What is the last non martial arts Asian movie you've watched?

[BornToDefense]

On 4/18/2023 at 3:53 PM, Yggdrasil said:

The Witch with Flying Head. - 1982

A screencap is worth a thousand words.

Edited April 24, 2023 by BornToDefense

[Chu Liu Hsiang]

BIG OCTOPUS (China, 2020). I like a delicously bad monster movie but this is just bad and everyone is awful and there is not enough monster to make up for it.

[Yihetuan]

The Island - Dir. Po Chih-Leung [1985] (Hong Kong)

Had mixed feelings about this movie. The plot is pretty standard survival horror fare with John Shum as a happy go lucky geography teacher taking a group of high school students on a field trip to a remote island. Unbeknownst to the group the island is inhabited by a killer clan consisting of three deranged inbred brothers with the lead played by the late Peter Chan Lung.

So this flick has references to Friday the 13th & Deliverance which in itself is not a bad thing but unfortunately, there is nothing that really elevates this movie. There is the usual goofy HK humor and light hearted comedic moments that punctuate the film but I was hoping for a more bleak and grim tone throughout. In that respect, it was a bit disappointing because there needed to be more exploitative elements particularly in terms of gore and violence.

John Shum plays his usual mild mannered role but I kept anticipating him having his Straw Dogs moment & even when it occurs, it just kind of bland and matter of fact. He never turns into a 'monster' to defeat the monster which I was hoping for all the way till the finale.

Worth a watch but I enjoyed director Po Chih-Leung's black comedy/slasher film, He Lives by Night he made 3 years earlier much more.

 

[Yihetuan]

Bloody Innocent aka River of Murder - Dir. Kim Dae-Hyun  [2010] (Korea)

Rather convoluted murder mystery with more than a passing nod to Memories of Murder but never even comes close to reaching that film's lofty heights. Plot revolves around two childhood best friends (Seung-ho a child of privilege and the other, Dong-sik from the wrong side of the tracks) from a rural town whose lives are forever changed when the object of their schoolboy crush (Myeonghee) is raped and murdered one rainy night. Both are considered prime suspects by the incompetent local police as it was no secret that both were rivals for her affection but soon the killing is pinned on the mentally unstable older brother of Dong-sik. But did the police nab the right guy or was it another case of the police looking for a fall guy to convict?

The story spans three decades from the mid-80s to the time when Korea hosted the World Cup in 2002. Seung-ho, as befitting his social status and smarts becomes an upwardly mobile young prosecutor while Dong-sik became a rough and tumble itinerant fisherman and they soon meet again with the death of Myeonhee still an albatross around their necks after all these years.

It started out quite interesting but quickly went off the rails for me. Too many coincidences and needless flashbacks. The pacing was okay as the film runs a little over hour and a half but the weak script takes its toll on the viewer. It tries to be a bit too clever as well as it attempts to keep the viewer guessing who was the actual killer but the ending rather than tying up loose ends and coming to a conclusion just leads to more confusion. There was also a side story involving Dong-sik's sister based on a disturbing real event but it seemed to be thrown in for no rhyme or reason other than to show a vengeance angle. Ultimately, I cannot give this movie a recommendation.

 

Edited May 12, 2023 by Yihetuan

[Jizzmaster Jerry]

Bullets Over Summer-  while I don’t rate this one super high, I find myself wanting to revisit it every year or two.  An offbeat movie about 2 young cops, Francis Ng and Louis Koo.   They are on a stakeout checking on Lo Meng, and then it almost becomes an apartment building sitcom.   Francis Ng becomes the building’s chairman.   And then the bad guy played by Joe Lee shows up out of nowhere.  He lives in the building.  And hadn’t been in the movie for an hour.  This guy is amazing.  Sipping on his soda while gunning down cops during a bank robbery.  He’s scary.  Funny to see him in Time and Tide where he’s not even close to scary and then see him in this.  

