OVERHEARD 2 (2011)

RATING: 3/5

The first OVERHEARD (2009) was a highly-ambitious, if half-realized thriller that focuses on the subject of eavesdropping combined with a thought-provoking look of corporate fraud, stock market frenzy and internal characters' conflict. However, it's good to know that directors duo Alan Mak and Felix Chong have finally made a significant improvement over the lackluster original with an unexpected sequel in OVERHEARD 2. Not only that, it's also a career recovery from their much-disappointed Donnie Yen's period action drama, THE LOST BLADESMAN (you can read my review here), which had shown earlier this year.

Joe (Daniel Wu) is a mysterious figure with a hidden agenda who eavesdrops on a group of stock fixers called "The Landlord's Club". Among them are Manson Law (Lau Ching-Wan), a highly successful stockbroker, who is gradually discovers that he's been under surveillance by Joe. Earlier in the movie, he tries to avoid being followed by Joe but ends up unexpectedly in a car accident. However, he manages to survive. Enter Inspector Jack Ho (Louis Koo), a Security Bureau head officer who begins to investigate the incident and discovers that Manson's sports car which suffered from the crash, is being wired with surveillance device. Soon, the mystery continues as the fate between the three men (Joe, Manson and Jack) intertwines one way or another.

Despite the same principal cast and its similar premise about surveillance and stock market, OVERHEARD 2 is really a sequel in name only. It has no relations to the original version whatsoever. It hardly matters anyway, because OVERHEARD 2 manages to succeed as an equally solid entertainment that Hong Kong cinema needed so badly especially for this lackluster year. Alan Mak and Felix Chong's screenplay is gripping and airtight than their patchy and slow-moving storyline in the original version. The first half of the movie is especially entertaining, with a classic game of cat and mouse chase between Joe and Jack as they attempt to outwit each other. Another improvement over the original is that the sequel offers more exciting action sequences this time around. Aided by Dion Lam's intense action choreography, cinematographer Anthony Pun and editor Curran Pang, there's enough thrilling moments to satisfy the viewers, particularly in a foot-chase sequence on a busy street as well as the motorcycle chase.

Acting is solid as well, with Lau Ching-Wan and Louis Koo give typically credible performances. But it is Daniel Wu who steals the limelight this time around. No doubt that Wu is perfectly cast in his role and demonstrates enough intensity and nuance to his layered performance. The rest of the supporting actors are equally top-notch as well, and it's nice to see many veteran actors (Kenneth Tsang, Wong Fung, Kong Ngai, Felix Lok and Kwok Fung) are all given ample times to shine with their roles.

Despite all the improvements in OVERHEARD 2, the sequel remains heavily flawed. Till now, Alan Mak and Felix Chong's screenplay and the way of their direction are haphazardly executed. It doesn't help either when their storyline filled with so much backstory is stretched with exposition-heavy dialogues that frequently spoon-feed the viewers, even for those who already know what's going on. Such approach often crippled the consistent momentum of the storyline, and it certainly shows during the second half of the movie. The climactic ending, which reveals all the motivation surrounding the mystery of Joe and the stock fixers at "The Landlord's Club", is especially too talky for its own good. In the meantime, the female cast are a bit disappointing, with somewhat thankless roles from Huang Yi and Michelle Ye.

While OVERHEARD 2 is hardly perfect, it still stands out as one of the best Hong Kong movies of the year.

READ MORE - OVERHEARD 2 (2011)

PUNISHED (2011)

RATING: 2/5

I'm sure a lot of die-hard fans are eagerly waiting for the next Johnnie To's trademark edgy crime movie to hit theaters this year (and that would be LIFE WITHOUT PRINCIPLE which starred Lau Ching-Wan, Richie Ren and Denise Ho). But for now, let's settle for this little Milkyway-produced crime thriller called PUNISHED which is directed by To's regular protege, Law Wing-Cheong (who co-directed 2001's RUNNING OUT OF TIME 2, and also acted some of To's movies including 2008's SPARROW and 2009's VENGEANCE). The good news is, PUNISHED offers some of the edgy materials Milkyway fans come to expect -- credible performances, thematic depth, sudden burst of violence -- but it's also a huge disappointment. Blame it to Law Wing-Cheong who prefers to go by-the-book formula and pedestrian approach to round things up in a surprisingly flat-out effort.

At the beginning of the movie, we learn that real estate tycoon Wong Ho-Chiu (Anthony Wong) and his ex-convict loyal bodyguard Chor (Richie Ren) has discovered the dead body of Chiu's daughter Daisy (Janice Man) who is kidnapped and murdered. Told in non-linear narrative structure, the movie flashes back and forth on how Daisy comes to such eventual doom. Daisy is a rebellious and spoiled rich girl who likes to overspend her father's money, particularly when she is addicted to drugs. One night during her stepmother's (Maggie Cheung Ho-Yee) birthday, she wants to go to Bolivia for vacation but her father disagrees because he wants her to go for rehab instead. The following day Daisy continue to argue over the matter and ends up running away from home. Things go awry when Wong receives a phone message saying that she has been kidnapped, but he quickly dismisses it as a scheme to get money out of him. The kidnapper demands HK$50 million for ransom and Wong ends up paying the money, hoping he can get back his daughter in no time. Unfortunately Daisy ends up dead, prompting Wong to take matters in his own hand. With nothing to lose, Wong enlists Chor to help him locate and kill whoever responsible for Daisy's death.

At the first glance, Fung Chih-Chiang and Lam Fung's non-linear screenplay is a nice touch to spin an oft-told kidnap-and-revenge story with some karmic undertones thrown into the mix. Unfortunately Law Wing-Cheong executes their supposedly ambitious story into a terribly half-realized result. Most of the times, the story is heavy-handed that frequently drained out most of the tension here. But of all the flaws he made here is the lack of visual style needed badly to elevate the entire story. Sure, there are moments of well-staged action scenes (the one where Chor tortures one of the kidnappers with a sledgehammer is particularly shocking, and another one involves a tense shootout inside a factory) but there are just too little. Instead, Law Wing-Cheong prefers to go meaty by exploring Wong's psychological breakdown from an arrogant tycoon to a depressing individual who is about to lose his sanity. Again, it's a nice touch but the director fails to present that particular approach into thought-provoking manner. Other than that, PUNISHED feels strangely too static without being interesting most of the times -- something that Johnnie To does a whole lot better in his movies.

Cast-wise, most of the actors (particularly Anthony Wong and Richie Ren) are at least credible enough. But Janice Man is quite disappointing in her bratty role. Perhaps she is way too one-sided that we hardly care for her character.

Overall, I'm sad to say that PUNISHED is one of the weakest Milkyway productions in recent years.

