Without checking, little to nothing surely resembles the Marlon Brando classic now in the hands of Hong Kong cinema. Even if that was the case, The Street Car Named Desire is one incomprehensible, boring train wreck. Lawrence Ng is Chi-Wah, a triad recently released from prison with plans to go against the mould. That doesn't mean he will stop walking the triad way or let violence walk far behind him this time. No, he justifies his acts by reasoning that the polar opposite of what's expected should be done. Has to do with some "creative" writing concerning some father figure conflict or something. Flat direction and performances walk alongside the flick too, with a world painted in exploitation and decadence never coming to life. We barely know what drives these characters but we do come to know why after all is said and done. They're simply fools and breaking the wall of the so called drama territory is ventures into acrobatic gunplay and fights that screams commercial desperation. A big pass. Also with Bonnie Fu, Tommy Wong, Grace Wong, Karel Wong, Billy Chow and Kwan Hoi-San.

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Director Alan Lo continued to vent and cash in by being socially relevant/exploitive regarding the disillusioned youths-story. With Girls In The Hood released a few months prior, Suicide doesn't dress itself very differently but manages to register slightly better on a poignancy level. Relentlessly unsympathetic and generally ill behaved, the script calls for passages where the adult world turn on these kids, leading to the poor characteristics of the girls gang. It rings more true to the character traits for some moments and they all in the end want to feel love in some shape or form. Of course the title Suicide corresponds to plot elements so it's not a happy ride. Sad it may be but largely Alan Lo's document of the real Hong Kong is still yet another one trying to come off as socially relevant. A presentation of Cash Quick Inc. that happens to say something good every once in a while.

The Best Picture, Best Director (Ann Hui), Best Screenplay (Chan Man Keung), Best Actor (Roy Chiao), Best Actress (Josephine Siao) and Best Supporting Actor (Law Kar-Ying) winner at the 1996 Hong Kong Film Awards and a well deserved sweep by all involved. Ann Hui celebrates the strength of women but also family in her drama about the Sun family's struggle with keeping their Alzheimer diagnosed father (Roy Chiao) in check.

Thankfully not overbearing with her jabs at social problems such as elderly care and economical struggles, Hui rightfully takes the low-key approach for her detailed snapshot of reality and while the MTV crowd, or those in need of a quick entertainment fix, should stay away, Hui still crafts highly compelling drama that goes equally touching and funny routes. Funny in the way Chiao's disease stricken Lin takes some odd detours in the city but it's equally tragic to see the struggling family go through breakdowns, both inner and outspoken ones. The slight disinterest that crops up is via the son's sub story and Law Koon Lan's character is a few notches too broad for my liking. Still, Summer Snow couldn't come more highly recommended and with a trio of terrific performances, most notably the late Roy Chiao who finally received some overdue recognition, Ann Hui crafts perhaps one of her more uplifting movies in the end. A young Stephen Fung, in his debut, appears briefly as well as Ha Ping.

The setting is 1920s China where warlords are running the countryside. In an isolated village landscape, Yoyo (Zhang Yu, also producer) lives in poverty with her husband Tianyo (Gao Qiang), things being so bad that she is fainting in the street out of hunger. Lieutenant Pan Hao (You Yong) enters the life of Yoyo, forcing the husband to give her up for a short period of time. However when the agreement has run its course, Pan isn't letting go and nor is Yoyo...

Yim Ho directs this story where hurt and torn are keywords running through the often low-key narrative. With a certain connection to Red Dust therefore, even without knowing your history, Yim Ho will easily let in anyone who wants to. Yoyo at center is presented as a woman flowing with the so called prosperous options before you, whether it's wealth or an actual injection of passion into your life. There's a sense of doom over the film though and more often than not, Yoyo's action generates some kind of painful effect. Yim Ho has a firm grip on his atmosphere, where even slight motions and sounds are tension-filled. Few choices seem upbeat here by design and an obvious frustration is put forth as well, not just having to do with the Chinese history that the film is part of. While absorbing throughout, Yim Ho doesn't seem to develop his statements as much during the last 20 minutes, even if proceedings do get closure. A minor niggle in yet another atmospheric movie that benefits from fine cinematography and a score by Otomo Yoshihide (The Blue Kite, Summer Snow).

At the Berlin International Film Festival, Yim Ho ended up sharing the Silver Berlin Bear Award for Best Director together with Richard Loncraine (Richard III).

