Ice Road: Vengeance, Starring Liam Neeson

Sure, climbing Everest is a struggle, but the twisty mountain roads getting there are no picnic either. Of course, that part is Mike McCann’s specialty. He made a cool $200K delivering rescue supplies for trapped miners in his first movie appearance, but his brother Gurty was murdered in the process. He now has a persistent case of survivor’s guilt, but when he comes to Nepal for closure, he finds action instead in director-screenwriter Jonathan Hensleigh’s Ice Road: Vengeance, which opens today in theaters.

Before the events of the first film, Gurty survived his Iraq deployment and so did his “in-the-event-of-my-death” letter, but McCann only just uncovered it amid their old papers. Evidently, he wanted his ashes dispersed on Everest, so off McCann goes.

Fortunately, he hired a dependable sherpa, Dhani Yangchen, who also happens to be a veteran (and a Buddhist, but the film never specifies which kind). That means both spring into action when two assassins try to hijack their bus. They intend to kill Vijay Rai, the son and grandson of activists resisting a sketchy dam project, but, obviously, everyone else on-board will be collateral damage.

In an extremely ironic twist, McCann and Dhani must lead their fellow passengers across the Chinese border, where they will be safe for the corrupt Nepalese cops collaborating with the assassins. To get there, they must traverse some extremely steep mountain roads and maneuver several ridiculously twisty hair-pin turns, but that sort of thing happens to be McCann’s specialty.

The original Ice Road was a Netflix hit, but obviously Chinese sources took over funding the franchise. At least there was an effort to be subtle, but there are still several positive references to China’s Belt-and-Road initiative, which is really a predatory lending scheme designed to enmesh developing nations in CCP debt. There is also a dubious association between the Chinse side of the border and law & order. For the reality, ask India about Chinese cross-border violence.

Green Night, Starring Fan Bingbing

Fan Bingbing got off easy compared to some celebrities that have been canceled in China, but her films were still effectively blacklisted. This one could get her canceled all over again. That doesn’t mean it is bad. To the contrary, good movies are more likely to be censored than derivative mediocrity. However, frank lesbian content is absolutely a no-no in Xi’s China (it is also frowned upon by most of his allies, including Putin’s Russia, Iran, and Hezbollah). Regardless, Fan has her best role in years (even before her blacklisting) in Han Shuai’s Green Night, which is now available on VOD.

Jin Xia works as a security-screener at the airport, but it is decidedly unsafe for the naturalized Chinese immigrant at home with her Korean husband, Lee Seung-hun. (Although their marriage is never explicitly explained, it seems likely his pastor helped “arrange” it.) Consequently, she has been trying to live a separate life—one that the unnamed “Green-Haired Girl” barges into.

Jin Xia rightly sensed something was amiss with her, because she is a full-time drug mule. Nevertheless, her supervisor insists on letting the green-coifed woman go. Perversely, Ms. Green invites herself “home” to Jin Xia’s not-secret-enough bolt-hole, to get replacement shoes for the ones she sacrificed to her diligence. From there, they embark on a series of nocturnal misadventures, somewhat in the tradition of John Landis’s Into the Night, but much darker. In a further departure, after surviving nerve-wracking encounters with Jin Xia’s husband and the angry dealer employing the Green Hair, both women start developing a mutual sexual attraction.

So, good luck watching this anywhere in Mainland China. It is a shame, because this is easily Fan’s best work since I Am Not Madame Bovary. She is both gritty and alluring as Jin Xia. Frankly, she looks appropriately exhausted from enduring a constant state of peril.

Lee Joo Young is also seductive, but in a disruptive and de-stabilizing way, like a darker (and more sexually ambiguous) Melanie Griffith in Something Wild. She is trouble right from the start and steadily more so.

