Also known as The Bloody Fight, this old school martial arts actioner surely sold a ticket or two thanks to a better alternate title. However neither version can hide the fact that this Chinese martial arts vs. Japanese martial arts story is re-cycled stuff that also goes down roads of extreme tedium. Flashing a little high flying creativity in the fight scenes at times (as well as gore and overall mostly during the finale), otherwise the choreography is lacking imagination in the most dreadful of ways. Especially since quite a number of the leads (men and women) merely know posing but little of how to sell a fight. They get very little supported by the filmmakers though. Alan Tang stars opposite Pai Ying while Chen Kuan-Tai and Eddy Ko appear as henchmen.

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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.

Distributed in English by Tomas Tang's Filmark (although in an unaltered state, aside from the English dub), Lee Tso-Nam seems to be aiming for a fine depiction of ninjitsu but soon he reveals that being fine about arts is not proper art in this case. No, the art of ninjitsu OF COURSE contains female mud wrestling and on a path A Life Of Ninja has set us on via this inclusion. Before he gets us to the rather mundane and way too seriously told plot about a ninja expert played by Chen Kuan-Tai being hired as a bodyguard by a company boss who is targeted by the Eiga clan (led by Yusuaki Kurata), Lee from the suitably smoky hideout for the Eiga clan demonstrates further. One such demonstration revolves around the fact that ninjas operate in the dark but the film curiously cuts to a shot with them operating in daylight and the various art of lady ninja tactics, including flashing, must not be left unmentioned. Lee's frame of mind is definitely correct and his combo of thrash and sleaze easily outweighs the otherwise straight faced narrative. It simply becomes a pleasure to follow his directorial energy whenever putting his mind in the right place and the intended audience will be able detect genuine fun and direct genuine respect towards the filmmaker. Also with Elsa Yeung who went on to appear in Lee Tso-Nam's kooky Challenge Of The Lady Ninja, again with Chen Kuan-Tai.

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Lai Shuang Yang (Tao Hong) 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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A group of acrobatic and kung fu gifted kids, led by a select few adults, are on the run from forces hell bent on seeing them brought... to their death presumably. Probably. Key. Enter Fok (Chin Kar-Lok) who is on his way to collect a debt and meet his designated wife but he gets entangled in this unintelligible mess. In fact, Chin Kar-Lok and the whole production in terms of its fight action-aspect surprises early on with some extended, energetic brawls and as Chin shows off his quick self, something might just turn out to be underrated in this rather medium sized production. But epic brawls turns out to be a recipe Little Hero On The Run can't build upon and instead the little yet still unintelligible plot gives way to heavy-duty comedic shenanigans with even more puzzling results. When predictably going big on us with the fighting finale, high concept from the action director can't be translated into viewable flow. Much is too quick-cut and despite the more than sporadic flashes of Chin Kar-Lok's and also Ben Lam's brilliance, it's unfortunately easy to forget their contribution. Very easy. Co-directed by Tenky Tin who played Iron Shirt in Shaolin Soccer.

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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