Member DiP Posted January 26, 2012 Member Share Posted January 26, 2012 http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Lifestyle/Story/STIStory_759210.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Markgway Posted January 26, 2012 Share Posted January 26, 2012 I haven't seen anything by Lam that would justify the comparison. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member OpiumKungFuCracker Posted January 27, 2012 Member Share Posted January 27, 2012 Dante Lam is getting up there though in terms of action set pieces... His movies are kinetic and exhilarating as hell.. You guys should check out the Viral Factor, pure action.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member mark187 Posted January 27, 2012 Member Share Posted January 27, 2012 while Dante Lam will likely never be as highly thought of as John Woo, he has definitely always had what it takes to be a great director of action films, especially cop-soap-operas and such that more often than not mix in some extreme police tactical, SWAT, or military style action. You could see this right from the start of his director career, but then he eventually started to fade away and make some crappy movies like Tiramisu. When I first heard about The Beast Stalker in 2008, it came out of nowhere, and it was a very welcome surprise, as I had always admired Dante's work. thankfully, it put him back on the track he belongs on. I personally can't wait to see The Viral Factor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Markgway Posted January 27, 2012 Share Posted January 27, 2012 Hey, I liked Tiramisu. The movie that is, not the dessert, which I don't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member TibetanWhiteCrane Posted January 27, 2012 Member Share Posted January 27, 2012 He has proved himself with Beast Stalker, Fire Of Conscience and Stool Pigeon, in my book. Haven't seen Viral Factor yet. But he is one of the only directors left who's making hard edged HONG KONG cops 'n crime flicks! I put the emphasis on HONG KONG, because his films are set in HK, are about HK people and themes, and shot in HK. Pretty sad that, that is almost considered a rarity nowadays, when thinking about the flood of HK action films of yore. Im so SICK of mainland this and mainland that, im about to vomit! Maybe the population of HK don't agree, but I miss the pre '97 HK, and the movies from that era. I dread the future of HK movies as its own entity. Some might say that chinese film is chinese film....... wrong! Chinese film is chinese film, but HK film was something else entirely. Im sure most chinese today embrace all this cross polination, national pride and general mainland brown nosing, but as a HK film fan, I do not! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Takuma Posted January 27, 2012 Member Share Posted January 27, 2012 So far I don't get the hype... watched The Stool Pigeon at a fest last year and while it had a couple of excellent scenes, it also had too much melodrama and clumsy storytelling (especially the intro and ending, and the whole dance/shoe part...). There was this friend of a friend praising it to heaven, but the same guy thought Infernal Affairs was the greatest thing ever to come out of HK... kinda explains... I guess The Beast Stalker is supposed to be better, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member TibetanWhiteCrane Posted January 27, 2012 Member Share Posted January 27, 2012 Im not saying he makes perfect films. The three I mentioned are all flawed in some way. But I'll rather watch those three films on a loop for the rest of my life, than having to sit through another big budget historical battle epic aimed at mainland audiences. Yes, of the the three I mentioned, Beast Stalker is most def the best! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Sheng Posted January 27, 2012 Member Share Posted January 27, 2012 In terms of gun-blazing all-out action extravaganzas, yes, directors like Dante Lam (or Benny Chan) seem to represent a dying breed. And I totally agree with TWC on the merits of STOOL PIGEON (my favourite film in 2010, hands down!), FIRE OF CONSCIENCE and BEAST STALKER. I think those movies really do match the mad stunt-work and intensity of some of Woo’s best efforts. I do however disagree with his thoughts on the “Greater Chinese” issue… Even in the “golden days”, back in the 80’s, HK cinema wasn’t all about slamming madcap action blow-outs. Also, let’s not forget that there were simply too many terrific HK-specific films, action and non-action, made after the colony’s return to China. So to pin the decline of the city’s cinematic culture to the 1997 handover date is overlooking a truckload of other factors. Chief amongst them changing local audience tastes and simple audience fatigue with particularly overworked genres as well as radically changing demographics – irrespective of some teeming trouble spots (“outer new towns” like Tin Shui Wai or Fangling for instance), nowadays HK can’t be compared to the refugee swollen cauldron that the city was in the 70’s and early 80’s, nor are public safety standards or the (official) crime rates in any way comparable! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member OpiumKungFuCracker Posted January 27, 2012 Member Share Posted January 27, 2012 I don't think the story is that bad in a Dante Lam film compared to like, 'Haywire?' