Triad negotiator Hero Wah (Andy Lau) and successful insurance salesman Cheung Ho Kit (Tony Leung Chiu-Wai) switches places as both are old friends and tired of their respective, old lifestyles. Plus Kit has a brain tumour so off into their new worlds they go. Hero Wah brings poor sense of dress code, lack respect for authorities and manages to romance stern lady superior Miss Mui (Teresa Mo) while Kit romances the daughter (Fennie Yuen) of a triad boss (Michael Chan). A sense of stars letting themselves go to be very silly and high energy delivery supervised by Herman Yau is an easy way to summarize the work here. It absolutely doesn't mean anything but it's also good, commercial entertainment kept afloat by said star power. Also with Shing Fui-On.

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Political correctness went out the window for Sammo Hung's reuniting with old Peking opera brother and 80s co-star Yuen Biao. It's a bit unfair to single out Sammo for being the sole filmmaker having made fun of racial stereotypes but on the other hand, he doesn't seem to know better based on the portrayal of homosexuals in Pantyhose Hero and when dressing up his co-stars as black people here in Don't Give A Damn. Also a pretty limp cop action comedy, there's chops here that proves Sammo could've churned out a fairly fine product but drowning matters in comedic banter that doesn't register and only glimpses of fighting stunts and prowess (best scene being Sammo and Yuen Biao beating the crap out of each other in a locker room) isn't enough to raise a final grade. It's standard stuff about bad guys wanting their heroin back and police station romance, the latter parts sees Sammo actually rising above this lazy inclusion as his signs of sincerity almost takes this part of the film to an acceptable level. Almost. Because when hitting the top of racial stereotyping towards the end, it's an embarrassing show that can't be forgiven despite a glimpse or two during the action finale being positive. A parade of recognizable faces appear though, including Takeshi Kaneshiro, Kathy Chow, Eileen Tung, Ngai Sing, Kelvin Wong, Teddy Yip, Nat Chan, Lau Kar-Wing, Leung Kar-Yan, Melvin Wong, Wu Ma, Cheung Kwok-Keung, Chin Siu-Ho, Blacky Ko, Richard Ng, Peter Chan Lung, Billy Lau, Miu Kiu-Wai, Eddie Maher and Bobby Samuels.

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Behind the English title that could as well have been a screwball comedy lies a quite dark tale with most flaws expected of an unseasoned cinema trying out being cinema. Alan Tang acts very big and exaggerated as Fan Kwok Ho, a refugee seeking help from his wealthy brother (Patrick Lung). When rejected, Fan wows to make his brother pay and as he rises up the ranks of the triads, he will have the means to do so...

Stanley Siu gives us arresting images of refugees taking the shore in Hong Kong and certainly sets up a classic template that will equal blood, destruction and grave nihilism. It does but those aspects being put focus on makes the characters quite one-dimensional in the process. Fan goes from being the dedicated husband with heart to a genuine lunatic with a touch of honor and an even smaller piece of heart the more bitter he gets. His transformation from poor immigrant to wealthy gangster is taken care of in lazy montage-form and along the way Stanley Siu never convinces that any character (and especially supporting) could make an impact. When focusing only on bloodlust, his darkness is eerie and superbly effective as the deaths get more and more disturbing. Among other things we see Fan ordering a fellow of his to perform amateur surgery while other people meet horrific deaths by trucks and bombs. It's memorable but not as the pessimistic character-piece Don't Kill Me, Brother wants to be.

Mosart (Lau Ching-Wan) enters Hong Kong from the mainland in order to use his skills in playing the violin. Cash needs to be gathered up quickly, he's kidnapped by two robbers (one of them being Billy Lau as the character of Stupid), ends up getting their loot and starts co-operating with the police led by Madam Mo (Teresa Mo). A tough cookie not afraid to carry a piece with a little recoil...

One of many signs to spell trouble for a Hong Kong comedy, directors Yau and Siu put sound effects to their comedy in a desperate attempt to squeeze laughs out of the low and low-budget material. Their intent is also to create deadpan absurdities, a skill neither director is adept at. Very cartoony inclusions like Teresa Mo's face turning all read when drinking beer and nurses playing mahjong in an elevator registers zero therefore and when dealing in opposite attracts kind of bond between Mosart and Mo, the film takes its biggest nosedive into boredom. Seriously, who laughs at the country bumpkin in this case not being able to use a microwave? I thought I knew you Herman Yau. Co-starring Gabriel Wong and Wu Fung.

A very forgettable but not annoying Wong Jing experience gets the mainstream tastes "auteur" kind of thumbs up. Maggie Cheung and Carol Cheng are sisters, enemies and their inherited luxury apartment comes with the catch that they have to live together in it for a year before selling it. Then bad guys come into their lives and somewhere around them, the clues to something valuable is hidden. The hunt is on, while low-rent triads (Nat Chan and Charlie Cho) accompany the female duo. At best scoring a few chuckles, Wong Jing nonetheless gets the job done with a quick, breezy and harmless comedy where he himself as a rather strange creature (that is more weird than just the usual flirty guy at a club as you'll see) gets the biggest laughs and is an amusing, sporadic presence throughout. The leading ladies banter sufficiently well and to top it off, darker and gorier violence take center stage at the end so Doubles Cause Troubles is a multi mood-experience that works fairly well and those not caring for the light, will pay attention during the dark. Also with potential villain played by Wilson Lam, Poon Jan-Wai, Liu Fan and Gwaan Ming-Yuk.