The King’s Daughter, Co-Starring Fan Bingbing

It is hard to get a good clean look at Fan Bingbing playing a heavily CGI’ed mermaid in this film, but it is easier to see her here than in China, where she is still being “rehabilitated” after the powers-that-be yanked her from the public eye and “detained” her for several months in 2018. (Subsequently, she has been considered to be one of the first celebrities to receive the “Peng Shuai treatment”). Nobody will call this a “comeback” vehicle, but it is certainly a curiosity piece. (You can also see the logo for the financially-precarious Evergrande’s liquidated film unit in the opening credits, for extra added notoriety.) Our protag—don’t call her the princess—forms a friendship with Fan’s weird mermaid in Sean McNamara’s The King’s Daughter, based on Vonda McIntyre’s novel, which opens today in theaters.

Louis XIV has just returned victorious from war, but a would-be assassin’s too-close-for-comfort bullet makes him suddenly mindful of his mortality. He is played by Pierce Brosnan, so apparently the Sun King was Irish. Who knew? The court doctor, who also dabbles in alchemy tells the king he can make him immortal, if his men can capture one of the mermaids living in the lost city of Atlantis. He needs to transplant its uncanny life force into the king—but it will only work with a full-grown female. Of course, she will die in the process, but he can live (forever) with that.

Meanwhile, Louis summons the secret love child he tucked away in a convent to serve as the court composer. Marie-Josephe D’Alembar is a rebellious klutz who could make even Katherine Hepburn say: “you could carry yourself with a bit more grace, kiddo.” She knows nothing of her true origins or her father’s intention to marry her off to a wealthy young nobleman. Instead, D’Alembar falls in love with Yves De La Croix, the slightly tarnished sea captain who captures the mermaid.

It is hard to believe this production was allowed to film on-location at Versailles, but they were, way back in 2014. Obviously, this has been on the shelf for years, for good reason. The effects are cheesy and so are the performances. Brosnan looks embarrassed and Kaya Scodelario’s Miss Maisel-ish portrayal of D’Alembar is ridiculously anachronistic. Honestly, Fan really doesn’t do anything except let the FX team superimpose her head on the big fish. Ironically, only William Hurt brings any sense of dignity to the film as the good Father La Chaise, an original character not in McIntyre’s novel.

Li Yu’s Ever Since We Love

It would be much harder to produce this film in China today than it was in 2015. For one thing, it stars Fan Bingbing, who was the first target of Xi’s crackdown on movie-stars, for having movie-star values. It was directed by Li Yu, who faced state censorship issues early in her career. As a capper, it adapts Feng Tang’s sexually explicit novel (a bestseller in HK). However, fans of Fan and the novel should be pleased by the sexy, tragic melodrama of Li’s Ever Since We Love, which is finally getting an American release this Friday thanks to distributor Cheng Cheng Films’ commitment to her work.

Qiu Shui is like the Hawkeye or Trapper John of his 1990s Beijing medical school. The slacker largely cruises through classes, spending more time writing the knock-off Kung Fu novels that pay his tuition than actually studying. In contrast, his classmate girlfriend Bai Lu is a model of studiousness, but Qiu is incapable of properly committing, because he has yet to recover from being dumped by his hometown girlfriend.

One fateful day, Qiu happens to meet Liu Qing, a mysterious older but strikingly beautiful woman—and suddenly all bets are off. Despite attempts to keep his options open with Bai, it is pretty clear he is obsessed with Liu, who equally clearly already has her own share of shady lovers in the picture.

Li and cinematographer Zeng Jian (who lensed several Lou Ye films) shot ESWL like an art film, but the narrative is a weird blend of randy student antics and weepy soap opera fare, sort of like a throwback to 1980’s films like St. Elmo’s Fire and Cocktail. That also makes it an unexpected guilty pleasure.

