Contemporary Hong Kong Cinema discussion thread!

Discussions about Hong Kong Movies

Contemporary Hong Kong Cinema discussion thread!

Postby Mike Thomason » Fri Apr 20, 2007 5:03 am

I think my brother in arms, Brian Thibodeau, inspired this one just as much as my interest to see a little bit more discussion about contemporary HK movies developed in these here parts. Instead of crowing about the many death knells of HK movies, maybe we can all share some thoughts about new and up-coming titles as a means of tuning those who would might be curious onto current titles of interest?

Although I obviously now have perhaps a greater disposition towards South Korean cinema, I am still just as enthusiastic as ever towards Hong Kong movies...and was quite excited to see Billy Chung's Lady Iron Chef and Cash Chin's The Haunted School go up for pre-order today on DVD at DDDHouse. I missed them both on theatrical release while I was in Malaysia in February and kicked myself severely over the fact (but I had family duties to tend to, since it was afterall Chinese New Year). So, in essense it would be nice if this can all remain as current as possible by focussing on present (2007) titles -- but I don't think there'd be too much harm in stretching back to the beginning of last year since there will obviously be a lot of titles, both major and minor, that people will have missed, been unaware of or simply not known about.

As a kick off I'd like to strongly recommend Derek Yee's Chinese New Year film Protege, which is easily as strong a drama as his prior One Nite In Mongkok (yes, referencing past films is almost a prerequisite in this discussion) as well as the kind of "mature" (ie: targetted towards a more "adult" audience) filmmaking that I was concerned Hong Kong had virtually abandoned in recent years. It was interesting to see Andy Lau as a deeply troubled, both emotionally and physically, individual since his character is both a major heroin dealer and plagued by the ill-health of severe diabetes. Lau has come a very long way since he debuted in the eighties; he now exhibits great depth as an actor, which is something one would have never expected from his early performances. Unsurprisingly, lead Daniel Wu carries the film as the undercover operative -- though his character undergoes a rather callous, brutal transformation come the finale.

Fans of nineties HK movies will probably be surprised to see Anita Yuen, as Lau's wife, here since she's virtually unrecognisable from the past. Yuen has filled out and gained weight (she was pregnant during the film's production), and facially she now resembles Deannie Yip in her thirties. The film's greatest failing is Louis Koo, sadly, as even though he's one of my favourite contemporary actors here he struggles to shirk off many of the comedic roles he's undertaken in recent years which lends his character an air of cariacture, where there should be revulsion and waning pity generated. Koo, and a ludicrous drug bust with Liu Kai Chi that goes wrong (devolving into cartoonish gory theatrics), are perhaps the only sour notes in what is otherwise another fine addition to Yee's resume. Arguably on a par with Johnnie To's Election 2 (which was largely superior to its lethargic and sullen first part), I'd happily recommend Protege as a very good place to start in this year's more dramatic fare thus far -- it's even a much better film than Andrew Lau and Alan Mak's Confession of Pain, which tried hard to follow the success of their Infernal Affairs trilogy but ultimately unravelled amongst its own complexity come the final act.

More anon. :wink:
User avatar
Mike Thomason
 
Posts: 905
Joined: Sun Jul 18, 2004 6:34 am

Postby Brian Thibodeau » Fri Apr 20, 2007 5:40 am

Interesting timing. We went out for dinner tonight and I couldn't resist popping across the plaza to the movie and music warehouse store where I get a lot of my VCDs. Knowing I didn't really have enough time to properly scrounge their endless bins, I figured I might as well pick up a DVD on the way out, since it appeared their new release prices have dropped a bit since the last time I visited a few weeks back. So what to I get? PROTEGE!

And then, to top it off, what do we watch tonight when we get home? Two new Korean movies! Hah! Well, actually, we both watched CITY OF VIOLENCE, which was a blast, but since my girlfriend was too tired, I watched NO MERCY FOR THE RUDE by myself, and was kinda glad I did so.:shock: I noticed the latter was one of the titles on Mike's curiosity list in another thread, so I'll post a few thoughts about it tomorrow in that thread so as not to take this one off topic.

