Line Walker 2: Invisible Spy

You could say the Line Walker feature films are to deep cover operations what the Overheard films are to surveillance details. They do not share the same characters or a continuing narrative, but they address similar themes and feature the same actors. However, in this case, it is the bad guys who have gone deep undercover in Jazz Boon’s Line Walker 2: Invisible Spy, which opens this Friday in New York.

A shadowy international criminal organization is kidnapping children in the Philippines to be groomed and programmed to act as moles in police forces around the world. Apparently, the Hong Kong police force has been compromised, making it rather difficult to solve the mystery of a rash of suicide attacks plaguing the city. However, there might be a big break in the case when Inspector Ching To saves the wary freelance journalist-hacker Yiu Ho-yee from an assassin. Yet, just as he wins her trust, Cheng Chun-yin from the Security Wing sweeps in, claiming jurisdiction over the case and his witness.

Apparently, Yiu’s partner in Burma downloaded a hard drive full of sensitive intel from the conspiratorial organization, so a team will be dispatched to retrieve it. Rather awkwardly, both Cheng and Ching will be under the operational command of Superintendent Yip Kwok-fan, Ching’s current boss and Cheng’s former mentor. Unfortunately, the mission will go down spectacularly badly, in a way that will cast suspicions on both Ching and Cheng, but in very different ways.

Nick Cheung, Louis Koo, and Francis Ng are all back from the original Line Walker film, even though not all of their characters made it through the first feature alive. Although the first feature maintained some tenuous connections to the Line Walker television series, Boon basically shakes the Etch-a-Sketch clear for the sequel. What he keeps, besides the all-star trio, is an abiding interest in the psychological ramifications of operating undercover with an assumed identity. He also continues to stage some adrenaline-charged action sequences, but this time he goes bigger—way bigger. An unforgettable case in point is the final extended smash-up sequence, involving the running of the bulls in Spain, which Boon and action director Chin Ka-lok make the absolute most of.

Yet, perhaps the biggest surprise is Louis Koo. He has certainly played his share of steely gangsters before, notably in Johnnie To films like Election and Drug War, but as Cheng, he projects existential anguish and inner turmoil truly impressive range. Of course, Cheung continues to be one of the hardest hard-nosed action leads in the business, so Inspector Ching To is totally in his wheelhouse. Ng is also perfectly cast as the upright and conscientious Yip, while Zhang Yichi makes quite a creepy (and athletic) heavy as “Demon,” the henchman who becomes the primary antagonist down the stretch.

Admittedly, some of the over-the-top action will have the audience guffawing in disbelief, but you have to give Boon and company credit for their determination to entertain. In fact, the climatic sequences in Spain even rival the noise and fury of Hobbs & Shaw. Recommended for fans of HK action and the three big name stars, Line Walker 2: Invisible Spy opens this Friday (8/16) in New York, at the AMC Empire.

SDAFF ’17: Paradox

What makes a series a series? In the case of Wilson Yip’s thematic, in-name only martial arts thriller franchise, it is the consistently superior fight choreography. It is known as Sha Po Lang (a Chinese Zodiac reference) in the Asian market, but it goes by SPL or sometimes Kill Zone in the West, but apparently the latest film has dropped the series prefix altogether for the international festival circuit. There are no overlapping characters or story arcs, but Yip returns to the director’s chair after assuming a producing role on Kill Zone 2 (a.k.a. SPL 2: A Time for Consequences). No matter what you call it, the series maintains a well-earned rep for high-octane action with Yip’s Paradox (trailer here), which screens during the 2017 San Diego Asian Film Festival.

As a police negotiator, you maybe would not expect Lee Chung-chi to Liam Neeson’s very particular set of skills, but when his daughter Wing-chi disappears in Thailand, all bets are off. Fortunately, one of the few honest coppers in Bangkok is assigned to the case. Lee and Tsui will follow the trail to an organ harvesting ring, but eventually Lee goes rogue after receiving a tip implicating the blatantly corrupt Det. Ban. Tsui’s compromised police chief father-in-law pressures him to relent, because the intended beneficiary of Wing-chi’s abduction is the secretly ailing mayor, but obviously that is not going to happen.

Although there is no narrative continuity, Paradox continues the tradition of bringing back prior cast members in completely different roles. Serious martial arts fans will be happy to know this includes Tony Jaa, now appearing as Tak the devout Buddhist cop, but frustrated to learn it is a “special appearance.” He will not be around for the third act, but he definitely makes his limited screen time count.

Perhaps the biggest surprise is how hardcore Louis Koo (another holdover from 2) gets as Lee. He has made plenty of cop and gangster movies before, but often the more demanding work has been assigned to a partner, like Nick Cheung in Line Walker. He earns mucho credit for really upping his game for Paradox.

Likewise, Yue Wu hangs with both of them, going toe-to-toe with the flamboyantly villainous Chris Collins as the organ harvesting ring-leader. Gordon Lam effectively counterbalances him as the icily ruthless political fixer, Cheng Hon-sau. Unfortunately, Vithaya Pansringarm is under-employed as the problematic Commish (he is not really evil, just weak), but Ken Lo takes sleazy repulsiveness to a new level as Ban. This is definitely a testosterone kind of film, but Jacky Cai manages to make a strong impression as Siu-man, the prostitute who informs on Ban.

