My Mother is a Fish

If you know the source of this blog's title, I just might buy you a cookie.

Tiger Cage
Directed by Yuen Woo-Ping (In the Line of Duty IV, Iron Monkey, Wing Chun), starring Simon Yam (Full Contact, PTU, Sparrow), Jacky Cheung (Days of Being Wild, July Rhapsody, Perhaps Love), Carol Cheng (The Eighth Happiness, Tiger Cage 2, Frugal Game), Donnie Yen (In the Line of Duty IV, Iron Monkey, SPL), Ng Man-Tat (A Moment of Romance, Best of the Best, Shaolin Soccer), and other people (various).

An uninspired cop drama from masterful action director Yuen Woo-Ping. Tiger Cage is like every other film of the genre in that no one can be trusted, police corruption runs rampant, and the good guys refuse to back down. Unlike the great multitude of cop flicks, Tiger Cage is directed by Yuen Woo-Ping, meaning the action is top notch. Tiger Cage is like a drug. It grabs hold from the start and pumps out so many excellent action sequences that by the end of the ride you're left catching your breath as the characters take their last.

The Shopaholics
Directed by Wai Ka-Fai (Too Many Ways to Be No. 1, co-director of Fulltime Killer, Mad Detective), starring Cecilia Cheung (One Nite in Mongkok, Lost in Time, Running on Karma), Lau Ching Wan (Too Many Ways to Be No. 1, Lost in Time, Mad Detective), Jordan Chan (Lost and Found, Big Bullet, Wo Hu), Ella Koon (Drink-Drank-Drunk).

A fluffy comedy from Milkway Image that stars the people listed above. The Shopaholics is an incredibly light, utterly unnecessary film that is neither new, nor creative. However, The Shopaholics is incredibly fun, and all of the actors provide engaging and enjoyable performances. While it may not be note worthy cinema, The Shopaholics is a fun film that is full of laughs.

Full Contact
Directed by Ringo Lam (City on Fire, Full Alert, Triangle), starring Chow Yun-Fat (A Better Tomorrow, The Killer, Hard Boiled), Anthony Wong (The Mission, Infernal Affairs, Mob Sister), Simon Yam (Tiger Cage, Expect the Unexpected, PTU), and Ann Bridgewater.

Action trash from Ringo Lam and Chow Yun-Fat that is full of intense action and Chow Yun-Fat doing his thing. Chow plays a small-time criminal living in Bangkok that plans to move back to Hong Kong with his girl and friends. Chow teams up with some bad guys to score big for his move, but loses everything when he is betrayed. What follows is a standard revenge plot that is spiced up by Ringo Lam's super action direction and Chow Yun-Fat being a badass.

Things blow up, people get shot in the face, and more things blow up. Lam and Chow understand that story and subtlety are completely unnecessary, and they go for what the audience wants, Chow Yun-Fat smugly beating the crap out of just about everyone. For action fans, this is a must see for the coolness that Chow exudes as he makes his way through droves of nameless bad guys, leaving shell casings and fires in his wake.

Expect the Unexpected
"Directed" by Patrick Yau (rumoured to have really been directed by Johnnie To), starring Lau Ching Wan (The Longest Nite, The Shopaholics, My Name is Fame), Simon Yam (Full Contact, Mob Sister, Triangle), Ruby Wong (Lifeline, Where a Good Man Goes, PTU), Yoyo Mung (A Hero Never Dies, Believe It Or Not, Rave Fever).

Johnnie To's superb cop drama follows a police unit on the trail of a group of deadly robbers. While the team does their police work, To and company weave a tale filled with top notch characterization brought to life by an excellent cast. Expect the Unexpected is one of the rarest of films where the direction, story, cast and all the other elements come together in perfect cohesion, creating an experience that is truly immersive. Simply put, one of the finest films ever made.

Mob Sister
Starring Annie Liu (Exodus), Simon Yam (Full Contact, Exodus, Triangle), Anthony Wong (Full Contact, Infernal Affairs, Isabella), Eric Tsang (Infernal Affairs, Wo Hu, The Pye-Dog), Karena Lam (July Rhapsody, Koma, Kidnap), Alex Fong (Lifeline, Double Tap, One Nite in Mongkok), and Liu Ye (Lan Yu, Curse of the Golden Flower, Nanking Nanking).

Ah Sou (aka Mob Sister), is a worthy effort in the triad genre that falls short. Instead of your standard power struggle within the triads where people are cut and shot, Ah Sou depicts the power struggle as something existential where people do all their plotting off screen. While the film does deserve credit for trying to be more than a typical crime film, the musings of the characters and the forced direction attempting to make Ah Sou feel important fail to come together in a way that works.

THX 1138
Directed by George "Raper of Childhoods" Lucas, starring Robert Duvall, Maggie McOmie, Donald Pleasance, and Don Pedro Colley.

Why, oh why, couldn't George Lucas keep his streak of being a visionary director alive? After rewatching THX 1138, and having seen American Graffiti, and Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope more times than I care to admit, the only thing I can say is why? Why would a man with such an incredile talent and style make three great films and then switch to lining his pockets with the proceeds of children's dreams?

Next Time: A blog entry about films I'm looking forward to.