明天記得愛上我 (Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?) was released this weekend in Taipei. The film is by Arvin Chen, the director of Au Revoir Taipei, a romantic charmer from a few years back. Arvin was raised in the US and has been running around Taipei for the last few years. I would like to do that myself!
The film is fronted by Mavis Fan and Richie Ren. Go see it Taipei, Taiwan!
Exiled (放逐) is a 2006 film out of Hong Kong. The movie stars Anthony Wong, Nick Cheung, Francis Ng, Roy Cheung, and Lam Suet. The supporting cast include Simon Yam, Josie Ho, and Richie Ren. The film was written and produced by Johnny To. Exiled has a limited relation the 1999 Johnny To film, The Mission.
The movie is primarily based in Macau. 5 childhood friends who grow up into gangsters congregate at the house of one that's left the triads. 2 are there to save the guy and 2 are there to take him out. But emotions run thick as the 5 are very close. In the end, the former gangster dies and the 4 remaining guys set out for revenge in the most unique of ways.
The final gun fight is one for the ages and the ones scattered throughout the film are very nice too. It reminds me of the gun play movies of John Woo when he was a HK movie machine.
A very slow movie when the action is on pause, but very intense. If you're a Johnny To fan, this is a must see.
Elixir of Love (花好月圓) is a 2004 film out of Hong Kong. The movie stars Richie Ren and Miriam Yeung.
Miriam Yeung plays the only daughter of the Emperor, Heung. But Heung was born with a rare disease, she stinks all the time. Heung is now at an age of marriage, the Emperor challenges the citizens. Whoever can cure the Princess of her odor can marry her. Richie Ren plays Shum, a laborer with an extreme love for flowers and fragrances. Shum enters the contest and makes it to the final two. He has 3 months to come up with a winning solution. Shum retreats back to his village and starts to experiment with different cures. Shum befriends a group of fish mongers and experiments with them. Among these fish mongers is Princess Heung in disguise. Shum and Heung eventually become close and may be falling for each other. Who will Shum choose, the princess in the palace or the stinky fish monger that's in front of him.
The movie was right up Richie Ren's ally in the 1999-2005 era of romantic comedies. My wife is a fan of Richie's music and subsequently his movies. But by 2004, she wasn't watching much anymore. The movie has a predictable formula. I'll be honest, it crept up my netflix and it came. I wasn't ready for it, but it was enjoyable for the most part. Maybe if I watched in 2004, it would have been better.
I wasn't able to find a trailer, just a MV on YouTube.
Accident (意外) is a 2009 film out of Hong Kong. The film stars Louis Koo and Richie Ren. The film also features the supporting cast of Michelle Ye and Monica Mok.
The movie is about a group of 4 accident artist. They make their living staging deaths. They stage them so they look like accidents. Louis Koo plays Brian, the head of the group. Brian is an OCD type and very meticulous. But he thinks "people" are out to get him. Brian's group takes on a case where a son is looking to stage the death of his elderly father. On the same night of the staged death, one of the group members is accidentally killed. To add to the dilemma, Brian's flat is broken into. After this, we see Brian go into a stage of paranoia.
The movie was pretty good. I liked the exploration of the "accident" assassins. The movie was rather slow paced and the story did unfold at a snails pace. But it was for a reason. Another well made film from the Milkyway group.
Storm Rider: Clash of Evils (風雲決) is a 2008 film out of Hong Kong. This film is a animated film. The two main voices are Richie Ren and Nicolas Tse.
The movie starts with Wind and Cloud on the top of a building planning how they will defeat their master and the one responsible for the death of their families. Cloud is going to engage the blood of the fire beast. With that power, Cloud could go crazy and unleash evil on the world. Cloud tells Wind that he should kill him if that became the case. During the battle with their master, Cloud is overtaken by evil after he kills his master. Wind gives chase to kill him. Instead, Wind is seen falling to his death.
