Infernal Affairs III

Tony Leung and Andy Lau return along with a cast of new and old Infernal Affairs members in the final chapter to the trilogy.

Infernal Affairs part I was a very good film, and usually good films are hard to follow up to. As the final chapter to the trilogy, Infernal Affairs does deliver certain aspects that made the first film so successful in its production. However, despite the filmmakers' noticeable attempts to make this a worthy ending to an epic story, it just falls short. The cast and the visual part of Infernal Affairs III has no problems because they're still incredible overall, but the movie just tried to do so much that it may work in some areas but overall, it feels like a mess.

Infernal Affairs II tells of two stories, one is the couple of months leading up to the events of the first film, and the other is ten months after the death of Tony Leung's character. During the flashback, the filmmakers were trying to make Tony Leung a sort of funny character and I think it is just because for an undercover agent to always feel tense will only doom him, and the filmmakers tried to bring some simple human happiness into his life. The second time frame is about Andy Lau's pursue to become a true clean cop and how he must find clues to pinpoint Ming, a new character in IA3 played by Leon Lai. Andy suspect that Leon Lai is another mole hidden in the police station as he tries to find clue to bring him down; but more importantly, it is so that Ming would not stick Andy out for being a mole himself.

The film is a bit over-ambitious, but there are parts of the movie that certainly blend well. Andy Lau's hallucinations and the flashback relationship with Tony Leung and Kelly Chen are two of the more memorable parts of the film. Also, the inclusion of Leon Lai and Chen Dao Ming works surprisingly well. However, in the end, the film feels messy and the conclusion doesn't really mix with the overall storyline of the movie.

And finally, the director's cut version of the movie is better than the theatrical one because it adds some much needed information and the ending of that movie is better (The actual ending of Andy Lau's character does not change, but the directors just chose a better angle to end the trilogy.)

Overall, Infernal Affairs does indeed succeed more than it disappoint. Watching Infernal Affairs III doesn't make Infernal Affairs I better, but it is a very nice and welcome addition to the franchise.

Year: 2003
Director: Andrew Lau and Alan Mak

8.5/10

Ashes of Time

A brilliant Wuxia martial arts film that (I dare say) is better than "Couching Tiger, Hidden Dragon". A true Wuxia cinematic gem in Hong Kong films.

Ashes of Time is base on the story characters in the most renowned martial arts writing in China: Jin Yong. In fact pretty much all the good TVB martial arts series is from this guy. Anyhow, the story takes place quite a few years before the Condor Shooting Heroes universe. When the four super martial arts giants met and befriend each other in an inn run by Leslie Cheung.

The filled is filled with the biggest names of its day. Leslie Cheung Kwok-Wing, Maggie Cheung Man-Yuk, Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, Tony Leung Ka-Fai, Brigitte Lin Ching-Hsia, Carina Lau Ka-Ling, Jacky Cheung Hok-Yau, and Charlie Young Choi-Nei. But even with such a strong cast, it did horribly at the box-office, which is a shame because this movie is very deep and beautiful.

Leslie is an inn-owner in the desert after he found out that the woman he loved married his older brother. Leslie is not simply just an inn-owner, he is a hired assassin who kills to "take problems away." However, he lived an interesting life to say the least when expecting guest visits him and each of them as a touching story. It seems as though all of their lives interrelate with each other in some way. Some very subtle, some very hidden, but all quite memorable.

I really didn't believe that it was possible to make an art film in martial arts settings, but Wong Kar-Wai, that frinkin genius, has done it. The film IS a work of breathtaking art with beautiful play of shadow and light, memorizing camera work, and blur-like action scenes that fits the mood of the film flawlessly. He is able to give a genre that is all about heroism some sort of emotional focal point and redefine the formula that focus on memories as the biggest demons in heroes instead of actual fights. I would however prefer all the male characters to look cleaner because all of them looks like hobos... dirty and unclean... or maybe it was just the most truthful because candy-pop martial arts movie at the time were really not all that real.

The first half an hour is quite boring and confusing, but once it gets rolling, it goes. Maybe "Couching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" has better action scenes and deeper plot, but it doesn't hold a candle against "Ashes of Time's" beautiful art and emotional weight.

Year: 1994
Director: Wong Kar-Wai

9/10

The Adventurers

Andy Lau stars in an undercover war/crime film that brings Holly fun and action onto the Hong Kong cinema screen.

