Beauty On Duty (美麗密令) is a 2010 film out of Hong Kong. The movie stars Charlene Choi, William Chan, and Sandra Ng. But the film is a really an ensemble cast of over 10 people that contribute to the main story.
Charlene Choi is a tough nosed cop that is recruited to go undercover in a beauty pageant. Choi is there to protect the daughter of a key witness. However, the key witnesses old boss has sent killers to off the daughter. It's up to the crack staff of HK and Zhong Guo police to stop these guys and convict the bad guys.
The movie was quite bad. I was only in because I generally like Charlene and usually watch her stuff. However, this ensemble cast was not all there. The hi-jinx were all really cheesy. The gurls were all eye candy, but that was it, nothing to keep you around.
Ip Man: The Legend Is Born (葉問前傳) is 2010 film out of Hong Kong. The movie stars Dennis To, Fan Siu-wong, Huang Yi, Yuen Biao, and Rose Chan. The supporting casts includes Sammo Hung, Lam Suet, and Bernice Liu.
The movie starts with Ip Man, played by Dennis To, joining a Wing Chun association. The association is headed by Sammo Hung as Chan Wah-shun. Ip Man joins with his god brother Ip Tin Chi, played by Fan Siu-wong. Ip Man goes off to school in Hong Kong, where he learns English and a separate style of Wing Chun. After he graduates, he heads back to Foshan to rejoin the Wing Chun association. But the Japanese want to take over the association and even plant a spy. Ip Man finds out who this spy is and saves the association. But not before they do lots and lots of fighting.
The movie was a brisk watch over a period of 3 days. On and off I watched and it wasn't a film that made me want to finish it in one sitting. The fighting was ok. Nothing spectacular. If anything, Dennis To's Ip Man seemed slow.
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.
