THE STORM RIDERS (1998)
The Storm Riders is like nothing you have ever seen. It's a hyper-kinetic Hong
Kong action fantasy movie with state-of-the-art digital effects. It's caffeine on
celluloid. If video games had real people, they would look like this. Everything is sped
up. Director Andrew Lau tilts, whirls and zooms the fight scenes.
Warriors don't strike with one fist, but with a hundred. Flying combatants hurl bolts of
fire, or whirling chunks of earth, or freeze their opponents with their special Frost Palm
attack. They duel in waterfalls, atop stone idols or deep underground.
There's even a plot, and a pretty good one as far as fantasy films go, played out with
conviction by the all-star cast. Bearded warlord Conquer (Sonny Chiba) is
told that if he can locate and train two boys with particular star charts then his
Conqueror Clan will be invincible for ten years. Obviously a man who knows a favourable
prophecy when he hears one, Conquer finds the two lads, but is obliged to get violent when
their parents prove old-fashioned about forking over their sole heirs. Conquer brings them
up as his own, along with his legitimate son Frost and daughter Charity. Ten years pass,
and our two orphans are mighty warriors. Wind (Ekin Cheng) is obedient
but Cloud (Aaron Kwok) is a bit of a brooder, especially when Conquer
announces the marriage of Charity (Kristy Yeung) to Wind. Nothing causes
a war in the world of martial arts like a love triangle and, before you can say
"Whirling Water Attack", Cloud is storming the wedding to steal the bride. It's
grand escapism adapted from a popular Hong Kong comic book series by Ma Wing-shing.
The film has a couple of problems. The voices are a fraction out of sync at times.
Furthermore, if you don't speak Cantonese, be prepared to read subtitles; although they're
mighty legible, you'll occasionally be torn between eyeballing the gorgeous visuals and
keeping up with the story (my solution: see it twice!). Strict martial arts fans will be
disappointed that the usually incredible choreography of Hong Kong films has been largely
replaced by computer graphics and blurred motion. Most regrettably, the female characters
are the old archetypes of princess, pregnant wife, scheming wife et cetera, ignoring the
proud lineage of capable kick-ass Hong Kong action heroines. Only Hsu Chi is
able to make something of her role as Muse, a backwoods healer who is eager to see the
world but not quite up on social graces.
But, those points aside, this is still jaw-dropping entertainment. If you enjoy a
special-effects fantasy movie and have a penchant for a hero with blue hair, you'll love
it. "Wind is formless. Cloud is unpredictable." And this movie rips. Go see it.
Available on: Chinatown
Video. VCD & DVD.
TROUBLESOME NIGHT 2 (1997)
This is one kooky movie. Three DJs host "The One O'Clock
Terror", a radio show where listeners call in to tell ghost stories. The movie is
made up of three such stories, each centering on one of the DJ's. They are linked with a
vague continuity that completely falls apart when you think about it later. Elements are
introduced and never followed up, and the whole thing has an arbitrary "And then they
die" plotline. But what the hell; while it's running it's an enjoyable and wacky
little horror comedy. It also has my current favourite subtitle: "My boyfriend was
hit death by falling bottle." The gore is played for laughs, although the floating
dead pig is definitely a real dead pig, and the ox eyes that Long Hair holds against his
eyeballs at midnight to see the ghost of the radio caller he advised to commit suicide are
definitely real ox eyes. Ew, gross. And no, you don't need to see Troublesome Night 1,
because this offbeat little film still won't make any sense.
Available on: VCD.
TROUBLESOME NIGHT 3 (1998)
Another horror anthology pic with plenty of Chinese ghosts backlit and
drifting sideways, in that way that they do. This one is not as zany as Troublesome
Night 2, but is a better movie all round. The stories revolve around a wacky group of
morgue attendants. The first tale is about a lovestruck young undertaker who has to work
on his cantopop idol after an accident leaves her all smashed up - how can he get her
looking good for the open casket funeral? The second story follows the fortunes of three
of the staff who do freelance funerals. When they shortchange a granny by doing her
service on the cheap, she comes back from the grave to haunt them (well, to possess them
one by one and chase the other two around with an axe, knife and/or baseball bat to be
precise. It's a form of haunting, I guess). The third story actually addresses issues of
love, death and grief in a serious fashion, pushing the spooky comedy antics aside to make
way for a genuinely moving dramatic segment. Ah, Hong Kong films, four genres in one
flick. Gotta love it.