Edited May 20, 2023 by Jizzmaster Jerry

[DrNgor]

The Road Home (China, 1999: Zhang Yimou) - Leo Tolstoy reported said, "All great literature is one of two stories; a man goes on a journey or a stranger comes to town." In the case of this film, a man comes back to town after having journeyed to the big city to make his fortune. That is the start of this simple family drama about a guy remembering the story of how his parents met following the death of his father, whose own story is Premise #2 in Tolstoy's quotation.

Luo Yusheng (Sun Honglei, of Seven Swords) was raised in a small mountain village whose economy revolved around pastoral activities. He went into the city, like many of the youngsters of the newer generations, to find his fortune, but has returned upon learning that his father has passed on. His mother, Zhao Di (Zhao Yulian), wants to perform a local burial tradition in which the coffin is carried from the place of death (his body is at a hospital in a neighboring city) to the place of burial, so that his father's spirit will be able "find his way home." The main problem is that most of the local adult men are old, as the young men have all left for China's urban centers. As Yusheng ponders what to do, he tells the story of his parents' meeting some 40 years prior.

This was Zhang Ziyi's first film, and if you think she's beautiful, then you should see this as she practically carries the vast bulk of the film, which is full of loving close-ups of her (pretty) face. The film is a very simple tale of a woman's devotion and loyalty to the man she loves. She has no ambitions of her own, she just loves her husband and spent her life dedicated to him and supporting him as the only teacher in the village for four decades. It's the sort of love story that might not be well received by contemporary, more entitled (and dare I say "narcissistic") audiences, what with their "I'm marrying myself to show my self-love" weddings and what not. Zhao Di (played in her youth by Ziyi) finds her love of self through love of others, be it her blind mother or her husband. 

There are secondary themes of the slow death of old traditions as the younger generations seek out the urban centers; respect for one's elders and filial piety; the honor that we people owe to the teaching profession; and some oblique references to the effects of the Cultural Revolution on local cultures. But they are handled subtlely in what is a very understated film.

As it goes, this currently has the IMDB rating of 7.8. That puts it--if you ignore his Olympics work and appearances in documentaries--at #4 among Zhang Yimou's work among mainstream audiences (as going by the IMDB); To Live would be #1 (8.3); Raise the Red Lantern #2 (8.1); and Hero #3 (7.9).

[DrNgor]

Shanghai Triad (China, 1995: Zhang Yimou) - I recall seeing this film for rent at Blockbuster back in the late 1990s, although I never picked it up. That applies to most Asian films in the Foreign Film section there; if it was action and was Asian, it usually went into the Action-Adventure section. The movies that I was mature enough at the time to appreciate would have been action movies; teenage me wasn't ready for drama. But now I have to pick up the slack.

The film is told from the point of view of a 14-year-old country boy named Tang Shuisheng (Wang Xiao-Xiao), who has been sent by his family Shanghai to work with his uncle. His uncle, Liu Er (Li Xujian, of The Emperor and the Assassin), is a servant for the biggest crime boss in Shanghai, Boss Tang (Li Bao-Tian, of Judou and Raise the Red Lantern). Shuisheng is sent to be the personal servant of Boss Tang's current squeeze, a nightclub singer named Bijou (Gong Li, of Dragon Chronicles and Curse of the Golden Flower). Bijou is beautiful and talented, but she's also stuck-up, shallow and greedy. She also deals with her lover's constant absence by carrying on an affair with Song (Sun Chun, of New Police Story and 1911), Tang's right-hand man. At one point, there's an assassination attempt on Boss Tang and Tang flees with his entourage to an island in order to recover and regroup. Stuff...

Back when we started the Mutual Movie Review series in 2015, the second theme chosen was "Triad Movies." Our very own @Secret Executioner (known at the time as Godfrey Ho Worshipper), reviewed this film and gave it an overwhelmingly negative evalutation. Said he:

Quote

 Most of the action occurs off-screen and you only get some sound effects and the aftermath of a fight. Otherwise, you get a lot of singing/dancing numbers in the first half and a lot of plotting and talk in the second half - when they go hide away on some island. hkcinemagic puts this in the drama and triad categories, and it's way more of a boring drama with some triads mixed in...My opinion on this though ? Well... It's DREADFUL. I thought Robo Vampire and OUATIC were the worst Asian movies I'd see this year, but nope this one is even worse with NOTHING to save (even the other two films I mentionned had something to enjoy like a cheap Robocop rip-off or a few nice action sequences)...