Even though Master Sammo Hung never appears in Paradox, he still counts as one of the stars, thanks to his bone-crushing action direction. This isn’t pretty Crouching Tiger aerial work. It is hard knees and elbows, in the Muay Thai tradition. Frankly, the combination of the tough but hugely cinematic fight scenes with the all-star cast firing on all cylinders is tough to beat. Highly recommended for action fans, Paradox screens this Tuesday (11/14) and Thursday (11/16), as part of this year’s San Diego Asian Film Festival. 

NYAFF ’17: Dealer/Healer

“Cheater” Chen Hua will completely reform himself, but he still associates with known felons. Sometimes, he serves as their substance abuse counselor. Other times, he is recruited by the Hong Kong police to serve as an arbitrator and peacemaker among warring drug gangs. Thugs and coppers do not intimidate him, but winning back the great love of his life might be beyond his powers in Lawrence Lau’s based-on-a-true-story Dealer/Healer (trailer here), which screens during the 2017 New York Asian Film Festival.

“Cheater Hua,” as most people call him, really is based on dealer-turned-counselor Peter Chan Sun-chi, who serves as executive producer. As a teen, Cheater Hua and his mates Cat and Bullhorn ran wild through Kowloon Walled City as the top dogs in the 13 Warlocks Gang. As they didn’t mature into young men, they started to take more professional roles in the HK drug trafficking industry. They were also junkies, which the clean and sober Cheater Hua contends is more honest than substance-free pushers hooking customers without sharing the junkie experience.

For a while, Cheater Hua really starts to make a name for himself, despite all his junkie weaknesses. For reasons we can never fathom, his straight, long-suffering girlfriend Carol continues to support him. He even browbeats her into working as a dancehall hostess, which was not prostitution, but still highly stigmatizing at the time. As is happens, the night she decides she has had enough is also the night Harley, a former cop-turned-minor-druglord decides to set him up for a fall. However, he gives him an escape-hatch that nonetheless results in a five-year stint in prison.

When he gets out, Carol is long gone, but he finds Cat and Bullhorn. After helping them kick their habits, he becomes a legit counselor. He also stays on good terms with Harley, as well as the senior detective, who always rather fancied Carol. It is only when his do-gooder fame spreads internationally that Cheater Hua finally meets her again, but those fences will be hard to mend.

Dealer/Healer is largely a predictable redemption story, but the period look is impressively detailed. The way it recreates Kowloon Walled City is frankly amazing. It is hard to imagine living inside, but people did—thousands of them. Renee Wong and the design team are scrupulously faithful to the limited photos of the hulking enclave, creating an environment that feels more closely akin to Bladerunner than a traditional gangster movie.

Boy oh boy, is the wardrobe ever accurate to the period as well. In all honesty, Louis Koo rocks the Andy Gibb wig, but Sean Lau Ching-wan’s younger-days wig is distractingly awkward in its perch. Still, Sean Lau has the right grit and gravity for Cheater Lau. Zhang Jin (stone-cold awesome in Kill Zone 2) and Gordon Lam are rock-solid as Cat and Bullhorn. Jiang Yiyan silently levels one devastating indictment after another, simply with her eyes and body language. However, Louis Koo upstages everyone as the ultra-sly and unrepentantly roguish Harley.

Chan Man-keung’s screenplay could have used a sharper edge, but cinematographer Zhang Yin makes it a sight to behold. The Hong Kong cityscapes and mountain views are lovely, but it is the grubby, overwhelming images of Kowloon Walled City that really define the film. Recommended as a remarkably well-rendered period crime drama, Dealer/Healer screens Monday (7/10) at the Walter Reade, as part of this year’s NYAFF.

NYAFF ’17: Election

Big D is the Al Gore of the Triads. He assumed he was next in line for the two-year chairmanship of the Wo Shing Society, but the Uncles elected Lok instead. So, does he accept the results of the voting and concentrate on his own business? No, of course not. The resulting power struggle escalates into full-scale street violence in Johnnie To’s modern classic Election (trailer here), which screens during the 2017 New York Asian Film Festival.

Frankly, Lok appears to be the more forward-thinking of the two candidates, whereas Big D can fly off the handle a wee bit. Slightly disappointed by the election results, Big D lashes out at two swing-voters he holds responsible. In response, the outgoing chairman dispatches his lieutenants to China with the Dagon Baton, which is ceremoniously handed down to each new chairman. Thus, begins a mad scramble between the two factions for strategic possession of the baton. However, most of the plotting will be done within prison after Chief Superintendent Hui has both candidates and several senior uncles arrested, in hopes of preventing open war.

This is the film that will probably always come up first when you google Johnnie To—and for good reason. For many, it was also their gateway drug into a full-on Hong Kong cinema addiction. It is a lean, mean, snarling machine of a film, but there is also something strangely beautiful about its savage austerity.

Both Simon Yam and “Big” Tony Leung Ka-fai give classic, career-defining performances as the diametrically-opposed Lok and Big D, respectively. There scenes together are pure movie magic—those who have seen it will instantly know what I mean.

