Good Times, Bed Times (戀上你的床 / Luen seung ngei dik chong -2003)

Starring:
Ching Wan Lau - Raymond
Sammi Cheng - Carrie
Louis Koo - Inspector Paul Ko Chi Keung
Charlene Choi - Tabbie
Sandra Ng Kwan Yue - BoBo Au
Philip Chan - Superintendent
Pinky Cheung - Ah P
Sui-man Chim - Uncle Lam
Niki Chow - Girl at hair salon
Tien You Chui
Suet Lam - Judge Chow
Tats Lau
Lik-Chi Lee
Tony Leung Ka Fai
You-Nam Wong
Yuk-Man Wong

Bored judge Raymond (Ching Wan Lau) indulges himself in one-night stands and flirtations, causing his girlfriend Ah Qiu (Sammi Cheng) to leave him. Ah Qiu, a journalist, doesn't lose any time in falling in love with Keung (Louis Koo), a super-cop she is sent to interview. The only problem is that after a narrow brush with death, Keung is now unable to perform any conjugal duties. Raymond, on the other hand, meets his match in a spoiled 18-year-old (Charlene Choi).

This movie was actually quite hilarious in certain parts. Okay, the jokes about a certain male body part was off the scale. There is a part where they (Raymond and Ah Qui) try to help Keung and use weights to strengthen...well....THAT body part. LOL! It was a riot. I laughed so hard.

The story gets slow most of the time. This movie really had two stories but if they focused on Keung's story, it would have been even better. The story about Ray and the young girl was actually quite sick to me. So I rolled my eyes quite often when it came to them.

The movie was actually worthwhile. I'm not big on Chinese comedies but this has some substance to keep me intertained. Louis Koo wasn't so bad to look at either. Not the most handsome but nice enough for the story.

Chungking Express (Chung Hing sam lam -1994)

Starring:
Brigitte Lin ... Woman in blonde wig (as Ching-hsia Lin)
Tony Leung Chiu Wai ... Cop 663
Faye Wong ... Faye
Takeshi Kaneshiro ... He Zhiwu, Cop 223
Valerie Chow ... Air Hostess
Chen Jinquan ... Manager of 'Midnight Express'
Lee-na Kwan ... Richard (as Guan Lina)
Huang Zhiming ... Man
Liang Zhen ... The 2nd May
Zuo Songshen ... Man

The film opens on the night of 30 April to 1 May 1994 in Chungking House, a mazelike commercial complex in Hong Kong. A Chinese woman in a blond wig is busily trying to stash some heroine among the belongings of a group of Pakistanis hired to slip the drugs out of the country. May 1 also marks an entire month since police office No. 223 got dumped by his girlfriend. He swears he's going to fall in love with the first girl who walks through the door: it turns out to be the blond drug smuggler....A fast-food restaurant where Faye, a young tomboy, listens to the hit pop song "California Dreaming". Another policeman, a regular costumer, has just lost his girlfriend, who has deposited his apartment key at the restaurant. Faye intercepts the key and secretly lets herself into the cop's apartment and proceeds to upset his domestic order.



This was a slightly weird movie. Not what I expected. I only watched it because it had my man Takeshi-kun in it. And he was sooooooo cute, as he was very, very, very young in this (21 years old to be exact).

I was hoping for more of Takeshi-kun at the end but it didn't happen. This was a movie with 2 different stories. I feel that Takeshi's story wasn't finished but maybe that was supposed to be.

A very intriguing study of human nature with twists to the women in the stories. Both women, weird or strange in their own right. And each woman teaching the men in the story, a little bit more about themselves and how to survive. Somewhat thought provoking with the restaurant Chungking Express being the centerpoint and meeting place for both men. Each never having met the other but both being policemen.

I probably never would have watched this being that this movie was made in 1994 and I'm not really much for the older movies (I can't believe I'm saying the 90's are old).

Keeping with the times and degree of cinematography, this movie was a little "dark" not that I mean scary but having to deal with the harder part of the human heart.

Tempting Heart (心動 -1999)

Starring:
Takeshi Kaneshiro - Ho-jun
Gigi Leung - Sheo-rou
Karen Mok - Chen-Li
Sylvia Chang - Cheryl
Leon Dai - Ho-jun (middle age)
Elaine Jin - Sheo-rou's mom
Jo Kuk
Audrey Mak
William So Wing Hong - Screenwriter (as William So)
Michael Tong
Cher Yeung

Sylvia Chang plays a director who intends to make a romance film and begins to wonder about the role fate plays in relationships. She ends up re-examining her own first love in a completely different light. The story is set in two different periods of time, one in the 1970s where Gigi plays the teenage girl of Sylvia Chang and the other in the 1990s where Sylvia plays her own role.

Takeshi Kaneshiro plays the role of a shy teenager who falls in love with Gigi Leung. Their relationship turns intimate but faces objections from their parents. Karen Mok plays Chen-li, the best friend of Gigi, whom Gigi confides in and tells all her problems.

This teenage love soon fizzled and Ho-jun turns to marry Chen-li. Chen-li then reveals that she is a homosexual and they both love the same girl-Xiao rou. Ho-jun meets Xiao rou on a trip to Japan and upon knowing that Ho-jun was already married, Xiao rou returned home and got engaged herself. Ho jun manages a last attempt to reunite with Xiao rou by flying to Hong Kong and telling her that he is already a divorcee but to no avail.

