny and Oxide) is a more typical Chinese ghost story in essence than Inner Sense. Despite a Pan-Asian cast and crew, The Eye stands definitively as a true HK movie in spirit. The story coming from cultural Chinese beliefs on ghosts and the Pang Bros. mise-en-scene, framing and editing confirm its filiation. It's a must seen for three main reasons: an amazing and mature performance by Malaysian born/ Singapore based newcomer Angelica Li Sin-je (Princess d, Betelnut Beauty), a really thrilling atmosphere all along and a bold and stunning final action scene which creates this sense of surprise you'd expect from a HK movie.
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Thomas Podvin 1/15/2003 - top |
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Chinese Odyssey 2002 (2002) |
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The emperor (Chang Chen) and the princess (Faye Wong) are bored of palace life, they plan to sneak out of the palace themselves, but before they leave. The emperor is caught and unable to go, while the princess dresses up as a man and sneaks out successfully.
One day, the princess bumps into a brother (Tony Leung) and a sister (Zhao Wei), and falls in love with the brother at first sight. However as she is dressed up as a man, both the brother and the sister treat her as a handsome young man. The brother is attracted by the princess, but fears that he will become a gay, so he tries to match-make the princess with his sister, who is also attracted by the princess. Just as things become more and more complicated, the princess is caught by the spy sent from the palace and takes her back to the palace.
After the emperor finds out what has happened to the princess, he helps her to escape from the palace. Upon the meeting with the brother and the sister, the emperor falls in love with the sister at first sight, this adds to the complexity of the love triangle. Eventually, everything turns out fine, the emperor and the sister; the princess and the brother love happily ever after.
Chinese Odyssey 2002 is a Wong Kar-wai production and it is quite obvious. The mannerism, the slow-paced story, the production design, the wonderful music and a great cast (Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Faye Wong, Vicky Zhao Wei, Chan Chen…) prove that Wong Kar-wai is behind all this. But not only. Jeff Lau is the director here. Together, they are like enfants terribles of the HK cinema. The two filmmakers, good friend in life, make a lot of private jokes about Wong Kar-wai successes (Chungking Express, Happy Together, Ashes Of Time, Fallen Angels…) or Jeff Lau's tale of the Monkey King A Chinese Odyssey with Stephen Chow Sing-chi.
In Chinese Odyssey 2002 there is this particular sense of non-sensical humour you'll get as well from Eagle Shooting Heroes (Dong Cheng Xi Jiu) also made by this team. It is a fine example of the Wong Kar-wai system: a day-to-day written script constituted of a succession of scenes, sometimes self-sufficient. The scenario eventually lands on its feet. The result isn't always hilarious but the beauty and the entertainment of the whole thing make it an enjoyable show. It's worth mentioning that the movie is much less intellectualised than the usual Wong Kar-wai movies and thus it's maybe a bit more accessible… But I still prefer my Wong Kar-wai art-house movie though…
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Thomas Podvin 1/15/2003 - top |
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2002 (2001) |
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Special Unit '2002' is a designated task force of SPI in the law enforcement department, ridding the human world of evil deeds of haunting spirits via an execution team comprised of a man and a ghost. Being a psychic, TIDE is joined by SAM to the cause of law enforcement, but SAM's time for reincarnation is approaching. TIDE is learning that WIND, a human being with the psychic power of supernatural vision, is destined to be his new partner. Though gifted, WIND is ironically too scared of the dead to contribute during combats. However, an inevitable battle with the mighty WATER GHOST is set to bring the two together and destined to determine the fate and foe of this man-and-ghost duo.
Hot, hot, hot! That’s how I’d sum up the movie 2002, a fun, slightly campy action film.
It stars Nicholas Tse, Hong Kong’s hottest movie and pop idol and Stephen Fung who is not far behind him. 2002 has action in an easy-to-understand sci-fi format (i.e. no hard thinking here), a couple of cool gadgets and two hot men for women to feast their eyes on.
