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.

Full Contact - 俠盜高飛

Full Contact (俠盜高飛) is an 1992 film out of Hong Kong. The film stars Chow Yun-fat, Ann Bridgewater, Simon Yam, and Anthony Wong. This was one of Chow's last movies before heading out to the US in the 1990s. I watched this back in the 1990s in Mandarin dubbed, but recently in English dubbed. Directed by that era superstar, Ringo Lam.



Chow plays the a bouncer at local club in Malaysia. When his friend gets in trouble with a loan shark, Chow comes to the rescue but makes enemies with all of the underground. On the run, they hook up for a armed car robbery heist that goes wrong. Betrayed by one of his friends, he loses a couple of fingers and the love of his life. On the mend, Chow learns to do everything with his left hand and gets back into the game. However, his former best friend is now number two and with his girl. In the shadows, he starts to set in motion his revenge. The final showdown is pretty graphic and very much what made HK films so great from that era.

Chow plays a really really really bad ass. Someone that can fight and shoot a gun. So good, even when he loses fingers from his right hand, he learns with his left. The pace of the movie is hectic and character development is at a minimum, but its one of those guilty pleasure films. Every character here is over the top and you love it. I love it. Cheezy to the max and it makes no apologies. A must watch for fans of HK's silver era of films, the 1980s and early 1990s. A Ringo Lam film for the ages.

Echoes Of The Rainbow - 歲月神偷

Echoes Of The Rainbow (歲月神偷) is a 2010 film out of Hong Kong. The movie stars Simon Yam, Sandra Ng, and Aarif Lee. The movie is set in the 1960s while Hong Kong was still under British rule.

The Law family of little brother, older brother, father and mother live on Wing Lee Street with their grandmother and oldest uncle. Father Law is a cobbler and business starts to get rough and his short temper with demanding clients. Older brother is a successful student and athlete at an English school. Younger brother is a troublemaker and loves his brother dearly. The movie follow their lives from the narrative perspective of the younger brothers recollection from the 1970s.

The movie was quite heart-wrenching because you see the everyday struggles of people of that era try to make ends meet and to send their kids to school for a better life. Reminds me of my upbringing where my parents with no English come to the US in their late 30s and try to start over. I can't even fathom "starting over". Yet, that's what another generation did and had to do many times in their lives. Yet it was an hard watch because the younger brother was so annoying. Really annoying.

Vengeance - 復仇

Vengeance (復仇) is 2009 film out of Hong Kong. The movie stars Johnny Hallyday, Anthony Wong, Gordon Lam, Lam Suet and Simon Yam. The movie also features a supporting cast of Michelle Ye, Felix Wong and Maggie Siu. A large portion of the film was in English due to scenes with Hallyday.

A family of four is gunned down by hitmen as the movie starts. The wife is of French decent and her father comes to Hong Kong from Paris. The daughter asked her father, Francis, to take revenge. Francis start looking around Macau but doesn't get anywhere. Dejected, Francis head back to his hotel. On his way back, he bumps into 3 hitmen right after a job. Francis than looks for these 3 to help him find his killers. The three hitmen than methodically located the hitmen that gunned down the family. But there a twist to the story. Hitmen hold no grudge against their victims. Someone hired them and Francis is no after the one who hired the hitmen.

The movie plays at a very similiar pace a Exiled. However, due to Hallyday in the lead, the movie doesn't flow so well. Hallyday seemed very one dimensional and didn't express his feelings through his face. If you watch enough Hk films, the face is 90% of the acting most time. In this case, it was like 1% of the acting. The hitmen however were the interesting part of the film. You knew they were bad to the bone and could take on any comers. I would have rather seen a film focused on the hitmen than the father out for revenge.

Black Ransom - 撕票風雲

Black Ransom (撕票風雲) is a 2010 film out of Hong Kong. The movie stars Simon Yam and Michael Miu. The movie also features Liu Yang, Fala Chen, Qu Ying, Andy On, Kenny Wong, and Xing Yu.

