Fairly eerie horror film, produced by Cinema City and shot in synch sound. Director Peter Yung collaborates very well with cinematographer Arthur Wong in giving us a low-key but quite chilling tale as we follow George Lam (being less of an empty void in his acting ways for once) trying to put together the fragmented pieces of his violent demise in a past life. Chinese puppets probably never did look scary, until now that is. Also starring Patrick Tse, Lung Tin Sang and Flora Cheung.

Arthur Wong was nominated against his own work in the slasher-comedy He Lives By Night and ended up taking home the Hong Kong Film Award for that very film.

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In 2037 where individuals are known only by numbers, high technology being at its most prominent when many lights are flickering and where people wear plastic or silver suits, we find Pat Ha's 6262 in one when getting caught in a government experiment that takes her back in time to 1987...in her car.

Indeed Back To The Future vibes minus comedy manifests themselves, Teresa Woo stages a novelty vehicle as Hong Kong cinema rarely ventured into science fiction, designed this way (very in tune with the 1980s vision of the future). Going back and meeting her parents as young kids, the expected paradoxes for Pat Ha's character takes place as well as enlightenment about your path of destiny starting generations earlier. There's also a love story with Alex Fong that is obviously going to collide tragically with the inevitable. While Woo directs Ha as suitably cold, she works opposed an unseasoned Alex Fong who's not melting the icy surface the movie has and attempt at warmth comes via sappy melodrama instead. When you don't feel as much as the character on-screen apparently does, a movie has a problem. Life Is A Moment Story is fun to watch for its excursions into seldom treaded territory for Hong Kong cinema but boy wouldn't it had been fun if they kept the flick in 2037 all along! Roy Chiao and Ha Ping also appear.

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KENNETH'S REVIEW: Entertaining horror-comedy from the early, quite exciting career of Kirk Wong's. Kent Cheng is Fatso who prays to Buddha for the well-being of his brother Tiger (Teddy Robin Kwan) who's on an operating table but giving away years of his life wasn't the best idea. Fortune tellers spell out the final destiny of Fatso and he now attempts to perform rituals to salvage his life before his next birthday. It doesn't help that his non-believer brother is focused on getting girls for him and Fatso...

Although starting out with a serious prologue concerning disasters (archival footage of war and racing accidents etc etc) that lacks subtitles, we're soon in somewhat safe hands. Am saying that because contrasts in mood and content seems to suggest darker things but we're not entirely sure where Kirk is taking us. As it turns out, you're very willing to be taken on a light and creepy ride, often with those moods colliding. As Fatso attempts a life-saving ritual that concerns making sure bumping into particular signs on the Hong Kong street, a certain amount of low-brow cleverness takes place on occasion as for instance here Fatso is said to look out for two chicks (i.e. chickens) fighting over a cock. Well, he bounces into two prostitutes (chicken being a slang for that profession). Wong's methods are farce or slapstick-like in nature indeed but having Kent Cheng's predicament being both light and dark seems perfectly natural for this film. Latter parts really amps the creepy factor as now the afterlife intrudes on Fatso's life and only Eddy Ko's Professor (and some pyramid magic) is left to possibly save Fatso. Mixing in more wonderful dialogue in even the darker parts of the film (Fatso's parents have invited Bruce Lee and Peter Sellers to his afterlife birthday), Lifeline Express greatly entertains for all the right reasons. Fine balancing act.

Lai Shuang Yang (Tao Hong - Beyond Our Ken) runs a small restaurant stand in Jiqin street each night as well as being dedicated towards her own family matters. Outspoken to some that her heart is not at ease with this pattern, meeting frequent Jiqin street visitor Zhuo Xiong Zhou (Tao Zeru) seems to mark an upwards turns but all around Lai Shuang Yang, society changes are about to crumble the life of the little, strong-willed woman...

Directed by Huo Jianqi (Postmen In The Mountains), he wisely chooses a female portrayal of less clichéd proportions and carries her into the realm of strong instead. The problem is that Life Show for longer periods of time feels fragmented in its portrayal of characters around Lai. Skipping even basic setups for some, it's definitely hard to attach emotionally to conflicts and Huo's low-key style actually makes the film even more distant. It's encouraging then that Huo has Tao Hong's character to lead the film because it's in the latter focus on her emotional state where the film finally triumphs. Subtle, open and hidden depth is all over Hou's frame and he proves Life Show can be minimal just like Postmen In The Mountains was. By the end you even appreciate some of the annoyances pointed out earlier so structurally, maybe his choices in fact are spot on throughout. Co-starring Pan Yueming from the Huo Jianqi's previous film A Love Of Blueness.

The Shanghai International Film Festival awarded Life Show with Best Film, Best Actress and Best Cinematography statuettes.

