D & B produced this tale of island terror with Leung Po-Chi at the helm. John Shum leads an expedition to an supposedly deserted island only to find out that it's inhabited by a group of seriously demented characters, lead by Peter Chan Lung. This is a family that stays together, slays together and when the youngest one is refused in marriage to one of the young girls of the troupe, they turn into axe-wielding maniacs together.

Clearly inspired by The Texas Chainsaw Massacre or rather it needs to be since D & B weren't providing a large budget, Po Chih-Lung does sporadically well for himself in capturing the dirty and rundown nature of the island. The cinematography offers up some striking images from time to time but the first hour isn't an easy one to get through. Firstly, it does what Dennis Yu's The Beasts did wrong a few years before. Namely that of portraying the murderous island inhabitants in the most outrageous ways possible. That choice quickly destroys any notion of shock or terror and one wonders if this is comedic relief, in a twisted way. Hong Kong filmmakers often seems desperate to include laughs whenever they can so it's not a far fetched notion. Leung Po-Chi also pads out the various encounters with the freaky family way too long and it's not until the hour mark that the horror truly begins. Po hits a decent stride that includes effective detours into violence where the effect is of importance, not the special effect. Now if those pesky villains actually had been a disturbing bunch, The Island could've emerged out as something more substantial. Today, it stands as a passable diversion for those seeking out straight faced Hong Kong horror.

John Shum anchors the movie surprisingly well, going from suitably geeky to not so much a superhero but a protector of these youths. One of the more believable aspects of Leung Po-Chi's film. Sadly, it is a definite step-down and disappointment considering Po the year before directed the award winning drama Hong Kong 1941, starring Chow Yun-Fat.

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KENNETH'S REVIEW: Awesome premise, noisy but not camp enough, Taiwan cinema brings us the story of an island of amazon women with, to put it mildly, anti-men view on things. Elsa Yeung (Golden Queen's Commando) is the princess (constantly looking like a dominatrix almost) of them all, trying to protect and continue the 20+ generation of women that has been living this way. They fend off pirates, they castrate men and send off male babies into the sea. The castaways that have survived fight for their survival and to try and reason with the women that according to them, does not live by laws of nature. And there's a treasure too...

Some groovy times (literally, played under an equally upbeat score), followed by sadistic times and of course eventually, times of empathy, director Au has a wonderful scenario to play with here but doesn't follow up on his camp opening reel. This plot can't be complemented by straight proceedings (the dips into face mugging doesn't help the flick regain its composure) and Island Warriors bores mostly. But it's sometimes a one of a kind thing and worth a look for a sporadic view at madness Taiwan cinema could occupy itself with. Don Wong co-stars.

Bicyclist Cat (Maggie Cheung credited here as Margaret Cheung), generally obnoxious taxi driver Lion Head (John Shum) and cool scientist Bobo Lam (George Lam) are brought together and hunted by a duo of Japanese killers (Eddy Ko and Elvis Tsui) who thinks they have a soda can that is in fact a bomb they're the buyers of. Lion Head and Bobo also try and romance Cat. Bicker and chases ensues. David Chung (I Love Maria, Magnificent Warriors) went on to make Hong Kong comedies in a bigger fashion but here is a very sparsely done and cast comedy. Literally just a few chases and a lot of high pitched banter, there's not much script taking up the screentime and being sporadically lively only saves the moments where that occurs. It's easy though to appreciate the light tone that in this case means there's no feeling of danger present at all (it was a Christmas release after all). Digestible isn't such a bad thing but there's only minor meat to chew. Elvis Tsui has a character design not so much molded out of the Japanese killer one but the Michael Jackson/synth pop one. Lau Kong, Liu Kai-Chi and Paul Chun also appear. Minor appearances come from Wu Ma, Dennis Chan, Lowell Lo and Hui Siu-Hung.

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KENNETH'S REVIEW: Cop Lu Che Mo (Lau Ching-Wan), also dubbed Idiot by colleagues, one day walks in on his superior Madam Wong (Christine Ng) and her girlfriend Ron (Christy Cheung). What follows is Lu starting to interact more with the lesbian couple, his mom being confused by the two women in his lives all of a sudden and someone is murdering criminals. Someone frustrated with the legal system...

Yes indeed, there are very different tangents of light and dark on display and it goes in line with the rather puzzling, otherwise not often used ideas by any Hong Kong filmmaker, put forth by this particular one. Director Cheung Chi-Sing and his Love & Sex Among The Ruins wasn't easy either but cohered a little better thanks to a central act by Ada Choi. Ultimately, I Wanna Be Your Man!!! asks rather than answers and it's not a preferable way to go. Is Lau Chung-Wan's Lu Che Mo going to turn these lesbians around to heterosexuality? Is he going to be part of their lives? Are these really the questions asked? Actor chemistry can't lift this comedy into coherence and for once, some better subtitles would perhaps guide us more easily through the rough of Cheung's. Potential interest lies in his thoughts but I've yet to see it flourish into valid, challenging cinema. Plus, clean up that second, almost completely detached plotline if you're going to dare venture into it in the first place. Co-starring Francis Ng.

Pui Yan (Sylvia Chang) goes from being separated from childhood love Man Chi Yeung (Emil Chow) to an arranged marriage with a British based Hong Kong man in order to find a financial solution to her grandmother's sickness. The "marriage" is one of duty, even involving abuse but Pui Yan finds something to save over in England, namely the disabled daughter of her husband, Yip Fan (Anita Yuen). Nursing her back to health, Pui Yan returns to Hong Kong to fight for a place in the distinguished Pui cigarette manufacturing family and marriage with lawyer Ko Chun (Winston Chao) solves this. She climbs the corporate ladder while she also sets up Yip Fan with Man Chi Yeung who is now a doctor. He gets her thoroughly walking again while Pui Yan loses herself in the world of corporations to a deadly degree...

The driving force of I Want To Go On Living, Sylvia Chang co-wrote this beautifully shot (Jingle Ma was the director of photography) and fairly epic character story that rarely seems to stop taking turns in its story. When we think it's a simple, life affirming story, the switch to Hong Kong again provides us with more intelligent material. Even though it's not overly felt, the leads bring their honed screen presences and director Raymond Lee maintains focus on the material, creating another noticeable blimp in his underrated filmography (that also includes A Killer's Blues and Blue Lightning).

From a very successful year for Clifton Ko (I Have A Date With Spring was a major hit in 1994) and star Anita Yuen (breakthrough in Derek Yee's C'est La Vie, Mon Cheri) comes a romantic comedy that you rightly expects some great things out of, only to be pleased on a general level which is not a bad thing as it turns out.

Ko's pet themes surrounding nostalgia and the very apparent stage roots of his is on high display in I Will Wait For You. Stars Tony Leung Ka-Fai and Anita Yuen play characters who rents the same abandoned house on Lantau island where they're stranded and share a night of love. They continue to meet once a year on that very day, watching each other grow up, mature and over time and the affection grows stronger despite both being married. All while Hong Kong goes through the best and worst of times.

The historic angle that Ko injects via still montages does not matter much as such outside of the stock market crash affecting the characters. Largely studio bound, more emphasis lies on crazy comedy but Ko has a touch that not only makes it actually amusing but oddly low-key, making the drama smoothly enter just moments later despite Leung having had a turkey stuck on his head previously. Leung and Yuen are an appealing couple and the story is developed with a realistic touch by Ko, leaving us with an open ending actually that does belong in a reality, not a movie reality. I sure prefer it that way. Sandra Ng and Francis Ng appear in brief support.

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