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Markgway Posted January 27, 2012 Share Posted January 27, 2012 To be fair I haven't seen Lam's last couple of movies, but I wasn't overwhelmed by Beast Stalker. These days anything that's decent gets overpraised because it's seen as a sign of hope. We often want to like these films more than they actually deserve. I do believe that Cantonese cinema has lost a lot of its flavour to the mainland influence, but many of the better movies coming out the region are co-productions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Sheng Posted January 27, 2012 Member Share Posted January 27, 2012 Originally Posted by Markgway These days anything that's decent gets overpraised because it's seen as a sign of hope. We often want to like these films more than they actually deserve.Hmm, you possibly do have a point here. Then again, the same could easily be said about the (mostly) poorly scripted shoot-em-up (i.e.“bloodshed” or “bullet ballet”) films of the 80’s, as well as about a looong list of cheapskate bashers and shapes flicks of the 70’s that are nowadays peddled as all-time genre classics. I do believe that Cantonese cinema has lost a lot of its flavour to the mainland influence, but many of the better movies coming out the region are co-productions. D'accord! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member DiP Posted January 28, 2012 Author Member Share Posted January 28, 2012 I give my respects to those that are at least doing something about the dying genres in Hong Kong cinema but the sad thing is that many HK directors seems to like the idea of moving on from making experimental/personal films to doing entertaining films. Derek Yee, Wilson Yip, Tsui Hark, and now Dante Lam have followed suit whose post-2008 films are starting to embrace that un-pro look/content (including his latest). There's still hope for Hong Kong cinema. People like Johnnie To and Peter Chan have been stylistically consistent for so long and kept a great balance producing artistic and commercial films, and others like Alan Mak, Felix Chong, and Soi Cheang can pop up great films once or twice in a while. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Markgway Posted January 28, 2012 Share Posted January 28, 2012 Johnnie To has many some good movies, but he's probably the most overrated director working in Hong Kong today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member OpiumKungFuCracker Posted January 28, 2012 Member Share Posted January 28, 2012 Johnnie To has many some good movies, but he's probably the most overrated director working in Hong Kong today. I don't know man, Election/Election2/Exiled/Vengeance, heck even Sparrow were terrific pieces of hong kong cinema in my book.. I don't see how they're overrated, maybe it's just me... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator One Armed Boxer Posted January 28, 2012 Moderator Share Posted January 28, 2012 Interesting comparison, but it's one that I don't think can be validated just yet. Most of Woo's most memorable movies are pure action vehicles, whereas I would say that 'The Viral Factor' is actually Lam's first out and out action movie in recent years. 'Sniper' became an action movie only after huge chunks of Edison Chen's screen time where cut out post-photo scandal, I don't think 'The Beast Stalker' could be counted as an action movie at all, it's clearly suspense, 'Fire of Conscience' could have been great, but buckles under the scripts insistence on giving even the most minor characters ridiculous amounts of back story and character arcs instead of focusing on the action, and I'll admit to not having seen 'Stool Pigeon'. They do all succeed in showing hints at Lam's potential at being an outstanding action film maker, but I think 'The Viral Factor' is the first time it's been fully realized. If he carries on in the vein of that movie, then a few years down the line I think a comparison to Woo in terms of heroic bloodshed pictures would definitely be a valid one. But he is one of the only directors left who's making hard edged HONG KONG cops 'n crime flicks! I put the emphasis on HONG KONG, because his films are set in HK, are about HK people and themes, and shot in HK. Pretty sad that, that is almost considered a rarity nowadays, when thinking about the flood of HK action films of yore. Im so SICK of mainland this and mainland that, im about to vomit! Ummm...I agree with this statement, but I hope you won't be disappointed when you find out none of 'The Viral Factor' is set in Hong Kong! Mercifully it's not set on the mainland either, it's a pretty globe trotting movie, but the bulk of it is spent in Malaysia. I totally agree with TWC on the merits of STOOL PIGEON (my favourite film in 2010, hands down!), FIRE OF CONSCIENCE and BEAST STALKER. I think those movies really do match the mad stunt-work and intensity of some of Woo’s best efforts. As I mentioned previously I haven't seen 'Stool Pigeon', but do you really think 'The Beast Stalker' is full of "mad stunt-work"? I think that builds the wrong preconception of the movie, as it's main hook is a slow burning suspense drama, with a sprinkling of action thrown in. I don't recall any one stand out stunt scene, but it's been a while so I could be wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Sheng Posted January 28, 2012 Member Share Posted January 28, 2012 Originally Posted by One Armed Boxer As I mentioned previously I haven't seen 'Stool Pigeon', but do you really think 'The Beast Stalker' is full of "mad stunt-work"? (...) I don't recall any one stand out stunt scene, but it's been a while so I could be wrong. Well, its been a while since I saw this too, but if anything the outrageously brilliant slow-mo multi-car stunt sequence in the beginning of BEAST STALKER stays with me forever! Stuntwork’s never been excessive in his flicks, but since his days as an assistant of Gordon Chan, Dante Lam has