It was years later, that Xiao Rou found out that Ho-jun's wife was actually Chen-li. She discovered this only after Chen-li had died. Chen-li left a message for Xiao-rou asking her for forgiveness. As Xiao rou prepared to fly back to Hong Kong from Japan, she received a present from Ho-jun. Inside the box,were photographs, each taken while Ho-jun was thinking about Xiao-rou of their brief and bright moments of happiness.



Geez! I was not expecting the ending. Come on! I was really a happy camper until this movie left me feeling......"blah". Let me describe it to you. It's like waking up to dark clouds hanging over your head and life seems like it can't seem to be any worse than it is.

Don't get me wrong. This movie was totally awesome. So how can I say that even if the end of the movie was torture? Well. Hmm? I really, really, really wanted a happy ending. Instead, I'm bawling my eyes out after she opens the box that Ho-jun gives her after she gets on the plane. God in Heaven! This story, I thought, through all the sad moments would eventually leave a wonderful light on my soul. Instead, my heart was broken, and I felt that love was a dream.

Beautifully mastered movie. Takeshi-kun totally rocked my world again. I'm tellin' ya, the man is amazing. Totally amazing actor that just....well....okay, if I just happened to see him one day on the street, I'd drop everything and molest the man.

*sigh*

Don't watch this movie if you are already not in the frame of mind. It's a tearful movie. The tone is that of love lost and never regained. Memories of your first love will invade your soul and reap whatever is left of your happy mood.

Kaneshiro Takeshi

"Can I have him to go, please?"

Rule Number One (第一诫 -2008)

Starring:
Ekin Cheng
Fiona Xie
Shawn Yue
Stephanie Che

A police officer after injured and killing a serious criminal gets transferred to another department called "Miscellaneous Affairs Department" where Rule Number One is " There Is No Such Thing Called Ghost".



This was one totally insane movie. It was cool!

At first it was like really weird. Then it got weirder. Then I thought I had it figured out. And I did really, but they twisted the movie and had me doubting myself. But then at the very end, I was right all along. Aaagh!

The movie pretty much tells you at the very beginning of the story the ending. Listen. And then figure it out at the end. I just gave you a hint.

This was totally freaking but totally thrilling.

I just loved Shawn' and Ekin's characters. I love them individually put when they are together, it's totally an awesome movie thrill ride.

"Nothing isn't at seems, or is it?"

Sleepless Town (Fuyago-1998)

Starring:
Takeshi Kaneshiro
Mirai Yamamoto
San Boon Mei Loi
Eric Tsang Chi-Wai
Sihung Lung
Kathy Chow Hoi-Mei

Kenichi (Kaneshiro) is a half-Japanese, half-Chinese man of the underworld. You can sell him anything except children's organs. His domain is in Kabukicho, a gangland controlled by various Shanghainese gangs intent on taking overall control. Things are calm, however, his former partner-in-crime, Fu-Chun, is rumoured to have returned to Kabukicho, having fled years earlier after killing the number two to gangland boss, Yuan (Tsang). Yuan wants to get even and attempts to do so by using Kenichi. Meanwhile, Fu-chun's girlfriend, Natsumi Sato (Yamamoto) turns up to sell something to Kenichi.

Sleepless Town was a pleasant surprise for me, a well-written and well-executed film, with a gangster storyline containing enough twists to win a dance contest.

I'm a totall Kaneshiro fan. Another actor whose movies have never failed me in their aptitude, drama and action.

The fast paced setting actually started me out quite confused. Mainly, I couldn't read the subs fast enough to save my life. I'll admit I ended up having to pause many times to read what they were saying. So fast the pace....the subs couldn't keep up...so neither could I. But that actually had nothing to do with the movie in itself.....just the viewer who had to read at a 100mph. LOL!

The beginning mainly began with a lot of talking (hence my dilemma). Eventually, once I caught on, the story unfolded so fast but there were sooooo many twist and turns that once you thought you had the movie figured out...*poof*...something else would happen leaving you to scratch your head.

The best part of the movie was the end. OMG! It was a beautiful ending. I sat there gasping. I wouldn't really call this movie a romance but the ending was so moving that it had me wondering all along. I didn't cry but oddly sat there in awe...............

The Drummer (Jin. gwu / 戰·鼓 -2007)

Starring:
Jaycee Chan - Sid
Tony Leung Ka Fai - Kwan
Angelica Lee - Hong Dou
Supporting Roles
Roy Cheung - Ah Chiu
Josie Ho - Sina
Kenneth Tsang - Stephen Ma
Hei-Yi Cheng - Carmen
Ruo-yu Liu - Lan Jie
Chih-chun Huang - Sifu
Glen Chin - Uncle Tak
Ken Lo - Long
Eugenia Yuan - Kwan's wife

Cocky Sid insults Ma in front of the latter's men, leading Ma to demand both of Sid's hands on a platter from Sid's father, Kwan (Tony Leung Ka-fai), who runs a rival gang but owes Ma a favor. Kwan tracks down Sid and dispatches him for safety to Taiwan, in the company of deputy gang leader Chiu (Roy Cheung).

Third reel finds bored Sid and ever-watchful Chiu in a Taiwanese village, above which Sid one day finds a reclusive community of Zen drummers who also practice tai chi and martial arts. Mesmerized by their open-air exercises, Sid asks to join -- and is tentatively accepted. He's equally mesmerized by their most junior member, Hong Dou (Lee Sinje, aka Angelica Lee, from "The Eye"), but she coquettishly snubs him.

