The Chinese Cinema (Page 14)

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Crippled Avengers

Wilson Yip

Reviews: SPL: Sha Pol Lang (2005) — October 1, 2016 Ip Man 3 (2015) — January 22, 2016 SPL: Paradox (2017) — October 8, 2017 Ip Man 4 (2019) — December 27, 2019 Capsule Reviews: Bio Zombie (1998) – September 25, 2023 Flash Point (2007)— November 18, 2014 Ip Man (2008)- April 4, 2019

Daniel Lee Capsule Reviews

Crippled Avengers

Daniel Lee Capsule Reviews

Black Mask (1996) — March 22, 2016 Saw this dubbed when it got released in the US in 1999. Surprisingly enough, it’s better in the original language. Best part of rewatching these movies now is recognizing the character actors: Lau Ching-wan as Jet Li’s cop buddy, Anthony Wong as

Dante Lam Capsule Reviews

Dante Lam Capsule Reviews

Beast Cops (1998) — August 5, 2017 Not only does this have Anthony Wong at his most righteously sleazy playing the streetwise cop who bends but doesn’t quite break the rules in the interest of maintaining the delicate balance of the community under his protection (ie: the Triads are OK

It's a Drink, It's a Bomb

Dante Lam

Reviews [https://www.thechinesecinema.com/tag/dante-lam/]: Operation Mekong [https://www.thechinesecinema.com/operation-mekong-dante-lam-2016/] (2016) — October 1, 2016 Operation Red Sea [https://mubi.com/notebook/posts/contemporary-chinese-cinema-lunar-new-year] (2018) — February 28, 2018 The Rescue [https://www.thechinesecinema.com/the-rescue-dante-lam-2020/] (2020) — November 25, 2021 The Battle at Lake Changjin (Parts I &

Wu Ma Capsule Reviews

Good Men, Good Women

Wu Ma Capsule Reviews

The Dead and the Deadly (1982) — June 2, 2017 Nastier than Winners & Sinners-era Sammo Hung or the Mr. Vampire series, with Wu Ma directing as well as starring, playing a grotesque con artist who gets good guy Sammo to avenge his murder at the hands of his co-conspirators. A

Wong Jing Capsule Reviews

Wong Jing Capsule Reviews

The Buddhist Fist (Yuen Woo-ping, 1980) — June 21, 2013 Maybe the biggest gap between quality of acting/storytelling and choreography/action I’ve ever seen. It’s the Seven Brides for Seven Brothers of kung fu movies. To what degree that is the result of the copy I saw being

Andrew Lau Capsule Reviews

Andrew Lau Capsule Reviews

Young and Dangerous (1996) — November 5, 2014 The Muppet Babies of Heroic Bloodshed films. Equivocation, extenuating circumstances, and context are the wisdom of the adult; the young see only absolutes, the letter of the code. These kids know the rules, but they don’t understand their own code. When Ekin

It's a Drink, It's a Bomb

Andrew Lau

Reviews [https://www.thechinesecinema.com/tag/andrew-lau/]: Infernal Affairs [https://www.thechinesecinema.com/infernal-affairs-andrew-lau-alan-mak-2002/] ( Andrew Lau & Alan Mak, 2002) — March 19, 2013 The Captain [https://www.thechinesecinema.com/the-captain-andrew-lau-2019/] (Andrew Lau, 2019) — October 17, 2019 Capsule Reviews [https://www.thechinesecinema.com/andrew-lau-capsule-reviews/]: Young and Dangerous (1996) — November 5, 2014

Derek Kwok Capsule Reviews

Derek Kwok Capsule Reviews

Gallants (2010) — January 28, 2018 Seeing this now at home, alone, more than seven years after catching it in a massive yet still overstuffed festival venue (the no longer operating Ridge in Vancouver), and being significantly more familiar with the cast and the kung fu classics it’s riffing on

Good Men, Good Women

Derek Kwok

Reviews [https://www.thechinesecinema.com/tag/derek-kwok/]: Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons [https://www.thechinesecinema.com/journey-to-the-west-conquering-the-demons-stephen-chow-derek-kwok-2013/] (Stephen Chow & Derek Kwok, 2013) — April 3, 2014 Schemes in Antiques [https://www.thechinesecinema.com/schemes-in-antiques-derek-kwok-2021/] (2021) — December 16, 2021 Capsule Reviews [https://www.thechinesecinema.com/derek-kwok-capsule-reviews/]: Gallants (Derek Kwok

Lau Kar-wing Capsule Reviews

Good Men, Good Women

Lau Kar-wing Capsule Reviews

Odd Couple (1979) — July 20, 2017 Going from Sammo Hung’s early 70s supporting work in something like The Skyhawk to this, made only a few years later, is a trip. No longer held back by co-stars who can’t keep up or unimaginative casting that refuses see him as

Good Men, Good Women

Stephen Fung

Reviews: Tai Chi Zero/Tai Chi Hero [https://www.thechinesecinema.com/tai-chi-zero-and-tai-chi-hero-stephen-fung-2012/] (2012) — May 1, 2014 The Adventurers [https://www.thechinesecinema.com/the-adventurers-stephen-fung-2017/] (2017) —August 16, 2017

Ho Meng-hua Capsule Reviews

Ho Meng-hua Capsule Reviews

Cave of the Silken Web (1967) — June 3, 2015 An impressive collection of legs. Transitional film for the Shaws, half a huangmei musical, half an action film. Not a state-of-the-art swordplay film in the style King Hu and Chang Cheh were making in 1967, but an older, more theatrical kind

