The Midnight After

The Chinese title's literal translation is "That midnight, I got on a red public light bus that headed from Mong Kok to Tai Po" and is based on a web novel called "Lost on a Red Mini Bus to Taipo". Given the titles one should expect to be in for a bizarre journey and you will not be disappointed. Seventeen passengers clamber on a bus which delivers them in to a post apocalyptic Hong Kong. Unsure as to what the hell is going on, you quickly get involved with characters as they try to unravel the situation they are in. You are treated to some over the top horror laced comedy that leaves you cringing and laughing. But as the final destination comes closer you realize that the plot is quite empty and disappointing. Or it is going to take some doing to get on the same wavelength as Fruit Chan.

Rating: * *

Poster licensed under Fair use via Wikipedia.

The Grandmaster

Wong Kar-wai's take on the life of Wing Chun master and Bruce Lee's guru Ip Man. It chronicles his early life in Foshan and his flight to Hong Kong after the Japanese invasion. Tony Leung plays the martial artist maestro with his usual relaxed ease. But other than for that and the brilliant cinematography, the film has very little to warrant an addition to Wong Kar-wai's list of masterpieces. The director has definitely lost his touch and his retirement would be welcomed by his fans.

Rating: * *

"The Grandmaster poster" by this website. Licensed under Fair use via Wikipedia.

Life Without Principle

Johnnie To takes a slight break from his typically mafia dramas and bases this film on the ongoing financial crisis. The film is split in to three intertwining strands… a bank teller turned financial advisor is forced to dump high risk mutual funds on unsuspecting clients to make her sale numbers. Panther, a small time crook, played with aplomb by Ching Wan Lau is running around trying to raise money to bail out his blood brother. A young police officer finds new demands on him as his wife wants to buy an expensive high rise apartment. The incident tying the threads together is the assault on a loan shark who was walking around with $10 million. Brilliantly directed by To as he moves the threads forward and back while slowly putting together the pieces of the puzzle.

Rating: * * *

Wu Xia

Liu Jinxi (Donnie Yen) leads a simple life as a paper maker in a tranquil village in the Chinese countryside as the country is going through a change from monarchy to republic. Married to the ethereally beautiful Ayu (Wei Tang), Liu’s life is jolted when he “accidently” kills two bandits who try to rob a local store. The detective (Takeshi Kaneshiro) who follows in the wake of the killings refuse to let Liu’s past be and slowly tries to uncover the martial artist behind the simpleton’s mask. Stylistically shot by Peter Chan, the film is a pleasure to view except that the script and screenplay leaves a lot to wish  for.

Rating: * +

Ip Man 2

Take Ip Man, replace the Japanese with the Brits, remove all historical context and you will be left with the second film that supposedly peeks in to the life of Bruce Lee’s master. Throw in Sammo Hung for old time sake, but nothing can save this film from inducing coma in the viewers.

Rating: *

Mad Detective

Calling Detective Bun (Ching Wan Lau) mad is an understatement. He is borderline psychotic with a mysterious second sight and deadly intuition that finds him solving hard to crack cases. But his antics soon escorts him out of the force with an early retirement. Years later he is called back by a rookie detective, Ho (Andy On), to help with a disappearance of another detective. And then you are treated the complete spectrum of Bun's insanity. An enjoyable albeit violent crime thriller that begs to be made in to a TV series.

Rating: * * *

Triad Election

Johnnie To's follow up to Election, finds Lok (Louis Koo) nearing the end of his term as chairman. His godson, Jimmy (Simon Yam) wants to go legit and improve his business ties with mainland China. Majority of the Wo Shing triad  heavily favor Jimmy as the next chairman. Interestingly so does the Chinese government in the hope of brokering peace on the streets of Hong Kong. But Lok wants to buck tradition and force a re-election. And so the blood letting begins in this  crime thriller that favors stylistic grittiness over substance.

Rating: * * +

Happy Together

A friend of mine once told me that in every relationship, there is a giver and a taker. This film is about such relationship with drastic skew. Set in Argentina, Leslie Cheung and Tony Leung play lovers who are constantly starting over.

Christopher Doyle's signature camera work brings to life the gritiness of Buenos Aires. The taxi scene is an echo from "In the Mood for Love" or maybe it is the other way around. In the center is the master, Mr. Cheung. All in all, a masterpiece from Wong Kar-Wai.