Cloud temporarily has the evil suppressed. Saddened by Winds death, he drinks himself to sleep. Wind however survives the fall and is saved by a group of thieves. But when Wind wakes up, he doesn't remember his name or his past.
Eventually, Wind and Cloud do meet and they fight each other.
A sub story to his is Jue, who wants their evil blood to to resurrect his sword and to take revenge.
The Movie was pretty entertaining. I believe the animation was done in Hong Kong and its pretty decent.
The Sniper (神鎗手) is s 2009 film out of Hong Kong. The movie stars Richie Ren, Edison Chen, and Huang Xiaoming. The movie is about a Hong Kong police sniper team.
Richie Ren as Hartman is the captain and top shooter of the sniper team of the Hong Kong police department. Edison Chen as OJ is a new recruit to the marksmen squad and is out to be the top shooter. Huang Xiaoming as Lincoln is the villain and is out for revenge.
Hartman bumps into OJ during a sting and is impressed with OJ. OJ is invited to the sniper team and immediately excels and becomes the top of the class. Hartman is the captain and top shooter of the group. Lincoln is a former member of the group but made a mistake that landed him prison for 4 years. Now that he's out, Lincoln is set on revenge. Taking revenge on those that him deems caused his downfall.
Its an exciting film and the main storyline revolves around Hartman and Lincoln. OJ's part is quite minimized. I'll guess that the movie would have included more OJ back story if there wasn't a Edison photo scandal. This movie was set for a May 2008 release, but sent to 2009.
The New Adventures of Chor Lau Heung (新楚留香) is 2001 wuxia series. I think its a joint TVB and CTS production, but the majority of the cast is from Hong Kong. The series stars Richie Ren as Chu Liu Xiang. There very few characters that show up in all the story arcs. But among the supporting cast are Ruby Lin, Gigi Lai, Anita Yuen, Kristy Yang, and Dicky Cheung.
The version I watched was 40 episodes long and had 4 main story arcs. Most of the story arcs run 10 episodes and there's a clear change of direction with the 3rd and 4th story arcs.
The first story arc introduces us Chu Liu Xiang as an expert thief. Nothing is untouchable for this guy. Including the hearts of women! When he is taught 小李飛刀 to go along with his expert thief skills. This now makes him a very formidable opponent. It is also during this arc that we are introduced to Ruby Lin, Gigi Lai, and Anita Yuen. However, Chu Liu Xiang and Anita Yuen's character, Xi Hu, have a forbidden love. Xi Hu eventually makes the ultimate sacrafice for Chu Liu Xiang.
The second story arc goes for all out action as Chu Liu Xiang's nemesis is revealed and he must stop him. Chu Liu Xiang and Gigi's character, Rong Rong, get serious. But it is not meant to be as their worlds collide, but is ultimately split apart.
The third story arc goes to the desert and is the strangest by far. Ruby Lin, Sing Er, and Chu Liu Xiang were getting along fine and headed for love. But Sing Er loses her memory and is tricked into loving another person. This splits them up and ends a very strange affair.
The final story arc ends the series and a storyline that's been hinted at since the second story arc. In this arc, almost all the characters are new. The shadow warriors that haunted Chu Liu Xiang in the 2nd and 3rd story arc are revealed. A new love interest played by Kristy Yang is introduced. Can Chu Liu Xiang make it out alive?
This ranks as one of my favorite wuxia series because it had so many characters. Unlike the 2007 version, the characters were only around for 8-10 episodes. The only constant was Richie as Chu Liu Xiang. The fighting was descent and the mythos were right on target. There was love, mystery and everything that made Chu Liu Xiang what he is! I loved Ti Lung as Chu Liu Xiang in the Shaw Bros films of the 70s. Adam Cheng and Michael Miu's Chu Liu Xiang from early TVB are classics. Richie isn't going to go down as a classic, but he was serviceable as Chu Liu Xiang.
If you like wuxia that has a lot of mystery and revolving door of love interest, this is a series for you!