Air Strike: Bruce Willis in China

Live by the pointless cameo, die by the pointless cameo. Even Chinese audiences found Fan Bingbing’s brief appearance in Iron Man 3 completely inconsequential and meaningless, but it was sufficient to grant the film “co-pro” status. Alas, her blink-and-you-missed it portrayal of a heroic school teacher in this multinational WWII drama became grist for scandal when she allegedly under-reported her salary for tax purposes. That is something we can easily forgive here in the West, but the Chinese state media has focused its government-backed wrath on her. Perhaps this is partly payback for the incisive social criticism of I am Not Madame Bovary? Regardless, the Chinese release was duly canceled, but it still dive-bombed in and out of American theaters. Mostly just an exercise in anti-Japanese bloody-shirt-waving, Xiao Feng’s Air Strike (a.k.a. The Bombing, a.k.a. Unbreakable Spirit) releases today on DVD (trailer here).

The Chinese Air Force is outnumbered and outgunned by the better trained Japanese squadrons, but pilots like Cheng Ting and An Minxun still feel honor bound to protect Chongqing as best they can. Nevertheless, grizzled Col. Jack Johnson cautions them to take the better part of valor and not fruitlessly surrender their lives. In fact, the Allies are sending some key contributions to the Chinese war effort: a shiny new American fighter plane and a vital British decoding machine.

Former pilot Xue Gangtou (technically on medical leave) accepts a clandestine mission to escort the decoder machine, but he does not know what his cargo really is—even though it is not very secret. The Japanese definitely know what he has and they are determined to stop him. Nevertheless, he still manages to pick up an agricultural professor and his genetically-selected pigs, about a dozen sad-eyes orphans and their protector Ding Lian, as well as a driver/mechanic, who is most likely a Japanese agent.

Xiao certainly strafes the heck out of Chongqing’s civilian population, targeting schools, hospitals, and churches for destruction. The Imperial Japanese are so relentless, they sometimes even bomb military targets. There is some serious carnage here, which might reflect the influence of Mel Gibson, who has some kind of “creative” consulting producer credit on the film.

Granted, this was a total paycheck gig for Bruce Willis, but it is still fun to watch him swagger and bark orders as Col. Johnson. Unfortunately, the Chinese characters are so conspicuously and distractingly dubbed into the Queen’s English, it largely obscures the work of the big-name cast. (Arguably, the voice-overs are almost as obviously fake as the cut-rate CGI effects.) Still, Liu Ye is rather steely as Xue, while Ma Su is suitably mothering as Ding Lian.

After appearing in a small but not completely trivial role in Back to 1942, Adrien Brody returned to China to play a noble Western doctor in Air Strike, whose primary function is to bemoan Japanese brutality, like a weeping Cassandra. However, Rumer Willis has even less screen time as a British doctor who missed her boat, yet she receives prominent billing, as if there is an army of Rumer Willis fans out there. The great Simon Yam also glides through, for about five seconds, as the Chinese Ai Defense Commander.

Yes, the Imperial Japanese military was absolutely brutal during the invasion of China, but that was over seventy years ago. It is worth noting the Japanese constitution legally renounces war and the formation of a standing military for offensive purposes, whereas the Chinese Navy is currently busy bullying Filipino fishermen in the South China Sea. A lot of these anti-Japanese propaganda films really protest too much. Frankly, the best reason to watch Air Strike is to snark at its behind-the-scenes implosions. Not Recommended, Air Strike releases today on DVD and BluRay.

I am not Madame Bovary: Fan Bingbing as You’ve Never Seen Her Before

To understand Li Xuelian’s situation, you would be better served reading Kafka than Flaubert. Appealing her legal case all the way to Beijing is truly a Kafkaesque, Sisyphean process. Yet, Li persists because her honor is at stake. She was not merely betrayed by her ex-husband, he dubbed her a Pan Jinlian, in reference to the infamous murdering adulteress of Chinese literature. The title is awkwardly Flaubertized, but the portrayal of China’s legal and political system burns like acid in Feng Xiaogang’s darkly absurdist I am not Madame Bovary (trailer here), which opens this Friday in New York.

Li and her husband Qin Yuhe hatched a plan to temporarily divorce, thereby entitling him to a newer, larger company apartment of his own. Of course, they were to subsequently remarry after sufficient time had passed, except Qin double-crossed her, marrying another woman instead. Li is not sophisticated or well-educated, but she still will not take his treachery lying down. She will plead her case in court and when the provincial judges condescendingly dismiss her, she will appeal her to the county seat and ultimately all the way to Beijing.

