That Hong Kong Feeling

This time it's all Hong Kong films, with If u care..., My Heart is That Eternal Rose, Your Place Or Mine, and When I Fall in Love...With Both.

If u care...
Directed by Adrian Kwan, starring Eason Chan, Gillian Chung, Rain Li, and Candy Lo.

Gino (Chan) is a designer fighting against his in-company rival Godzilla (Lo) and rival company designer Jennifer (Li) for a lucrative deal. Gino is also an asshole. He insults people instead of greeting them, trips people on the street, steals ideas from those working under him, and uses almost any means possible to get what he wants. That is, until an accident gives him the unwanted and wacky ability to possess the same feelings as anyone who touches his hand with their's.

Following his recovering, he is reunited with his childhood friend Gillian (Chung). At first, Gino finds this "power" to be more than annoying, but he soon learns that it has it's uses, and sets about using his power on others to reach his goals. Gino also starts to fall for Gillian, but his unkind ways only keep them apart. With his newfound power, Gino must choose between having financial success at the expense of others, and being the man he always meant to be, with the woman he loves.

If u care... is a decent comedy drama. Eason Chan does an admirable job with the diffcult task of occasionally acting like a man possessed, and the rest of the cast handles comedy and drama with ease. However, the comedy that takes place in Gino's working environment and the drama in his personal life don't really gel. If the two were separated, they would make for a fun comedy, and a touching drama, but together they only serve to distract from one another. Though the comedy is a bit too far reaching at times, the dramatic moments and the acting in If u care... justify giving it a look.

Films of note:
Eason Chan - Twelve Nights, Feel 100% II, Visible Secret, Visible Secret II, Love Battlefied, Crazy N' The City, The Pye-Dog, Hooked On You
Gillian Chung - Colour of the Truth, Beyond Our Ken
Rain Li - Re-Cycle, On the Edge, Single Blog
Candy Lo - Twelve Nights, Time and Tide, Men Suddenly in Black


My Heart is That Eternal Rose
Directed by Patrick Tam, starring Joey Wong, Kenny Bee, and Tony Leung Chiu-Wai.

Rick (Bee) and Lap (Wong) enjoy their romance and lives together, working at Lap's father's restaurant. That is, until her father is asked by a local triad boss to smuggle his son from China back to Hong Kong. Unable to refuse, he enlists the aid of an old friend, who happens to be a corrupt cop, and his future son-in-law, Rick.

Everything goes smoothly during the transport until the cop learns whose son they are smuggling, and his greed gets the best of him. As he demands more money, a fight breaks out, leaving the triad boss's son and the cop dead. When they get back to Hong Kong, Lap's father is kidnapped by the boss, and the only way for Lap to save him is to tell Rick to hide in the Phillines till she came meet him, and to become the "woman" of another triad boss.

Ten years later, Lap has tired of being a trophy for a corrupt man, and her father, unable to deal with the shame he has brought his daughter, has become a drunk. The only person in Lap's life that she can count on is low-level triad Cheung (Leung), who has more than a professional interest in Lap. Meanwhile, Rick is back in HK, having become a hired hit-man, and has been hired by Lap's fellow.

Lap runs into Rick by accident, explains to him why she never met up with him in the Phillipines, and tells him that she still loves him. Rick is hesitant at first, but his love for her overcomes his hard feelings, and they plan with Cheung to run away. Before they can enjoy their new lives, they must escape the triad's grasp, which they can't do it without Cheung's help, and even with his help, it may not be enough.

The beauty of Christopher Doyle's cinematography and of Joey Wong make My Heart is That Eternal Rose something great to look at. Tony Leung's supporting role also adds weight to the film, counter-acting the less than stellar acting of Wong, and the terribly wooden acting of Kenny Bee. The story is no great shakes, but Patrick Tam's direction coupled with the cinematography and Leung's acting ability manage to make My Heart is That Eternal Rose an engaging film filled with style, if not much else.

Films of note:
Patrick Tam - After This Our Exile, (editor) Days of Being Wild, Ashes of Time, Election, After This Our Exile
Joey Wong - A Chinese Ghost Story Trilogy, The Big Heat, Green Snake
Tony Leung - People's Hero, Bullet in the Head, Chungking Express, A Chinese Ghost Story III, Infernal Affairs, Red Cliff


Your Place Or Mine
Directed and written by James Yuan, starring Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, Alex Fong, Ada Choi, Vivian Hsu, Suki Kwan, Spencer Lam, and Eileen Tung.

Wai (Leung) and his best friend Patrick (Fong) share relationship problems, as a string of bad break-ups has caused Wai to close himself off emotionally, and Patrick's womanizing ways has caused his relationship with his girlfriend (Tung) to become loveless. At work, their design firm's new boss Vivian (Choi) pressures the friends to change their work methods, causing Wai to instantly hate her.

While working late one night, Wai meets beautiful would-be model Ah Yu (Hsu), and his cold heart begins to warm. Patrick pushes Wai to sleep with her, while he ends things with his girlfriend and pursues something with longtime friend and co-worker Mei Mei (Kwan). Wai soon falls for Ah Yu, Patrick for Mei Mei, and Vivian for Wai.

