Blog Archives

Election 2 (2006)

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Posted on August 11, 2009 by Samson

With this sequel to the excellent 2005 film Election, Hong Kong director Johnnie To adds yet another great film to his long and impressive list of work. Few other directors have managed to make so many movies and maintain the same high standards in one film after another. Election 2 sees the return of all the characters (at least those who managed to survive) from Election, and guess what; it’s time for another triad election.

It’s been two … (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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Exiled (2006)

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Posted on September 25, 2007 by James

After following reckless and ruthless triad bosses across Hong Kong and China in Election and its sequel, Johnnie To returns to the perspective of the heroic underling as well as to the celebrated story dimension of 1999’s The Mission, one of the major highlights of his prolific career.

Exiled is neither a direct sequel or prequel to The Mission, but rather an interplay of similarities and divergences from the earlier film’s plot, themes, characters and stylistic approach. … (read more)

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SPL (2005)

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Posted on July 1, 2007 by Justin

If you’re a regular reader of sites with an interest in Asian cinema on the net, you probably already know all about Sha Po Lang (SPL). You’ve read all four very positive reviews on twitchfilm, you’ve read Grady’s review at Kaiju Shakedown, and you know what’s what. A modern Hong Kong film, starring three very well-respected martial arts stars from different backgrounds, with a gritty, crime setting and a lot of neon lights and breaking glass. A … (read more)

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Eye In The Sky (2007)

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Posted on July 1, 2007 by Justin

I sat down to watch Eye in the Sky at the 2007 Sydney Film Festival and overheard a conversation behind me from two older ladies, who’d evidently set up base camp in the State Theatre and were watching their way through the entire Festival program. “Where’s this one from?”, one asked. “Hong Kong.” “Oh, so there’ll be lots of flying around, then?”

Sigh. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon has a lot to answer for. There’s no flying around at all… (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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Election (2005)

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Posted on March 3, 2007 by Ben Jennings

This is one of those movies that just gets better and better the more you think about it. Johnnie To has actively sought to bring a realistic representation of the triad to the screen, to subvert the glamourised manner with which the Hong Kong cinema (To included) has portrayed its local gang culture, and lay bare its true nature. These kind of revisionist gangster movies have always been the best, and Election reminded me of The Godfather Part 2 and … (read more)

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The Mission (1999)

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Posted on October 22, 2006 by Alison

There’s really nothing one can say that will adequately describe this film. I keep trying, but my tongue tangles with superfluous superlatives: excellent, great, superb, marvellous, impossibly good. I feel like I’ve regressed to my teen years, abandoning the maturity which I’m supposed to have gained by now.

Okay, then, I’ll give it a try. First up, this is one of director To’s best films. It exemplifies all of To’s strong points: visually stunning scenes, minimal dialogue, strongly defined characters, … (read more)

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