鈕扣人 - Button Man

鈕扣人 (Button Man) is a 2008 film out of Taiwan. The movie stars Francis Ng, Terri Kwan, Leon Dai, Ivan Huang, and Janet Lee.

The movie is about Francis Ng playing Wei, a button man. As the movie goes on to explain what that means. The button man is the guy that cleans up after the bad guys get through with someone. They go in there and wipe the area clean. They get the nickname, Button Man, because it is their job to button up the dead corpse. However, as the movie progresses, they refer to themselves as body collectors.

Wei is in a mutually beneficial relationship with a prostitute, Juan, played by Terri Kwan. Wei also harvest the organs of the corpse he cleans up and sells it on the black market with his partner, Doc, played by Leon Dai. During the first half of the film, Doc gets greedy and tries to take Wei's business. However, he harvests the organs of the nephew of a influential crime boss.

After Doc's death, Wei wants to get out. In comes Kid, played by Ivan Huang, a new recruit. Wei takes Kid under his wings and teaches him how to be a Button Man.



Wow, this film came out of left field for me. I wasn't expecting it and it blew me away. The movie moves pretty slowing, but its for a purpose and it totally drew me in. I didn't know what a button man was, and it reminded me of "The Wolf" from Pulp Fiction. But Wei does so much more.

It was also very gritty, especially when the bad things happened. But when authentic relationships were explored, it was usually in the day time.

This is a must watch for Taiwan movie fans. It's no HK flare, so stay away if you're looking for HK style.

Francis does it again with the hair and the ability to convoy his internal struggles.

淚王子 - Prince Of Tears - Upcoming

淚王子 (Prince Of Tears) is being released in Taiwan tomorrow, Friday, October 30, 2009. Just in time for Halloween. The kind of terror you'll see isn't going to be ghost and goblins, but White Terror.

The movie stars Joseph Chang, Terri Kwan, Zhu Xuan, and Jack Kao. Helmed by Hong Kong director Yonfan, the trailer looks amazing.

I am looking forward to this film as the cast looks great and its a slice of Taiwan that few have looked at before.

Shamo - 軍雞

Shamo (軍雞) is a 2007 film out of Hong Kong. The movie stars Shawn Yue, Annie Liu and Francis Ng. Dylan Kuo, Terri Kwan, Bruce Leung, and Masato have supporting roles. The story is based on a Japanese manga.

The movie is about Shawn Yue. Shawn murders his parents at age 16 and is sent to juvenile prison. He gets out when he turns 18. But while in prison, he's picked out and raped. A fellow inmate decides to train him in a form of karate. Shawn gets really good at it and survives prison. Out of prison, Shawn is drawn to the world of kick boxing while searching for his sister.

Man! I don't know where to start with this movie. Its all over the place and completely hard to follow. One moment, Shawn is kicking ass, the next, he's getting his ass kicked in. One moment, he seems sane, the next, he's a crazy lunatic.



Other than Annie Liu's character, no one has any redeeming value in this movie. There's no good guy to take sides with.

Some may say its a guilty pleasure, I say to skip it.

心星的淚光 - Starlit

心星的淚光 (Starlit) is a 2009 drama out of Taiwan. The drama stars Jerry Yan, Terri Kwan and Alice Tzeng. It runs a quick 22 episodes (47-49 minutes each). I was surprised at how fast I got through it.



Jerry Yan plays Ah Yue. Terri Kwan as plays Xiao Lu. Alice plays Rui Zhan. Zhang Xi Xi plays Da Hong. These are the major players in the drama and they all put on quite a show.

Xiao Lu is on assignment in Taiwan from Beijing. Xiao Lu takes some time out to take pictures in Jioufen. Ah Yue is walking by when Xiao Lu is in the middle of the street. Xiao Lu can't move and Ah Yue pushes her out of the way, but gets hit by the bus. After the hit, Ah Yue falls on the ground and the bus runs over his hand. Taken to the hospital and Xiao Lu follows. But Xiao Lu's plane is leaving and she does not want to miss her flight back to Beijing. Xiao Lu leaves her information, but through the magic of dramas, it is lost.

Well, Ah Lu recovers, but his hand can no longer return to the way it was. Which was that of a piano prodigy. Now that Ah Yue was lost everything he's lived his life for, he takes to the road. Two years later, Ah Yue ends up in Shanghai. Through the magic of dramas, Ah Yue and Xiao Lu bump into each other. You know how it goes from there...

Well, I was impressed and really dug this drama. The story, formula, etc. have all played out someway in other dramas. But there was something about all the played out clichés and drama magic that didn't turn me off. I am also not a big fan of Terri Kwan. But somehow, none of that seemed to bother me. Jerry is Jerry and played the character well. The rest of the cast somehow made everything work for me.


Zhang Xi Xi (章西西) was the biggest surprise for me. I'm not sure if I'll see her in any other dramas as she's a China actress and isn't going to be many idol dramas from Taiwan. But 章西西 was someone I hoped had a bigger supporting part. Maybe 章西西 will have a big supporting role in Always Smile! Check out this blog page for more of 章西西. I am a fan!

The drama actually spends only 3-4 episodes in Taiwan. The rest is in Shanghai. The majority of the secondary cast seemed native to China and not Taiwan. All but 2 the major parts were played by Taiwan based actors. Maybe this is the future for Taiwan dramas that want more penetration in China's emerging market.

But I must warn that the ultimate subject matter is quite depressing. Doom and gloom is a heavy subject. The first half is the chase, the second half is the doom and gloom.

宅變 - The Heirloom

The Heirloom (宅變) is a 2005 film out of Taiwan starring Terri Kwan and Joseph Chang. The movie is a suspense and horror film rolled up into one.

5 very trendy and beautiful young professionals are featured in this film. Terri Kwan and Jason Chang are a couple and decide to get engaged and stay in Taiwan. Jason is the last heir to his families house. But his family has a dirty little secret. The family has in the past used ghost to gain fortune. However, the generation before, the cycle seemed to be broken and the fortune ended. And that's where the mystery and confusion start.

I liked the film in regards to its complicated storyline. This isn't your typical horror film as the cover suggest, but it builds up to the explanation of why things are happening and how to stop it. However, I was quite confused a number of times and had to re-watch a bunch of scenes to understand it completely. There were plot holes, but it didn't affect the over all story.

With this, Double Vision, and Silk, I believe the Taiwan horror suspense genre has curved out a very unique pattern. That it's more about the story and reveal than the slash and guts of things.

基因決定我愛你 - My DNA Says I Love You

I saw 基因決定我愛你 - My DNA Says I Love You a few months ago. I was a fan of Robin Lee's The Shoe Fairy and was anticipating this film.

DNA was quite weird, but was ultimately enjoyable. I think that the casting of Yu Nan was out of place as the other 3 stars were from Taiwan. You can tell the dialect difference right away (at least I could) along with the rest of the bit players.

The setting however was in China somewhere and not in Taiwan (at least from what I can tell).

The story follows 2 ladies and 2 gentlemen that look for love in different ways. The 2 ladies are co-workers and roommates. They work for a company that provides pills that modify behavior. A novel concept. Hijinx ensues and love is lost & found for both our female protagonist. The male counterparts almost seem like eye candy as the story is really centered around the 2 female leads.

It's an "art" film and really makes you work to understand it all. But its worth the mind trip and I have a lot of anticipation for future Robin Lee films.