@masterofoneinchpunch offered the following counterpoint:

Quote

Now Shanghai Triad is a weaker film in the oeuvre of Zhang Yimou and is generally considered so by most critics. It came at a time where after he was suspended and had confrontations over several of his past films with the Chinese censors (remember this is something he could have went to jail for and possibly never directed again.) But it is in no way one of the worst films ever.* When you are viewing a film there are many different attributes it can be judged on. To paraphrase David Bordwell: Film is a photographic art. Film is a narrative art. Film is a performing art. Film is a pictorial art. Film is an audiovisual art. On many of these facets Shanghai Triad is actually successful at. The cinematography is well done with beautiful composition, flourishes etc...

My opinions about this are that it does make for an interesting companion piece with The Road Home, which I watched the same day. It was neat to contrast the pastoral simplicity of that film with the complexities of modern society (and organized crime), which is driven in some part by greed and materialism. That said, the characters in The Road Home were far more likable and relatable than the characters here. But then again, that was sorta the point.

My qualms about this film is that the film is called Shanghai Triad, but the story is told from the point of view of a character two degrees removed from the actual triad activities. Shuisheng is a country hick with no idea at how the modern world function, what technological marvels (by 1930s standards) adorn it, and barely any idea of what his actual place in it is. His boss, Bijou, is essentially a gangster's moll, but even she isn't directly involved in that lifestyle (it's considered bad luck for a Triad's wife or lover to be present during male discussions). That means that most of the actual story is told from a distance too far to become truly involved with. And yes, the occasional moments of violence happen offscreen, or far enough away (as Shuisheng witnesses it) that there is no visceral impact.

The best moments from a storytelling perspective occur at the end, when we finally learn who Boss Tang truly is. It's almost a twist to learn just how ruthless and vicious the man is, compared to how we saw him in earlier scenes. Beyond that, the film has some good performances and the expected Zhang Yimou technical viruosity, from the costumes to the cinematography. In the end, Shanghai Triad is too distant to enjoy, but too attractive on the surface to simply discard.

 

[Drunken Monk]

Over the weekend I’ve watched both Full Contact and City On Fire for the first time. I loved both films but Full Contact really is something special. One of the best Hong Kong films I’ve seen in ages. Maybe ever. A neo noir thriller laced with fantastic action set pieces, larger than life characters and wonderful pacing. 

[legendarycurry]

4 minutes ago, Drunken Monk said:

Over the weekend I’ve watched both Full Contact and City On Fire for the first time. I loved both films but Full Contact really is something special. One of the best Hong Kong films I’ve seen in ages. Maybe ever. A neo noir thriller laced with fantastic action set pieces, larger than life characters and wonderful pacing. 

I made two music videos with clips from this movie like ten years ago. And I have the poster. this movie really is something wonderful.

[Jizzmaster Jerry]

Yeyah Full Contact is one of the best.  Style and substance.  it just has that cool factor.  I think The Longest Nite is the only one I’d rate ahead of it for Chinese non MA.  Although, Full Contact does have some martial arts and it’s done extremely well.  But not a MA movie.
 

City on Fire was good but I’ve only seen the American version.   

[masterofoneinchpunch]

On 5/21/2023 at 8:44 AM, DrNgor said:

Shanghai Triad (China, 1995: Zhang Yimou) - ...

My qualms about this film is that the film is called Shanghai Triad, but the story is told from the point of view of a character two degrees removed from the actual triad activities. Shuisheng is a country hick with no idea at how the modern world function, what technological marvels (by 1930s standards) adorn it, and barely any idea of what his actual place in it is. His boss, Bijou, is essentially a gangster's moll, but even she isn't directly involved in that lifestyle (it's considered bad luck for a Triad's wife or lover to be present during male discussions). That means that most of the actual story is told from a distance too far to become truly involved with. And yes, the occasional moments of violence happen offscreen, or far enough away (as Shuisheng witnesses it) that there is no visceral impact.