To Sun Valley comes a lone swordsman (Zhang Fengyi - Farewell My Concubine), one the villagers name the Avenger as that seems to be his agenda. He stays at an inn run by Hong Liu (Yuan Kuei-Mei) whose husband Hei Niu (Wang Xueqi) only occasionally comes home from his extended trips as a horse merchant. The Avenger carries with him hidden secrets though, being haunted by the sight of slaughter courtesy of a red hooded swordsman and a fear of blood, resulting in him taking the lives of several villagers in his confused state. His prolonged stay at the inn with Hong Liu creates an unexpected bond between the two subsequently but she carries with her secrets and agendas of her own...

He Ping's (The Swordsman In Double-Flag Town, Warriors Of Heaven And Earth) movie is slow but a rewarding drama that couldn't be farther removed from what Hong Kong cinema fans perceive as a swordsman movie. He Ping may break out from the mundane and held back into stylish bloodshed but it's violence, not action and even though Sun Valley may have a distant cousin in Tsui Hark's The Blade, the portrayal of a world with less and less swordsmen is a welcome perspective as it's from a Mainland filmmaker. The narrative is of course a large puzzle which may frustrate but in the end He Ping has hit a stride and given us a compelling character journey, one with a humanistic outlook, without ever condescending his audience. It's not particularly complex but the film does require your attention and perhaps, depending on the viewer, a good chunk of your patience. Rewarding is the key word though. Shaw Brother's veteran Ku Feng appears in support.

Produced by John Woo for Cinema City, this Taiwan set drama sets out to feel rather uneventful but slips badly into it so no memorable cinema here. Lee Shi-Xiang is looking for his sister in Taipei and he befriends various what you might call eccentric characters, ranging from regular kids, petty criminals and aimless street girls. Lee is the face of innocence and possibly the super citizen of the rather poor English title but he finds out along with others that life is filled with loneliness (and some grave darkness). Pinch me, I'm sleeping and while director Wan Jen employs cinematic language that can work, he is in fact novice at walking that tightrope.

Phillip Ko was still directing cheap action films into the new millennium and long after a golden of era of that particular genre, it's no surprise there's no creative juice left. Doubt there ever was any substantial amount in Ko to be honest.

Shot in Korea and Hong Kong, Ko wastes no time, launching us right into an ultra-serious narrative consisting of SDU training, the step into crime fighting uniform and supposed personal drama resides in the film as well. Ko seems to want to have a fast pace to his narrative yet displays awful skill at it. This then continues throughout as the story and characters are unimaginative, to put it nicely. All that's left is to let the girls kick some butt then, something he refuses to do until the final reel. There any potential skills left in Cynthia Khan and company is obscured by more lack of imagination in the choreography and editing. Anthony Wong phones in a heartless performance where he literally is yawning and sleeping through scenes. I won't knock Anthony or Cynthia for that matter as their given direction really seems nonexistent. Also with Johnny Wang, Ken Lo and Angela Tong.

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Back for more of the same routines, only outside of The Inspectors Wears Skirts series for Wellson Chin. With a female terminator-esque character (Cynthia Khan) and a bumbling idiot of a cop (Alex Man furthering his lack of talent as a comedian), Chin basically has the outline to make up a script as he goes along. It's a seriously unfunny one created with the only redeeming feature being the concept of the amnesia gun and Athena Chu is easily forgiven just because she's Athena Chu.

With the casting of Khan and Yuen Wah, some type of action workout obviously will be injected and echoing style of the Street Fighter video games creates an at times mildly spectacular ride. The finale even takes a few detours into graphic violence so viewer attention is easily maintained. Speaking of Street Fighter, there's clearly a sequence during the climax lifted from the Hong Kong edit of the film where Khan turns into the character of Chuan Li and reports seems to suggest this transformation was in other versions such as the one in Taiwan. As it stands now, the Hong Kong edit may not be cut as such but I'll tell you, you don't need to lose sleep over finding any version of Super Lady Cop. Really.

TROY'S REVIEW: This is undoubtedly one of the very best and most entertaining ninja-fests ever made! This movie literally has it all; dubbing that seems to be perpetually about two seconds out of sync with the characters flapping mouths, one of, if not THE most un erotic lovemaking scene ever committed to celluloid, a ninja surfing on a piece of bamboo, a sequence wherein our hero does a take on Rambo, some superbly choreographed fight scenes throughout and finally a soundtrack that liberally borrows, i.e. steals snippets from various famous movie scores such as Star Wars and Psycho! Also known as Killers Invincible.