They are indeed the bosses of bosses, but Election is fully loaded with first-rate supporting turns. Lam Suet and Gordon Lam are terrific as Big Head and Kun, two henchmen initially on opposite sides of the factional divide, who meet rather awkwardly. It is amazing to see superstars like Louis Koo and Nick Cheung getting relatively limited screen-time (at least in the initial film), but they burn up the joint with their hardboiled intensity. It is also cool to see Shaw Brothers mainstay David Chiang as the commanding Chief Superintendent. Yet, perhaps the late, great Wong Tin-lam’s quietly droll turn as Uncle Teng, the Uncle of Uncles, best personifies the crafty film.

Election would be followed by two sequels that would continue and deepen the story, reaching Shakespearean levels of tragedy. Hubris: it’s a killer. Yet, Election ends on a perfect note that certainly does not lack for closure. There is no question it is a contemporary classic. Very highly recommended, Election screens Friday (7/7) at the Walter Reade, as part of this year’s NYAFF.

Call of Heroes: High Noon in Republican China

This time around, action film specialist Benny Chan wears his Spaghetti Western influences/homages on his sleeve, but Sheriff Yang Kenan is cut from cloth much closer to Gary Cooper in High Noon. Yang is given a grim ultimatum: release the murderous son of ruthless warlord Cao Ying or the town of Pucheng will face the consequences. Slowly his neighbors turn against their sheriff, but at least the high plains drifter will throw-in his lot in with Yang in Chan’s Call of Heroes (trailer here) releases today on DVD and BluRay, from Well Go USA.

Dedicated schoolteacher Bai Ling (that’s her character, not the actress) leads a small group of children to sanctuary after the sadistic and entitled Cao Shaolun attacked their school in an act of terror. Following her to Pucheng, Cao kills Bai and two others before Yang captures him. Of course, he is sentenced to death, because he is guilty as sin, but representatives of the Cao forces still demand his freedom. They promise to leave the town undisturbed if they comply, but Yang knows that is a lie. So does Ma Feng, a wandering warrior who has some complicated history with Cao’s Colonel Zhang Yi. He also had some chemistry with Bai, but he realized it too late.

It might be Republican era China, but the dramatic vocabulary of Call is pure spurs-and-saddles American western. It starts at the top with Sean Lau Ching-wan, who is all about a man having to do what a man has to do. He has grit and gravitas worthy of Cooper or Alan Ladd, but he is no superman. He is flesh-and-blood, maybe even distantly approaching middle age, which makes his character so heroic yet relatable.

Eddie Peng Yu-yen continues to mature into a legit action star, showing plenty of chops, but also mixing in a comparatively light sprinkling of physical humor. In all honesty, the growth he has shown since his early teen rom-coms has been impressive. Wu Jing and Xing Yu add plenty of real deal martial arts authenticity as Zhang Yi and hired muscle Wong Wai-fu, respectively. Returning to the sort of villainous roles that actually suit him so well, Louis Koo hams it upshamelessly and goes way-the-heck-and-gone over-the-top as Cao Shaolun—and it’s a blast to watch. Yuan Quan adds some glamour and shows some decent moves of her own as Yang’s wife Chow So-so. In fact, Master Sammo Hung keeps everyone on their toes as action director, choreographing some spectacularly cinematic yet still bone-crunchingly old school martial arts sequences.

Just about every element in Call is borrowed from another film, but it is all executed at a very high level by a superstar ensemble, seen at the peak of their powers and playing to their strengths. For martial arts connoisseurs, it might not be the greatest film they have ever seen, but it is a guaranteed sure thing. Easily recommended for fans of Lau, Peng, Koo, and Hung, Call of Heroes releases today (12/6) on DVD and BluRay, from Well Go USA.

Line Walker: The Movie

They are not just moles. They are also orphans. Six ultra-deep-cover police officers are now decidedly out in the cold, after their handler, Chief Inspector Hong To Hang of the Hong Kong CIB took a suspicious header off a tall building. Apparently, he saw it coming, because he managed to delete their files first, for their protection. Ting Siu-ka (a.k.a. Ding Jie) was one of them. Now she helps her boss Inspector Q search for the other five. They might have made contact with the mysterious source known only as “Blackjack,” or they might be getting played. You never can be certain of anyone’s loyalties in Jazz Boon’s Line Walker: The Movie (trailer here), the feature film spin-off based on the hit HK limited TV series, which is now playing in New York.

Somewhat embarrassingly, it is not the CIB who find Blackjack. Instead, he rather coyly reaches out to them. He will make them jump through hoops, but since they involve a stay in a luxury Macao casino, Ding is okay with it, at least initially. It turns out Blackjack is Siu Ye, the right-hand man of Ah Lam, a high-ranking Triad—or perhaps not. Siu Ye and Ah Lam have a long and complicated history together. Their mutual bro-affection is genuine, but their trust is a different matter. Even if they suspect one another of varying sorts of betrayals, they will still have to work together to survive when a drug deal in Rio goes spectacularly bad.

For fans of the show, the big news is Benz Hui is back as fan favorite Triad leader Foon Hei Gor (you’ll know him when you see him). Those unfamiliar with its previous television incarnation should also take heart, the third act is just as baffling even if you are hip to all that backstory. Frankly, this is not a film for the pedantically inclined, but if you want to see a superstar cast engulfed in some spectacular action sequences, then Line Walker is your huckleberry. Seriously, Boon has some shout out loud mayhem going on here. For old school HK action, Walker can hold its own with White Storm and Firestorm, which is saying something.

