Little Benny (Siu Ban-Ban) feels very little connected to his modern day urban family, especially so since his current father (Liu Wai-Hung) is merely his stepfather and a cheap, mean one as well. When on his own adventures in the city, Benny bumps into a group of criminals and happen to obtain a roll of film they're desperately after. Chased and subsequently kidnapped, Benny's mom (Teresa Mo) is forced to contact the potential ACTUAL fathers of Benny. One is a cop (Sammo Hung), the other skinny and timid (Raymond Wong). Let the rivalry begin...

Reportedly a remake of the French comedy Les Compères (starring Gérard Depardieu), you won't miss any point Clifton Ko injects into this mess. A kid wants a real fatherly connection, a point you'll notice since Ko slaps you in the face with it. Bad parenting. Very obvious point as Ko goes for our other cheek. And finally all involved, including the dueling papas, must learn to co-operate and evaluate what's best for Benny. By this time Ko goes for a full on blow to the face and you should feel blood streaming down the face. Yes, it's not smoothly integrated sentiments and combined with unfunny gay jokes, AIDS jokes and a sequence pretty much lifted from Home Alone (which isn't that funny anymore anyway), Daddy, Father & Papa is a tiresome farce with not as much heart as the filmmakers thinks it has. Seeing Sammo play something else is always encouraging but he's part of the abusive streak the movie has towards many walks of life (including animals) and it's definitely not fitting logically. It fits a Hong Kong movie however. A minor smirk or two emerges, mainly from Tommy Wong as part of the buffoon gang of criminals (that also includes James Tien). At one point he's force fed a Woody Woodpecker-toy and spends the next few scenes squeezing out nothing but the famed noises of the cartoon character. Think Clifton Ko and company asked for rights to use this or even the French movie copyright?

Fei Fei's (Angela Mao) clan is taken out so she poses as a man to trick a team of old masters (one literally looking like a beggar and the other is a drunkard judging by the red nose) to teach her their various forms of kung-fu. A lot of forms and styles, high pitched noises as dialogue, Dean Shek but more importantly Jackie Chan choreographed action later, Dance Of Death sure adheres to genre staples. Mostly in the worst of ways as this on autopilot-filmmaking is not a pretty showcase. Especially not when the included pieces simply doesn't gel but are performed anyway. Director Chen Chi-Hwa (Shaolin Wooden Men) seems to interfere a whole lot by favouring the comedy angle to the kung-fu but evidence of a Jackie in development is apparent too. With Mao clearly not a good fit for being a kickass clown basically, the various battles of slapstick mixed in with the fights are slow, stiff and very unfunny concepts. When you decide to let Dean Shek dominate within all this, employing the Pink Panther-form (cue expected music) and fart-form, shaking your head in disbelief won't make the choreography go faster. As the dual masters count which forms of theirs Angela Mao's character is using (it's their little contest between them), the trajectory of Dance Of Death is heading downwards fast but Jackie features fast, hard hitting, acrobatic and straightfaced choreography by the time we reach the end. Nevermind the actual concept of the dance of death, finally Angela Mao is immersed perfectly in the epic, superbly intricate scraps against Ga Hoi and Sun Jung-Chi. It's reference material material that many should and will favour instead of the feature.

Although one of its aka's was Drunken Master 2, Yuen Woo-Ping's Dance Of The Drunk Mantis is more of a reunion, with only Simon Yuen reprising his role and big star Jackie Chan did not or could not participate again. It's really unavoidable for the film to not live in the shadow of Drunken Master but it can can easily be judged on its own terms, and the judgment is of positive nature.

We get more of an insight into the family dynamics around Beggar So (Simon Yuen) and how he bonds with his adopted son (Yuen Shuen Yee). Basically the template of master-student training then takes over and quite an overabundance of exaggerated comedy, mainly from Yuen Shuen Yee. He proves that he was not going to break out as a leading man in this genre and to add to the damage, Dean Shek has an unbearable act as a banker with his own set of morals. Thankfully the kung fu is of high quality, going more of an intricate route but is nonetheless accessible and entertaining. This aspect especially flies when Yam Sai Koon's ailing character enters the frey and puts Yuen through his type of training. Other highlights includes a complex duel between Beggar So and Rubber Legs (Hwang Jang Lee) and the finale, ending on quite a darkly comedic note. Also appearing is Linda Lin, Corey Yuen and Chin Yuet Sang.

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

Out to make a buck with the aid of the God Of Gamblers structure coupled with good looking stars and a whole bunch of wacky silliness, Dances With Dragon is one of Wong Jing's more bearable commercial endeavors. Chairman Lone Ka Chun (Andy Lau) breaks away from fairly dick-ish behaviour and the rich world by hiding at Lantau Island as a Mainland immigrant. He's punished constantly by Shi Yi (Deannie Yip) who along with her daughter Moon (Sharla Cheung), who's just joined Ka Chun's company too, runs a small restaurant out of their house with an ultra-low ceiling. In Ka Chun's absence, people are steering the company in a manner that may endanger the living of his newly found, poor friends. Then Andy Lau has to fall in love with Sharla Cheung (who's a bit of an ugly duckling initially) of course. At first a tough trek and sell in combination with a hefty running time, Wong Jing finds momentum eventually. It's recognizable stuff from him that in other movies usually crashes and burn but he's got performers to act properly silly for him this time. That's why jokes about Sharla Cheung being hungry and seeing food everywhere she goes (including pork buns where Andy Lau's ass is. This joke would be reprised in City Hunter), Deannie Yip's kung fu scam, constant beating of Andy Lau and Ng Man-Tat as Ka Chun's fairly abused assistant gets to you. Yvonne Yung is also amusing as a foul-mouthed Mainlander. Probably very offensive in parts too, this is still lighthearted cinema not to be taken lightly and not seriously. Certainly Wong Jing's intentions at many times in his career but few times were as fun to follow for all its ups and downs during 100 minutes. Also with Alfred Cheung, Wu Ma and Paul Chu.

