Blog Archives

Brothers (2007)

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Posted on November 17, 2007 by John Snadden

The past twelve months have seen the release of three excellent crime films from Cantonese film-makers: Johnnie To’s Leone flavoured, Macau-based flick Exiled; Derek Yee’s drug trade expose Protege; and Brothers, which opened this week at Melbourne’s Chinatown cinema. Directed by Derek Chiu who is more known for his work with Peter Chan’s UFO company, helming quality dramas such as Ah Fai The Dumb. With Brothers, Chiu has created a very canny crime movie: a … (read more)

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Tiramisu (2002)

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Posted on July 24, 2006 by Alison

Good grief, another “boy meets ghost” romance. Bittersweet and occasionally cloying, this fills up almost two hours with a combination of A Moment To Remember and Ghostbusters that works surprisingly well, provided you’re not too attentive.

The actors: Karena Lam is young and vivacious as the tragic/romantic lead, with a beguiling air of softness. Candy Lo is spiky and strong in the support role which she fills and then some. Eason Chan, as the oft-dumped roommate, is an amusing buffoon. … (read more)

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Love Battlefield (2004)

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Posted on July 10, 2004 by Eugene

Well that was a surprise.

Absolutely no expectations for this film. Has heard vague rumours that this was a good film but have been so preoccupied lately that I only paid them lip service. In retrospect, I don’t even think I paid much attention to the synopsis walking into the film. And any of you who do have plans to see this film, I think this is probably the best state to see this film in – so stop reading … (read more)

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Visible Secret (2001)

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Posted on June 2, 2004 by Alison

Visible Secret was among the vanguard of the “My left eye sees ghosts” sub-sub-genre of films to come out of Hong Kong recently. And it’s a pretty good one, I must admit.

It’s an extremely visual film, not surprisingly. The colour palette is striking: lush, deep, drenched colours, lots of night-time settings, and dramatic lighting make it beautiful to look at. Some might also say that Hsu Qi makes it beautiful to look at, although I’m not in a glandular … (read more)

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Funeral March (2001)

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Posted on July 31, 2003 by Ching Yee

With a title like Funeral March, you can hardly expect it to be cheery and uplifting and boy does it not disappoint in the tragedy department.

Kwun Yi [Charlene Choi] is a wealthy cancer patient, convinced that she will die soon. She goes about arranging her funeral in advance, enlisting Siu Duen [Eason Chan], a funeral organiser to arrange the BIG day. She’s impressed by his pride in his work and his attention to details. It gets better, he … (read more)

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Demi-Haunted (2000)

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Posted on July 31, 2003 by Eugene

Let’s get my prejudices out in the open, OK? I have never been a particularly big fan of Chinese opera. Something to do with growing up and listening to it and not knowing what was going on and the constant clang of the percussion methinks. Even when I saw Farewell My Concubine, my eyes kind of glazed over when there were those (thankfully) few opera scenes. That and there seems on irregular intervals, bursts of hip-hop (another type of … (read more)

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