Bi injects a fair measure of light comedy, leavening the gangster material and also making Sid a likeable ne'er-do-well. Latter's inauguration into the live-rough community is handled with charm and humor, and tight editing (with copious fadeouts) keeps things moving along. By never taking itself too seriously, pic manages to stir a spiritual element -- the mystical properties of traditional drumming -- into what is basically a genre movie.



Bravo! Bravo! Bravo! This was an excellent freakin' movie! I was so stupidified. I couldn't believe that Jackie Chan's son could act so admirably. I've seen him act before but it was the usual kung-fu Hong Kong hype. That's okay in itself but this movie was not anything close to the Hong Kong norm, in that their wasn't a bit of martial art action other than Tai-Chi.

This movie was about patience and loving yourself. Sometimes life gives you a door that you wouldn't normally take but sometimes that door is the better door to open even if it leads to climbing your way up than taking the easy way up on an elevator.

You could say this was about drumming but yet......no.

The movie, yes, did get slow sometimes but it was pleasant and I loved the way it flowed. It didn't stop and make you watch a scene for seconds....stop....another pretty scene....stop. Nope. The story started out fast......slowed....but stayed at a good pace...and then climaxed. Wow! Jaycee...I have more respect for you than ever.

Love is Elsewhere (Oi ching maan sui -2008)

Starring:
Pak-ho Chau - Joe
Cheuk-lap Hung - Sing
Pak-yu Chan - Sung
Sherman Chung - Ching
Hei-Yi Cheng - Sandra
Chelsea Tong - Kelly
Charmaine Fong - Maggie
Yun Hui - Sing's uncle
Yan Ng
Patrick Tang Fung Chi-Ho

This whole story revolves around this shop named "love love soho" internet cafe ran by Ar Ching (Sherman Chung) and Ar Sang (Jason Chan). This shop gives out non-professional psychological help to friends about love. Ar Ching and Ar Sang decided to go to Beijing to study when they earned their first hundred thousand... but Ar Ching's old flame Martin (Louis Cheung)'s appearance made their relationships worse...

A young doctor, Joe (PakHo Chau), used to have Maggie (Charmaine Fong) as his girlfriend. But then he got bored of the relationship and broke up with her. She was very upset that she schemed a revenge. She introduced Joe to her pretty cousin Kelly (Chelsea Tong), who is back from Canada for holidays. Kelly is supposed to date Joe and then dumps him, so he will understand how Maggie feels. Kelly managed to attract Joe and the two begins dating. Slowly Kelly finds herself actually falling in love with him. She wanted to get out of Maggie's plan but it was too late. Maggie also framed Joe by selling a photo of him passing medicine to her friend on a gossip magazine, with a headline "Young doctor sold drugs in a soho club". Kelly felt very guilty and left...

Ar Yue (Yumiko Cheng), is a young painter. She promised she would say yes after her boyfriend Ar Ho (Patrick Tang), a broker, has proposed to her 100 times. Ar Yue always noticed Ar Sing (Ken Hung), a delivery boy for a nearby restaurant, peeking at her when she was painting in her shop. Ar Sing kept sending hot soups over for her and finally took her to see him sing at a local club. Mr. Johnson, Ar Yue's favorite artist, wanted to rape her and Ar Sing saved her. Then Ar Sing brought her back to her house and cleaned her house for her. Ar Yue invited him to lunch to thank him. Ar Ho, busy with the finance market work, often misses his appointments with Ar Yue. Finally, when he asked her to marry him the 100th time, she said no and broke up with him. After Ar Yue and Ar Sing met, they spent a night together. Next morning Ar Yue was not sure she wanted to be with Ar Sing and told him to leave her. But later, she changed her mind and went to see Ar Sing at his club. But Ar Sing was too upset to perform.

This was a cute movie. I wouldn't say it was slow, I just felt that they had too many hands in the cookie jar. They had three separate couples with different love stories. The first couple, owners of SoHo cafe, I thought had some redeeming qualities but the story fell fast because we see the ex-boyfriend once and then we the audience have to figure out that story. Okay, jealousy, and then it got confusing because I couldn't figure out why Ching was always mad.

Joe and Kelly were interesting but again there wasn't enough time to promote their relationship. Okay, she was working for her cousin to get Joe back but she eventually fell for Joe but how could she really when she spent most of the time avoiding him. ????????

Then we have Sing and Yu. Hmm? I couldn't understand how she could dump her boyfriend of God knows how many months/years because he was doing his job. How was he supposed to know she fell and sprained her ankle? How was he to know she would get psycho blitzed and almost get raped by an overly horny Engishman? Okay, Sing was always there to the rescue but he was a peeping Tom with nothing else to do. Yes, he was cute but I felt if they wanted to portray this relationship..there should have been more story.

This could have been an awesome movie but it was enough to say "Ahhh." I just wasn't given enough time to fall in love with the characters or it could have been a tissue fest.

But there was some definite eye-candy...fo' sho'.

Jason Chan

Did you know he was a former Power Ranger? The series Power Ranger: Ninja Storm....the green ranger. There ya go...you just learned something. LOL!

