Considering the title O.C.T.B Case - The Floating Body (OCTB being short for Organized Crime & Triad Bureau), you would think someone like Danny Lee would've used it as an excuse for a a gazillion movies long, cheap series, all detailing one case per flick. This never happened as such, at least not in name or on the big screen. This Category III thriller from the director of Liu Jai (Home For The Intimate Ghosts) contains the oddities and pleasures you've come to expect from the genre, and also a minor dramatic element that's not entirely unworthy. Ben Ng plays the violent brother of Wong Wan-Choi's character and despite trying to be the sweet guy, it can't co-exist with the violent streak of his. All leading to the accidental murder of his brother's wife (Lily Chung, in a fully clothed role for a change) and subsequent chainsaw dismemberment of her remains. The latter being a gloriously satisfying sequence for us gorehounds and it seems remarkably enough left untouched by the censors. Director Lam certainly never does showcase a knack for subtlety though, including in this sequence and the bizarre choices that begins to pile up after this. While a standard murder investigation thriller follows (with the cop heading the case being played by Bobby Au, a character with only a select crew of bumbling idiot cops by his side. Now THAT is a change for the genre), Lam never underplays any critical moment, especially evident in his choice to feature a highly aggressive, sweeping score that feels more like library cues.

Ben Ng is a worthwhile element here though, staying true to his rep amongst fan circles as one of the most dangerous actors on two feet and it's a role that draws similarities to his Red To Kill-stint, only with a hint more sympathy directed towards him. Despite ticking off the genre requirements such as setting parts of the movie in flashback, O.C.T.B Case - The Floating Body has sporadic, very memorable elements despite. Yeung Yuk-Mui, Kwan Hoi-San and Teresa Ha co-stars.

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Judging by the cast that appeared in this as well as in Official Exterminator 4 - Goddess Mission (Mike Abbott chief among them), a case could be made that IFD made sure to film this series in one go... however many they eventually ended up at. It doesn't mean IFD started veering off their formula though as this is the typically slow and fun cut & paste concoction that even without the ninja touch (aside from one scene) offers up C-movie shenanigans and goofy dialogue galore. Phil wants to bring down Lucas (Abbott), a drug smuggler. Enlisting the help from Alfred (the lead from the Asian movie of choice for IFD to play around with), he is more pre-occupied (he is in the other movie after all) staying on the straight path after a jail sentence. Money for mommy is the primary concern for Alfred but the past catches up to him fast as men from the drug smuggling turn up to pester. Past love and heartache does too. Making very few attempts to logically and coherently connect the movies, it's fun watching the individual efforts. On the fun side we get Phil avoiding assassin after assassin (including an exploding ninja) while a dark, melodramatic morality tale takes up the bulk of the time in Alfred-land. Not as boring and unbearable always thanks to several golden Mike Abbott deliveries (and in general the robot acting from all the dubbers is hilarious), Official Exterminator 2 - Heaven's Hell simply works in the IFD tradition of things. Watch out for an actual solid, dramatic punch towards the end by the original filmmakers.

Just when you thought Joseph Lai couldn't find worse gwailo actors, he strikes "gold" with Offical Exterminator 4 - Goddess Mission, inserting Mike Abbott and dudes from Curly Hair Hostel into either a Hong Kong or Taiwan something. The original has immigrants with attitude (including a sexy leading lady) that robs for a living but gets drawn into infiltration missions for the police and that's where villain Mike Abbot (and his mind reading) fit in. Easy to figure out, hard to follow, most of the direction by the pseudonym Joel Law is merely golden when his unnatural white folks enter the frame. With a Ken Logan as our cop lead fighting very little himself (enter Chinese doubles in poor wigs!), a little Re-Animator score theft, a ludicrous/friggin' sweet cat fight (not with cats) courtesy of our original director and a brief appearance by a ninja not making much of an impressive threat, it's certainly middle of the road for IFD but short, sweet and hokey enough to follow through.

