鬼吹灯之寻龙诀 - 鬼吹燈之尋龍訣 - 尋龍訣 - Mojin: The Lost Legend

鬼吹灯之寻龙诀/鬼吹燈之尋龍訣/尋龍訣 (Mojin: The Lost Legend) is an 2015 film out of Zhong Guo. The movie stars Chen Kun, Huang Bo, and Shu Qi. The supporting cast includes Angelababy, Xia Yu, and Liu Xiaoqing. The movie has done really well at the box office, current sitting as the third highest grossing domestic film.

Mojin are special tomb raiders. In the 1980s, a trio of Mojin enter a tomb, but are unsuccessful. The most skilled in the group sees a vision and decides to retire. Retiring to New York on an expired visa, they make ends meet hustling antiques. When a cult sect seeks their skills to enter a secret tomb, they are compelled to joined by force. As they get into the tomb, its trap after trap they must figure out as well as deal with the cult sect.



I can see why this was a very popular film. It copies the formula of Raiders Of The Lost Ark. You get mystery, intrigue and treasure hunting. The film is well made and the production value is high. However, the special effects in Asia still have some catching up. I caught this in the theatres as the new year came.

What I don't get is the use of white guys in the film that speak Mandarin. I think there is still a novelty factor with "white" people that will be hard to displace in this generation or even the next few or ever.

火锅英雄 - Chongqing Hot Pot

火锅英雄 (Chongqing Hot Pot) is an 2016 film out of Zhong Guo. The movie stars Chen Kun and Bai Baihe. The supporting cast include Qin Hao and Yu Entai. The film is directed by Yang Qing, who's debut film One Night In Supermarket was very entertaining. This time around, we have a heist movie based in Chong Qing.




The movie starts with a quartet of bank robbers that are about to get away, but their get away driver is noticed by the police and scrams. Leaving the quartet stranded, the robbers start to search for another way out. When the guy in the "monkey" face mask finds a whole in the safe, we're led onto another story. It is the story of Liu Bo and his two friends that open up a Hot Pot restaurant in order to unload it on a buyer, but it is a fake restaurant. Liu is a ma jong gambling addict that is in debt to loan sharks and has to take care of his 80 plus year old grandfather. When the trio finds the hole to the safe a few days earlier, they decide not to take it for fear of it being traced back to them, but the temptation is too much. The story unfolds as the money is too much temptation for all those involved.




This was an awesome movie. Yang Qing's style is pretty awesome and hearing the Chongqing accent was pretty fun too. I could make out half of what they were saying, but had to resort to subtitles for the other half. The story was a jigsaw puzzle waiting to be finished. You got hooked in by the bank robbers at the beginning of the film and you were reeled in waiting for things to connect.



Bai Baihe is in a fair amount of movies. Seems that I see her in 2-3 films a year lately. In this film , she is radiant and her presence really made you feel an emotional connection to the story. We see her role in the heist unfold to our delight. Bai is not front and center in this film, but when she is, she lights up the screen.



I don't know if this is the film to introduce Zhong Guo cinema to your friends, but its definitely got style, a great story, lots good looking leads, and plots twist galore. Go watch it and enjoy the ride.

The Flying Swords of Dragon Gate - 龍門飛甲

The Flying Swords of Dragon Gate (龍門飛甲) is an 2011 film out of Zhong Guo and Hong Kong. The movie stars Jet Li and Zhou Xun. The supporting cast include Chen Kun, Li Yuchun, Kwai Lun-mei, Louis Fan, and Mavis Fan. The movie is the "sequel" to the 1992 film New Dragon Gate Inn staring Tony Leung Ka-fai, Brigitte Lin, Maggie Cheung, and Donnie Yen. The movie is one of the first wuxia films in 3D.

Jet Li plays Zhou, the rebel that is causing trouble for the Ming Dynasty in the desert regions. Zhou Xun plays Ling, a wanderer in search of Zhou. The government is on the hunt for a boy and Ling saves him and leads them to the location of the Dragon Inn. The Ming soliders get there and the desert holigans are also there. All wanting a piece of the action. Zhou and Ling also make it there to bring some spice to the party.

The movie is a sequel to the 1992 version as Jet Li plays the main guy. The eunuch is now replaced by a version by Chen Kun. The movie is pretty slick in its effects and it's got a very complicated story, like the 1992 version. The two versions can and should not be compared. Why should you compare them? Tsui Hark is the reason. Why should you not. The movies are roughly 20 years apart and mainly a Zhong Guo production. You just don't have that HK silver era feel in this movie. The effects are different and the story is quite different.

I liked the movie for its bigger is better attitude. I like the fighting too. Very slick. The story on the other hand was weak and hard to follow. I think from an international level, the story is too convoluted to follow. However, a must watch for wuxia fans. A must watch for Jet Li fans.

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.