City Without Baseball

Starring:
Ron Heung
Yu Chung Leung
Yuan Lin
John Tai
Monie Tung - Kim

Resigned to playing at a remote facility without even a spectator's stand, the local team faces challenges on and off field before the international championships.
Notes
"City Without Baseball" casts real players, coaches, and managers from the city's baseball team.



OMG!!!!!! This movie started out with hot guys, totally freakin' naked in all their glory. I'm talking....FRONT AND BACKSIDES! No this is not a porn but dang if my jaw didn't fall out its socket and hit the floor. My eyes got all watery and probably enlarged 10x too big for their size. Oh, yeah. That's the way to start off a movie. LOL! I think I fell in love. LOL!

With that out of the way, this movie was actually quite confusing and borish. Okay, well the occasional naked, muscular dude showing his "stuff" kept my attention to the movie. That is probably the only way that kept me watching. Hot, naked Chinese men in the buff...hmm, that would keep any hotblooded female attentive...ya think?

This was supposedly based on true accounts from the actual players who actually played the actor parts. Hmm? Homosexuality on the team? Hatred amongst the players? Maybe. But I couldn't really understand what they were trying to get at. What was the point? Other than making me salivate. Hmm?

So yeah, boring, not-much-of-a-lick-of-sense movie.....but you can't beat the eye candy. Yummo!!! Tasty!

Uniform (Zhifu-2003)

Starring:
Hongli Liang
Hua Qin
Kai Han

Clothes make the man in this compact, Chekovian feature shot on digital and set in present-day small-town China. Laid off when the two local factories merge, Wang Xiaojian (Liang Hongli) is pressed into service at his family's laundromat. When a customer leaves a policeman's shirt behind, Xiaojian starts to impersonate a member of the authorities, discovering that power is a combination of appearance and self-confidence. Along with using the uniform to rip off unsuspecting pseudo-lawbreakers, he allows it to help him score with a shop girl, who wears a mask of her own.

Wang Xiaojian is a young man in deep shit at the time he impulsively decides to start impersonating a cop. His father is running up medical bills. His only income comes from the family's modest laundry and tailoring business. And, because he was in the wrong place when angry workers raided an accounts office, the neighbours think he's a stool-pigeon. He starts off wearing a police shirt uncollected from the laundry. Before long, he's knocked up a complete uniform for himself. Wearing it not only gives him the 'status' to extort bribes but also lends him the confidence to start dating Shasha, who sells pirated CDs. Like him, though, she has a secret other life ...

This movie got rave reviews for it's Indie feel and depiction of mainland China, modern day, with economical problems. I, for one, wasted a good hour and a half of my life. It bored the living hell out of me. The story could have been fascinating but they spent every 9 out of 10 minutes of visual footage (him smoking, standing, watching the girl, sitting, etc.....) So you guessed it...maybe only 9 minutes of talking or action or both. That's it.

This is not for those of us who were wanting a possible romance or something. The synopsis had me thinking this might be a little revealing. Nope. Boring!!!! Even the ending was uneventful. Okay, he was being chased by cops....two footmen and he on a bike. The girl sits on a rock ledge type thing. The end. WTF? Shoot me in the head.............

I could have watched more of Strongest Chil Woo or something that I just started today......damn!

Red Cliff (赤壁 -2008)

Starring:
Tony Leung Chiu Wai - Zhou Yu
Takeshi Kaneshiro - Zhuge Liang
Chen Chang - Sun Quan
Wei Zhao - Sun Shangxiang
Koyuki
Shido Nakamura - Gan Ning
Fengyi Zhang - Cao Cao
Jun Hu - Zhao Yun
Chiling Lin - Xiao Qiao
Yong You - Liu Bei
Dawei Tong - Sun Shucai
Jia Song - Li Ji
Yong Hou - Lu Su
Chun Sun
Qingxiang Wang - Kong Rong
Jiang Tong - Li Tong

It's A.D. 208 China. Rival states Shu and Wu join hands against their common enemy, the evil and ambitious General Cao Cao of the Wei kingdom, but are seriously outnumbered by his million-strong army. But with the charismatic leadership of Gen. Zhou Yu (Tony Leung), the perfect strategy of scholar Zhuge Liang (Takeshi Kaneshiro), and the support of emperor Sun Quan (Chen Chang), they manage to declare a small victory. While Cao Cao scoffs at this as no big deal, it adds fuel to his fury.



