Cantopop & HK Movies

Crazy N' The City (HK 2005)

2009-11-16T11:38:00.001Z

Crazy N' The City is an entertaining HK cop movie, though a movie that focusses more on the lives of the police than any big crime drama (though there is a notable serial killer-rapist case later on in the movie). It is really about Eason Chan's worn-out cop who has the passed the eager innocent early stage of his career (which he is reminded about by rookie Joey Yung) and is now settled into a rut and awaiting his long-off retirement. Joey of course wants to save the world and even climbs buildings to rescue cats.

At first glance you might think this is going to turn out to be a generic HK cop movie full of cliches. However if we were following cliches to the letter then Eason would be snapped out of his lethagy by Joey and rediscover his earlier zeal actually it doesn't quite work out that way. A couple of teenage girls become his fans when they see him take down a criminal but then one of the girls becomes the victim of a serial killer and Eason resolves to catch him. In catching the criminal Eason rediscovers why he became a cop in the first place of course.

Francis Ng also plays a good role of a man who has lost his mind and of course he also becomes wrapped up in the serial killer case. This subplot fits in well with the overall feel and direction of the movie and again is not resolved the obvious way. The moviemakers do tease us a bit though, we see him get hit on the head many times but its the love of a good woman not blows to the heads which tempers his insanity somewhat.

The movie is entertaining, sometimes a bit obvious and overblown, but it doesn't detract from the overall level of quality and the good performances by some of the major actors. Don't let the presence of "idols" in some of the major roles put you off.

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MV : "等等" by Grasshopper

2009-11-13T22:52:00.003Z

Uploaded some more videos to Youtube, including...

Tequila (HK 1993)

2009-11-12T11:28:00.001Z

Andy Hui (looking rather young here) plays a cop investigating a series of murders along with his annoying partner Cheung Kwok Keung. The victims seem to all be cheating husbands and linked to a club Table For Two which seems to cater for those who wish to fool around... so the two cops go undercover and both fall for two girls who work there. Andy falls in love with Chan Hui Ying... unfortunately she has a beefy ex-husbund who wants to beat up anyone who touches his ex.

As guys who have been with Ying have ended up dead and Andy gets threatened with a knife by the ex he becomes the suspect for the murders. But then the ex is gunned down too. So who is it? The jealous barman who is secretly in love with Ying? Though you know Sarah Lee seems very close to her too...

The film is entertaining low-budget HK fun, the plot is coherant (no weird tangents which is a rarity in HK movies of the period) and keeps you guessing for a time although an experienced HK movie watcher should be able to guess who the murderer is before the unveiling because the other suspects are just too obvious. There is even a showdown with explosions!

MV : "Goodbye kiss" by Jackie Cheung

2009-11-10T19:11:00.001Z

Old 'un by the God of song. One of my favourite Jackie songs.

Missed Date (HK 1986)

2009-11-09T18:52:00.002Z

Olivia Cheng plays a bored housewife who is neglected by her husbund (who is thus either blind, dumb or both), who puts his business and flirting female clients first and his wife second even though she works hard to be the perfect wife (which happily for male viewers includes lots of yoga and aerobics). However when she meets a tennis instructor played by Chow Yun Fat she toys with the idea of an affair but decides she cannot as she is loyal to her man.

But then she finds her hubby hopelessly drunk with a female client and follows them to a love hotel. While her man and the client indulge in the beast with two backs in one room Olivia and Mr Chow chat and laugh in another room in quite an amusing parallel. Yet, of course, both couples leave the hotel at the same time and meet up in an awkward moment.

The marriage is over but the hubby hopes to woo her again yet spends his time smoking at his desk wondering what to do. He is too late anyway, his wife has sailed off with Chow... literally.

A really good 80s HK film that is accompanied by a couple of killer cantopop tunes by Andy Lau and Priscilla Chan. Cantopop was designed for such dramatic romantic times.

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MV : "Jade butterfly" by Nicholas Tse 謝霆鋒

2009-11-09T18:45:00.000Z

Great song by Nic.

Troublesome Night 4 (HK 1998)

2009-11-07T17:25:00.001Z

The Troublesome Night series of horror films amazingly went up to 19 or so but lets stick with one of the earlier efforts.

