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Reviews
Timeline (2003)
A Waste of Film
An absolutely wonderful review on IMDb: "Dude, we're totally back in the Middle Ages! Heinous!" Kudos to this reviewer, because he/she hit the nail on the head. All of the dialogue in Timeline was simply stated, without any character interaction or feeling. None of the relationships were built up except Marek and Claire, and even that was a bit rushed.
I watched this film after reading the novel, so my review might be slightly prejudiced, but the character development was very lacking. The actor who played Marek seemed to be the only one who could actually act. Nobody really cared that their friends were being killed, and both Kate and Chris were obnoxious.
All in all, don't waste your time with this movie. If you want to see knights fighting each other, stick with something that has a good plot like Kingdom of Heaven or at least something that is entertaining like King Arthur.
Ye man mi ji (2006)
Good film for HK enthusiasts
Despite the disparaging comments on IMDb, after seeing an Ad for this movie (a.k.a. My Kung Fu Sweetheart) on an ALL Nippon flight, I watched it anyway. This movie is very amusing and fun. First off, so as not to cloud my entire review, I would like to mention that I think Cecilia Cheung is gorgeous.
The plot is easy to follow and really brings the idea of Kung fu into the present time nicely, instead of the normal, "wow you're from Hong Kong, you must be a kung fu master". Though the fight scenes and other technical elements were not as polished as some of the other movies I've seen, I'd still say this movie ranks closely with House of Fury for entertainment value.
All in all, if you can find a copy I would recommend it. I enjoyed it, and actually wished that it wasn't so short.
Shu shan zheng zhuan (2001)
Remember, I like HK movies....
Well, what can I say... This movie is awful.
As people have commented the special effects are not the best, but still pretty good. I can agree with them here. Although they still bothered me.
The plot of the movie/character development was absolutely horrible. At the end of the movie, you realize there was no plot at all, and the only reason anyone who was sane would watch the movie is for the mediocre special effects.
I was also expecting something with a bit of humor mixed in such as in Hark's Chinese Ghost Story, but again, there was no time after you put in all of the garbage this movie was collected from.
To sum up, it wasn't a complete waste of time if you have nothing other to do than sit around anyway, but in my opinion stay away...
Sien lui yau wan II: Yan gaan dou (1990)
Surprisingly likable
Although I hadn't seen the first movie, the recap at the beginning brings you up to speed very quickly. The movie itself while not hilarious, cheered me up and made me laugh in a few parts, mainly when the monk, Autumn, was on screen.
There's a lot of likable things about the movie, namely: love interests, thieves that appear out of nowhere (in the plot, not out of thin air), fight scenes with demons and a funny "freezing" spell, redemption of the "bad" guy, and most importantly (since more recent Asian movies seem to forget about them) a happy ending.
Overall, if you want a funny movie that you can just relax while watching it (no serious people), give it a go.
Ong-Bak (2003)
A must see for Martial Arts enthusiasts
Ong-Bak will take your breath away until the end of the movie when you stand up, stretch, and here the crack-crack-crack of your bones relieving all of the stress the movie induced.
The fight scenes are incredible. You might think a kick is just a kick, but the number of ways Ting (Tim) lays it on the bad guys, you'll be amazed. Not only are the fight scenes great, the chase scenes are shot excellently and leave you wondering if a human body could actually do those things (which obviously, seeing is believing....).
There is some Matrix type replays of a few moves however. In the beginning I enjoyed them as it allowed me to see how he performs a move from a different angle. They use this trick a few times too many though. It does not detract from the film as a whole though.
The plot is pretty good, but Ting doesn't really speak that much. Of course I guess you should just let him do what he's best at -- Kicking the crap out of people. ^_^
Chin gei bin II: Faa dou dai zin (2004)
Not the Best, but still a fun one.
Another movie containing the world's most adorable twins -- as far as I'm concerned anyway...
Although I had expected better after seeing The Vampire Effect, The Huadu Chronicles is a fun romp, in the classic styles of old HK movies. The jokes are crude but funny.
As for fight scenes, the first action scene is horribly done. Charlene and Gillian don't put on a very good show, and it doesn't really have anything to do with the plot. The story starts to take shape however about 20 or 30 minutes in, and Charcoal Head and Block Head, are lovable characters.
Donnie Yen and Jackie Chan's fight scene doesn't work at all however. I don't know why they are even in the movie. It's drawn out, filled with either bad wire-work or bad cg effects making the characters do unrealistic flying. I don't dislike flying in other movies, but this was just done badly. It also doesn't contribute to the humor of the movie or the storyline at all.