Wow! Stunning art work from master director John Woo. Totally spectacular.

I've been reading and reading and evidently this is an all-time grossing film and most money ever spent on a Chinese masterpiece. Yeah, masterpiece. I said it. Chinese and masterpiece usually doesn't spill out of my lips. So you'll probably won't hear me say it again.

From the beginning till the end....end would be figuratively because this movie isn't over. Yeah, a number two is coming out. How do I know? Because at the end....it says "To Be Continued." Duh! That my friend really pissed me off because I want to see the end....NOW!!!! Why should I have to wait any longer for this?

I was pleasantly shocked to see Nakamura Shido in this. First, he's Japanese and I didn't know he could speak Chinese. Woooooah Nelly! Yeah, yeah. I know that don't mean nothin' cuz Takeshi-kun speaks it fluently too. But then, he's half Taiwanese, so he's got the handicap, ya know?

Back to the movie......It was visually stunning. The action was abundant. The acting was expectedly top notch. The only gripe other than the ending is that Takeshi-kun had not one fighting scene. Okay, he's a scholar/strategist in the movie but that shouldn't stop him from kickin' ass. So maybe Part Two he'll get that chance. Oh yeah, another thing that bugged me....this was supposed to be A.D. 208. It seemed like this era could have been more along the lines of somewhere along the lines of 1300-1500's. I'm no historian so I could be absolutely wrong.....ehh.

Other than that this movie is really worth sitting down, eating popcorn, and chillin'. Definitely a really good movie.

Waiting Alone (Du zi deng dai / 独自等待 -2005)

Starring:
Yu Xia - Chen Wen
Bingbing Li - Liu Rong
Beibi Gong - Li Jing
Qi Gao - Haitao
Chao Wu - San
Yalin Gao - Li Liang
Songyan Tu - Sun Zi
Dayyan Eng - Ian
Lihong Li - Zhang Lin
Xiaopei Song - Liu Na
He Huang - Da Ming
Qing Zhao - Library Guard
Xiaolong Guo - San's Friend
Ting Sun - Leonardo
Xiaoge Feng - Wen's Brother

Set in Beijing, the film is a window into modern Chinese youth culture. Waiting Alone is a coming-of-age tale which tells the first-person-narrative story of Wen (Xia Yu), an antique shop co-owner and an aspiring author who feels that he's met the perfect girl (Li Bingbing). But no matter how close he and the girl become, he just doesn't understand why she won't fall for him. Aided by his best friends and the one girl he completely trusts (Gong Beibi), he tries different ways to woo her, playing along within the “rules of the game”...


I'm not a fan of Chinese movies. Maybe it's the language. It's hard for me to catch onto. I'm not sure. Taiwanese is pretty close too. But this movie was really good. Really, really, really good. I giggled throughout the movie. Oh, when Chen stripped down to his underwear thinking he was gonna get some from Liu Rong and instead it was a surprise birthday party. Oh, that was just too funny!!!

Hey, Chen's rocker friend was darn cute!!!! Oh, oh, oh! I was realy impressed with the soundtrack. OMG! It was my first time to hear Chinese rock! And it was good! I would really like to get the OST. Usually we hear the boyband phenomena on most OST in the East. I like a good boyband but sometimes it gets dribble.

This movie wasn't too slow at all. The pace kept you interested and the story alone was wonderful.

Okay the ending sucked.....by my standards. It was a good ending but it didn't end the way I wanted it to. I hate that. I truly do. When can I watch a drama or movie that ends the way I want it to. I will say that it left it open for a sequel but I don't see that happening since it's the year 2008 and this movie was made in 2005. Ugh! Ahhh well.

Like I said before, I don't really prefer Chinese movie but this one was really, truly a good one.

