TROY'S REVIEW: Now don't get me wrong, I love bad movies but this... this takes bad to an all new and utterly horrifying new depth! Here my friends is a movie so inept as to surely make even the late Ed Wood turn away in abject consternation! Resembling an abysmal student film and shot on a low quality home video camera, this without a doubt contains some of the very worst dubbing, most pitiful acting and hopeless martial arts choreography I have ever had the misfortune to witness in my life! If this wasn't bad enough, the interminably mundane pacing of this flick almost rendered me into a bloody coma! You thought that Manos: The Hands Of Fate was bad? Trust me, this atrocious pile of ordure makes that flick look like Citizen Kane! I would describe the plot but to be honest I'm trying desperately to eschew all traces of this horrific experience from my memory. For the sake of all that is decent, avoid this film like floating feces in a swimming pool!

Backed by Ying E Chi films, whose aim it is to promote independent filmmaking (an initiative started after Fruit Chan hit it big with Made In Hong Kong in 1997), Bryan Chang's sophomore effort envisioned as a trilogy (started with After The Crescent and ended with And Also The Eclipse?) is not so much a plotted movie but a collection of interwoven (and also not) city stories with love and relationships at center. Shooting it mundane, with the Hong Kong city sounds heightened, much seems abstract throughout but Chang (with past credits being writer of Run And Kill among other things) favours the seemingly stale chemistry that occurs when we talk heart to heart. He goes around sporadically through the people, some of which are dealing with fear to commit (acclaimed director Wilson Yip stars in a fairly effective, raw turn and his character Doug corresponds to this, leaning back on a saying that your fate comes to you so you do nothing), committing adultery, looking to take the next step into motherhood but only if their distraught partner will join on the journey and falling in love for the first time. With long takes and seemingly random shots of people in the Hong Kong cityscapes, Chang captures some fine magic here as he deals with his relationship issues and celebrates the everyday nature of life and coincidence. It doesn't seem to say much at times and when flashing much poetry in front of us, the interpretation may not go towards what you thought you learned prior but it's a suitably low-key work that definitely has something. Ying E Chi and at least one of its players deserves a larger spotlight based on all this. Veronica Lee's sparse piano score is also a major asset.

You can buy movies from the Ying E Chi catalogue directly from their website http://www.yec.com/

Chor Yuen proved already in 1972 that class, style and thought could fit into a period, softcore erotica vehicle. The film was the legendary Intimate Confessions Of A Chinese Courtesan (later reinterpreted by Chu as Lust For Love Of A Chinese Courtesan). Following in the grand footsteps of the groundbreaking effort is Eddie Fong's feature debut An Amorous Woman Of Tang Dynasty. The marvelous and adventurous Pat Ha plays Yu Yuan-Gi, a Taoist priestess/poetess and the lady of a house full of maids that provide company for men. Yu desires to break herself out of the traditional female role of the dynasty, starting with a sexual encounter with wandering swordsman Tsui Pok-Hau (Alex Man)...

Eddie Fong brings the elegance, working with superb cinematography, music and art direction for his very feministic oriented period erotica piece. Told in spare and subtle fashion, Yu's educated views in her obstacle filled journey results in many things not normally associated with Category III rated movies. Dialogue is intelligent and poetic, subject matter not a springboard for pure exploitation and in the end, Fong's inclusion of fairly graphic sex scenes are more than justified and part of a enchanting whole. Ku Feng, Chang Kuo Chu and and Lam Hoi Ling co-stars.

Reportedly, Fong's director's cut of approximately 180 minutes played in Taiwan but that version isn't obtainable at the time of writing.

Buy the DVD at:
HK Flix.com
Yesasia.com

A rare glimpse into the directorial mind of Fan Mei-Sheng (who also co-wrote the so called script). Emulating what Bruce Lee did with The Way Of The Dragon by utilizing European locations is not enough when you don't have anything else to offer up. There's the odd good bit of action choreography but with routine plotting, no star power whatsoever, inept English dubbing that only partially makes Amsterdam Connection camp, it was pretty much a sealed deal regarding the overall quality. Bolo is a minor standout though as he moves well despite his bulky self. Also with Jason Pai Pao, Wong Yuen-San, Chan Sing and the co-director of this mess himself, Fan Mei-Sheng.

Buy the DVD at:
HK Flix.com

While Yes, Madam and Royal Warriors resurrected the female action heroine in the form of Michelle Yeoh, it was Angel that more distinctly kickstarted the genre, also known as "girl with guns". In particular it was Moon Lee and Yukari Oshima that became icons of the genre (no wonder in regards to Yukari, she's terrific here) and went on to star in numerous other similar vehicles such as Angels 2, Dreaming The Reality and Angel Terminators 2. As with important efforts from the martial arts genre such as The Chinese Boxer and The Big Boss, Angel doesn't necessarily represents the highest quality but a kind of landmark and therefore it's more of an effort on par with many entries in the genre.

