影 - Shadow

影 (Shadow) is an 2018 movie out of Zhong Guo. The movie stars Deng Chao and Sun Li. The supporting cast include Zheng Kai, Wang Qianyuan, Hu Jun, and Guan Xiaotong. The film is directed by Zhang Yimou.

Set during the Three Kingdoms. The kingdom of Pei of has lost control of the city of Jing. The commander of the army wants to get it back from the Yang family. The king of Pei does not want it back and wants to keep the status quo. The commander however has had failing health over the past year and send his Shadow in his place. The Shadow is someone that looks just like the original. In the case of commander, he must guide his shadow in court matters and train him to defeat the Yang general in battle. Will the King of Pei find out that this is a shadow?

This was one of the best films I've ever seen. Zhang Yimou out does himself with this latest epic. The real life married couple of Deng and Sun have instant chemistry onscreen. From the court politics to the shadow training, I was at the edge of my sofa the whole movie. I was kept on my toes scene after scene trying to see how things would unfold.

I ended up watching it again a couple of nights later to figure more things out. OMG, the second time around, I was even more impress. I had recently started watching Hero on Netflix. I was halfway through and remember just how awesome that film was. Shadow is an even better made film and shows Zhang's growth in this genre.

I caught the movie via iTalkBB. It'll be released in the USA in May.

As the Light Goes Out - 救火英雄

救火英雄 (As The Light Goes Out) is an 2014 film out of Hong Kong. The movie stars Nicholas Tse. The rest of the supporting cast include Shawn Yue, Simon Yam, Hu Jun, Bai Bing, and Andy On.



On the eve of Christmas Eve, a power grid station is determined to keep the energy flowing to the all of Hong Kong. When a factory near one of the pipes for energy is disrupted, its up the brave firemen of the Hong Kong fire division to contain it. The crew goes in to save the trapped people and have to fight their way out. On top of this drama is the political drama of promotions and hurt feelings from the fire station. Add to is kids of the firemen are also trapped, you got yourself a story.



This was a Hong Kong movie through and through. Even with the addition of Hu Jun and Bai Bing to give it a little "mainland" feel, it was still very HK. Which is why I liked it so much. I got me back to those days of intense HK movies with extreme situations that put our heroes mettle to the test. If the movie was to end on a sad note, it should. If it were to end on a happy note, it would. In the case of this movie, it ended the way it should have.

This movie was atop of the HK box office at the start of year. It did the same on the Mainland front a few weeks later. It's worth the ride.

Firestorm - 風暴

風暴 (Firestorm) is an 2013 film out of Hong Kong. The movie stars Andy Lau. The supporting cast include Gordon Lam, Yao Chen, and Hu Jun. The movie takes place in Hong Kong and reach number in the local film markets of Hong Kong, Zhong Guo, and Taiwan.

Andy Lau plays a lead officer of the police department, Lui. Lui is trying to nail a group of criminals hitting security trucks. When Lui's team engages a team in mid-robbery, there's a standstill that takes the life of an hostage. The police seem to know some of the parties but they don't cooperate and the police have no evidence to make arrest. While the way, Lui goes after those that can and enlist the help of a friend in the black trade business. Situation after situation, Lui has to adjust to the criminal activity.



I can see why this film was so well liked. There were many cheezy film special effects, but I understand this is HK and not Hollywood quality. I also know the style of going more realistic since "Breaking News". Which this movie really reminded me of. The acting was semi-over the top, but still good enough to bring along the movie.



Surprised I was able to see in only 4 weeks after its release. But there are many more from December that haven't made it to LA yet.

Let the Bullets Fly - 讓子彈飛

Let the Bullets Fly (讓子彈飛) is an 2010 film out of Zhong Guo. The movie stars Chow Yun-fat, Jiang Wen, and Ge You. The large supporting cast include Carina Lau, Feng Xiaogang, Zhou Yun, Jiang Wu, Chen Kun, Hu Jun, Liao Fan, Wei Xiao, Shao Bing, and Miao Pu. There were many more. I only listed the ones I know.

The movie starts with a train going through southern Zhong Guo in 1920. The train is hijacked by bandits. The bandits demand money. The man on the train suggest that they can get money from a nearby town if they pretend to be the governor. The bandits and the man goto Goose Town to get money. Once there, the bandits find that a business man functions as the town warlord. The bandits go into battle of wits with blood and lives.



The movie is a thriller about how a bandit group takes on a local warlord and wins. I don't know if this was to play on the current state of how the people in Zhong Guo feel about some of the government corruption. When the people feel hopeless, they go with the one with power for safety. When they feel that fairness is within reach, they will fight for it. At least, that's what I walked away from the film thinking.

