Alan Tam plays Li Hsiao Chang, relegated to farm duty under the Communist rule and back in Shanghai, his pregnant girlfriend awaits the chance that he might be transferred so they can start a life together. Trouble is, you need influence and Li puts everything on the line when infiltrating the prestigious ranks by acting as the son of a Party Official...

Based on a Russian play, outside viewers are in danger early of falling behind the proceedings as the captions presumably setting up the story flashes by in Chinese only. We're slowly made to understand the social critique on display though and while director Wong's static camera only transforms If I Were For Real into an interesting tragedy, it's nonetheless valuable to get an insight into desperation of the less fortunate during this era. Some climactic lines uttered during the end are appropriate and requisite but not exactly subtle. Yet with an Alan Tam performance that is far from the fluff he went on to make, it's a worthy work.

Fritz Lang's Metropolis meet Robocop Hong Kong style which means it doesn't really resemble any of those efforts. Producers John Sham and Tsui Hark also stars as Curly and Whisky, two scientists that deprogrammers the robot Maria (Sally Yeh) to do good deeds for them instead for the evil corporation that built her. Of course, they won't get away with that and the hunt is on, lead by the human inspiration for Maria (Yeh again). Sort of tagging along yet not is a bumbling reporter played by Tony Leung Chiu-Wai.

For a Hong Kong production, the budget is up among the higher numbers but ultimately, director David Chung and all involved know that they can't make their audiences take this seriously so they don't do that themselves. This means much silly but generally fun banter between John Sham and Tsui Hark's characters, cheap special effects and a Sally Yeh forced to keep a straight face through all this. It's all very endearing and while the movie is hard to truly love, I Love Maria is easy to like.

Lam Ching Ying, Ben Lam, Paul Chun co-stars and watch out for cameos by Kirk Wong and John Woo. The end credits and Hong Kong trailer holds evidence of much footage left on the cutting room floor. The Universe dvd also features a soundtrack with many different music cues compared to the old laserdisc. For more info, check out John Charles review.

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Wang (Lee Chung-Ling) and Ling (Mondi Yau) live a perfectly ordinary but organized married life. Wang is presented with the temptation of actually going out to get a mistress to bring the actual fun into his life and he can't resist the sight of wild girl Nancy (beautiful Category III girl Lee Wai-Gwan whose career only covered 1993 and 1994). Having learned a thing or two about sex and image, he projects those desires onto his wife only to have it work against him as she's now slipping out of his grip. And the moral of the story is...

Stephan Yip directed the off-beat, black Category III comedy Mad Stylist (featuring the sight of Michael Wong and Kent Cheng singing "Diana" together) in 1997 but those sensibilities existed earlier on, in particular to great, big overloaded effect in this other Category III rated comedy. Playing out almost all proceedings with a quirky touch, making the office world look like a full fledged, surreal cartoon with people dancing, Yip showcases a knack for winning the audiences over with pure silliness. Lee Chung-Ling as Wang is overacting his little heart out but it's often a delight to watch him go through hell and back, trying to realize what stability he had before. Oh the lessons are super-clear and Yip's particular comedy assault is a bit too much on the senses sometimes but I Love Miss Fox proves to be creative and clever for a cheap one like this despite. Leung Kar-Yan appears at the end as a solicitor.

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This Category III horror effort makes little sense but sees Ivan Lai step into another league as a director who can push the visuals up to a pleasing degree (and steal defining images from other horror movies smoothly). The Imp looks surprisingly slick which is a plus because obviously much of the plot in here is just an excuse for the sex scenes to add onto the running time. Say what you want about Ivan Lai though, but he's one of the few that made Cat III erotica erotic when it was supposed to and disgusted when that was called for. The Imp has much of both, in particular quite a grim final reel. While Diana Pang has little to offer in terms of acting, she was one of the most stunning women to appear in Cat III movies such as this and coupled with the fairly chilling atmosphere, The Imp does ok.

Also known as The Brave In Kung-Fu Shadow (the title when presented by Joseph Lai and his company IFD), Chan Chi Hwa (Snake And Crane Arts Of Shaolin) showcases more than his share of shoddy filmmaking techniques but the run of the mill story never generates unwelcome snickers or laughter while the fight choreography is fast and fluid. Positive aspects you don't always expect from a Taiwanese martial arts film or anything associated with IFD. Starring Judy Lee with supporting appearances by Blackie Ko and Lung Fei.