...

The Chinese title (搖啊搖，搖到外婆橋) is based on a lullaby "Grandma's Bridge" (https://youtu.be/gI55GzMxsS0)  I'm not sure who did the English title.

Ebert is not too kind on this film: https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/shanghai-triad-1996 I do wonder how much censorship/meddlesomeness hurt this film.

[DrNgor]

4 minutes ago, masterofoneinchpunch said:

The Chinese title (搖啊搖，搖到外婆橋) is based on a lullaby "Grandma's Bridge" (https://youtu.be/gI55GzMxsS0)  I'm not sure who did the English title.

Ebert is not too kind on this film: https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/shanghai-triad-1996 I do wonder how much censorship/meddlesomeness hurt this film.

Leonard Maltin gave this three stars, but The Road Home only two and a half, calling it a minor film from Yimou. I liked it much more than Shanghai Triad.

[masterofoneinchpunch]

Natural City (2003: Min Byung-chun: South Korea):   

The biggest influence is Blade Runner.  The DVD cover blurb by bloodydisgusting.com states The Matrix as well, but that is so small that it seems incidental (as well as just naming popular sci-fi films at the time).  If you have seen Blade Runner, you will see it in this movie – with the exception that this film is nowhere near as good.  Ersatz is a good word to describe this. 

In this futuristic world that looks like Blade Runner, R (Rick Deckard?) is in love with the cyborg dancing Ria.  As a cyborg she has a limited timespan (four years, this really reminds me of Blade Runner) and her time is almost up.  R is a cop for this futuristic city (a city state it seems like – which is prevalent in a lot of sci-fi) and he is willing to break the law to find a way to extend his lover’s life. 

Noma is his friend who is also a cop. They also happen to have to hunt down renegade replicants (also again Blade Runner). This child prostitute Cyan is the possible key to merging a replicant into a human body.  Meanwhile (there is always a meanwhile) a military cyborg Cyper is on the loose and must be dealt with (like a Batty Rutger Hauer). 

There is also an obvious influence of Wong Kar-wai's Fallen Angels in a few scenes.  Obviously with the motorcycle scene, but also with the step-printing and undercranking (nowhere near as sagacious though).  Surprisingly, the robot/cop relationship is sometimes moving.  I liked that she just wants to dance as her body is winding down. 

Random: I have learned that spinning can help you avoid bullets if you are a main character.  What the heck is with the ending?  Ever see a drama with such a stupid suicide: OK Gattaca, Milk, Redbelt – never mind. 

Reminds me I want to see the later South Korean film I'm a Cyborg, But That's OK. 

The Tartan Asian Extreme DVD release has a fuzzy print which is annoying so I cannot always tell if the cinematography is at fault (though it looks to be decent).  The CGI is fine for its time.  Don’t even read the description on the DVD as it is off on the plot. 

This is an OK film that really will only be an interest to South Korean buffs and/or sci-fi aficionados. It has its moments and really just needed a script makeover as it feels disjointed and clunky.  There is a little bit of martial arts, but too much shaky cam. 

[Yggdrasil]

9 minutes ago, masterofoneinchpunch said:

Natural City (2003: Min Byung-chun: South Korea):   

The biggest influence is Blade Runner.  The DVD cover blurb by bloodydisgusting.com states The Matrix as well, but that is so small that it seems incidental (as well as just naming popular sci-fi films at the time).  If you have seen Blade Runner, you will see it in this movie – with the exception that this film is nowhere near as good.  Ersatz is a good word to describe this. 

In this futuristic world that looks like Blade Runner, R (Rick Deckard?) is in love with the cyborg dancing Ria.  As a cyborg she has a limited timespan (four years, this really reminds me of Blade Runner) and her time is almost up.  R is a cop for this futuristic city (a city state it seems like – which is prevalent in a lot of sci-fi) and he is willing to break the law to find a way to extend his lover’s life. 