READ MORE - PUNISHED (2011)

WU XIA (2011)

RATING: 2.5/5

Opened to favorable reviews at the recent Cannes Film Festival, Peter Chan's WU XIA is an interesting if uneven mishmash that mixes old-fashioned martial art genre and CSI-style whodunit -- all in the manner of David Cronenberg's A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE (2005). This movie also marked a stunning comeback for Donnie Yen since IP MAN 2, whose past two highly-anticipated efforts (2010's LEGEND OF THE FIST: THE RETURN OF CHEN ZHEN and 2011's THE LOST BLADESMAN) are nothing more than disappointingly overblown spectacles. Except this time don't expect the kind of action-packed vibe you normally expect from a Donnie Yen movie. Such result might disappoint a lot of fans but those who are adventurous enough to game for something different, WU XIA is surprisingly quite a unique movie to watch out for.

Set in 1917 at the small town in southwestern China's Yunnan province, the movie focuses on a seemingly everyman named Liu Jinxi (Donnie Yen) who works as a paper-maker and lives a peaceful family life with his beautiful wife Ayu (Tang Wei) and two adorable young sons, for the past 10 years. But all that abruptly changed when he accidentally kills two robbers who threaten his paper workshop. The incident instantly leads detective Xu Baijiu (Takeshi Kaneshiro) comes sniffing around, in which he suspects the supposedly open-and-shut case is actually more than meets the eye. With a peculiar obsession over science and human anatomy, he uses his skill to re-investigate the case and convinced that the death of two robbers are hardly "accidental". In fact he believes that Liu Jinxi knows a lot of kung fu skills, although Liu Jinxi himself claims he's just got "lucky".

Still Xu Baijiu insists to investigate further and hang around the small town long enough to dig out the truth behind Liu Jinxi's murky past. He subsequently learns that Liu Jinxi is a fugitive, whose real name is Tang Lung. Tang Lung, of course, is one of the notorious killers of the infamous 72 Demons who used to butcher a lot of people in the past. It doesn't take long before the members of the 72 Demons, lead by "The Master" (Jimmy Wang Yu) manage to identify Liu Jinxi's whereabouts and hellbent to bring him back at all cost.

For the first third of the movie, Peter Chan redefines the wu xia genre (which translates as "martial-art chivalry") with a refreshing CSI and Sherlock Holmes-narrative style. It's particularly fascinating to see how the obsessed Xu Baijiu goes through minute detail to reconstruct the actual fight between Liu Jinxi and the two robbers in the paper workshop, complete with CSI-like effect where we get to see a fresh perspective on how each fighting moves affect the human body, nerves and organs internally. Coupled with a few stylistic moments of slow-motion fight scene (e.g. spurted blood from mouth, punched-out broken tooth), WU XIA is close on tracks of being the most groundbreaking martial-art movie in a decade since Ang Lee's CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON and Zhang Yimou's HERO. Well, if only Chan chooses to continue that refreshing path, the result would have been a masterpiece.

However, once Xu Baijiu is out of the picture for the major bulk of the running time, the movie begins to squander a few. The middle part is especially draggy, and some scenes could have been omitted entirely (namely, the unnecessary backstory behind Xu Baijiu's past and his estranged relationship with his ex-wife). There are times that the movie tends to go overly melodramatic, and at one point it's kind of awkward to see Chan resorts into his own PERHAPS LOVE-musical montage where a group of villagers chanting not one, but two folksy tunes.

As for the fight scenes, they are surprisingly sparse than the average Donnie Yen's movie you normally get but they still muscular and exciting enough to make you pay attention. Among Donnie Yen's stunning action direction are the opening fight between the two robbers and the middle part where he squares off against the double sword-wielding female fighter (Kara Hui) in the open village, climaxes in a rooftop chase and ends up in a fight-to-the-death at the den filled with buffalos.

Aubrey Lam's script is fairly impressive that breathes life in term of its narration context and nuanced characters-development. The dialogues as well as the verbal interactions, especially involving Liu Jinxi and Xu Baijiu are cleverly depicted that keeps you interested throughout the movie, even though there are no fights involved.

Speaking of nuanced characters, it's a surprise to see Donnie Yen truly excels in his acting department. His unique transition between an everyman and a deadly martial-art fighter is well developed. Kudos should actually goes to Peter Chan, who make good use of Yen's wooden acting in a distinctively unique result. Takeshi Kaneshiro is perfectly eccentric as an obsessed detective he's born to play such a role. As mentioned earlier, his interactions with Donnie Yen's Liu Jinxi are among the movie's highlights. The versatile Tang Wei, who plays Liu Jiuxi's wife, is equally credible as well. Her role could have been a thankless role but Tang Wei emotes considerably well enough in a quietly affecting manner.

Too bad the biggest disappointment of all, is the legendary Shaw Brothers veteran Jimmy Wang Yu. Although his big screen return to acting role since 1992's SHOGUN AND LITTLE KITCHEN is a novelty, his character is so glaringly over-the-top he's more of an outcast to be fitted with the rest of the actors here. Not only he overacts a lot he's almost laughably bad, he's also hard to root for. Speaking of over-the-top, his final showdown with Liu Jinxi is a total letdown. Yes, there are notable tribute to his own 1967's kung fu classic THE ONE-ARMED SWORDSMAN, the particular fight scene is somewhat lackluster. If that's not insulting enough, Chan goes haywire by ending the fight with an absurdly supernatural twist. It sounds bizarre but you'll know once you see the way how Jimmy Wang Yu's death will ends up. Overall this reckless third-act alone almost crippled the entire movie into near standstill.

Technical credits are top-notch, with Jake Pollock and Lai Yiu-Fai's ultra-crisp cinematography of the idyllic pictorial view of the Yunnan countryside and Yee Chung-Man's production design is similarly impressive as well. Chan Kwong-Wing and Peter Kam's music score is both inventive and unique enough to suit the refreshing mood of the movie by combining eastern and hard-rock influences.

While WU XIA is hardly qualifies as the best movies for both Peter Chan and Donnie Yen, at least it should be applauded as a rare Asian movie with a slight difference.

READ MORE - WU XIA (2011)

3D SEX AND ZEN: EXTREME ECSTASY (2011)

RATING: 1/5

As of this writing, (you) should know that the world's first stereoscopic 3D softcore erotic movie, 3D SEX AND ZEN: EXTREME ECSTASY has already made history by surpassing HK$20 million-grossing of 1991's SEX AND ZEN by raking in an impressive HK$39.7 million in the box-office and still counting. That's not all, 3D SEX AND ZEN: EXTREME ECSTASY also made more history in the Hong Kong cinema -- the movie smashed records, beating AVATAR as the highest 3D debut, and LUST, CAUTION, as the highest-grossing Category III movie opening -- with HK$2.79 million on its first day show. You have to admit that the massive hype behind 3D SEX AND ZEN: EXTREME ECSTASY is a product of pure marketing genius. (Everybody) are talking about it, especially for those curious-minded viewers and I almost convinced that 3D SEX AND ZEN: EXTREME ECSTASY is going to revive the once-popular genre of Category III softcore erotica ushering for a new era. So does the movie actually holds the promise? The short answer is, no.