Lau stars as an orphaned Cambodia boy who watches as a man named Ray murder his parents when he was a kid. He is then taken into the custody of his father's good friend and grew up to be a military soldier/fighter jet pilot. Now that he is all grown up, he is seeking his revenge on Ray that takes him from San Francisco to Hong Kong and back to Cambodia. The movie also has another teaming up of Andy Lau with Wu Chien Lin.

Even though the cover of the DVD shows Andy Lau in a fighter jet suit, there is only one plane scenes and it last about five minutes with half of it dedicated to Andy's flashback. The movie feels very Hollywoodish due to the storyline and the action sequences. But overall, viewers would feel like they had watched a summer blockbuster instead of a Hong Kong film. It is something very hard to describe but the feel of the movie is certainly not HK. However, the movie is still a fun watch with deep character development especially with Andy and Wu Chien Lin. Andy Lau's performance is pretty good and this movie is like a stepping stone until he acts in films like "Running Out of Time", "A Fighter's Blue", and "Running on Karma".

Anyone who likes a good action film would find something to enjoy in this movie.

Year: 1995
Director: Ringo Lam

7.1/10

Once A Thief

Don't let the cool looking cover fool you, this movie makes Chow Yun-Fat almost looks like a dumbass... but it's still pretty fun to watch.

Leslie Cheung, Chow Yun-Fat and Cherie Chung are three orphan siblings who make a living by stealing artwork. However, when they were asked to steal a very valuable painting of a lady despite Cherie's insistent to quit, days start going wrong... but not too wrong because there's a happy ending.

This John Woo film is pretty smart and filled with full-blown action scenes the director is known for. But he should really stop doing comedies because some of the things he makes Chow Yu-Fat do is not only unfunny, but almost humiliating for the actor. The film has loves of gun actions and fight scene action and all other sorts of action, but they are all done in a near child-friendly violent because it seems that no many how many bullets are fired at the stars, they never get hit. Leslie got hit once, but it wasn't even near fatal.

All in all, this is a fun little movie to watch in a boring summer afternoon.

Year: 1991
Director: John Woo

6.5/10

My Left Eye Sees Ghosts

Fun comedy staring Sammi Cheng and Lau Ching Wan with surprisingly strong emotional tie-ins. The Johnnie To - War Ka-Fai collaboration prevails again!

Sammi plays May, who became a widow recently when her husband died in a scuba-diving accident. The strange thing is that the two got married after only meeting for seven days. For the next three years, May lives a life without purpose or direction until a near fatal car crash allow her left eye to see ghosts; which include Lau Ching Wan. Lau Ching Wan aids her broken spirit in hilarious and memorable scenes as she slowly comes in grasp with what she really wanted in life and who she really missed...

Along with "Needing You" and "Love on a Diet", this movie is one of the better romance comedies that directors Johnnie To and War Ka-Fai has made. The story is a little tedious near the beginning, but overall, it is a very rewarding experience about self-desires and happiness in life. Like traditional Johnnie To and War Ka-Fai movie style, there are quite a few of loose ends that doesn't get all tie up until the very end.

Either way, "My Left Eye Sees Ghosts" is a very rewarding movie for fans of Sammi Cheng and Lau Ching Wan.

Year: 2002
Director: Johnnie To and War Ka-Fai

8/10

In the Mood For Love

In my pursue to find another film that is as good as "Days of Being Wild", this movie has come the closest.

Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung stars in the middle section of Wong Kar-Wai’s trilogy. Although he intended it to be a continuation of "Days of Being Wild", there is absolutely no connection to the film except that Maggie's name is also So Lai-Chun in this movie has in "Days". This should've also been done in 2046, but Wong Kar-Wai chose not too... for some reason... By leaving the film as it is, it leaves an impression that is only as itself and really helps because this film is best when everything is concentrated on it and not on other things.

Tony and Maggie are married and they lived in the same apartment across from each other with their respected wife and husband. However, as time passed, they found out that their partners are cheating on them and the worst part is, they are cheating with the opposite partner to Tony and Maggie. Tony and Maggie than got a bit closer but forcing themselves to stay a good distance away from each other so that they don't end up likes their old partners. However, love is inevitable and the two starts to fall in love. But this was a love that should not have been and Maggie finds way to detach herself from Tony. But it is in vain because she and him are both in love.

Unlike many Wong Kar-Wai movies where the narrator speaks out to the audience like a monologue, "In the Mood For Love" ditches all of that and it feels a lot more natural and it forces the actors' acting to be the sole catalyst for the emotions in the movie. With that said, Tony and Maggie's performances are some of the best I have ever seen, Eastern or not. A lot of people have a misconception that acting comes from dialogue, but in fact, acting is the entire effect of speech, body movement, and pace. Tony and Maggie achieve all of that perfectly and made it into an art form.