At each level, Li gets the brush-off, but she is a quick study. By the time she reaches Beijing, she understands the value of symbolic protest. Soon after she stops the Party chairman’s limo, many of the bureaucrats who dismissed her case find themselves dismissed from their positions. Yet, that does not provide the satisfaction Li is seeking, so she will return.

Frankly, the legal appeals process in China is much more time consuming and even more profoundly unjust than suggested in Bovary. For the full picture, seek out Zhao Liang’s revelatory documentary Petition. However, as an indictment of government corruption and incompetence, is impressively bold, especially from director Feng, who previously helmed rah-rah films like Assembly, Aftershock, and Back to 1942. If you seriously contend the Party still cares about the people after watching Bovary, you must be both a fool and a knave.

It also features international superstar Fan Bingbing like you have never seen her before, in more ways than one. Seriously de-glamorized, she looks like the rustic peasant the officials so blithely assume her to be. Yet, she vividly projects earthy strength and a naïve vulnerability. Her performance is somewhat akin to Gong Li’s remarkable work in Zhang Yimou’s The Story of Qiu Ju, which partly bears thematic comparison to Bovary.

Frankly, we have never really seen Fan (or just about anyone else) framed this way either. Throughout all of the provincial scenes, Feng and cinematographer Luo Pan confine our view to a perfectly circular frame of vision, evoking a sense of rondo renaissance paintings. When the action moves to Beijing, the aspect ratio shifts to a still restrictive square. Only the devastating denouement is presented in something resembling standard wide-screen. It might sound like a gimmick, but it actually works, because each shot is so carefully composed. It also blocks out any extraneous distractions from Fan’s brutally honest and exposed star turn.

Of course, Fan has plenty of help from a large and convincing ensemble, most notably including Guo Tao as a potential second chance lover, but it is her show and she commandingly appears in nearly every scene. In a more just world, the best actress Oscar contest would be over now and possibly best director too. Regardless, it is a stunning film, especially coming from such a commercially popular tandem as Fan and Feng. Very highly recommended for anyone who considers film an art form, I am not Madame Bovary opens this Friday (11/18) in New York, at the Metrograph downtown and the AMC Empire in Midtown.

Skiptrace: Harlin Directs Chan, Knoxville, and Fan

This film was made possible by the global economy. It was directed by a Finn famous for blowing things up and stars a Hong Konger beloved for giving up his body and a Tennessean who made a name for himself getting racked in the jewels on MTV. As an added bonus, it also features probably the world’s most popular actress in a supporting role. Jackie Chan and Johnny Knoxville bring the buddy movie action-comedy in Renny Harlin’s Skiptrace (trailer here), which opens this Friday in New York.

Connor Watts is a conman who has no problem with the “ugly American” label. Unfortunately, he scams the wrong hotel casino in Macau. The business manager happens to be Samantha, the goddaughter of Hong Kong’s most obsessive cop, Benny Chan. Chan will not rest until he brings Watts to justice, but the Yank has good reason to keep his distance. As fate would have it, he happened to witness a murder committed by shadowy businessman Victor Wong, whom Chan has long suspected of being the drug lord who murdered Samantha’s father, his former partner Yung.

Watts even has potential evidence locked in the cell phone the murdered woman lifted from the so-called “Matador.” Of course, the cop and the robber have diametrically opposed goals and motivations, but Watts will eventually get with the crime-stopping program after a few close shaves. He would also like to impress the lovely Samantha, assuming he can avoid a Russian mobster’s shotgun wedding plans.

The pairing of Chan and Knoxville might not inspire much confidence, but they play off each other quite well. There is no shortage of bickering and bantering in Skiptrace, but fortunately there is just as much fighting. You could say both co-leads are unusually experienced when it comes to physical comedy—and have the scars to prove it. That flexibility and high tolerance for pain serves them well in some vintage Jackie Chan fight scenes. One sequence in particular choreographed around an assembly line clearly evokes Chaplinesque echoes.

