Blog Archives

Magnificent Warriors (1987)

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Posted on May 1, 2023 by Andrew

Equally excellent in the fields of action, comedy and drama, and after dozens of major roles in Hong Kong, Chinese and American productions, Michelle Yeoh can seemingly do, well, everything. Everywhere. Maybe, even, all at once. Having recently been awarded an Oscar for her performance in Everything Everywhere All at Once, many folks will be looking to catch up on her back catalogue and Magnificent Warriors is an early career highlight.

After her breakout buddy cop role with Cynthia … (read more)

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Odd Couple (1979)

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Posted on March 16, 2023 by Andrew

Odd Couple is one of the quintessential kung fu films focused on the use of weapons, rather than unarmed forms of combat. Other weapon-centric flicks include Heroes of the East and Legendary Weapons of China, both directed by Lau Kar Leung for Shaw Brothers studios. Odd Couple is directed by Lau Kar Wing — brother of Lau Kar Leung — for the independent film company Gar Bo Films which he led along with Sammo Hung and Karl Maka. It’s … (read more)

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Three (2016)

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Posted on February 16, 2023 by Andrew

OK then. It’s my turn to offer some thoughts on a movie from Johnnie To, someone whose long and varied output I largely relish, and a much-loved director here on HC.

Three is alright. Gulp.

A single location thriller set in a hospital, Three maintains the quirky humour that is a big part of the Milkyway Image house style, although there’s a dark edge to most of the comedy this time around. Chance has a big influence on the outcome, … (read more)

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Dreadnaught (1981)

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Posted on January 14, 2023 by Andrew

Dreadnaught is a lot of things. A cracker of a fun movie for a start. It’s also a Wong Fei-Hung story, a slasher movie, a star turn for Yuen Biao, the inspiration for a scene in Batman Forever and still remains a unique film in its own right, approaching genre conventions with an unconventional spin. Blending generous helpings of action, comedy, and horror into one madcap mixture only 95 minutes long, some scenes incredibly still manage to drag a little!… (read more)

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Once Upon a Time in China & America (1997)

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Posted on October 16, 2022 by Andrew

Wong Fei Hung goes west. OK, technically he goes east to get to the American West, but it’s very much Wong Fei Hung in a western genre film. The Once Upon a Time in China film series has always had a historical fiction slant, so the premise of this entry, while more fanciful than those that came before it, is different in degree rather than kind. Once Upon a Time in China & America (OUATICAA) slides into self-parody … (read more)

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Chasing the Dragon II: Wild Wild Bunch (2019)

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Posted on January 19, 2022 by Andrew

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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Chasing the Dragon (2017)

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Posted on August 21, 2021 by Andrew

To begin, an admission. I have not seen many Wong Jing films. Not even some of his biggest hits, such as God of Gamblers. Some of his work has flickered across my retinas, but given the fellow’s torrential output over the decades I may as well have folded before even picking up the cards. I know him more by reputation; a film-maker chasing the broadest and basest of cinematic trends. Jackie Chan’s classics are hardly high-brow, but City Hunter… (read more)

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Master Z: Ip Man Legacy (2018)

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Posted on May 16, 2021 by Andrew

The Ip Man film scene has become a crowded sub-genre over the last decade and a bit. Although the four numbered titles directed by Wilson Yip and starring Donnie Yen are the most well-known, there are also the alternate takes on the historical figure in Ip Man: The Legend is Born, Ip Man: Kung Fu Master and Ip Man: The Final Fight plus Wong Kar Wai’s spin on the legend in The Grandmaster. There’s also a 2013 TV … (read more)

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