All Film Reviews

A gripping and often uncompromising look at the Hong Kong drug trade from the seller’s and user’s side, Derek Yee’s ‘Protégé’ is one of the finest dramas to come out of Hong Kong in recent years.

‘Protégé De La Rose Noire’ is an extremely exaggerated and silly comedy that really failed to tickle any part of my funny bone.

It’s undeniably rough around the edges, but in its favour it has a solid cast and some good interaction between the characters – certainly worth an evenings viewing.

A stylish and moody piece from one of the masters of style and mood, ‘PTU’ is a dark journey into the equally dark heart of Hong Kong where the cops are almost as corrupt as the criminals.

‘Punch’ is hamstrung by its chronic lack of focus or intent. It verges on being episodic such is the fractured nature of the narrative and the 120 minutes that are lavished on it just compounds the problem.

If you’re not expecting a deep examination into Asia’s politics then ‘Purple Storm’ is an absorbing and emotionally charged action-thriller that does more than just pass the time.

Scenes are chopped at strange junctures, the plot jumps all over the place and the simple act of allowing actors to have proper reaction shots to the drama unfolding is mostly absent.

‘Queen Of Kowloon’ is a needlessly miserable drama that prefers wallowing in empty disaster to telling a story we might actually find ourselves involved in.

This would-be Blockbuster is all kinds of insane silliness and tone varying madness but is actually a whole lot of over-the-top action fun.

A laudable film with a mixture of the heart-warming and the heart-wrenching, ‘Quill’ is well worth 100 minutes of anyone’s time.

‘Quirky Guys And Gals’ fulfils the obligations of its title: it’s quirky; there are guys and gals and even guys pretending to be gals.

It may be familiar material and it may be a two-man show, but ‘Radio Star’ delivers its quota of entertainment, humour and even poignancy with some to spare.

A definite improvement over part 1, and other similar fare such as ‘China O’Brien’ – it makes for an adequate 90 minutes viewing – but ultimately reminds us why we love HK fighting so much more.

A bit of ‘Heat’ mixed with Chan’s own ‘Invisible Target’, ‘Raging Fire’ hits hard in both the action and drama, the much-missed director delivering one of his finest.

Despite the slick visual look, kooky set up and a little too much reliance on wirework and CGI enhancement come the last third, ‘Raging Phoenix’ is really what we loved about the fight flicks from Hong Kong’s golden age.

Part three has none of the charm of the original and doesn’t even stack up well against the second part; this is a lazy, charmless affair that had me looking at the clock every couple of minutes.

An often spectacular and thoroughly enjoyable action comedy with a range of characters that the audience really begins to care about.

A slick looking thriller set and shot in Tokyo, ‘Rain Fall’ had all the makings of an exciting Bourne type action ride but unfortunately ends up as a dull, dreary and often pompous experience.

‘Rapid Fire’ is a pretty entertaining action movie, mainly thanks to Lee’s performance and some solidly handled fight scenes.

Based on a pre-war short story, it tackles a major crime in a sober, yet discreet way and plays with the idea that even an obvious crime has many layers hidden beneath the surface.

There is quite a lot going on in ‘Re-cycle’ for both the eye and mind and while its perhaps a bit too ambiguous for its own good it’s probably a film best viewed a couple or several times to fully appreciate and digest.

It may be a little too simplistic in its narrative for some and others may find the one-man-army slant pushed to its limits but ‘Re:Born’ is a triumph for all involved.

Despite having no conclusion of its own, all of the groundwork of the characterisation and story make the next chapter an exciting prospect.

Part 2 is certainly the superior one, but both deserve individual credit for reviving the dying embers of John Woo’s career.