A group of Hongies go to the Philippines for a tour, and here are 3 stories set around their tour. One guy is transporting an urn containing the ashes of a Filipina who died in HK. As he heads to deliver his pack he keeps seeing a girl in the mirror and even in the shower. She looks exactly like the girl whos ashes hes now carrying too!

The frights are more the Carry On Screaming type than Ultra Violent Driller Killer Maniac 6 : I Drank His Brains And Then Projectile Vomited Them Back Up (a personal favourite) kind of horror. Plenty of ghosts appearing suddenly and people screaming. And its all very very funny, sometimes intentionally too.

Basically the film is fairly familiar late 90s silly HK slapstick packed with contemporary pop culture and HK life references. If you like that kind of thing you'll like this film, if not... well you might enjoy it anyway. The honeymoon couple story (starring Louis Koo and Pauline Suen) and the urn story are pretty good ghost stories, the third one about 3 horny guys is a bit of a zombiefest yawn but you can't win them all.

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MV : "Sugar in the marmalade" by Leon Lai

2009-11-07T17:14:00.002Z

Leon in his late 90s/early 00s Sony days was well known for his dance songs, this wasn't the best example but still pretty damn good.

Love Connected (HK 2009)

2009-11-02T21:54:00.001Z

I'm a sucker for HK romantic comedies which feature a host of the current starlets in favour and especially those that star Stephy Tang. She is in this one along with Justin Lo, Kay Tse, Miki Yeung and ...er... I Love U Boyz. This film is really 5 little films in 1, like a complicated drama serial it includes different storylines and plots running simultaneously and the film switches between them. 5 may be pushing it slightly as the film is bitty but its not without high points (and low points for that matter).

The most important story is probably between Stephy and Justin. He tries to woo her with his music (he being a musician) though hits an unexpected snag when he discovers Stephy is deaf! The most annoying story involves the I Love U Boyz pair playing a couple of losers (no sniggering please) who end up with Miki Yeung staying with them (somehow) and we follow their "hilarious" attempts to try and have sex with her. If there ever is a low point in the history of cinema then this may be it.

Sammy Leung is another comedian who can often be annoying but here he is on top form as a guy trying to juggle multiple simultaneous dates. It is a ridiculous set-up of course but funnily done. All of the stories end in a twist which i won't spoil here. Some of the twists are a bit ridiculous stretching credibility a bit far but few are predictable. Overall the film is worth watching though not without flaws, some big ones at that. The star spotting can be fun though.

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Charlene Choi is CosmoGirl

2009-10-25T09:35:00.000Z

Charlene Choi, ex of Twins, as she posed for September's CosmoGirl. Charlene has her latest solo CD out soon by the way.

Overheard (HK 2009)

2009-10-24T16:26:00.002+01:00

Overheard is an enjoyable yet not more much than that cop drama involving three HK police investigating stock market irregularities involving a company. As the police (played by Lau Ching-Wan, Daniel Wu, Louis Koo) listen in on what is happening in the company they overhear some stock market manipulation being planned and can't resist the temptation to make a few (or a lot) HK$ themselves.

Of course the police all have their individual stories which maybe explain why they are morally conflicted but basically good including Louis Koo who is dying and has a sick son so wants the money for them. Of course once they have entered the wrong side of the law they can't get out but no sooner have they managed to avert the anti-corruption investigation by the police then the bad guy behind the company (played by Michael Wong - and boy is he bad) is after them too.

Its a nice movie, it has a strong cast and some twists to savour and is generally produced well. Of course being a modern HK movie it has to steer within the boundaries set by the Chinese censors. Thus you know they will not get away with it but the ending and resolution of the film does manage some genuine surprises even if the plot stretches credibility somewhat in doing so. A win but not a knockout, but a win all the same.

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MV : "落花流水" by Eason Chan

2009-10-15T19:15:00.000+01:00

Some of his songs are really great though dunno whats up with his hair in this MV!

