Recently viewed Hong Kong movies
A mixed bag of HK movies.
1. Heavenly Mission (2006) starring Ekin Cheng, Alex Fong, and Stephen Fung. Cheng plays Yip Chow, a gangster who's just spent 8 years in a Thai prison. After having an epiphany and spending his prison term reading voraciously, Yip decides to go straight and returns to HK to set up a legitimate business, using money borrowed from an arms dealer friend. He also performs deeds of charity which make him top news in the HK tabloids.
At the center of the movie is the question: can the tiger change his stripes? What's interesting here is that Yip thoroughly believes he can, and although his acts of charity are also in his interests, it's clear that Yip is sincere about them. From Yip, however, is a spectrum of people who are not as convinced -- from his shady lawyer who's trying to understand the "new man" to the police detective Sung (Alex Fong) who obsessively tracks Yip, hoping to catch him. And slicing into this tense situation is gangster upstart Gwai (Stephen Fung), resenting Yip's return.
Gwai is Yip-as-he-was, and when Yip tries to reason with Gwai, it's a fascinating look at how much Yip must've changed, but also how removed he's become -- would he have listened to his own advice at that age? Doubtful.
This is a good, solid, criminals-and-cops movie with strong performances, and nicely shot. Ekin Cheng is quietly charismatic as Yip -- you can understand why he was a gang leader though we only see him after he's changed. And Stephen Fung is terrific: cold anger and reckless ambition, and basically unlikeable. Adding to the effectiveness of his performance, the violent scenes are downplayed and restrained. (In fact, the worst scene doesn't show any violence at all -- we just hear Gwai's orders and know they were carried out. Very chilling.)
This is one I recommend.
2.) New Police Story (2004) starring Jackie Chan, Nicholas Tse, and Daniel Wu. Another cops-and-criminals movie, but this time in the Hong Kong action over-the-top mode. Nevertheless, it's rather gritty and gruesome in spots. Jackie Chan is a police inspector whose handpicked elite team is brutally murdered in front of his eyes. Six months later finds him taking an extended absence from work and drowning in alcohol and guilt. Stepping into his life is Frank Cheng (Tse), who prods him into getting back on the case of the criminal gang who killed his team. Though Chan resists at first, Frank's belief in him and eagerness to catch criminals wears him down, and Chan's life starts to turn around. Daniel Wu plays the sociopathic criminal leader with a matter-of-factness that nicely counterpoints the more flamboyant aspects of his character.
A bigger-budget actioner, there's violence, fights, explosions, chases, and everything is just over the edge of realistic, but highly entertaining. However, I recommend it more for the interaction between Chan and Frank: the down-and-out cop and the would-be protégé. They play off each other well. (Plus, Nic Tse is fairly adorable as Frank, showing a kind of kid-like enthusiasm in every new (and increasingly stressful) situation.)
3.) Enter The Phoenix (2004) starring Daniel Wu, Eason Chan, Law Kar Ying, Karen Mok, Chapman To, and Stephen Fung. Written and directed by Stephen Fung. What to make of this one... In this comedy, the head of a gangster clan dies, and his right-hand man has to find his estranged son, Georgie (Daniel Wu), so Georgie can take over the family business. Problem number 1: Georgie's gay. Problem number 2: when they track Georgie's address, they meet his (platonic) roommate Sam (Eason Chan) first, and Sam, who wants the glamour and power of a gangster's life, pretends to be Georgie. Problem number 3: the family has a nemesis, Chow (Stephen Fung), who wants to destroy Georgie any way he can.
So, on the surface, this is pretty much a "gay panic" comedy, with predictable bad taste jokes, sleazy stereotypes, and crudeness. (I suspect that if anything, the jokes are even cruder in Cantonese than they are in the English subtitles.) That being said, however, it's shot stylishly, and has a few surprisingly serious scenes about father-son loyalties and relationships. But also, underneath the rather obnoxious, broad comedy layer, there's a couple of curious twists: Sam, who's straight, is not only Georgie's friend, but once he's chosen to stay with his pretense of being Georgie, he sticks with it, even though it means everyone believes he's gay. When he has the chance to back down, he doesn't. And Georgie himself is ultimately the hero of the film: he's smart, rational, and tough, and doesn't care what everyone thinks. In contrast with Sam, who lies about himself for as long as he can get away with it, Georgie remains true to himself, even as he comes to terms with the fact that being from a gangster family is part of who he is.
This was a frustrating film. The seeds for an interesting story are there, but it's overwhelmed by the almost pathological requirement that the comedy be as crude as possible. Of good bits: there's a final showdown fight scene between Chow and Georgie that is kind of cool (and sly), and a brief cameo by Nic Tse as a bootleg merchant getting his comeuppance. But I can't really recommend this one, although I will mention that Stephen Fung is quite hot in it as the nemesis... You have to appreciate a director who knows how best to shoot himself, eh?