Tse stars as Tide, a psychic ghost hunter with a sidekick that is a ghost, (Sam Lee in a small but worthily, amusing part). This man/ghost team makes up a Special Unit of Spirit and Paranormal Investigation called 2002. They rid the human world of evil haunting spirits via an execution team comprised of a man and a ghost. This is a great arrangement until it’s time for Tide's sidekick to be reincarnated and he has to find a new partner. Thus Fung, as Wind, comes into the picture.
The problem is, Wind is not dead and that means that Tide has to help him finish up any unresolved issues before he dies. It is a man/ghost partnership, or is it?
The movie keeps you guessing the answer up until the end.
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Sarah 3/6/2002 - top |
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Tom, Dick And Hairy (1993) |
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Different personalities of three bachelors provide them with three different stories to tell. Tom is torn between a material girl and a prostitute. Dick is a womanizer and eventually gets hurt by his only regular lover. Hairy stumbles along the road of love and is forced to question his own sexuality on the way to finding his dream lover.
Tom, Dick and Hairy is an amusing movie. All three guys live together. They have different approaches towards romance. Tom is the sensible one but is engaged to a horrific woman. He meets an escort named Cat. They fall in love though they feel they can’t be together. Who will Tom choose?
Dick is basically, well, a dick. He sleeps with a different woman every night and sometimes 2 different women. He has one fallback woman, Fong, who is obviously in love with him. She decides to leave him because she can’t take the pain anymore. She tells him she’s moving to the US to marry another man. Will Dick realize in time that he may actually love her too? And then there’s Hairy, also known as Georgio, who is in love with Vivian Chow. He can’t seem to come out of his fantasy world to find a real woman. He tries to learn English through audio tapes, but learns French by accident instead. He goes out on many dates, trying to find his "Vivian". Does he? The most hilarious parts of the movie are when the three male actors end up in skull caps in dream sequences where their male members are talking to them. Tom’s male member makes more sense than he does, which of course would only happen in a movie. I didn’t realize this movie was made so long ago because it has definitely held the test of time. It won a best movie award in Hong Kong in 1994. If you’re looking for a classic Hong Kong comedy, check this one out.
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Sarah 11/11/2002 - top |
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Dry Wood Fierce Fire (2002) |
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Alice Tsui works as a columnist for a female publication called 'Lady'. But when Michelle, a famous novelist, buys up the magazine the staff of 'Lady' has to merge with the former staff of 'Gent' magazine to create a publication called Boku. Alice falls for the new editor Ryan Li, but Ryan seems to only have eyes for his new boss Michelle. When Alice learns about his affection towards their boss, she decides to help him to win her over. But at the same time her own affection for Ryan seems to be growing.
What can I say about Dry Wood, Fierce Fire? The stars are enjoyable and the movie is cute. Most guys would probably call it a chick flick, in that in the end the gorgeous guy comes around and the quirky, not so model-perfect girl wins. Miriam Yeung is a journalist and an herbalist, with a weird habit of shouting into bottles and kicking everyone's butt in kung-fu. When the all-female magazine she works for joins the all-male magazine that Louis Koo works for, you know sparks will fly. Koo has his own weird habits, like fainting at the strangest times, but he's so cute you still like him. Koo, of course, still has feelings for another. Will they end up together? What do you think?. Wilson Yip directs a cute romantic comedy (sorry guys, minimal action) with the typical off-center humor you tend to find in Hong Kong movies.
If you are a fan of those type of movies, as I am, and enjoy these actors, check this movie out.
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Sarah 3/2/2003 - top |
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Touch (2002) |
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I shouldn't start off on such a negative foot, but, The Touch had only one good thing about it, Michelle Yeoh. She brought a sense of class and panache to an otherwise extremely boring movie. The villain, played by Richard Roxburgh, was your typical B-movie villain played over the top. The credits said Ben Chaplin was in the movie. OK, so he was, but he added nothing to it. Take him or leave him, didn't really matter. The story was mediocre and the action was nothing special. We've seen it all before. The look of the movie was quality, too bad the movie itself could not live up to that. I give it **/5 only because of Yeoh and the fact that it wasn't horrible. This movie is for those who are desperate for a Yeoh movie or just wanting to remain on top of the latest Hong Kong movies.
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Sarah 1/2/2003 - top |
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