Downtown Torpedoes (San tau dip ying / 神偷谍影 -1997)

Starring:
Takeshi Kaneshiro-Jackal
Jordan Chan Siu-Chun-Cash
Charlie Young Choi-Nei-Sam
Theresa Lee Yi-Hung-Phoenix
Ken Wong Hap-Hei-Titan
Alex Fong Chung-Sun-Stanley

Hong Kong’s answer to Mission: Impossible is a slight action-thriller that’s carried out professionally and commercially. Jackal (Takeshi Kaneshiro), Cash (Jordan Chan) and Sam (Charlie Young) form the core of ATM (Available Tactical Mercenaries), an industrial espionage unit that utilizes high-tech gadgetry to steal technology and fence it on the black market. However, they're blackmailed by the Hong Kong government (led by Alex Fong Chung-Sun) to snatch some counterfeit plates called SN2 from the British MI5. Naturally stuff goes wrong, our heroes are framed for SN2’s disappearance, and then they must set about clearing their names with whatever hi-tech gadgets they have leftover.



This was a pretty cool movie. I mean it had the hotman Takeshi-kun. Totally hot!

From the get-go, Downtown Torpedoes sets itself up as a slick spy caper and it doesn't disappoint. The movie mixes in just enough high-tech gear and gutsy action to make it both believeable and exciting at the same time. In a time when many films mistake computer gimmickry for action, it was refreshing to see more of a straight-forward style. As always with these types of movies (especially ones that are a few years old), not all of the gadgets make sense or look great, but overall the spy action in Downtown Torpedoes is well-done, culminating in a climatic chase scene that is one of the best done (in either the US or HK) over the last several years.

Even though there is a fair amount of double-crosses, hidden agents and other plot twists, the story is easier to follow because of the movie's efficent storytelling. The film-makers realized that we don't need to see each detail of every character's life, and this helps move Downtown Torpedoes at a brisk pace. Even the dreaded mandatory romantic subplot fails to rear its' head here, and the film flows much better as a result.

The emphasis here is on spy hi-jinks, not mushy love stories. This streamlined storytelling is welcome in this day and age of movies that try and pretend to be more important than they are by dumping everything but the kitchen sink into the mix. From top to bottom, Downtown Torpedoes is a solid action movie that's worth your time.~hkfilms *I had to copy and paste this review because they said EXACTLY how I felt about the movie. I couldn't have said it better!*

Hit Team (Chung chong ging chaat -2001)

Starring:
Daniel Wu (Ng Yin-Cho)
Alex To Tak-Wai
Jo Koo
Samuel Pang King-Chi
Monica Lo Suk-Yi
Ruby Wong Cheuk-Ling
Chin Kar-Lok
Alan Moo
Joe Lee Yiu-Ming
Tony Ho Wah-Chiu

Routine actioner from Dante Lam succeeds thanks to attention to detail and believably human performances. Another in the “cop soap opera” genre, Hit Team details the clash between two groups of cops. One is the special “Hit Team,” designed to go after heavily armed bad guys, and the other are a group of rogue cops robbing underground banks.

Alex To leads the rogue cops, who are actually stealing the money to fund an operation for their crippled buddy Chin Kar-Lok, who was shot by evil triads and hung out to dry by his superiors. The Hit Team is led by Daniel Wu, who manages to show a surprising intensity as the serious squad leader. Right off they suspect that the robberies are done by cops, and as the truth comes to light things get a bit complicated. Of course Daniel disagrees with what Alex and his pals are doing, but he agrees with their purpose. Ultimately, decisions are made and things are explained through action rather than words.



Typical HK cop movie. It was fun, lots of action (not of the kung-fu type this time around), and lots of drama.

This movie actually questioned the morality of the police department. An undercover cop gets shot in the back, becomes paralized and the department turns their back on him. Morals? What is the understanding of it? So his friends break free of the department except for one and take on an underground banking group to steal the money that was "stolen" from the injured cop who needs the surgery so he doesn't stay paralyzed.

Investigating their actions is another department section of the police department who realize that their own are breaking the laws and are determined to capture them but as time goes on and the investigation becomes more intense do they realize the understanding of the rogue cops.

This was a pretty fast paced movie. Some character descriptions were left by the wayside but the story didn't become overly tainted.

A fun ride to watch.....and Daniel Wu's character was surprisingly calm, cool, and smart compared so some of the characters he's played before. Very nice!!!

The Legend of Speed (烈火战车2：极速传说 /Lit feng chin che 2 gik chuk chuen suet-1999)

Starring:
Ekin Cheng - Sky
Cecilia Cheung - Nancy
Moses Chan -
Stephanie Che
Mary Hon
Sau Leung 'Blacky' Ko - Black Tone
Jerry Lamb
Sammuel Leung
Kelly Lin - Kelly
Patrick Tam - Paddy
Simon Yam - Tang Fung
Wai-Ho Yung

Sky lives only for his passion for racing and his girlfriend. After his rivals frame him for drug possession and murder his girlfriend, he must get revenge in a street race to end all street races.

Sky (Cheng) is the Dare Devil of Hong Kong — He's the best at drag racing sports cars from one end of the island to the other. He takes all wagers, including side bets that, if you win, you get to break the loser's leg.

He's got a loyal gang around him, including his girlfriend Kelly (Kelly Lin). Except that one of his group of admirers, mousy Nancy (Cecilia Cheung), thinks she's the girl who will love him truly.

