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Running Out Of Time (1999)

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Posted on August 23, 2003 by Alison

Johnnie To is the coolest director in the known universe, bar none. He has a gift for making great movies, and this is one of his strongest. It doesn’t hurt that he’s assembled a solid cast, including Andy Lau, owner of the sharpest cheekbones in the business, and Lau Ching Wan, one of the best actors in Hong Kong. There are even credible female characters too, in the form of the lovely Yoyo Mung, and the redoubtable Ruby Wong.

But … (read more)

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Good Times, Bed Times (2003)

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Posted on August 14, 2003 by Ching Yee

OK, this isn’t so much a movie but a series of gags, some good some bad, strung together with a loose narrative. Written by Chan Hing Kar and directed by Patrick Leung, it is the team who brought you La Brassiere and its follow up Mighty Baby. Unfortunately Good Times, Bed Times is more the puerile Mighty Baby than the snappy La Brassiere. Although it builds itself as a sexy sophisticated farce, the material is quite shallow with … (read more)

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Too Many Ways To Be Number One (1997)

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Posted on July 31, 2003 by Alison

This debut directorial effort from Wai Ka Fai, better known as Johnnie To’s scriptwriter is offbeat to say the least. Lau Ching Wan bumbles around as a small-time gangster who couldn’t get any smaller, led on by his friends, or at least the other small-time triads he hangs out with. There are some other fascinating performances, notably Ruby Wong as the wife (or widow?) of a business partner who wants her share, and takes it out of Ching Wan’s body. … (read more)

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Mighty Baby (2002)

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Posted on July 31, 2003 by Alison

If you think babies are adorable, then you might get something out of this film. If, like me, you don’t, then you might find this film as disappointing as I did.

Despite having a strong cast who try their best, this baby romance fails to follow up on the promise of La Brassiere. It would have been hard to make a sequel to that one, given that the nature of romantic comedies is to have all the appropriate cast … (read more)

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