Magic and Love

This time, a shorter post, covering just two films: Hong Kong horror film Gong Tau: An Oriental Black Magic, and Korean romance drama My Girl & I.


Gong Tau: An Oriental Black Magic














Gong Tau is a Category III, meaning it is not for the kiddies, horror flick about a cop whose family is cursed by the mystical Gong Tau. The Voodoo-like magic slowly affects everyone close to him, and he must try like the Dickens to find out who has put the whammy on him so that he can salvage what is left of his quickly deteriorating life.

An entertaing horror flick that has some good scares and a decent story, which is more than can be said for most contemporary horror films. If you've seen and liked films, like The Serpent and the Rainbow, that have some gruesome scenes, though not to the degree of depravity seen in the Saw or Hostel films, you'll be in for a treat with Gong Tau.


My Girl & I













The second and final film for this abbreviated post, is the Korean romance drama My Girl & I. Adapted from a Japanese film, My Girl & I stars some extremely photogenic actors in contrived and overdone situtations that we've all seen before. And yet, the stars aligned to make this an incredibly engrossing, if somewhat light, drama that is probably better than it should be.

It is simple enough, boy meets girl, they fall in like, get to know each other, flutters begin in their tummies, and then they discover their love can never be, due to the obligatory contrived circumstance. Inspite of this, My Girl & I manages to tug at the old heartstrings, and even made a cynical, jaded, love-deprived guy like myself care what happened to the characters. Something that is no small feat.

Ahhhhhh, films

I've been to lazy to blog, so I haven't. However, I am now going to overcome that and provide you, dear readers, with a super-lenghty blog. A super-lengthy blog filled with my thoughts on Hong Kong horror-comedies The Haunted Cop Shop and Demi-Haunted, HK rom-com Bakery Amour, Chinese coming-of-age drama Beijing Bicycle, HK musical drama Perhaps Love, HK/Taiwanese drama Secret, HK comedy/Bond spoof From Beijing With Love, HK comedy Love on a Diet, HK horror flick Nightmares in Precinct 7, HK horror comedy classic A Chinese Ghost Story III, Korean comedy The Foul King, and American horror comedy Hellboy II.


The Haunted Cop Shop
The Haunted Cop Shop is a horror comedy that stars Jacky Cheung and Ricky Hui as two bumbling cops that run afoul of a Japanese ghost/vampire. Wacky, sometimes hit or miss, comedy highlights The Haunted Cop Shop. If you're into films like Mr. Vampire or Fright Night, odds are you'll like this as well.


Demi-Haunted
Scares, comedy and drama all take turns popping up in Demi-Haunted. Unfortunately, they don't always pop up at the appropriate times. Eason Chan stars as a low level actor in a theatre troupe that befriends the ghost of a former actress looking for her long lost love. All in all, there are worse ways to spend an hour and a half, and you probably won't go away from the film hating it.


Bakery Amour






Pretty much your standard rom-com, guy meets girl, stomachs fill with butteflies, and something happens that interferes with their budding romance until they realize the depth of their love. Inspite of this overdone genere's formulaic plotting, Bakery Amour manages to entertain and even charm. Most of this is due to stars Francis Ng and Michelle Reis, who are both immensely likeable.


Beijing Bicycle














A great film about a country boy that goes to work in Beijing as a delivery boy. Bicycle beneath him, he flies around the streets of Beijing making deliveries. Unfortunately, just as he is about to have enough money to own his bike outright, it is stolen. Devastated, he searches for his bike in hopes of regaining his job and his feeling of freedom. An excellent film that affects and engages. By the end of it you'll be on the edge of your seat rooting for him.


God of Cookery














King of Comedy Stephen Chow lampoons the TV cooking craze. Needless to say, it is hilariously funny. I guess it wasn't needless to say, since I stated it, but you get the idea.


Perhaps Love















Peter Chan (Comrades, Almost a Love Story; The Warlords) directs this musical drama about dysfunctional actors in an intricate love triangle, searching for pieces of themsevles in their pasts. It stars HK heavyweights Jacky Cheung and Takeshi Kaneshiro alongside mainland Chinese actress Zhou Xun. Perhaps Love is so well acted and directed, that it draws one in, and very quickly you forget that you're even watching a musical. The song and dance numbers fit so well within the characters' lives that they never distract or take one out of the film. Beautifully shot, with great music, acting and direction. Perhaps Love is not only worthy of a viewing, it deserves it.


