Screwball comedy, local parodies, odd musical numbers often done in off-beat Chinese opera style and we've only scratched the surface of this head scratching effort from Lawrence Lau (Gangs, My Name Is Fame) but it's clear he had it in him to deviate totally from his otherwise set drama path. There's no street level realism here, just a series of oddities strung together that manages to cohere, entertain and suitably the weirdness on display builds. Centering around the movie industry, Ching Ching (Wong Wan-Si) is a longtime maid of has been actress Ting Ling-Ling (Dik Boh-Laai). They apparently interact more often than not by singing but when Ting one day doesn't get up, it turns out she's dead. As a spirit, she does ask Ching Ching to find Prince Charming for her. Into this comes prop man Kin (Dicky Cheung), his father Tsao (Ng Man-Tat), and the movie star (Winnie Lau) Kin is infatuated with. It seems to lean towards Tsao as the Prince Charming-choice but somehow this very ugly man is the object of desire for many, including Ching Ching...

Or something like that. First half of Even Mountain Meet is your biggest test. Not only is there no signs of coherence but every dip into comedy and singing puzzles to the point of frustration. It's possibly a bit too local for an outsider but by amping the sights, sounds, creating a sparkling piece of visual cinema in the process, Lawrence Lau slowly warrants attention. And soon there's delight to be found in every off-beat detour, whether it's the midnight snack song number, Dicky Cheung looking for every piece of gold he can find in Ting's apartment or the mad plot developments towards the end. Even Mountain Meet isn't a film. It's spontaneity, playfulness, an eagerness to stay very Hong Kong and it's kind of loveable.

KENNETH'S REVIEW: Depicting war turmoil between China and Japan during the 1930s and 40s, this production knows it can provide big and loud images but aside from in the eyes of perhaps history buffs, The Everlasting Glory is a boring trek. Injecting basic personal drama at times and including O Chun Hung playing it dignified, tormented and heroic very competently, most of the piece is steered by need to celebrate the Chinese spirit. All well and good but it's more lazy propaganda on display than emotions reaching out. As O Chung-Hung's character goes from icon-status to being perceived as a traitor, director Ding Sin-Saai's injects some poignancy but returning to the big scale of it all has the reverse effect of boredom. Watch A Home Too Far instead, containing equal amounts of well-honed acting chops from our lead.

Insurance for sex, fraud, death and snake serum all collide in Chu Wai Kwong's Cat III thriller, elements that add up to a product that is watchable thrash. Not because of any finely honed filmmaking skills or acting because Chu definitely churns out a rather stale thriller. If you're trying to thrill with a plot concerning insurance, you better be a filmmaker of note. Chu isn't. He does know where he draws his inspirations from (Basic Instinct being one) but despite being that "clever", Evil Instinct adds up to nothing. What makes one unexpectedly easily get through the 90 minutes is the sexy presence of Carrie Ng and Diana Pang Dan and as silly as the plot twists become, Chu's visual style keeps us involved during the final 20 minutes. Also with Bowie Lam and Stuart Ong.

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HK Flix.com

Obviously meant to be Escape From Kingdom, this often forgettable but sometimes mildly entertaining diversion sees young, innocent Peggy hook up with Eddie who turns out to be Mr. Buttmunch in disguise and she is subsequently entered into a striptease/prostitute ring in Thailand. Back home her father (Lau Siu-Ming) enlists a private detective to find Peggy but it seems like they've got the poorest one in the agency. The dick played by Dai Sai-Aan may seem a bit dopey and disorganized but is a dedicated worker who is not afraid to throw punches and get into the thick of things...

Scenes initially showing what Peggy's kingdom turns out to be has the exploitation vibe to them that is able to draw in audiences but tone is switched to a slightly lighter (and welcome) one. In a rare appearance as a lead, Dai Sai-Aan equips himself well, being an off-beat and also fighting P.I. The filmmakers don't have much else to say here so a few scattered elements are what's entertaining about Excape From Kingdom. Michael Chan, Phillip Ko and Shum Wai also appear.

Two childhood friends (Chang Yi, Raymond Lui) decides to not only share fortune, misfortune but also infections via self-made gambling tattoos and when they meet as adults, they're on opposite sides of the law. Bashing ensues. The classic story of innocence abused by the powerful is given no resonance in this ordinary martial arts venture. Goofy dubbing featuring all manner of accents, including Chinese, makes sure the proceedings flow and Excelsior does offers up harmless genre entertainment despite. Lung Wei co-stars.

Coming off portraying the Hung Fists most famous performer Wong Fei Hung in Challenge Of The Masters, Lau Kar Leung turned to what has been said to be its founder, a Shaolin temple monk and rebel called Hung Xiguan (portrayed here by Chen Kuan-Tai and a few years earlier in Heroes Two, directed by Chang Cheh and co-action directed by Lau Kar Leung). The typically high quality display of kung fu is as always a prominent factor in Lau's work but he's in actuality celebrating heroism and family for Executioners From Shaolin.

A significant time is spent with Hung Xiguan and his wife Fang Yongchun (Lily Li), detailing their particular family dynamic as Hung prepares to take revenge on Master White Brows (Lo Lieh). Why this is strong direction lies in Lau's excellent portrayal of Fang as a strong woman, very much adept at martial arts while combining the duty of home wife. The two have made a promise to not teach other but it will eventually come down to Fang's acquired skills in combination with the teachings of Hung to bring their common enemy down. Lau injects the relationship with a sweetness and playfulness, getting strong chemistry and performances from Chen Kuan-Tai and Lily Li but at heart also lies the age old revenge storyline, taken to greater heights through Lo Lieh's presence as the classic movie villain and historical figure Master White Brows (or Pai Mei).