The movie is about a cat and mouse chase between cops and kidnappers. In this movie, Michael Miu as Sam, is the mastermind behind the kidnappings. However, the people he kidnaps are mob bosses that do not get prosecuted. Simon Yam as Mann is a the leader of a group of misfit cops. Looked down upon for his old age, Mann is recruited by new police Madam Koo, played by Fala Chen. Mann is to help track down the kidnappers. You get a cat and mouse game after that.

This was a very good movie. Flawed in many areas, but still good enough to put those to the side. The movie does go back and forth in theory of good and bad. Does vigilante-ish merit the law to turn a blind eye? Does playing Robin Hood put you above the law?

Both Michael Miu and Simon Yam put on a performance for the ages. You can see the conflict in their eyes and you can see that really believe their side is the only way.

Bad Blood - 滅門

Bad Blood (滅門) is a 2010 film out of Hong Kong. I had written an upcoming post about this back in January. The movie features many people, but mainly stars Simon Yam, Bernice Liu, and Andy On.

The movie starts with a group of running Tung Luen Shun guys in China mainland dressed in delivery men uniforms called "RedEx". The guys giving chase are the good police officers of the mainland. The leader of the pack, Andy Lok is killed. We see Andy Lok get executed and Audrey Lok, played by Bernice Liu, watching from the audience. Back in Hong Kong, the leaders of the clan are together to settle who's the new leader. Funky, played by Simon Yam, is the unanimous winner. But to see the will, Jason Lok must be present, but the youngest of the 3 Lok children cannot get away from work in San Francisco. Calf, played by Andy On, visits a house and fights a mute girl and wins. We come to find out that this mute girl, named Dumby, was an orphan Calf takes in years ago and is secretly in love with Calf. Jason returns and the will splits Andy's assets between the siblings. Almost immediately after, all the main bosses who voted for Funky get whacked. Who is behind the assassinations. Who's behind the master plan to rule the clan?

The movie was pretty insane. The fighting was really only an afterthought to the plot points. Lots and lots of "huh?" moments. It also includes Simon yam in a Yellow trenchcoat and Bernice Liu in a multi-colored jumpsuit!

Worth a watch for a different spin on "getting to the top". And its a Dennis Law movie. That's usually worth a watch.

The Storm Warriors - 風雲II - 風雲2

The Storm Warriors (風雲II/風雲2) is 2009 film out of Hong Kong. The movie stars Aaron Kwok and Ekin Cheng. The supporting cast include Simon Yam, Charlene Choi, Nicholas Tse, Tiffany Tang Yan, and Kenny Ho. The movie is a sequel to the 1998 film, Storm Riders.

The movie starts with the capture of Nameless, Storm, and many other jiang hu warriors. They are captured by Lord Godless and his son, Heart. However, many of them do make an escape. Lord Godless has also been given all power by the emperor. Nameless and Lord Godless have a intense fight, but Nameless is fighting hurt and cannot defeat Godless. They all escape and Godless's men start to look for them. Wind, who was not captured, comes and aids in their escape.

After they escaped, Storm and Wind are given instructions by Nameless to seek out Lord Wicked for help. Once there, Wind is chosen by Lord Wicked to become one with a wicked demon power. Storm is than trained by Nameless.

Once Storm and Wind are trained in their arts, they go after Lord Godless and defeat him. But Wind's no longer himself, but possessed by the wicked demon eye. Storm and Wind than go at it. They fight to a standstill, but the cliff around them crumbles and Storm finally cuts the demon eye to restore Wind. But Storm falls to his demise off the cliff.



How can the sequel match the original, produced more than ten years after the original, to live up to the hype? You can't, so you just go with the flow. The movie starts off in a confusing place. How did Lord Godless capture all these heroes? Why did they escape so easily? But to the credit of the movie, it says, "forget the story, bring on the fighting". The movie is seriously 75% fighting. Swordplay fantasy fighting. CGI, slow mo, "chi" all thrown in there for good measure.