Sky's life is complicated by the release from prison of the Dare Devil of the 1980s, Fung (Simon Yam of cult favorite "Naked Killer"). Seems that way back when, Fung defeated Sky's father, known as Black Tone, who since has disappeared to Thailand. Depressed after Kelly's death in a drag-racing accident, Sky goes to Thailand looking for dad.

This was an interesting movie. It wasn't the best drifting or racing movie but it had an interesting edge to it.

I didn't like the flow of the movie though. The characters weren't given time to tell their story. I didn't get to know them well enough to like them or not like them. It was a bit confusing.

We didn't learn how Paddy and Nancy came to know each other even though they called themselves brother and sister. We did learn Kelly and Sky knew each other for quite sometime but yet after her death it didn't seem to take long for Sky to start to show some sort of affection for Nancy even though you knew it would sort of happen.

Action wise it was filling enough to keep me interested. But since this was an older model of a movie I'll give it a chance since modern technology has overpowered the cinematic age.

Ekin Cheng was awfully "hunkish" in this movie. *saliva runs down my chin* He was one fine hunk of burnin' Chinese man! Uh-huh!

Ekin Cheng

Love in the City (2007)

Starring:
Shawn Yue
Gao Yuanyuan
Takuya Suzuki
Miyake Nao

Director Jingle Ma's Love in the City presents two wholesome little stories about love set in rural China. However, the interest and effectiveness of each differs quite a bit. Traffic cop Yang Le (Shawn Yue) has a thing for deaf-mute Xiaolou (Gao Yuanyuan), who wanders by his crossing every day. The infatuation goes both ways, and before you know it, Le is learning sign language in an attempt to impress his ideal girl. She responds to his smiles and glances, but when he finally gets the nerve to ask her out, she leaves the city and goes to the countryside to visit her father's farm. Le hightails it out there too, confesses his love, and before long they're holding hands and are deeply in love.

Meanwhile, Japanese-Chinese translator Makoto (Takuya Suzuki) falls hard and fast for actress Yuko (Miyake Nao). He's assigned to be her assistant/translator while her current one is in the hospital, and there's a noticeable initial attraction between the two. Circumstances lead them to spar a bit, but the sparks and situations give way to a pure affection, and before long they're holding hands and are deeply in love.

Ahhhh! This was such a slow, sweet movie about love. I don't recommend this to girls to watch with their guys. Definite girl movie. If my husband watched this, he would have gagged and walked away within 2 minutes of the beginning of the movie.

I would have have thought I would see the day that Shawn Yue would play a loving, sweet guy. This is not his normal type movie. Heck the last movie I saw with him was Shamo and he was a psychotic ultimate fighter. I thought I would never see the day. And to tell you the truth.....I loved him this way. It was so....so....strange but yet nice. Oh so nice for a change.

Another actor, Suzuki Takuya, was a new one to my AsianOtaku eyes. Strange that I've never seen him before. And if I have, well, this was a first that he was a main character in the forefront, per se. His love story was a sub story. A filler, I guess. That story wasn't as catching because of the time frame it was given. Not enough emotion and character to get into their story. Also, their story, had a sudden twist that bound the first love story with Shawn Yue. I won't say but it was different but it really didn't make a difference to any of the story but it would have been nice to have tied off that twist. They could have magnified onto that but left it to fray in the wind.

Happily, it was a good ending, but I do advise those female counterparts to have a few tissues handy because it is a heart tugger at the end.

Suzuki Takuya

Shamo (军鸡 -2008)

Starring:
Shawn Yue - Ryo Narushima
Francis Ng - Kenji Kurokawa
Ryo Ishibashi
Dylan Kuo
Terri Kwan
Siu-Lung Leung
Annie Liu
Masato - Sugawara Naoto

Director Soi Cheang's follow up to Dog Bite Dog, SHAMO tells the story of the psychotic anti-hero Ryo, and his rise through the brutal world of competition fighting.

After barbarically slaughtering his parents, 16 year old Ryo is sent to a prison for boys. Continually tortured by his fellow inmates, Ryo takes up karate training after a savage beating leaves him for dead. Returned to society after 3 years, Ryo catches the attention of the local triads for his natural ferocity and dedication to destruction. Convinced to enter underground, no rules fighting tournaments, Ryo easily demolishes the competition. Seemingly unstoppable, Ryo's inevitable confrontation with champion Sugawara may be his only chance for respect by the society that has so completely rejected him.

Vicious, uncompromising and raw, SHAMO is the razor's edge of extreme Asian cinema.



This movie was W I C K E D !!!!!! First off, I wasn't expecting the first 20 minutes to blow my mind away. My poor Shawn gets raped. It was sad, gross, but yet I couldn't turn my eyes away. The violence he had to succumb to while in prison because the inmates learned he "killed" his parents was just so pitifully sad. Again, yet, I couldn't turn my eyes away.

This was in some ways horrific. Not the typical slash horrors you see in everyday big screens but horrific in a human sense to witness. As time goes by, he learns karate from a fellow inmate and yet at the same time his heart hardens and the sweet, innocent boy that was thrown in jail was gone.

All the while, as this time goes by, he is in search for his sister who had to lose everything because of her brother and ended up selling herself to prostitution to survive. And, at the same time, Ryo (Shawn Yu) has to support himself as well and succumbs to the same career path.