IFD re-dubbed this South Korean horror-comedy madness where both the camp making sure it got out to the world and the original crew deserves equal credit. Re-naming characters for this period piece to the likes of Martin, Paul, Tony and Fanny and putting dubbers in front of a microphone with the purpose of enlarging the on-screen performances to surreal levels, Dragon Against Vampire therefore very much gets enlarged to the best, nonsensical levels.

Following a group of thieves (among others Elton Chong's character) as they roam the countryside for corpses for loot, they will stumble upon as well as fall victims to a Shaolin sorcerer (Eagle Han Ying). He is desperate in his search for female virgin blood (in true exploitation fashion, he only finds this out by sucking it out of their vaginas). The thieves check into an inn where the struggle begin and random things happen. The film prides itself in the unpredictable in a way because as much as you think certain sex scenes and horror excursions are in fact incoherency, in a corny way it all makes sense as part of a terror-ride. Eagle Han Ying's sorcerer is quite the guy too, using the art for his own benefit against girls (in one scene he gleefully makes one drop her pants and uses black magic to make another drink chicken's blood) and dressing up as an additional vampire for some reason. Yep, at times we do scratch our heads and the comedy routines via mostly Elton Chong's performance are crude and annoying. The clichéd master student relationships that eventually takes place comes with corny, philosophical quotes such as "Knowledge without compassion is ignorance" but the final twist to it all is welcome as the filmmakers remember the best momentum that was ever present in the film was the terror level and the gore, leading to quite a clever call back of a prop at the very end.

Produced in Taiwan under the title The Dragon And Tiger Kids, in Hong Kong known as The Hell's Windstaff and internationally tweaked a little in the form of a Z in that Hong Kong title, the action directing team (Yuen Shun-Yi, Hsu Hsia, Chin Yuet-Sang, Corey Yuen & Brandy Yuen) makes this a treat in the fights department. Choosing to highlight the acrobatic skills of stars Meng Yuen-Man and Mang Hoi, at their disposal is also the ultimate whirlwind of fury, Hwang Jang-Lee. Suffice to say, all participants are highlighted to a terrific degree. What we get is varied, which isn't the case always and co-directors Tony Wong and Tony Liu (Bastard Swordsman) provides ever so slightly sharper instincts for the genre. Comedy isn't all that exaggerated, standard story beats for the villains in a way subdued, making the film so much less intrusive that it's never a long trek between the fight scenes. A small but classic genre treat. Jason Pai also co-stars.

The Eastern Heroes presentation in widescreen, Cantonese language and subtitles is unfortunately missing at least brief fighting footage at the very end. Cropped, English dubbed versions such as the one available from World Video is complete in that regard.

It doesn't make Hong Kong a player on the market for computer generated animated films but DragonBlade contains enough of its locally rooted charms to entertain. Within the story of young martial artist Lang trying to get the famed DragonBlade (which you could only obtain if you're pure of heart), we get fun references to genre material made long ago and live. Iconic imagery from Drunken Master is one instance where a genre love is flashed while elements of corrupt officials, a kooky master (who apparently has the same speech pattern as Yoda) and slimey Dean Shek-esque characters occupy this fairy tale land with the utmost Wuxia flavour. Clownish initially and tough to get into therefore, director Antony Szeto finds a pretty decent flow as soon as the elaborate tournament sequence hits and then fantasy is allowed to roam more free. As an adventure, this is serviceable, short stuff overall but you should look all the way back to A Chinese Ghost Story The Tsui Hark Animation for a better view of one man's fantasy, the use of CG in animation while making the product very Hong Kong which in turn leads to international flavour. I think it's due to quality also. Voice acting for DragonBlade is provided by Stephen Fung, Karen Mok, Sandra Ng, Jim Chim and Daniel Wu.

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Also known as The Dragon Chronicles - The Maidens Of Heavenly Mountains, it's 100 mph plotting right out of the gate, adhering well to the Wuxia tradition of storytelling and being a possible turn off for those not accustomed to the style. However when the narrator settles down, Andy Chin's (Call Girl 92) movie reveals itself to be an off-beat pleasure that even dabbles, albeit lightheartedly, in the consequences of the usual power struggles within the martial arts world. The two fighting the most intensely are Li Chau Shui (Brigitte Lin) and Mo Han Wan (Gong Li). Han Wan is drawn to Chau Shui's twin sister Li Ching Hoi (Lin again) as well while sect leader Ting Chun Chou (Norman Tsui) is plotting his possible dominance. One of his disciples Purple (Sharla Cheung) is literally a kid within all this, getting giddy at the thought of being a ruler and she stumbles upon the tools all involved desire in order to achieve superiority. The secret lies within a Shaolin monk (Frankie Lam) and the ancient sutra he's been asked to guard...

A big scale production, combining the often used animated effects but also suitable inclusions of computer generated imagery, the frantic pacing and wild battles are definitely Tsui Hark and Zu: Warriors From The Magic Mountain in style which is a high compliment to Andy Chin's work here. The flying battles take place over some quite impressive sets, being both done in the shaky cam tradition but also wire work is captured in a variety of one-shots going across the width of the sets. With his remarkably beautiful leads at center stage, it's no wonder the movie gets a boost visually as well while Sharla Cheung performs the light side of the story impressively. Overall quite an evil character that force-feeds chicken to the monk and gets her senior to cut off his legs, sprinkled throughout are notions of power being quite repetitive and boring, something one character will possibly learn after it's achieved. This is not one, big dramatic intention but a clear train of thought that has a place besides the wild, frantic, hypnotic, hyperactive side of The Dragon Chronicles - The Maidens. You can never blame it for being boring or predictable as Andy Chin showcases the Wuxia world is anything but. It's also decidedly human at points. Also with Liu Kai-Chi.

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