King of Comedy

A story that many will not expect, but nonetheless will enjoy. King of Comedy is affecting, strong, but still carry over some Stephen Chow's signature delights.

The premise of this movie is about Stephen Chow's character, a loser extra who has a love for acting. However, because he is so into acting and making everything perfect, he is very hard to work with. Cecilia Cheung is a bar girl who seek Chow's help in order to make her more emotional in front of her clients, and the two starts a very interesting and romantic relationship with each other.

The beginning of the movie is fairly plot less and audience would not know where the film is going, but once the half hour mark passed, it gets a lot better. Stephen Chow is not a funny hysterical fellow anymore in this movie; that is because he was evolved into a sensitive actor who can act emotionally without feeling like it was forced. This is also Cecilia Cheung's first movie and in my opinion, it kick started her career because of her incredible screen presence.

The movie is not the typical Stephen Chow comedy and audience should not attack it because of it. King of Comedy is an affecting film that many will definitely enjoy.

Year: 1999
Director: Lee Lik-Chee, Stephen Chow

8.2/10

Kung Fu Mahjong

In an attempt to cash in on the Kung Fu Hustle bandwagon, Kung Fu Mahjong uses the same couple from Hustle and Roger Kwok in a barely passable rip-off that's quite entertaining in some measures.

The story goes like this. Yuen Wah, a gambling old man, unexpectedly find Roger Kwok, a busboy at a local restaurant who has big dreams of becoming rich with his amazing memorization skills. Yuen tries to take advantage of his special gift on Mahjong, but when Roger Kwok's landlord, Yuen Qiu found out, she immediately forbids him to stop playing Mahjong. But with a new hot girl set in his eye line, he tries to win her with money, but end up discovering that gambling can only take a person so far.

Yuen Wah and Yuen Qiu plays pretty much the same role as in Kung Fu Hustle. The only difference is the time period and the people around them. Yuen Qiu is still as bossy as ever and Yuen Wah is still has mouse-like toward Yuen Qiu as ever. And Roger Kwok plays a fairly engaging role with scenes where he ended up being retired to do gambling. Other than that, the rest of the performances in the movie are typically average Hong Kong stuff.

The plot is predictable and typical, but it still ends up entertaining enough to watch.

Year: 2005
Director: Wong Jing, Billy Chung

6.4/10

A Fighter's Blue

Andy Lau in one of his most prolific role as Tiger, a boxer who slowly becomes a man.

A Fighter's Blue is all about Andy Lau, it is not just a kickboxing movie set in Thailand. Andy plays Tiger, a kick boxer who was sent to prison for some misdoing for the past ten years. When he was finally released, he vows to find his girlfriend, Pim. But he found out that Pim is dead, and the only thing that she left him was a teenage daughter. As Andy tries to win the heart of his only child, he is faced with his skeleton in his closet and must finally face his past.

Like I stated, this movie is all about Andy Lau and his development as a character. He starts off the movie with the sole purpose of finding his girlfriend, but ended the movie at a revelation to himself. It is just so amazing that Andy Lau could be such a carefree actor in Wait Till You're Older, and become such a serious and hardedge kick boxer in A Fighter's Blue. His acting potential is just amazing. Takako Tokiwa, Andy's love interest in the movie, does her parts well, but she doesn’t has as much of an impact as the role Andy has taken.

Although Andy Lau reaches a conclusion at the end of the film, many audiences will certainly feel questionable about his decisions. But overall, A Fighter’s Blue takes a deep look into the psychology of a very interesting character, Tiger, and the film is one unforgetable ride.

Year: 2000
Director: Daniel Lee

8.1/10

Lost In Time

Nevermind Running On Karma, Lost In Time is the best film in 2003. Cecilia Cheung gives the best on-screen performance of her life.