Stoner (HK 1974)

2009-10-14T15:00:00.003+01:00

Dating back to the early 1970s when Bruce Lee was still fresh in people's minds and kung fu and martial arts was big business worldwide (or at least the current in-thing) comes Stoner, starring George Lazenby oddly enough. Bruce Lee was apparently originally set to star in this fairly standard but slightly odd film but after his untimely death it was decided to make the film anyway. Angela Mao was bought in as George's co-star. Let the hard kung-fu action begin!

There is a kind of plot, something involving an evil gangster mastermind (who has a rotating desk, excellent!) creating explosives and drug smuggling in his (evil) underground lair but the plot is just a bare frame on which to hang a sequence of excellent fighting set pieces.

The result is undeniably cheesy, fairly confusing but also highly entertaining. It is a 70s period piece and perhaps nothing that original from the time but worth seeing all the same. How many HK kung-fu movies had an ex-James Bond in them after all?

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Joey Yung is a Cosmo Girl

2009-10-07T21:40:00.000+01:00

From SCMP.

Movie : Alan & Eric : Between Hello & Goodbye

2009-10-07T21:34:00.002+01:00

Alan & Eric : Between Hello & Goodbye (HK 1991)

Alan Tam and Eric Tsang are lifelong friends that were separated as children as Eric went to the US but then reunited with Alan some years later back in HK. Eric tries to make a business selling eggs while Alan plays guitar in a bar. All is cosy and cool.

Then Maggie Cheung enters the scene and Eric falls in love with her. But when she hears Alan sing she falls in love with him instead. Eric steps aside and the love blossoms but then Alan hits the big time and his friends leave him be.

But then 10 years later they are reunited in SF, Eric is now dying. But as his dying wish he wants Alan and Maggie to stay together.

A lovely romantic and quirky movie, maybe a little indulgant and often surreal - especially when they add Alan's concert footage in the mix but it gives the movie a brilliant cantopop nostalgia trip. Then there is the whole thing about Treasure Island, whats that all about me hearties?

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MV : "飄雪" by Priscilla Chan

2009-10-02T21:07:00.000+01:00

Priscilla Chan in the snow, what could be more romantic?

Movie : Heart Into Hearts

2009-10-01T14:37:00.001+01:00

Heart Into Hearts (HK 1990)

Heart Into Hearts was the second in popular "Hearts" series following on from 1988's "Heart to Heart" and like the first film starred George Lam as some sort of creative type (which seems one of the most common jobs in HK according to movies). George is due to marry Dodo Cheng (with her daughter Vivian Chow) but he meets an advert director played by Maggie Cheung whom he first hates as an emotionless professional but then they have to go to Paris together and begin to flirt...

Its a light hearted HK comedy with unfortunately 2 cute kids in (which as far as i am concerned is 2 too many). The film is enjoyable enough with quite a few funny bits but it lacks some bite. You can probably guess most of the jokes before they actually arrive and the film is a little formulaic. It is maybe worth watching for the massive brick mobile phones alone though...

One problem with the film is that Dodo comes across as very annoying in the film without the chemistry with George of the first film. Thus when George is flirting with Maggie you can't really see why he should stay with Dodo. George is his usual jolly and jovial (and often hilarious) self though. Anyway the series ended with 1992's "Heart Against Hearts".

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Behind the cover of Cosmopolitian with Vivian Chow

2009-09-25T11:23:00.001+01:00

From the SCMP. Vivian Chow is the HK Cosmospolitan cover star.

Movie : The Shootout

2009-09-25T10:27:00.004+01:00

The Shootout (HK 1992)

A movie in that very HK specific genre : slapstick comedy ultraviolence. This time starring Aaron Kwok as a pretty boy / pretty useless young cop who gets caught up in a case involving violent armed robbers and thus gets assigned to Lau Ching Wan's team. Then he falls in love with a KTV singer (Fennie Yuen) but of course she turns out to be the criminal boss' (unenthusiastic) girl... et cetera.

That makes it easy to find the criminals, which is just as well as the cops don't really seem to do any police work, their idea of investigating seems to be following a suspect into a brothel and then singing badly in a karoke lounge.

The final showdown takes place in a police training area, why and how the bad guys got there isn't explained but it makes for a good action setpiece to end the film. Jackie Chan produced and his hallmarks are here : fast, imaginative action.