Overall, see it when you've got a few hours to spare for some mindless fun. For the movie, I'd only give it a 6 out of 10.
As for Gillian Chung on the other hand, 10 out of 10 easy.
Nae yeojachingureul sogae habnida (2004)
Beautiful Film
The wind hits your face, but you shrug off the chill and continue on your way. Never once does the thought cross your mind that it might be someone you loved who is now dead and gone.
Windstruck is definitely not a comedy. Romance, Drama yes. Funny at parts, undoubtedly. But NOT a comedy.
Ji-hyun Jun and Hyuk Jang are the perfect pair and full of chemistry (although some disagree with me). The movie is sad and tear-jerking at several different scenes. I won't pretend that I know the director's style, and instead comment on the movie itself unlike most of my colleagues here.
The humor was great, and Hyuk Jang is shockingly refreshing acting opposite Ji-hyun because he actually has a backbone and is funny by himself, not funny to laugh at because he is so pitiful as in "My Sassy Girl." Unfortunately the humor goes away about half way in, and the remainder is quite depressing, with only a glimmer of hope left at the end.
Overall, I think the movie deserves a 10 out of 10, but I don't think that I ever want to see it again. Until I really want to cry....
Tian di ying xiong (2003)
Worth a watch, still fun...
Warriors of Heaven and Earth is a decently made movie with some good plot developments.
The fighting scenes. All of the fighting scenes were done relatively well, being more towards the real side of battle, instead of the fighting scenes from the other big names (Hero, House of Flying Daggers). My only complaint with the action scenes, is that nobody is affected by the death of their comrades. I understand you cannot stop fighting unless you want to join your brother in heaven, but they all took their deaths as the grim reality. I suppose in a way, it is more realistic (we're all going to die anyway, maybe he was lucky to get to heaven sooner). The camera work and plot however did do an excellent job of making you feel sorrowful when a character died.
The romance. Wait, excuse me, romance? Vicky Zhou? What?
This point nearly ruined the movie for me until I got back into the mindset of hey, there are good fight scenes, let's enjoy them. Vicky Zhou's character is completely extraneous and was a waste. Although her voice is nice as the narrator of the story, and she still has a pretty face, she was utterly useless. Not only did she not fight (unless you call the one to two minute scene in the end "fighting"), she had about 10-15 minutes of full, on-camera footage - mostly devoted to questioning Li's criminal activities.
Overall. Lai Qi (Kiichi Nakai) and Li Zai (Wen Jiang) carry the entire movie. It's interesting that Jiang is not in the credited cast as he probably had the most screen time in the entire movie.
Should you see it? There are a couple things to take into account. 1) If you're not used to HK films, this isn't a good one to start with, unless you abhor the Chinese humor in older less epic films 2) It will probably make you depressed. Maybe it's just me... What else has made me depressed you might ask? Let's see: So Close, Hero, House of Flying Daggers...
I give it a 7 out of 10. I had hoped for something slightly better, but then again, it was realistic and the final battle scene reminded me of what the LOTR battle for Helm's Deep would have been if the good guys hadn't all survived -- Classic.
Lü cha (2003)
Okay, maybe I missed something...
Okay, now you will have to forgive me if I am truly the only one who has missed something profound. Mostly I am into HK action, but this movie intrigued me from other's reviews here. However although I found the camera angles and imagery very beautiful, the plot is lacking. This may be because it was lost in translation although the subtitles were at least grammatically correct. The movie kept me involved (unlike most other "artsy" western movies) until it ended suddenly without warning, giving no resolution that I could glean. Overall, unless you actually like art films and can grasp at something deeper or simply want to stare at Vicky Zhao's face, I do not recommend you see this film.
Chin gei bin (2003)
Great film -- if you like Asian humor/great martial arts
I'm not sure what version of the film I saw, but it was very entertaining.
I did not know who the "Twins" were (Gillian Chung and Charlene Choi) before seeing this movie and I think the English translation of the title is somewhat misleading.
The martial arts are very nicely done. I especially liked them, because there was a lot of judo/grappling that was filmed very nicely. Donnie Yen (see him in Hero, great performance) as a director is great as he knows how to shoot these scenes.
Everything seemed to flow for me, except there is one scene where the girls are on the rooftop fighting with bamboo poles. It has really nothing to do with the plot, but it's still entertaining.
Overall, this is one of the better (modern) HK action flicks I've seen in a while. Although cheesy in some respects, it still pulls it off.
Definitely a 9/10