Blog Archives

Chasing the Dragon II: Wild Wild Bunch (2019)

Co-directors Wong Jing and Jason Kwan punched out this thematic, but otherwise unconnected, sequel to their 2017 historical crime drama Chasing the Dragon in two years. It’s not the same breakneck pace of the helter skelter Hong Kong heyday, when Casino Tycoon and its sequel blazed into cinemas in the same year, but for contemporary big budget Chinese blockbusters like this it’s still a quick turnaround.

A couple of clips from Chasing the Dragon, tweaked to look like archival … (read more)

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The New Option (2002)

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With Hong Kong, until recently, being a self governed province, there’s really little call for them to have a standing army. Which makes it a shame as it limits Hong Kong’s film industries ability to make films about the military… or so one would think. Fortunately we have the SDU to save us from such a glaring whole in their cultural fabric.

The SDU is basically a paramilitary group that specialises in urban operations involving small squads of well trained, … (read more)

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Beast Cops (1998)

Modern cop drama with Anthony Wong playing the mildly corrupt cop who keeps a lid on things, Michael Wong as the uptight straight cop who’ll gun down a criminal regardless of the danger to the hostage, and Sam Lee as the skinny cop who always gets the goss. Most of Beast Cops is concerned with the interaction between the three cops, and the conflict between their way of walking the beat. Roy Cheung plays the local Big Brother who has … (read more)

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In the Line of Duty (1989)

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When an immigrant Chinese dockworker comes into brief contact with secret evidence implicating American intelligence operatives and the Green Dragon crime syndicate in a major drug trafficking operation, he is marked for death. Now on the run and running out of time, his only hope for survival is two cops with nothing to hide and nothing to lose!
(from the Hong Kong Legends DVD)

I think whoever wrote the synopsis above really decided that to really nail the soul of … (read more)

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House Of Fury (2005)

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Well, it’s not Doctor Zhivago. But then, who thought that it would be? Director “Dimples” Fung shows once again that he’s got a fair grip on the mechanics of film-making, and can direct a popular film.

Okay, the star roster doesn’t hurt: there’s Dimples and Daniel Wu for those that like looking at pretty young men, there’s both Twins for those that like them, and there’s Anthony Wong and Wu Ma for those who enjoy watching good acting. And … (read more)

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Women From Mars (2002)

If you’ve been waiting for years to see three men looking into their boxers and screaming, then wait no longer: Women From Mars can fill that very specific need. If, like me, you’d managed to get this far in life without being bothered by such odd cravings, then you might still get a bit of a laugh.

For starters, it might satisfy your desire to see some sexist blokes get their just desserts. And while losing their willies might seem … (read more)

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