Looking for Bruce Lee (2002)

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Posted on February 24, 2005 by Mark Morrison

I expected some kind of slick commercial comedy starring Korean punkrock band Crying Nut in a wacky search for a killer with a Bruce Lee fetish.

What I got instead was a freewheeling video experiment starring Korean punkrock band Crying Nut in a wacky search for a killer with a Bruce Lee fetish, mixed in with random snippets of other stories (such as the jilted sepia bride with beautiful legs), concert footage, people of all nations talking about living in … (read more)

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My Sassy Girl (2001)

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Posted on February 24, 2005 by Alison

There’s no easy way to start this, so I’ve just gotta blurt it out: this is a great movie. The characters are fresh and engaging, the plot is simple yet manages to surprise, and the whole is just superbly well-crafted. It’s long, but well worth it: there’s a bit of sag in the middle, but otherwise it’s a goer from beginning to end.

Now it gets even harder: why is it so great? Well, the actors handle their roles with … (read more)

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One Fine Spring Day (2000)

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Posted on February 24, 2005 by Deni

Some of the most satisfying love stories involve people just that little bit too odd to be able to find romance either easy or lasting and One Fine Spring Day goes about establishing this premise with a bittersweet grace that makes it at times almost breathtakingly beautiful to watch.

Lee Sang-wu, played with sensitivity by pop star/model Yu Ji-tae, is a composed, introspective, somewhat artless young man living with his father, aunt and slightly senile grandmother. Working as a recording … (read more)

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Once Upon a Time in China (1991)

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Posted on February 17, 2005 by Eugene

There is no being objective in this review. Once Upon a Time in China was the first time I had ever come across Jet Li and well, here I am today. There is no understatement that without first catching this on SBS one night, I would not have learned the need to flip and kick like gravity was for lesser people. I would not see the nobility in virtue and righteousness. I would not see the heroic of cinema and … (read more)

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Samurai (2001)

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Posted on December 2, 2004 by Alison

Okay, well, it helps to know the genre of any film before you start watching, and this one falls into the category of “Japanese computer geek samurai and sci-fi thriller”. Oh. Like a lot of Japanese films, devilishly hard to pigeonhole, and therefore usually entertaining, because so much variety usually throws up something worth a look.

The best thing about this film is undoubtedly the actor playing the cop Fujiwara: veteran actor Yasuaki Kurata, perhaps last seen in Fist Of … (read more)

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Gagamboy (2003)

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Posted on October 28, 2004 by Alison

Ever wondered where super-heroes get their costumes? Or what to do when you wake up one morning festooned with orange goo? Well, Gagamboy will answer all your questions, and give you a jolly good time to boot.

Gagamboy is absolutely the most fun you’ll ever have in public. After all, who could resist a film with a poor but honest hero, lovely heroine, moustache-twirling villain, and of course some toxic waste that turns the hero into Gagamboy (Spiderboy) and the … (read more)

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Rice Rhapsody (2004)

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Posted on October 18, 2004 by James

Some people swing towards chicken, others to duck, but sometimes its takes time and experience for individuals to figure out their preference. Jen’s youngest son is one such confused soul, unsure whether he’s sexually drawn to the new age femme from Europe or his bicycling playmate from the sandpit days … or neither, or both. Meanwhile, Kim Chui knows he’s in love with Jen but she stubbornly refuses to get involved with another man, and certainly not with the owner … (read more)

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Hidden Heroes (2004)

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Posted on September 26, 2004 by Eugene

It’s a rare event that I walk out of a Ronald Cheng comedy not completely appalled at the completely over-the-top antics and toilet humour that force me to just cringe and pretend it never happened.

With Hidden Heroes it seems there is a spark of promise that may make the next one to come out actually worth watching. Either that or an intense night out beforehand perhaps makes these things somewhat more palatable. So much for a detached objectivity.

The … (read more)

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