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Reviews
Cheung gong 7 hou (2008)
Gem of a movie for parents with kids! Touching, funny and loaded with awesome CGI
What happens when the worlds of an alien race that looks like cute little soft toys and a troubled human family collide? Out-of-the box movie magic, of course....we expect no less from film maestro Stephen Chow.
Contemporary socio-economic themes, classroom bullying and the challenges of single parenthood are examined and explored, with poignant moments thoughtfully crafted into the storyline.
Despite having watched this movie once in the cinema, and five times on blu-ray, tears still never fail to roll. Truly, this is an excellent movie for families with kids to watch together. And we have not even touched on the superb, A-class CGI visuals, and the crazy humour that are sprinkled liberally in the show.
Another wholesome, honest-to-goodness movie in this genre to catch would be The Dragon Pearl, starring Sam Neill (Jurassic Park, The Hunt for Red October, The Piano etc.), Jordan Chan (famous Hong Kong actor) and an equally awesome CGI oriental celestial dragon (Naga) that looks photographically real.
Bai she chuan shuo (2011)
Totally awesome CGI wrapped around an ancient fairytale of true love that knows no bounds...
This is a touching story of the 'Romeo and Juliet' kind...albeit with a major fantasy twist and an ending that is bittersweet. Strongly recommended for anyone who loves love stories, plus a heady combination of martial arts, magical powers, fairies, vampires and beautiful cinematography.
Award-winning movie superstar Jet Li plays the role of a stern but compassionate master monk battling to save humans from being devoured by demons. The master monk tries to protect a naive TCM physician (played by Hong Kong's hunky star Raymond Lam) from a thousand-year-old White Snake (Eva Huang) who had transformed herself into a beautiful woman, and mayhem ensues.
Speaking of which, the CGI and other special effects utilized in the movie are simply gorgeous. The sense of realism derived from this ancient fairytale is enlivened by the use of modern cinematic tools. Too bad there isn't a 3D stereoscopic version...sniff! Apart from the super dooper Kungfu moves (of course), the massive scenes involving tsunami, storms and other super forces of nature conjured up during battles between the master monk and the various demons (including vampires) are show-stoppers in themselves already. And, we have not even included the stellar cast of actors and actresses, ranging from Eva Huang (Stephen Chow's Kungfu Hustle), Wen Zhang (Stephen Chow's record-breaking box office hit Journey to the West - Conquering the Demons), Charlene Choi (Hong Kong's highly popular pop duo Twins) to Vivian Hsu (Taiwan's well-known singer, model and actress).
For fans of The Forbidden Kingdom (Jackie Chan and Jet Li), Reign of Assassins (directed by John Woo, title song by BBC World Music award winner Sa Ding Ding, and starring Michelle Yeoh) and Storm Warriors (directed by Pang Brothers and starring Aaron Kwok and Ekin Cheng), you shall be delighted by this fantastic fantasy movie...pardon the pun.
See the extended trailer (over 6 mins) on Youtube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKNxI0IqAfM
Cloud Atlas (2012)
A groundbreaking epic that is both entertaining and cerebral..!
A potent combination of top-notched directors (Matrix, Run Lola Run), star-studded cast (Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Zhou Xun, Hugo Weaving, Hugh Grant) and USD100 million results in an illuminating epic; with dazzling and sweeping visuals spanning space-time. SUPERB...
The main storyboard (adapted from award-winning novel by British author David Mitchell) is about Kamma / Karma (action and reaction aka cause and effect) and the process of rebirth, illustrated by the lives of six individuals. The Old Georgie character well played by Hugo Weaving becomes increasingly degenerate through his own actions in different births, causing his woeful (mara-like) state by the end of the movie. In stark contrast, the character played by the ever-lovable Tom Hanks, gradually transforms from a murderous doctor, to become a noble man, during the process of becoming (rebirths) through making the right choices at each pivotal juncture in his lives.
The movie also makes a point that no one is permanent in his / her identity or 'self', as the character played by co-star Halle Berry switches from a highly talented and sentimental homosexual man to rebirths as different female persons during the cycles of life and death i.e. the Dhamma / Dharma principle of Anatta (non-self / insubstantiality). Apart from gender identity, racial identity is also an illusory aspect of the 'self', showcased by Jim Sturgess (alternating between Caucasian and Asian rebirths e.g. Adam Ewing, Megan's dad and Hae-Joo Chang) and Zhou Xun (hotel manager Talbot, Yoona-939 and Rose).
To truly appreciate the extent of care and effort the directors have dedicated themselves to accurately portray the natural laws of rebirth, action and reaction and insubstantiality in a cinematic setting, it is useful for the movie viewer to be familiar with the published works of Professor Ian Stevenson (University of Virginia, School of Medicine, USA), Newton's Third Law (physics) and quantum research into subatomic particles (muon, tau, energy as heat, light, electro-magnetism, electricity and so on).
In case all these sound too cerebral, I must add that Cloud Atlas delivers the same high octane level of entertainment and excitement as the box office hits - Matrix Trilogy and Run Lola Run, which are also iconic films by the directors of Cloud Atlas.
Xi you: Xiang mo pian (2013)
A truly brilliant work by film maestro Stephen Chow! It is clever, comical and colourful all at once.
An absolute breakthrough...! From the refreshingly inventive script ("X-MEN Origins" of Pigsy, Sandy etc.), mind-boggling CGI, dazzling Kungfu, beautiful cinematography, belly-aching comedy (look out for the hilarious fish demon purification scene), to the evocative moment when your heart is touched and your eyes streaming wet; which explains why it broke China's box office records, reaching USD$100 million (over RMB$0.6 billion) in 8 days (the fastest ever), and taking in USD$12.5 million (RMB$78 million) on the opening day alone (another first).
Stephen Chow has been honing his skill as a highly specialized film-maker par excellence, notably with Shaolin Soccer, Kung Fu Hustle, CJ7 and now Journey to the West - Conquering the Demons; injecting photo-realistic CGIs, comic innovations and content with a moral thread. Speaking of which, the key message that loving-kindness (Metta / Ci Ai / Universal Love) for all sentient beings is a transcendental quality that ultimately conquers ignorance, ego and hatred is conveyed pretty succinctly.*
Having watched it in both 2D and 3D, I must say that the stereoscopic version certainly heightened the virtual realism that gave James Cameron's Avatar an extra oomph.
The bad thing about this movie is - it leaves you hungry for even more, despite the running time being nearly 2 hours (110 min) in its cinematic version. Hopefully, Stephen Chow decides to produce a sequel, which would almost certainly need to feature a celestial dragon, perhaps like the magnificent one from Sam Neill's The Dragon Pearl.
*See Dhammapada (Ancient Collection of Short Sayings by The Buddha) Verse 5 - Hatred is never appeased by hatred. It is appeased only by loving-kindness. This is a timeless law.