Hats off to the thread starter, though! No better way to inspire people than to take affirmative action! ;)

Looks like I might have to mix a few new-release viewings into my old-movie marathons...
User avatar
Brian Thibodeau
 
Posts: 3843
Joined: Thu Jan 08, 2004 2:50 pm
Location: Near Chinatown

Postby Taijikid » Fri Apr 20, 2007 10:54 am

Many thanks to the kind folks who post information on the current HK cinema scene on this forum. I would especially like to express my gratitude to Mike and Brian, who have fueled my curiosity through their recent friendly exchanges. I don't have the time, money or storage space to buy all the discs that I would like, so I try to pay some attention to the opinions of other folks in deciding what movies to purchase.

The messages from lurkers like me may be infrequent, but please don't think that the hard work of frequent posters goes unnoticed. There are more ill-informed but interested HK fans out here than the forum traffic might indicate.

My son asked me yesterday whether I was going to order Protege, and I was waffling on the issue until I read Mike's comments. Protege now goes on my next YesAsia order.
Taijikid
 
Posts: 40
Joined: Wed Nov 05, 2003 12:17 pm
Location: Ohio, USA

Postby Mike Thomason » Fri Apr 20, 2007 11:14 am

Taijikid wrote:My son asked me yesterday whether I was going to order Protege


One small question: how old is your son? Protege operates on a level akin to Yee's previous One Nite In Mongkok, and just the same it pulls no punches with some of its onscreen material. The drug scenes are strong -- some of the violence is quite tough (though, as mentioned, the drug bust that goes awry loses some impetus through the usage of cartoonish violence...but then climaxes in a truly shocking scene of an unexpected mishap and its fatal consequence) -- and some of the material along the way could be construed as marginally disturbing. There is nothing quite as shocking as the beating Daniel Wu's character took in Mongkok, but a couple of scene teeter dangerously close.

Just to reiterate: it's a mature film with a dark and serious tone, tonally unlike the majority of light and safe commercial releases that make their way into Hong Kong cinemas. It has a hard, adult edge that I haven't seen too frequently over the last few years from the region, which is probably why I liked it as much as I did. It has a moderate, though largely non-explicit, sex scene as well (just in case the lad's a bit younger and you prefer to keep such things in check). But it harbours a cold, brutal, matter-of-fact aesthetic that impressed me greatly -- Louis Koo's jokey, overplayed performance does bugger things up a little though.

And I couldn't help, when Singapore's Changi Airport appeared near the end, feeling a little bit of a connection as I had been right where the action takes place only a couple of months back (the "Hey, I've been and stood right there!" factor kicked in at that point); it does tend to ground things a little more when you can readily identify with an onscreen location and acknowledge that it is indeed real and does exist -- it adds verisimilitude.
User avatar
Mike Thomason
 
Posts: 905
Joined: Sun Jul 18, 2004 6:34 am

Postby Taijikid » Fri Apr 20, 2007 12:52 pm

No reason to be concerned, Mike. My son is in his twenties and is a moderator at another internet forum. He is a great admirer of Derek Yee and loved One Nite in Mongkok, as did his mother.

I guess my demographics make me a duck out of water in these parts, but they also give me the advantage of a different point of view regarding HK movies. I can appreciate Derek Yee equally as a young star of the eighties Shaw Bros. wuxia flicks, as well as his more recent incarnation as a director of note.
Taijikid
 
Posts: 40
Joined: Wed Nov 05, 2003 12:17 pm
Location: Ohio, USA

Postby Mike Thomason » Fri Apr 20, 2007 5:18 pm

Taijikid wrote:No reason to be concerned, Mike. My son is in his twenties and is a moderator at another internet forum. He is a great admirer of Derek Yee and loved One Nite in Mongkok, as did his mother.


God, isn't it awful when one automatically assumes that the majority of people posting on discussion forums are in their twenties or younger? Maybe I should start assuming people around here are as close to forty as I am, if not a little shy of that figure from either side or it? :oops:
User avatar
Mike Thomason
 
Posts: 905
Joined: Sun Jul 18, 2004 6:34 am

Postby dleedlee » Fri Apr 20, 2007 5:44 pm

Image

:shock:
???? Better to light a candle than curse the darkness; Measure twice, cut once.
Pinyin to Wade-Giles. Cantonese names file
dleedlee
HKMDB Immortal
 
Posts: 4883
Joined: Wed Aug 01, 2001 7:06 pm
Location: USA

Postby Brian Thibodeau » Fri Apr 20, 2007 6:19 pm

Maybe I should start assuming people around here are as close to forty as I am, if not a little shy of that figure from either side or it?