4.) Demi-Haunted (2004) starring Eason Chan and Joey Yung. This is a slight star vehicle for Eason Chan, a ghost story comedy with a genderbending twist. Giselle (Joey Yung) was a Chinese opera singer famous for playing male roles, but she fell in love with a gambler (Nicholas Tse in a small role) and died tragically. Now she's haunting Yee (Eason Chan), a performer in a financially troubled opera troupe, trying to get him to sing the female role she was never able to perform for her lover. Meanwhile Yee has fallen in love with a gambler's daughter, and Giselle offers to help him win her over.
Between this and Enter the Phoenix, I came to realize that Eason Chan is not really my cup of tea. This is a short movie that barely had enough story to fill itself, though the genderbendery is vaguely interesting. Nic Tse is nicely decadent as the handsome gambler, but his scenes are probably less than 5 minutes total.
5.) The Heavenly Kings (2005) starring Daniel Wu, Terence Yin, Andrew Lin, and Conroy Chan. Directed by Daniel Wu. A weird mockumentary about four Hong Kong actors -- Daniel Wu, Terence Yin, Andrew Lin, and Conroy Chan playing "themselves" -- who decide to form a boyband called Alive. Only Terence can sing, and they can't get a record deal, they can't dance, and they refuse to wear what the stylist gives them, and yet they find themselves booked for a three city tour of Hong Kong, Taipei, and Shanghai. But then the pressures of boyband near-stardom start to take their toll...
Essentially a commentary on the Hong Kong pop stardom scene, the movie is sprinkled with candid comments from popstars (Nicholas Tse, Karen Mok, etc.) and recording industry insiders. The mockumentary itself is bizarre, and because the four actors are being "themselves," it twists and plays with what's real and what isn't, and eventually seems to come down on the side that nothing in the entertainment industry is real. A bizarre film. Not for anyone with a big embarrassment squick.
6.) Sunshine Cops (1999) starring Stephen Fung and Ken Chong. A lightweight vehicle for Stephen Fung, this has a wafer-thin plot (two young Hong Kong policemen are chosen to become stylized poster boys to improve the image of the police force), a bit of action, but is all about showing off Stephen Fung and his cute (but rather bland personality-wise) cohort. As if proof were needed, there is a brief scene where both guys are stripped to their underpants and left in a cage for the press to find. Hong Kong movies are shameless! As long as you're not looking for a plot (and why look for one when you can look at Stephen Fung's biceps instead?), it's kind of fun.
7.) When Beckham Met Owen (2004) starring Eric Leung and Kelvin Lau. Michael and David are two soccer-mad friends on the cusp of puberty, but Michael finds himself thinking of David differently, and when a girl at school, Winnie, befriends them, he becomes jealous.
This is a naturalistic coming-of-age film that's oddly meandering, showing us random glimpses of the adults' lives while focusing on the kids. The kids are almost painfully true-to-life.
1. Heavenly Mission (2006) starring Ekin Cheng, Alex Fong, and Stephen Fung. Cheng plays Yip Chow, a gangster who's just spent 8 years in a Thai prison. After having an epiphany and spending his prison term reading voraciously, Yip decides to go straight and returns to HK to set up a legitimate business, using money borrowed from an arms dealer friend. He also performs deeds of charity which make him top news in the HK tabloids.
At the center of the movie is the question: can the tiger change his stripes? What's interesting here is that Yip thoroughly believes he can, and although his acts of charity are also in his interests, it's clear that Yip is sincere about them. From Yip, however, is a spectrum of people who are not as convinced -- from his shady lawyer who's trying to understand the "new man" to the police detective Sung (Alex Fong) who obsessively tracks Yip, hoping to catch him. And slicing into this tense situation is gangster upstart Gwai (Stephen Fung), resenting Yip's return.
Gwai is Yip-as-he-was, and when Yip tries to reason with Gwai, it's a fascinating look at how much Yip must've changed, but also how removed he's become -- would he have listened to his own advice at that age? Doubtful.
This is a good, solid, criminals-and-cops movie with strong performances, and nicely shot. Ekin Cheng is quietly charismatic as Yip -- you can understand why he was a gang leader though we only see him after he's changed. And Stephen Fung is terrific: cold anger and reckless ambition, and basically unlikeable. Adding to the effectiveness of his performance, the violent scenes are downplayed and restrained. (In fact, the worst scene doesn't show any violence at all -- we just hear Gwai's orders and know they were carried out. Very chilling.)
This is one I recommend.
2.) New Police Story (2004) starring Jackie Chan, Nicholas Tse, and Daniel Wu. Another cops-and-criminals movie, but this time in the Hong Kong action over-the-top mode. Nevertheless, it's rather gritty and gruesome in spots. Jackie Chan is a police inspector whose handpicked elite team is brutally murdered in front of his eyes. Six months later finds him taking an extended absence from work and drowning in alcohol and guilt. Stepping into his life is Frank Cheng (Tse), who prods him into getting back on the case of the criminal gang who killed his team. Though Chan resists at first, Frank's belief in him and eagerness to catch criminals wears him down, and Chan's life starts to turn around. Daniel Wu plays the sociopathic criminal leader with a matter-of-factness that nicely counterpoints the more flamboyant aspects of his character.
