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Man of Tai Chi (2013)

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The history between this film’s two main actors goes back a fair way. Star Tiger Chen met Keanu Reeves while doing stunt work on The Matrix films and the two remain buddies, with Tiger briefly showing up in John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum to get a cringeworthy knife in the eyeball. The script for Man of Tai Chi apparently kicked around for years until eventually being made and we should be glad it did. 2013 was the beginning of … (read more)

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So Close (2002)

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Okay film-goers, let’s get going. I’ll keep this snappy, because I’m here to give you the low down on one snap-p-py piece of cinema — So Close.

Pop quiz; which HK director is responsible for this film? If your answer’s not Corey Yuen, you deserve to be beaten repeatedly with a pair of rollerblades by Zhao Wei, because his name’s right there under the title, but in the mean time, here’s a selected Corey Yuen filmography…

1993 — Fong (read more)

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The Twins Effect (2003)

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This is nothing more nor less than a promotional effort for The Twins, that ebullient Cantopop duo made up of Gillian Cheung and Charlene Choi. But for all that, it’s not a bad piece of froth, provided you disengage your brain while you watch.

One of the highlights, for cinema aficionados, is the presence of the consummate actor Anthony Wong. Although he has a reputation for sleepwalking through roles which fail to engage his interest, here he adds sparkle as … (read more)

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God of Cookery (1996)

I keep reading that #1 Hong Kong box office star Stephen Chow is the master of the Cantonese pun, and that if you don’t speak Cantonese, then you just won’t get him.

Well, all those writers can go boil their heads.

Chow is also the master of slapstick, send-up, sight gag and silly expressions. He knows funny, and the perfect introduction to his wild makes-no-sense comic style is God of Cookery.

He plays (of course) the God of Cookery, … (read more)

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Viva Erotica (1996)

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This film starts with a bang. Literally. It’s the most enthusiastic bonking scene I’ve ever witnessed: Leslie Cheung and Karen Mok going at it with a fervour that, let’s say, is more suited to a sprint than a marathon. And a fine couple they make too: Karen Mok, she of the endless legs, with Leslie Cheung, who’s so entirely delectable that he’s probably a sex-poppet for all creatures chordate (that is, possessing a spinal cord, basically. I draw the line … (read more)

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