I suspect there's a good cross-section around these parts. Me personally, I've been a rogueish and strapping 25 for at least a decade or more! A'ight?! :P
User avatar
Brian Thibodeau
 
Posts: 3843
Joined: Thu Jan 08, 2004 2:50 pm
Location: Near Chinatown

Postby Mike Thomason » Sat Apr 21, 2007 4:26 am

To bring things back on topic, as well as keeping within my own parameters, did anyone else hereabouts find Edmond Pang's Isabella (2006) a real trial to slog through? After Pang's first couple of films, which were just quirky and offbeat enough to strike a decent chord with me, he's pretty much blown off whatever promise he may have shown with those first two films (which were You Shoot, I Shoot and Men Suddenly In Black, btw)!

Chapman To and Isabella Leong were both good, and Peter Kam's Spanish-flavoured score (keeping in theme with the Macau backdrop) was pleasant, but the film was lethargic almost to the point of stand still. I know a bit of a fanboy circle-jerk occurs whenever someone mentions a name like Pang's, but does anyone else find him one of THE most overrated new talents of recent years? I found Isabella a perfect cure for any latent insomnia that I might have suffered... :?
User avatar
Mike Thomason
 
Posts: 905
Joined: Sun Jul 18, 2004 6:34 am

Postby ewaffle » Sat Apr 21, 2007 4:58 am

did anyone else hereabouts find Edmond Pang's Isabella (2006) a real trial to slog through?


I thought it was excrutiatingly slow and self-indulgently mannered.
User avatar
ewaffle
 
Posts: 737
Joined: Fri Nov 12, 2004 1:53 am
Location: Motown, Michigan, USA

Postby JohnR » Sun Apr 22, 2007 3:49 pm

I enjoyed Isabella. It's a different kind of movie than You Shoot, I Shoot or Men Suddenly In Black, but I'm sure no one expects him to limit himself to one or two types of movie. I didn't think of it as slow so much as leisurely.
"Looking for serenity you have come to the monastery.
Looking for serenity I am leaving the monestary."
Soen Nakagwa
User avatar
JohnR
 
Posts: 152
Joined: Sun Jan 19, 2003 1:04 pm
Location: North Carolina

Postby Mike Thomason » Sun May 06, 2007 12:37 pm

I watched Chin Man Kei's The Haunted School last night and the most surprising thing for me was to discover that, like Andy Lau's Focus Films and Tsui Siu Ming's Sundream Motion Pictures prior, Andrew Lau's Basic Pictures and Fortune Star (the money behind Lau's Focus Films, no less) have partnered up to produce a host of small to medium budget Hong Kong films as a means to further stimulate the domestic market! Seems like it won't be long and there'll be scores of medium budget HK movies out there for me to watch! Woohoo!

Akin to School, it looks like they're all being shot on HD then transferred to film for theatrical release. Initial titles up for release include: Xavier Lee's Dead Air, Billy Chung's Undercover, Carol Lai's The Third Eye, Herman Yau's A Mob Story and Raymond Yip's Fate. These, along with Focus Films' next project, Focus Fight (a series of Panasian martial arts/action films designed to promote new and up-coming action talent from HK and surrounding SE Asian regions), are looking mighty exciting from where I'm sitting!

Death knell? Nah, like always the idustry is reinventing itself and evolving and transforming yet again. Looking forward to all of these...:)
User avatar
Mike Thomason
 
Posts: 905
Joined: Sun Jul 18, 2004 6:34 am

Postby Brian Thibodeau » Sun May 06, 2007 5:56 pm

Death knell? Nah, like always the idustry is reinventing itself and evolving and transforming yet again. Looking forward to all of these...