Turn Left, Turn Right (Heung joh chow heung yau chow/ 向左走．向右走 -2003)

Starring:
Takeshi Kaneshiro - John Liu
Gigi Leung - Eve Choi
Edmund Chen - Dr. Hu
Wei-Lum Shu - June
Terri Kwan - Ruby
Shiu Hung Hui - George
Suet Lam - Restaurant Owner
Lo Si Tse - Music Producer
Te Chih Wang - Landlord
Ku Wang Su-Chin - Landlady
Klaus Bru - Ghoul
Jimmy Liao
Suk-yee Chan - Dr. Hu (voice)
Angela Tong Ying-Ying - Ruby (voice)

This story is based on one of the best-selling illustrated storybooks in Asia -- Turn Left, Turn Right by Jimmy Liao.

John Liu (Takeshi Kaneshiro) is an aspiring violinist who is flocked by women like bees to honey because of his handsome face. However what he really wants is to meet someone special who appreciates his violin performance. Eve Choi (Gigi Leung) is a professional translator whose true passion is translating love poems, but for work she is stuck in translating cheesy novels and cheap thrillers which make her feel tense and frightened. Living in different units of the same apartment building and separated by one thin wall, they two have brushed shoulders in crowd hundreds times, but somehow their paths never really cross.

One day, while walking around a circular fountain in the park, they finally bump into each other. Just like a pair of long-lost lovers, John and Eve spend a beautiful afternoon together. A sudden shower cuts the encounter short. They exchange phone numbers and quickly run home. Yet fate plays a cruel joke on them, the rain has soaked through their precious scrap of paper and the phone numbers are hopelessly smudged…

Oh, the Fates have struck again. I love how the Asian community rely on this well versed saga.

This reminded me of one of my all time favorite Korean dramas.....Soulmates! They were so close but yet soooooo far away. Yeah, they lived right next door to each other and didn't know it. LOL!

I loved how they played out the story with the exception of the deceptive rivals....the doctor and the delivery lady. Eeeeegh! Especially the delivery lady....she knew the truth right from the beginning. Ahh well. This is just ONLY a movie.

I really wish I could remember the poem quotes out of the movie because they moralized the story and brought about exactly what the Fates were hoping for.

The ending was most satisfying indeed. Nothing but an earthquake can cure.......LOL!

This is a must-see for romance fanatics and sweethearts alike. It brings out the sweet love songs that are buried in your heart and the memories of our first loves..............

Kaneshiro Takeshi

Hua Yao Bride in Shangri-la (2005)

Starring:
Zhang Jingchu
Yin Xiaotian
Cui Zheming

Fengmei and A-Long have recently become a married couple but their Hua Yao Yi minority culture, in China's Yunnan province, dictates they must live separately for three years before the traditional custom of "Returning Home" can be observed for their family.

A-Long is a teacher for the girl's dragon dance team in their village. Fengmei is free-spirited and enjoys her independence and has a habit of driving A-Long crazy. Now, in rebellion of the tradition, she has set her sights on being the "Dragon's Head" leader of A-Long's dance team.

Hua Yao Bride is essentially a film about characters, and not so much about plot, which makes for an unpredictable film-watching experience. While the film adopts some conventional and unadventurous plot structure, the elements themselves are introduced rather haphazardly and some are even left unaddressed and unresolved. But this happens to be a good thing, working positively for the film and lending it a refreshing tone to what could have been a rather bland cinematic experience. Visually, the Yunnanese countryside which forms the backdrop to this story is a stunning part of China and beautiful to look at throughout the film.

The film immediately sets Feng-mei up to be the stubborn but endearing free-spirit. Her cute tantrums and ungraceful "commoner" nature which was a source for most of the humour in the film. Yin Xiaotian, who plays A-Long, does an adequate job of playing the husband who finds that he is unable to control either his wife or really much of anything that happens around him. It was difficult to get into the characters' heads in this film and fully understand their motivations, though apparently getting drunk and dancing on loosely-tiled roofs is the best way to deal with your woes. And why did he pull that TV antenna from his parents' roof anyway?

In all, this was a refreshing movie. I'm usually not for Taiwan or Chinese movies. I don't know why so don't ask. But I thought the synopsis of the movie sounded intriguing so I gave it a go. It was a little different but yet beautiful all the same.