Chan finds a terrific sparring partner in WWE veteran Eve Torres, playing Dasha, the Russian enforcer, whom his character ironically resists fighting because she is a woman (right, good luck with that). Eventually, Torres also quite entertainingly takes on Zhang Lanxin cast as the Matador’s chief henchperson. The luminous Fan Bingbing manages to elevate the underwritten role of Samantha through her sheer start presence. She didn’t get to be the biggest name in the business by sheer accident. Serious HK action fans will also enjoy seeing Eric Tsang and Michael Wong appear as Chan’s late partner and his crooked police captain (of course, he is corrupt, he is played by Michael Wong—no spoiler alert necessary).

We have been down this road of beatdowns and gags with Jackie Chan before, but it all works pretty well this time around. Harlin shows wise restraint in some scenes, like the Mongolian Adele sing-along, just going for a fun vibe rather than yuckety-yuck laughs. Fun really is the apt word to describe Skiptrace. It never transcends genre (would we even want it to?), but it just clicks. Recommended for martial arts and Jackass fans, Skiptrace opens this Friday (9/2) in New York, at the AMC Empire.

White Haired Witch: A New Demon Bride for a New Generation

Up until The Matrix, they were cinema’s most troublesome red pills. The historically based “Case of the Red Pills” inspired Liang Yusheng’s wuxia novel, Ronny Yu’s memorable screen treatment, The Bride with White Hair, as well as a sequel and several television serials. However, it is Fan Bingbing’s snowy mane that most fans will most remember about the latest adaptation, Jacob Cheung’s White Haired Witch (trailer here), which releases today on DVD and BluRay from Well Go USA.

Due to his talent and natural lack of ambition, Zhuo Yihang has been anointed the successor to the leader of the Wudang Sect. His first official duty will be to pay tribute to the emperor with an offering of the order’s red pills. Obviously, such a gift presents an ambitious eunuch like Wei Zhongxian the perfect opportunity to dispatch the emperor and blame an innocent fall guy, which he will not squander. Taking the long way home to visit his grandfather, a military governor on the frontier, Zhuo initially has no idea he has been falsely accused. Nor is he aware his grandfather was murdered by the treasonous general Jin Duyi, who similarly framed the demon-outlaw known as “Jade Rakshasha.” However, he sure thinks she is something when he encounters her during his journey.

Soon Zhuo is forced to take refuge in Jade Rakshasha’s Luna Fortress. Ming-era Tracey & Hepburn sparks continue to fly between them, while Zhuo proves his worth to community. Of course, they inevitably fall in love, but they will be separated when Zhuo willingly surrenders to the feared imperial guard, rather than risk the lives of the displaced peasantry sheltered in Luna. He will eventually regain his freedom by skillfully playing a double game with Eunuch Wei, even going so far as to marry his innocent daughter, Ke Pingting (she came before his you know what), but the apparent betrayal turns Jade Rakshasha’s hair white. It also makes her mad, which is never a good idea.

Yes, Fan Bingbing looks great with white hair. She also looks fab and establishes decent action cred in her fight scenes. Just for the record, Fan probably kicks more butt in Witch than the entire cast of the prospective “Expendabelles” film. You could make an equivalent film any day of the week in Hong Kong or Taiwan, but you simply won’t find an ensemble with the chops in Hollywood.

Be that as it may, Fan’s chemistry with Huang Xiaoming’s Zhuo is just okay. Frankly, he is a little stiff at times, but since he was working for a considerable time with a broken leg, he earns points for being a gamer. In limited screen time, Tanya Tong makes a strong impression humanizing the visiting team as Wei’s daughter Ke. Vincent Zhao chews plenty of scenery as the dastardly Jin, but he also gets to show a more nuanced side of the turncoat.