What should you expect, you should expect a film that says "to hell with character development" and say yes to "computer style fighting". This is not your Jet Li style wuxia film, but a 2009 CGI extravaganza.

I never did read the comics so I am not all that familiar with all the characters of the story, but if you watched Storm Rider: Clash of Evils (風雲決), some of the plot points are also used from there.

Exiled - 放逐

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.

The Mission - 鎗火

The Mission (鎗火) is a 1999 film out of Hong Kong. The movie stars Anthony Wong, Francis Ng, Jackie Lui, Lam Suet, Roy Cheung, and Simon Yam. The film was produced and directed by Johnny To.

5 of these guys are the guards for a triad boss. They take their jobs very seriously. You see a lot of different scenarios where they protect their boss and work as a fluid team. Stylist gun play and unique scenarios make the action amped up and never a let down.

The movie has been very highly regarded by many HK cinema enthusiast. However, I didn't like the film that much in 1999 and when I re-watched it a few weeks ago. The cats are totally too cool for their suits, but I didn't get the "wow" feeling after it ended. In fact, I was wondering when the movie would end.

But the movie is still very good. Johnny To goes on to make a lot more movies that are even more stylish than this.

PTU

PTU is 2003 film out of Hong Kong. The movie stars Simon Yam and Maggie Siu.

The movie follows two PTU groups during the events of one night. One group is lead by Simon Yam and other is Maggie Siu. Apparently, theirs a little bit of a competition between the two groups. It follows them into a gun fight and the resolution. The action is intense and the stress level is really high.

Johnny To's ode to how police use "special" means to get information from the guys on the street. The movie also deals with the relationship of the street foot soliders and the officers that sit behind a desk passing down orders.

A must watch for any HK film fan. Don't miss this. I need to get the Dragon Dynasty version to check out the extras.

Bad Blood - 滅門 - Upcoming

Bad Blood (滅門) is being released in Hong Kong on January 21. I don't normally do upcoming posts for HK films, but the trailer for this film looks insane. The Chinese title loosely translates to "clan extinction", which could mean "Bad Blood".

Check out the crazy trailer and visit the site while its still up. From the trailer and interviews. The action is going to be crazy. Looking forward to this.

SPL (Sha Po Lang) - Kill Zone - 殺破狼

SPL (Sha Po Lang)/Kill Zone (殺破狼) is a 2005 film out of Hong Kong. The movie stars Donnie Yen, Sammo Hung, Simon Yam, and Wu Jing (Jacky Wu).

The movie is about the cops versus a well oiled organized crime syndicate. On the cops side stands, Donnie Yen as Ma and Simon Yam as Chan. Sammo Hung as Po is the head of the syndicate and Jacky Wu as Jack is an assassin.

The movie does some background on the day and life of the people involved, but for the most part, its heavy on the action. The police are trying to break the grip of Po's syndicate. A certian saying that law and order is only valid until midnight. At midnight, the night belongs to the syndicate.

The action was a turn into more of a gritty and reality based fighting. Grappling was introduced. The knife and baton fight between Donnie and Jacky was excellent.

A must see for you Donnie Yen fans. A must see for you HK action freaks.

Election 2 - Triad Election - 黑社會以和為貴

Election 2/Triad Election (黑社會以和為貴) is a 2006 film out of Hong Kong. The movie stars Louis Koo, Simon Yam, Nick Cheung, and Gordon Lam.

The movie is a sequel to the first Election movie. Hold overs are Louis Koo, Simon Yam, and Nick Cheung. Gordon Lam joins the group.

The movie is set 2 years after the first movie as the next election is coming up again. Simon Yam as Lok has had a very successful 2 year run. However, tradition says that a new head must be elected each time. Now that Lok as had the taste as the head, he wants to stay the head. Gordan Lam as Kin and Nick Cheung as Jet are not in the running. Louis Koo as Jimmy is not interested in the seat and would rather make money, working with the mainlanders.

