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The Lucky Guy

Jul 222012
 

The Lucky Guy (1998) Chinese Movie Information

Title in Chinese –  行运一条龙
Title in Pinyin – Xing Yun Yi Tiao Long

Genre – Comedy

Subject/theme – A coffee shop famous for its egg tarts is in danger of closing and must be saved by workers who all have love problems

Language – Cantonese

Region – Hong Kong, China

Release date
Singapore – 5 January 1998
Hong Kong – 16 January 1998
South Korea – 17 January 2003

Movie running time – 100 minutes

Director – Lee Lik-Chi

Cast & Role Played
Stephen Chow – Ho Kam Sui / Prince Egg Tart
Ng Man-tat – Mr Li, coffee shop owner
Daniel Chan – Ah Nam, Li’s son
Shu Qi – Fon Fon, poor girls from a rich family
Sammi Cheng – Candy, nurse
Eric Kot – Fook, waiter
Kristy Yeung – Fanny, kung fu school secretary

Story
The rent on Lucky Café famous for its egg tarts is about to be increased and the owner Mr Li is helpless to stop the café from closing. He enlists the café heart breaker Prince Egg Tart to seduce the building owner but fails miserably. While all seems lost for Lucky Café, Li’s son Ah Nam falls for a property tycoon’s daughter Fon Fon, Ho falls for Candy, the only woman who can resist him and the eternal nice guy Fook falls for the secretary of a Kung Fu school Fanny.

Will Li save Lucky coffee shop and will the three Lucky men woo their woman?

Editor’s Review of The Deadly Duo – Score 7/10
The Lucky Guy is a delightful comedy light on content but delightful to watch with excellent performances by stars Stephen Chow, Ng Man-tat and Shu Qi (one of her first major roles). The satire in The Lucky Guy is well done and enables the movie to be refreshing and well as fun to watch.

The Lucky Guy Links

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IMDb Movie Database for The Lucky Guy

Seoul Raiders

Jul 012012
 

Seoul Raiders (2005) Chinese Movie Information

Title in Chinese –  韩城攻略
Title in Pinyin – Han Cheng Gong Lue

Genre – Kungfu Thriller

Subject/theme – A Chinese private eye heads off to Seal in to search for stolen counterfeiting plates

Language – Cantonese

Region – Hong Kong, China

Release date
Hong Kong – 3 February 2005
Singapore – 8 February 2005
Thailand – 5 May 2005

Director – Jingle Ma

Cast & Role Played
Tony Leung Chiu-wai – Lam, private eye
Shu Qi – JJ, thief
Richie Ren – Owen, CIA undercover agent
James Kim – Black Bear, Korean underworld boss

Story
A private eye Lam steals a set of perfect counterfeit US plates from a corporate thief with the help of a beautiful small time thief JJ and returns them to the US embassy. He is tricked by Owen, an employee at the embassy who drugs him, steals the plates and flees to Seoul where he plans to sell them to the highest bidder. Lam follows Own to Seoul where he has three beautiful sidekicks to help him chase Owen.

The chase leads Lam and his girls into the Korean underworld where they catch Owen several times but he manages to slip through their grasps. JJ tracks Lam to Seoul and makes a deal with him to help him catch Owen.  Owen how ever is not who he seems to be and the movie takes an unexpected and dramatic turn.

Editor’s Review of Seoul Raiders – Score 6/10
Seoul Raiders has fairly bland acting with both Tony and Shu Qi not giving their best performances. The story is also very plain and uninspiring. The fight scenes and action in the movie save it from being a complete loss and allow it to be  enjoyable as light entertainment.