So true, and besides, from what I've read at various forums over the years (and even in print sometimes :shock:), many of the people proclaiming that very death knell at various times over the past decade, hadn't even bothered to see all (or even the majority) of the films from Hong Kong's various heydeys in the first place. Cherry picked the good stuff, and anything further down the food chain wasn't worth the time, apparently. :( I sure as hell can't find much info on a staggering array of films post-1997, unless of course they were mainstream Hong Kong productions with star power! :lol: But I'm sure that will change in time as newcomers take an interest and the prices keep dropping.

Speaking of haunted things, I watched Ricky Lau's GHOST IN THE HOUSE a few days back (and posted credits in another forum). I think it's a mainland production, so I probably shouldn't bring it up here, but as such it's another one that might fall through the cracks without a little love from somewhere. Definitely shot in mandarin (though it is dubbed over, you can still tell which track matches best). It's a fond throwback to the comic/dramatic HK horrors of the 80's, only without the kind of budget needed to really pull it off. But Lau, who hasn't been around for awhile it seems (TV perhaps?) does what he can, and even drags out Wu Ma to play a Taoist ghostbuster. The special effects, while hardly spectacular, are nicely wedded to the video footage. Can't say if it's HD or not, and won't worry about it one way or the other, but there's some atmospheric visuals throughout, particularly once sorrowful ghost Anya starts making her presence felt in the new home of a pair of busy yuppies who don't pay enough attention to their young daughter. In fact, for most of its running time, the film seems to slag the progress made by the modern Chinese working woman (her portrayed by Annie Wu), which I suppose is a necessity to pass muster with the mainland censors, but it thankfully stops short of offering a full punishment for her "neglectful" behaviour. :(

I watched Chin Man Kei's The Haunted School last night and the most surprising thing for me was to discover that, like Andy Lau's Focus Films and Tsui Siu Ming's Sundream Motion Pictures prior, Andrew Lau's Basic Pictures and Fortune Star (the money behind Lau's Focus Films, no less) have partnered up to produce a host of small to medium budget Hong Kong films as a means to further stimulate the domestic market! Seems like it won't be long and there'll be scores of medium budget HK movies out there for me to watch! Woohoo


Thanks for the production info behind HAUNTED SCHOOL, by the way, but I'd really be interested in knowing how you felt about the film itself! Is it worth picking up regardless of its pedigree as part of this new wave that's on the way?


.
User avatar
Brian Thibodeau
 
Posts: 3843
Joined: Thu Jan 08, 2004 2:50 pm
Location: Near Chinatown

Postby Mike Thomason » Mon May 07, 2007 2:26 pm

Brian Thibodeau wrote:Thanks for the production info behind HAUNTED SCHOOL, by the way, but I'd really be interested in knowing how you felt about the film itself! Is it worth picking up regardless of its pedigree as part of this new wave that's on the way?


Well, considering the number of low budget DTV titles that you pick up, I'd say that Chin's film would be a no-brainer for you! :lol:

But for a lot of folk I can see that it'd be just another low budget HK ghost flick with a plethora of pop-kids, cheapo-CG and a dearth of genuine scares. Myself? I thought it was well-decent enough -- the pop-kids gave it some personality, there were a handful of modest scares and some inventively creepy setpieces (considering the low budget), though the clearly budget CG provided by Menfond did hamper things somewhat.

If you liked the first two A Wicked Ghost movies and some of the like DTV horror films that came out of that period then I'm sure you'll find a lot to like in the film as it's essentially akin to a bigger budget version of one of those style films. And if you've got a decent surround set-up, then you're going to benefit greatly from the impressive multi-directional DTS audio that the disc sports. It was decent, though not overly frightening, time filler that I'd give a modest recommendation. :wink:
User avatar
Mike Thomason
 
Posts: 905
Joined: Sun Jul 18, 2004 6:34 am

Postby Brian Thibodeau » Mon May 07, 2007 3:50 pm

But for a lot of folk I can see that it'd be just another low budget HK ghost flick with a plethora of pop-kids, cheapo-CG and a dearth of genuine scares. Myself? I thought it was well-decent enough -- the pop-kids gave it some personality, there were a handful of modest scares and some inventively creepy setpieces (considering the low budget), though the clearly budget CG provided by Menfond did hamper things somewhat.