I will say that as the movie went on it was hard to support Ryo who was traumatized throughout the movie. His motto...."To never let anyone look down on me again." He was a good kid turned bad boy through out the movie. In just a few handful of scenes, we see the good kid come out....but the bad side always won in the end.

And as a twist, we learn something about the whole beginning of the movie, that makes Ryo's character even more sad. You sort of feel yourself give at the conclusion.

I didn't cry....it was a profound ending but crying would have just made the movie's message dissolve into nothing. So I held back....and just sort of smiled.

This is definitely a man/guy movie. Serious kick butt action, non-stop, blood spurting, aggressive, and barely a tender moment. And for us girls....eye-candy in the names of Shawn Yue and Dylan Kuo! Woo-hoo!

And for those of you who wondered why this movie was called Shamo....well, Shamo, means "gamecock". A fighting rooster.

Dylan Kuo

Where has this guy been all my life? LOL! Okay, he got beat up by Shawn's character but damn if he still didn't look......HOT!!!

Time and Tide (Seunlau ngaklau / 顺流逆流 -2000)

Starring:
Nicholas Tse - Tyler
Wu Bai - Jack
Candy Lo - Ah Hui
Cathy Tsui - Ah Jo
Anthony Wong Chau-Sang - Uncle Ji
Couto Remotigue Jr - Miguel Joventino
Jack Kao - Police Officer

Bartender Tyler (Nicholas Tse) dreams of paradise in chaotic and over-speed modern Hong-Kong. The best way for him to fulfil his wish is to make as much money as quickly as possible. One night, he gets pissed with a beautiful young lesbian and undercover cop, called Ah Jo (Cathy Chui). Both don't remember anything the following morning. Ah Jo realises that she might be pregnant. Tyler decides then to take his responsibilities as a young father and he really looks for a job that can provide a quick buck. He gets hired in the protection company owned by former loan shark Uncle Ji (Anthony Wong). Jack, an ex- member of a South American commando team, has finally settled in Taiwan as a mere butcher to live a new life. He got married with Hui (Candy Lo) and got her pregnant. A happy and peaceful future is awaiting the new family until his former team-mates arrive in Hong-Kong. Their mission is to kill Hui's father, a powerful Triad boss. Troubles arise when Uncle Ji and Tyler are hired to protect the Boss and when Jack is forced to kill him…



Okay, it's been a Chinese love fest today. LOL! Today, has not been a dissappointment. Of course, this movie has the most famous of all HK actors on the market and he's eye-candy to boot. Nicholas Tse was wonderful as always as the young man trying to make a living to earn money for the woman he got pregnant. They didn't mention it in the synopsis but I think the girl actually started to fall in love with him. Dunno. Just my opinion.

The action, as usual, for a HK movie was really cool but it wasn't played out by the Nick-meister. Oh no...it was Wu Bai. Man, some of that stuff was cool. I think my favorite part, and I had to laugh, was when he and Miguel were going down the side of the apartment with automatic rifles shooting at each other and the residents just sort of stood there like it was an everyday thing. LOL!

The ending was actually really good too. I am happy to say there were no deaths of the main actors and all babies were born healthy in the movie. Yeah!!!!!!

Sharp Guns ( 險角 / Him gok -2001)

Starring:
Alex Fong - Tricky On
Ken Chang - Wood
Anya - Rain
Tin-chiu Wan - Lon
Danny Summer - Kangaroo
Lap Sam Lam - Ban
Ken Wong - Coke
Dat Wai Lok - Seargeant
Wai-sheung Lee - Ban's Henchman
Serena Po - Seargant's daughter
Moses Chan

On has been living in Amsterdam for many years. He is famous for being exceptionally street-smart. Years ago, On joined force with Macau crime boss Ban in a big business deal. They both appreciated the other's charisma and unique character. After a series of life-and-death incidents, their friendship was firmly established. On is suddenly invited by Ban to Macau to help solve a pressing matter. Upon arrival, On is told that Ban's daughter Hei has been kidnapped by an unknown group of culprits. Ban's assistant Leo, who was there when the kidnapping took place, says that Hei was snatched away by several men riding on motorcycles. To repay the debt of Ban, who once saved his life in Europe, On agrees to offer a helping hand without any hesitation. However, there is a big challenge that On can ever expect.

This was a pretty darn good movie. I will say it seemed to move way toooooo fast, so some things didn't make sense or were rushed. But then again that could be blamed on the sub-team because it seemed they said alot but the subtitles were short. It still made sense but then.....I don't know.

It had some pretty good action and funny moments. The sexual tension between Rain and Wood was hilarious. I thought I was looking to much into it...but then at the very end while credits were showing....you'll see what I mean. LOL! That right there made the whole movie for me. LOL!

Ken Chang

Why Me Sweetie? (Sat yik gaai lui wong / 我的失忆男友 -2003)

Starring:
Louis Koo - Dong
Tats Lau - Dr. Chie
Cherrie Ying - Ding Ding

In this romantic comedy, Dong (Louis Koo) has a mysterious amnesia that worsens every time he falls deeply in love. Because he can't remember details of his relationships, he also can't maintain the deep emotions he develops for a woman. However, persistent Ding (Cherrie Ying) cares for Dong so greatly that she decides to disguise herself as a new girl every time they meet. Will her ruse keep Dong interested until she can find a way to bring back his memories?



