劍雨 - Reign Of Assassins

劍雨 (Reign Of Assassins) is a 2010 film. The film is a joint production of companies from China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. The film stars Michelle Yeoh and Jung Woo-sung. The supporting cast include Wang Xueqi, Barbie Hsu, Shawn Yue, Leon Dai, Kelly Lin, and Pace Wu. The movie is directed by Su Chao-pin. Parts of the movie were co-directed by John Woo.



The Cast
Michelle Yeoh as Zeng Ching
Jung Woo-sung as Jiang Ah-sheng
Wang Xueqi as The Wheel King
Barbie Hsu as Zhan Qiang
Shawn Yue as Lei Bin
Leon Dai as The Magician
Pace Wu as Kongdong Blue Sword
Kelly Lin as Drizzle
Chin Shih-Chieh as Doctor Li
Calvin Li as Wisdom
Angeles Woo - Eater Bear (John Woo's Daughter)
Jiang Yiyan - Lei Bin's Wife



The Story
A monk from India masters the highest level of martial arts. His remains are cut in half and a prized possession. If you have his body, you can also learn the highest forms of martial arts. Because of this, theres a scramble to get it whenever a rumor is confirmed. The Dark Stone gang is a group of assassins that blackmail people with power. When the upper half the monk's body appears, they go after it. In the heat of the battle, Drizzle of the Dark Stone gang takes off with the remains and disappears. Drizzle meets up with a soon to be monk in Wisdom. Wisdom tries to calm the evil in Drizzle and shows her flaws in her technique. However, Drizzle falls for Wisdom and kills him. Devastated, Drizzle gets a face lift and is now Zeng Ching, a fabrics merchant. Zeng eventually marries again to a absent minded foot guy named Ah Sheng. However, peace doesn't last long as the Zeng is found and forced to deal with the past she wants to leave behind.



My Thoughts
This was a amazing wuxia swordplay film. It contained all the elements that I crave. A mystery, martial arts that impress. A strong cast of characters to flank the main characters. Character development is exposed in fragments for the bit players, but mainly reserved for the main stars.



The movie featured plenty of characters. According to Michelle Yeoh's website film page, there could have been more characters, but it does not seem like there was enough time to explore them all. Here's to hoping that this develops into a wuxia drama in the future.

Pace Wu makes only a very brief appearance but her beauty stole the show during that time. Pace also ditches the makeup, but still looked amazing.

I was a little afraid that it couldn't live up to the hype, but it was a great film. I do have problems with the casting, but that can't be helped if you follow the $$.

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.

Hard Boiled - 槍神 (辣手神探)

Hard Boiled (槍神/辣手神探) is a 1992 film out of Hong Kong. Directed by John Woo and starring Chow Yun-Fat and Tony Leung. This would be John Woo's last Hong Kong film until he returned to Asia for Red Cliff.

This movie changed my life. Back in the summer of 1992, I was working full time and carrying a full load of courses at a local community college. I was just starting to re-acquaint myself with my Chinese Taiwanese background. I wasn't too sure about Chinese movies and series. But when I watched Hard Boiled, I was blown away and wanted to dive into Chinese entertainment. Which lead me to Faye Wong and 4 Four Heavenly Kings (四大天王) of hk in the 90s.



Chow plays a "break all the rules" kind of cop thats out to take down any bad guy. Tony plays a undercover cop that's in too deep. The two eventually meet eye to eye to take down a triad boss. The bullets fly everywhere but on Chow and Tony. The body count is high and some HK humor is thrown in with a peeing baby Chow is trying to save.



There is no possible reason for you not to watch this. Yes, it is extremely violent. It is in a sense like a video game as bodies fall left and right. But this is HK cinema at its epitome and 2 of the best HK actors in their prime. With Woo at his best.

Since I am watching this 18 years after its release, there are lots of people in "extra" roles that are still in the HK film industry. The music is a bit outdated, but that's what happens to movies as they age. I watched the mandarin dubbed version. I need to rent the Dragon Dynasty release one to see the extras.

I had originally watched the Taiwan version with the title, 槍神. For many years after that, I tried to buy it via VHS, VCD, or DVD with no luck. I couldn't find it. Once I found out that the HK name was 辣手神探, people started to know what I was talking about. Names do matter.

This is the first review of a film I've listed in my favorite movies post.

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.

Hand of Death - 少林門

Hand of Death (少林門) is a 1976 movie directed by John Woo.

The movie does not star Jackie Chan or Sammo Hung. Jackie is part of the ensemble cast on the "good guys" side and Sammo Hung is part of the ensemble cast of "bad guys". John Woo makes a cameo in the film as well.

I would skip it.

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.