Many should be asking themselves when faced with Goodbye Darling: how could Raymond Wong bag Cherie Chung as his wife in the film?! Aside from being the creative force of course, the character is probably just a nice guy but he's about let her slip from his gentle grip. All due to a misunderstanding that makes him believe he has terminal breast cancer and he sets out to find a suitable husband to take over after he's gone. The choice is Joe (Mark Cheng)...

Wong's recipe for the film seems to be breakneck speed and going as low brow as possible. Pratfalls, AIDS jokes, gay jokes, transvestite jokes, more gay jokes and the male Hong Kong populous is portrayed as having a great, big hard on for Cherie Chung. This is the politically incorrect world as interpreted by Wong but it's a very funny one. It's simple but it's rapid in a sense, creating comedic effects of the guilty pleasure kind. Hong Kong cinema reveled in this silliness but it's rare when it's actually delightful to boot. More often than not, you sigh along with it. Not that any of those types of comedic executions are hard to get through though.

Raymond does seem to go some heartwarming routes also but never ventures too far into it and never showcases that he's capable either. So it's not an underrated pre-cursor to Always On My Mind but it's a fine, funny addition to Cinema City's catalogue. Co-starring John Shum.

A welcome glimpse into the lowly life of a Hong Kong stuntman, Goodbye Hero stars Derek Yee as the veteran Tony who handles both a friend (Chin Siu-Ho) who's been paralyzed from the profession and a cocky, new kid on the block (David Wu). Feeling shame for not having moved on, Tony is at a transition where he's either going to pass on his knowledge or die practicing it...

An ace director directing an ace director, Jacob Cheung (Cageman, Battle Of Wits) gets solid presence out of Derek Yee (who had directed The Lunatics and People's Hero by this point), possessing the shell of a usually reserved character well. The glimpses into the mentioned shame he feels, having not upgraded himself to even action director is quietly communicated and felt. During this heyday of action filmmaking, limits were pushed without much acknowledgements at least in terms of money coming to these brave men and women. The film is at his best when highlighting these issues and the behind the scenes aspects. Having to create more extreme stunts, the risk for the ACTUAL filmmakers here is that they have to do the same for sake of drama. This they pull off but when Cheung directs his attention to the off-set narrative involving David Wu and Vivian Chow's characters, the film doesn't engage as much and would've benefited from even more focus on Yee and supporting player Chin Siu-Ho. Ching Siu-Tung plays a director while Lam Ching-Ying, Petrina Fung and Cora Miao also appear. The story scenario would later be somewhat echoed by Yee when he directed Full Throttle that also co-starred David Wu.

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Listed as a 1988 production if you look it up at Hong Kong Movie Database, while watching this Chow Yun-Fat vehicle it's very evident that it was shot at least 8-9 years prior. Unearthed and released (perhaps for the first time ever?) after Chow became a megastar all over Asia, Goodbye My Friend is a perfect example of cashing in, regardless of quality. With a horrendously poor Cantonese dub (that does feature Chow), the movie comes off as a bad story restructured in the post dubbing into another bad story. One even wonders if Cantonese should be the intended language. Still, these geeky details aren't worth worrying about as Goodbye My Friend is a turkey from the initial stepping stones into a screen acting career for Chow Yun-Fat.

A standard gangster story set in 1940s Thailand involving revenge also holds some bizarre subplot about a blood sect collaborating with the Japanese so naturally, the Chinese must unite to bring them down. Featuring little to care for and characters that no one possibly can figure out what they're doing and who they are, the hokey aspect that runs through the production does create some ludicrous moments that transforms the film into a minor guilty pleasure. The gore does draw attention to itself and the action is not only highly incompetent but at times undercranked to wonderfully bizarre levels. And fact of the matter is, the film is easy to get through. Kenneth Tsang also appears briefly.

Xenon was responsible for a subtitled VHS release under the title Shanghai Killers, utilizing a still from City War for its cover. A wise decision since Chow Yun-Fat had better hair in that film.

Derek Yee and friends take out their anger as low paid workers at a country club onto wealthy Harry Tse (Stanley Fung). Rather inexperienced and clumsy kidnappers, Harry doesn't fear for his life at all but when no one wants to pay ransom money for him, a personal betrayal leads to him working with his kidnappers to exact a little revenge...

A rather flimsy start or rather quick leads to rather quick decisions by Derek Yee to host the kidnapping plan. ALMOST a valid argument for these irrational characters, the lightness that follows in the trail of the kidnapping scenario is very fun to follow and in the background Stanley Fung injects some not so overbearing themes of the hard workers vs. the rich, pre-conceived notions about each other etc. Fung himself is very good as the kidnapping victim who's got the situation under control but it's when the plot turns, a quite grave tedium sets in. Simply put, Fung doesn't create interest for the entire two halves of the flick and his intent to get even more somber clashes with the prior movie in a bad way. A fun cast, 80s atmosphere, the dependable D & B gets you only so far sometimes. Also appearing is May Lo as Yee's love interest, Joyze Godenzi as the cop, Ronald Wong, Robert Mak, Stuart Ong with cameos by John Sham and Richard Ng.

