Casino Raiders - 至尊無上

Casino Raiders (至尊無上) is an 1989 film out of Hong Kong. The movie stars Andy Lau and Alan Tam. The supporting cast include Idy Chan and Rosamund Kwan. The movie was based in both Hong Kong and the US of A. The movie may have played well in 1989 when it came out, but in todays age. It seems a bit of cheese.

Andy and Alan are top casino experts. They are invited to the states, Nevada maybe, to help a old friend that's in charge of security. They help their friend figure out. Tam goes straight and Lau gets in trouble. The two go in very different life paths. Tam climbs the ladder while Lau grinds it out. When Lau pleads for Tam's help one more time, all hell breaks loose.

This was very typical HK flare for that era as it took many genres of bro-hood. Gambling movies were still rare at the time, but the movie's focus wasn't gambling but the bromance between Tam and Lau. Tam was in the twilight of his monster fame while Lau was on the way up. In the end, the cheezy acting, bromance, and low quality filmmaking prevent me from recommending this film.

If you're a Lau fan from his gangster days, you'll like this. He's trying to be cooler than cool. Like ice cold.

Firestorm - 風暴

風暴 (Firestorm) is an 2013 film out of Hong Kong. The movie stars Andy Lau. The supporting cast include Gordon Lam, Yao Chen, and Hu Jun. The movie takes place in Hong Kong and reach number in the local film markets of Hong Kong, Zhong Guo, and Taiwan.

Andy Lau plays a lead officer of the police department, Lui. Lui is trying to nail a group of criminals hitting security trucks. When Lui's team engages a team in mid-robbery, there's a standstill that takes the life of an hostage. The police seem to know some of the parties but they don't cooperate and the police have no evidence to make arrest. While the way, Lui goes after those that can and enlist the help of a friend in the black trade business. Situation after situation, Lui has to adjust to the criminal activity.



I can see why this film was so well liked. There were many cheezy film special effects, but I understand this is HK and not Hollywood quality. I also know the style of going more realistic since "Breaking News". Which this movie really reminded me of. The acting was semi-over the top, but still good enough to bring along the movie.



Surprised I was able to see in only 4 weeks after its release. But there are many more from December that haven't made it to LA yet.

Cold War - 寒戰

Cold War (寒戰) is an 2012 film out of Hong Kong. The movie stars Aaron Kwok and Tony Leung. The supporting cast include Charlie Young, Gordon Lam, Chin Kar-lok, Aarif Rahman, Eddie Peng, Andy On, Terence Yin, Grace Huang, J.J. Jia, Byron Mann, and Michael Wong. Andy Lau makes a brief cameo appearance. The movie was will received both domestically and internationally.



A HK PTU team is kidnapped and the asking ransom is 1/3 of the calculations of the police group budget. When the money is taken from the national vault, only 1/3 is taken to the drop off point, the other 2/3 is shipped back. But because the police were in the middle of a sting, the 2/3 movie shipment back was not well guarded and hijacked. The police now have to deal with a kidnapped PTU team where a team member was killed to make an example. Now, they have to figure out who stole the money. With so much at stake, the internal actions of the police are highly scrutinized and subject to internal review. The movie resolves around the power struggle within the force and those that carried out the kidnapping and hijacking.



The movie was a well made machine. Great cast, complex story, engaging internal struggle, and a wild twist at the end. The movie is one for the ages. This is the type of film you want to introduce HK films to your friends, especially if they do not like Wuxia. Although the main cast is from the old school, the ensemble cast includes a lot of whom may be among the next generation of HK stars.

Saviour of the Soul - 九一神鵰俠侶

Saviour of the Soul (九一神鵰俠侶) is an 1991 film out of Hong Kong. The movie stars Andy Lau and Anita Mui. The supporting cast include Aaron Kwok, Gloria Yip, Kenny Bee, and Carina Lau. The title of the film is translated to 91 The Return of the Condor Heroes.

Silver Fox breaks his master out of prison. But there clan doesn't accept failure. Thus Silver Fox is forced to kill his master. In order to take revenge, he seeks the person that prevented his master from succeeding, May. May is a bounty hunter in a group. Ching is May's partner from their younger years. Siu Chuen is a recent addition to the group. Siu sacrifices himself to save May during a brutal attack from Silver Fox. May wants to protect her loves one and goes into seclusion. However, Silver Fox and Ching both wait a year before they see May again.

