Blog Archives

Reign of Assassins (2010)

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Posted on June 30, 2011 by John Snadden

Sometimes the overwhelming success of a particular genre film can have an unfortunate effect on the movies following it. I’m talking here about Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, which has become so popular and awarded since its release in 2000 that it’s now the gold standard for martial arts films. It has allowed lazy film publicists, uninformed film reviewers and the general public to label a new kung fu / martial arts film as simply being not as good, or … (read more)

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Sparrow (2008)

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Posted on July 7, 2008 by Justin

Johnnie To’s films have been favourites here at Heroic Cinema for years: Alison showed me The Mission years ago and got me hooked on modern Hong Kong film. Hong Kong and its surroundings transform through To’s pictures into somewhere preternaturally cool: all rain-slicked night metropolis, populated by street-crawling thugs (often played by Lam Suet) and the occasional ambiguously dangerous Anthony Wong. And he makes it look easy, too — most of Milkyway Studios’ pictures are beautifully shot, from … (read more)

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Fulltime Killer (2001)

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Posted on March 11, 2007 by Ching Yee

It seems being a housekeeper in HK comes with a few hazards. If you’re like Chin (Kelly Lin) you can end up being love target between not one but two of Asia’s top professional killers, O (Takashi Sorimachi) and Tok (Andy Lau). [Depending on how you look at it, it may not be a bad thing!] O is Asia’s top assassin and Tok would like to see himself wear that title instead. Chin, O’s housekeeper/cleaner becomes an unwitting (this point … (read more)

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Running Out of Time 2 (2001)

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Posted on November 25, 2005 by Ching Yee

If you liked Running Out of Time as much as I did then you’d have been hanging out to see this sequel by Johnnie To.

First off, the good news — Lau Ching Wan returns as the likeable, determined smarty-pants cop Inspector Ho Seung Sang. Other regulars from the first film such as Lam Suet, Ruby Wong and Hui Sui-Hong also returns (Lam Suet in a break from continuity tradition returns as a different character just to mess with our … (read more)

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Legend of Speed (1999)

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Posted on June 29, 2005 by Alison

Fine mindless action entertainment. You’ve got Ekin and his hair, with the extra treat of long legs swathed in leather pants. You’ve got Kelly Lin in teeny tiny shorts. You’ve got Simon Yam being a suave triad boss and Moses Chan being the doofus brother. There’s lots of car racing, some angst, Blackie Ko as the long-lost father, and Patrick Tam doing a damn fine turn as the stammering mechanic. Turn your brain off and make “vroom vroom” noises and … (read more)

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