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Three mainlanders (Chow Yun-Fat, Eric Tsang & Shing Fui-On) swims ashore in Hong Kong, hoping to prosper. As luck would have it, a wealthy man played by Wang Ching is out for revenge due to the humiliation cast upon him by women in his life (namely Nina Li Chi and Pauline Wong) and he hires image consultant Anita (Anita Mui) to make a playboy out of Chow's character...

The sometimes reliable Clarence Fok provides the manic in both comedy and melodrama for this 1980s effort, creating an uneven experience but one that comes with an enjoyable pairing of Chow Yun-Fat and Anita Mui. While Chow's character does everything from eating tiger poop (and just about anything he can get his hands on), kiss Eric Tsang, generally whine and act retarded, it's an annoying performance in intent in a way as Chow then grows into the trademark suave character that's such a immortal image of 80s Hong Kong cinema. Mui also gets a role that is just tailor made to fit with her image in entertainment circles as she was constantly changing her looks in real life, being nicknamed the Asian Madonna in the process.

80s Hong Kong cinema had the uncanny ability to simply entertain despite a flawed package and even hugely flawed packages. The Greatest Lover therefore is highly questionable on a film quality level but does the job commercially and for fans of the star's. Elizabeth Lee, Sandra Ng, Wong Jing and Anders Nelson also appear.

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About conmen with a focus on gambling and to act as Robin Hood's by donating the scammed money to charity. Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, Simon Yam, Amy Yip and Raymond Wong leads the group while Ronny Yu directs in much light-hearted fashion. The actors are largely in exaggerated mode, you'll get an overabundance of gambling scenes (in particular involving mahjong) and at times the film is even a little insulting. For once it's only a little though and unlike Fat Choi Spirit, prior knowledge of much of anything set at the gambling tables isn't needed. There's even a gag or two that manages to register as clever (the presence of Amy Yip and Teddy Robin means the expected in terms of comedy though) and the whole tone leans towards unremarkable but suitably breezy. Assembly line product ever so slightly but it's nothing to be ashamed of. Also with Leung Tin and Lok Wai.

One of few attempts by Hong Kong cinema to exploit, if you will, the character of The Green Hornet (or rather his Chinese partner that Bruce Lee played on American television). Only other film in this regard that springs to mind is the wonderfully hokey Bruce Lee Against Supermen and truth be told, that ain't much better or worse than Lam Ching Ying's interpretation here. Which is a shame as this was Lam's last of two films he directed (the other being Vampire Vs Vampire) and one of his last appearances ever in Hong Kong films before passing away in 1997.

Shot on the cheap and therefore assigning itself to B-movie territory, that would be fine if there was some minute charm in the production as well. As it stands, Lam can't take these low grade sensibilities and spice it up Hong Kong style, which was really the only way The Green Hornet was ever going to work. Lead Chin Ka-Lok undoubtedly flashes his acrobatics well and the fighting tricks by the character can be compelling but it's way too rare and poorly captured on film. With no compelling story behind our hero either, like the best of the super-hero movies have, little is worth caring for and especially so since leading lady Esther Kwan (Run And Kill) is joining the legion of annoying female sidekicks with her performance. Lam himself has some very minute, worthwhile low-key comedy moments but the film is not the high water mark for the immortal legend Lam Ching Ying became. He had such a great selection of screen performances behind him anyway so The Green Hornet will never tarnish that reputation. Turn to Black Mask if you want a better spectacle in the vein of Bruce Lee's Kato character though. Co-starring is Yu Rong Guang and Lam Fai-Wong.

Tsui Hark's apparently much beloved AND hated Wuxia effort and for someone coming into the experience that is Green Snake so many years after everyone else, I was eager to try and figure out why. Whether it's right or not, one can sense that the very apparent parallels to modern social commentary towards Chinese ruling forces is way too overbearing depending on the viewer. Yet, it's ok to disconnect those train of thoughts because this Seasonal production sweeps you away through its layered portrayal about the definition of humanity.

Based on the Chinese folktale of White and Green Snake (portrayed by Joey Wong and Maggie Cheung respectively), the two are attempting to perfect the human form, especially Cheung's Green, and come to an understanding of what it takes to be one. Closely following their supernatural trail is a powerful monk (Vincent Zhao - The Blade) who sees the human land as monstrous and in presence of evil that can't co-exist with the real world. A scholar (Wu Hsin Kuo - Temptation Of A Monk) is also the subject of White's love but that love threatens to be diminished by the always present monk, trying himself to attain the highest power of enlightenment...