There are a number of big names in Witch’s ensemble, but along with Fan, the real stars are Stephen Tung’s fight choreography and the Oscar winning (for Crouching Tiger) Timmy Yip’s costuming. Frankly, it is a bit conspicuous that the intricate narrative has been somewhat abridged, but at least Cheung keeps the energy level up. It really is a lot of fun, as long as you can handle a tragically sweeping grand finale. Seriously, would you expect anything else? Recommended for fans of Fan and wuxia, White Haired Witch is now available on DVD and digital platforms from Well Go USA.

My Way: From Korea to Normandy

Kim Jun-shik could have been an Olympic champion marathoner, but the milestones defining his life involve involuntary military service. Impressed into the Imperial Japanese, Soviet, and National Socialist armies, Kim’s journey ultimately brought him to Omaha Beach on D-Day. It is an epic story (rather loosely based historical fact), told with appropriate grit and grandeur in Kang Je-kyu’s My Way (trailer here), which opens this Friday in New York.

Kim could always run fast and from a young age, his fate will be intertwined with that of Tatsuo Hasegawa. The grandson of a high-ranking Japanese officer, Hasegawa quickly becomes Kim’s primary competition on the track. Not surprisingly, the Japanese authorities put the fix in for Hasegawa at the Olympic trials, precipitating a full scale riot among outraged Korean spectators. Forced into the Japanese military as punishment, Kim eventually finds himself serving under Hasegawa, a harsh martinet in the tradition of his grandfather.

Needless to say, the campaign in Mongolia does not go well. Leading his men into a crushing defeat, Hasegawa is captured, along with Kim and several fellow Korean conscripts. Conditions in the Soviet labor camp are unbearably brutal, except for Kim’s friend Jong-dae, who becomes the Communist enforcer amongst the prisoners. Not unexpectedly, he reserves the harshest mistreatment for the Japanese, particularly Hasegawa, which troubles Kim despite their checkered history. When the war temporarily turns against the Soviets, the prisoners are given a grimly illegal choice: summary execution or service on the Eastern Front. Both are essentially death sentences.

Somehow surviving the ensuing carnage, Kim and Hasegawa head west, ready to declare themselves Japanese POWs when they encounter the Germans. Ironically, the conditions of service under the Nazis appear relatively mild compared to their stints with the Soviets and militarist Japanese, at least for a while. However, there are eerie (if unsubtle) parallels between all three militaries that clearly demonstrate the underlying similarities of oppressive regimes.

Like a cross between Saving Private Ryan and Chariots of Fire, My Way is a sprawling chronicle of sport, combat, and statist regimes that employs its flashback structure quite adroitly. There are a number of spectacularly rendered large scale battle scenes (in which it definitely helps to be swift of foot), but the film still packs a real emotional punch, particularly when depicting Kim’s brief relationship with Shirai, a captured Chinese sniper out to avenge her family.

One of the world’s most beautiful women, Fan Bingbing is absolutely heartbreaking as Shirai. Yet, it is Jang Dong-gun and Joe Odagiri who really carry the weight of the picture, as Kim and Hasegawa, respectively. They convincingly portray the two soldiers’ evolution from bitter enemies to stateless brothers-in-arms. On paper, much of their narrative would sound forced, but they make it work on-screen, every step of the way.

Audiences should look past the oddly nondescript title, because it is hard to imagine there will be a better war film this year than My Way. Considerably superior to The Front Line, it is a cinematic saga worthy of the 70mm Cinemascope era. Highly recommended, it opens this Friday (4/20) in New York at the AMC Empire, the Beekman Theatre, and the Village East.

Shaolin: Respect These Monks

The Shaolin monks of the early twentieth century Chinese Republic were highly skilled practitioners of the martial arts. Brothers of charitable mercy, they believed in turning the other cheek. However, they could only be pushed so far, as one power mad warlord learns in Benny Chan’s Shaolin (trailer here), which opens this Friday in New York.