Available on: VCD.
A TRUE MOB STORY (1998)
This one plays like a Chinese Goodfellas. Andy Lau is a small
time mobster who goes ape with a cleaver one night to rescue this boss Prince from rival
triad Crazy Ball and his gang. As a consequence he is promoted way beyond his station and
his courage. Gigi Leung is the lawyer who represents him when he gets
into hot water, much to the consternation of her special agent boyfriend. Andy
is just trying to get by, but between his rivals in the gang, the cops, and the
reappearance of the man he was famous for killing, it's just too complicated. His struggle
between what he needs to be and what he is is well done, but his complete non-reaction to
a horrific event in the middle of the film just about cancels any sympathy you may feel
for him. The Gigi / Andy attraction is way arbitrary, and seems to occur
more because they are famous HK leading actors rather than for any character reason. The
film mixes the soppy love scenes with ultraviolence - these 1998 style triad boys go at it
with sledgehammers, long knives, and barbed wire smeared with chili oil (ouchy). But, many
scenes are remarkable (particularly the children's party in which the youngsters are
frolicking in the pool while their dads are inside beating up a rival tied up in a hessian
sack), and the ending almost redeems the whole picture. Almost.
Available on: VCD.
WHO AM I? (1998)
Jackie Chan plays a mercenary who is airdropped into South Africa as
part of a raid on a secret weapon-testing lab. However, after the operation he suddenly
wakes up in a tribal village, with no idea how he got there or what his name is. His
repeated requests of "Who am I?" prompt the villagers to name him that. In no
time flat WhoamI is decked out in the latest feather'n'leather tribal gear and notching
arrows and talking dialect with the best of 'em. The appearance of some Westerners sets
him in search of his roots. His first contact is with Yuki - she's a rally driver from
Japan with an injured navigator. WhoamI saves the day, hitches a lift, and starts to piece
together his past.
For the first half of the film, this works really well. There are dramatic flashbacks
to the missing events, and a sense of tension. The African scenes are beautiful, the
mercenary scenes are exciting, and there are some wonderfully crazy driving scenes -
Mitsubishi put big money into this film, so Jackie takes that as a license to thrash the
hell out of their merchandise. It's terrific. Don't try this on Punt Road, people.
However, his journey eventually takes him to Amsterdam, and apart from an amusing clog
fight, the plot just wanders away. Chan hunts the widget and gets the widget and then
defends the widget from all the bad guys who want the widget. In this case the widget is
the sole floppy disk in existence of the most powerful bomb formula that the world has
ever seen - never has such a sophisticated set-up devolved into such a naive pay-off. Oh
well. It's fun to watch him run down the side of the building, which is ultimately what Jackie
Chan films are about.
The weakness of the plot is certainly not helped by the acting. Jackie ditches his
familiar amiable Jackie persona in favour of an angry Jackie, tormented by the loss of his
past. It's not a very consistent loss, as he's still able to pontificate on things that
his father told him. As for the torment, the scene where he winds up and yells
"Whooo... ammm... I?" while the helicopter camera whirls around him is just
plain cringeworthy. A more interesting take on this loss-of-self is to consider that it is
the real Jackie Chan who is wondering who he is - is his future in Hollywood, or in Hong
Kong?
In summary, then: if you like Jackie, you know you want to see this, and you will enjoy
it - the Jackie fans among my circle all called it his best in years. If you're new to
him, there are about 20 films from his earlier career that are better than this one. He
gets full marks for trying to inject a little more plot than usual, but loses them
all when the plot's ticker gives out at the halfway mark. But it's still worth 10 bucks to
see him run down the side of that building.
Available on: VCD and DVD. Rental video.