Secret














Some might think that following up Perhaps Love would be nigh impossible, and they would be correct, unless they popped Secret into their dvd players. Directed by, written by, and starring Jay Chou, Secret is a story of young love. To say much more about the plot would give away the secret. Stars Jay Chou, Anthony Wong, and the incredible Kwai Lun-Mei, admirably portray the angst and longing of their characters that, if played by lesser actors, would cause the film to sink faster than a bottomless canoe. Though some of the aspects of the secret fail to convince, the beauty of the story and the music of the film manage to make Secret pretty great.


From Beijing with Love














King of Comedy Stephen Chow lampoons James Bond. Like in God of Cookery, Chow is impossibly funny. If you like James Bond films, and even if you don't, you should see it, because Stephen Chow would like you to.


Love on a Diet














Directed by Milkyway Image greats Johnnie To & Wai Ka-Fai, Love on a Diet stars Andy Lau and Sammi Cheng in fat suits. Cheng plays Mini, a rotund woman that seems to be the biggest (no pun intended) fan of Japanese sensation Kurokawa. Before he became a hit, Kurokawa was a small time artist in love with Mini. As his skills progressed, he left to study in America, and Mini fell into a state of depression, trying to fill the void left by Kurokawa's departure with food. Years later, Mini meets Kurokawa after a concert, but he doesn't recognize her, and mentions that she and his lost love share the same name.

A further depressed Mini then crosses paths with bitter loner Fatso (Lau). Fatso eventually befriends Mini and reluctantly agrees to help his new friend reach her goals. Along the way, Fatso goes above and beyond the call of friendship for Mini in every way he can. As she nears her goal, they to begin to fall for one another, and Mini must chose between the dream she has hoped for, and the love of the man who would do anything for her.

Filled with humor and heart, Love on a Diet is slightly off putting because of the slim is better attidues of the main characters. However, it is never said that thinner is truly better, and the fact that they can see past their distaste of their respective weights to find love shows just how good Johnnie To and Wai Ka-Fai are as directors. Slightly silly, and less-than-PC, but still a thoroughly entertaining and touching film.


Nightmares in Precinct 7






Directed by Herman Yau, Nightmares in Precinct 7 stars Andy Hui as Fong, a cop that gets shot in the head while on the job. Two years later, he awakens from a coma to find that two of his colleages died in the same incident, his mother passed away, and his girlfriend has moved on. And you thought your day was bad.

Luckily for him, he has super-cute nurse named Oscar (played by Loletta Lee) that fancies him, and a neat new sense in the form of seeing ghosts. After rehab, Fong returns to duty and is given lead on a rape-murder investigation. As he struggles to return to normal, Fong is aided by the ghost of a psychologist (played by Cheung Tat Ming) with both his investigation, and his budding romance. When the killer seems to begin eyeing Oscar, Fong must confront his fears to save her.

Not too scary, but filled with dark humor and wonderful performances from Hui, Lee, and Cheung, Nightmares in Precinct 7 proves to be a thoughtful and affecting horror drama. Besides being one of the best horror films I've ever seen, Nigtmares in Precinct 7 also has the best, most shocking ending I've ever seen. As jarring as the ending is, it also feels wholly appropriate, and gives a great end to a great film.


A Chinese Ghost Story III







Stars Tony Leung, Jacky Cheung and Joey Wong. Same as the first two films in the series, A Chinese Ghost Story III follows a young man's journey as he falls for a kind ghost that is controlled by a not so kind ghost. With the help of a swordsman-for-hire, the young man frees his love from the clutches of pure evil.

Not a scary film by any means, A Chinese Ghost Story III is heavy on humor and romance. Though there are scarier and funnier films, A Chinese Ghost Story III is not without charm, and is definitely worth seeing as Leung, Cheung, and the beautiful Wong make a good comedic team. That being said, if you haven't seen either of the preceeding films in the series, A Chinese Ghost Story and A Chinese Ghost Story II, I would recommend watching those first.


The Foul King









A supremely funny Korean comedy that stars Song Kang-Ho as an unlucky guy that finds inner strength, friendship and love after becoming a wreslter. Though it is easy to compound the film's plot into a simple sentence, it is much more than a simple comedy. Song Kang-Ho's ability to play an affable, unfortunate character is astounding, and the dramatic undertones allow the actors and the comedy to have more weight than one would expect.


