Success and popularity of Japanese monster movies of course led to other territories trying on the formula and one such was Taiwan. Rather than imitating in an obvious way, Calamity takes the character out of Chinese folk religion General Guan Yu (the god which both cops and triads worship for instance) and pits him against aliens from Mars! Part a bleak family drama and a comment on the use of nuclear power, the aliens are pissed about the nuclear testing having reached their orbit but one widowed husband who's carving the perfect Guan Yu statue for his dead wife manages to reach out to the God for help as society as we know it is falling apart under the destructive powers of the martians!

Despite this serious and goofy side, Calamity manages to strike a pitch perfect balance between the two. Oh no, it's not affecting to have a serious first half but it's not distracting. Hence perfect and when there's evidence of gravity vanishing, extreme heat and earthquakes, the movie starts launching into its main attraction: fights and destruction! Although the matte shots mixing live action and the giant characters are pretty poor, the men in suit action is very competent with a nice sense of destruction, scale and thankfully this rather extensive showcase (i.e. the main attraction again) never bores. Seeing weapon duels and kung-fu fighting between gods and aliens is simply awesome and this very obscure Taiwanese gems lives up to every awesome poster and production still of it that's out there.

Director Edmond Pang (Men Suddenly In Black, Dream Home) mentioned in the past a desire to restore and re-release Calamity but reports revealed he wasn't working with pristine elements. Time will tell if this pet project will happen.

When the family dog Cala gets taken away by the authorities since the family don't own a dog permit, Lao Er (Ge You - To Live, Eighteen Springs), a lowly factory worker, struggling husband and father, works against a ticking clock to find ways outside of the law to regain his trusted companion...

Lu Xuechang's (The Making Of Steel) excellent little film mixes satire, droll comedy and drama seamlessly, starting out with a very hard white on black opening crawl about the dog permit law. Hard shadows in the defined cinematography suggests we're in a different genre but centering it around the "abduction" of the titular dog, Lu is in a very clever way setting up a ticking clock movie structure. But the setting and our main hero is not going to kill people and set off explosions during the course of the day but instead Lao Er takes a trip through urban Beijing while also having to confront his own family life. Cala is as it turns out something Lao Er can hide behind, his only real companion in a scarred family unit. Staying true to Mainland cinema-esque techniques, very little is shoved in our face and we're asked to grasp ourselves any low-key comedy and character weight. What a joyous task it is to do so! Ge You centers the film marvelously, being a pitch perfect image for the journey of Lao Er. A journey that director Lu isn't interested to fully follow through. There are certain tasks that are solved after 100 minutes but life doesn't get solved in that short amount of time. Despite the cheat that it may sound like, it's highly encouraging and enlightening cinema.

Cala, My Dog! was a 5 time winner at the 4th annual Chinese Media Awards including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor (Ge You).

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The call girl or hostess movie was practically its own genre in Hong Kong cinema, offering up relatively little room for riveting stories but here Andy Chin (Changing Partner, Why Wild Girls) takes expected stories and injects character and life into them in an unexpectedly well-honed manner (plus synch sound adds much). Not dealing with whether or not the profession is bad for you but instead the men and issues in their lives proves to be an engaging choice, much more so in Cecilia Yip and Veronica Yip's cases. Carrie Ng and Cheung Man have less interesting beats to work from, even being subjected to a rather undeveloped lesbian subplot that seems to cater more to the exploitation crowd. A decision that doesn't feel at home in what turns out to be a respectful drama but as the Yip's take more center stage, the depth and emotions do as well to a very compelling degree. Definitely a neglected movie and one of Andy Chin's best. Vincent Wan brings excellent supporting acting chops while Kenneth Chan, Ha Ping, Jamie Luk and Jackie Lui also appear.

The movie playing in the cinema scene is Andy Chin's own Sisters In Law.

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The life of a few prostitutes and hostesses through the eyes of Yeung Kuen (Seeding of A Ghost, Bloody Beast). Actually, the downbeat and fairly overwrought nature of this drama can be applied to many directors handling of the subject and while Yeung isn't out to challenge genre notion, interest is maintained in an area or two here. Basically 3 stories in one, primarily Carrie Ng's one where she struggles to maintain a steady family life with a young child left in the dark about her activities and a gambling addict husband (Cheung Kwok-Keung). It's trying to live a daily life that makes Candlelight's Woman, through Carrie Ng's performance, take on a seemingly more real tone. Without any exploitation aspects to boot! Rain Lau (Queen Of Temple Street) as Mei, a heartbroken young lesbian, takes the main spotlight for a while only to be forgotten until the violent climax. A little focus is there, just not sufficient by quite a longshot. You also learn that these films, while boasting haunting endings at times, really pulls their conclusions out of the standard template book. No different here, even though action director Cho Wing's work is notable at times. Also starring Michael Lai, Shing Fui-On, Jay Lau, Wan Chi-Keung and Lee Ga-Sing.