Tommy Lee's To Catch A Thief became a victim (depending on how you look at it) of the IFD scissors and glue (thus, Ninja Thunderbolt was created) and Impossible Woman may have gotten the English dub title The Ninja Avengers but isn't in fact distributed by Joseph Lai. What it is corresponds more to the original title and within it Elsa Yeung stars as a ninja killer that has her days numbered when she wants out (after TWO missions!). Mama-san and female boss Chao (Mizuno Yuko - Heroes Of The East) and her bodyguard (Yusuaki Kurata) send their best and brightest after her but after evading several poorly planned assassination attempts, a clash between the trio will end the flick. Oh... and there's Don Wong as the cop out to nail these suckers and Yun Zhong-Yue is the annoying brother of Chao's as well as love interest for Elsa's killer.

It's action, ninja stars dipped in snake poison, a soap opera and far from a snappy piece. Pace is slow with several scenes clearly being dragged out for the sake of clearing feature running time and director Lee unfortunately doesn't suck to the point where it becomes immensely fun to watch his "art". No, the odd detour into rather "creative" English dubbing that often comes off as two guys and a girl doing ALL voices and just about the poorest melodrama ever occurring when truths are revealed (not the fault of the dub) doesn't save Impossible Woman but it's something to laugh at sporadic times only. Not a job well done therefore.

Intersecting stories of roommates Eddie (Jan Lam), Steven (Nicky Wu) and Co Co (Maggie Cheung) handled respectively by at least 2 fine drama directors (Yonfan hasn't shown inspiration in front of me...yet). A new age is represented by the fact that men and women share their happiness and woes together, with these stories aiming for both those moods and a little something in between.

Under Samson Chiu's (When I Fall In Love... With Both) direction, Eddie befriends distraught woman Icy (Wu Chien-Lien) and their friendship turns physical too. But is the shampoo boy just a shoulder to cry on? A question especially warranted since Icy is planning to get married. There's a challenge in all of these stories to define each and every moment because you have so much less running time to do so. In that regard, Chiu turns out standard, fairly likeable work but it seems the short format doesn't allow for him to be as playful and heartfelt, which is true for much of his work otherwise. Lam and Wu work generally fine together and there is something to be said for Wu's splendid presence that glues you to the screen whatever it is she's doing.

Stockbroker Steven and flat out unseasoned kid in terms of where he is in his life makes in a moment of loneliness (and possibly sexual frustration) plans to date a phone service woman but the one he befriends instead is classy, middle aged lady Anna (Sylvia Chang), the unhappily married wife of Stevens boss (Melvin Wong). Yonfan's (Rose) eye for perfectly composed beauty gets manifested in Chang's presence and there certainly is some emotional payoff concerning people's fear of being lonely. His contribution is very solid thanks to Sylvia Chang's ageless beauty, contrasted well to the dopey nature of Nicky Wu's character but again, the premise halts at likeable but empty.

Sylvia Chang thankfully saves In Between with a splendid, entertaining time. Maggie Cheung gets impregnated by either a Russian who heads for home the day after or ex-boyfriend Fai (Winston Chao) but she seeks support in colleague and an all out gay friend (called Gay Lo) played by Eric Kot instead. Evidence of the premise of He & She resides here but director Chang injects a great deal of funny, clever dialogue, flirts with darkness concerning Co Co's wish to terminate the pregnancy and hugely fitting performances, none more so than Eric Kot's. Despite playing up his annoying screen persona, his character is hugely funny, warm and thoughtful. The film is also known as The New Age Of Living Together and Conjugal Affairs.

The English title does accurately yet not describe the journey Alfred Cheung's character goes through but with a slightly sneaky dark edge, director Allan Fung (Freedom Run Q) throws expectations to the wayside. Interest is therefore always sustained in the story about Chang (Alfred Cheung), a cab driver with a big crush on TV reporter Jennie (Maggie Cheung) and in an attempt to get close to her, he feeds her news stories...

The excessive and broad comedy route is embodied by Chang's cabbie chums (most notably Sandra Ng) but the core of the film is performed to a workable degree by Alfred Cheung and Maggie, even when the film turns really surprisingly dark and graphic. Nothing noteworthy truly happens but In Between Loves has a, believe it or not, charming element of surprise that surpasses other Hong Kong productions that also concocted a brew of contrasting elements. Also with Lawrence Cheng, Wu Fung, Michael Chow, Lam Chung, Fruit Chan and Lawrence Ng.

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