One of Sally Yeh's very first roles and one she probably has long since forgotten. It can't be erased from any resume though and in some shape or form, Marianna is still in circulation.

Trying to combine a triangle drama with nods to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and any other cannibal flick from the 70s, the movie surely is an entertaining brew due to it being so utterly incompetent but you'll have to be a good mood switcher to get through it. With not only dreadful acting from Sally (there's not a whole lot to work with here though) but from the Filipino cast as well, entertaining, although I hesitate to call them redemptions, come through the use of some wicked, psychedelic sound design and the needed excess in jungle climax. It's bad enough to be fun and short enough to be bearable.

The export trailer tried to sell The Mars Villa as a "kung fu picture with a difference" and with an "unexpected plot". Which is funny because already at that point, the story staples presented surely was getting old. Regardless, The Mars Villa stands the test of time thanks to John Liu whose kicking abilities lives up to the reputation. In between all that, director Ting Chung does nothing out of the ordinary but admittedly, for an independent martial arts production, the scenes of Liu having fallen from grace and into insanity are unexpectedly affecting. Also with Phillip Ko Fei, Tong Bo Wan, Chan Chia Kai & Suen Yuet.

Crash Cinema's release offers up the original Mandarin language version with English subtitles on a separate dvd.

Buy the DVD at:
HK Flix.com

Martial Arts Of Shaolin (aka Shaolin Temple 3) marked the first and only collaboration between former Wushu champion turned martial arts star Jet Li and legendary martial arts director Lau Kar Leung. Released at the end of the Shaw Brother's era as we know it, it was also Lau's last contribution to the studio until until 2002's Drunken Monkey. Martial Arts Of Shaolin does feature most of the same cast that first was beautifully showcased in Shaolin Temple (1982) but it's merely a sequel in name only so there's no catching up to do via the prior Mainland China productions.

Shaw's teamed up with Pearl River Film for this one and one of the finest assets of the production is the marvelous location work. Not only was the actual Shaolin Temple once more used but excursions to the Forbidden City, The Great Wall and a climax at the Yangtze river makes this stand out from all the efforts at the Shaw's stages that Lau previously had filmed on.

While the plot is no great shakes and basically utilizes the first movie and most others revenge storyline, it's a genuine treat to see all these actual Wushu performers perform under the direction of Lau. They're not the best screen fighters Lau ever directed but they're clearly not in need of aid in terms of wires or doubling either, especially not young Jet Li in his absolute prime. Lau Kar Leung bid farewell to Shaw Brother's in fine and grand style, firmly sealing his status as the greatest martial arts filmmaker in the world.

Romeo Diaz and James Wong also provide a score that lingers, in a very welcome way, long after the final frame.

Buy the DVD at:
HK Flix.com
Yesasia.com

More terrific martial arts action from Lau Kar Leung that has something to say (also see Lau's first stint at portraying the Wong Fei Hung legend in Challenge Of The Masters). Gordon Lau reprises his role as Wong Fei Hung who has to let go of his mischievous ways and firmly adopt the different facets of morals and virtues in the martial arts world. Although his transition is all too quick to be accepted on a proper filmmaking level.

You have broad comedy, rivalry between schools but it's clear as we move along that the emphasis on proper manners is going to be an important part of Lau's narrative. He succeeds greatly despite flaws, combining that with terrific hand to hand- and weapons action. Most important to note is that the choreography speaks to the set themes, which is not all out usual for the genre. Along with a fun intro explaining the rules of lion dancing, Martial Club displays a fine merging of the superior production values at Shaw Brother's, martial arts action from an ever so versatile mind and a thematic mindset that seemed to shine very little in martial arts cinema. Martial Club is the kind of effort that gets copied, only then it lacks the heart, mind and soul. Ku Feng, an outstanding Johnny Wang, Wilson Tong and Robert Mak also appear. Although barely used, the few forays into acrobatics courtesy of Hsiao Hou is memorable. Kara Hui deserves to be mentioned just because her character is another one of the few disappointing aspects of the film. It's the sheer ignorance and impulsive nature to her that doesn't ring true to Hui's persona (especially compared to the performance in My Young Auntie). Then again, one form of counterpart to Wong Fei Hung was needed but Lau's choice of Hui for that becomes a detraction sadly.

Buy the DVD at:
HK Flix.com
Yesasia.com

10 year old May (May Xu) and her little sister August (Qiu Lier) loses their parents (Cecilia Yip and Lin Quan) to the occupying Japanese forces and are forced to flee Nanjing. They get taken in by their uncle (Zhang Yijun) and his family but scars are now forever etched into the children...

