Overheard (HK 2009)

Overheard is an enjoyable yet not more much than that cop drama involving three HK police investigating stock market irregularities involving a company. As the police (played by Lau Ching-Wan, Daniel Wu, Louis Koo) listen in on what is happening in the company they overhear some stock market manipulation being planned and can't resist the temptation to make a few (or a lot) HK$ themselves.

Of course the police all have their individual stories which maybe explain why they are morally conflicted but basically good including Louis Koo who is dying and has a sick son so wants the money for them. Of course once they have entered the wrong side of the law they can't get out but no sooner have they managed to avert the anti-corruption investigation by the police then the bad guy behind the company (played by Michael Wong - and boy is he bad) is after them too.

Its a nice movie, it has a strong cast and some twists to savour and is generally produced well. Of course being a modern HK movie it has to steer within the boundaries set by the Chinese censors. Thus you know they will not get away with it but the ending and resolution of the film does manage some genuine surprises even if the plot stretches credibility somewhat in doing so. A win but not a knockout, but a win all the same.

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Stoner (HK 1974)

Dating back to the early 1970s when Bruce Lee was still fresh in people's minds and kung fu and martial arts was big business worldwide (or at least the current in-thing) comes Stoner, starring George Lazenby oddly enough. Bruce Lee was apparently originally set to star in this fairly standard but slightly odd film but after his untimely death it was decided to make the film anyway. Angela Mao was bought in as George's co-star. Let the hard kung-fu action begin!

There is a kind of plot, something involving an evil gangster mastermind (who has a rotating desk, excellent!) creating explosives and drug smuggling in his (evil) underground lair but the plot is just a bare frame on which to hang a sequence of excellent fighting set pieces.

The result is undeniably cheesy, fairly confusing but also highly entertaining. It is a 70s period piece and perhaps nothing that original from the time but worth seeing all the same. How many HK kung-fu movies had an ex-James Bond in them after all?

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The Shootout (HK 1992)

A movie in that very HK specific genre : slapstick comedy ultraviolence. This time starring Aaron Kwok as a pretty boy / pretty useless young cop who gets caught up in a case involving violent armed robbers and thus gets assigned to Lau Ching Wan's team. Then he falls in love with a KTV singer (Fennie Yuen) but of course she turns out to be the criminal boss' (unenthusiastic) girl... et cetera.

That makes it easy to find the criminals, which is just as well as the cops don't really seem to do any police work, their idea of investigating seems to be following a suspect into a brothel and then singing badly in a karoke lounge.

The final showdown takes place in a police training area, why and how the bad guys got there isn't explained but it makes for a good action setpiece to end the film. Jackie Chan produced and his hallmarks are here : fast, imaginative action.

Its not a film for plot but a film for big guns and bigger explosions.

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Killing End (HK 2001)

Killing End is nothing that new, its a HK gangster film involving gangsters and police wrapped up in a brutal story that can only end in tragedy. However this Herman Yau film starring Andy Hui and Loletta Lee is very well done and well worth watching. One reason for this is the characterisation. The main characters in this film are more than your usual "troubled cop", "vicious gangster" stereotypes.

Take Andy's character for example, a cop in an impossible situation. He knows his police precinct is corrupt thus making his fight against the local gangsters hopeless but he continues onwards despite everything collapsing around him. Loletta Lee also plays a great role as a young woman with mental health issues who gets wrapped up with the story, and with Andy.

Things come to a head when Andy kills the Triad boss' son. Then Andy is marked for death. Can he avoid it?

A film well worth your time.

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MV : "Game over" by G.E.M. Tang

Its a toss-up whether this or Charlene's "survivor" is my current favourite cantopop track. So lets enjoy both!

Why me? (HK 1985)

This is quite an unusual HK film, especially for it's time, being rare in that it deals with the issue of mental illness. Its typical of HK cinema however to make a film about the tragic story of a mentally ill man and his dying mother (and boy, this is epic in it's tragedy!) but wrap it up with silly goofy humour and some half-baked romance. Thats not to say this film is bad but there are times when your finger does hover over the STOP button on the remote. You should refrain though because this is a good film... overall.

Olivia Cheng and Chow Yun Fat play 2 social workers who are also a couple. Olivia happens upon the mentally ill man (played by Kent Cheng who won an award for his role) and his poor mother who refuses to accept charity. Olivia tries to get them better housing and a place at a special school but the queue is wrong. Olivia tries to get the queue jumped but as Chow says, the queue is full of people who are just as deserving.

Olivia also has family problems of her own including a dead beat dad and Eric Tsang as a step-father, however its not one of his best roles. His usual jokey clown act seems rather jarring and forced here. These sub-plots are all rather incidental to the main plot of the film which comes to a rather predictable but powerful all the same climax.

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MV : "Survivor" by Charlene Choi

Got Ah Sa's latest EP yesterday, and this song is on it and it's excellent!