Not to take credit away from Running On Karma, which is an awesome film with deep meaning and superb performances; Lost In Time simply outshines it by a tiny margin. Cecilia Cheung plays the soon-to-be wife of Louis Koo, a minibus driver. However, a terrible accident cut his life short, leaving Cecilia and his five-year-old son. Cecilia, determined to raise the child by herself, decides to repair the damaged minibus that killed Louis and start work as a minibus driver herself. Although her efforts are notable, she faces incredible hardship from financial problem, her family that oppose the marriage, the new job, and raising a child all by herself. Thankfully, Lau Ching-Wan, a fellow minibus driver is there to help her and the two start an awkward relationship that put an emotional burden on each other.

The film is the perfect example of using the technique of "Show not Tell." The movie does not tell you how things are happening with monologues or long speeches from the characters, it is the actions of the actors and the environment that shape this beautiful romance drama. Cecilia is just brilliant in her role; showing all sorts of emotions and her acting talents. It is a shame that Lau Ching-Wan never won a Best Actor award because this guy is something special. The two of them on screen is one of the best combinations of actor and actress I have ever seen. They compliment each other extremely well but at the same time, they are very opposing.

The film is a cinematic achievement in its detail plot and storyline restraint, and the best romance drama to have come out of Hong Kong in years.

Year: 2003
Director: Derek Yee

9.4/10

Divergence

Aaron Kwok is a loser cop who tries everyday to find his missing fiancée for the last ten years; Ekin Cheng is a systematic lawyer who fights for guilty clients; and Daniel Wu is an assassin who likes to break rules. The three different characters with three different paths of lives cross-path due to a bribery case.

Divergence is an action thriller, but despite some very awesome action sequences, Divergence tries too hard for its own good. Some people will really enjoy this movie because it makes everything so cool and serious, but those who do probably haven’t watched many Hong Kong thrillers before and there's no reason to blame them, because the film does have a very "cool" vibe. But in reality, the film has very little emotional impact (With the exception of Aaron). All three main characters contain very deep personalities that depict them very well, and there is zero comedy and laughter in this movie.

After the Infernal Affairs trilogy, many Hong Kong moviemakers were trying to capitalize the Affairs formula; Divergence do get some things right, but overall, it falls a big short on all fronts. One thing that can be stated is Aaron Kwok's amazing performance. This is truly his breakout role and audience can and will feel his pain and emotional. This is certainly one of the best male performances in 2005, but it doesn't save this movie from being a little better than mediocre.

Year: 2005
Director: Benny Chan

7.3/10

Wait Till You're Older

Andy Lau once again delivers an emotional compelling rollercoaster that takes a closer look into the the difference in the psychology of a child and an adult.

Much like American films like Tom Hanks' "Big" and Jennifier Garner's "13 Going on 30." Wait Till You're Older is about a bitter little boy's anger toward his father and his wife. His father actually had an affair with another women, Andy's mother, but because she lived an unattainable life, she and Andy decided to commit suicide; Andy was the only one that survived.

The movie is a lot more kid friendly until near the end of the movie, when the real message leak through the screen. The story is sentimentally about the time we have as a human and how we must use it to make the best of it. The plot is silly and highly entertaining, but it really has a big heart to fill in the empty holes. Andy Lau's performance as a kid in a grown-up body is in some ways, better than Tom Hanks character in Big. He has a childlike tone throughout the movie and when he speaks bitterly as an adult, the audience will feel like a child was instead speaking to them. And when he became really old, his body language was just phenomenal. Karen Mok and Felix Wong, the husband and wife of this movie, portrayed themselves very realistically. This is especially so with Karen's character because audience can just feel the anger and the frustration she has with Andy and his mother.

The biggest flaw and also the maybe the biggest accomplishment in the movie is the ending. Like many typical Hong Kong movie, the film cap off with a satisfying ending that is not very satisfying. The ending is a complete finale, but audience will feel cheated in some way. It is very hard to describe it without ruining the plot, but I ensure you that the ending of this movie will not be forgotten any time soon.

Year: 2005
Director: Teddy Chan

8.4/10