All is well until Ah Yu becomes more interested in her work than Wai, and Mei Mei decides that Patrick might not be what she wants. Wai reacts by spending time with the not-so-bad Vivian, and Patrick reacts by losing confidence in himself. Meanwhile, Wai's father (Lam) continually gives them advice.

Both Wai and Patrick feel that their lives are spiraling out of control, and they must choose what to do with their love lives. Wai must choose between Ah Yu and Vivian or face loosing both. Patrick must choose to continue his womanizing ways or grow up. Once their decisions are made, they realize they weren't that difficult after all, and that no matter what, they'll always have each other.

Your Place Or Mine is a fun romantic comedy from James Yuan. The acting is superb, with Leung and Fong leading a talented supporting cast. Your Place Or Mine won't leave any lasting impressions, but it isn't meant to. Director James Yuan and his cast have made an entertaing film that performs quite well.

Films of note:
James Yuan - (co-director) Crazy N' The City, (writer/co-writer) A Moment of Romance, Lost in Time, Crazy N' The City, My Name is Fame, The Warlords
Tony Leung - People's Hero, Bullet in the Head, Chungking Express, A Chinese Ghost Story III, Infernal Affairs, Red Cliff
Alex Fong - Lifeline, The Storm Riders, When I Fall In Love...With Both, One Nite in Mongkok, Crazy N' The City, Drink-Drank-Drunk
Ada Choi - A Chinese Odyssey Part Two: Cinderella, The Golden Girls
Suki Kwan - The Victim, Sausalito, Cop On A Mission


When I Fall in Love...With Both
Directed and co-written by Samson Chiu, starring Michelle Reis, Theresa Lee, Fann Wong, David Wu, Alex Fong, Peter Ho, James Lye, Sean Chan, and James Chan.

Three women that have never met rely on each other as they face difficult decisions. All three have fallen in love with two men each. Keeping in contact via email, they share their stories, advice and support.

Joy (Fann Wong) is a struggling newcomer in the fast-paced world of video journalism. Early on she falls for already established newsman Chi Sing (James Lye), who offers her a safe haven in his world of confidence. Once she gets her feet wet, Chi Sing focuses more on his own career, leaving Joy feeling lonely. On assignment, Joy meets introverted baker Sam (Peter Ho), who offers her a new safe haven, among his warm food and heart.

Cherry has a happy life with her fiance Wu (James Chan). As their wedding day approaches, Wu's twin brother Wen (Sean Chan) comes to stay with them until the wedding. As Cherry gets to know Wen, she comes to think that she may be with the wrong brother, as she and Wen grow closer than they should. With her wedding day rapidly approaching, Cherry must chose whether to stay with the man she promised herself to, or to go away with the man she's always dreamed of.

Cecilia and Nam seemingly have it all, good jobs, a happy home, and a great relationship. Unfortunately, when the stock market collapses, so do their lives. Cecilia leaves Hong Kong for a job in Macau, while Nam wallows in self pity. In Macau, Cecilia ends up working with old classmate Tung, and, being estranged from Nam, finds solace in his charm.

One night, distraught over Nam's depression, Cecilia dines with Tung, and they spend the night together. The next day, Nam visits to tell Cecilia how sorry he is for neglecting her, and their romance rekindles. Cecilia is faced with deciding between the man she has loved for years, and an exciting new relationship with Tung. When she finds that she has become pregnant, things become decidely more difficult.

Samson Chiu's tale of three woman in love proves to be an engaging, but flawed film. Each yarn feels a bit rushed, as there is more than enough material for three films. Also, it feels as though the men in each story are somehow at fault in every case, and that the women are never wrong. This feels disingenuous, as it is the women in all three tales that lie to and cheat on their partners, using love as justification for their actions.

In each tale, part, if not all, of the blame should be placed on the female protagonists. The film's message suffers, and the characters are slighted by this bias. Were it not for such an unnecessary bias, the well portrayed characters would be far more identifiable. Likewise, were it not for the short time spent with the characters of each story, their inability to stay might not cast the female leads in such an unsympathetic light.

Most, if not all, of the blame for the flaws of When I Fall in Love...With Both must be placed on Director and Co-Writer Samson Chiu. The acting ranges from good to okay, though the female leads and Fong fare better than the majority of the male actors. As such, the blame cannot be placed on the cast, and there aren't any horror stories surrounding this film that state studio or producer demands affected the final product, so that leaves Chiu and Co-Writer Scarlet Siu to blame. Had they fleshed out the women's episodes and shown more conflict in their emotional decisions, When I Fall in Love...With Both may have been a good film.

Films of note:
Michelle Reis - A Chinese Ghost Story II, Fallen Angels, Bakery Amour
Theresa Lee - Big Bullet, Lunch With Charles
Fann Wong - The Truth About Jane and Sam
David Wu - Full Throttle
Alex Fong - Lifeline, The Storm Riders, Your Place Or Mine, One Nite in Mongkok, Crazy N' The City, Drink-Drank-Drunk
Peter Ho - The Truth About Jane and Sam


Next time: Taiwainese drama The Most Distant Course, Chinese/Japanese drama Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles, and HK period drama Three Kingdoms: Resurrection of the Dragon.