This movie was early 1990s goodness all rolled up into one. Cheezy acting and style, a la the crazy trench coats. The crazy kung fu magic of the clans. The modern take on The Return of the Condor Heroes. I love it. But I am from that era and learned to love HK film during that time. The craziness of HK films was so different than the American films of that era.

The story itself is based on one of the more famous story arcs of The Return of the Condor Heroes. GuGu and Yang Guo are separated for ten years and crazy things happen to them both. Although some elements were swapped, it was in essential the story arc made into a film, with a modern spin.

I recently rented this via Netflix.

Fulltime Killer - 全職殺手

Fulltime Killer (全職殺手) is an 2001 film out of Hong Kong. The movie stars Andy Lau, Takashi Sorimachi, and Kelly Lin. The supporting cast include Cherrie Ying, Lam Suet, and Simon Yam.



Tok is a very flamboyant assassin that likes to put on a show while he's taking out his targets. O is the top assassin in all of Asia and does things efficiently. When Tok sets his sights on becoming the number one assassin in all of Asia, he starts to infiltrate O's life. Tok looks to Chin, a Taiwanese transplant in Hong Kong who knows Japanese very well. When Tok and Chin get more serious, O starts to react. At the end, they must decide who's the number one assassin in all the land.

This movie was a breathe of fresh air when I first saw it back in 2002. I hadn't seen it right after it's released in 2001, but in 2002 while I was catching up. At that point, the catching was really sad due to overall quality of HK cinema taking a dive. There were gems of the lot, but the majority was mediocre to bad. Fulltime Killer stood out among the rest for its premise, pretty awesome acting from Andy, and great style. Andy was already an HK box office star, but his proved it during a dark time in HK cinema. He carried films all by himself. Fulltime Killer was among one of them.

The way the story ran also gave us great stories to follow as there was interpol chasing O across Thailand, to Japan, and finally to Hong Kong. There was a fair amount of English in the film. Basically letting Kelly Lin and Cherry Ying do their thing having both come from the US of A. Kelly after UCI and Cherry straight after High School.

I have this as one of my top 10 films of the aughts/two thousands. I recently rented it from Netflix again. It was all that and more. You should make it part of your Hong Kong movie viewing pleasure.

A Simple Life - 桃姐

A Simple Life (桃姐) is an 2012 film out of Hong Kong. The movie stars Andy Lau and Deanie Ip. The movie was based on true life events of the screenwriter, Roger Lee.

Deanie Ip plays Sister Tao or Ah Tao. Ah Tao has been a "maid" of the Leung family, based in Hong Kong, since she was 13. And 60 years later, she is still the family "maid". The Leung family have all but migrated away from Hong Kong. The lone leftover, Roger, has come back to Hong Kong after an 10 absence. The movie starts with the daily life of Roger as an film producer. After a trip back from Beijing, he sees that no one is on the window. Ah Tao usually waits at the window for Roger to come back. Ah Tao has just suffered an stoke and is moved to a elderly nursing home. We see her life from recovery to a relapse. Along the way, Roger becomes her god-son and takes care of her, a little like how Ah Tao took care of the Leung family members through the years. The story than follows Roger taking care of Ah Tao, Ah Tao's life in the nursing home, the Leung family in its current state.



The movie is well made and very simliar to The Way We Are. It is very much based on life in Hong Kong. It shows the "way it use to be" and the transformation of Hong Kong as well. When you follow this storyline, there's both a sense of tenderness and sadness. You see that relationships are based on reciprocity, action, and ultimately time spent together. Roger does not just throw Ah Tao into a nursing home for her to rotting away, like we see happening to the others around her. But Roger spends time with her and cares for her. As I see my aging family members, I hope I will be just as or more loving.

It is well deserving of all the awards its won. The Asian awards market is nothing like the Oscars, it really does judge the best of the best, because the market is so small in general.

Shaolin - 新少林寺

Shaolin (新少林寺) is an 2011 film out of Hong Kong. The movies stars Andy Lau and Nicholas Tse. The supporting cast includes Fan Bing-Bing and Jacky Wu. For some reason, they list Jackie Chan as an cameo. Jackie Chan's role is much more than an cameo. The abbot of Shaolin appeared in the first Shaolin temple movie of 1982 alongside Jet Li.