In fact, 3D SEX AND ZEN: EXTREME ECSTASY is a pure gimmick that lead you believe you are in for something you've never experienced before. Let me assure you that after I watched this movie, it's nothing more than your average softcore erotica. The story, which is more or less a rehash of 1991's SEX AND ZEN, goes like this: Wei Yangshen (Hiro Hayama) is an egotistic wealthy scholar first caught in love at first sight with a noble family's prized daughter Tie Yuxiang (Leni Lan). He marries her and both of them enjoying their happiness together, except for one shortcoming -- their sex life are dull especially Yangshen's peculiar problem of sustaining longevity. Yangshen feels frustrated and sets out to seek carnal pleasure elsewhere, while leaving his lonely wife at home.

Then one day he travels to the Pavilion of Ultimate Bliss at the clifftop where the notorious Prince of Ning (Tony Ho) keeps his treasures. The place also housed an orgy of the most experienced and beautiful women in the land. Prince of Ning has subsequently admires Yangshen's expertise on genuine art and allows him to hang out at his place. Yangshen's immediate first sexual encounter is Ruizhu (Saori Hara), who uses acupuncture to increase Yangshen's stamina. However, that is the only time where Yangshen gets to prolong his sexual activity. He becomes a subject of laughter when Ning and the rest of the nubile beauties ridicule him for his tiny private part.

Soon he seeks help from the Elder of Bliss (Vonnie Lui), a sex expert who recommends him to seek a couple of quack doctors, lead by Dique (Tin Kai Man) for a penis transplant. Yangshen is required to have his tiny private part chopped off and replaced the one from a horse. But like the original version, a series of amusing mishaps happen when the quack doctors' hungry dog bites off his severed tiny private part, while the horse penis is accidentally crushed by Dique's wheelchair. Luckily Yangshen has a quick replacement with the one from a lesser animal -- which is a donkey!

After equipped himself with a new private part, he is now able to prove himself a worthy sexual encounter among the countless beauties inside the Pavilion of Ultimate Bliss. But little does he know that Ning has a secret grudge against him and everything is actually part of his sinister plan to teach him a deadly lesson.

While this new version and the original one are mostly identical to each other in term of storyline, there are still one notable difference here -- 3D SEX AND ZEN: EXTREME ECSTASY plays down the original's over-the-top comedy and replaces it with a more romantic undertones. It's a bold move, but at the same the filmmakers made a grave mistake by selling their movie with a theme of undying love that feels more awkward and distasteful.

Speaking of distasteful, screenwriter Stephen Shiu, Stephen Shiu Jr. and Mark Wu are taking things too seriously regarding their subject matter. Sure, there are moment of guilty pleasures especially in the playful first half. But for all the copious amount of nudity and sex, those particular scenes feel strangely unimaginative and lack of creative energy the original SEX AND ZEN once had in the past. What's more, for a softcore erotica that supposed to offer the viewers the never-before-seen cinematic experience, is a utter failure altogether. Those who are expecting 3D sex will be very disappointed by the movie's more stereoscopic usage of other showy objects like debris, tables, windows, daggers and bullets. Now this is what I called a misguided marketing campaign heading for all the wrong reasons.

The second half is even more misguided once the movie abruptly switches its playful tone to a series of mean-spirited nature of tasteless spectacles. Mind you, there are unpleasant stuff that the filmmakers goes all-out in term of rape sequence, graphic torture and other violence-related materials. Fans of extreme cinema might enjoy it, but then again, they are simply off-putting. Again, this is supposed to be a movie called 3D SEX AND ZEN: EXTREME ECSTASY, not 3D SEX AND ZEN: EXTREME TORTURE. Maybe the filmmakers takes the word "extreme" from their title and does it the other way round, whereas I'm sure (most) viewers are expecting otherwise.

Christopher Sun's direction (his first feature as a director) is pedestrian at best, while the actors are mostly average performances. Anyone expecting the kind of enthusiastic performances previously played by Lawrence Ng, Amy Yip and Tsui Kam-Kong in the original version, will be disappointed with the result here. Save for the playful performances by Tony Ho, Tin Kai-Man and Vonnie Lui (who plays the role with a bizarre voice of an old man), the rest of them (which mostly inhabited by Japanese actors and AV stars) are all good looks but little else matters. The biggest disappointment of them all, is the lead actor of Hiro Hayama. Sure, he has the appearance of playing a sleazy role but then again, isn't it better to find a legitimate Hong Kong actor instead? Meanwhile, the girls (AV stars) are beautiful and pleasing to the eyes -- except they are all glossy surface but no depth.

So much for the anticipation.

READ MORE - 3D SEX AND ZEN: EXTREME ECSTASY (2011)

BKO: BANGKOK KNOCKOUT (2010)

RATING: 2/5

When comes to action movie made in Thailand, what you'll get is a bone-crunching martial arts that will knocked your senses out. Not surprisingly, this is what you'll get in Panna Rittikrai’s BKO: BANGKOK KNOCKOUT. Panna Rittikrai is of course the action guru and co-director of Tony Jaa's ONG BAK 2 (2008) and is first and foremost a strictly martial art extravaganza. Anything beyond that -- namely plot and characters -- are totally out of the question. Take your pick.

Still with me? As mentioned earlier, the plot is hardly matters here. Written by Panna Rittikrai, Doojit Hongthong and Jonathan Siminoe, the movie is basically a minimalist version of Arnold Schwarzenegger's THE RUNNING MAN-like storytelling structure minus the futuristic setting. During an audition to recruit Thai stuntmen for a Hollywood production, the members of the Fight Club defeat their rival team in the trial. After a night of celebration, they find themselves awaken in an empty industrial warehouse where they are subsequently attacked by a group of masked fighters. Apparently they are the subjects of a gambling game masterminded by the evil Mr. Snead (Speedy Arnold -- no kidding, that is his name) for his rich foreign clients witnessing all the fights through live broadcasts. Now the members of the Fight Club have no choice but to fight their ways out in the name of survival.

Characters are cardboard cutouts, with Speedy Arnold's gleefully portrayed villain is clearly the one you often found in ultra-cheesy B-grade production.

So what's left here are a series of amazing stuntwork and of course, spectacular martial art set-pieces that will keep action fans on the edge of their seat. All the fight scenes are insanely choreographed, cranked up to the eleven with neat and fluid editing. They are simply hyperkinetic enough to be admired at, as you will see how these bunch of death-defying fighters incorporated various martial art styles which includes Muay Thai, Capoeira, Kung Fu, Tae Kwon Do and many more. Some are even imaginative enough, including a fight scene underneath the moving container truck (no kidding -- you'll have to watch it to believe what I say here).