proved to be a master at staging shoot-outs and car stunts. One of the most capable that HK cinema ever produced, at least in my opinion. I hope you won't be disappointed when you find out none of 'The Viral Factor' is set in Hong Kong! Mercifully it's not set on the mainland either, it's a pretty globe trotting movie, but the bulk of it is spent in Malaysia. In all honesty, to stage full-on “heroic bloodshed” movies with a body-count in the hundreds (like in, say, HARD BOILED) in nowadays HK would feel a lil’… um, macabre and out of touch with reality, I guess. Fantasy is fantasy, alright, but this ain’t the 80’s no mo’, let’s just consider what the “Global Report On Human Settlements 2007 – Hong Kong The World’s Safest City?” says about the city’s recent successes in gun crime prevention :” strict gun control laws have effectively reduced firearm robbery to fewer than five events per year, and not a single incident of domestic violence was perpetuated with a firearm during the past five years.” Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member TibetanWhiteCrane Posted January 28, 2012 Member Share Posted January 28, 2012 I know Viral Factor is not set in HK. And that is in no way a must for me, though I do enjoy it. But I am also talking about the "HK vibe" of the films. Like Wong Jing's The Last Blood, one of my all time faves, set in Singapore, but so intrinsically HK in every way. And yes, I know it's not the 80's or early 90's anymore. And that the handover wasn't solely responsible for the change in HK cinema. But that's just where my taste lies. Though I do applaud HK filmmakers for not jumping on the remake/reboot bandwagon in the scale that HLWD has done. Even though there are a fair share out there now. I think HK filmmakers should be free to make whatever kind of movie they want. But if everything becomes big panasian co productions, with multi ethnic casts, that tries to pander to every taste and whim in the asian (if not global) market, then they lose that identity that makes HK films something special. And I think that would be a shame. Usually when you try to please everyone, you end up pleasing no one. But that's just my personal view on things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member TibetanWhiteCrane Posted January 28, 2012 Member Share Posted January 28, 2012 I know Viral Factor is not set in HK. And that is in no way a must for me, though I do enjoy it. But I am also talking about the "HK vibe" of the films. Like Wong Jing's The Last Blood, one of my all time faves, set in Singapore, but so intrinsically HK in every way. And yes, I know it's not the 80's or early 90's anymore. And that the handover wasn't solely responsible for the change in HK cinema. But that's just where my taste lies. Though I do applaud HK filmmakers for not jumping on the remake/reboot bandwagon in the scale that HLWD has done. Even though there are a fair share out there now. I think HK filmmakers should be free to make whatever kind of movie they want. But if everything becomes big panasian co productions, with multi ethnic casts, that tries to pander to every taste and whim in the asian (if not global) market, then they lose that identity that makes HK films something special. And I think that would be a shame. Usually when you try to please everyone, you end up pleasing no one. But that's just my personal view on things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member TibetanWhiteCrane Posted January 28, 2012 Member Share Posted January 28, 2012 ooops, double post... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member masterofoneinchpunch Posted January 30, 2012 Member Share Posted January 30, 2012 I don't know man, Election/Election2/Exiled/Vengeance, heck even Sparrow were terrific pieces of hong kong cinema in my book.. I don't see how they're overrated, maybe it's just me... The Big Heat, The Mission, PTU, Throwdown, Mad Detective ... I really don't see how he is overrated, especially here in America. Sparrow was my favorite film of 2008. While To has made his stinkers, he is one of my favorite directors regardless of country. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Markgway Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 I thought Running on Karma, Fulltime Killer, and Throwdown sucked, and even his decent/good films are wildly overpraised. Why? Probably because there's no one else making them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Takuma Posted January 30, 2012 Member Share Posted January 30, 2012 Sparrow is one of my favorite HK films from the recent years, too. Although the best To film is Throwdown! Election 2 is also damn good. Running on Karma doesn't really work, but it's an interesting try. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member DiP Posted January 30, 2012 Author Member Share Posted January 30, 2012 There's so many masterfully crafted To/Milkyway films between 1995-present that it's hard to say which one is the best. They were/are all milestones in modern Hong Kong cinema. My favorites would be The Longest Nite, The Mission, A Hero Never Dies (Lau Ching-Wan's second act gave the film a very bizarre twist though), Throw Down, Election films, Mad Detective, Sparrow, and Punished. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member David Rees Posted February 4, 2012 Member Share Posted February 4, 2012 Exiled is my favourite To film, Beautifully shot, it has that spaghetti western feel to it. Am looking forward to seeing Viral Factor after all the positive comments i have been reading lately. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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