Many outside factors start to get introduced and things are not what they seem. A long extended storyline takes place to find and retrieve, the leong toe, the head of a staff.

This was actually even more violent than the first movie with even more twist. It is a surprise that a number 3 wasn't made as trilogies are very popular.

In order to know the background on some of the politics, you will need to watch the first one.

Election - 黑社會

Election (黑社會) is a 2005 film out of Hong Kong. The movie stars Simon Yam, Tony Leung, Louis Koo, and Nick Cheung.

The movie is about the Wo Sing triad's election of a new head person. The head person is not a dictator, but a representative. But with it is a lot of prestige and the promise of a legacy. Let the politics of the triad play out on the screen.

Simon Yam plays Lok, a boss that is cool and collected and doesn't show much emotion. On the other end of the spectrum is Tony Leung as Big D. Big D is loud and hot tempered. Big D is one of those prototypical triad bosses. Nicky Cheung and Louis Koo play up and coming bosses that help each respective boss.

The movie is dark and violent. It is not for the faint of heart as the violence is very real and bloody.

Behind it all is this looming sense that things will work out, even with all the chaos.

In all, for 2005, it was a great film. 2005 wasn't a stellar year for HK movies and election was hope that there are still good movies being produced out of HK that was made for HK fans. But could go international as well.

Exodus - 出埃及記

Exodus (出埃及記) is a 2007 out of Hong Kong. It stars Simon Yam, Annie Liu, Nick Cheung, and Irene Wan.

Simon Yam is a police officer and takes the statement of Nick Cheung. But something happened, Nick's statement was lost and they had to redo the statement. The second time around, the statement was not an explanation, but a confession of crime. Yam is now out for justice. But the investigation is about a group of women that kill men, any men. As long as you're a dude, you got a chance to get offed by this group of women. Lots of mystery.

The movie was really slow for the first hour. I was still wondering, what is the point?! When it got to the point, I remember reading about this premise a few years back. It came together, but the pay off wasn't worth the wait. I have mixed feeling about this film. If you know the premise before, I think you're still going to wonder what's going on for the first hour.

I couldn't find the trailer as the Chinese and English names are so common. I gave up after the 3rd page.

Ocean Flame - 一半海水,一半火焰

Ocean Flame (一半海水,一半火焰) is a 2008 film out of Hong Kong. The movie stars Liao Fan, Mo Xiao Qi, and Hai Yi Tian. Supporting roles include Simon Yam and Lam Suet. It is the second movie of Liu Fen Dou.

The movie is about a group of con artists. Li Chuan is a normal working girl. The leader of the con artists starts a relationship with Li Chuan. Li Chuan starts her descent into a destructive relationship and even more destructive life style.

The movie's characters have this unspoken code and set of rules. They don't reveal much about it, but you start to assume what they are. For this pack, they can only trust themselves and the people that are in their line of work.

So, what do you make of this? No one really has any redeeming characteristics. You don't care for any of the con artists. You can only guess what will happen to the 2 lead protagonists. One also doubles as the antagonist as the movie progresses. It is a bizarre mixture.

It leaves you wondering if you are suppose to accept their lifestyle or appall it. It is artsy in its storytelling and film making style. What do you make of it?

The combination of characters on a destructive path, a story that preludes tragedy and rather unsatisfying ending tells me that I should have skipped it.

The don't like the mixture of Mandarin and Cantonese in the movie. As I could only guess what the Canto was as I don't understand it.

Triangle - 鐵三角

Triangle (鐵三角) is a 2007 film out of Hong Kong. It stars Simon Yam, Louis Koo, Sun Hong Lei, Kelly Lin, and Gordon Lam.

