Blog Archives

Ex (2010)

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Posted on May 19, 2010 by Elizabeth Kerr

No matter what anyone says or does and no matter how hard Emperor (the film’s production company) tries, the biggest draw to Heiward Mak’s middling twentysomething romantic drama is lead Gillian Chung. Ex is the kind of star vehicle released at Just The Right Time that Emperor excels in forcing into the cultural discourse; let’s not forget this is the organisation that decided to makes stars of Twins — and unfortunately did so. This time around, the goal is rehabilitating … (read more)

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Amphetamine (On Fei Tar Ming) (2010)

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Posted on May 8, 2010 by Elizabeth Kerr

Okay. So all you have to know about being gay in Asia is that 1) your life will end miserably and you will die too young and 2) you will become smitten with a straight guy, but that’s not really an obstacle to your imminent demise. Horror, sci-fi, rom-com and kitchen sink dramas have tropes and conventions that define them as such, and in that light, Asia’s queer cinema scene is making a case for itself as a genre. That … (read more)

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Days of Being Wild (1990)

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Posted on April 2, 2010 by Samson

Days of Being Wild is one of the early films by renowned Hong Kong director Wong Kar-Wai. It has all the trademarks of Wong’s later works, such as Chungking Express and In the Mood for Love. But despite being less well-known in the West, Days of Being Wild is certainly no less impressive than any other film by Wong. It is a beautiful movie that features unforgettable characters played by some of Hong Kong’s best actors and actresses working … (read more)

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Shaolin Soccer (2001)

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Posted on April 2, 2010 by Samson

I can just imagine how one day, this strange idea suddenly crossed filmmaker Stephen Chow’s mind: what would happen if I combine martial arts and soccer to make a ‘sports movie’? He must have thought it was a good idea, and went on to realise it. And he was absolutely right. The result was Shaolin Soccer, one of the funniest and most original films ever made, in Hong Kong and in fact anywhere in the world.

Shaolin Soccer tells … (read more)

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CJ7 (2008)

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Posted on March 31, 2010 by Rhys

Off the shelf; it’s a Sony.

It’s not after every trip to the local video store that I leave pondering global marketing, cross-cultural hybridization, computer generated aliens and region coded DVD players. I was recently, however, pleasantly surprised to have seen a copy of Stephen Chow’s CJ7 (a local release, not an import) propped up amongst the latest plethora of Hollywood’s finest – a dim, yet shining, beacon. It seemed to me that this film was once destined to carry … (read more)

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Bodyguards and Assassins (2009)

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Posted on January 12, 2010 by Tom

I knew very little about Bodyguards and Assassins going into the theatre. I had heard a basic plot outline that could be described as ‘16 Blocks with a team of kung-fu fighters instead of Bruce Willis’. Having now seen the film I think that sentence does a disservice to the film.

B&A is set in 1906, British ruled, Hong Kong. Revolution is in the air with student protests and rebel groups finding their footing. With police and other forces … (read more)

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Storm Warriors (2009)

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Posted on December 15, 2009 by Elizabeth Kerr

It’s been a decade since Aaron Kwok and Ekin Cheng starred as Cloud and Wind respectively for Andrew Lau’s adaptation of Ma Wing-shing’s popular The Storm Riders (1998). Released on the cusp of the Hong Kong industry’s virtual collapse, it was a hit that set the digital standard for filmmaking in the SAR for years to come. It was also one of the last big, all-star epics from that period to find a cult following overseas.

So what’s changed, what’s … (read more)

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The Warrior and the Wolf (Lang Zai Ji) (2009)

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Posted on December 2, 2009 by Elizabeth Kerr

Wolves have a storied place in mythology and folklore ranging from reverence to revulsion. Wolves tend to be venerated in Native American cultures – but it’s just a tendency. Romulus and Remus were wolves and they founded Rome. We’ve all been warned to ‘beware of wolves in sheep’s clothing’, and we know how poor Red Riding Hood fared. And, uh, hello … werewolves? Based on a story by Akutagawa-winner Inoue Yasushi, The Warrior and the Wolf is a three-part meditation … (read more)

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