Noma is his friend who is also a cop. They also happen to have to hunt down renegade replicants (also again Blade Runner). This child prostitute Cyan is the possible key to merging a replicant into a human body.  Meanwhile (there is always a meanwhile) a military cyborg Cyper is on the loose and must be dealt with (like a Batty Rutger Hauer). 

There is also an obvious influence of Wong Kar-wai's Fallen Angels in a few scenes.  Obviously with the motorcycle scene, but also with the step-printing and undercranking (nowhere near as sagacious though).  Surprisingly, the robot/cop relationship is sometimes moving.  I liked that she just wants to dance as her body is winding down. 

Random: I have learned that spinning can help you avoid bullets if you are a main character.  What the heck is with the ending?  Ever see a drama with such a stupid suicide: OK Gattaca, Milk, Redbelt – never mind. 

Reminds me I want to see the later South Korean film I'm a Cyborg, But That's OK. 

The Tartan Asian Extreme DVD release has a fuzzy print which is annoying so I cannot always tell if the cinematography is at fault (though it looks to be decent).  The CGI is fine for its time.  Don’t even read the description on the DVD as it is off on the plot. 

This is an OK film that really will only be an interest to South Korean buffs and/or sci-fi aficionados. It has its moments and really just needed a script makeover as it feels disjointed and clunky.  There is a little bit of martial arts, but too much shaky cam. 

That's a oldie. I bought that yonks ago, drawn to the cover. Liked the cover of Volcano High too, although bit of a crap film.

My recent film was another crap film. Crater 2023.

Edited May 24, 2023 by Yggdrasil

[masterofoneinchpunch]

Just now, Yggdrasil said:

That's a oldie. I bought that yonks ago, drawn to the cover. Liked the cover of Volcano High too, although big of a crap film.

My recent film was another crap film. Crater 2023.

I've been meaning to rewatch Volcano High.  I remember liking it when I watched it, but that was close to when it came out.

[DrNgor]

2 minutes ago, masterofoneinchpunch said:

I've been meaning to rewatch Volcano High.  I remember liking it when I watched it, but that was close to when it came out.

I only saw the MTV version with rappers and R&B singers doing the dubbing.

[masterofoneinchpunch]

4 minutes ago, DrNgor said:

I only saw the MTV version with rappers and R&B singers doing the dubbing.

I have that copy as well.  I bought a bootleg (did not know it was) to watch the long version before the long version came out here on DVD (which I now own).

[Yggdrasil]

6 hours ago, DrNgor said:

I only saw the MTV version with rappers and R&B singers doing the dubbing.

No way......

I don't know what covers you have for your Volcano High and Natural City, but I was drawn to the artwork.

Natural City is in a metal sleeve and both films are the Korean version with English subtitles.

Edited May 25, 2023 by Yggdrasil

[saltysam]

The Amsterdam Kill

Robert Mitchum plays a disgraced ex drug enforcer who answers the call from drug dealer Keye Luke who wants out. Some well known HK names here,Chen Sing,Yuen Biao,Yuen Wah,Mars, George Chung and the westerener cast includes Bradord Dillman and Leslie Nielsen.Set as per title in Amsterdam, this servicable action/thriller is let down by the bland direction of Robert Clouse. ETD really was lighting in a bottle.

[legendarycurry]

3 minutes ago, saltysam said:

The Amsterdam Kill

Robert Mitchum plays a disgraced ex drug enforcer who answers the call from drug dealer Keye Luke who wants out. Some well known HK names here,Chen Sing,Yuen Biao,Yuen Wah,Mars, George Chung and the westerener cast includes Bradord Dillman and Leslie Nielsen.Set as per title in Amsterdam, this servicable action/thriller is let down by the bland direction of Robert Clouse. ETD really was lighting in a bottle.

Robert Clouse is like the male western  director equivalent of  Spanish actress Maria "Lola" Dolores Forner  in a way to me. She was in Project A, Wheels on Meals and Armor of God. She didn't do poorly in them, I think she is charming, but Jackie has been quoted as saying she was " The only actress they knew" as a westerner. So basically, They need a westerner for Wheels, so they go with Lola, they need one for Armor they get Lola. 

