Drunken Monkey

Drunken Monkey is that rare oddity of a movie for the aficionado of exotic Chinese martial arts style featuring Monkey Fist and its variation Drunken Monkey Fist.

The story starts with Man Bil (Liu Chia Liang) and his brother Man Pao leading an escort of valuable goods. They both work for the Chun Yuen Escort Agency run by Master Yui Hoi Yeung (Chi Kuan Chun). Unknown to Bil, his brother is in cahoots with Master Yui to smuggle opium into the provinces. One night while they were resting in an inn during an escort Bil saw his brother behaving suspiciously and a stranger and accepting a parcel. As Bil was approaching Man Pao to question him, a stranger appeared suddenly and they  fought briefly before the stranger identified himself as Inspector Hung Yat Fu (Gordon Liu) from the capital Nanking on his way to Canton to investigate reports of opium smuggling. The inspector borrowed a horse from Bil for his journey.

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A loving homage to the 1973 Bruce Lee kung fu classic Chinese Connection, updated with increased production values, a Romeo and Juliet-style romantic subplot, and a more temperate view of the Japanese enemy. A martial arts protege (Jet Li) leads his classmates in revolt after their teacher is poisoned by the invading Japanese. The final fight scene is arguably one of the best of all time. Fights choreographed by Yuen Wo Ping, action director of The Matrix.

This is by far my favourite retelling of Jing Wu Meng’s Chen Zhen, this time acted by Je Li with an awesome display of his superb martial arts skills. This version is unique for 2 reasons: 1) this is the only version with a happy ending where Chen Zhen gets thru this alive, 2) the Japanese in this movie are not all portrayed as bad. His Japanese love interest and her uncle are both shown in a very positive light  Don’t read this if you do not like spoilers. And believe me when I say this is the best version of the Chen Zhen story.

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Jason Wu Jing returns with a bang again. This time he’s the good hearted hired killer Bo who head over to a small island off Hong Kong where a triad leader is hiding. His job is to kill and return with the head. This is a revenge killing by his hirer.

Bo  easily kills and takes the head but he cannot get off the island when it’s closed down in a typhoon warning. Last ferry brought some hoods sent by the triad leader’s Japanese wife who was unable to contact her husband. They found the body and was instructed by the dead triad leader’s wife that the missing head must be recovered at all cost. As the gangsters comb the outlying village, Bo befriended a local policewoman, Holly,  when he helped her rescue a cat that had climbed up a tree. Later, Holly confronted 3 strangers in a small eatery on suspicion that they were wanted robbers and a fight ensured. Bo saved her and subdued the 3 robbers.

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The Donnie Yen-Wilson Yip tag team return with the blistering actioner Flash Point. The actor-director combo previously made waves with SPL and Dragon Tiger Gate, reaching new levels of excitement with their depiction of onscreen martial arts mayhem. Flash Point is a return to SPL territory – at least character-wise. This prequel to SPL finds Yen’s Inspector Ma involved in a difficult case versus a trio of deadly Vietnamese bad guys. Inspector Ma’s partner Wilson (Louis Koo) poses as a member of the gang to keep tabs on the trio, leading to the arrest of Archer (Ray Lui of To Be Number One). However, Archer’s cohorts Tony (Collin Chou of The Matrix Reloaded) and Tiger (Xing Yu of Kung Fu Hustle) are still at large, and will stop at nothing to prevent Wilson and other witnesses from testifying. When they kidnap Wilson’s girlfriend (Fan Bing Bing) to blackmail him, only Inspector Ma is willing to come to his partner’s aid – and whoever stands in his way had better watch out! In Flash Point, Donnie Yen utilizes Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) to portray Inspector Ma’s powerful fighting prowess. Yen pulls out a full arsenal of fighting techniques, from kung-fu to Muay Thai to jujitsu, especially during the film’s climactic mano-a-mano duel between Yen and Collin Chou, which should astound even the most jaded screen fighting fan. A duel between Yen and Xing Yu in street restaurant is also impressive, as are the flashes of stuntwork and gunplay from the action-ready cast. Louis Koo embodies his undercover cop character with appropriate pathos, and the cast is aided by the addition of award-winning actors, including Kent Cheng, Best Actor winner for The Log, and Helena Law Lan, Best Actress winner for Wilson Yip’s Bullets Over Summer.

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Fong Sai Yuk 1

Starring the fabulous Jet Li, this incredible historical epic with its deft blend of high drama, slapstick and more subtle forms of comedy coupled with breathtaking martial arts action, represents Hong Kong?filmmaking at its very best. The story contains many serpentine twists and a complex mixture of plots and subplots. The story is set during the Manchu dynasty in Canton. Li plays Sai-Yuk, a courageous young martial-arts expert who is the very best around, as can be seen in the opening kung-fu matches. Those he beats swear vengeance and a chaotic fight breaks out. All involved, including Sai-Yuk, end up in jail. Sai-Yuk’s father is most displeased. Later Tiger Lei, a local official, decrees that whoever can beat his wife Siu Huan in a match will win his daughter Ting Ting’s hand in marriage. Lei then builds an enormous scaffold on which the combatants will fight; the first fighter to touch the ground loses. Sai-Yuk gladly takes on the feisty mother.

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