For action fans (especially those who love to watch something out of Thailand), BKO: BANGKOK KNOCKOUT is a must-see. The rest of us can dismissed this as a huge, missed opportunity.

READ MORE - BKO: BANGKOK KNOCKOUT (2010)

DON'T GO BREAKING MY HEART (2011)

RATING: 4/5

Nowadays, rarely has mainstream Hong Kong romantic comedy makes me stand up and take notice. I remember the last time that impressed me the most was that Johnnie To's hugely-popular NEEDING YOU, which starred Andy Lau and Sammi Cheng. The year was 2000, and that was 11 years ago. But upon seeing Johnnie To and Wai Ka-Fai return to the romantic comedy genre after years of exploring crime genre, there's a glimmer of hope I might expect that impression again. And I have to tell you this... it's certainly unexpected to find out that their first romantic comedy, DON'T GO BREAKING MY HEART, which aims for Mainland China market, is a hugely entertaining movie about a girl stuck between two lovesick guys. Love triangle is nothing new here, but Johnnie To and his regular Milkyway crew manage to spin the oft-seen tale with a refreshing twist. Now who says that creativity can't excel for such commercially-produced romantic comedy?

The story goes like this: En route to work by bus, Cheng Zixin (Gao Yuanyuan) whose job is an analyst for an investment bank, stumbles upon her ex-boyfriend Owen (Terence Yin), with whom she has lived for seven years and had come to Hong Kong from Suzhou, China. Owen is now has a heavily-pregnant wife (Selena Li), who quickly freaks out when she can't stand of him chatting with Zixin. Owen begs Zixin to leave the bus at once to calm his wife down. Witnessing the incident is a CEO of another investment bank named Cheung Shen-Ran (Louis Koo) who is driving alongside the bus and feels sympathy of her. In the meantime, Zixin gets off the bus angrily and walk across the busy street without even bothering the oncoming traffic. She nearly gets herself killed from an oncoming car when a raggedly alcoholic named Fang Qihong (Daniel Wu) manages to save her.

Back at the office, Zixin starts to realize that Shen-Ran, who is actually owns an office across the building, loves to flirt with her by sticking the window with Post-It notes to shape all kind of happy artworks as well as magic tricks. It doesn't take long before they love to communicate each other with more Post-It notes and various gestures.

Meanwhile, Zixin and Qihong stumble upon each other again, and the two of them quickly become friends. Despite Qihong's ragged look of an alcoholic, he's actually a top award-winning architect who is once very popular until his work starts to deteriorate due to his heavy drinking problem. But thanks to Zixin's strong support, Qihong vows not to drink anymore and gets his life back on track. He also promises to show her his architectural drawing in a week's time where they agree to meet.

Unfortunately Zixin's supposedly meetup with Qihong that night is totally forgotten when she finds herself disappointed with Shen-Ran, who fails to show up on their first date. Apparently a sexy, foreign woman named Angelina (Larisa Bakurova), who works in an office above Zixin's, has unexpectedly caught Shen-Ran's interest instead. You see, Shen-Ran's biggest weakness is whenever he stumbles upon a sexy woman, he can gets sidetracked within a blink of an eye. And at the same night comes a breaking news of Lehman Bros. filed for bankruptcy which causes Shen-Ran to shut down his business.

Three years later, Shen-Ran reappears and coincidentally he is now the new CEO for the investment bank where Zixin currently work for. She quickly tenders her resignation upon discovering her new boss, but she is at least needs three months' notice to do so or face penalty. At this time, Shen-Ran takes his chance to make his move to win her heart back by buying her a fancy car, a flat as well as a marriage proposal that starts out well enough until the night when they are about to make out, she discovers Shen-Ran can't even make a promise to her for being entirely faithful. They eventually break up.

Then comes a reformed and successful Qihong, who is now has a new office which is used to be owned by Shen-Ran. He owes his rejuvenated success much to Zixin, as well as Zixin's frog in which he treats it as his best friend. While Shen-Ran tries to win Zixin's heart all over again, he soon finds Qihong as his serious competitor when Qihong also starts to make a move on her as well.

Blessed with a witty script by Wai Ka-Fai, Yau Nai-Hoi, Ray Chan and Jevons Au, the story is consistently innovative and refreshing enough to keep both die-hard fans as well as mainstream viewers entertained throughout the course of the movie. A series of creativity often sparked here and there, notably on such high-concept premise of how the threesome (Zixin, Shen-Ran and Qihong) signalling to each other through office windows with Post-It notes, written messages and other various gestures to show their affections (although this premise has actually been done before by Australian director Patrick Hughes's inspiring short called SIGNS, which has been a YouTube sensation since 2008).

Likewise, Johnnie To's direction is stylish where he certainly understands the language of cinema that action always speaks louder than words. Like the crime genre he often known for, he does successfully incorporated the similar cinematic vibe in this romantic comedy genre where situations are developed with minimal expositions and more on visual representations. The wordless flirtations between Zixin, Shen-Ran and Qihong in the office buildings across each other are among the highlights of the movie.

And as with any other Johnnie To's movie, DON'T GO BREAKING MY HEART also blessed with excellent technical standpoints. Cheng Siu-Keung and To Hung-Mo's widescreen cinematography are solid, while Xavier Jamaux's jazzy score is downright catchy and elegant altogether.

All the three primary cast are top-notch, with Louis Koo and Daniel Wu both at the top of their game here. But the best of all is Mainland actress Gao Yuanyuan. Not only she is cute and likable enough, her wonderful bubbly persona is often charming that she can be the next queen of romantic comedy previously left vacant by Sammi Cheng. The rest of the supporting actors are equally credible, with Lam Suet and JJ Jia anchor their otherwise thankless roles good enough to make their characters interesting.

If there's any nitpicking about this movie, it's the unnecessary two-hour length which at times feels overlong. There are also times the movie feels shallow, particularly on the final resolution how things are eventually wrapped up in such rushed and typical fashion (you'll know once you see it).

DON'T GO BREAKING MY HEART may not been perfect, but to get a Hong Kong mainstream romantic comedy as enjoyable as this one is like finding a needle in the haystack. Every now and then, we need something creative like this movie to boost the lackluster Hong Kong film industry.

READ MORE - DON'T GO BREAKING MY HEART (2011)

A CHINESE GHOST STORY (2011)

RATING: 2/5

Ching Siu-Tung and Tsui Hark's A CHINESE GHOST STORY (1987) was a landmark classic of Hong Kong cinema that successfully mixed different genre of supernatural elements, romance, comedy, horror and over-the-top action all rolled into one slick package. Remaking such classic is certainly an uphill task for any director trying to achieve. But IP MAN 2 (2010) director Wilson Yip dares to take the challenge and frankly, I'm really curious how far he can do to top the original or at least making the remake as good as the original. However, as one of the most highly-anticipated Hong Kong blockbuster movies of the year, A CHINESE GHOST STORY (also known as A CHINESE FAIRY TALE in certain countries) is a huge disappointment that failed to achieve either of them.