A re-visit to the ways of A Chinese Ghost Story yet not, a single train of thought but a complex one runs through Green Snake. Tsui Hark expertly creates a stunning visual palette that is his Wuxia world. An expected beautiful place with alluring atmosphere but also a horrific one at times, through the eyes of Zhao's monk character, not unlike anything this viewer ever witnessed from this new wave era that Tsui Hark basically headlined. Aiming for an erotic aura via the snakes, it's a choice and behaviour that seems logical in Green and White's quest for answers and through performers Wong and Cheung, Tsui achieves a sexiness that doesn't seem sacrificed for the Cat II rating. More than ever the wild and creative visual mind of Tsui Hark is also showcased, in particular during any shots at the snake house and the majority of special effects enhancements works (the often mentioned reveal of the snakes, the magic crane and ropey CGI detracts but not on the whole). James Wong and Mark Lui's score is also mesmerizing, being highly in tune with the hypnotic effect that runs through the film. Veteran Tien Feng appears briefly.

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KENNETH'S REVIEW: While they await their actual new house, Chung (Derek Yee) and Carmen (Carol Cheng) move into a temporary that is unbeknownst to them haunted by the a spirit (Nina Li) and her servant (Joan Tong). Just casually hanging around the couple in order to explore the advent of new technology and occasionally possessing Carmen for fun or when they don't agree with her views, ultimately Nina Li's spirit is looking for closure of her past. Jamie Luk opens wonderfully odd with a full on dance sequence that does have its connections to Carmen's profession but this higher gear doesn't exactly run throughout Guests In The House. The palette is both flat, visually alluring but merely amusing at best as Yee/Cheng interact with only basic chemistry present. I've seen better farce and sitcom-esque comedy but at least we get some ramming speed-pace for the end when Yee and friends tries to battle the ghosts in the most feeble of ways (including singing "Help" by The Beatles). Lawrence Cheng co-stars while Wu Fung, Liu Wai-Hung and Shing Fui-On also appears.

Phillip Chan plays a trigger happy cop but one with good instincts that ends up having his rough action on display in the local media. Instead of taking a desk job, he decides to resign instead to spend more time with his son. It soon becomes apparent someone wants revenge on Chan for a past incident however...

Norman Law (A Hearty Response) mixes decent suspense and expected commentary (the hard working cops on the streets vs. the heads behind the desks) with a Phillip Chan performance with a suitable amount of dignity. Quite good suspense is generated through the theft of various music cues from other films, most notably Goblin's famous contribution to Dawn Of The Dead. Score also over dramatizes certain moments and Melvin Wong isn't saddled with the most well-drawn character. Basically just an image for the commentary mentioned. Style is suitably gritty coming from this era and the bleak ending was not a rarity at this time either. It's all worth an investment. Also with John Sham and Roy Horan.

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New York and Puerto Rico are the playing fields for Tony Leung Siu-Hung's routine actioner shot in synch sound (and probably elsewhere than mentioned locales). Ray Lui is the overworked Hong Kong cop traveling to the United States to face marriage problems (wife played by Category III starlet Yvonne Yung) and the bad guys from home are now running wild on the streets of New York. Choosing to vacate the premises and go to Canada is not an option as the family gets dragged into the triad war...

A lot of painful dialogue and New York cop stereotypes aside, at least Leung isn't aiming that high with his international flavour and initially there is some fast paced action and teeth included with Guns of Dragon. But when those sharper elements goes missing and we unfortunately have to watch a story unfold, proceedings turns standard in a poor way, also in the action department. Mark Cheng, Alex Fong, Patrik Lung and an amusing John Shum also appear.

In all likelihood shot at the same time as The Twilight Siren (aka Devil And Master) as it utilizes largely the same crew & cast (some of which, such as Alex Fong and Wu Ma make very pointless cameos), at least Ma Siu-Wai conjures up a little genre fun within an equally cheap frame. Chang Siu-Yin plays a girl once upon a time executed wrongfully and is now after revenge on the families in modern times that are related to her executors. Kara Hui and Ku Feng are the Taoist masters battling back. With a nauseating repeat of a stolen music cue almost all throughout and at least an hour of fully incoherent storytelling, around that very hour mark some better spirit and energy erupts in Ma Siu-Wai's frame. Shooting his better stuff in darkly lit forests, the setting matters little when the technical skill on display is admirable for a few minutes. Pouring on fairly heavily with the animated special effects and shooting graceful slow motion battles, it's not always the film speeds are properly set but when we get a bazooka out of nowhere during the ending... you could say a little is forgiven. But not nearly enough.