Its not a film for plot but a film for big guns and bigger explosions.

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MV : "Mr Pig" by Andy Hui

2009-09-20T14:06:00.001+01:00

One the better songs in Andy's latter few years.

CD : Vincy Chan - more Vincy

2009-09-19T14:12:00.000+01:00

Vincy Chan's latest album is very fine indeed. 10 great songs starting with "Love delusions" which is a rollicking pop-rock song and ending with a duet "My memory isn't mine" the singer Ocean. Unlike a lot of albums there are not many fillers and Vincy is on good singing form throughout. Like most cantopop albums there is a bit of a mixture of styles but the mixture isn't too jarring and it is a great excursion in contemporary pop-rock. I'd stretch to saying this is the best cantopop album of the year so far. I haven't bought that many though admittedly... but even if i had i doubt this wouldn't be far off the top of the list.

Janice Vidal interview

2009-09-15T19:52:00.001+01:00

Talking about her English language album, her sister's drug arrest et cetera. Interview by SCMP.

Movie : I Corrupt All Cops

2009-09-12T22:47:00.002+01:00

I Corrupt All Cops (HK 2009)

In HK the ICAC is the feared (by wrong-doers anyway) anti-corruption force and this film purports to document it's creation and how it broke the back of endemic police corruption in HK in the 1970s. Well it is a Wong Jing movie so historical accuracy may not be 100%... However this is Wong Jing in "good work mode" keeping the racism and sexual weirdness to a minimum and the film, whilst not flawless, is a very enjoyable piece of HK movie drama.

The film centres around Tak, a police man so bent its untrue, and his fellow corrupt cops as they take back handers, bribes and basically run the triads. Tak, played by Tony Leung Ka-Fai, largely does what he likes. Apart from when his British superior demands a crime crackdown so he orders Anthony Wong to catch some criminals and if he can't catch them, frame someone. That is exactly what happens when Alex Fong is framed and tortured and only avoids going to jail for various fitted up crimes by a bit more corruption. Eason Chan plays a younger cop who is Tak's yesman. Eason is a man without any real honour, doing as his dailo orders even to the extent of taking in all of his ex-mistresses.

Things have to change though when Tak starts to get too carried away and the British order the creation of the ICAC to be headed by Bowie Lam and one of the first recruits in Alex Fong. Anthony Wong, by now fallen out of favour with Tak, is also recruited to turn gamekeeper from poacher. Yet despite the fact he tortured Alex Fong earlier in the film the fact is never mentioned or even hinted at which is quite odd and a bit lazy.

The war between the corrupt cops and ICAC is vicious and bloody but can only end in one way and in the end characters like Eason have to decide if they have any self-respect or not.

So is this movie any good? Yes it is. Its a near-modern period piece but unlike some other TV and films set in the 1970s/80s it doesn't try and set the scene lazily with a gratuitous array of product placements. The story is good though also pretty violent (including a couple of torture scenes) and slightly weird (Wong Jing nuff said). Some rather key moments in ICAC history are rather brushed aside or ignored but this is entertainment not a documentary and it is indeed very entertaining with some good performances.

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MV : "白紙" by Vincy Chan

2009-09-09T21:20:00.002+01:00

Got Vincy's new album yesterday, its very good indeed and includes this song.

Movie : Killing End

2009-09-08T07:58:00.002+01:00

Killing End (HK 2001)

Killing End is nothing that new, its a HK gangster film involving gangsters and police wrapped up in a brutal story that can only end in tragedy. However this Herman Yau film starring Andy Hui and Loletta Lee is very well done and well worth watching. One reason for this is the characterisation. The main characters in this film are more than your usual "troubled cop", "vicious gangster" stereotypes.

Take Andy's character for example, a cop in an impossible situation. He knows his police precinct is corrupt thus making his fight against the local gangsters hopeless but he continues onwards despite everything collapsing around him. Loletta Lee also plays a great role as a young woman with mental health issues who gets wrapped up with the story, and with Andy.

Things come to a head when Andy kills the Triad boss' son. Then Andy is marked for death. Can he avoid it?

A film well worth your time.

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