When Hou Jie’s vanquished rival took refuge in the Shaolin monastery, the warlord went in after him. Hou Jie’s hubris told him he was on the brink permanently consolidating his control over the region, but karma will say otherwise. Expecting to betray a key ally at the dinner celebrating their young children’s arranged marriage, Hou Jie finds himself triple-crossed by his lieutenant, Cao Man. Escaping with his life, the fallen warlord finds sanctuary with the very monks he so lately dissed.

Mourning his daughter, Hou Jie shaves his head, finding solace in the life of a novice. Of course, his former “little brother” is still out for his head, but Cao Man is also busy colluding with the evil westerners, using up and discarding desperate workers in their malevolent public works projects, which at least have the merit of being “shovel-ready.” A spectacular showdown is inevitable, especially considering the monks Robin Hood relief work.

A richly detailed period production, Yee Chung-man’s design team meticulously recreated the imposing Shaolin Temple on Mount Song, for the express purpose of watching it all eventually come crashing down. In fact, the audience is so thoroughly immersed in the ancient sets, it is difficult to get an accurate bead on the film’s exact timeframe. Action director Corey Yuen (who served a similar role on little films like The Expendables, X-Men, and Red Cliff) choreographs some impressive fight sequences, including both the sweeping macro battles and the hand-to-hand combat at the micro level.

It is also entertaining to see Jackie Chan as Wu Dai, the Shaolin cook, still mixing it up, but in ways appropriate to his advancing age and battered body. His big fight scene is arguably more closely akin to the work of Jacques Tati than Bruce Lee. Wu Jing however, is all business as senior brother Jing Neng. Looking his nearly fifty years as well (particularly when sporting the Picardian look), Andy Lau is appropriately intense as Hou Jie, convincingly handling the action sequences as well as his characters transition to Zen-like resignation, if not full enlightenment. As an added bonus, Fan Bingbing is as radiant as ever portraying his grieving wife Yan Xi.

Aside from the clichéd white devil imperialist villain (an already tired convention of Chinese popular film), Shaolin is quite a rich martial arts morality play. Frankly, it is refreshing to see a film with genuine respect for religious service that also takes themes of redemption profoundly seriously. It also delivers ample spectacle and a generous supply of beat-downs. Enthusiastically recommended, Shaolin opens this Friday (9/9) in New York at the Cinema Village and in Colorado at the Denver Film Center/Colfax.

NYAFF ’10: Sophie’s Revenge

They are called “chick flicks,” because guys supposedly do not enjoy relationship comedies written from a woman’s perspective. The real reason for these films’ gender gap is that they always seem to star protagonists that are supposed to be attractive, but could not interest us any less (yes, this very definitely includes Sarah Jessica Parker). However, when Zhang Ziyi and Fan Bingbing make a rom-com, any man would take notice. Happily, such is the case with Eva Jin’s glittery Sophie’s Revenge (trailer here), which also features some ridiculously cartoonish revenge fantasies that probably explain its selection for the 2010 New York Asian Film Festival.

Sophie is a beautiful graphic novelist. It is hard to believe she was dumped by her milquetoast boyfriend Jeff, but she explains it all during a flashback. Jeff threw her over for Joanna, who, played by Fan, is also hot and happens to be a famous movie star who swept the impressionable doctor off his feet after he treated her. Rather than getting on with her life, Sophie obsesses, hatching a plan to win back Jeff, only to dump him shortly thereafter. Or so she says. Her friends Lily and Lucy are not so sure revenge is her ultimate goal (and yes, they are pretty cute too). Still, she is able to enlist the aid of Gordon, a Taiwanese photographer who has his own history with Joanna. Of course, he seems like Mr. Right for Sophie, but she has her revenge to worry about.

Granted, the notion of Zhang (who also served as producer) getting dumped stretches credibility right from the start, but she proves to be a good sport, gamely enduring all manner of humiliations. Indeed, she and Fan sparkle in the film and Ruby Lin and Chen Yao add charm and energy as Sophie’s cronies. The men though are a pretty dull and uncharismatic lot, even including Peter Ho as nice guy Gordon. Still, the rom-com proceedings never get too cloying thanks to some quirky animation, over-the-top violent flights-of-fancy, and a refreshingly scatological sense of humor.