After the Qing Dynasty, there was this Warlord Era in Zhong Guo. During that time, warlords fought for territory amongst each other. Andy Lau plays one of these warlords and is shown to do anything to retain his power, even take the life of his shown brother. Nicholas Tse plays Andy's right hand man. Fan Bing Bing plays Andy's wife. On a night when Andy was to rid himself of his shown brother, he is betrayed by Nicholas. Whom takes the power of both warlords in one night. Andy's chased down by men trying to eliminate him and escapes to Shaolin with his injured daughter. However, the mortal wounds are too much and the daughter dies. Andy is than taken in by Jackie's character, a cook at the foot of Shaolin Mountain. It is there that Andy comes to grips with the consequences of his power struggle and joins the monk-hood of Shaolin. However, when Nicholas is found to be an evil general causing innocents to die, Andy steps out to make a difference.



The movie was well made and well paced. But I had very little emotional attachment to Andy's character. Through the reform, I didn't care. Which made for a long 2 hour watch. Long 2 hour watch. I am saying it again, 2 plus hours! Wow, they could have done this movie in one and a half hours. Because there was so little character development, many extra exercises were forced on the audience to see the just how bad or good one of the characters are.



As an high profile movie that was even shown in the theaters in the US, this movie was well made and had extremely good looking actors. However, the entertainment value could have used some help and the length trimmed. In all, I can't recommend this movie due to its excessive length in light of the story told.

A World Without Thieves - 天下無賊

A World Without Thieves (天下無賊) is a 2004 film out of Zhong Guo. The movie stars Andy Lau, Rene Liu, and Ge You. The supporting cast include Li Bingbing, Wang Baoqiang, You Yong, and Gordon Lam. The movie is also directed by

Andy Lau and Rene Liu play con artist that just made it off with a BMW and are heading to trade it in for cash. Along the way, Liu wants to stop the stealing and settle down. When Lau refuses, she says she wants to leave him. After the car trade in, Lau gives in and they head home. Along the way, Liu takes in a country bumpkin with no clue about thieves. However, on the same train is a team of skilled thieves that want to take the bumpkin's life savings. Let's the battle wits begin!

The movie was the first where I saw Andy and Rene being directed by a mainland director and based in the mainland. And this was during a time in life where I wasn't watching much from Asia. But an interview on a showbiz blurb had Andy Lau saying how he tried so hard to be "ugly". Seriously. I had to watch it. Andy is not ugly nor does he deserve that hair. I recently watched it again while washing dishes. The movie wasn't half bad and I liked the presentation of the world of grifters.

A Moment Of Romance - 天若有情

A Moment Of Romance (天若有情) is an 1990 film out of Hong Kong. The movie stars Andy Lau and Jacklyn Wu. The supporting cast includes Ng Man-tat and Tommy Wong. I had this film in my Top 20 Hong Kong Films of the 1990s.

Andy Lau plays Wah Dee, a triad gang banger that's bad@$$. His "die lo" loans him to another "die lo" from the same gang to be a get away driver for a jewelry store heist. During the heist, he inadvertently takes JoJo, played by Jacklyn Wu. At the drop off sight, Wah Dee tells JoJo to lay low. However, she's spotted and becomes a target. From that point on, they go their separate ways. Jojo however ends up being the only eye-witness and gets targeted for elimination. Wah Dee now has to protect her.

This movie deserves its place among one of the best films out of Hong Kong for the 1990s. HK Triads? Check! Sacrificial romance? Check! Disapproving parents? Check! Classic HK tragic ending? Check! Around this time, Andy Lau was a bonafide TV star that made the transition to the big screen. Already a superstar on the big screen, this was one of his most successful movies.

Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame - 通天神探 狄仁傑 - 狄仁傑之通天帝國

Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame (通天神探狄仁傑/狄仁傑之通天帝國) is a 2010 film out of Hong Kong. The movies stars Andy Lau, Li Bing Bing, Carina Lau, and Tony Leung Ka Fai. Tsui Hark plays both producer and director. The movie is based on China's first and only female Empress Wu Zetian. Detective Dee was a high official during that time.