Hellboy II: The Golden Army















After the first Hellboy and Pan's Labyrinth, Guillermo Del Toro had endeared audiences, critics and producers enough to make a blockbuster follow up to Hellboy. In Hellboy II: The Golden Army, Ron Perlman, Selma Blair, Doug Jones, and Jeffrey Tambor are back, brining the B.P.R.D (Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense) to life. Unfortunately, the story is mired by unnecessary subplots, and an unsympathetic, angsty antagonist.

Hellboy II fails to live up to it's predecessor, and feels very much like Guillermo Del Toro's Greatest Hits, as the director utilizes tones, themes, actors, and even storylines from his previous films. A big disappointment, for a film that should have been a slam dunk. Perlman and the other actors, with the exception of Jones (reprising his role as Abe Sapien in body, and replacing the far superior David Hyde-Pierce as Abe Sapien in voice), manage a fine job with their characters, but the film feels like a scattershot of things that worked well in other films, but without the setup and followup in those respective films, the ideas put forth in Hellboy II fall far short, though audiences will still flock to see it, and fanboys will still love it.

Next time: Hong Kong horror thriller Gong Tau: An Oriental Black Magic, Korean rom-drama My Girl & I, HK dramedy Trivial Matters, and more.

Lights! DVD! Action!

This time around, more cinematic fun with Hong Kong classics The 36TH Chamber of Shaolin, and Come Drink With Me, ancient Chinese warfare epic A Battle of Wits, and the Korean revenge-suspense-drama Good Wife.

The 36TH Chamber of Shaolin
















In Shaolin Kung Fu, there are 35 chambers, comprised of the lessons needed to make one a proper ass-kicking follower of Buddha. In the film, The 36TH Chamber of Shaolin, the evil Manchu cause young student Liu Yu-De to travel to Shaolin Temple to learn the ways of Shaolin Kung Fu. After completing the 35 chambers in record time, Liu Yu-De is given the choice of overseeing any chamber he wishes. However, instead of picking one of the already established chambers, he asks to create a 36TH chamber, in which he would teach students outside of Shaolin Temple, in hopes of kicking the Manchu out of Canton.

Eventually, the baddies get their collective asses handed to them, and good triumphs. But it isn't the outcome of the rebel factions opposed to the Manchua rulers that is the main focus of the film, it is Liu Yu-De's progression in his Shaolin training. The training, and Gordon Liu's performance as Liu Yu-De, made this a cinema classic that rivals any martial arts film made before or since.

Come Drink With Me

















While The 36TH Chamber of Shaolin is probably the greatest martial arts film ever made, Come Drink With Me is a close second.

In the olden days in China, a gang of bastardly robbers kidnap a governor's son in hopes of trading his life for that of their captured leader. Golden Swallow, the governor's daughter, is sent to arrest those responsible, while rescuing her brother. Though she can kick the crap out of almost any man, an entire gang proves too much for her alone. Fortunately for her, she crosses paths with a mysterious beggar, that is really the Druken Master of Shaolin Temple.

Before Buffy The Vampire Slayer, before La Femme Nikita, Golden Swallow showed that women can kick ass as well as any man. It is a really good film too.

A Battle of Wits















Andy Lau stars as Ge Li, a brilliant strategist with a heart of gold, that goes to Liang to help defend it against a coming invasion. Ge Li proves to be the Liang peoples' only hope, as they face death and slavery should their kingdom fall. Lucky for them Ge Li is the smartest military general one could ask for. While aiding Liang and it's people, Ge Li earns respect from his subordinates and the enemy general, the love of a beatiful woman (played by the lovely Fan Bingbing), and the ire of Liang's King, as the less than benevolent ruler sees Ge Li as a threat to his rule due to Ge Li's kindhearted nature.

All in all, A Battle of Wits is pretty damn good. What is found in A Battle of Wits may not be quite as excellent as the political intrigue and elaborate battles found in Curse of the Golden Flower, but it is far better than An Empress and the Warriors, and at least on par with another recent Andy Lau Ancient Chinese epic, The Warlords.

Good Wife
















Talented acting, decent direction and some flashes of goodness can't save this muddle Korean drama from being anything other than diversionary entertainment. Simply put, a waste of time if you're looking for something meaningful or worthwile. However, if you have an hour and a half of free time, nothing better to do, and you don't feel like taking a nap, what the hell?

Party All the Time

Since my last post, I have managed to find time to watch a flick or two, or, nine. Yeah, I kinda like films.