Seoul Raiders Links

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IMDb Movie Database for Seoul Raiders

If You Are the One

May 102012
 

If You Are the One (2008) Chinese Movie Information

Title in Chinese – 非诚勿扰
Title in Pinyin – Fei Cheng Wu Rao

Genre – Romantic Comedy

Subject/theme – A middle aged inventor goes on a series of blind dates in search of love

Language – Mandarin

Region – China

Release date
China – 22nd December 2008
Hong Kong – 25th December 2008
Singapore – 27th February 2009

Movie runtime – 130 minutes

Director – Feng Xiaogang

Cast & Role Played
Ge You – Qin Fen, middle aged inventor in search of love
Shu Qi – Liang Xiao Xiao, heart broken air hostess
Fan Wei – foolish venture capitalist
Xiao Che – blind date with erotophobia
Alex Fong – Liang Xiao Xiao's married lover 

Story
Qin Fen is an inventor in his late 40’s who travels back to China after selling is latest invention to a foolish venture capitalist. In search for his soul mate, Qin Fen places an advertisement in a newspaper stating that he is looking for love but not to disturb him if you are not sincere. The advertisement is popular and Qin Fei sets of on a series of dates that take him over the country. The women he meets are of different types and backgrounds and none of them appeal to him.

While involved in his serial dating, Qin Fen crosses paths with Liang Xiao Xiao who is broken hearted and recovering from a relationship with a married man. In an effort to help Liang, Qin Fen embarks on a tour of Hokkaido with predictable consequences.

Editor’s Review of If You Are the One – Score 8/10
This movie is absolutely delightful to watch and one of Ge You’s best to date. Some of the exchanges between Ge You as Qin Fen and the women he meets are hilarious, witty and very satirical and these exchanges alone make the movie well worth watching. The onscreen chemistry between Ge You and the charming Shu Qi is also very enjoyable to watch.

The pace of the film does slow down and drag a bit in the second half but quality acting from both Ge You and Shu Qi will keep you glued to your seat. The encounter between Qin Fen and a priest where Qin Fen confesses is priceless and will leave you in stitches.

If You Are the One Links

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IMDb Movie Database for If You Are the One

Legend of the Fist: Return of Chen Zhen

May 062012
 

Legend of the Fist: Return of Chen Zhen (2010) Chinese Movie Information

Title in Chinese –精武风云－陈真
Title in Pinyin – Jing Wu Feng Yun – Chen Zhen

Genre – Martial Arts and action

Subject/theme – A masked hero battles the Japanese in Shanghai before World War II

Language – Cantonese

Region – Hong Kong

Release date
China – 21st September 2010
Hong Kong – 22nd September 2010
Singapore – 23rd September 2010

Movie runtime – 106 minutes

Director – Andrew Lau

Cast & Role Played
Donnie Yen – Chen Zhen, martial arts master and resistance fighter
Shu Qi – Kiki, singer and undercover Japanese agent
Anthony Wong – Liu Yutian, night club owner
Huang Bo – Huang Haolong, police inspector
Kohahta Ryu – Colonel Chikaraishi

Story
Legends of the Fist is a continuation of the Jet Li movie Fists of Legends and is set in Shanghai before world war II. Chen Zhen bands together with fellow survivors of world War I to resist the Japanese tyranny in Shanghai just before world war II. In order to gain influence with the powerful business man Liu Yutian, Chen befriends Liu and becomes his business partner in a very popular night club frequented by the Japanese, Americans and British.

While working at the night club and secretly working for the resistant, Chen meets a singer at the night club and starts to fall for her. At the same time Chen starts to wear a masked disguise and openly fight the Japanese on the street. The Japanese in Shanghai received a list of names from Japan of people they are required to kill. The resistance receive a copy of this list and race against time to save people on the list.

During battles between the Japanese and the resistance, Chen starts to suspect Kiki of being a Japanese agent. Chen learns the truth of Kiki and is drawn into a climatic confrontation with the Japanese general Chikaraishi.

Editor’s Review of Legend of the Fist: The return of Chen Zhen – Score 7/10
The movie starts on a battlefield in France with Donnie Yen carving up a squad of Germans. This scene sets the pace for the rest of the movie that is full of Donnie Yen’s trade mark fights with a big free for all finale in a Japanese dojo. Much of the action is set on Chen who becomes the masked defender of Shanghai like Batman in Gotham City only with much better Kung Fu.