Rating: * * *

Ashes of Time Redux

Wong Kar-wai's re-edit of his 1994 Chinese period drama centers around Ou-yang Feng (Leslie Cheung), who lives on the edge of a desert eking out a livelihood by acting as a middleman. He matches his clients with the right type of services, be it a bodyguard or assassin! A wide array of characters sift across his timescape each fleeting as the desert sand. They all seem to project a sense of loss causing them to seek the past and regret the future.  Kar-wai in his usual meandering style, tries to stich the disparate storylines together. It his failure to do so cleanly that makes the film endearing and magical.

Rating: * * +

Healing Hearts

Dr. Ching (Tony Leung) is a doctor at a hospital in Hong Kong pining away for his ex-girlfriend. All that changes when a patient Jackie (Michelle Reis) awakens from a coma and waltzes her way into his apartment. But even Mr. Leung can't save this film which suffers from non-existent direction, a puke worthy script and a meandering storyline.

Rating: *

Election

The Wo Shing triad have held elections to select their chairman for over 100 years. Now it is the turn of Big D (Tony Leung Ka Fai) and Lam (Simon Yam) to fight and bribe their way to the post. And even a democratically held election can be filled with strife and violence. A gritty and slick crime drama that will make you one with your couch.

Rating: * * *

My Blueberry Nights

Wong Kar-wai's first English feature burns, splutters and slowly dies out. With his regular ingredients of leading men who smoke, mysterious women, fractured relationships, blossoming love and cops; the featured strained to be ethereal, beautiful and melancholic but something was lost in translation.

The casting was poor and the acting was abysmal other than for David Strathairn. The music was listless in spite of the presence of Ry Cooder or rather his absence. But what was missed the most were the saturated hues of Christopher Doyle and that melancholic streak which usually graces all of Kar-wai's flicks.

Rating: * +

The Election

A disappointg Hong Kong thriller about a triad gang that decides to elect their new leader; which rips the group apart. And your senses too.

Rating: *

Breaking News

Cops and robbers with unlimited ammunition is the story of this mindless and hilarious action flick set in Hong Kong. Though I think the director meant this is to be a serious and thought provoking film.

Rating: *

Throwdown

A drunk ex-judo champion turned scam artist, a pretty girl trying to make it big in showbiz and a man who wants to fight the world. These are the characters that wander around in this melodrama that tries very hard to be a martial art flick. Was made to trouble Akira Kurosawa's soul by calling it a tribute to Sanjuro.

Rating: *

Once a Thief

The brilliance of John Woo was clearly evident a long way before he made 'Broken Arrow' and MI-II. Like this one for instance. Timely cliched jokes interrupted first by a heart-breaking moment, and then by a 10-min sten gun roar. Havent even finished watching the movie, but am certain where its going.

Rating: *

Confessions of Pain

The title possibly refers to a viewer's first comments on the movie. Billed as the movie from the maker of 'Infernal Affairs' and despite putting together as good as a cast as it can get, I was disappointed. Which wasnt entirely unexpected.

Rating: * +

The Double Bill

Infernal Affairs
Tony Leung is a police mole in the mafia. Andy Lau is a mafia mole in the police. Let the cat and mouse games begin. One of the tightest gangster flicks I have ever seen. Completely stripped of unnecessary melodrama. Even the love interests of the two characters are subtly portrayed. Just a few conversations here and there to get the message across. And Tony Leung rules!!! Every time I see him on screen he just blows. The man's acting is effortless.

Rating: * * *

The Departed
Why would someone like Martin Scorsese have to dig into the Asian pocket and adapt a film, I know not. Andy Lau's role is played by Matt Damon and Tony Leung's is taken over by (snicker snicker) Leanordo Di Caprio. In an attempt to give more background and depth to the characters, Scorsese has made the film more noisier without adding anything to it except of course the unnecessary love triangle. But I have to say that Jack Nicholson does get under your skin as the Mafioso don.

Rating: * *

Days of Being Wild

This is the second time I am watching the movie and it yet again left me with the feeling of floating in space. Wong Kar Wai is sublime. This was his first movie with Chris Doyle and you can see the beginnings of ITMFL. The movie follows various characters trying to find meaning, purpose and direction to life who are left feeling disconsolate and lost in a world of missed opportunities. The pace is gentle but has a certain panache to it.

Maggie Cheung is ethereal and vulnerable. I think this is the film she looks the most beautiful in. It is interesting to note that she plays a character with the same name in ITMFL and Tony Leung shows up at the end looking very much like our friend Mr Chow.

Rating: * * *

Chungking Express

Couldnt resist putting this one up. its got everything about the movie in it.

Courtesy: a certain Jung-Hoon Seo

Rating: * * * +