Hong Kong Comedies, etc.
24 April 2005
Kung Fu Hustle It's the Axe Gang versus the residents of Pig Sty Alley in Steven Chow's hysterical spoof on Chinese kung fu gangster films. Wonderfully stylized with dancing gangsters and killer tailors there is something here for everyone. Set in the 1930s,the poor residents of this neighborhood are more than a match for these murderous gangs. The landlady proves to be the most formidable fighter of the lot and the special effects and over the top fights make full use of Chows martial arts choreographic skills (see Kill Bill). The film takes a mystical turn towards the end and the excellent special effects help carry it off. This was a huge hit in Asia but will undoubtedly fizzle after it's US release. Check out all the awful teeth. We loved it. 2004 Chinese w/subtitles.
Far From Home Sang Woo is a spoiled little city kid who is unimpressed with his mute grandmother and her rustic ways. His mother has left him with grandma for the summer and he has a lot of adjusting to do before he sees the values in country living. He is shocked that you can’t get batteries for your gameboy out there and it is intriguing to see how this odd couple adapts. It is a really well made story about a cross in generations that truly comes across cultures. Chinese 2000 90 min Rated I
You Shoot, I Shoot This Hong Kong spoof is about a hit man, Bart, who hires a young director, Chuan, to film his murders. A gorgeous socialite, Ma, hires them to kill her ex-boyfriend and is so pleased she tells all her friends. Their films are so well produced, the team quickly becomes the most sought after assassins in the city. Other photo/hit squads try to emulate their success, but none come close to their combined talent. It is very funny. 90 minute, Unrated, 2001
The God of Cookery Stephen Chow wrote, directs and stars as the God of Cookery, who may be the meanest food critic of all times. He meets his downfall when he is challenged by an understudy chef and it is apparent he cannot cook. He then loses his 20 restaurants for serving British beef in this Hong Kong gastronomic comedy. He gets picked up from the gutter by Sister Turkey ( Karen Mok) who runs a noodle stand in the Temple Street market and has a crush on him. They invent a dish called" Explosive Pissing Beef Balls" which rockets them to success. In a series of scenes that skewer Kung Fu films Stephen tries to regain his crown in a master cooking contest. It's all very tongue in cheek and quite clever. Cantonese with English subtitles. VCD & DVD Rated IIb
Double Fattiness Apparently, folks in Hong Kong have no problem making fun of heavy people. Short of Eddy Murphy films, this is seldom the basis for a comic film in America. Mom runs a fast food restaurant with her husband and son. She has a heart attack due I guess to her stoutness but cannot get into heaven as the bridge collapses under her weight. She is sent back to earth on a technicality and given a sexy new body, since her old one was cremated. Dad, meanwhile acquires a new beau of ample proportions and cannot understand why this good looking young woman keeps hounding him. Meanwhile, evil real estate goons have plans for the restaurant that do not include the family. If it sounds like a Little Rascals plot, you're pretty close to the mark.
Fait Accompli Ling is a fertility doctor who runs a sperm bank in need of donors. Her mother in law is a meddlesome type who is desperate for a grandchild. So desperate, in fact, that she perforates the couples condom supply. There are a few funny scenes, but it degrades into a sappy melodrama after the husband dies. Cantonese w/subtitles 90 min rated III
F***/Off No we didn't put the asterisks in, that's the actual title of this comic tale of two lame bank robbers. Ah Lee is a bank teller who is in deep to his threatening stock broker. He runs into Papa who is an incredibly stupid crook wannabe looking for henchmen. They team up for an abortive attempt at a life of crime. This might be considered a Cantonese version of Wes Anderson's "Bottle Rocket". Entertaining. Chinese and English subtitles 90 min Rated IIb
The Fun, The Luck And The Tycoon The Tycoon (Chow Yun Fat), is a trifle bored with his privileged life, so he takes a job as a waiter for a catering company. He enjoys his new work and even caters a party at his company headquarters. Before long, the bosses sister, Sylvia Chiang, displaces Tycoon's betrothed and he determines to marry her, without revealing his true identity. He ends up giving up his inheritance to marry her and we can only hope they live happily ever after. All in all, it's pretty stupid. Directed by Johnny To 90 minutes Rated II
Horror Films
Haunted Office A Hong Kong horror film about an office building that has an abundance of dead tenants. In fact every year the building claims 9 lives. It all seems to emanate from the last stall on the 13 th floor ladies room. Samuel Jackson has a bit part as a low rent mobster. Not particularly horrid or interesting
Hong Kong Action Films