The movie begins with a hastily-told prologue about the doomed romance between a reputable demon slayer Yan Chi Xia (Louis Koo) tainted his own image after falling in love with a beautiful demon named Siu Sin (Liu Yifei). Naturally Yan knows that human and demon cannot lived together but he has no intention to kill her whatsoever. Instead he erased her memory of their relationship and set her free, an unwise decision which doesn't sit well with his rival demon slayer Liu (Fan Siu-Wong) who later lost one of his arms during a brief fight against the notorious Tree Demon (Kara Hui).

Enter Ning Caichen (Yu Shaoqun), a wimpy government officer arrives at the rural area of Black Mountain village and discovers that the village is suffering from drought. The head of the village (Elvis Tsui, who appeared in the original version of the movie) is hoping that Ning can help them to find the water supply. And the only possible water supply Ning can find is to scale the Black Mountain above -- which happens to be the major problem for fellow villagers seemingly afraid to do so. Only a handful of villagers, mostly the convicts, are willing to follow Ning up to the mountain. Ning eventually finds the water supply located deep inside a temple, and at the same time encountered Siu Sin in which he subsequently falls in love with her. Trouble arises when Tree Demon, who is now a tyranny ruled over the Black Mountain and owned the souls of the demon including the one belonging to Siu Sin, finds out about the existence of Ning and desperately wants to feed on his soul at all cost. But Siu Sin helps him to escape as far as they can, where they are subsequently encountered Yan, who is now a bearded demon slayer still on the hunt to kill demons.

Right from the beginning, the movie has already suffer with terribly incoherent narrative structure. No thanks to Cheung Tan's haphazard script, the story drags too much with endless expositions between Yan, Siu Sin and Ning in a supposedly heated love triangle that really goes nowhere. It doesn't help either when the dialogues are awfully-written and all those moments of unintentional humor feel largely awkward. For an hour-plus, A CHINESE GHOST STORY is a long-winded and repetitive slog that one would left baffled for a capable director like Wilson Yip can end up such a whimper. All said and done, this is obvious that genre mishmash required for a movie like this isn't exactly Yip's forte after all.

The cast, in the meantime, are downright forgettable. None of them matched the inspired performances from the late Leslie Cheung and Joey Wong in the 1987 original at all. Instead we get a terribly miscast Louis Koo as the ill-fated demon slayer who looks unconvincing whenever he requires to emote a lot. Not only that, it's hard to take his character seriously especially with his fake-looking bearded appearance. Mainland actor Yu Shaoqun fares even worse as Ning Caichen. He may have the ideal wimpy look of a naive character but his lackluster acting is such an insult to Leslie Cheung's far more remarkable performance. Veteran Kara Hui hams up her over-the-top performance as Tree Demon who shrieks and laughs a lot. If anyone else are least worthwhile, it's Liu Yifei's fairly alluring performance and Fan Siu-Wong's energetic performance.

The final hour of the movie are among the least entertaining moments that worth to watch for. The energetic swordplay battle between Yan and Liu in the village, as well as the climactic battle against the Tree Demon, are superbly choreographed by Ma Yuk-Sing. These scenes are certainly a wake-up call for those who feel frustrated over the course of the duration shown earlier, but then again it's hardly enough to justify this as a worthy addition to the 1987 original.

READ MORE - A CHINESE GHOST STORY (2011)

HI, FIDELITY (2011)

RATING: 1/5

   

With a tantalizing title that reads HI, FIDELITY and a genre movie that explores older women rediscovering their sexuality, it's almost make you think this is the Hong Kong's answer to Sex and the City. On the plus side, the movie also marks the return of Pat Ha and Carrie Ng -- a double treat for die-hard fans, so what's not to like? But thanks to Calvin Poon's unfocused storytelling and haphazard direction, this movie is a complete misfire. More on that later.

When Alice (Pat Ha) finds out her husband (George Lam) accidentally caught on camera with a much younger woman, she is totally devastated. Her two close friends, Jojo (Michelle Ye) and Pinky (Carrie Ng) feel sympathized for her. That is where their youngest friend, Sevon (Bonnie Xian) suggest they should "payback" their husbands by traveling across the Hong Kong-China border to visit gigolo club for sexual fun.

And so, four of them journeyed to the gigolo club where they encounter a handsome young gigolo named Bill (William Chan). Alice is particularly fond of Bill, only to be snapped up by the more aggressive Pinky. Nevertheless Alice feels upset and leaves the club early. While drinking wine all alone, Bill appears and confesses he likes her a lot. Naturally it doesn't take long before they start seeing each other, even though their relationship is strictly sexual at the beginning.

However, Alice's long-dormant sexual urges isn't really the main situation here as her fellow friends and even Bill have their own hidden agenda. And it is this series of hidden agenda from each of the respective characters crippled Calvin Poon and Yeeshan Yang's script.

The biggest problem of this movie is that Calvin Poon tries too hard to be both lurid and serious-minded, but ends up failing miserably. The sex scenes are disappointingly cut-rate and forgettable, while the movie suffers from an excess baggage of soapy melodrama. If that's not insulting enough, Poon goes overboard by throwing all kind of sudden plot twists midway throughout the movie without even bother to develop them in coherent manner. For instance, there's a secret to how Bill is able to perform so tirelessly unlike other gigolos. Not only that, there's something fishy going on between Jojo and Alice as well as Jojo's triad husband, Matt (Chapman To). Then there's the frustrated wife Pinky who doesn't realize that her driver, Chiu (Shaun Tam) has a thing for her. Plus there's a latter fact of how come she and her son, Ho Kar Po (Buzz Chung) are dumped by her irresponsible husband (Lawrence Cheng) in the first place. Someone should tell Poon that too much of everything is hardly a good thing unless the foundation of the entire plot is carefully constructed.

Cast-wise, it's good to see Pat Ha and Carrie Ng return to acting after years of long hiatus. Both of them have fast approaching in their 50s but they still aged well. Pat Ha is particularly stunning, and her role as a lonely woman forced out of her comfort zone and rediscovered her sexuality is nothing short of captivating moments. On the other side, Carrie Ng never really loses her trademark ferocious acting style which might delight some of her die-hard fans but overall her performance remains a bit over-the-top to justify the kind of role she tackles here. Likewise, Michelle Ye's nuanced acting performance is in game as usual while William Chan rounds up the cast with a gamely playful performance as the relentless gigolo Bill.

It's a shame that these cast deserves better. And HI, FIDELITY would have been a genre masterpiece if Calvin Poon stay focused. What a huge waste of opportunity.