WB picks Clouse, he directs a hit, Golden Harvest says " Get him for our other Bruce Lee project in 78" it sells, they say " Get him for Jackie's US movie, he is from the US he can make it".

And on and on it goes " Rothrock worked in HK, she is making US films, let's get the American that did some GH films"

Luckily, Lola Forner never had her Ironheart moment of pure garbage.

[Yihetuan]

Ghost Nursing - Dir. Wilson Tong [1982] (Hong Kong)

Supernatural horror set in Thailand with some unintended goofy hi jinks and a few low budget gross out effects. Story revolves around a cutie named Jacky (played by Suet Lee) who is heavily in debt due a gambling habit and has some baddies on her trail looking to collect. She decides to split to Thailand where she hooks up with her old girlfriend, another expat HK'er and gets a job working as a hostess at some bar frequented by some gangsters. Things go from bad to worse as

Spoiler

she gets raped at gunpoint and witnesses a double homicide right before her eyes

...so what's a girl to do to break her string of bad luck? What else but go see a Thai shaman! The shaman gives her the whole "you have bad karma" shebang and lets her take possession of a talisman (named Wanchai which is literally a cheap plastic fetus doll) to change her luck. Jacky is instructed to take care of it by feeding it drops of her blood but of course, dimwit Jacky forgets all about Wanchai after she meets handsome playboy, Raymond (played by Norman Chu). The little bugger gets jealous and starts making Jacky's life miserable by possessing Raymond & turning him into a zombie killer with superhuman strength. It's up to Jacky and Raymond's friend Sam (played by Melvin Wong) to perform some exorcism rituals to free Raymond of his demonic possession. This could've been really good as there were some exploitation and horror elements (like Melvin Wong getting scalped) but it turns out to be more goofy than really horrifying. A missed opportunity for Wilson Tong but still kept my interest till the end.

 

[Yggdrasil]

1 hour ago, Yihetuan said:

Ghost Nursing - Dir. Wilson Tong [1982] (Hong Kong)

Supernatural horror set in Thailand with some unintended goofy hi jinks and a few low budget gross out effects. Story revolves around a cutie named Jacky (played by Suet Lee) who is heavily in debt due a gambling habit and has some baddies on her trail looking to collect. She decides to split to Thailand where she hooks up with her old girlfriend, another expat HK'er and gets a job working as a hostess at some bar frequented by some gangsters. Things go from bad to worse as

  Reveal hidden contents

she gets raped at gunpoint and witnesses a double homicide right before her eyes

...so what's a girl to do to break her string of bad luck? What else but go see a Thai shaman! The shaman gives her the whole "you have bad karma" shebang and lets her take possession of a talisman (named Wanchai which is literally a cheap plastic fetus doll) to change her luck. Jacky is instructed to take care of it by feeding it drops of her blood but of course, dimwit Jacky forgets all about Wanchai after she meets handsome playboy, Raymond (played by Norman Chu). The little bugger gets jealous and starts making Jacky's life miserable by possessing Raymond & turning him into a zombie killer with superhuman strength. It's up to Jacky and Raymond's friend Sam (played by Melvin Wong) to perform some exorcism rituals to free Raymond of his demonic possession. This could've been really good as there were some exploitation and horror elements (like Melvin Wong getting scalped) but it turns out to be more goofy than really horrifying. A missed opportunity for Wilson Tong but still kept my interest till the end.

 

This movie is my cup of tea. Supernatural stuff set in Thailand. Love to see some of Thailand from 82. 

[Yihetuan]

4 hours ago, Yggdrasil said:

This movie is my cup of tea. Supernatural stuff set in Thailand. Love to see some of Thailand from 82. 

Just a couple of shots of the two gals sightseeing temples and the obligatory airport landing scene but there isn't much in terms of getting a feel for Thailand as it appears the majority of the film was shot back in HK. It's okay but not the level of something like Devil Fetus.

[masterofoneinchpunch]

Initial D (2005: Andrew Lau, Alan Mak: Hong Kong): just and OK action/drama that has some influence from The Fast and the Furious (2001) based on a manga and then anime series.

