Woof, woof

This time: HK action flick The Heroic Trio, Korean dark comedy Barking Dogs Never Bite, American film-noir The Lady From Shanghai, and HK comedy Chinese Odyssey 2002.

The Heroic Trio
Directed by Johnnie To, starring Anita Mui, Michelle Yeoh, Maggie Cheung, Damian Lau, and Anthony Wong.

A police detective (Lau) is desperately trying to capture an invisible baby theif (Yeoh). The mysterious Wonder Woman (Mui) does her best to aid the police, as does a hitwoman-for-hire (Cheung). Once they discover the identity of the thief, they confront her in hopes of reaching common ground, only to discover that she works for a master of evil that they cannot stop without the theif's help.

Johnnie To's film about super-powered women is a bit of a mixed bag. While the super heroics aren't as bad as a great many other films, they aren't anything that special. The acting is also hit-or-miss, with the melodrama pumped way up, and Anthony Wong playing a demonic yes-man whose form of communication is gutteral sounds. However, this is a Johnnie To film, so the style within the film manages to offset the cheese factor enough to make The Heroic Trio an entertaining action flick with some decent drama.

Films of note:
Johnnie To - The Big Heat, The Mission, My Left Eye Sees Ghosts, Election, Mad Detective, Sparrow
Anita Mui - Rouge, July Rhapsody
Michelle Yeoh - Wing Chun, The Soong Sisters; Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon; Memoirs of a Geisha
Maggie Cheung - Days of Being Wild, Centre Stage, Full Moon in New York, In the Mood For Love, Hero
Damian Lau - Zu: Warriors from the Magic Mountain
Anthony Wong - Hard Boiled, The Untold Story, The Mission, Infernal Affairs, Isabella, The Secret

Barking Dogs Never Bite
Directed by Bong Joon-ho, starring Lee Sung-jae, and Bae Donna.

Yun-ju is an out of work teacher hoping to get a professorship. While waiting to suck up to the right people, he has to deal with an overly demanding pregnant partner and the near maddening sounds of a dog barking somewhere in his apartment complex. Yun-ju, unable to handle the dog's barking any longer, sets out to find and silence the pooch. During his journey to grab a toe-hold on his life, he crosses paths with young dreamer Hyeon-nam, who unwittingly aids him in his quest, and succeeds in finding a bit of what she needs as well.

Barking Dogs Never Bite is a black comedy (or as one learns from This Space Between Us, a dark comedy). As such, the laughs it elicits aren't always riotousless funny, but are humorous nonetheless. Director Bong Joon-ho manages to pull off a low-key debut film, and actors Lee Sung-jae and Bae Donna give good performances. The direction, acting, and biting satire in Barking Dogs Never Bite make it an entertaining film that manages to be an affecting piece of cinema, and more than just a comedy.

Films of note:
Bong Joon-ho - The Host
Lee Sung-jae - Daisy
Bae Donna - Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, The Host

The Lady From Shanghai
Directed by Orson Welles, starring Orson Welles, and Rita Hayworth.

Standard film-noir shenanigans occur in Welles' disjointed and post-modern adaptation of the novel If I Die Before I Wake. The direction and performances are seemingly well done, however, the only available cut of the film is a truncated version missing nearly an hour of Welles' original film. That being said, the theatrical version of The Lady From Shanghai possesses enough of a spark of the genious behind the film to make it worth seeing.

Films of note:
Orson Welles - Citizen Cane, Touch of Evil

Chinese Odyssey 2002
Directed by Jeff Lau, starring Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, Faye Wong, Vicki Zhao Wei, and Chang Chen.

The Emperor (Chen) and his sister long to see what life is like for normal people, however, their mother refuses to let them see for fear of their lives and public perception. After mutiple attempts, the princess (Wong) escapes and crosses paths with Bully the Kid (Leung) and his sister Phoenix (Zhao). Immediately upon meeting the princess, Leung wishes for her to marry his sister, as the princess is disguised as a man. However, the princess is very much a woman, and has fallen for Bully.

Jeff Lau's Lunar New Year comedy, produced by Wong Kar-wai's Jet Tone production company, is a light, enjoyable film. The acting is fine, as well as the direction, both of which are fitting for an inconsequential film that plays to the actor's strengths, providing an entertaining commercial film.

Films of note:
Jeff Lau - The Haunted Cop Shop, A Chinese Odyssey Part One: Pandora's Box, A Chinese Odyssey Part Two: Cinderella
Tony Leung - People's Hero, Chungking Express, Happy Together, In the Mood For Love, 2046, Infernal Affairs, Red Cliff
Faye Wong - Chungking Express, 2046
Vicki Zhao Wei - Shaolin Soccer, The Postmodern Life of My Aunt, Red Cliff
Chang Chen - Happy Together; Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon; 2046, Silk, Red Cliff

Next time: Milky Way Liberation Front, The Longest Night in Shanghai, and other stuff.