When the Japanese emperor officially announces Japan's surrender during World War II, the news tries its best but often fail to reach a band of Japanese and Chinese solider blowing the hell out of each other. They also have to worry about flesh-eating cannibals...

A big, big, explosive event presented by Cinema City and directed by Yu Kang-Ping, who grated excessively the year before in Spooky Kookies. His stars Suen Yuet and David Tao (as Miyamoto Simpleton and Cesspool Kozido respectively) return to a much more bearable and jolly war adventure romp that plans well ahead to feature a little bit of everything. Opening amusingly with an on-screen caption explaining that the filmmakers KNOW the Japanese characters are speaking Chinese (one of them being Eric Tsang in a cameo), recipe is manic pace and every element injected you can think of. So Yu rides the joke of the surrender news not being able to reach some of his troops in highly amusing, insane ways, possibly offends gravely but god damn, it's so likeable when you get tidbits such as the Japanese finding out their manufactured tanks are in the hands of the Chinese, the Blacky Ko lead cannibals often pondering if you can eat tanks and the likes, multiple catchy song numbers, the sight of a SEXY Red Cross unit (cue Teresa Tsui's yummy cameo) but ultimately a slightly poignant message can be found in this circus. "We're all alike" someone find out when they're all naked and then they burst into song again! Cinema City founders Karl Maka and Dean Shek appear in cameos as well.

With the parade of stars and recognizable faces appearing in a montage during the opening credits (an unusual move from Hong Kong cinema), Carry On Dancing introduces a light vibe that surely won't demand much from you. Going almost completely impenetrable from this point, our basic plot about twin sisters played by Cora Miao sees them switch places. The one in the asylum goes out into the real world to claim alimony from her husband (James Wong) and the other introvert one finds love with a kind doctor (Richard Ng) within the hospital walls. Then other stuff happens that doesn't fall into place sense-wise. It's fun to see Cora Miao animated and a certain sweetness can be picked up from Richard Ng and Mang Hoi's performances but without any other points coming through, Carry On Dancing isn't even remotely amusing. Not gravely bad to the point that we instead want crass and low-brow akin to a Wong Jing experience but considering the work of Leung Po-Chi (Hong Kong 1941) and Kam Kwok-Leung (actor in Purple Storm), we're tempted. Sandy Lam, Eric Tsang, Meg Lam, Michael Chow, Rachel Lee, Stanley Fung and Charlie Chin also appear.

The stars are all on parade in this episodic comedy set in and around a hotel. Directed by Jeff Lau, you could mistake Carry On Hotel for a Lunar New Year comedy judging by the cast and general lack of effort. No, this puppy was actually released during the height of summer in 1988, an era where it was possible to gather up the likes of Jacky Cheung, Joey Wong, Richard Ng, Pat Ha, Cecilia Yip, Kent Cheng, Eric Tsang, Charlie Chin and Cherie Chung in one movie. Lau's direction for most of these episodes only land on semi-amusing but is carried by that undeniable 80s Hong Kong cinema charm. The odd detour into black comedy for the Eric Tsang, Pat Ha and Cherie Chung segment is welcome and Richard Ng is an absolute riot in a possible nod to his famous shenanigans in Winners And Sinners. Here's he plays a thief who thinks he can hypnotize whoever he wants and his apparently grand ninja tricks are tried out on the hotel staff as well! It's also here Jeff Lau's comedic momentum is at its finest but Carry On Hotel only offers up a glimpse into what he can really do at his best.

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Not frequently mentioned modern action-comedy from Sammo Hung, his first production after the seminal The Prodigal Son. Playing a pickpocket alongside Frankie Chan, there's terrific focus put on making those types of scenes smooth and with the right flow. Some worthwhile comedy from Sammo and Frankie crops up but Richard Ng steals the show and injects the best comedic sparks for Sammo's frame. Also of great caliber is the action by Hung's team with the primary focus being on power despite the light nature of the film. This direction makes the film lose a little bit since the finale goes all out gory at times but overall, Carry On, Pickpocket delivers a fun, entertaining time with the odd, shocking blood spurt and Richard Ng being Richard Ng. Well-rounded in other words. Also with Lau Hak Suen, Deannie Yip, Didi Pang, Peter Chan Lung, Dick Wei, James Tien and Paul Wong. Chin Yuet Sang has a fun little cameo as a disco dancing waiter.