A bigger-budget actioner, there's violence, fights, explosions, chases, and everything is just over the edge of realistic, but highly entertaining. However, I recommend it more for the interaction between Chan and Frank: the down-and-out cop and the would-be protégé. They play off each other well. (Plus, Nic Tse is fairly adorable as Frank, showing a kind of kid-like enthusiasm in every new (and increasingly stressful) situation.)
3.) Enter The Phoenix (2004) starring Daniel Wu, Eason Chan, Law Kar Ying, Karen Mok, Chapman To, and Stephen Fung. Written and directed by Stephen Fung. What to make of this one... In this comedy, the head of a gangster clan dies, and his right-hand man has to find his estranged son, Georgie (Daniel Wu), so Georgie can take over the family business. Problem number 1: Georgie's gay. Problem number 2: when they track Georgie's address, they meet his (platonic) roommate Sam (Eason Chan) first, and Sam, who wants the glamour and power of a gangster's life, pretends to be Georgie. Problem number 3: the family has a nemesis, Chow (Stephen Fung), who wants to destroy Georgie any way he can.
So, on the surface, this is pretty much a "gay panic" comedy, with predictable bad taste jokes, sleazy stereotypes, and crudeness. (I suspect that if anything, the jokes are even cruder in Cantonese than they are in the English subtitles.) That being said, however, it's shot stylishly, and has a few surprisingly serious scenes about father-son loyalties and relationships. But also, underneath the rather obnoxious, broad comedy layer, there's a couple of curious twists: Sam, who's straight, is not only Georgie's friend, but once he's chosen to stay with his pretense of being Georgie, he sticks with it, even though it means everyone believes he's gay. When he has the chance to back down, he doesn't. And Georgie himself is ultimately the hero of the film: he's smart, rational, and tough, and doesn't care what everyone thinks. In contrast with Sam, who lies about himself for as long as he can get away with it, Georgie remains true to himself, even as he comes to terms with the fact that being from a gangster family is part of who he is.
This was a frustrating film. The seeds for an interesting story are there, but it's overwhelmed by the almost pathological requirement that the comedy be as crude as possible. Of good bits: there's a final showdown fight scene between Chow and Georgie that is kind of cool (and sly), and a brief cameo by Nic Tse as a bootleg merchant getting his comeuppance. But I can't really recommend this one, although I will mention that Stephen Fung is quite hot in it as the nemesis... You have to appreciate a director who knows how best to shoot himself, eh?
4.) Demi-Haunted (2004) starring Eason Chan and Joey Yung. This is a slight star vehicle for Eason Chan, a ghost story comedy with a genderbending twist. Giselle (Joey Yung) was a Chinese opera singer famous for playing male roles, but she fell in love with a gambler (Nicholas Tse in a small role) and died tragically. Now she's haunting Yee (Eason Chan), a performer in a financially troubled opera troupe, trying to get him to sing the female role she was never able to perform for her lover. Meanwhile Yee has fallen in love with a gambler's daughter, and Giselle offers to help him win her over.
Between this and Enter the Phoenix, I came to realize that Eason Chan is not really my cup of tea. This is a short movie that barely had enough story to fill itself, though the genderbendery is vaguely interesting. Nic Tse is nicely decadent as the handsome gambler, but his scenes are probably less than 5 minutes total.
5.) The Heavenly Kings (2005) starring Daniel Wu, Terence Yin, Andrew Lin, and Conroy Chan. Directed by Daniel Wu. A weird mockumentary about four Hong Kong actors -- Daniel Wu, Terence Yin, Andrew Lin, and Conroy Chan playing "themselves" -- who decide to form a boyband called Alive. Only Terence can sing, and they can't get a record deal, they can't dance, and they refuse to wear what the stylist gives them, and yet they find themselves booked for a three city tour of Hong Kong, Taipei, and Shanghai. But then the pressures of boyband near-stardom start to take their toll...
Essentially a commentary on the Hong Kong pop stardom scene, the movie is sprinkled with candid comments from popstars (Nicholas Tse, Karen Mok, etc.) and recording industry insiders. The mockumentary itself is bizarre, and because the four actors are being "themselves," it twists and plays with what's real and what isn't, and eventually seems to come down on the side that nothing in the entertainment industry is real. A bizarre film. Not for anyone with a big embarrassment squick.
6.) Sunshine Cops (1999) starring Stephen Fung and Ken Chong. A lightweight vehicle for Stephen Fung, this has a wafer-thin plot (two young Hong Kong policemen are chosen to become stylized poster boys to improve the image of the police force), a bit of action, but is all about showing off Stephen Fung and his cute (but rather bland personality-wise) cohort. As if proof were needed, there is a brief scene where both guys are stripped to their underpants and left in a cage for the press to find. Hong Kong movies are shameless! As long as you're not looking for a plot (and why look for one when you can look at Stephen Fung's biceps instead?), it's kind of fun.
7.) When Beckham Met Owen (2004) starring Eric Leung and Kelvin Lau. Michael and David are two soccer-mad friends on the cusp of puberty, but Michael finds himself thinking of David differently, and when a girl at school, Winnie, befriends them, he becomes jealous.
This is a naturalistic coming-of-age film that's oddly meandering, showing us random glimpses of the adults' lives while focusing on the kids. The kids are almost painfully true-to-life.