This movie is the original "50 First Dates" that was remade in America with Adam Sandler. With the exception that Dong lost his memories when he felt love from Ding Ding. He didn't wake up every morning having forgotten the previous days like Drew Barrymore's character.

I have to say the first half of the movie was way too cheesy but it started to get really good towards the end. It was a little "half-baked" at the beginning. Too hard to believe and it seemed to skip some relative parts that showed them getting close. Their love was a little too fast for my blood.

But it all worked out in the end. So if you want to see the parent of "50 First Dates"....go ahead. It won't ruin the movie for you since the plot is really different but the idea is generally the same. It was sweet but just a tad bit corny but then so was "50 First Dates" but this is Chinese style. LOL!

Louis Koo

The Moss (Qing Tai / 青苔 -2008)

Starring:
Shawn Yue - Jan
Seli Xian - Lulu
Siu-Wong Fan - Lo (beggar)
Matt Chow - Fai
Jay Lau - Nurse
Kai Chi Liu - Four-eyed Tong
Suet-yee Si - Fa
Yam Yam Siu - Sister Yum (Chong Mom)
Shaun Tam
Eric Tsang

Jan is one of the many dirty cops living in the area. He's really more like a gangster than a cop. Self-serving and living aimlessly in this hellhole of an area, he constantly have dealings with the mobs and offers protection to the prostitutes in exchange for sexual favours. Of all the girls, he fancies Lulu most. He finds her non-inquisitive and quiet nature comforting, almost like a place where he can seek solace. Jan's peaceful routine is disrupted when the son of God mom Chong goes missing in a rival gang's territory headed by the four-eyed Tong. Along with his disappearance is a valuable green gemstone that was meant as a birthday gift from her son. Jan is tasked by Chong to confront Tong. At this moment, a mysterious beggar makes an attempt to kill Tong. (Source: Sensasian)


This was a pretty good unlike a previous movie that just pissed me off to no end! And this was a Chinese movie, unlike yesterdays fiascos, was decent and kept me awake enough to watch it.

Shawn Yue, the master of dirty cops, is yet one again. Not really dirty, per se, but not clean either. Always well-suited for his character, love his fighting (not so choreographed looking or with special effects) because it always looks real, and his ability to stay focused in his character. He's definitely one of my HK favorites.

This movie might not be for some because it is slower than most action movies. I wouldn't even really call this action but I have to because there are some definite fighting scenes with blood thrown in the mix. I won't give this as one of his best movies because it isn't but it's deserving of praise because it was quite enjoyable to watch him fret over his possible unborn child. That actually made my heart jump a few beats faster............

Shawn Yue

The Twins Effect (千机变 /Chin gei bin -2003)

AKA: The Vampire Effect

Starring:
Ekin Cheng - Reeve
Charlene Choi - Helen
Gillian Chung - Gypsy
Anthony Wong Chau-Sang - Prada
Edison Chen - Kazaf
Jackie Chan - Jackie
Josie Ho - Lila
Maggie Lau - Nurse Maggie
Karen Mok - Ivy
Winnie Leung - Deborah
Mandy Chiang - Momoko

EKIN CHENG plays REEVES, a veteran vampire hunter from the ANTI-VAMPIRE LEAGUE who has lost all of his female partners in the past. Even tougher to bear than their actual deaths at the hands of his fanged foes is the fact that he's almost always fallen in love with them before their untimely demise. Vowing never to become romantically attached to his next partner, we meet GYPSY (played by the ever so cutesy GILLIAN CHUNG) who's assigned to him to train in vampire bashing. But alas, why did she join up? Well, as it turns out, he's been her idol, love interest, and motivation to continue on since her parents were murdered by the dreaded toothy ones. Or so she says. EKIN's sister, HELEN (the other TWIN, CHARLENE CHOI) doesn't care much for GYPSY and her advances towards her older brother.

Meanwhile, over on the vampire front, big bad Euro blood sucker, DUKE DEKOTES (played by actor MICKEY HARDT) and his crew has shown up in Hong Kong in search of the last remaining vampire prince who holds the fabled vampire bible, "DAY FOR NIGHT", a book which will enable the undead bearer to walk in the daylight without harm. Enter our young vampire prince, KAZAF (played by actor EDISON CHEN), who along with his servant PRADA, (actor ANTHONY WONG) have decided to become passive vampires who option to drink manufactured bottled blood and not steal it by killing hapless human victims. They even set up house in a church to prove that they are indeed "New Age" vampires. KAZAF meets and ends up falling in love with HELEN (sister of the number one vampire stalker). Since true love can never be denied, the two start to date and through VERY creative methods, KAZAF manages to fool her into believing that he's a normal fellow until the inevitable truth surfaces. And as you can probably already predict, REEVES, GYPSY, HELEN, and DUKE DEKOTES all soon converge on KAZAF and company in what becomes a free-for-all battle with the most important treasures available for the winner to take.