The acting in this film was pretty awesome. From Chow to Wen to Ge. It was pretty amazing to see them at work. Through in there a who's who of the current Zhong Guo actors landscape, you have a pretty amazing film, in terms of acting. The story was also quite convoluted. You have to pay attention to follow. No bathroom breaks for this. But you have the pause button.

It took me two sittings to get through this. The first was over a year ago via a local video store. The second was via Netflix.

The Robbers - 我的唐朝兄弟

我的唐朝兄弟 (The Robbers) is a 2009 film out of China. The movie stars Hu Jun, Jiang Wu, Wang Xiao, Lichun Lee, Li Sa, Yin Jian, and Yu Xiaolei. There is a large supporting cast, but its too numerous to list.

Two hunters enter a village. The two hunters are played by Hu Jun, as Shisan, and Jiang Wu as Chen Liu. Shisan carries bow and arrows along with a long and short knives. Liu carrys a pole blade with long and short swords. They ask for water at a house on the outskirts of town and starts to rob them. But Tang soliders start their way to the village. Shisan and Liu force the grown daughter of the hut, Lue Niang to lie to them. But the Tang are more interesting in raping Niang. Liu kills the solider, which cause them to kill others and bring trouble to the village. The villagers now come and capture the two and plan on handing them over to the Tang soldiers that are surely to return. The robbers trick the villagers and escape falling into a well. The Tang soliders return the next day but the do not give mercy to the villagers. And back and forth they go, the robbers, villagers and Tang soldiers.



The movie is loud and hard to follow. There are so many characters among the villagers and it was hard to connect to them. But when the movie shifted back to Shisan and Liu, the movie seemed to set the tone for why the movie is. It is their relationship to each other that drives the film.

The movie was entertaining but I didn't understand the point at the end. But I still haven't figured out if it was worth the time. Which usually means it wasn't.

Kung Fu Cyborg - 機器俠

Kung Fu Cyborg (機器俠) is a 2009 film out of Hong Kong. The movie stars Hu Jun, Betty Sun, and Alex Fong. The supporting cast include Ronald Cheng and Jacky Wu.

In the year 2046, cyborg robots have been created and are going into production. But they need to test it out in the field. Hu Jun as Dachun is recruited to partner up with their finest model, K-1, played by Alex Fong. Dachun is the chief of police of his village and Betty Sun as Sumei is one of the police officers. K-1 starts to develop feelings for Sumei. But a directive of his programming states that he will shut down if he develops real "love" emotions. K-88, played by Jacky Wu, has developed "religion" and is on the loose. K-1 is recruited to stop him. A battle between K-1 and K-88 goes all CGI.

But the movie doesn't end with that epic battle. We're treated to the next half the film where Dachun is combined with K-88 for a all out funny experience. Sumei now takes the lead in the pursuing K-1. What will happen if K-1 gives in to his emotions?

The movie had received some unfavorable reviews from some the English HK movie sites. You can tell why. The movie is all over the place and the storytelling is rather convoluted. The placing of the story into a rural village also makes this film way less "cool". The country bumpkin stuff didn't work well.

In all, I was expecting it to suck to a certain degree. Which is did, but it was still rather enjoyable for being completely absurd and irrelevant.

天龍八部 - Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils - Tian Long Ba Bu - Broadcasting

天龍八部 (Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils/Tian Long Ba Bu) started broadcasting last week in Taiwan. I had recently watch this in its entirety and did a review late last year.

Well, its on daily from Monday to Thursday in Taiwan. So you can get your Jin Yong on.

This is a top 5 Jin Yong story for me.

Bodyguards and Assassins - 十月圍城

Bodyguards and Assassins (十月圍城) is a 2009 film out of Hong Kong. The movie stars Donnie Yen, Leon Lai, Nicholas Tse, Li Yuchun, Wang Xueqi, Hu Jun, Tony Leung, Eric Tsang, Simon Yam, and Fan Bingbing. The movie is based on visit to Hong Kong by Sun Yat-sen in 1905.

Sun Yat-sen will touch down in Hong for a mere 1 hour to talk to the revolutionaries. But the Qing officers don't want that to happen and would like to assassinate him while he's in Hong Kong. Enter Wang Xueqi as the money behind the supporters based in Hong Kong. The people you see in the poster all work to protect him. And one that wants to take him out.



The movie is not very action based until Sun Yat-sen arrives. The movie up to that point is all character development and back story on why its important to protect Sun Yat-sen with their lives!