Out of all people that would not honor the part of a homosexual man, insane whirlwind Eric Kot should've been a candidate but his work in In Between (aka The New Age Of Living Together) and here in Derek Chiu's Oh! My Three Guys reveals an actor able to flourish a bit under set stereotypes and familiarity. It's the bright spot of an otherwise uneven drama-comedy about three lifelong and now homosexual friends. Chung Yu Hoi (Lau Ching-Wan) works as a marketer for condoms and establishes a connection with his co-worker Fok May (Wu Chien-Lien) to the point where love might actually be in the air. Kot's Kau is a movie extra mainly only capable of playing it feminine, the wife role if you will. Something that shows up all to evidently when he's asked to be a butch policeman, much to the amusement of the actor played by Anthony Wong. Finally there's Fa (an amazingly non-annoying Dayo Wong), a scriptwriter with dramatic intentions in his writing but within an industry demanding tits and sleaze to hail someone as creative. The trio have their share of shaky relationships to the point that Kau literally acts as the wife/boyfriend to get his pals out of situations and shaky belongs to the verdict of the film too. Talky passages and quirky dialogue within them, when entering the key plot with Lau Ching-Wan and Wu Chien-Lien. there are no steps conveyed that has us believing in her infatuation with him. It just is after a while and when going the expected places of homosexual prejudice and the issue of AIDS, parts of the film showcases really poor narrative skills. Crucial moments turn flat and it's only through Eric Kot's presence we sense some kind of emotional momentum happening. But it's supposed to be a quartet of goals accomplished across the board and Chiu strikes out the majority of the time. Also with Simon Loui and Manfred Wong.

Ersao (Siqin Gaowa - The Postmodern Life Of My Aunt) manufactures sesame oil derived from an old family recipe for a living. The village she lives in is about to be put on the map though as the product is being picked up for larger distribution in the cities. With that fame comes the biggest hardships for the family. Matters that were brewing underneath the surface anyway, having to do with the lake crucial to Ersao's product. A lake of tragic legends. It starts with the mentally handicapped son Duanzi getting married to Huan Huan (Wu Yujuan) and the abuse that comes with it. It's a pattern repeated as Ersao also had an arranged marriage, choosing very little herself and she's living out a rebellious side as she has an affair going on well...

Awarded the Golden Bear at the 1993 Berlin International Film Festival (an honor shared with Ang Lee's The Wedding Banquet), Xie Fei's Mainland drama manages to echo a reality of its tale by shooting on village locations and transforming each aspect and on-screen talent into a valid real subject. It's top notch technical direction in combination with attention to character, anchored beautifully by Siqin Gaowa but riveting on a master scale Oilmaker's Family is not. Rarely unclear, it merely lands on many notches above solid so there was power to be had that never developed fully. To me personally. Also known as The Women From the Lake of Scented Souls.

KENNETH'S REVIEW: While this immigrant drama doesn't necessarily fall into the "If you've seen one, you've seen them all"-category, Kong Lung's direction of Lillian Lee's (Rouge) screenplay never really coheres. More episodic than structured around a plot, at center are mostly kids of slightly varied social status. Some newly arrived immigrants and some with a secure place, mostly it turns out they have in common a continuing search of the key to life. Even old time immigrants cross their paths, mainly bathroom attendant Lu (Liu Wai-Hung) and also a cop (Roy Chiao) with civil servant duties but also a heart. The running time plods along without a true sense of purpose and character-revelations merely makes the the film sink into heavy melodrama that no one benefits from. The style is suitable street and intentions noble but no weight is ever added, not even from the adult performers. In a truly mind bending scene, humane cop played by Chiao has a young girl attached to a leash like a dog, for almost comedic purposes but it won't sit well with viewers. Director Kong Lung co-starred in Long Arm Of The Law as well as directing The Red Panther.

Ma (Zhang Fengyi - Farewell My Concubine) is let out of prison after completing a manslaughter sentence. Finding out that his wife DuXia (Carrie Ng) has remarried, his meeting with her brother (Paul Chun) carries the message that the son in the family (Siu Jun-Kwan) is not Ma's but that his died young of a heart disease. Refusing to believe that fact, Ma takes DuXia's son on a road trip to reclaim his own worth, face his fears and prove his fatherhood. Some would call that kidnapping too...

Lawrence Lau (Spacked Out, My Name Is Fame) shoots this road movie in China, adding synch sound Mandarin and that gosh darn, criminal cinema-simplicity that makes for gems in this reviewer's mind. Being nicely unpredictable with the drama as Ma is an irrational guy that could really genuinely be out to do harm to an otherwise solid family. He is in his ways abusive but is out to throw out the spoiled kid in favour of one knowing about the rough life he very well could've had. Before things are made clear, we're very glad to be pulled in a few different directions. We don't know things, Lau's direction of writers Liu Heng (Judou, The Story Of Qiuju) and Cheung Tan's (Dragon Inn, The Promise) screenplay doesn't reveal anything but small doses at a time, equaling in-depth character building and One And A Half excels via this choice. Warm humour and usually gentle emotions, the show is undoubtedly Zhang Fengyi and Siu Jun-Kwan's, opposite performers that strike up wonderful chemistry. Played, directed clearly and with subtlety, it looks too easy almost. One of Lawrence Lau's very best films.