KENNETH'S REVIEW: Two voice over narrators setup the story (one telling, one reacting) about three sisters apparently snake-like in actual form or nature in need of constant male air (or rather semen) in order to battle their enemy Tinsan Monster (Dick Wei). When a team of missionaries arrive in the town, the girls find out that one that can give them ultimate energy. So a whole lot of sex for the devoted christian then. And also, some rich guy arranges an oil wrestling match. It's all very irrelevant, low-budget and uneventful. Which is the biggest shame because on paper, sex as a major plot point and therefore an unashamed excuse to feature it, could've been a blast. Charlie Cho appears as a great doctor of sorts with a huge penis and although playing the proceedings light, Dances With Snakes isn't particularly funny either. Just painfully low-budget.

KENNETH'S REVIEW: Also known as The Warrior (which sounds harder) and Venom Warrior (US bootleg title), I'm sure it was a sound idea at the time to combine the craze of disco dancing with martial arts. Opting to be less wacky about it compared to Yuen Woo-Ping's kinda wonderful Mismatched Couples, Chang Cheh tells the story of Andy (Ricky Cheng, whose physical prowess is quite astounding) who has a lifelong dream of making it as a dancer. Eventually being fooled into coming to the land of dreams, i.e. U S of A, he will have to make the choice of living on the bare minimum (beer instead of brandy) or go into underground fighting...

As expected, there are no skills on display that could stand proudly next to Chang Cheh's prior work but Dancing Warrior isn't as typically Chang Cheh eccentric either as it doesn't pour on with his stock themes. Oh for sure we get some gory, glory deaths, bare breasted men and slow motion but the film travels less on the outskirts of cinema like most of Chang Cheh's latter works were. It even attempts to say something pessimistic about pursuing dreams and presents an oddly effective tragedy of an ending. But it's little, very little and odd dubbing such as "He's got style but he's no ninja material" makes you wonder what a wonderful tangent the movie could've had if it had pursued THAT dream. Chen Kuan-Tai and James Wong (also score) appear in cameos.

KENNETH'S REVIEW: Chang Cheh plays it somewhat light and safe but there will be little objections from those looking for a basic fix of his. A revenge tale at core, by inserting a fair bunch of scenes with Phillip Kwok, Chiang Sheng, Lu Feng performing street acrobatics and martial arts, a certain angle grows and indeed, Chang Cheh this time makes his characters use their performing skills rather than being warriors WITH the skill. This has the aura of something light, a summer ride and while he doesn't have his action directing team combine the fun with the seriously terrific and intricate that the film also features, The Daredevils does get noticed. Maybe an answer to a kung-fu comedy trend, maybe an answer to those looking for the basic fierce and bloody in Chang Cheh's cinema, the standard is nevertheless much higher than a lazy vehicle of its kind as well as easily digested. Lo Meng, Wong Lik and Chan Shen also appear.

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

What's on the horizon in Dark Side Of Chinatown is not a new, tough exploration of those dark sides but a generally non-distinct gangster melodrama. Partly set in Seattle, when main characters take refuge to Hong Kong with henchmen following them in the pursuit of an accounts book, certainly no one can argue against the dramatic template as conceived as it's about the son of retired cop Kwan (Kenneth Tsang) that is fairly unwillingly involved in gangster activities. Having once saved Shan (Lam Wai) from prosecution, it's Shan who's unknowingly accepted the son and has to make up for his sins in the eyes of Kwan. A certain gloomy atmosphere thanks to pounding ambient sounds is there but Dark Side Of Chinatown can't really clinch the benchmark of acceptable drama when it features screaming and crying characters taking it to intrusive, over the top levels instead. Some dips into brutality and Hwang Jang-Lee getting a chance to let loose keeps you busy but without investment in much else, there's little point to the film. Gwailo actor playing Sergeant Dicker is crudely inserted at points but only creates laughs thanks to that....name. Also with Jason Pai, Fan Mei-Sheng, Eddy Ko, Kwan Hoi-San and Ku Feng.

Reportedly a Canada/HK co-production, released separately is an edit under the title of The Border Of Tong (aka Massacre) that features little of the Hong Kong angle (and its cast) and instead stays in Seattle where our American cop pursues the accounts book among other things.

Fred (Tony Leung Chiu-Wai) and Keith (Jacky Cheung) are two aspiring triad followers but as death, destruction and bad luck follows them wherever they go, things are not as easy as they would like to believe. The fact that they're completely spineless and wimps when it comes to doing the dirty job does hurt also...

UFO enlists Blacky Ko to deliver this wild comedy, with rather splendid results...if complete lunacy and lack of a proper plot floats your bloat. Could've failed and in all honesty, the writing team (Joe Ma and James Yuen included) does deliver sophomoric, grating and loud mouthed comedy to leads Leung and Cheung. The performers takes the material and injects great life into it though, bouncing off each other very well. The triad genre gets a minor satirical touch also, with added black humour and violence but it all doesn't mean anything really. The romance angle with Anita Yuen (her first film and she received a Best New Artist award for her performance) and Tony Leung doesn't go anywhere but the unexpected jokes carry the film away from its potential pitfalls. It may be the days of being dumb for the guilty parties involved but we gladly sink to that level as well. Eric Tsang and Ken Tong appears also.