From the director of Strange Woman, Strange Man comes the family melodrama Likable or Not (a.k.a. I Hate You, But It’s Fine) starring a new generation of rising stars like Han Ji Hye (Sweet 18), Kim Ji Suk ( The Vineyard Man), and Cho Dong Hyuk (Mr. Goodbye). Like its predecessors, this daily drama has a firm foothold in the ratings chart. In 2005, Strange Woman, Strange Man came second only to the blockbuster drama Jumong in overall ratings, and Love in Heaven (a.k.a. Dear Heaven and Sky) dominated the national ratings for a number of weeks in early 2007. I Hate You, But It’s Fine has recently been enjoying the #1 spot in viewership, even beating out the two primetime heavyweights Four Gods and Dae Jo Young. Its mass appeal lies in the tried-and-true formula, presenting a warm family classic that revolves around everyday antics filled with lighthearted humor and occasional social messages to mix things up.
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.
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.
One of the best period kung-fu actioners Hong Kong has to offer, Iron Monkey is produced by Tsui Hark and helmed by renowned filmmaker and action director Yuen Woo Ping (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon). Action greats Donnie Yen (SPL) and Yu Rong Guang (My Father is a Hero) team up and face off in blistering martial arts set pieces. Set in the late 19th-century Canton folklore era of patriotic heroes, evil oppressors, and chest-thumping righteous action, Iron Monkey revolves around the heroic struggles of a patriotic vigilante, folk hero Wong Kei Ying, and his even more famous son Wong Fei Hung, here still an adolescent and played by actress Angie Tsang.
Adapted from the 1982 kung fu classic The Prodigal Son, 2007 period drama Wing Chun teams legendary martial arts stars Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao with Hong Kong heartthrob Nicholas Tse. Twenty-five years after they starred in The Prodigal Son, Hung and Yuen now step into the senior roles, passing the baton to Tse, who is quickly emerging as one of the great action stars of his generation. The young actor has already displayed his fighting in films Dragon Tiger Gate and Invisible Target and dramas Big Shot and Proud of Twins, and to prepare for the shooting of this action-packed series, he especially trained with Wing Chun master Guy Lai. Yuen Biao and Sammo Hung unite for their first on-screen collaboration in years, and with the two veterans pillaring the series, Wing Chun is a welcome return to flying kicks and fisticuffs.
Yuen Biao is martial arts master Liang Zan, the same role he played in the The Prodigal Son, but he who was once young and rash is now a respected master and physician, not to mention the father of two sons. Liang Zan must pass on his kung fu skills to the next generation, but his son Liang Bi (Nicholas Tse) is reckless, aimless, and irresponsible, much like him in his youth. Growing up in the chaos of early 1900s China, Liang Bi encounters countless troubles and trials, romance (with Hong Kong actress Rain Li), and a certain playful white-haired kung fu master (Sammo Hung) who teaches him the art of Wing Chun.
The final fight scene was much criticized as not being a true representation of Wing Chun in action. Remember, this is a tv series adaptation, and the main lead; Nic Tse, is just a pretty face not trained in martial arts. Buy his opponent in the final fight scene is the son of Sammo Hung and has martial arts training.
The better scenes in this series were those of Yuen Biao and Sammo Hung fighting baddies.
Korean Box Office Details – 19th – 21st Feb 2010 Brought To You By : The Secret Reunion in its third week in theaters still dominates, having the honor of also being the movie to finally dethrone Avatar as number one in South Korea. From director Jang Hoon after his excellent debut Rough Cut, [...] […]
This little logo always appears next to the movie title, it’s the Eirin logo – the Japanese film classification board. The Japan Times published an overview about this system; its history, how films are classified, how it deals with sexually explicit material… […]
A group of high school students follow the dream of having their own musical band and becoming artists. They spend their time after school to rehearse. […]
To be published in March ‘10, this book is an introduction to japanese cinema, providing a “more culturally-specific insight” into j-films, from oldies to animation. Each chapters starts with an essay presenting the basics of each ge... […]
Set within Issan region of Thailand, "To Sir With Love" tells the story of a teacher (Pichet Kongkarn) newly assigned to a small village to teach underprivileged children. […]
After acting in the first Remp-It film, actor Farid Kamil found an opportunity to direct the Remp-It V3 or V3 Samseng Jalanan, an action packed movie that has a mixed influence by Western film Torque. The movie also stars Bront Palarae, an actor known for his role in 2007 Dukun, a horror movie based on a true story. Rempt in V3 tells the story of a character […]
With a huge amount of anime series produced each year in Japan, it's easy to be lost. If you're wondering what you should watch, this should help you out: ********* Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex • Plot: Female cyborg Major Moto... […]
Jackie Chan has recently started filming his parts in the upcoming movie "Shaolin", a movie that im really looking forward to seeing, which also features a great cast including Andy Lau, Wu Jing, Nicholas Tse as well as many others. […]
Yutaka (Hidetoshi Nishijima) is transferred to the Bangkok branch of Eastern Airlines. In three months, he will marry Mitsuko (Yuriko Ishida), a relative of the airline’s founder, and though he doesn’t love her, he knows he could be CEO one day if they wed. In Thailand, Yutaka meets a girl, Toko (Miho Nakayama), at a bar and is instantly drawn to her. His […]
The plot revolves around the farcical situation set up when a narcotics deal goes wrong and he becomes the recipient of a large amount of cash. As a result the hapless victim is chased around Xiamen by the underworld, keen to get their cash and goods back. The characters portrayed in the [...] […]
From the director of Strange Woman, Strange Man comes the family melodrama Likable or Not (a.k.a. I Hate You, But It’s Fine) starring a new generation of rising stars like Han Ji Hye (Sweet 18), Kim Ji Suk ( The Vineyard Man), and Cho Dong Hyuk (Mr. Goodbye). Like its predecessors, this daily drama has a firm foothold in the ratings chart. In 2005, Strange Woman, Strange Man came second only to the blockbuster drama Jumong in overall ratings, and Love in Heaven (a.k.a. Dear Heaven and Sky) dominated the national ratings for a number of weeks in early 2007. I Hate You, But It’s Fine has recently been enjoying the #1 spot in viewership, even beating out the two primetime heavyweights Four Gods and Dae Jo Young. Its mass appeal lies in the tried-and-true formula, presenting a warm family classic that revolves around everyday antics filled with lighthearted humor and occasional social messages to mix things up.