READ MORE - HI, FIDELITY (2011)

A SCENE AT THE SEA (1991)

RATING: 3.5/5

Mention the name of Takeshi Kitano, regular fans of his work will immediately pictured him as the man who is famous for ultra-violent crime genre that characterized in such movies including VIOLENT COP (1989), BOILING POINT (1990) and SONATINE (1993). But his third feature (after VIOLENT COP and BOILING POINT), A SCENE AT THE SEA is surprisingly a radical departure that typifies his work. Instead it's a delicate human drama that features no gangsters and of course no sense of shocking violence whatsoever. Such result might alienated (most) of his die-hard fans but those who are game enough for a change of pace to watch Kitano in different light will be somewhat pleased.

The movie tells a story of a dumb and deaf garbage collector named Shigeru (Claude Maki), who happens to chance upon a broken surfboard left somewhere on a pavement. The surfboard has somewhat captured his attention, and he can't resist of taking it back with him. Soon he begins to fix the broken surfboard by carving a Styrofoam board as replacement. His passion of surfboarding eventually grows into him, as he will go to a nearby seaside to practice the sport. His mute girlfriend, Takako (Hiroko Oshima) often accompanies him and watches him progress his surfboarding skill from time to time. At first, Shigeru is often ridiculed by a bunch of local surfers but he hardly cares anyway. He will use every spare time he has after working hour to master his skill. Even when he breaks his surfboard, he never gives up and determines to buy a new one. But it's too costly for him. Still he's willing to wait until he gets his salary and quickly buys a new surfboard from a local specialty shop. This is where the surf shop owner, Nakajima (Toshizo Fujiwara) subsequently takes notice of his sheer determination. He is so delighted until he stops by at the seaside to offer him a wetsuit and encourages him to enter in a surfing contest called Chikura Surf Classics. Shigeru's first attempt at the competition is forfeited when he fails to hear the announcement of the category. However, his persistence spirit begins to impress the surf crowd and it doesn't take long before he and Takako are accepted as part of the group.

Directed in a minimalist style, Takeshi Kitano favors everything in his picture in as static as it gets. Despite his radical departure in term of thematic approach, he never abandons his trademark filmmaking style. Long takes, symmetrical compositions, impassive reaction shots, and delicate editing remain evident here. At first, the movie might put you off-balance but if you invest your time continuously, you will be rewarded (and subsequently surprised) by the lyrical beauty Kitano offers here. You've gotta love the way how he weaves his story bit by bit that slowly grows into you.

A SCENE IN THE SEA also offers some of the most striking and memorable images in an ordinary situation that will keep your attention intact: Takako sits patiently on the beach folding her boyfriend's jeans; the Buster Keaton-like antics between two bumbling idiots who gets so carried away about surfing; one of the local surfers who keeps tripping down onto the sand each time he's off to the sea; Shigeru and Takako laughs at the scene of a man accidentally cycled down into the sea; and a scene where one of the surf chicks flirts with various members of male surf crowd by getting them to peel oranges for her.

However, the best scene (at least for me) is the one where Shigeru is forbidden to board the crowded bus with a surfboard in his hand. He is forced to get off the bus, leaving Takako inside. While Takako is inside the bus standing amongst the crowd, Shigeru takes a long walk back home before he begins to jog. In the meantime, the bus empties more passengers after passengers and there are plenty of seats available. But Takako remains in the same standing position and doesn't bother to take a seat, even though an elderly woman asks her to. Halfway along the journey, Takako decides to ring the bell and departs. She begins to run back, and eventually she manage to reunite with Shigeru along the way. It's actually a simple scene, but it's their wordless exchange that carries a certain emotional weight. In other way, it simply works as an oddball but genuinely heartfelt love story between these two mute protagonists. Yes, it's unconventional but it's the one that made you feel for them.

Acting are perfectly subdued, with genuinely expressive performances by Claude Maki and Hiroko Oshima in which both of them are virtually dialogue-free. The rest of the supporting actors are equally credible as well.

Apart from Kitano's fine direction, Joe Hisaishi's (a regular composer of Hayao Miyazaki's animes) score is ethereal that blends traditional Japanese music with eastern percussion and a hint of European-style jazz rhythm. It's a beautiful score that reflects the calming nature of the movie here.

Finally, the poetic and bittersweet finale. It's best not to reveal here. You just have to see it for yourself.

A SCENE OF THE SEA may not have been a fan favorite, but there's no denying that Takeshi Kitano's radical departure here is a piece of work worth praising for.

READ MORE - A SCENE AT THE SEA (1991)

THE LOST BLADESMAN (2011)

RATING: 2/5

Another Donnie Yen movie, and another high-profile project that has huge anticipation written all over the place. This time it involves much sought-after directing duo, Felix Chong and Alan Mak (best known for screenwriting INFERNAL AFFAIRS trilogy and CONFESSION OF PAIN) as well as directing the 2008's police surveillance drama, OVERHEARD. Their last directing effort in the 2008's LADY COP & PAPA CROOK is a huge disappointment, but their latest effort here is really something to look forward to -- a costumed martial-art drama centers on the legendary story of Guan Yu which is taken from Luo Guanzhong's popular classic novel, Romance of the Three Kingdoms. However, anyone who is expecting RED CLIFF-like sensational storytelling and epic grandeur will be sorely disappointed by the more bumpy approach Felix Chong and Alan Mak given here in THE LOST BLADESMAN.

Adapted from the story of "Guan Yu crossing five passes and slaying six generals", the movie begins as the tyrannical Cao Cao (Jiang Wen) is determined to conquer all China in the name of Han dynasty. During an ongoing war against Yuan Shao, Cao Cao enlists General Guan (Donnie Yen) to help him launch an attack against the enemy troops and subsequently killing the rival General Yan Liang (Chin Siu-Ho) in the process. Thanks to Guan's victory, Cao Cao awarded him an honorary title of "Marquis of Hanshou" and hoping that he will continues to serve him as his close ally. Unfortunately Guan remains faithful to his sworn brother Liu Bei (Alex Fong), who is actually Cao Cao's intended enemy as well. So out of respect, Cao Cao allows Guan to leave home peacefully, even though his fellow advisors are feeling uncomfortable with his decision. As a result, his advisors take their opportunity to inform every general to apprehend and kill Guan at all cost. In the meantime, Guan is fulfilling his duty to escort Liu Bei's concubine, Qilan (Sun Li) back home safely. And to make things complicated, Guan has been secretly in love with her but afraid to express his feeling because he doesn't want to betray his loyalty against Liu Bei. Soon their long journey becomes increasingly dangerous as Guan has to find way to overcome a few generals, hence the "crossing five passes and slaying six generals" in the process before able to reunite with Liu Bei.