Naked Weapon A very evil woman Madame M kidnaps forty athletic young girls from all over the world so she can train them to become assassins at her private island compound. It takes a few years but the striplings soon turn into efficient killing machines. She then turns them on each other to Darwinize her pack down to three remaining candidates. Two of the girls, Charlene(Maggie Q and Katt (Anya) have been close friends since their arrival on the island and they make a particularly efficient hit squad. Meanwhile, FBI Agent Jack (Daniel Wu) has been working this case for a number of years and finally apprehends Charlene who is one of the infamous China Doll assassins. She escapes, but not before stealing his heart. Blah, blah. blah Some very pretty people, some over-computerized Kung Fu and a lame tale that is a decent diversion for a rainy afternoon. Directed by Tony Ching Siu Tung and it is in English. 2002
Cheap Killers Yat Tui is a handsome devil and when he seduces a mob bosses Chinese mistress, Ling, they end up killing him. Big mistake, and Yat and his partner Cold Sam, have there hands full killing their various attackers. Ling leaves him for another mob boss and eventually, Yat Tui is caught and tortured to the point of insanity. Sam looks after him and performs cut rate killings to keep them in food. Lots of guns, action and fights with all the main characters ending up dead. Directed by Clarence Ford 1998 Rated IIB
The Killer Jeff (Chow Yun Fat) is a hit man, and he's very accomplished even if he is an old softy. During a shooting spree he sets his gun off too close to a hostages face and burns her eyes. He tracks her down a few months later determined to help her. They fall in love, and because Jennie (Sally Yeh) is now blind, she doesn't realize he was her assailant. To raise money for her cornea transplant, he takes a high risk political assassination, where he is spotted by the police. They trace him to his girlfriend and use her as bait, but the two lovers escape and hide out at a fellow hit man's hideaway. The determined Inspector Li (Danny Lee) pursues him as well as a gang of thugs who want him silenced. When the thugs arrive Li and Jeff stand shoulder to shoulder, to fight them off. Against impossible odds, Jeff finally takes a bullet to save Jenie. As a final act of chivalry, Jeff he wills his corneas to Jennie. Nice touch. It's about, love friendship, honor and guns, yeah mostly it's about guns. The final 15 minute gunfight is like the OK Corral with Uzis. It might not be to your taste, but it is over the top and a must for CYF fans. Cantonese w/subtitles 128 minutes Rated II 2000
Dramas
Midnight Fly Michele embarks on a trip through France only to find her husband will not be accompanying her. A fellow tour member, a young Japanese woman, Miki, endears herself to Michele by vomiting in her lap at the start of the journey. They eventually become fast friends and continue on to Morocco, when the tour has concluded. They spend a lot of time discussing their relationships; Michele's eroding marriage and Miki's married boyfriend. After some time they both realize, independently, that they're in love with the same man back in Hong Kong. Meanwhile, Miki, gets kidnapped and sold into prostitution, which almost seems plausible, if it were not such a Kasbah cliché. Michele stops her life to look for her new friend, and eventually her husband arrives to take her home. She sends him packing and continues to search relentlessly for her husbands mistress. A sad but touching story with excellent performances by Junna Risa as Miki and Anita Mui as Michele. Cantonese & English w/subtitles Rated IIA 2 hours VCD
LOVE STORIES
The Truth About Jane and Sam Sam is a Hong Kong yuppie working on his fledgling journalism career when he spies Jane who's wearing sunglasses in a movie theater. Intrigued, he follows for awhile and catches up with her in a dance club. He works her into his current assignment on disenfranchised youth and pays her to let him trail her for a few days. Shocked by her drug dealing street survivalist life, he tries to add a note of gentility to her roughshod approach to. This film is a bit of a poke in the eye for Hong Kong's bourgeoisie and exposes layers of prejudice you would not have suspected. It's really a 20 something's quirky love story, but if it's raining out, it'll help pass the time. Cantonese w/subtitles 90 minutes Rated IIA
The Village of Widows In a small fishing village off the coast of China, 3 sisters are entrapped by the bizarre marital practices of the town. Wives and husbands must remain celibate for their first three years of marriage, then they can sleep together on national holidays. They cannot live together, however, until a son has been born. If a woman breaks these vows and loses face, she voluntarily walks into the ocean and drowns. It.s hard to decipher, but the film supposedly takes place in 1949. It is a long dark, droll film that may of interest if you're an anthropologist. Cantonese w/subtitles Rated II VCD*
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