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?

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.

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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.

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.

As the 1960s movie classic "Days of Tomorrow" is being remade, daughter (Hilary Tsui) of deceased leading man Shing (Andy Lau) begins to question why this remake decision is tearing up old wounds in the survivors from the era...

An attractive production and an even prettier cast (Andy Lau is particularly striking in this one) doesn't get as much rewards on a script- and storytelling level. The romance amidst the moviemaking climate jerks back and forth before settling and it's not until the latter parts of the film that all elements combined goes any moving places. It's not really earned when it does and the filmmakers utilize some more heavy handed melodrama and montages to channel emotions but attractions such as Andy Lau and Carrie Ng makes one lost in the scenery. The end twist however is neatly handled by director Lau Yue-Ming. Also with Yip San, Henry Fong and Lau Kong.

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Cheap but with no restraint whatsoever is the best way to describe this Cat III actioner/drama/occasionally sleazy rape romp. Simon Yam is Wai, a village cop with a traumatic past where he froze during a shootout. Today he indulges in drugs, booze and is on the brink of divorce from his wife. His negligence leads to a Mainland gang entering the island to take revenge for Tommy Wong's bullied character. As these things go, the gang do not only go completely ballistic on the intended victims but the entire village community as well. It'll up to Wai to face his past demons and fight back...

Director Lee takes a simple premise and thoroughly confuses for the first reel as editing is relentless and every single moment with Simon Yam completely over the top. When he's settled down and convinced himself that there's nothing of great substance to be done here, he lets it rip...big time. There's copious amounts of violence towards pretty much anyone that gets in the way and while not particularly well-choreographed, the over the top nature to the action (and everything in A Day Without Policeman) strangely entertains. The plight for Simon Yam's character is admirable on paper but without any subtlety, nothing registers. Yam does put in more of a performance yes but under the guidance of Johnny Lee, it's extreme human drama instead! I do have to say that the various detours into black comedy, as sick as it may be, becomes something akin to creative in Lee's frame. A Day Without Policeman is not good but it's certainly watchable when it really shouldn't have been.

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Chang Cheh's portrayal of lost youth set in then modern day Hong Kong takes a while to get going but coming from the era where he was such a premier character driven storyteller, it comes as no surprise that Dead End excels in the long run. Choosing this type of vehicle to first pair up Ti Lung and David Chiang may seem odd and a sign of an evolution towards some kind of ultimate collaboration still yet to be thought of (what became "The Iron Triangle" as the Ti Lung/David Chiang/Chang Cheh vehicles were dubbed). David is actually not part of Chang's primary focus but the movie rests very much on Ti Lung's shoulders, playing Zhang Yuan, our lost youth of the piece. His love for wen Rou (Li Ching) is being hindered due to her protective family and the frail mind of Zhang's threatens to take this conflict to violent places...

A few tads overplayed at times but Chang Cheh's portrayal of Zhang is up there with the best filmmakers employing subtlety. Confident in his flirting skills, Zhang faces a reality of trying to strike a career path of sorts but can in a heartbeat be discouraged about everything, even manifesting itself in the form of involuntary trembling in the hands. Young Ti Lung handles Chang's direction very well and it's a tragic arc worthy of following, thanks again to Chang Cheh's smooth direction. His martial arts dramatic epics are obviously more bankable but it's a testament to Chang Cheh's skills that he can work wonders with less action in an unusual setting for him. Chen Hung-Lieh (Come Drink With Me) and Angela Yu co-stars.

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