It was both intense and thought provoking. Because of Donnie's presence, you might think this is an action film. But its only a third of the film. You shouldn't miss this one.

Red Cliff - 赤壁 - US Release

Red Cliff (赤壁) is getting a one film US Release on November 18, 2009. It has also been available via VOD for the the past month or so in the US. The film was broken up into 2 parts for the Asian market. I wrote reviews for Part I and Part II in the past.



Red Cliff has a star studded cast of veteran Chinese actors including Tony Leung, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Zhang Fengyi, Chang Chen, Hu Jun, and Zhao Wei.



The US version will have some additional "explanation" scenes and voice overs. Some of the secondary stories from the Asian version will be out right deleted.



I am not sure I'll be catching this anytime soon. I am not sure I can watch a "English" dub. That just sounds wrong.

赤壁:決戰天下 - Red Cliff II

赤壁:決戰天下 (Red Cliff II) is 2009 film directed by John Woo. Starring Chen Chang, Lin Chi-Ling, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, and Wei Zhao. I had watched Part I last summer and had a first thoughts and review posts.

Red Cliff is based on the Battle of Red Cliffs. Because the storyline has so many characters and Kingdoms, I'll leave it to you to read up on wikipedia. I'll just be talking about what I thought of the film here.

Red Cliff Part 2 starts as Cao Cao's armies descend on the Red Cliffs. Zhou Yu and Zhugu Liang prepare for the coming onslaught. Some plot points that I thought were interesting. The plague victims from Cao Cao's camp are sent to Zhou Yu's camp. The plague plays a major point in the storyline. Cao Cao is reputed to be a wife stealer. Stealing the wives of his conquered victims. In this case, Cao Cao wants Zhou Yu's wife. There is espionage from both camps but Zhou Yu gets the better end of the deal. Zhuge Liang fortune telling turns the tide. Lin Chi-Ling is still hot in this movie.

The battle of the Red Cliff doesn't actually seem that intense. The graphics are good, but you can tell it is computer generated. The fighting incorporates wuxia elements for the generals. But supporting people do die. There's soccer?

Red Cliff Part 2 was awesome and it's a good sign for the Chinese movie audience and film makers. The sign that these kind of movies can be made and that the audience will support it financially.

赤壁 - Red Cliff Part 1

赤壁 (Red Cliff Part 1) is 2008 film directed by John Woo. Starring Chen Chang, Lin Chi-Ling, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, and Wei Zhao. Initially thought of as one film when filming began. It was split up into 2 movies. Having seen both, the split was logical and its better as two movies versus a long condensed version. I had watched it last summer and had a first thoughts post.

Red Cliff is based on the Battle of Red Cliffs. Because the storyline has so many characters and Kingdoms, I'll leave it to you to read up on wikipedia. I'll just be talking about what I thought of the film here.

Red Cliff Part 1 has the job of introducing the cast and their importance to the story. So, there's a lot of character development here versus Part 2. But there's just as much action, if not more than Part 2. Two major battles are shown. One in the beginning where Zhao Yun saves Liu Bei's son. The other being the initial engagement between the allied forced against Cao Cao.

Through it all, characters are popping up and right. You do need to have a general knowledge of that era to understand the movie better. But pop up they do. This film also introduces Lin Chi-Ling's acting debut. Lin's been a top model and spokeperson for over 10 years now. But finally making the turn to acting now. And a good roll it is.

Takeshi Kaneshiro plays the iconic Zhuge Liang. Zhuge is like the "sherlock" of the Chinese world. Known for being an expert strategist and intelligence beyond all those around. Zhuge Liang is a reference in Chiense pop culture all the time.

Tony Leung's character of Zhou Yu does creep to the top of importance and prominence as Part I ends.

In all, I thought Red Cliff Part I was a great introduction to the characters and the eminent battle of Red Cliffs.

Red Cliff Part 1 - 赤壁 - First Thoughts

Originally posted on xanga.



I just finished part 1 of John Woo's Red Cliff (赤壁). It was an intense movie with a lot of stuff going on.

Here are some thoughts:
I need to learn my Chinese history better
Lin Chi-Ling is pretty dang hot
Zhao Wei is looking like she shouldn't play early 20s rolls anymore
The Costumes are amazing
The special effects look real and fake at the same time
I can't wait to see part 2.
Too bad there's no part 3
I would want to play a video game based off this (in english, since my Chinese is useless)

Go see it. It won't blow you away, but its a good film.

Being sold for $3 in my local video rental places. Crazy cheap.