Despite the intriguing story, it's a shame that Felix Chong and Alan Mak's adapted screenplay is poorly-executed. Those who never read the classic novel before will have tough time trying to figure out the whole story here. Thanks to their heavy-handed narration, the storytelling process is very confusing with plethora of characters and events which are too reliable on verbal context than visual interpretation. The romance factor, which centers on the forbidden love between Guan and Qilan is more of a burden than a necessity that could have been eliminated out of the story altogether. Not only that, dialogues are awfully stilted and the characters are surprisingly average at best.

Speaking of characters, Donnie Yen has the heroic presence to portray the great Guan Yu as a fearsome warrior but he only excels the best when comes to technical skill. His acting performance remains as wooden as ever, and he's practically a bore when requires to dramatize a lot. Jiang Wen is suitably cunning as the way he looks and telling gestures for his Cao Cao character, although he's not nearly as imposing as Zheng Fengyi's superb performance of similar role in RED CLIFF. As for Sun Li, her character is more of a thankless role.

Whereas the story and the characters fail to elevate the material into expectation, the action remains watchable enough to sustain the movie from a total disappointment. Except that the action isn't as consistent as one might expect from Donnie Yen, who also serves here as action director. The movie's finest sequence is the one-on-one alleyway spear battle against Guan Yu and General Kong Xiu (Andy On), which also marks one of Yen's most exhilarating martial art choreography ever staged. Unfortunately the rest of the action set pieces pale in comparison. There's few hiccups as well, notably in a fight-to-the-death scene against a troop in the dimly-lit setting that is too difficult to see what is going on and somewhat an awkward scene involving a bloody massacre that happens off-screen behind the closed doors. (Seriously, that kind of artistic approach would have work better for somewhere else). As for the ending, don't expect any save-the-best-for-the-last action sequence that normally associated with Donnie Yen's movie. Rather, it's strangely anticlimactic that doesn't offer any satisfying payoff after so much anticipation has build up earlier.

Technical credits are top-notch, with Bill Lui's impressive production design and Henry Lai's stirring music score. Chan Chi-Ying's cinematography is fluid and exciting, especially during the action sequence while the sound effects -- whether the whooshing of the firing arrow or the swinging of the spear -- are greatly emphasized.

Too bad THE LOST BLADESMAN could have been a better movie, but all we have here instead is a half-realized effort. Count this as a second consecutive disappointment in the row for Donnie Yen after his last year's LEGEND OF THE FIST: THE RETURN OF CHEN ZHEN.

READ MORE - THE LOST BLADESMAN (2011)

WHAT TIME IS IT THERE? (2001)

RATING: 3/5

Up to that time, Kuching-born and Taiwan-based auteur Tsai Ming-Liang's fourth feature, WHAT TIME IS IT THERE? is widely recognized as his most accomplished work to date. Which of course, that depends on viewers' point-of-view because Tsai's filmmaking style is more of the same: long and unbroken static shots, no direct plot, little dialogue, cryptic motives, deadpan humor and the ever-present themes of isolation and heartache.

The movie opens with an old man (Miao Tien) alone in a darkened apartment, puffing on a cigarette as he sits at the kitchen table. Cut to the next scene, we learn that the old man dies and leaves behind his wife (Lu Yi-Ching) and son, Hsiao Kang (Lee Kang-Sheng). For the next 49 days, Hsiao's highly-superstitious mother spends her time awaiting and encouraging her deceased husband's return through reincarnation. Her superstition is way extreme until she forbids her son to kill the cockroach they encounter one day in the kitchen. Not only that, she performs other weird ritual that her son has grown increasingly helpless to see her in such condition.

During day time, Hsiao Kang earns his living through peddling wristwatch on the streets of Taipei. One afternoon, he is approached by a young Taiwanese woman (Chen Shiang-Chyi) who is looking for a dual-time watch. After browsing the collection of the wristwatch, she ends up preferring the one where Hsiao wears in his wrist. At first, Hsiao refuses to sell it to her because it will bring her bad luck since he's still in the mourning. But the woman insists on buying his watch since she's leaving for Paris the next day. She convinces him a couple of times, and Hsiao finally agrees to sell away his own wristwatch to her. As a gratitude, she leaves him a piece of cake.

Despite their brief meeting, Hsiao finds himself somehow obsessed with the young who is now wearing his watch, even though she's already far away in Paris. Thus begins his strange fixation as he resets all of the watches in his display case to Paris time. He doesn't stop from there, as he goes further by adjusting the clock on the kitchen wall in his home (where his mother mistaken the abnormality of the time as a sign from her deceased husband) as well as numerous clocks he can find in public areas.

Tsai Ming-Liang and Yang Pi-Ying's screenplay doesn't have much story to tell, other than a collage of cinematic stills abstracting one after another over the course of two-hour running time. Just about everything here are suggestively cryptic and the vague depiction of the movie is clearly not for everyone who doesn't have patience. So it's no surprising that most viewers will find this an absurd piece of cinematic bore, but this movie remains a treat for art-house fans.

Themes of isolation, heartache as well as loneliness are well-calculated here. In the world of Tsai Ming-Liang, there are nothing fanciful or spectacular even in supposedly lively city like Taipei or Paris (as depicted in this movie) except everything that is static and muted. His particular depiction of time is both fascinating and amusing at the same time, it's kind of hard not to giggle the course of action Hsiao Kang does to reset every clock he can find. One memorable scene involves him adjusting the clock outside a movie theater after a toilet break, and brings it with him into the theater hall. His bizarre action has nevertheless attracts the attention of a chubby young man (Huang Kuo-Cheng), who enters the theater hall and snatches the clock away. Hsiao Kang, of course, pursues the man into the men's room and later finds him emerging from one of the toilet stalls with just the clock covering his genitalia.

The rest of the unforgettable scenes, are of course the one involves Hsiao Kang's mother which often delivers the movie's most deadpan humor. A scene where she becomes obsessed with taping off every source of light in the apartment to acknowledge her deceased husband's preference for darkness, is a must-see.

Less successful is the parallel story that involves the young Taiwanese woman struggling her day-and-night routine in Paris. Unlike the story happens to Hsiao Kang, we never really learn about her presence in Paris. Even after she eventually encounters a female Hong Kong stranger (Cecilia Yip) in which they end up sharing the same bed together and engaging in a brief lesbian act, her course of action remains as vague as it gets.

A bonus for movie enthusiasts: Jean-Pierre Leaud, who starred in François Truffaut's THE 400 BLOWS (1959), makes a cameo appearance here as the man in the cemetery who encounters the young Taiwanese woman.

READ MORE - WHAT TIME IS IT THERE? (2001)

BEAUTIFUL BOXER (2003)

RATING: 3/5

Part ROCKY (1976) and part gay-themed movie, Singapore-based Ekachai Uekrongtham's BEAUTIFUL BOXER is a remarkable true story about a transgendered Thai kickboxer Parinya Charoenphol (renamed in the movie as Nong Toom) who fights in order to fund a sex change. Such fanciful biography is interesting enough to check out for, and BEAUTIFUL BOXER never fails to entertain in that manner. But the movie falters for the lack of depth (especially for its subject matter) and thoroughly cliched in its overall execution.

