Chinatown Video releases for May 2000
Weasel Alert: I occasionally do a bit
of work for Chinatown Video.
ARMAGEDDON (1997) Rated R. 109 mins.
$29.95.
This film was so disappointing. It starts with an SDU team breaking into a
Church and confronting a scary monk who cunningly defends himself by exploding. The rest
of the film is nothing like that. Instead, you get half-baked metaphysical
mish-mosh, and handsome HK film stars walking around in Prague (Prague, fer chrissakes!
What were they thinking?). The plot is all about HK's brightest scientists being knocked
off as some precursor to the end of the world, but when the coming of the Antichrist is
explained as the arrival of Saddam Hussein, you just want to crawl under your seat and
die. All in all, it could have done with less of the thinly disguised metaphor for the
Handover, and more of the exploding monks. More's the pity, Andy Lau is really
good as the stoic scientist, Anthony Wong is really good as
the seedy cop, and Michelle Reis is really good as Andy's
girlfriend who gets hit by a bus. (She's dead before the film starts, so stop whining that
I'm giving the plot away.) It's enjoyable enough while it's passing, but so utterly fails
to deliver that when it's over you wonder why you bothered watching it and why they
bothered making it. However, the Hong Kong Film Critics Society call it "A fantstic
rendition of Hong Kong's global role and a bold reaction to the challenge of Hollywood
with an original blend of mysticism and science fiction", so what the hell do I know?
TIGER ON BEAT 2 (1990) Rated M. 135
mins. Rental.
From the Chinatown Video catalogue: Danny Lee (The Killer) returns
in this modern day HK cop thriller; a storming tale jam packed with car chases and full
tilt martial arts. When Danny falls in love with the fittingly named Sweet Dream - a tough
cop who wields a wicked gun - het gets in more trouble than he ever has with a criminal!
Sequel to the 1988 smash hit. The thing most smashed in this one was Conan Lee
after he misjudged a 35-foot fall and wound up in hospital for a while. Remember folks,
they do this for your entertainment - now ain't that worth a few measly bucks for
rental? Even when it may be a stinker, as I sadly suspect this one may be...