While some of Sophie’s embarrassments are truly wince-inducing, Revenge moves along briskly and has a good heart. Thanks to Zhang’s winning presence as a surrogate Carrie Bradshaw, it all works fairly well as a light and frothy entertainment. Its selection is definitely something of a departure for the New York Asian Film Festival, but to recap, it does have Zhang Ziyi, Fan Bingbing, and cartoon violence, so any guy will be able to handle it just fine. It screens Tuesday (6/29) and Saturday (7/3) as NYAFF continues at the Walter Reade Theater, right in the heart of New York’s Lincoln Center.

NYAFF ’10: Bodyguards and Assassins

Dr. Sun Yat-sen is one of the few figures in Chinese history to be equally esteemed by both Chinas. However, despite tremendous sacrifices, Dr. Sun’s vision of a unified democratic China has yet to come to fruition. The dream was very much alive and spreading rapidly in 1905, which is why agents of the Dowager Empress will stop at nothing to kill the revolutionary statesman in Teddy Chen’s historical action blockbuster, Bodyguards and Assassins (trailer here), which screens during this year’s New York Asian Film Festival.

At tremendous personal risk, Dr. Sun is coming to Hong Kong to coordinate with revolutionary leaders from across China. The trip itself might be fictional, but the assassination of Sun’s colleague Yang Quyun that opens the film is rooted in history. Unfortunately, word of Dr. Sun’s visit has reached the Imperial court. A team of assassins aided by corrupt HK coppers have wiped out the group of exiled soldiers who were to serve as his protection. Faced with a crisis, Dr. Sun’s allies turn to Li Yutang.

A prosperous businessman, Li is a sunshine revolutionary, providing financial resources to the cause, but never getting directly involved. However, when he sees the agents of the Dowager running rampant as the police turn a blind eye, Li decides to make a stand. He spearheads the improvised protection campaign, recruiting a rag-tag group of bodyguards. His only condition is that his ardent son be left out of the line of fire.

In a way, Bodyguards structurally resembles The Dirty Dozen, showing us the recruitment of the volunteers, bringing them together as a team, and then inevitably watching as they sacrifice themselves to protect Dr. Sun and their hopes for a better China. Yet, that obvious idealism sets Yen’s film apart from most actioners. Indeed, there is an added poignancy to Bodyguards knowing the dream of a free and democratic China that seemed so close at the time would in fact prove so elusive.

Regardless of its historical and political backdrop, Bodyguards brings on some spectacular fight scenes. Donnie Yen definitely delivers the goods as Shen Chongyang, a compromised cop who turns against the assassins for his own personal reasons. Chinese pop star Li Yuchun also shows a real promise as an action star, kicking it nicely as Fang Hong, the daughter of the murdered general in hiding, Fang Tian. However, it is Liu Yubai, the mysterious beggar holding off the murderous hordes with his iron fan, that elevates Bodyguards to a John Woo level of operatic mayhem.

Literally years in the making, the filming of Bodyguards was canceled at last minute on numerous occasions, as is explained in detail in Development Hell, a documentary on its chaotic gestation which also plays during the fest. Yet somehow, Chen was still able to attract some of the biggest HK and mainland stars, like Yen, the unearthly beautiful Fan Bingbing as Li’s mistress Yueru, and special festival guest Simon Yam as General Fang. A veteran of several Chen Kaige art-house features, Wang Xueqi’s powerful gravitas holds it all together quite effectively as Li, “the tycoon.”

Bodyguards is the sort of film NYAFF programs best. It delivers high octane action in a grandly epic package, with plenty of serious historic subtext for us Mr. Smartypants reviewers to write about. Tragic in a satisfying way, Bodyguards is a thoroughly entertaining film. It screens Sunday (6/27) as part of a double bill with Development Hell introduced by NYAFF guest Simon Yam, and again as a single feature on Tuesday (6/29) at the Walter Reade Theater.