The cinematography is typical Wong Kar-Wai stuff meaning that it is super artsy and beautifully. The editing of the movie is incredible, the lighting is incredible, heck, and even the music is incredible. There are so few flaws in the movie that I had to really nit-pick to find a few like: the main theme tends to appear a bit too much, there is a slight sort of ignorance toward the side characters, and the ending is a bit strange.

Other than that, this is a near perfect movie.

Year: 2000
Director: Wong Kar-Wai

9.7/10

2046

In Hong Kong there are four super giants in the movie directing business.

There's Johnnie To, arguably the most accessible of the four with fronts on both crime action trillers (Running Out Of Time, PTU, The Mission) and romance comedies (Needing You, Love On a Diet, Running On Karma).

Then there's Fruit Chan, an out-of-the box director with emotionally leading movies such as "Made In Hong Kong" and "Hollywood Hong Kong".

Derek Yee, an elite in the emotional romance movies that brings tears to viewers eyes as well as a crack in the viewer's hearts; (C'est La Vie, Mon Cheri, Lost In Time) and he's also pretty good at action romance (Full Throttle).

However, no one has a bigger profile than Wong Kar-Wai. Wong is the most inaccessible director of the four but almost all of his films are considered masterpieces. He may not win the box-office, but it is a sure bet that he can win almost everything in the awards. With the latest film from Wong, there is a very big expectation to be met, and although the film is critically acclaimed, for a Wong Kar-Wai fan, it doesn't really quite live up to it...

The movie has a huge cast of actors from Tony Leung, Carina Lau, Faye Wong, Zhang Ziyi, and even super popular Japanese idol Takuya Kimura. Tony plays an extension of the character from "In the Mood for Love". He is a writer for the newspaper but then changes to write science fiction romance after he encounters apartment room 2046. He then spends his day observing the happenings in the room and the apartments that surrounds it.

The title "2046", as it turns out, has a pretty deep meaning. It was the room that Tony and Maggie shared in their martial arts novel in "In the Mood for Love", and it also holds a political meaning. The 1996 Hong Kong government stated that the state of Hong Kong would not change for the next 50 years due to the emergence of Hong Kong back to Mainland China. 1996 plus 50 is 2046, and the theme of the novel that Tony writes in the story depicts 2046 as a place that never changes.

Anyhow, Tony gets into a lot of womanizing, but it all done in good taste and his acting is awesome so it doesn't matter. However, Wong Kar-Wai tried to make the viewers believe that the Tony in "2046" is in fact the Tony in "In the Mood for Love". But in fact, they are two completely different people. In a more disappointing fact, because Wong Kar-Wai is trying to link his three masterpieces together: "Days of Being Wild", "In the Mood for Love", and "2046", he seems to fallen in love with his work and constantly refers back to them. It makes the entire movie feel kinda cheap for using such a trick; however, the movie is still "the" Hong Kong standout title in 2004 along with "Kung Fu Hustle".

The art direction is beautiful and the acting are all superb. Tony Leung and Zhang Ziyi's performances are one for the ages; they are just so good. And despite all that, "2046" is still a very strong movie to watch. Although a lot of the film will make more sense if the viewer has already watched Wong's first two movies in the so-called trilogy, it is still one film to track down and watch.

Year: 2003
Director: Wong Kar-Wai

8.7/10

Love For All Seasons

From director collaboration Johnnie To and Wai Ka-Fai comes a funny comedy that delivers if your expectations are not too high.

Louis Koo plays Tiger, a super womanizer who has a nickname of the "Heartbreak King" for being able to break the heart of any woman. However, because of this, it left him with some illness in the bottom area... So he seeks the Omai Clan and meets May played by Sammi Cheng. After Sammi tricks Louis and cures him, she must go back to her original business as the replacement leader of the clan that needs to protection from the previous leader. But in order to defeat her, she must learn the forbidden technique of heartbroken-ness and seek the help of Louis with his unique talents.

The movie is a fun comedy with some very sexist comment, but overall it is all fun. Johnnie To and Sammi have done five movies already since the release of "Love For All Seasons" and it shows a bit of a slowdown. Some scenes are still very funny, but overall, it lacks the emotional backbone of "Needing You" and "Love On A Diet".

If a good laugh is all you're looking for, than this is still a pretty good movie to check out.

Year: 2003
Director: Johnnie To and Wai Ka-Fai

5.8/10