The classic Chinese story collection Strange Tales of Liaozhai receives its most opulent adaptation yet with Painted Skin. A remake of King Hu’s 1993 film of the same title, this Gordon Chan-directed release mixes old-style Hong Kong Cinema panache with new generation stars and visual effects, resulting in an unexpected and wildly entertaining mixture of action, drama and tragic romance. Top Chinese actresses Zhou Xun and Vicki Zhao face off as two women who love the same man, a soldier played by the handsome Aloys Chen. Donnie Yen lends the film a solid martial arts presence, while Betty Sun (Fearless) and Singapore actor Qi Yu Wu (881) fill out the supporting roles. A box office hit in both China and Hong Kong, Painted Skin is Hong Kong’s official entry into the Best Foreign Language Film category at the 2009 Academy Awards.
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.
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.
Collaborating with director Wilson Yip for the fourth time, action star Donnie Yen takes the leading role in a momentous biopic of martial arts legend Ip Man, the Wing Chun grandmaster whose many students included Bruce Lee. Set in 1930s and 40s China during the Sino-Japanese War, Ip Man follows in the spirit of blockbuster period actioners like Fearless and Once Upon a Time in China with a rousing bout of folk hero patriotism and a breathtaking display of martial arts. Endorsed by Ip Man’s son who served as a consultant for the film, Ip Man takes some liberties with history, but cuts no corners when it comes to the intense action scenes choreographed by Sammo Hung. Donnie Yen delivers perhaps the best acting performance of his career, along with his usual jaw-dropping martial arts machismo. Ip Man co-stars Simon Yam (Fatal Move), Gordon Lam (Sparrow), Wong Yau Nam (AV), martial artists Fan Siu Wong (The Moss) and Xing Yu (Kung Fu Hustle), and Japanese actor and judo black-belt holder Ikeuchi Hiroyuki (Karaoke Terror) as Yen’s main rival.
Ip Man opens in 1930s Foshan, a town steeped in kung fu heritage and lined with an abundance of martial arts schools. The undisputed toast of Foshan though is Ip Man (Donnie Yen), known not only for his superb martial arts, but also for his great humility and integrity. Content with his wealthy, low-key life with his wife (Lynn Xiong Dai Ling) and son, Ip Man refuses to take disciples, though he is at times forced to give sound beatings to rash challengers. Everything changes, however, when war hits. There’s no more time for martial arts as Ip Man works hard to support his family through this time of poverty and oppression. But he can stay silent no longer when a Japanese general (Ikeuchi Hiroyuki) begins challenging Chinese martial artists to fatal duels.
I have to say this is one fantastic martial arts movie.
Ratings: 4 out of 5
Local Foshan master challenges Ip Man.
A northern martial arts master challenges the various Foshan masters and easily defeated them. Ip Man saves the day.
After the Japanese forces occupied Foshan commerce collapsed and everyone is reduced to scrapping for food. The local Japanese commander organises martial arts fights for Chinese to win rice bags.
The local Foshan master enters the arena and takes on a Japanese fighter.
Local Foshan master takes on 3 Japanese exponents in the arena.
Ip Man fights the Japanese in the arena.
Ip Man fights to protect his family.
The northern master has turned bandit and harasses the Foshan automotive plant and Ip Man comes to their rescue.
Jordan Chan takes center stage in the new period drama Chen Zhen, a follow-up to 2007’s Huo Yuan Jia. Chan reprises his role as titular hero Chen Zhen, a fictional figure that attained iconic status through Bruce Lee’s Fist of Fury and was previously portrayed by Donnie Yen in a popular ATV drama. Produced by renowned Hong Kong director Stanley Kwan, Chen Zhen co-stars Mainland starlet Dong Jie (2046) and Hong Kong actor Terence Yin (The Heavenly Kings), as well as Tang Yifei, Norman Tsui, Leung Kar Yan, Liu Zihao, and Chu Yinan. Veteran action director Benz Kong To Hoi (Twins Mission) stays close to Bruce Lee’s fighting style by spurring theatrics and wirework in favor of simple, intense action scenes.
After the passing of master Huo Yuan Jia, Chen Zhen (Jordan Chan) leaves Shanghai and moves to Beiping with Huo’s only son Dongjiao. Keeping his identity a secret, Chen takes on a job at the Fang manor and dedicates himself to raising and teaching Dongjiao, hoping that he can continue in his father’s footsteps. Though Chen wants to stay low, he is forced into action when disputes between the Fang family and their rivals explode to the forefront. With his identity revealed, Chen is pulled back into the conflicts of the time as tensions between the Chinese and Japanese reach a boiling point. On the eve of a Japanese invasion, Chen Zhen must rise to the occasion and lead his people to defend their homeland.
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The classic Chinese story collection Strange Tales of Liaozhai receives its most opulent adaptation yet with Painted Skin. A remake of King Hu’s 1993 film of the same title, this Gordon Chan-directed release mixes old-style Hong Kong Cinema panache with new generation stars and visual effects, resulting in an unexpected and wildly entertaining mixture of action, drama and tragic romance. Top Chinese actresses Zhou Xun and Vicki Zhao face off as two women who love the same man, a soldier played by the handsome Aloys Chen. Donnie Yen lends the film a solid martial arts presence, while Betty Sun (Fearless) and Singapore actor Qi Yu Wu (881) fill out the supporting roles. A box office hit in both China and Hong Kong, Painted Skin is Hong Kong’s official entry into the Best Foreign Language Film category at the 2009 Academy Awards.