Clifton Ko Capsule Reviews

Clifton Ko Capsule Reviews

Chicken and Duck Talk (1988) — March 18, 2017 Michael Hui owns a slovenly BBQ duck restaurant that’s threatened by the ultra-modern fried chicken joint moving in across the street. Highlights include Michael and Ricky Hui fighting while dressed as giant fowl, Sylvia Chang brightening an otherwise throwaway role as

Good Men, Good Women

Clifton Ko

Reviews: Happy Ghost I and II [https://www.thechinesecinema.com/happy-ghost-series/] (1984 and 1985) — November 26, 2013 Capsule Reviews [https://www.thechinesecinema.com/clifton-ko-capsule-reviews/]: Chicken and Duck Talk (1988) — March 18, 2017 Alls Well Ends Well (1992)— December 9, 2013 List: Clifton Ko Movies [https://letterboxd.com/theendofcinema/list/clifton-ko-movies/

Final Victory (Patrick Tam, 1987)

Final Victory (Patrick Tam, 1987)

A pair of eyes stare at us from under a green bowler hat. Then Eric Tsang looking uncomfortable, also facing us. Back to the hat, now revealing the whole face under it, that of Tsui Hark: pale, bearded, and glaring. Back to Eric Tsang, scared perhaps by Tsui, perhaps by

Longman Leung & Sunny Luk

It's a Drink, It's a Bomb

Longman Leung & Sunny Luk

Reviews: Cold War [https://www.thechinesecinema.com/cold-war-longman-leung-sunny-luk-2012/] (2012) — July 4, 2016 Cold War 2 [https://www.thechinesecinema.com/cold-war-2-longman-leung-sunny-luk-2016/] (2016) — July 6, 2016

Alan Mak & Felix Chong Capsule Reviews

Alan Mak & Felix Chong Capsule Reviews

Infernal Affairs II (2003) — June 29, 2017 Everything with Anthony Wong, Carina Lau, and Eric Tsang is excellent. And Francis Ng is pretty good too, though he seems to have time traveled two years into the future to steal Simon Yam’s Election performance. Chapman To and Roy Cheung do

Alan Mak & Felix Chong

Crippled Avengers

Alan Mak & Felix Chong

Reviews: Infernal Affairs [https://www.thechinesecinema.com/infernal-affairs-andrew-lau-alan-mak-2002/] (Andrew Lau & Alan Mak, 2002) — March 19, 2013 Capsule Reviews [https://www.thechinesecinema.com/alan-mak-felix-chong-capsule-reviews/]: Infernal Affairs II (Andrew Lau & Alan Mak, 2003) — June 29, 2017 Overheard (2009)— May 6, 2015 Overheard 2 (2011) — May 8, 2015 Overheard 3 (2014)

Gordon Chan Capsule Reviews

Crippled Avengers

Gordon Chan Capsule Reviews

Fight Back to School (1991) — April 15, 2019 Is to Ringo Lam’s On Fire films what Hot Fuzz is to Michael Bay. With a little bit of Kindergarten Cop thrown in, because why not. Beast Cops (1998) — August 5, 2017 Not only does this have Anthony Wong at his

Takashi Capsule Reviews

Takashi Capsule Reviews

Dead or Alive (1999) — November 1, 2017 No filmmaker in the world has more fun that Takashi Miike. That’s evident from a late career masterpiece like 2012’s Ace Attorney, or from the last of the prolific director’s films to play here in Seattle, Yakuza Apocalypse. But even

Devils on the Doorstep

Miike Takashi

Reviews [https://www.thechinesecinema.com/tag/miike-takashi/]: Yakuza Apocalypse [https://www.thechinesecinema.com/yakuza-apocalypse-takashi-miike-2015/] (2015) — November 6, 2015 First Love [https://www.thechinesecinema.com/first-love-takashi-miike-2019/] (2019) — September 25, 2019 Capsule Reviews [https://www.thechinesecinema.com/miike-takashi-capsule-reviews/]: Dead or Alive (1999) — November 1, 2017 Ace Attorney (2012) — March 16, 2017 The

Grass (Hong Sangsoo, 2018)

Grass (Hong Sangsoo, 2018)

Evan Morgan: Let’s start with the title. Hong arguably crafts the best titles of any filmmaker working today; something like On the Beach at Night Alone is tinged with mystery, poetical and allusive. Grass, on the other hand, sounds quite atypical: earthy, prosaic, direct. Critical writing on Hong often

Apichatpong Weerasethakul Short Films

Apichatpong Weerasethakul

Apichatpong Weerasethakul Short Films

Thirdworld (1998) — March 10, 2016 Early short from Apichatpong Weerasethakul already follows his split narrative structure. First half is two men talking at night, images of feet and hands and murky shadows, they talk about their pasts, the villages they’re from. It’s very mellow and sweet. The second

Kim Jeewoon Capsule Reviews

Kim Jeewoon Capsule Reviews

A Bittersweet Life (2005) — March 15, 2017 Kind of like Miller’s Crossing, but without all the plot, dialogue, or character. It’s a vehicle for surface-level emotions (love, pain, revenge), but Kim has great eye for cool and set-piece construction. He tends toward the gimmicky, the kind of camera