Nick Cheung is as steely as ever as Ah Lam, while Louis Koo elevates his shark-like charm to new levels of lethalness as Siu Ye. Of course, Hui steals every scene he appears in, like the wily old pro he is. Korean supermodel Clara Lee also makes quite an impression as an assassin sent to kill Siu Ye (again, there is just no way you can miss her). Although it is not exactly a star turn, former Shaolin monk Xing Yu (a.k.a. Shi Yanneng) generously lends his considerable skills to several throw-downs as the “Brazilian.” However, when it comes to action chops, Zhang Huiwen out-classes everyone serving as Ah Lam’s loyal bodyguard. 

All thing considered, it is rather remarkable how effectively Charmaine Sheh anchors the film, reprising the role of Ding. She also has surprisingly endearing chemistry with the eternally reliable Francis Ng as the likably inappropriate Inspector Q-sir.

Line Walker will always have a place in trivia books, thanks to the large scale action sequence shot in the half-finished Rio Olympic stadium. Clearly, Boon was much more successful keeping on schedule and within budget than the Brazilian Olympic Authorities. Indeed, it is pretty impressive feature debut for the veteran TV producer and director. All kinds of ruckus fun, Line Walker: The Movie is highly recommended for HK action fans. It is now playing in New York at the AMC Empire, via Magnum Films.

Johnnie To’s Three

The title comes from a truncated Confucius quote regarding humility that sort of works in the original Cantonese Chinese context. In Western markets, it vaguely seems to relate to the central trio of characters, whose pride most likely will cometh before a fall. However, knowing fan favorite Lam Suet has a considerable supporting role will probably be much more interesting to American audiences than the participation of C-pop star Wallace Chung, especially considering this is a Johnnie To film. Although it is smaller in scope than his gangster classics, To still delivers the goods in Three (trailer here), which opens this Friday in New York.

It has been a bad day for Dr. Tong Qian —and it will soon get far worse. She has had a string of unfortunate surgeries, including the now partially paralyzed young man, who constantly berates her whenever she walks through the recovery ward. Of course, she is hardly the sort of doctor to admit a mistake. This is all beside the point to her latest hard case patient.

Frankly, Inspector Chen hoped his prisoner would never make it to the hospital. That bullet wound to the head was no accident. Yet, in a freakish turn of fate, the bullet became precariously lodged in the perp’s skull. The prognosis would be decent if he would consent to surgery, but the armed robber refuses. Instead, he bides his time fully conscious, waiting for his gang to break him loose. Inspector Chen figures they are coming, but they are actually already there.

Granted, Three isn’t Election or Drug War or [insert your favorite Johnnie To movie here], but it is a lean and mean, finely tuned thriller machine. It also further demonstrates To’s ability to get the best out of HK superstar Louis Koo, who broods like a monster as the hard-nosed but slightly neurotic Inspector Chen. Vicki Zhao Wei really plays against type, out-angsting Koo as the insecure doctor with the sub-par bedside manner. Chung chews the scenery with cinematic glee, more than exceeding expectations, but Lam Suet makes the film as the sad sack member of Chen’s task force. He starts out as comic relief, but gets serious as a heart attack in the second act.

Any HK thriller set in a hospital is bound to bring to mind John Woo’s Hard Boiled, but To goes for more of an intimate Desperate Hours kind of vibe, pulling it off quite nicely. Still, he must be cognizant of the echoes, since he throws in a Battleship Potemkin reference for good measure. Regardless, it all adds up to a lot of fun. Recommended for fans of the action auteur and his big name cast, To’s Three opens this Friday (6/24) in New York, at the AMC Empire.

Kill Zone 2: Simon Yam and Wu Jing Together Again, but Different

This sort of an “in name only,” like the kind they often crank out in Bollywood, except Simon Yam almost reprises his hardboiled detective character. In the first S.P.L., he played hard-charging Inspector Chan Kwok-chung, whereas this time around he is steely copper Chan Kwok-wah. They are not same person. In fact, they do not even serve on the same police force, considering the first S.P.L., or Kill Zone as it was renamed for Western territories, took place before the HK handover. Regardless, each Chan is all in favor of taking the fight to the bad guys and he will have two highly trained allies in Soi Cheang’s Kill Zone 2 (trailer here), which opens this Friday in New York.

This Chan is no less driven than his near namesake, but he is also a man of Christian faith. It is quite upsetting for him to see his nephew Chan Chi-kit hooked on smack, but that is one of the perils of undercover work. Under his uncle’s personal supervision, Chi-kit infiltrated an organ trafficking ring, led by Hung Mun-gong a rich weirdo with a bad ticker and a rare blood type. Despite his misgivings Kwok-wah must leave Chi-kit in the field, because he has finally been assigned to an abduction team. The target will be Hung’s own brother.

Thanks to the intervention of uncle and nephew, the HK police stymy the attempted kidnapping, but Chi-kit’s cover is blown in the process. He will get an up-close-and-personal look at their operation when he comes to in the Thai prison secretly holding the abduction victims waiting to be harvested. Inconveniently, Chi-kit is being housed and treated like a common criminal. However, he will have some dealings with Chatchai, an honest prison guard, whose young daughter desperately needs a bone barrow transplant. The crooked warden Ko Chun might have a potential (involuntary) donor for him, but the cost will be his soul.