The main character in the movie, Chen Zhen, is from the 1972 movie Fist of Fury with Bruce Lee.  This film is both a tribute and dedication to Bruce Lee and Donnie Yen often adopts poses and fighting styles reminiscent of Bruce Lee.

Shu Qi is compelling as the night club singer and Japanese agent and Anthony Wong is charismatic as the owner of the night club caught up in a war between the Japanese and the Chinese resistance. Over all, Legends of the fist is a typical Donnie Yen movie in an interesting historical context that is enjoyable and well worth watching.

Legends of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen Links

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IMDb Movie Database for Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen

Look For A Star

Apr 272012
 

Look For A Star (2009) Chinese Movie Information

Title in Chinese – 游龙戏凤
Title in Pinyin – You Long Xi Feng

Genre – Romance

Subject/theme – Three couples of different backgrounds fall for each other

Language – Cantonese

Region – Hong Kong

Release date
Hong Kong – 23 January 2099
China – 26th January 2009
Singapore – 12 February 2009

Movie runtime – 117 minutes

Director – Andrew Lau

Cast & Role Played
Andy Lau – Sam Ching, billionaire property developer
Shu Qi – Milan, part time casino dealer and full time cabaret dancer
Lam Ka-wah – Tim Ma, Sam’s chauffeur
Zhang Xinyi – Shannon, single mother and real estate worker
Zhang Hanyu – Lin Jiu, out of work labourer
Denise Ho – Jo, Sam’s secretary and right hand

Story
A billionaire property developer is staying at his hotel in Macau while on a business trip and meets Milan while she is working as a dealer who mistakes him for an out of luck gambler. At the same time Sam’s secretary Jo encounters Lin who is temporarily working in the hotel and captivates him in a very strange way. Sam also sets up Tim on a blind date with Shannon who he falls for despite reservations about her being a single mother.

The plot develops around the three couples and how they deal with their differences in status while falling in love and trying to build a relationship together. Complications develop in each of the three relationships that each of the couples must overcome.

Editor’s review of Look For A Star – Score 6/8
The movie starts of with a nice pace and enjoyable story where each of the couples meet, interact and get to know each other. Shu Qi is adorable and great as the down to earth dancer Milan while Andy Lau is slick and charming but a little too slick and perfect. Denise Ho is great as a woman as a self depreciating and self conscious woman and her interaction with Zhang Hanyu is one of the better parts of the film.

The plot deteriorates in the second half after Sam reveals his identity to Milan and the movie the story loses most of its character. The last part of the movie is so cheesy, embarrassing and corny that the movie loses most of the credibility it gained in the first half. Over all a good movie to enjoy with some nice acting but in the end, too typical, shallow and commercial.

Look For A Star Links

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IMDb Movie Database for Look For A Star

 

A Beautiful Life

Mar 122012
 

chinese movie a beautiful life1 A Beautiful Life

A Beautiful Life (2011) Chinese Movie Information

Title in Chinese 不再让你孤单
Title in Pinyin – bu zai rang ni gu dan

Genre – Romance, drama

Subject/theme – A beautiful woman falls in love with a lonely cop. 

Language – Mandarin / Putonghua

Region – Mainland China

Release dates
-Mainland China 13th May 2011
-Hong Kong 26th May 2011

Movie runtime – 124 minutes

Director – Andrew Lau

Cast & Role Played
Shu Qi – Li Peiru
Liu Ye – Fang Zhengdong
Anthony Wong – Zhengdong's blind friend
Tian Liang – Fang Zhengcong
Feng Danying – Xiao Wan
Sa Rina – Xia Wan’s mother

Story
A beautiful woman Li Peiru working as a real estate agent gets drunk in a karaoke bar and vomits on a lonely cop Fang Zhedong who falls in love with her.  Li was having an affair with her married boss at the time but after losing her job, realises that she is in love with Fang. 

Unfortunately Fang is suffering from a disease that causes him to lose his mind.

A Beautiful Life (2011) Links

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IMDb Database for A Beautiful Life