Armour Of God (1987)

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Posted on March 10, 2005 by James

Famous not only as a box-office smash, but also for containing a misfired stunt that smashed open Jackie Chan’s skull, Armour of God is a bare bones action-adventure yarn that displays oodles of JC’s superb athleticism and wily comic talents. This is a movie that barely makes sense, is often borderline politically incorrect, and is firmly rooted in childish entertainment — in short, it’s an energetic and accomplished plot-driven B-movie that aficionados of finer martial action or breakneck comedy may … (read more)

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The Seventh Curse (1986)

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Posted on February 24, 2005 by Mark Morrison

This may be the stupidest film I’ve ever seen; I loved it.

It’s a pulp adventure barely starring Chow Yun-fat as the hero Wisely; 90% of the film follows the exploits of his doctor/explorer/martial artist friend Dr Yuan (Chin Siu Ho), who’s a man with a problem: when he’s about to have sex, he’s smitten with a damn unsatisfying Thai curse which makes bullets burst from his body. That’s gotta cramp anyone’s style.

The only way to solve the matter … (read more)

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The Turandot Project (documentary) (2001)

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Posted on February 24, 2005 by Eugene

Chinese and opera are not two words seen together that inspire a great deal of joy in my life. The clanging and screeching tend to more irritate than entertain whenever I am exposed to my cultural heritage. In contrast, I don’t mind an Italian opera or other operas of the western classical sensitivity.

So much for nature over nurture.

Well at the very least when it comes to musical taste. So a making of Turandot is something I don’t mind. … (read more)

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A Perfect Match (2002)

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Posted on February 24, 2005 by Eugene

Hmm. A matchmaker who has trouble finding a match for herself – sound familiar? Well it is a romantic comedy and once the basic premise of the film is established, you can pretty much guess how it will turn out in the end. Still, doesn’t mean it isn’t watchable.

So how does it stand as a Romantic Comedy? Well, I will admit it is quite enjoyable and something that doesn’t take much effort to watch. With the plot well established, … (read more)

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A Chinese Ghost Story (1987)

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Posted on February 24, 2005 by Alison

It’s impossible to not love this Tsui Hark masterpiece. It opens with a solitary scholar in a moon-drenched abandoned monastery, tempted by a beautiful girl swathed in soft white chiffon. Her drifting veil pulls the scholar to her, and as his paper lantern floats in a bowl of water, the scholar proves himself susceptible to her wiles. Alas for our scholar, he is but a bit-player in this beautiful fable, as his temptress turns out to be the point woman … (read more)

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The Compensation (2001)

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Posted on February 24, 2005 by Alison

The Compensation is a simple and predictable story with sharply delineated heroes and villains. Despite this fact, and the thinness of the production values, it still makes a couple of good points about society in general, and has some stunning shots of Sri Lankan jungle that would well suit a travelogue.

It starts with a funeral, and I must confess that the keening violin running incessantly for the first 5 or 10 minutes really got on my wick. Yes, I … (read more)

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The Blood Brothers (1973)

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Posted on February 24, 2005 by Alison

This is one of the seminal martial arts flicks of the industry, and a whole load of fun to boot. The fight scenes, of which there are many, will give you a good idea of just how damn hard Hong Kong actors had to work in them days. Fights, usually with one good guy battling at least half a dozen opponents, run for about five minutes, with all participants lunging, kicking, punching, and generally shakin’ it all about in finely … (read more)

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The White Dragon (2004)

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Posted on February 24, 2005 by Eugene

White Dragon holds promising individual components, but implements them in such an ordinary way that the result is tragedy, of the unintentional kind.

Cecilia Cheung stars, returning to the petulant drama queen role she tends to fall back on regularly to pay the bills. Her character Hei Fung (aka Little White Dragon) is an immature self-centred brat who obviously grows up a little over the course of the film by coming into contact with Francis Ng’s Chicken Feathers, the tragically … (read more)

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