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KENNETH'S REVIEW: Taiwan reefer madness if you will, orchestrated with the pitch perfect knowledge of how to create energetic, laughable thrash. Laughable being the highest compliment to this thoroughly fun Polly Kuan vehicle directed by the editor of her breakthrough movie, Dragon Inn. A basic period plot at heart arises little interest but instead, Chan Hung-Man know where to push for success. To boot, they manage to maintain pace and energy as they wade through the many highlight creations. Watch the men of the Devil's Gang try and take on Polly's male character, whether it's the midget brothers in their rolling boulders, tiger assassins, elephant assassins, lion assassins and even octopuses working in the same capacity! It's a wonderful smorgasbord where added sounds in post to the various animal attackers are as dumb as they are entertaining. When capping it off with Polly and fellow cast members (including her annoying students) looking extremely embarrassed when fighting the octopus prop that could've come directly from Ed Wood's Bride of The Monster, the filmmakers may have their poorest looking effect but their best ideas, especially when they start shooting baby octopuses at Polly! Men behind masks and Lo Lieh in the cast list signals a surprise towards the end but as with the other actual kung-fu action, Little Hero does less well when being ordinary.

An uneasy mix of straining comedy, annoying character dubbing and often times cruel, Chang Cheh-esque violence populates this largely youth cast kung fu comedy. These kids can definitely move and some even adapt well to on-screen fighting. Attributes that add up to only rare glimpses into good choreography and despite director Tong filling the short running time with lots of action, many participants look awkward in probably their first and only major film role. The Little Hero of Shaolin Temple is easy to get through for sure but when during the climax the monks turn into suicide bombers, you can't help by feeling a little disturbed afterwards.

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Under the producing- and writing skills of Ann Hui and John Chan, Allen Fong returned after a 7 year absence, shooting A Little-Life Opera in China. And much feels familiar as Fong's static camera tells a whole lot but it gets him into a little into trouble this time around as it takes a while for even the low-key storytelling to ignite. When it does, we're treated to quite a compelling view on the aspects of opera within a poor performing troupe. Childhood love blossoms again between characters of now different financial status and Fong confidently captures how the decline of traditional Peking opera makes the older generation hesitant to pass the talent onto the young. If you've appreciated what Allen stylistically put into his prior movies, A Little-Life Opera won't disappoint. It's not as perfect, that's its problem. With Winston Chao and Yeung Kwai Mi.

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KENNETH'S REVIEW: Something new, something light, something different, something safe made by Zhang Yuan in the form of Little Red Flowers? In the end, he chooses to keep up appearances by keeping his train of thoughts of thinking for yourself, oppose systems and not become a robot. The theme is represented by a daycare consisting of Government Official children in post-revolution Beijing and its free thinker is new arrival Qiang (a brilliant Bowen Dong) who is immediately at odds with the strict system that has its "rewards" in the form of little red flowers. Zhang Yuan does step back from a loose, documentary style often associated with his works (and he was a documentarian once to boot) to deliver a slick frame but nothing at the expense of losing who he is. No, style is amped to suitable degree instead, mostly through the usage of low angles to represent the world view of the children. Some of them being very well immersed in the well-oiled machine of the daycare where basically robots are bred. It's not even thinking outside of the box that is Zhang's concern, it's the about the option to think period! If you don't, you get the privilege of being totally stressed out, publicly humiliated and sporadically you see total apathy/evil grow in the kids thanks to the system. The kids don't know, the adults barely either. It's a system.

In a very sparsely plotted movie, we do wonder if Zhang is going to have Qiang perform his revolution, bring some with him or is it just a snapshot of a kid not possessing tuned decision-making but at least have one tuned instinct? It IS complex, it is rather dark and uncompromising the Zhang Yuan-way. Only now his subjects open up a more breezy, comedic tone that still has its reason for transforming the way it does come end time.

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Liu Jai (Home for the Intimate Ghosts) was one of the Cat III efforts that followed in the wake of the success of Erotic Ghost Story (that based its plot on the same collection of stories as Liu Jai), a production that not so much exuded quality in itself but was understandably commercially viable. While it doesn't have the babe factor of said effort, Liu Jai (Home for the Intimate Ghosts) ends up, quality-wise, alongside it.

It's all dangerously stage play-esque for the longest of time and really lacks a full on narrative all up till the reveal of the ghost angle. Not even that is expanded upon further outside of the quest for humanity through sex for these demons but do you need anything else if you've decided to look up this movie? Answer is clearly no and with large amount of sex, nudity, a little bit of torture, a little bit of graphic violence, dopey comedy and a hokey special effects climax, Liu Jai (Home For The Intimate Ghosts) is a success within the realms of its genre. Starring Lam Man-Yuen, Elsie Chan, Charlie Cho (as a rather mediocre demon hunter) and Chong Fat.

The Hong Kong police comes up with a new tactic in catching brutal gangs and that is to bring in a trio of Mainlanders (Elvis Tsui, Ben Lam and Yuen Yat-Chor) to go undercover alongside cop Biggy (Alex Man)...

Watching edited highlights from the seminal Long Arm Of The Law right at the very beginning, that is the sole connection which is risky and unnecessary because quality has dropped quite a bit compared to Johnny Mak's original. Even with writer Phillip Chan on board again, no underlying politics or character depth manages to come alive to an acceptable extent and we're left with a standard effort. However the piece flows fine and Chin Yuet-Sang's directed violence is tough and bloody. Out of the actors Elvis Tsui and Alex Man bring good presence to the table, making notions of lowly status as an undercover cop and Mainlander respectively take on an actual meaning. Kong Lung, Ng Hoi-Tin (also in the original) Pauline Wong, Wong Chi-Keung and another Wong Chi-Keung with the English name Kirk (acclaimed director of Organized Crime & Triad Bureau and Gunmen and here logging one of his patented rascal performances) also appear.

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