We Zetian is on the eve of announcing to the world that she's the boss of China! To show off, a 60 story statue is being built. When some mysterious deaths start, the queen sends for Dee to solve the mystery. Dee than starts on a deep exploration of the area around the kingdom to find the answers. But as the clues start to add up, they are thwarted and ambushed quite often. Do not fret as Detective Dee is on the case.

This was a pretty amazing film. The CG was pretty good for a HK produced film. More importantly, the story of mystery and historical doom kept me on the ride. Andy puts on a masterful performance that I think will deserve award type recognition. The story was wrapped in intrigue and mystery. The exact type of movie that keeps me engaged and thinking.

A must see for you wuxia fans as well.

Futute X-Cops -- 未來警察

Futute X-Cops (未來警察) is a 2010 film out of Hong Kong staring Andy Lau, Barbie Hsu (大S), Fan Bing Bing, and Mike He.

In the future, 2080, Andy Lau is the chief of a team of cops set to protect a scientist. Fan Bing Bing and Andy are a couple but in the process of protecting the scientist, the wife is killed. But the bad guys find a way to go back in time. But in order to do that, you have to be a cyborg with limited human organs. Andy is transformed into a super cyborg and sent into the past to protect the young scientist.



The movie was pretty weird. It felt slapped together. There seemed to be gaps that just assumed you knew what happened. The acting from Andy felt early 90s when all he did was smile a whole lot and looked surprised. 大S and Andy's romance seemed way icky.

I had high hopes due to its sci-fi nature, but was ultimately let down.

Running Out of Time - 暗戰

Running Out of Time (暗戰) is a 1999 film out of Hong Kong. The movie stars Andy Lau, Sean Lau, and Yoyo Mung. The film was produced and directed by Johnny To.

Andy Lau, plays Cheung, a terminally ill cancer victim. With 4 weeks left to live, Cheung sets the stages of a cat and mouse cat between him and Ho Sheung-Sang, played by Sean Lau. Cheung and Ho meet via a planned robbery by Cheung. Ho is told that a game will be played for the next 72 hours (3 days). Cheung escapes, but Ho catches up to him. Cheung escapes again. There goes your cat and mouse chase.

I can't really go much further into the story as I'll reveal spoilers for the plot. You can read the wikipedia plot version for a more concise version.

I had seen this film back in 1999 when it was first released. But had since forgotten about it. Recently made aware of it again via LoveHKFilm.com's Top 100 movies of the 1990s, I decide to get it via Netflix.

I can't say that I really enjoyed it that much, but it was a style of film that started to define what would be early 2000s HK films for me. More story and less action. For me, HK films of the 80s and early 90s were about action, but with a story behind it too. The shift was to move away from the action and go towards story. Which is good, but just not as exciting.

A good film none the less and it does feature Andy Lau and Sean Lau, two of most accomplished actors in HK cinema.

The English name of the film doesn't match the Chinese name. The Chinese name is "dark/hidden/secret" and "war/battle". Both titles do describe the movie. The Chinese one is a much better description of the contents of the film.

Protégé - 門徒

Protégé (門徒) is a 2007 film out of Hong Kong. The movie stars Daniel Wu and Andy Lau. Supporting cast include Louis Koo, Zhang Jingchu, Anita Yuen, and Hu Mei-Tian.

The movie is about the drug empire run by Andy Lau. Andy Lau plays Quin whos had a long and successful run as the king of drugs in Hong Kong. The police have been trying to bust him for years. Quin is getting up in years and wants to find a successor. Quin takes Nick, played by Daniel Wu, as a protégé. Quin likes Nick so much that he even sets him up with his oldest daughter. And Quin's last step in the process is taking Nick to Thailand to speak directly with his source to do the "hand off". Little does Quin know, Nick is actually a undercover cop. Nick has finally got enough evidence to crack the case. Little by little, Quin's empire starts to crumble. And they find out its Nick in court.

A side story to this is Nick's relationship with Fan, played by the extremely lovely and talented Zhang Jingchu. Fan's husband is played by Louis Koo. Fan has run away from him to start living clean, because of her elementary age child. Nick befriends the child and eventually Fan. Little by little, Nick falls for Fan, but tragedy strikes when the husband finds her again.



I mention that I loved this film back in the day. The film did well at the 27th Hong Kong movie awards as well. It was well deserved recognition for a very well made film.

