Very much fueled by Basic Instinct, Lo Kin (Heartbeat 100) and his writer Sze-To Cheuk-Hon seems to take pride in their concept of two sisters (Jade Leung). One weak, one strong, one lethal. Injecting "class" into the proceedings by shooting in synch sound and hiring above average DOP Joe Chan, it all halts there. Sure the erotica and gore elements are tasty enough to keep us occupied but Lo Kin not only loses us but himself into the cryptic murder case led by cop Edwin (Michael Wong, unfortunately he also in synch sound, switching heavily between Cantonese and English). A relatively sparse cast of characters whose motives and purpose are not made clear adds further insult, especially in regards to Day Wong's truly bizarre supporting role. Acting as a consultant coroner for the investigation, he sexually harasses and abuses his assistant played by Emily Kwan without the cops taking much notice and Spider Woman slowly takes on the feel of a David Lynch movie we demand an explanation from. Not a good sign. Also with Lowell Lo, Valerie Chow and Chan Kwok-Bong.

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Taiwanese production that utilizes the Joey Wong as a ghost-image to make up any kind of story, however implausible it may be. Ding Sin-Saai (The Beheaded 1000) creates an almost extremely dull looking frame that has its so called interesting starting point at Joey Wong's Ginny's suicide. On the board of directors at a beverage corporation, a far fetched plan is hatched to collect Ginny's ashes and somehow feed it to her identical twin Fen in order to to maintain the company image. Spirit Love lacks a craziness in pacing and visuals to support such a wild plot but when it finally creates a focus, it's mildly enjoyable to see the filmmakers come up with just anything, especially when they bring in the Joey Wong multiple characters angle. The film spirals into melodrama where secrets behind Ginny's death are revealed, emotional scars brought to the surface and several logistically impossible elements (such as perfectly arranged photographs being available for Ginny's last moments) just adds to what really is made up on the spot-entertainment. Or rather thoughtless entertainment. It makes for curious viewing at a few points, nothing else and when final, final twists are revealed, THAT is the ultimate moment where no rules apply anymore. Ay ay ay...

Co-written by Michael Chow, he stars as a country bumpkin who goes to Hong Kong to take over a small restaurant but gets in trouble with local thugs (headlined by Ben Ng)...

The stock plot is similar to a lot of things, including The Way Of The Dragon, and this mildly amusing comedy does indeed go Bruceploitation routes...sort of. Recognizing the fact that everyone doing a Bruce Lee impersonation is degrading the essence of his that is still lingering, for large parts The Spirit Of The Dragon is far from inspiring, with Michael Chow as a buckteeth character being a low-end joke in itself. Chow often amuses but continues to mix in more of the worse, including bike crashing gags where he lands up in a tree. His meeting with a Bruce Lee devotee (Cheng Pei-Pei) in the most strict of ways changes him and the momentum of the film changes for the better as now the tribute-mode better utilizes the notion of inspiration left behind by Bruce. Little that has to do with being a top fighter (and Chow's character certainly is not), scenes showing this is a showcase of Michael's skills at their very best. It's all far removed from reality, hit and miss, but also in its own way, a suiting tribute to the Little Dragon, believe it or not. Law Kar-Ying, Eric Kei (also producer), Miki Lee, Diana Pang, Jamie Luk, Rosemary Vandenbroucke, Paul Fonoroff and Emily Kwan also appear.

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Being connected to The Spooky Family from the year before, Spiritual Trinity more or less feels like a very unremarkable horror-comedy entry with comedic family banter and the odd ghostbusting battle inserted to sell the film. However when director Ng Min-Kan (Deadful Melody) clashes the characters played by Kent Cheng, Lam Ching Ying and Pauline Wong, a surprising amount of character can be found in the potential love triangle at hand. From a genre that never really needed to rely on conflicts and depth to characters, Spiritual Trinity exceeds expectations for a little while. The focus is in fact good to the degree that the final ghost battle seems like an afterthought. When those sequences do hit, they contain the requisite energy Hong Kong cinema could put forth while sleeping but neither that or overall content in Spiritual Trinity makes it a TRUE classic. Peter Chan Lung, Gigi Lai and Bonnie Fu also appear.

The Cantonese track on Winson's dvd goes completely mute between the 44 and 53 minute mark. Their vcd does not suffer from this error but in turn has no subtitles.

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HK Flix.com
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KENNETH'S REVIEW: Lu Ling (Pauline Wong) faces heartbreak head on and tries to keep her spirits up in front of the world as responsibility lies on her as the lead dancer and choreographer of a show entitled "Split Of The Spirit". Meanwhile, Jennifer is lured into the hands of David Bao who gets fed up with her so he decides to burn her alive inside a car, with the additional help of a priest that perform rites to have her soul trapped. Only thing is, the rite fails and Jennifer's not so rested soul goes on a rampage, via the body of Lu Ling. Mostly well-made and shot Taiwan production that gathers a good amount of points for appearing slick, actually creepy and surprising (for instance, some unexpected gore is well-nailed). Director Tan clearly has a good grip and desire to make matters as much scary as tragic and although the finale suffers from poor visual effects, a fair dramatic effect is still accomplished.

Vampire busting comedy resembling many other that surfaced after Mr. Vampire. Yet, director Chin Yuet Sang (Hocus Pocus), despite fairly tiring comedy and an episodic narrative, maintains a lively and a fun frantic pace to the proceedings, including the extended battles with the vampire of this piece (action was directed by Lau Kar Leung regular Lee King Chue). Pauline Wong is also great fun as the feisty wife of Kent Cheng's character while Peter Chan Lung is very likeable as the ghost servant. Also with Nina Li, Alvina Kong, Billy Lau, Shing Fui On and Sandra Ng.

KENNETH'S REVIEW: It may look tough and hardcore during its spooky opening but the Pacman-style credits that follow tell a different story. Indeed the story of a couple fearing their son has been taken by a ghost and invests in a spare one, turns wacky. New addition to the family, Lo Boo, has a street attitude in him as well as traits of a Dennis The Menace character so pratfalls, kicks, smoking sessions and a slingshot become multiple scenarios. That is until conman played by David Tao comes in to fake exorcisms and along the way Lo Boo stages his own death that subsequently sees him travel around with the conman. Suen Yuet is the cop chasing them around with his lasergun, scenes are interrupted by the motorbike song, dance numbers, actual real ghost busting and little in the way of laughs comes out of this on paper insane package. Silly film speeds as comedy device number one speaks volumes of Yu Kang-Ping's (Papa, Can You Hear Me Sing) limp ideas.

An elderly husband (Li Bao-Tian) returns home to his wife (Zhao Lirong) in time for the annual spring festival with a bundle of earned money. Knowing they might and might not have their children with their families dropping by, they prepare for a quiet, tender time on their own. Soon a plethora of family members are arriving though and everyone is hoping for a more peaceful time compared to the year before...

It's partially a tough sell as director Huang Jian-Zhong packs way too much characters and conflicts into the tiny area this Mainland China production takes place in. The automatic beauty of the snowy landscape and static direction works in Huang's favour as a way of achieving reality but the character relationships aren't particularly clear across the board. The Spring Festival does carry a strong thematic about respecting tradition, breaking tradition and at what moments behaviour disintegrates a once tightly knitted group. It makes for partly inaccessible and accessible, dramatic, darkly comical and global viewing with fine lead performances in Li Biao-Tian and Zhao Lirong. Also with Ge You.