I'm in! :lol:
User avatar
Brian Thibodeau
 
Posts: 3843
Joined: Thu Jan 08, 2004 2:50 pm
Location: Near Chinatown

Postby Simon Yam » Wed May 30, 2007 10:44 am

No love for Isabella? I loved it and was pretty moved by it, actually. Men in Black didn't do much for me.

Watched Spy Dad the other day, thought it had its moments. Tony Leung Ka Fai is really funny in this. Nice to see Elvis Tsui again too, the man hasn't aged at all since his Sex and Zen days! Too bad he was given so little to do though.
"Officer Cheung, your penis is over."
Simon Yam
 
Posts: 4
Joined: Tue May 15, 2007 7:19 pm
Location: Netherlands

Postby Brian Thibodeau » Thu Jun 07, 2007 4:10 am

I just started watching COLOUR BLOSSOMS tonight, but probably won't finish until tomorrow. Great looking film, but it the whole thing as pretentious as the first bit seems to be, or will I be pleasantly surprised? I've heard mixed things about it (mostly thumbs-down), but when I saw Ku Feng and his pal (son?) wandering through the apartment making snooty references to Italian cinema that felt more like self-conscious name-checking on the part of the director, my eyes started to roll a bit... :lol:
User avatar
Brian Thibodeau
 
Posts: 3843
Joined: Thu Jan 08, 2004 2:50 pm
Location: Near Chinatown

Postby Mike Thomason » Thu Jun 07, 2007 5:15 am

Brian Thibodeau wrote:COLOUR BLOSSOMS...is the whole thing as pretentious as the first bit seems to be...


Yes. Things don't improve -- it gets a whole lot more pretentious!

But I love it and that's all there is to it! My favourite HK flick of '04 :P
User avatar
Mike Thomason
 
Posts: 905
Joined: Sun Jul 18, 2004 6:34 am

Postby Brian Thibodeau » Thu Jun 07, 2007 8:03 am

Decided I could finish this baby tonight after all and you're right, it does get even more pretentious, but it feels so...intentional that I'd have to say I've seen worse attempts at artsy erotica for sure! Keiko Matsuzaka's vamp routine is so over-the-top it can't possibly be anything but deliberate, even encouraged. Quite a beautiful production, but the eroticism didn't exactly overwhelm the way the director possibly thought it might. What little I found in it seemed to come from the compositions of bodies rather than the movements or any convincing chemistry between the leads; I guess I shouldn't be surprised considering Yonfan's other line of work! :D While I probably can't mark it as a top favourite of 2004, partly because I haven't finished all my 2004 titles yet :( , it definitely is a unique, affected experience compared to much of what I have seen from that year (and those around it!). Looking over some of the reviews I could find, I can honestly say that I totally dig both the criticisms and the praise. Even some of the ones that went thumbs down tended to do so rather reluctantly. :D
User avatar
Brian Thibodeau
 
Posts: 3843
Joined: Thu Jan 08, 2004 2:50 pm
Location: Near Chinatown

Postby Mike Thomason » Mon Jun 18, 2007 11:53 am

To bump this one back into some (limited) motion, here's what I've amassed from the year's Hong Kong releases thus far...

The Closet*
Forest Of Death
Gong Tau*
Happy Birthday
The Haunted School
It's A Wonderful Life
The Lady Iron Chef
Love In Macau**
Love Is Not All Around*
Ming Ming
A Mob Story
Protege
Super Fans
Twins Mission

* ordered on DVD -- will all ship week's end
** 2006 production, released '07 and Macau-originated

The only two titles from this year, that have been released on DVD, that I haven't seen/ordered yet are:

House Of Mahjong
Kung Fu Mahjong 3

Anyone care to share some thoughts on these two if they've seen them? For the record, I actually liked the first two Kung Fu Mahjong films... :shock:

Cheers from Le Sickboy (yes, spent another arvo in hospital today. Yay!)
User avatar
Mike Thomason
 
Posts: 905
Joined: Sun Jul 18, 2004 6:34 am


Return to Hong Kong Movies

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 6 guests

cron