It is hard to say which is more extreme, action director Li Chung Chi’s intense martial arts sequences featuring Tony Jaa, Wu Jing (also returning from Kill Zone 1, but in a vastly different role), and Zhang Jin (who had the climatic fight with Zhang Ziyi in The Grandmaster), or the nakedly manipulative subplot involving Chatchai’s cute but sickly daughter Sa. Fortunately, the former are spectacularly cinematic and satisfyingly gritty, because the melodrama of the latter gets pretty cheap. Still, it should be conceded Unda Kunteera Thordchanng is highly charismatic and duly heart-rending as Sa. She is effective, but most viewers will instantly resent the scenes built around her.

Happily, there is a massive prison riot right smack dab in the middle of KZ2, giving Jaa, Wu, and Zhang ample opportunity to demonstrate their skills. Frankly, this could very well be Zhang’s breakout film, albeit in the villainous role of Ko Chun. It is pretty awesome watching him go toe-to-toe with both Jaa and Wu. Of course Yam does his thing as Chan Kwok-wah. He flashes some hardcore badness, but he can also deliver a line like “you must have faith, God wouldn’t toy with us,” without it sounding cheesy. Likewise, Louis Koo manages to pull off the shaggy dog pageboy wig and the mumbling persona of Hung Mun-gong, one of the coldest fish bad guys you can ever hope to see.

The martial arts in Kill Zone 2 are everything you could hope for, whereas the final conclusion is so weirdly misconceived and utterly out of place, it becomes an attraction in itself (one that makes you wonder how to say “wtf” in Thai). Recommended for martial arts connoisseurs and fans of the big name cast (as usual, Yam never disappoints), Kill Zone 2 opens this Friday (5/13) in New York, at the Metrograph.

Z Storm: Louis Koo vs. Crooked Hedge Funds

For the fortieth anniversary of Hong Kong’s Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) David Lam and his all-star cast celebrated like it was 2008. Like Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. in The F.B.I., Louis Koo’s William Luk will righteously crusade against crooked cops and shadowy financial conspiracies, but he will have the fringe benefit of investigating Dada Chan in Lam’s Z Storm (trailer here), which releases today on DVD and BluRay from Well Go USA.

Wong Man Bin is such a corrupt cop, he is even dirtier than some of white collar crooks he covers for, like the rather compromised accounting firm proprietor, who is quite surprised when Wong makes incriminating evidence disappear. Evidently, his paymaster, the extravagantly venal attorney Malcom Wu needs his house’s help to take the Madoff-esque Z Fund public. However, Wong’s recklessness also attracts the attention of Luk, who starts connecting the dots.

Since the former government chairman is the Z Fund’s public front-man, investigating Wu’s operation is a touchy proposition. To make matters worse, a major public-private charitable account will go all in with the Z Fund, once it is successfully listed. As a result, Luk is given a hard six day deadline to take down the Fund before it lists. Past that point, he must close his investigation rather than risk sparking a crisis of confidence that might jeopardize the charity funds. Unfortunately, each of his leads meets a tragic end, accept perhaps the mystery woman associated with Wu, Angel Leung On Ying.

As Luk, Koo seethes like the old pro he is, but it is the bad guys that really make Z Storm work. Michael Wong does his gloriously hammy thing, except even more so, as the spectacularly villainous Wu. However, Gordon Lam Ka Tung nearly matches the scenery Wong masticates, stick for stick, as the profoundly underhanded Wong Man Bin. It is almost like they are facing off in some sort of evil-doers’ Olympics. 

Strangely, Dada Chan hardly has any time to establish Leung’s character, since about ninety-five percent of her screen time comes in the third act. However, the camera still adores her. It is also favorably inclined towards Janelle Sing, who inspires confidence as Tammy Tam, the ICAC’s brainy IT specialist.

There are a several nicely executed action sequences, but the many scenes of the ICAC arriving just seconds too late get a little frustrating. Still, the star power and the refreshingly complicated intrigue keep the film chugging along. Some occasional weird references also give the film idiosyncratic character. I’ll bet you didn’t know Zorro was a Spanish knight, whose weapon of choice was a sword. At least, that is what Z Storm thinks (evidently the Disney, George Hamilton, and Antonio Banderas incarnations never made it to HK). No matter, Chan and Koo are ridiculously attractive, while Lam and Wong are outrageously dastardly. Recommended for those who enjoy financial thrillers with a dash of flamboyance, Z Storm is now available on DVD, BluRay, and Digital HD, from Well Go USA.

Triumph in the Skies: Hong Kong’s Favorite Way to Fly

Where American networks failed with shows like Pan Am and LAX, Hong Kong found tremendous success with a prime time airliner drama. While it had the benefit of some star power from Francis Ng and Michelle Ye, it was really the multi-character romances that were powering the show. How big was it? Big enough to snag a New Year’s theatrical release for the big screen edition. Hearts will be broken on multiple continents in Wilson Yip & Matt Chow’s Triumph in the Skies (trailer here), which is now playing in New York and select markets.

