Rarely involving to any extent (unless you're knowledgeable about the period covered?), Eddie Fong's drama about poet Yu Tat Fu (played as an adult by Chow Yun-Fat and in his teens by Terence Fok) struggling to find his Chinese identity among Japanese rulers and as a lover was apparently an unfinished Shaw Brother's production later sold to Golden Harvest. Re-edited without director Fong's consent and bumping the minor appearance of Chow's up to leading man status for marketing reasons, the film flopped despite. It's hard to imagine Fong's vision being that great to begin with and the film has little of the class and texture his prior An Amorous Woman of Tang Dynasty had. Also known as Cherry Blossoms.

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KENNETH'S REVIEW: Cheng Pei-Pei is Tiger-Lasher whose father is lost on a guide-mission in the mountains. Approached by a gang of robbers, she manages to seize control over them in order to follow up on any leads they might have in locating her father. When truths are revealed, they are more sinister than first believed...

The Golden Dragon League is after two halves of a treasure map but after killing off two brothers connected to it, the third, Shieh Chien (Lui Ming) known as The Whirlwind Knight puts up a fight as well as re-connecting to his family who he hasn't seen for 10 years...

Unusually well-directed swordplay movie gains points for a more well thought out narrative structure and intense action (Shieh Chien literally whirls his way through hordes of enemies at one point). Coming off as more ropey when taking the story dramatic and personal places, the main bulk of it still concerns the strand about the treasure map and The Whirl-Wind Knight manages to maintain a status worthy of note amidst these releases from Fusian. Their dvd, or the print used, is clearly missing a good chunk of footage at at least two points.

Made into a trilogy that also featured the movies Sam The Iron Bridge - Champion Of Martial Arts and One Arm Hero (all released the same year), Do Siu-Chun (To Catch A Thief, Forbidden Arsenal) stars as Sam Liang-Kun who was part of the group known as the Ten Tigers Of Canton. Defenders of Ching interests at the end of the Dynasty, other known characters out of the ten includes Wong Kei-Ying (father of Wong Fei-Hung) and So Haak-Yee (aka Beggar So). So for this trilogy directed by Johnnie To's cinematographer of choice basically ever since Milkyway formed, we see the titular cult roam villages, preaching their immortality and defense stance against the Western interests that are threatening to crumble the Ching. Their leader Chan (Ji Chun-Ha) enlists his elder brother Chen Chin who makes his living as a opera performer, to assassinate the Empress Dowager, a plan that in intent is actually Chan's attempt to restore the Ming. Not thoroughly unsuspecting of Chan's plans, Chen Chin dispatches his daughter Tieh (Yip Chuen-Chan) to contact Sister Hung (Lily Li, the former Shaw Brothers star). Meanwhile merchant Liang Kun enters the story properly as he tries to save the life of Chen Chin who is injured in the assassination attempt and he's now in the middle of a war between clan brothers. It also means one of his close brothers, Kuang, gets more and more infatuated with what he sees in the White Lotus Cult...

Featuring impressive sets and costumes, it may have been a choice to appear a bit more rooted and gritty than its obvious inspiration the Once Upon A Time In China Series but White Lotus Cult can't escape a sense of feeling and looking cheap. Phillip Kwok's mostly wire-assisted action isn't very impressive either but does have decent energy whenever grounded. What saves the day somewhat though is Do Siu-Chun as Liang Kun. A serviceable presence as a hero and possessing enough charisma, his story merges nicely with the story of the brothers and in a competent way, in terms of action and drama, director Cheng Siu-Keung in the latter section gets the film to adhere to a familiar kung fu-movie structure. The politics around it doesn't affect but it never could akin to mentioned Tsui Hark-series.

Possibly the quickest start to any stupid horror flick, Wu Kuo-Ren (The Super Ninja) gets our class of archeology students, their teacher (Joyce Ngai) onto a remote island of crackpots (and Shing Fui-On), poor housing and in comes an axe wielding maniac to boot! The youths are obviously too sexual for their own good and too annoying to be alive, something director Wu is quickly and correctly acknowledges as this is a pretty fast paced slaughter-fest. Only slow when forced to be expository, otherwise the standard beheadings, body splits etc are going to be fun for anyone with a weakness for the slasher movie. I'm one and to boot, the story strand of Joyce Ngai returning to her home island comes with a wonderful dream sequence with phallic symbols galore and extensive weirdness. The twist can therefore be spotted a mile away but Who's Killer is not sleep inducing. That's important for a genre entry such as this. Leung Po-Chi's The Island it is similar to in many ways but there actual dread was accomplished. Wu's intentions are different and it's as valid of a movie therefore.