About Love (Guan yu ai -2005)

Starring:
Bo-lin Chen - Yao (segment "Tokyo")
Mavis Fan - A-Su (segment "Taipei")
Yui Ichikawa - Yuka (segment 'Tokyo')
Misaki Ito - Michiko (segment "Tokyo")
Ryo Kase - Tecchan (segment "Taipei")
Lu Lu - Yun (segment "Shanghai") (as Xiaolu Li)
Ren Osugi - Shop owner (segment 'Tokyo')
Takashi Tsukamoto - Shuhei (segment "Shanghai")
Rui Yang - Min



Consisting of three vignettes about cross-cultural love set in three different cities (Tokyo, Taipei, and Shanghai), 'About Love' is a film made by three directors with six idols from Japan, Mainland China, and Taiwan. In each vignette, a foreigner and a resident, both in their twenties, try to transgress cultural and language barriers and explore something 'About Love'.
TOKYO
Cast: Ito Misaki, Wilson Chen Bo-lin
A Taiwanese student in Japan yearns to become a successful digital cartoonist. One day he passes by a heartbroken young graphic artist who possesses a quality that intrigues him...
TAIPEI
Cast: Kase Ryo, Mavis Fan
A newcomer from Japan in Taipei who eagerly hopes for a one-night-stand receives a call from a local girl for help. He speeds to her place only to find that his task is merely to help A-Su assmemble a bookshelf...
SHANGHAI
Cast: Tsukamoto Takashi, Li Xiaolu
A young Japanese student lives on the second floor of a general store in Shanghai. The landlady's daughter falls in love with him at first sight, but he is still filled with thoughts of his sweetheart in Japan...

I think I watched this backwards. Didn't mean to. Just didn't know which order was what. Anyway, to an extent it was probably for the best. It made the Tokyo segment more understandible but yet the other two less. I guess if I watched them now in the right order it would all make more sense. LOL!

The other two segments contained a little something that dealt with the Tokyo segment and vice-versa.

I think my favorite segment was Shanghai. It seemed more innocent BUT I was totally lost at the end. I didn't understand what happened to Yun and her building. And I wanted closure between Shuhei and Yun. It was so sweet and poignant when Shuhei discovered what "Te Quiero!" meant. They translated it as "I love you," which surprises me because the literal translation is "I want you." Either way.....it was so sad and sweet at the same time.

Tsukamoto Takashi


Wilson Chen

Just One Look (一碌蔗,Yat Luk Che-2002)

Starring:
Shawn Yue
Charlene Choi
Gillian Chung
Wong Yau-Nam
Anthony Wong

Shawn Yue stars as Fan, a Cheung Chau-born young man who spends his time selling sugar cane with his grandmother (Lee Fung) outside the local cinema. Years ago, his father (Sam Lee) reportedly shot himself in the restroom of the cinema, but Fan has suspected all along that is was local gangster Crazy (Anthony Wong) who pulled the trigger. In the ten years since, Fan has fueled his vendetta by secretly sniping Crazy with a slingshot, though he's too scared to confront him in person.

Fan's cohort in youthful mischief is buddy Fishball Ming (Wong Yau-Nam of boy band Shine). Ming leads their group of friends as they fight with local toughs and torture rats for fun. Both also take a shine to Nam (Charlene Choi, AKA: Twin #1), the daughter of a kung-fu teacher (Eric Kot). Fan and Ming join up at the school in order to get closer to Nam, whom Ming dubs "heroine". However, Fan finds himself attracted to a mysterious girl in white (Gillian Chung, AKA: Twin #2), who lives in a local convent. He resolves to write to her, but finds himself unable to find the words. Luckily, he can use the film synopses outside the cinema to compose his letters, which she receives willingly. Then...more stuff happens.

This was a slow movie at the beginning picked up and then got slow again. Another movie that I discovered that liked to revolve around older generation movies. It was sort of boring but I stuck with it. It seemed to have "something". I can't say it was the best Chinese movie I've seen only because I rarely, and I mean RARELY, watch Chinese movies. I don't know why. They usually don't interest me.

I will say that Shawn Yue was some serious man-candy. Why haven't I seen him sooner? I'll be on the hunt for more of his stuff. I was really intrigued with his style.

This movie could have been better but for some reason I think the writer lost his way. He didn't really know how to end it, I think. It just unraveled into nothing. But like I said I think the character of Fan was phenomenal and the story started out really well....but the end....fizzled.

Shawn Yue

Chinese guys aren't so bad looking after all! LOL! *faints*