By-the-book Captain “Sam” Tong and his not-so-by-the-book co-pilot Jayden Koo used to be a regular flight crew, but they have split up. Tong is still the senior officer with Skylette, but the new boss’s son and heir apparent, Branson Cheung, has assigned him to serve as the technical advisor for their new commercial starring rock-star diva TM Tam. Nobody on-set wants to hear his quibbles, except maybe Tam. There are such polar opposites, they naturally start to attract.

Cheung, who also serves as a Skylette flight captain, is rather surprised to find his old flame Cassie Poon Ka-sze is part of the crew on his newly assigned plane. She is still disappointed he put their relationship on hold to please his father, but the sparks are still there. Meanwhile, Koo or “Captain Cool,” has landed a cushy job as the private pilot of a party plane, where he meets the seemingly ambitionless Kika Sit. However, he realizes almost too late there is far more to her story.

If you have seen a few Chinese romantic comedies you will basically know what to expect here, but Yip & Chow’s execution is wildly slick and lethally effective. You are not likely to see a sparklier movie anytime soon. Triumph has so much jet-setting, it makes Sex in the City look like EastEnders.

Sure, it is tons of manipulative, yet each of the three primary story arcs works surprising well, with the best being Tong’s halting flirtation with Tam. It is also the best written braided-storyline, featuring some wry, understated dialogue and terrific chemistry between series veteran Francis Ng and Sammi Cheng. You can almost think of it as an HK version of a James L. Brooks late middle-age relationship film. She also performs a catchy punk version of “Over the Rainbow” that will make you think that was what Harold Arlen & Yip Harburg really had in mind the whole time.

In contrast, Triumph totally goes for the tears with Captain Cool’s possibly tragic romance, but Amber Kuo just lights up the screen as Kika Sit. Of course, Julian Cheung is not exactly is not exactly a jowly sourpuss either—and they both know how to crank up the cute in their big feature spots.

The third romance starring Louis Koo is a lot like an HK rom-com starring Louis Koo, but it is still one of the better ones. Again, he and Charmaine Sheh have surprisingly strong chemistry. However, the notion of an attractive working woman sitting around waiting for the man who walked out of her life to saunter back might not sit too well with American audiences.

Despite the vaguely Leni Riefenstahl-ish title, Triumph in the Skies is a pleasingly upbeat and colorful film. These days, it is just no fun whatsoever to fly on a commercial airliner or schlep through an airport, but it would be worth taking off your belt and shoes to fly with the ridiculously good looking crews of Skylette. Maybe it is a guilty pleasure, but it is fun. Recommended for those looking for an entertaining movie romance that pretty much covers all the bases, Triumph is now playing in New York at the AMC Empire.

NYAFF ’14: The White Storm

Eight-Faced Buddha is the Al Sharpton of Thai drug lords. That ridiculous coif should be sufficient grounds to throw his butt in jail. However, he also has an extensive body count to his credit and a massive wave of heroin headed towards Hong Kong. The only thing standing in its way is an extremely tired undercover cop, his handler, and their boss and mutual boyhood chum. Their friendship will be severely strained in Benny Chan’s action conflagration The White Storm (trailer here), which screens during the 2014 New York Asian Film Festival.

So Kin-chau is due for some R&R with his very pregnant wife, but Chief Inspector Ma Ho-tin keeps sending him out for one more sting. They were supposed to finally bust his longtime target Black Chai, but when Ma learns the trafficker has a deal in the works with Eight-Faced, So must engineer a last minute escape for the both of them. So reluctantly goes deep undercover with Black Chai with only Ma, their third Musketeer Cheung Chi-wai, and another honest HK colleague for back-up.

Frankly, the boundary between cops and criminals in Thailand is rather porous. Ma and his colleagues have to go rogue just to foil the crooked cops trying to rat out So. Unfortunately, when Ma’s game-changing operation goes wrong, it goes massively, cinematically wrong. It will fatally sabotage his career and plague his conscience for years, until a big twist suggests his guilt might be a tad misplaced.

There is nothing subtle about White Storm. It is all about projectile explosions and brooding, but it truly delivers some awesome over-the-top action spectacle. Nothing is off the table including a romance with Eight-Faced’s transgendered daughter, Mina Wei. Arguably, that is the most sensitively rendered element of this delirious gun-down. Evidently, Nick Cheung’s steamy publicity photo shoot with the transgender beauty queen Treechada “Poyd” Malayaporn raised quite a few eyebrows in HK, so mission accomplished.

In fact, all three big name leads are in fine form throughout. Louis Koo’s So slow burns like nobody’s business, while Sean Lau Ching-wan compellingly portrays Ma’s rapid descent from hot shot to a self-loathing shell of a man. However, Cheung takes viewers on the wildest character arc as his rapidly evolving namesake. Vithaya Pansringarm, who stole just about every scene in Only God Forgives, also turns up, playing a far more ethically ambiguous cop, but he is criminally under-employed.

While White Storm indulges in quite a bit of exotic Thai exoticism, Chan never strays too far from an old school hail of bullets. Its super-charged energy level and tragic sensibilities follow in the tradition of some of the best HK action films. Highly recommended for fans of Hong Kong Cinema and the big name cast, The White Storm screens tomorrow (6/29) at the Walter Reade Theater, as part of this year’s NYAFF.