Lo Lieh is seemingly the true embodiment of the Shaolin temple traitor that Pai Mei is (although there are no historical facts confirming that story), being a master of body protection and making such an impact that he was called upon to reprise the role movies such as Abbot Of Shaolin, his own directed sequel/remake to Executioners From Shaolin called Clan Of The White Lotus and more recently, Gordon Lau under the direction of Quentin Tarantino took on a more comic portrayal of Pai Mei in Kill Bill Vol. 2.

While Lau Kar Leung's climax, featuring the son of Hung (Wong Yue) may feel a little short and under whelming, Executioners From Shaolin is unusually well-rounded for a martial arts movie but it certainly comes as no surprise that the master martial arts filmmaker Lau Kar Leung is behind it. Cheng Hong Yip's annoying performance gets the movie in trouble sometimes but Gordon Lau logs a fine fighting cameo during the opening. Lee Hoi San and Donald Kong also appear while there are brief flashes of Lau Kar Leung himself, Fung Hark On, Wilson Tong, Hsiao Hau and Lam Ching Ying.

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HK Flix.com
Yesasia.com

A boring montage of the Hong Kong night accompanies the opening credits and this being an early Chow Yun-Fat movie we know didn't get acclaim, in a way (wrongly or not) we've made up our mind early. Danny Lee and fellow cops try and bring down a nasty gang boss, solve corruption within their own force and later there's a vigilante streak to go on as a triad hitman (Chow Yun-Fat) raises hell. Attempts at a gritty street look is a poor one (this ain't no Jumping Ash after all) and about only a scene and a half got any tension to speak of. What there is to remember is the fairly rare sight of Chow Yun-Fat playing it very evil and in a confrontation with Danny Lee, he urinates in the face of his future The Killer co-star. Some kind of classic image I guess. Also with Ng Man-Tat, Paul Chun and Tien Feng.

Released on Hong Kong dvd as Heroic Cops while a VHS release in America tried to sell it as a sequel to The Killer by blessing it with the title Killers Two.

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HK Flix.com

A high ranking officer (Joe Cheung) becomes the target of female assassin Jade (Japanese actress Hisako Shirata - Tomie: Revenge). After the failed attempt, she is injured and caught while the cop unit, headed by Cheung (Simon Yam) assigns CID officer Yiu (Alex Fong) to the case. Yiu soon becomes the an involuntary victim of a plan to re-attempt the assassination as the Japanese bad guys (headed by a mostly a sitting Sonny Chiba) murders his wife and kidnaps his son...

Considering the state of Hong Kong action cinema with a thriller touch, it's encouraging to see a low-budget film being executed with a fair amount of skill. Originality is not what Explosive City will ever be associated with and director Sam Leong, whose Color Of Pain received mostly poor reviews, certainly is in the viewers face. 90% of the film is a dizzying, headache inducing handheld experience, also within the gunplay scenes and it's more a strained attempt to provide style. Even when going for character depth, Leong's choice is to have the film being a visual- and audio exploration. But in the long run, Explosive City manages to not falter that much at all actually. Leong's echoing of plotlines from 24 and to a certain extent Shiri is less intrusive than it sounds and he supplies a decent amount of edge of your seat-entertainment throughout this ride. The intrusive cinematography even works with the desired choices at select points and it's a tight experience for a surprising amount of minutes. Simon Yam may look like he's phoning in a performance but his dead cool is still an immersing act while Alex Fong's trademark quiet dignity gets another worthy showcase.

Towards the end the energy starts to peter out, Sonny Chiba's brainwash scheme towards kids feels just a little too sci-fi for this film and the mixed language usage provides its set of problems but Hong Kong cinema have before thrived on low-fi vehicles that delivers desired genre entertainment. Back then, Explosive City wouldn't have turned heads. Today, it's kind of welcome. Eddy Ko, Samuel Pang and Lam Suet also appear.

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HK Flix.com
Yesasia.com

Taiwanese revenge thriller where Luk Siu-Fan (Rosa, Osmanthus Alley) plays Tien-Chi, a woman who has been in prison for 8 years for a murder she claims she didn't commit. Having had her presence requested at a newspaper, she is looked upon as a jinx and events subsequently unfold very much on the downward spiral. However someone is orchestrating all this. Someone who has a personal battle to settle with Tien-Chi...

Passable chills is provided by director Yang Chia-Yun (Women Warriors Of Kingsmen) and an increasingly escalated focus on bloody violence diverts rather nicely. However there's not much emotional at stake here as the character battles strolls by us without much effect. An aggressive and eclectic soundtrack adds a conflicting atmosphere to certain sections but non-fans of Alan Tam should be happy to see him being captive for large parts of the second half. That way he can't drain the film via his vacuum masquerading as screen presence.

Wong Fung-Yee (Joey Wong) inherits the top spot of her father's triad activities after he's arrested. Immediately closing down the profitable nightclubs and gambling dens, Wong earns herself enemies amongst the senior members. In particular with Cheong (Lung Fong) who goes all out to thoroughly degrade her. Wong's relationship and friendship with cops Tats (Wilson Lam) and Ching (Max Mok) becomes increasingly strained as well.

From the era where gangster movies were being churned out in dozens, it was hard to be noticed. In the long run perhaps acclaim would surface but definitely not during the initial run. An Eye For An Eye probably didn't strike a chord with anyone then but looking back at it, several aspects do come to life despite the movie relishing every opportunity to be generic. The main compelling aspect comes in the portrayal of the fairly affecting love triangle between Joey Wong, Wilson Lam and Max Mok's characters. Lung Fong also gives us a truly heinous and memorable villainous act while Benz Kong and Tony Poon's action is on the intense and gory scale. There's something for everyone and despite rough filmmaking, ill treatment of women, O Sing Pui's contribution to a busy genre comes with fine dramatic chops.