Genre: Comedy

The film has neither the charm or magic of the original ‘God Of Gamblers’ and fails to competently put together a back story that is worthy of its hero.

With lazy writing and weak comedy, ‘God Of Gamblers II’ often feels like little more than a typical Wong Jing cash grab.

Just when you thought the ‘God Of Gamblers’ series was dead and buried, Wong Jing somehow manages to find a pretty nifty way of bringing it back.

While there are flashes of his trademark fight scenes, it’s the fairy tale love story that always takes precedence.

A few bone dry moments of humour are blended into the forced wackiness and these are the redeeming points for an overstuffed cacophony of empty spectacle.

By no means a classic, ‘Half A Loaf Of Kung Fu’ is still an undemanding and quite enjoyable early Chan film.

‘Hana And Alice’ is an interesting film rather than a fully involving one. At over two hours long, it is in desperate need of more judicious editing as too many minor scenes carry on beyond their logical conclusion.

Above average production values help and a touch of style to the proceedings as does the all-star cast, but it still may not be enough to earn this a proper recommendation.

It’s somewhat disappointing to see a comedian of Michael Hui’s pedigree reverting to, what is essentially, a reworking of the classic Jack Lemmon/Tony Curtis/Marilyn Monroe comedy ‘Some Like It Hot’.

‘Happy Flight’ benefits from the versatility of Haruka Ayase – as good in a comedy as she has been in action flicks like ‘Ichi’ – and a variety of low-key characters who give the story a charm of its own.

The only reason I can find to recommend it is to see a young Tony Jaa in action, but even this isn’t enough of a reason to sit through all of the surrounding “comedy” sequences.

Unfortunately not enough of the storyline’s potential is realised to be fully satisfying; such an intriguing plot needed a bit more attention to its effects instead of just skimming over the matter.