NYAFF ’14: Golden Chickensss

A lot has changed in Hong Kong over the last twenty years or so, but it remains a high-flying city. There is still plenty of exclusive partying going on and that is good for Kam’s business—the oldest business. HK’s Happy Hooker turned Madam adjusts with the times, but it is harder for the ambiguous love of her life in Matt Chow’s Golden Chickensss (a.k.a. Golden Chicken 3, trailer here), which screens tomorrow on the first day of the 2014 New York Asian Film Festival.

Kam has gone from labor to management, but she still not too snobby to do her share of field work. After all, she still has her conspicuous assets. There are younger madams out there, but she can work the phones and stroke a client’s ego like the best of them. She will even take her girls on a field trip to Japan to pick up some tips the world’s preeminent hummer expert. However, things start to get serious when Brother Gordon is finally released from jail.

While they were never a couple, per se, Brother Gordon had her back and there was always a certain something between them. There is still a spark of something between them. Unfortunately, the gangster does not understand how much Hong Kong has changed. Kam tries to gently guide him towards a quieter life, but she is afraid too stiff a shot of reality will hobble his spirit.

Evidently there are a lot of puns in Chickensss that kill with Cantonese speakers, but are mostly lost on the rest of the world. On the other hand, Sandra Ng’s chest prosthetics require absolutely no translation. Would that be the costume designer’s responsibility or a special effects artist? Regardless, they look impressively genuine (and you will be looking).

In fact, there is something relentlessly appealing about our indomitable heroine. Ng is one of the few comedy specialists, who can effortlessly segue from physical comedy to sultry naughtiness and then back to straight-up melodrama without ever looking awkward or embarrassed. Not for nothing will she be the recipient of this year’s NYAFF Star Asia Award (the Queen of Comedy edition). However, most of her co-stars have trouble looking so classy when acting so goofy.

Speaking of looking uncomfortable, Brother Gordon is not exactly Nick Cheung’s best role this year or even his greatest performance at this year’s NYAFF, but he sure seems to be working a lot these days—and you have to respect that. There are a host of in-joke cameos, including Ip Man’s Donnie Yen spoofing his Grandmaster competition (okay, that really was funny) and Louis Koo playing the lookalike gigolo version of himself. As you would expect, there is a gorgeous ensemble cast playing Kam’s employees (including Michelle Wai and Cantopop singers Fiona Sitt and Ivana Wong), but they are not given much to do except look decorative.

Even if you do not get the jokes—or if you get them only too well—it is impossible to dislike such an irrepressible, fabulously dressed film. After watching it, you will have confidence the sun will definitely come out tomorrow in Hong Kong. Upbeat and unapologetically horny, is largely recommended for Ng’s fans looking for some broad comedy and a dash of nostalgia. It screens tomorrow (6/27) and Tuesday (7/1) at the Walter Reade Theater as part of this year’s NYAFF celebration of Sandra Ng.

NYAFF ’13: Drug War

Divide-and-conquer and playing one opponent against another might sound like shrewd Art of War strategies, but they can land you in the midst a crossfire.  Frankly, there is no safe place to be in Johnnie To’s Drug War (trailer here).  The HK action auteur’s lean, mean return to form screens today at the 2013 New York Asian Film Festival just ahead of its July 26^th New York opening, courtesy of Well Go USA, the intrepid distributor getting a special shout-out at this year’s festival with their own special programming spotlight.

“I’m cop—I didn’t betray you, I busted you.”  Captain Zhang Lei’s choice words for the somewhat disappointed drug courier he just collared will echo throughout To’s first gangster throwdown set and co-produced in Mainland China.  Zhang also reeled in a bigger fish: Timmy Choi, a meth lab proprietor and trusted liaison between various criminal factions.

Facing the death penalty, Choi agrees to play ball with Zhang.  He will introduce Zhang to Brother Haha, a distribution kingpin looking for product and the representative of a shadowy supply consortium.  At each meeting, Zhang pretends to be the opposite gangster, in hopes of taking down both operations simultaneously.  He is not absolutely, positively sure he can trust Choi, but it is too good an opportunity to pass up.

Unusually gritty compared to the operatic Vengeance and Exiled, the first two acts of Drug War are essentially street-level procedurals, but darn good ones.  To shows us the nuts and bolts of the Tianjin drug squad at work, as well as the extreme lengths Zhang will go to take down his targets.  However, when it is finally go time, Drug War erupts into cold, hard, violent bedlam.

As Zhang, Sun Honglei is the absolute essence of hard-nosed steeliness.  Initially, it is rather jarring to hear him giggling in the guise of Haha, put he pulls that off too.  Likewise, Louis Koo will make viewers forget all about his recent leading man rom-com roles in his coldest, weasliest performance in years, even if he was dubbed for Mandarin speaking audiences.  His Choi is truly a survivor, like a cockroach. 

To fans will also being relieved to hear Lam Suet eventually turns up, as a criminal mastermind, no less.  Aside from a bit of comic relief here and there, the soldier-like supporting cast sets the right tone, particularly the glammed-down, nonsense Crystal Huang as Zhang’s colleague, Yang Xiabei.

The massively cool Drug War does not just pack a punch.  It is more like a body slam.  Critics and fans were concerned whether To’s hardboiled brand of crime drama would fly in China, but somehow he slipped this pitch black gem past the Party goalie.  A case of a master filmmaker and an all-star cast working at the tops of their respective games, Drug War is very highly recommended for action and gangster movie enthusiasts.  It screens today (7/5) at the Walter Reade Theater as part of this year’s NYAFF and opens its regular IFC Center engagement for the Fest feted Well Go USA on Friday the 26^th.