I watched a China version from back in the day. I need to make time and rent the Dragon Dynasty one.

Look For A Star - 游龍戲鳳

Look For A Star (龍戲鳳) is a 2009 film out of Hong Kong. The 2 main stars are Andy Lau and Shi Qi. The other 2 couples make up the other 2/3 of the 3 couples. They are played by Zhang Han Yu with Denise Ho and Dominic Lam with Zhang Xin Yi. David Chiang and George Lam make appearances.

The movie follows the funny and rocky beginnings of how 3 couples seek and find love. Andy Lau is a real estate tycoon with his executive assistant Denise Ho and driver Dominic Lam a la Happy Hogan and Pepper Potts. Andy is in Macau for business and bumps into a card dealer there played by Shu Qi. Shu Qi doesn't know that Andy is a tycoon and they eventually fall for each other. Denise Ho is a very powerful women and very in control. However, she's presented as a complete failure in her love life. A carpenter played by Zhang Han Yu steps into her life. Dominic Lam is a very very picky man. He's gone through dozens of dates without finding someone of interest. Andy sets him up for a blind date with Zhang Xin Yi. But there is a catch, Xin Yi has a elementary age daughter.



The movie goes from the wooing stage, to the honeymoon stage of a relationship, and the cold realities of when real life gets in the way. Most things us regular folks can only dream about.

In the end, they somehow get on a television show that matches people up.

This is part romantic comedy and part soap opera. If you're a Andy fan, you can't miss this. If your into Andy's romantic flicks, you can't miss this one.

The star of this film was Zhang Xin Yi. With a weird hairstyle, her beauty stood out and I looked forward to her short story arcs.

The Duel - 決戰紫禁之巔

The Duel - 決戰紫禁之巔 is a 2000 film out of Hong Kong starring Andy Lau and Ekin Cheng. It also stars a bunch of others, look at the cast credits for more. This is considered the third film of the martial arts trilogy from Andrew Lau. The film is based on a novel by Gu Long.



The story follows Nicky Cheung as a super detective for the imperial court. A governor played by Andy Lau of a region shows up to issue a duel challenge to the reigning number 1 swordsman, played by Ekin Cheng. The special thing about this duel is that it'll take place on the rooftop of the imperial palace. But before the duel happens, there are mysterious deaths and the disappearance of Ekin. But, in the end, the duel happens and its a CGI event to behold.

There are lots of fighting, cheezy interactions. But its a little bit of HK movie madness at work and I loved it. Watch it for the great cast, CGI, and modern martial mythos.

Brothers - 兄弟

Brothers (兄弟) is a 2007 film out of Hong Kong. The movie stars Michael Miu, Eason Chan, Andy Lau, Crystal Huang, Felix Wong, Ken Tong, and Gordon Lam (苗僑偉,陳奕迅,劉德華,黃奕,黃日華,湯鎮業,林家棟).

The movie starts 20 years in the past (fashion looks 70-ish which is 30 years ago). Yiu (Miu) and Shun (Chan) are brothers who hit a person while taking their fathers car out for spin. Yiu and Shun's father is at a temple and a fortune teller predicts that if the brothers are together, they will be at odds. Yiu stays in Hong Kong while Shun goes to the US with the mother. Yiu and Shun's father is a head of a Tam triad syndicate.

Fast forward 20 years. Yiu is now the head of the Tam triad syndicate now. The father is now retired. Nine Yim orders a hit on the father, but he survives. Shun comes back to Hong Kong to see the father. The father passes within hours of seeing Shun. The mother is now senile and cannot recognize her own sons.

Shun is feeling his way around Hong Kong and coming to grips with of his families triad ways. Shun doesn't like the triad ways and wants things to change. Yiu sets in motion a series of events that kills both Nine Yim and the son. Shun gets dragged in and spends a little time in Thailand.

Andy Lau's role in the movie is that of the police. Lau wants to take the triad bosses down. Gordon Lam plays his sidekick.

In all, the movie wasn't anything out of the ordinary. It played off a lot of assumptions about triad movies already. It was good to see Michael Miu back in action. This movie featured 4 of the "TVB Five Tigers" from the early 80s (sup Tony?).

It's not a bad watch, but not something you "have" to see.