The mixture of Charlie's Angels and James Bond doesn't exactly mean originality and with routine plotting, Angel only has the action to fall back on. However, that aspect does add colour with action director Tony Leung creating fast moving set pieces involving both gunplay and fight action. Moon Lee and Yukari Oshima fans may be disappointed that neither is fighting to the extent that subsequent movies showcases but rest assured, the finale represents a beginning of this pairing in a gritty manner. Also with David Chiang, Elaine Lui, Saijo Hideki, Alex Fong (he's come a long way since these days) and Hwang Jang Lee.

The Hong Kong print credits Tony Leung and Ivan Lai as directors in addition to Teresa Woo and Raymond Leung but according to an interview with Tony, Woo remained on the sidelines producing and writing in actuality.

Buy the DVD at:
HK Flix.com
Yesasia.com

KENNETH'S REVIEW: More executive director's Stanley Tong and Dang Tak-Wing's work is felt on this the third installment of Teresa Woo's series of films. That's surely because Woo still remained on the sidelines producing and writing in actuality, something that was the case for the first movie according to hkcinemagic's interview with action director Tony Leung. There's no need for a storyteller though, just a guiding hand to make sure this comes off as a mostly Thailand bound James Bond adventure. Gadgets and stock villains with their pets along with international flavour is evident, even down to the casting of a Caucasian member of the angel group called Computer. Still, it's the Hong Kong influence that reigns, leaving out potentially a varied character action assault but Moon Lee and Alex Fong carry the torch pretty well. Fong/stunt doubles take part in a dangerous car chase through a marketplace, a hard hitting kickboxing match and gets jetpacks to play with during the finale. The latter being quite the insane, wonderful moment to surprise with during the standard gunplay. Moon isn't by any stretch of the imagination doing reference work but jacks up the intensity level of the film via several bouts with multiple characters at once. She's curiously left out of the climax though, showing filmmakers thinking more of desire than logic.

Credited at the Hong Kong Movie Database as co-director, Godfrey Ho's presence is certainly felt in the casting of it all as a bunch of awkward Western performers come and go, some more familiar than others (Mark Houghton, Abbott among others). What Angel Enforcers clearly is however is afterburner fuel courtesy of Angel and a designed intro around our quartet of girls with guns (Sharon Yeung leading the pack) where they all get an op to pose leads into a cheap vehicle that merely wants to crush and punish. Scattered with not too much painful intervals of comedy and drama are some quite heavy duty, painful stunt work (I'm willing to bet Ridley Tsui took the jump from a bridge and then bounced off two cars) and lead Yeung fights ferociously as the tough cookie of a chick she is. A fair success then and some well-spent money (or not) on these insane stuntmen means we, as padding, have to endure the shenanigans of naughty, rich boy Charlie Cho who at one point is left in the caring hands of American gay porn stars! Dick Wei also appears as the brutal force he can be at the best of times but the narrative choice to focus on the righteous brotherhood between him and Phillip Ko's character actually switches sympathy attention away from where it's supposed to be. Very odd. Ha Chi-Jan (Eastern Condors), Wu Fung and Walter Tso also appear.

KENNETH'S REVIEW: Showcasing an arsenal early and eventually packing a decent punch in the action-stakes, Phillip Ko won't have anyone interested in experiencing his bare minimum plot at regular speed. No, the fast forward button is your friend in this story of friendships and connections on both sides of the law. Seeing Yukari Oshima actually speak Japanese for once is fun. As is a strange scene with Alfred Cheung demanding AIDS should not enter Japan but little makes sense but the pain, mayhem and hard hitting nature in the action. It makes for a watch that perhaps reaches 20 minutes at normal speed. Dick Wei and Ha Chi-Jan (Eastern Condors) also appear.

KENNETH'S REVIEW: Dire Moon Lee/Sibelle Hu actioner set in Malaysia. A simple delivery mission of a criminal and a computer disc goes wrong and the female duo from Hong Kong has to stick with the Malaysia setting. This mean some culture clashes and an unwilling bond via handcuffs with a thief (Benny Lai). Shame about the suckage in a way because director Cheung introduces an unusual hero early. I.e. an older, slightly obese kickass cop but as he's killed off, we put our hopes into Lee and Hu. Utilized very poorly and within choppy action, there's minor one-take wonders with Lee but remainder of Angel's Project bores. Laughable "highlights" include the world's slowest car chase, piss jokes and a jungle setting with sneaky traps bound to come out during the finale. Jimmy Lung as a crooked cop isn't even allowed to act up a storm.