WING CHUN (1993)
Yim Wing Chun (Michelle Yeoh) is a female martial arts expert who
lives with her aunt, Abacus Fong (Yuen King Tan), a tofu-seller with a
knack for saying exactly the wrong thing at exactly the wrong moment. Wing Chun's
unwomanly ways are the despair of her father, and local men keep trying to put her in her
place. She deals with one such unfortunate by telling him that if he can destroy her tray
of tofu she will do as he says -- this is a cue for one tray of tofu to go where no tofu
has ever gone before. Suffice to say, the man retires defeated.
Wing Chun and her aunt take pity on a young beautiful widow called Charmy (Catherine
Hung Yan) and take her in, only to run foul of a local band of bandits whose
chief also wants the widow. Meanwhile Wing Chun's fiance Leung Pok To (Donnie Yen)
has come to meet her, still thinking of her as a little girl in pig-tails, little
realising that she has been kicking butt all over town. Merry hi-jinks and love triangles
ensue, with everyone falling for the wrong person. Although there is a concern for a while
there that Wing Chun will nobly renounce her love, in the end the film's predominantly
light-hearted tone shines through.
Although a terrific martial arts movie, with plenty of jaw-dropping stunts, it is the
focus on the strong female characters that makes this film stand out. The interaction
between Aunt Fong, Charmy and Wing Chun form the core of the film -- three women with
three very different takes on men. They are supported by excellent minor roles in the
honourable-but-earthy bandit chief and Wing Chun's noble-but-gormless fiance -- not to
mention the nefarious pantie-stealer, Monkey and a cameo by Wing Chun's martial arts
teacher, who shows why monks don't need nut-crackers.
Check it out.
Reviewed by Penelope Love.
Available on: VCD,
Chinatown Video.
YOUR PLACE OR MINE? (1998)
This is a charming little romantic comedy directed and written by James Yuen.
Wai (Tony Leung Chiu Wai) and Patrick (Alex Fong) are
partners at the BEST advertising agency, where they use "Love" to flog anything
from diapers to insurance. Outside of work, their experience of love is poles apart.
Patrick has a steady girlfriend Fanny (Eileen Tung) and 108 lies to cover
his chronic habit of illicit one-night stands, whereas Wai's lonely flat is cluttered with
the leftover possessions of the string of girls who've dumped him. Actually, it's not that
lonely, as Patrick is often upstairs with some new girl using the place as a sex motel,
Wai's widowed father Simon (Spencer Lam) is often downstairs whooping it
up over the soccer, and the string of girls occasionally drop by for a kooky dream
sequence in which they admonish Wai for "not understanding women". However, he's
ready to broaden that understanding, and soon falls in love with two of them at the same
time: his cute new protege and part-time fishball hawker Ah Yu (Vivian Hsu),
and his cool new boss and alleged lesbian Vivian (Ada Choi). Meanwhile,
Patrick is having some heart-to-hearts (and on one occasion, hands-to-heart) with his
co-worker Mei (Suki Kwan), which soon enough puts him on the perilous
path to Lie #109.
As you can tell, the film contrasts male approaches to relationships. Patrick (a
self-avowed "natural born satyr") treats any moment of intimacy as a possible
tongue kiss situation, whereas the best that nice guy Wai can do with a drunk and
apparently compliant partner is to count her toes. You can see the word
"comeuppance" looming over Patrick's head like a Viagra prescription.
The film is punctuated by plenty of quick gags and cute camera tricks, and these along
with great performances from some of the most handsome and/or beautiful actors in Hong
Kong make it a pleasure to watch from go to woe. Although the film presents it as a
natural law that men like to fool around, the final caution is that if you don't know when
to stop fooling and get serious, the ultimate answer to "Your place or mine?"
could be "None of the above".
[As a sidenote, the poster for this film features Tony in bed with all
of the women, while Alex consoles himself with a girly mag in the bottom
righthand corner, i.e. the exact reverse of the actual plot. A tactic to cash in on Tony's
star power, or an attempt to repackage him as a raging 100% hetero after he was last seen
cuddling Leslie Cheung in Happy Together? You be the judge!]
Available on: VCD.
H E R O I C * C I N E M A
http://www.heroic-cinema.com