The Missing Gun















First up, is the Chinese neo-noir The Missing Gun. It stars Jiang Wen as a Ma Shan, a police officer that loses his gun. Since China is a nation where guns are banned, his superiors are extremely worried what might happen should the gun fall into the wrong hands, which is inevitably does. What follows is a noirish black comedy that highlights the ugly side of Ma Shan's life and the people he knows, as everyone from his son, to his wife, to his old war buddies become suspects in the disappearance of his gun.

The ugliness of Ma Shan's life is what makes The Missing Gun worth recommending. Jiang Wen's performance as the downtrodden cop who seemingly everyone is against, makes it easy to identify with the character, and get lost in the story. Pun intended.

PK.COM.CN















Second is the abrasively postmodern second film from Xiao Jiang, PK.COM.CN. Having seen and thoroughly enjoyed Xiao's first feature, Electric Shadows, I was really looking forward to seeing PK.COM.CN. Sadly, it did not manage to reach the same heights Xiao's previous effort.

PK.COM.CN is the tale of Fang Zuming, a young surgeon who longs for his med school days spent with his best friend Chen Bailin. The two were as close as brothers and planned to live their lives to the fullest. Unfortunately, Fang gave up on his dreams and had a falling out with Chen, causing Fang to close himself off.

While it deals with a familiar premise, PK.COM.CN fails to reach it's full potential as it unfolds in a flashy, music video stlye that is more about how Fang felt in given situations, than what actually occurred. More simply put, if you're jonsing for something akin to Run Lola Run, or abstract art, this is a film for you. Otherwise, don't waste the medicine this film will require you to take to get rid of the headache it may cause.

An Empress and the Warriors
















If ever you have found yourself dreaming of a film that combines Kelly Chen's lack of acting ability with a set inspired by the Ewok Village from Return of the Jedi, this is for you. However, if you like stories that have the slightest bit of meat to them, and characters whose actions make some semblance of sense, watch something else.

Twelve Nights











Fortunatey, after watching two underwhelming films, I was whelmed with Twelve Nights. Twelve Nights stars Eason Chan and Cecilia Cheung in an incredibly believable film about the ups and downs of a relationship, from the beginning to the tear-inducing end. The story itself is fairly simplistic, boy meets girl, they fall in, and eventually out, of love.

What sets this apart is Director Aubrey Lam's choice to cover the relationship in twelve segments, that showcase the important moments in the relationship. Each segment is preceded by a statement about love and emotions, that hold true for the characters. Definitely not an easy film to digest, Twelve Nights shows the depressing aspects of love with honesty.

Dreams May Come













Director/Writer/Actress/Super-Blogger Xu Jinglei's third feature , Dreams May Come is an amazing film, in which nothing really happens. Xu stars as an actress in a television series, who goes to the series' director's hotel room to tell him she wants to quit the show. What follows is roughly 100 minutes of conversation, during which both characters comment on how they see themselves, each other, and the world.

Its a deceptively simple film that manages to engage and even enthrall, in spite of the seemingly pretentious concept. I had been looking forward to seeing this film for a long time, having liked Xu's first film, My Father and I, and loved her second film, A Letter From an Unknown Woman. Fortunately, my high expectations were exceed, and I was treated to one of the best films I've seen this year, and probably ever.

Chungking Express















After watching films like Twelve Nights and Dreams May Come, I felt as though I had been spoiled. Then I watched Chungking Express. I've probably seen this film more times than any other, and I don't think I will ever get tired of seeing it. A must see for any Hong Kong film fan, cinema afficianado, or film buff. Chungking Express is my favorite in all of filmdom, and probably the greatest film ever made. If you think you have seen a film better than this, you're wrong.

Police Story















Jackie Chan before he made crappy American movies. Directed by Jackie Chan, Police Story is a cinema classic that stars Jackie Chan, Brigitte Lin, and Maggie Cheung. If you need to read any more about this film, you don't need to see it.

Police Story Part II















Jackie, Maggie, the cops, and the bad guys from the first film are back with all the comedy, action and stunts the first film had, with a longer running time and a deaf mute with a penchant for explosives.

Lost in Beijing
















Rounding out the films for this post is Lost in Beijing. Banned in China for the explicit sexual scenes, Lost is Beijing is a tale of two married couples whose bliss is marred by unfaithfulness, greed, and a general lack of morality. And it is beautiful. The characters are believable and the actors protraying them draw you in and make you care as though they were real. When it is all over, no one is spared from the fates they have wrought on themselves and each other. An utterly wonderful film that like Twelve Nights, shows the ugly side of relationships and the people in them.