Takumi Fujiwara (Jay Chou in his first major role) is the sullen tofu delivery driver whose dad (Anthony Wong; reminding me a bit of a later role in Motorway (2012)) is an alcoholic (because of loss of wife) and owner of the tofu shop.

Fujiwara’s main ride is an AE86 from Toyota (the popularity of the manga/anime made this older car much more popular in Japan and Hong Kong; also the car is highly modifiable which is a huge plus) which he can drift with the best as he beats a driver (Nakazato – Shawn Yue) one night going down his route on Mount Akina.  Nakazato has to find this not-so mysterious driver and challenge him.

Chapman To plays in a Rob Schneider buddy role with Fujiwara.  I like To though he keeps reminding me of Harland Williams (am I the only person who thinks so)? The love relationship between Fujiwara and Natsuki Mogi (Anne Suzuki) is almost perfunctory with a twist that was well not good.  You have to earn moments like that, but her character was too much in the background.

Music is annoying here and so is the slow-motion drama.  The action scenes are decent, but when CGI is used for some of the crashes it just looks bad (I dislike CGI in car chases).  The editing is interesting, though sometimes obnoxious with the overuse of pause and dissolve for transition shots.  Wong is good, though too much else is too typical.  But the professional drivers look like pirates from Pirates of the Caribbean – that is a plus. 

This was nominated for a Hong Kong Film Award for both Best Picture and Director. Thank goodness this lost to Election in both categories.  Andrew Lau and Alan Mak have done better films together (the Infernal Affairs Trilogy) and there are a whole lot of other Hong Kong films to see before this one. 

[DrNgor]

Manhattan Midnight (Hong Kong, 2001: Alfred Cheung) - Interesting shot-on-digital-cam film (apparently the first) from long-time HK actor-writer-director Alfred Cheung, which was shot with a mixed cast and crew on location in New York (no mention of Vancouver in the closing credits). Richard Grieco (whom I know the most for the 007 send-up If Looks Could Kill) plays "M", a former SEAL-turned-hitman who's operating out of NYC. He's hired to off a pretty young business analyst named Susan (Maggie Q, credited as Maggie Quigley on the Brazilian DVD cover), but he accidentally kills her twin-sister-that-nobody-knew-about, Hope, instead. Feeling that he owes his victim, he decides to protect his quarry instead.

The first half plays like a pretty standard hitman-goes-good thriller, not too unlike The Replacement Killers by way of Maximum Risk. The latter comes about in the form of scenes of "M" visiting Hope's mother and learning about the twin sister that was given up for adoption at birth. The second half grows muddled, which has some supernatural overtones, an unconvincing love story (Susan figures out M's reasons for protecting her, but isn't repulsed by him for a moment), a subplot about the FBI trying track down M, and his attempts to kill his boss (with the help of his colleague and fellow SEAL, played by Michael Fitzgerald Wong). There is something of a Vertigo-esque angle within the romantic subplot about Grieco's character trying to convince himself that Susan is Hope by having her use her sister's clothes, but it's not really shown (just sort of talked about in retrospect).

Grieco gives a one-note performance, speaking all his dialog with the same smooth whisper. The only time he shows a bit of life is when he's talking to Danny, Michael Wong's estranged son. Maggie Q is fine in a dual role as a cynical (and worldly) mistress and an upbeat, naïve college girl. Maggie Q fans will be happy to learn that she does have some brief nudity during a sex scene with Grieco--making it the second film of hers where I've seen that, alongside Naked Weapon. Michael Wong is Michael Wong: you love him or hate him...or simply love to hate him.

There are a handful of gunfights staged by Bruce Law, which aren't bad. I have to give the film points for not going soft of the violence: there are lots of squibs and bloody gunshot wounds in this film, so kudos there. In the final gunfight, one character takes several bullets to the arm, causing the entire thing to detach from the shoulder(!). The two-fisted gunplay isn't always convincing as it is in most HK bullet ballets, but I thought the carnage itself made up for it.

I wish the final shot was explained a bit better. I think I know what's going on, but it's mainly a succession of images with Hope's poetry being recited in the background, so I'm not sure.