SFFS HK Cinema ’12: Romancing in Thin Air

Is it the altitude sickness making Michael Lau nauseous or is it love?  Whichever, the binge drinking is not helping much.  Nevertheless, the heartbroken superstar might pull himself together and find real love with the help of a former fan.  Action auteur Johnnie To takes another Mainland pleasing foray into relationship drama territory with Romancing in Thin Air (trailer here), which screens this weekend as part of the San Francisco Film Society’s crowd-pleasing second annual Hong Kong Cinema Festival.

Michael Lau is coincidentally a lot like Louis Koo, the actor who plays him.  Both are popular HK romantic leads with a background in music.  Lau is going through a rough patch though.  He was to marry his co-star in an ultra-glitzy ceremony, only to be very publicly dumped at the altar.  Lau takes refuge in the bottle—hard.  Stowing away in Sue’s vintage army truck, Lau finds himself at her rustic mountain lodge, way above sea level and sick as a dog.

Sue is a widow who will not allow herself to mourn.  One night her sensitive mountain man husband went out into the forest in search of a lost child, but never returned.  Yet, Sue keeps the lodge exactly as he left it in the unrealistic hope will eventually walk through the front door.  Of course, these two broken hearts are perfect for each other, but they will have to learn that the hard way.

Johhnie To can kick it in any genre, but his previous rom-com (heavier on the rom), Don’t Go Breaking My Heart (which screened at the SFFS’s HK fest last year), travels better.  Frankly, it is hard to believe some of the things Lau does to win over/back Sue do not have the opposite effect.  However, the first two acts put a nice twist on the Notting Hill concept, establishing Sue as former Michael Lau fan club member and revealing the role the idol’s career played in her courtship with the missing Tian.

Having already proved to be a successful box-office pairing, Koo and Sammi Cheng indeed have some nice chemistry together.  Conversely, the supporting characters do not have a lot of meat to them, seemingly existing just to bring the two together.  That includes Li Guangjie’s impossibly taciturn Tian.

Clearly, both To and cinematographer Cheng Siu-keung love the mountain backdrop, luxuriating in its harsh snowcapped beauty.  Guy Zerafa’s lyrical piano score was probably supposed to be syrupier, but is actually quite elegant and evocative.  Despite some over-the-top elements here or there, Thin takes its central relationship seriously, which is endearing.  It is also an example of a genuine leading man turn from Koo, yet he is also obviously and deliberately having some fun with his own image.  Recommended for sentimental romantics, Romancing in This Air screens this Sunday (9/23) as the SFFS’s Hong Kong Cinema Festival continues at the New People Cinema.

Ann Hui’s understated but emotionally powerful A Simple Life also screens earlier that same day (9/23).  Based on a true story, it follows a decent but hardly heroic movie producer as he tries his best to look after his family’s elderly servant after she suffers a stroke.  An actors’ showcase for Andy Lau and Deanie Ip, it is a tearjerker with too much self-respect to jerk tears.  Highly recommended, a full review can be found here.

Accident: Things Happen for a Reason

Ho Kwok-fai is not living in a random universe.  Accidents happen for a reason: money.  He would know.  He is the mastermind behind a team of “accident choreographers.”  Unfortunately, they have apparently attracted the wrong sort of attention from a competitor in Accident (trailer here), Soi Cheang’s moody thriller produced by HK action legend Johnnie To, which releases today on DVD and Blu-ray from Shout Factory.

Though not quite as Rube Goldbergian, Ho’s team are like a Final Destination movie unto themselves.  Just ask the Triad boss in the opening sequence, while you can.  “The Brain” runs the show with tick-tock precision, but a dark cloud seems to hang over their latest gig.  “Uncle” starts to show signs of dementia and the necessary rain will not come.  Then the wheels come totally off.

Going underground, Ho starts surveilling an insurance executive he suspects played a part in the disastrous non-accident.  Already haunted by his wife’s fatal auto crash, his psyche will sink to some pretty low places.  Rather than a standard hitman-on-the-run film, Accident treads a more existential path, in the tradition of Coppola’s The Conversation (granted, it is not exactly in the same league).

In the years since To’s Election epic most of what American audiences have seen of Louis Koo were romantic or comedic features, like Mr. and Mrs. Incredible, Magicto Win, and All’s Well Ends Well 2012, 2011, 2010, and 2009.  Nonetheless, he shows plenty of screen grit in Accident, brooding like mad, yet getting stone cold medieval when necessary.  As a bonus, Lam Suet, To’s regular comic relief specialist, brings his usual energy, but plays Ho’s stout but not shticky henchman “Fatty” with considerable restraint.

Viewers who have seen a lot of Hollywood-produced thrillers will probably be downright shocked by Accident, precisely because of their preconditioning.  Indeed, Cheang is willing to take it in a direction studio filmmakers never would, which is cool.  Of course, knowing it is produced by To and his Milkyway Image team is something of a seal of approval in and of itself.  Enthusiastically recommended for fans of noir thrillers and HK cinema, Accident is now available on DVD at online and quality brick-and-mortar retailers everywhere.