The movie begins with a Eurasian reporter named Jack (Keagan Kang) who is looking to interview kickboxing champ Nong Toom (Asanee Suwan). When Jack gets caught in a street tussle, Toom who dressed in red gown, rescues him and grants him an interview in a bar.

Soon the flashback unfolds way back when Toom is just a poor village boy (played by Sarawuth Tangchit) where his parents (Om-Anong Panyawong, Nukkid Boonthong) are farmers live in northern Chiang Mai province. During his childhood time, Toom begins to realize he is destined to be a girl -- in which he is frequently play with makeup and lipstick. Other boys see Toom as a laughing stock and ends up getting bullied. When his parents find out about this, they begin to worry sick and decide to send him to a Buddhist monastery. Despite occasional Buddhist training, Toom still has a thought of becoming a girl one day.

As a teenager, Toom still prefers flowers and act like a girl. But that night when his female friend, Pi Bua (Natcha Bootsri) is being bullied during a pre-kickboxing match in a local carnival, Toom ends up in a stage fight against the bully. Having no background in training whatsoever, he ends up knocking down the bully with just a kick in the head and wins a handful of cash. It is this particular fight that makes him interested in exploring Muay Thai kickboxing.

Not long after, he begins training with kickboxing master Pi Chart (Sorapong Chatree) at a local Muay Thai school and subsequently making a name for himself as "Black Hawk" on the provincial circuit. Match after match, it doesn't take long before Pi Chart finds out about Toom's double life. Instead of expelling him, Pi Chart accepts the truth and even grants him to wear makeup during subsequent match.

At the beginning, Toom's first fight in a full makeup is a laughing stock among the crowd but he still wins the opponent gracefully and Toom has instantly emerges as a public sensation. Seeing this as a perfect gimmick to promote his fighter, training-camp owner Pi Moo (Somsak Tuangmukda) gives Toom extra money to buy the waterproof variety.

A meteoric rise ensues as Toom arrives in Bangkok for his first-ever major competition broadcast live in national television. He ends up winning of course, but not without a string of controversy that follows throughout his subsequent career -- especially when he publicly announces his wish to undergo a sex change operation.

Desmond Sim Kim Jin and Ekachai Uekrongtham's screenplay is heartfelt and endearing, while the character of Nong Toom is easily to root for despite the controversial nature of his sexuality. Played by real-life kickboxer Asanee Suwan, his feature-acting debut is surprisingly impressive especially given the difficulty of portraying such character. Apart from him, the rest of the cast are equally excellent as well.

Unfortunately, as mentioned earlier, the story takes a safer approach to explore its subject matter as straightforward as possible with sheer simplicity. We never really learn what makes Nong Toom so eager and fascinated of undergoing the sex change other than the plot synopsis already told us. This is the kind of a controversial movie that is afraid to scratch beyond its surface, and it's actually sad for seeing that because BEAUTIFUL BOXER could have been a genre masterpiece. Another weakness is its sluggish pace, especially when the movie approaches to the second half.

Technical credits are ace, with Sanae Tuptimtong's exciting fight choreography and some gorgeous production design throughout the movie. But one particular inspiring set piece is the dreamlike imagery towards the finale where Toom waits for a bus at the stand alongside younger versions of herself.

READ MORE - BEAUTIFUL BOXER (2003)

THE BUTCHER, THE CHEF, AND THE SWORDSMAN (2011)

RATING: 2.5/5

China goes gonzo in a rare occasion with THE BUTCHER, THE CHEF, AND THE SWORDSMAN, a hyper-stylized genre cocktail unlike anything you've seen before. (Well, at least if you keep track for what kind of movie China usually released in the theaters these days).

As the title suggests, the movie centers on the three titular characters and how their lives involved with a magnificent meat cleaver in the Ancient China. In the first segment entitled "Desire", a butcher named Chopper (Liu Xiaoye) is deeply in love with Madam Mei (Kitty Zhang) and wants to buy her. But he fails to fulfill his quest when he is beaten by a swordsman named Big Beard (Senggerenqin) who also wants to own her as well.

The following segment is "Vengeance", where a midget chef (Mi Dan) is informed that Eunuch Liu (Xie Ning) will pass through in a month's time and eager to feast the chef's renowned eight-course meal. But preparing food and satisfy the taste bud of Eunuch Liu is not an easy task since anyone who fails miserably will end up being killed. So the chef decides to look for an apprentice among his candidates and he chooses a mute cook (Ando Masanobu) to take his place and passes his secret about the eight-course meal. During the trade, the chef is unaware that the mute cook is plotting for a revenge after all.

Lastly, it's "Greed", where the arrogant swordsman Dugu Cheng (Ashton Xu) is looking for a sword smith named Fat Tang (You Benchang) to help him melt down a lump of famed iron to forge into an ultimate sword. After making the iron into a sword, Dugu is set to become a top-class swordsman but finds himself in great danger when he tries to battle against an army of heavily-armed warriors.

Nevertheless, all three segments are eventually intertwined where we will subsequently witnesses the fate of the individuals getting their hands on the particular meat cleaver.

There are certainly a whole lot of energy and styles in this Wuershan's feature-length debut. As an award-winning commercial filmmaker, he knows how to employ a range of different creative styles to each narrative structure that keep the viewers busy with a sensory overload. You name it -- black-and-white animation, grainy 8mm film stock, musical numbers, and even a video-game like footage complete with depleting energy bars (I kid you not). Most of them work out reasonably well to its advantage, since the movie isn't mean to be taken seriously.

Which of course, An Changhe's non-linear screenplay is mostly an entertaining gimmick than a coherent whole. The plot is mostly a mess, but simply fun enough to watch for. While the "Desire" segment is somewhat annoying, complete with an equally annoying Xie Ning in his unfunny performance as Chopper, the movie is best seen for the "Vengeance" segment. Here, both Mi Dan and Ando Masanobu strike a perfect balance together, and the food-related scene is just as visually appealing. The scene in which the mute cook is chosen to prepare meal for the grotesquely obese Eunuch Liu is laced with terrific pitch-black humor that you wouldn't believe how that eunuch end up to his eventual doom.

Acting are mixed bag here, with the movie's most recognizable star, Kitty Zhang reduced more into a thankless cameo performance. Only those colorful cast from the "Vengeance" segment deserve most of the better recognition.

As playful as the movie goes, it's a shame that Wuershan prefers to frame his action sequence in tight close-up and jerky camerawork which makes them quite a nauseating experience.

THE BUTCHER, THE CHEF, AND THE SWORDSMAN is a heavily uneven effort but remains entertaining enough for those wanted to watch something different.

READ MORE - THE BUTCHER, THE CHEF, AND THE SWORDSMAN (2011)