As we enter the initial moments of Raymond To's May & August, one can't help to think of familiarity as it's a story of the ordinary people struggling in a war torn reality. It's been done masterfully before (Hong Kong 1941) as well as not so masterfully (1941 Hong Kong On Fire). But by settling on a children's perspective, To gets more out of this story.

He plants fine, poignant train of thoughts about the role of children during this time, doubting their worth and despite having shelter of some sort, they truly feel alone amongst adults not their own. The uplifting spirit of the film takes its rightful place and the titular characters May and August have to adopt their mindsets to a different, higher form of life learning. Whether or not politics and war will rob them of that, remains to be seen. There's some odd, brushed over so called poignancy planted by To in some quite grisly ways early on but he keeps afloat mostly throughout, dishing out emotions in more subtle manner. It may never be truly affecting but Raymond To deserves a slight pad on the back for a job well done despite. Mark Lee's cinematography is an asset, capturing the Chinese landscapes quite dependently.

Buy the DVD at:
HK Flix.com

John Chan returns to directing after no one's really missed him but fans of writing would know he penned such films as Eighteen Springs, Fong Sai Yuk and Mother Of A Different Kind. Produced by Johnnie To and shot with a Mainland Chinese talent pool, Memory Of The Youth is simple in its approach. Chan has a few quirky visuals to go along with the growing love between Lin (Ma Xiao Qian) and Nuo (Zhai Tian Lin) but his greatest tool here is sincerity. With it you get far but as simple-minded the story is, with the elements of nostalgia and a once in a lifetime experienced love, Chan includes quite a few brave character choices. Lin is depicted, whether she knows it or not, as a small bird dying to break free into individuality as that's the only life choice now. It generates elements found in Derek Yee's 2 Young but all these choices would verge on dangerous for any character. However director Chan has decided to let naive characters have that as a building block for their particular fate and this rather uncompromising approach makes Memory of The Youth stand out. There's no cultural boundaries, that's why Chan deserves a larger audience and Johnnie To should lend his producing talents to more projects like this.

ALTHOUGH, one can't help to think John Chan needs to polish some of his storytelling skills as one particular plotpoint concerning Lin running away from home is hard to swallow in the way the adults don't seem to be in a rush to get her back. No prior developments suggests a logic to this and Chan's directing of the younger supporting players is not convincing at times.

Buy the DVD at:
HK Flix.com

KENNETH'S REVIEW: Ekin Cheng is Chi, a boy who never learned to swim and is now brought in as an adult to substitute at a school, as a PE-teacher. Just like once in his youth, he is once again saved by a mermaid (Christy Chung) but this time she loses a vital pearl so she has to go on land in order to retrieve it. Falling in love with Chi doesn't help matters as of course she wants to stay... and marry? Yes, the English title jumps way ahead of matters and this literally fish out of water story is predictably easy enough sap to sit through. Not sweet sap though as intended by Norman Law (Gun Is Law, A Hearty Response). The various shenanigans around our leads are about feeble teen romance and a tangent about the adult world trying to cash in on the mermaid-find is unbearably dumb. Efforts wasted by Kent Cheng, Yuen King-Tan and Dennis Chan while Takeshi Kaneshiro and Teresa Mak also appear.

A poor showcase for everyone involved but then again, barely anyone involved possesses any true talent. Diana Pang is a radio DJ and dancer stuck with a stalker calling himself the Hungry Wolf. Michael Wong is the cop protecting her...

We first wish that Raymond Wong would unashamedly utilize busty Pang like the commercial element she clearly is because she's not in this vehicle to act. First X in the protocol then and Wong is not the guy ready to make a stalker thriller either so predictably this production is ill from the getgo. When then making sure to occasionally let us know Pang's stance on ALMOST nudity in film, Midnight Caller does become even more sad. Favouring the easily shot light over the easily shot and devoid of suspense, Michael Wong is a drooling cop with relationship troubles, his boyish partner is played by Joyce Ngai and various clueless, technical detours via oddly chosen slow-motion and inserted cartoon sound effects also haunts us. While Wong injects a dig at himself at the end, it doesn't turn the film into a product of note. About one minute of almost decent final reel tension isn't enough either and the minute positive gets erased by a typically predictable twist ending only Hong Kong cinema can manage to make dull.

Buy the DVD at:
Yesasia.com