The Good, the Bad, the Weird (2008)

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Posted on October 5, 2008 by Justin

Not having seen Kim Jee-Woon’s previous films, but remembering that other Heroic reviewers are big fans (see A Bittersweet Life, A Tale of Two Sisters and The Foul King), I jumped at the chance to go and see it. The frenetic, action-packed trailer had caught my attention, too, reminding me of Tears of the Black Tiger with an ensemble cast and a Leone-style desert setting.

At the beginning of the film, Chang-yi (Lee Byung-heon) is hired to steal … (read more)

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Mad Detective (2007)

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Posted on October 5, 2008 by Justin

Hong Kong’s most reliably excellent director brings back Lau Ching Wan for another collaboration in Mad Detective, their first in several years. It’s a Hong Kong police procedural, familiar territory to Hong Kong film fans, except that it has a rather creative twist. Lau Ching Wan plays Bun, a brilliant intuitive detective who has a knack for solving crimes through putting himself in the shoes of their participants, seeing their inner conflicts and motivations. Unfortunately, he’s also a little … (read more)

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Wicked Woman (1958)

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Posted on September 7, 2008 by Christian

It appears that writings of the early Meiji era (around 1870s) of Japan were littered with popularised tales of dokufu or “poison women”; women who were violent criminals, thieves and murderers. A lot of the tales were based on real people and then the tales were mainly exaggerated through popular fiction, kabuki theatre and much later in films.

One of the most famous was Takahashi Oden who, in real life, was known to have poisoned her leprosy-riddled husband and stabbed … (read more)

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MPD Psycho (2000)

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Posted on September 7, 2008 by Alison

Psst, hey! Yeah, you. No, don’t turn around. I know what you’re looking for. You don’t want that mindless action, or no romcom. That’s kid stuff. Tame. You want something different. Something that’ll do your head in. You’re a connnoisseur. I can spot ’em a mile away. Come with me, nice and easy like, and I’ll satisfy your craving. I got the goods, me. Just you trust me, sunshine, and I’ll give you what you want.

MPD Psycho is another … (read more)

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New Getter Robo (2004)

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Posted on September 7, 2008 by Tom

New Getter Robo comes from a time long gone. It is an echo of a time before even Gundam was on the scene. Back then the soon-to-be-genre of mecha anime was only really just beginning to get off the ground. There had been a couple of shows about robots and the like but it was really the work of Go Nagai that established the stereotypes and clichés that fans have come to expect of giant robot shows. One such example … (read more)

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All About Lily Chou-Chou (2001)

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Posted on September 5, 2008 by Deni

From the opening scene, the green rice fields and blue sky filling the screen, the main character standing alone, cut off from the world and cocooned inside the headphones feeding music by his favourite pop star Lily Chou-Chou straight through to his soul, this is a film about teenage isolation and the pain it spawns. It is by degrees dark and disturbing, light and humorous, painful, challenging and ultimately deeply affecting.

Partially inspired by Canto-pop phenomenon Faye Wong, a cross-cultural … (read more)

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The Forbidden Kingdom (2008)

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Posted on August 26, 2008 by Justin

The Forbidden Kingdom attracted huge attention from the moment it was rumoured that the world’s two biggest names in martial arts cinema would be working together. The J & J Project, they whispered. Yuen Wo Ping’s choreographing, they typed. There were naysayers, too: It’s American, from Miramax, and from the director of… Stuart Little, of all things. The trailers looked OK, though, with a strong emphasis on the action sequences, and it had Jet Li in … (read more)

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Gong Li – Her Brilliant Career

Posted on August 11, 2008 by John Snadden

One of the most recognised Chinese faces in the world today is that of actress Gong Li. Her memorable screen roles of strong willed women challenging an obstinate male dominated society found enthusiastic audiences in the east and west.

Films such as the historical dramas Ju Dou and Raise the Red Lantern were world-wide successes; while smaller, more parochial films like the urban drama Breaking the Silence were garnered with critical and local rewards.

Gong Li has at times been … (read more)

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