The story revolves 3 men that are in serious need for money. Simon Yam plays Sam, who's a business man that's run out of money. Louis Koo plays Fei who seems to be in debt to seemingly everyone. Sun Hong Lei plays Mok, an antique shop owner who doesn't do good business. All three men need money, and need it bad. Gordan Lam plays Wen, a bad cop. Kelly Lin plays Ling, the wife of Sam. Ling and Wen are engaged in an affair. Ling becomes pregnant by Wen. Wen than seeks to get Sam out of the picture. Wen enlist Fei. Fei knows Sam. Sam knows Mok. Lots of tangled relationships.



The movie is intense and had a different feel as it progressed. I only realized that they had 3 directors after I watched the film. That explains the change in pace and style.

In all, it was a good watch and required a lot of thinking to keep everything straight. Some parts were movie magic at its very best. How does everyone from the movie end up in the same desolate location at the end of the film?

The last part also presents a type of "and the moral of the story is..." type ending. Which I thought was out there.

Sparrow - 文雀

Sparrow (文雀) is 2008 film out of Hong Kong. The movie stars Simon Yam, Kelly Lin, and Gordon Lam.

The movie is about a group of 4 pick pockets working in Hong Kong. Simon Yam is the leader of this group. The film begins with a "day in the life" sort of preview of these 4 guys. Enter Kelly Lin. Kelly Lin is from the mainland and currently in a relationship with an wealthy old guy. It's never explicate that they are married. But this old guy has her passport and has his men watch her 24/7. Kelly Lin approaches these 4 guys to help her steal her passport back so she can go back to the mainland.

The movie runs a little like a caper movie with a few twist here and there. One thing I liked about this film is its heavy use of old colonial style buildings. It's as if Johnny To wanted to transfer you to the early 1900s. The backdrops contain the modern high rises, but the people live in the old style buildings.

The movie was quite slow and had me thinking the whole time. I don't think it did well at the box office in HK.

It is not your typical Johnny To film, so be prepared.

Eye In The Sky - 跟蹤

Eye In The Sky (跟蹤) is a 2007 film out of Hong Kong. The movie stars Simon Yam, Tony Leung, and Kate Tsui.

The film is about a division of the HK police force that does surveillance. Simon and Kate are on the police surveillance team. Tony is part of the bad guys. The chase is on to get Tony in the act. Surveillance cops are taught to observe anything and everything. Also to not get noticed.

The movie was awesome because it presented a division of the HK police force that always gets overlooked in other movies. It was a thriller and kept me on my toes the whole way through.

I highly recommend this.

Ip Man - 葉問

Ip Man (葉問) is a 2008 film starring Donnie Yen, Simon Yam, Lin Xiong Dai, Hiroyuki Ikeuchi, and Lam Ka-Tung.

Ip Man is a movie about the Ip Man's life in China around the time before and during Foshan's Japanese occupation of the Second Sino-Japanese War. The movie starts with a tranquil Foshan. Where people are well off and study martial arts as a hobby. Ip Man, played by Donnie Yen, has a son and wife and seem well to do. Ip Man does not have a job and trains in martial arts as a hobby. Apparently, everyone in Foshan recognizes him as the best fighter. I see this when some thugs burst into town and beat up all the heads of the martial art schools. Its up to Ip Man to show these thugs the exit. The movie than moves to the Japanese occupation and just how bad it is there. Ip Man and Wife are kicked out of their nice home and forced to pawn all belongings just for rice. Ip Man finally has to get a job and falls into a underground tournament set up by the commanding General. Ip Man eventually beats everyone and heads off to Hong Kong.

If you read the history of Ip Man and than watch this film, you'll know that its pretty much just using Ip Man, Foshan, and Wing Chun. Because, the movie and the facts don't jive. Putting that aside, the movie is half action and half drama. When the fighting is on, its on. Its crushing, has nice editing and is on point. When the drama is on, its to lead up to the fighting. You put those together and you've got a fighting movie that's entertaining and emotional.

It's a well made film and the English subtitles came in handy when they used paragraphs to advance the story and when there was Japanese dialogue.