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Reviews
Moonstruck (1987)
Struck again
Yes, this movie certainly was entertaining. I recently watched it again. Olympia Dukakis is still a revelation as the mother. Cher's performance is still effective but you can see where it's a tad thin. Nicolas Cage is almost unrecognizable. He's sooo young and (dare I say it?) hot! He certainly brought loads of passion to his role but at some point, I became distracted by his hair. All the supporting performances are still strong. This movieis certainly an ancestor to other ethnic family tales like "My Big Fat Greek Wedding". I think John Patrick Shaney should tweak it for the stage. Some scenes can be trimmed outright and others lengthened.
Jumpin' Jack Flash (1986)
Revisit this movie!
Just recently caught the movie again on TV. While it still contained some great laughs, it also contained a very strong portrait of an African American woman that I never saw back when the movie first came out. Think about it--She's a computer operator, one of the first to be shown on screen "chatting" and skilled in hardware and software. She's gutsy, doesn't need a man to help her. She's independent, strong, and beautiful but not in a typical way. She's not a rock emotionally. You feel for here as she waits at the restaurant for Jack. You can feel the caring she shows for her friends, co-workers She still gets the man--a white man!-- in the end, at least that's the implication. All of this in 1986! This new perspective for the movie has certainly lifted it above all the dated material (Annie Potts' hair, the computer terminals) What a statement! Go Terr-eee!
Chung fung dui: No foh gai tau (1996)
Not a bad action flick
Lau Ching-wan plays a detective demoted to being a street cop. He's put on a team with some strong characters, including one (Jordan Chan) who's determined to play by the book. Of course there is a big case and Lau is the only one able to figure it out. Clichés and stereotypes abound in the plot but the actors performances make these moments pass by smoothly. Notable are the performances of Rong Guang Yun and Anthony Wong as the villains. If a movie has Anthony Wong or Lau Ching-wan in it, you can be guaranteed good performances. **Spoiler Alert** The DVD transfer of the movie is in very poor quality so it was difficult to see the action on the cargo plane. **End spoiler**
Hak bak sam lam (2003)
Intense and enjoyable
A very tight film with excellent performances from Anthony Wong and Jordan Chan. Solid performances from Chapman To, who was not as annoying as usual and Patrick Tse, who just oozed slime. Wong stars as a police man who kills a criminal(the talented Francis Ng) and an undercover cop(the charismatic Lau Ching-wan). The sons (Chan and Raymond Wong) of the dead men both want revenge. Raymond Wong joins the police force and is eventually put on Anthony Wong's team. He gets to know this man who "murdered" his father by watching him try to catch a Vietnam gang member and by watching him take care of his father, the victim of a stroke. With a few predictable and unpredictable twists, the film reaches a very satisfying conclusion. The only problem, and it's a big one, is the annoying soundtrack. A fine bit of music used while the police investigate a gruesome murder scene is totally inappropriate when the sons are visiting the graves of their fathers.
Gon chaai lit feng (2002)
Thin story line balanced by decent performances
Miriam Yeung stars as Alice, the daughter of a Chinese herbalist/doctor and a ridiculously ugly looking mother. In a 10 minute segment, you watch Alice learn kung-fu from her dad and how to be a beautiful person from her mother. What Alice becomes is myopic and eccentric. Her little quirks (yelling her angry feelings into a bottle of water, practicing herbal medicine) are supposed to be charming but come across as annoying. Alice works at a ladies magazine that is merging with a men's magazine. There she meets and falls in love with Ryan (Louis Koo), a player who faints after walking up stairs. This characteristic is only there as a way for Alice to interact with Ryan, right? Except that does not happen. Alice gets stranded when she loses her glasses (shades of Velma in Scooby-Doo). Alice stabs Ryan in the butt and this leads to a great friendship. Alice learns that Ryan is in love with Michelle, so she does everything in her power to help him. And if you can't guess what happens next, you haven't seen enough movies or read enough romance novels.
I don't really regret buying this DVD, but what a terrible lesson it teaches. Women should change the way they look and tend to a man's every need in order to win his heart. Yeah, but why buy the cow when the milk is free, right? Louis Koo probably did not break a sweat making this movie. He's the ideal choice for a playboy. Miriam is very credible as the kooky Alice but neither actor convinces me that the two characters should fall in love or be together. If you really, REALLY like cinderella stories, this movie would be a good choice for you.
Gam gai (2002)
Funny and Clever!
Sandra Ng probably should have won HKFA Best Actress award. Comedy is an under-appreciated art and Sandra Ng is a true artist, if under-appreciated. This movie shows the trials and tribulations of a Hong Kong woman through her career as a "fish ball" girl, club hostess, masseuse and prostitute while showing a unique view of HK history. I've watched this movie twice and I intend to watch it several more times. There is so much to catch--cameos, social history, irony, subtleties. It's a real treat!
Yee dou hung gaan (2002)
A good old fashioned thriller
There are two sides to every coin and in this movie, there are two sides to ghosts. Do they really exist or are they figments of the imagination. What happens when a psychologist, after convincing a patient that ghosts she sees are part her mental illness, begins to see ghosts himself? Now set all that in the context of Chinese folklore and views on ghosts and mental illness and you have a terrific movie!
Leslie Cheung Kwok-wing, in his final movie performance, plays Jim, a psychologist who tries to help Yan (Karena Lam), a disturbed young woman who see ghosts. As he gets close to helping her purge her demons, he begins to show signs of some kind of mental disturbance. That's when his demons appear.
While others may call this movie a "Sixth Sense" knock-off, I found it to be full of good old-fashion movie scares. Cheung delivers a wonderfully deep and faceted performance, while Lam had me convinced she was seeing ghosts. Second or third viewings of the film wil reveal slight flaws with stunt and make-up but the performances overwhelm any little errors.
Much comparison has been and will continue to be made over the events in this film and the death of Leslie Cheung Kwok-wing and that would do a great injustice to this last record of his enormous talent.
Wai See Lee: Lam huet yan (2002)
If you can't say anything nice...
you shouldn't say anything at all. I've been wracking my brain to try and think of something nice to say about this movie and this is what I've come up with: 1) Rosamund Kwan is a beautiful alien. 2) Andy Lau wears the best double breasted leather coat and pants ever seen in cinamatic history. 3) Not to mention, he puts on the best I-am-having-a-terrific-time-having-alien-sex face. 4) Andy also gets to practice his English, which would be better if he had better lines. In fact his best line in English, he doesn't even speak!
I generally like Andy Lau and I like Shu Qi more since I saw the Transporter. Rosamund Kwan handled her role well but nothing can correct a weak story line and poor editing (some scenes looked like they were missing the special effect i.e. Andy Lau throws his glasses at the bad guy alien for no reason). I would have made a better "Wilson"!