Conjures up intentions and goals but strikes out quite distinctly, Andy Chin's twentysomething drama about friends Gigi (Ellen Chan), Bobo (Ivy Leung) and Jane (Rachel Lee) contains the professional touch via the use of synch sound but little overall that resonates. Basically a simple tale of girls (and supporting character gallery containing men) in need to grow up, embark on career attempts as secretary or actresses but they are girls (and men) that are stuck in development. So they favour their loose side, playing and immoral acts such as spying on their neigbours (object of desire being the character of Mike, played by Ekin Cheng). Moral of the story is that life hurts, especially when you reap the consequences of your actions and then the movie stops for an end credits dance number! No, it's not director Chin using an open end for almost all characters, disguised as a brave filmmaking choice. Why Wild Girls simply seems to run out of film or competence (or it's in fact cut on Ocean Shores dvd). On the positive side of things, Rachel Lee is wonderful, in both bubbly mode and during the emotional detours her character takes. Chan Kwok-Bong, Kenneth Chan, Fan Yik-Man, Jamie Luk and Kingdom Yuen also appear.

It's hard initially to differentiate Johnny Wang's gangster actioner from many others of the time but when it starts to live up to its title and the girls take center stage, Wang injects sparks into the film. Featuring a well-choreographed gym fight involving Kara Hui and Michiko Nishiwaki and several instances of brutal violence (not an uncommon trait in Wang's films), Widow Warriors becomes an entertaining time with the genre. The gunplay comes off as less refined while film speeds are not utilized well during one fight, definite negatives in Wang's frame. Tien Niu is watchable as one of the feisty widows who takes the greatest responsibility after the males of the crime family are wiped out. Also starring Elizabeth Lee, Michael Chan, Phillip Chan, Ha Chia Ling, Liu Fan, Ken Lo and Sek Kin.

Wild was Billy Tang's first film after a lengthy break from an acclaimed string of Category III movies and while he's working with a Cat IIb rating here, much is not sacrificed. Wild is just less explicit but the erotica is still steamy enough. No nudity for Francoise Yip though boys but the slick style of Tang's is given a decent vehicle. Yip plays a girl on the run from her Mainland village and hooks up with a gang of thieves (led by Bowie Lam with one of the henchmen played by Simon Loui who also did the score). What follows is a desperate run from police but more importantly, the characters are running from their past in hope for a better future. That's pretty much all that's told in Wild, enveiled in a subdued but more than often fairly appealing visual palette that sustains interest. Even though Tang is not working with regular cinematographer Tony Miu, Cheung Man Po more than adequately collaborates with Tang to bring his ideas to the screen.

Wild undoubtedly is pretty uninteresting since the characters are really in no way sympathetic or appealing but the combination of erotica, visuals and a slight thematic works fine for the fans of Billy Tang even though it's not excess akin to Red To Kill and Run And Kill.

Justifiable cheating is the agenda of the characters played by James Wong, Tommy Wong and Lam Lei. Being businessmen on a trip to Korea, the latter two follow the advice of their Godfather of sexual practices but when feelings towards the women enter the frey, they break away from the words of "wisdom". Very offensive if you want it to be but a tiny little, naughty heart resides in the film. Basically Wong's pupils want care and love, not necessarily an urban, sexy time with prostitutes and with the master having an answer or a piece of wisdom to anything they might encounter, the name of the game is for a long time paying for casual sex. The sight of a sexually frustrated Tommy Wong is gold but when director Simon Yip does take the flick into something akin to serious, the consequences of the trio isn't portrayed in any felt fashion. It tries with some sappy romance but is more fun when the consequences are about the possibility of sexually transmitted diseases. Know the agenda you're clearly better at, Mr. Director. Also with Elsie Chan, Kathy Chow and Wong Yat-Fei as the VD Doctor. The duo of James Wong and Tommy Wong would go on to roam in a similar manner in Stooges In Hong Kong and Stooges In Japan.

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