With the basic story and plot said and done now, since normal people obviously don't possess the supra-strength needed to combat vampires in fisticuffs, the members of the LEAGUE drink small doses of vampire blood before battle. This allows them to temporarily obtain the necesary skills and attributes required to bring down those pesky blood suckers in all out battle. But when the scuffle's finally over, they need to drink an anti-serum that dissolves the vampiric effects. Of course, there will be times that the antidote isn't readily available and you better bet that our hero in question who drank the vampire blood will soon turn to the darkside and become a full fledged creature of the night. Secondly, the swords that the LEAGUE used were really cool. Almost like a bladeless lightsaber, the small handle could extend into a grappling cable or turn into a long bronze blade that would cut down any vampire in it's way. And the last point of curious interest involves KAZAF's spiffy coffin that includes a television, a computer, and stereo surround sound music speakers. Certainly an item that might upset any potential girlfriend, our prince only uses it on HELEN to demonstrate that he's in the funeral business and NOT in the undead business, which is a lie that's bound to come out sooner or later to his great dismay.





Well, I was really looking forward to this but I was slightly dissappointed. It really wasn't what I thought it was hyped up to be. So far, Hong Kong and Chinese movies are dissappointing me. Maybe I'm just picking out the duds............

I love Edison Chen (minus his scandal this year). I was really looking forward to this movie. I mean it was good but it just wasn't what I had hoped for. Hell, they even added Jackie Chan to this movie, which his bumbling parts were by far more enjoyable, didn't seem to make the movie any better.

I'm saddened. The stunts were kind of cool. The story really sucked. They needed more guts and less glory in this thing. There was just toooooo much happening on the outside of the story than on the guts of the story. There was soooo much there but they just ignored it. I really think they should have made two movies of this. One story about Reeves and one about Kazaf.

Ah well. I just tried watching the Twins Effect 2. So far, it's boring. Ugh. I might try again. Maybe I'm just comatose from the Chinese dud movies I'm seeing lately..........and I need to recuperate.

Peace, Out!

Edison Chen


Ekin Cheng

Undercover

Starring:
Shawn Yue
Sam Lee Chan-Sam
Monie Tung Man-Lei
Eddie Peng Wai-On
Ben Ng Ngai-Cheung
Ken Tong Chun-Yip
Osman Hung Chi-Kit
Otto Wong Chi-On
Marco Lok Lik-Wai
Michael Lam Wai-Leung

Shawn Yue is Feng, a former undercover cop who would definitely come in last place in a "cover your tracks" contest. Not only does he allow his former undercover life to drag his current post-undercover life to crap, but he seems only vaguely interested in self-preservation. One night while he's hanging with former triad pal Fai (Sam Lee), the two get caught snorting coke by a cop (Otto Wong of EO2), resulting in the cop's death at Fai's hands. Fai immediately must go on the run, and looks to his buddy Feng for some assistance. However, their wires get crossed, and Fai starts to think that Feng is out to bust him.

Feng isn't really trying to bust Fai, but the cops are wise to Fai anyway, and it's only a matter of time before they get to him. To save Fai (and probably also himself) from incarceration, Feng must go where he shouldn't: back to Tuen Mun, where everyone hates him for ratting out their former triad boss (Ken Tong). The journey is fraught with the expected difficulties, namely triad guys wanting a piece of him, plus a run-in with his former girlfriend Sandy (the ubiquitous Monie Tung), who has angst-a-plenty over the disappearance of her former beau. Meanwhile, there's a parallel investigation into a just-discovered skeleton, the sight of which unnerves Feng so much that he pukes and passes out. What gives? Is Feng really that much of a pansy about dead bodies? Can he rekindle things with his sweetheart Sandy? And can he clear his name with Fai?



This was sooooooo boring. I mean it bored me so badly I actually fell asleep for an hour and had to rewind where I remember leaving off to finish it. That was a stupid waste of my time.

I really love Shawn Yue, especially when he's working with Nick Tse, but damn if this movie dissappointed me.

There was no sense to be had in this movie. It was more of a "whoa is me" type movie. I felt nothing. Didn't even get upset at the end. Thankfully this movie was only an hour and 20 minutes long. I don't think I could have handled anymore of this crap.

The story could have been great. I idea of a messed up cop was good. They the production company screwed this movie up so badly. There was too much going on or not enough. You choose. It was just a messy movie.

I read another review and they gave it 2 1/2 stars. Really? They had to be sh*tting me! It wasn't even worth a 1/2 star. Why did I finish this movie? Because damn it....it had Shawn Yue. It should have been good. Not!

Kung Fu Pop (精舞门-2008)

Starring:
Jordan Chan,
Fan Bingbing
Poppin' Hyun-joon
Pan Xiaoting
Yang Yang
Gao Min
Xing Aowei

A warm and touching story of 3 adults who bravely pursue their dreams and overcome all challenges ahead of them in the dancing world. It all starts off with a dance competition which the 3 main characters are taking part in. From there the story continues to show their creativity and passion for music and dance along with what happens in the dance competition. The 3 of them have their highs and lows, share their sweat, tears and laughter, together they solved all difficulties and challenges in winning the glory of the title “Dancing King”.



This wasn't the BEST movie but it wasn't bad either. The script sucked. The story was absolutely horrid. But what made up this movie was the awesomely freakin' cool dancing! Nam Hyun Joon (who I'd never even heard of before but just found out have seen before in Fly, Daddy, Fly) was brilliant. This guy is sugoi talented. He deserves the accolades he gets with his moves and dancing. There is no way in hell this white girl could dance like that. Jealous? Hell, yeah!



Don't watch this movie for some kind of drama, romance, or action. Well, action in the form of dance moves yes. Other than that....this movie has nothing! Don't expect Oscar worhy material in this.....just rivot your eyes on the hunky Korean guy!


Nam (Poppin') Hyun Joon