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Ko (Frankie Chan) is a barber who was previously married into the family headed by stern father played by Ku Feng. The daughter Youth (Shirley Lui), and therefore Ko's sister in-law, is free spirited and begins taking a liking to Ko. Naturally them hanging out as much as they do leads to romance. A tricky notion considering their relation and status in the family...

Believe it or not, Frankie Chan takes at least two thirds of the movie to make this simple plot coherent! Before that, there's evidence of an unfocused 80s experience, only lacking the CHARMING, unfocused 80s charms. Hanging out with Youth, Youth's extensive circle of very eclectic friends, going go-carting...it all sounds like mindless fun but faced with close to a 100 minute running time (at least 10 minutes too much), thankfully director Chan begins injecting slight bearable cinema towards the end. He has veterans Ku Feng and Sek Kin to thank for that. The themes surrounding family comes to life and the Ku Feng character has his self-realizations, which is wonderfully, albeit in a standard way, handled by the veteran. Melodrama seems naturally unavoidable but at least we understand it and are even entertained by the minor stunt component of the flick as well. Sweet Surrender could've been much more though if Chan had been a charismatic lead and if Shirley Lui had been geared towards being peppy, free and compelling in an actual way throughout. Paul Chun is the dopey, detective brother with a gun, Lee Heung-Kam the mother while Charlie Cho, Wu Fung and Shum Wai also turn up. Someone named Wong Kar-Wai co-wrote the script.

Part of Crash Cinema's Unearthed Classic range, Poon Lui (a Shaw Brother's director before and since) creates a stunning piece of independent Wuxia, worthy of all the reputation it has worked up, especially in the light of this 2007 dvd release. Reportedly preparing the film for over a year, The Sword is meticulously created, pushing the limited indie budget well with sets and costumes being of the highest order. At heart also, it's not even about the action solely but an uncommonly (for the genre) complex portrayal of the consequences of obsession, embodied by Jimmy Wang Yu's Hsio Ho Wei. Son of a general, he stands in the way of his family crossing over to join the new empire. All he cares for are his swords however...

Jimmy logs perhaps his finest performance alongside the outcast Fang Kang in One-Armed Swordsman here, being in the shoes of a man rebelling in his own way but utilizing his position as part of the wealthy elite. However it's a tricky character who IS seeing things one-sided and perhaps will do less so via lessons learned along the way, be it philosophical ones or in battle. Perhaps is the key mystery word and Poon Lui neatly captures interest of those of us willing to listen as the piece revolves greatly around dialogue passages. With atmosphere oozing grandeur as we move through every set (the snow covered finale is particularly striking), The Sword truly involves all the way and is a splendid example of a director breaking down the walled boundaries of independent cinema to compete with movie making empire Shaw Brother's. Even though the action is stagy, there's more than enough story driven intensity behind it to forgive the lack of fluidity in the swordplay. Forgiving genre/Wang Yu staples such as a fighting tournament and the appearance of his trademark beard is easy too.

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Behind its stock plot about swordsmen on their quest to acquire a legendary sword lies a calm and measured Wuxia from first time director Patrick Tam (Nomad, My Heart Is That Eternal Rose and editor on Ashes Of Time). He invests his images in the needed storytelling yes but it's the highly exquisite atmosphere and camerawork that makes The Sword a terrific standout amongst the Golden Harvest efforts of the era. Ching Siu-Tung's action directing is also given a spotlight to thoroughly shine, combining winning doses of swordplay and Wuxia trickery, something he would expand on even more when directing his own classic Duel To The Death a few years later. With Adam Cheng, Norman Tsui, Eddy Ko, Lee Hoi Sang, Lau Siu-Ming and Tien Feng among others.

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A classic scenario of two childhood friends (Andy Lau & Cheung Kwok Keung) on opposite sides of the law but bound by loyalty to each other becomes a starting point for David Lai (Saviour Of The Soul, Runaway Blues) to excise some really, really dark inner demons that takes form in the shape of extreme brutal violence (supervised by Sammo Hung). Sworn Brothers is no film school example of storytelling but packs not only the punch on a violent level but fairly emotionally as well. Much due to Andy Lau's very competent and relaxed performance, a bit of a rarity at this point in his career. Melodrama goes way too high however and not all viewers may find the unsympathetic nature to characters worthy of their time but Sworn Brothers is exhilarating in its expert execution of violence. In a twisted way, that's enough. Siu Hung Mooi, Chin Ka-Lok, Eddy Ko and Bill Tung also appear.

An alternate ending was shot for the Mainland market and once available on the dvd release from WA.

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