Siu lam juk kau (Shaolin Soccer) 2001

Hi guys, its been a long time since my last review. I was a bit stuck with my official activities.
Suddenly the Shaolin Soccer popped in to my mind while watching a European Soccer match. I haven't heard about "Stephen Chow" since the movie Shaolin Soccer. First i ignored it when i saw it in a local DVD shop assuming it to be some funny kungfu story.But it wasn't just a story on the importance of Kungfu but an admirable love story.
The film brings out the feeling of Stephen Chow that how Kungfu and our daily life is merged or tangled which each other that we just fail to see and treat Kungfu just as one form or martial arts. Thats just the reason for Chow to merge Kungfu i nto Soccer (an unlikely thought in the martial art movie saga).
Chow not only brings out the charisma of Kungfu but also the technology effects in kungfu movie that has just entered a new dimension. WOW what a visual treat.Its amazing to see the director cum actor/hero give this treat to us.
The movie goes like this...Chow (Sing) returns as a shaolin disciple "mighty steel leg",inspired by soccer Sing wants to enter in to the game to spread out the greatness of kungFu. He teams up with Fung (who was earlier called as famous Golden leg) betrayed by then and by now the evil Hung the manager of "Evil team" Fung's goal is to meet his old rival on the playing field, but first they have to get a team together.
The only way Fungs dream can come true is when Sing and his fellow Shaolin brothers group again and regain their lost powers. The team is supported by the beauty queen at their last minute golden goal.
Last but not the least its a fun with action loaded pack not to miss if your a sports fan specially soccer.

The New Police Story (San Ging Chaat goo si- 2004)

Hi all, Its been a long time since my last post. But i happen to see one of Chinese movie's emotional front through Jackie Chan. A very emotional movie involving family relationships and psychology through the life of SWAT cop.

Wing (Jackie Chan) is the Hong Kong police force's finest. Fung (Nicholas Tse) a disaffected youth, wants to follow in Wing's footsteps but his checkered background makes his dream of becoming a detective impossible.
When the ruthless Gang Of Five embark on a cop killing spree, Wing tracks them down only to be led into their trap. His colleagues, including the brother of his fiancée, are gunned down and Wing falls into an abyss of alcoholism and despair.
Fung finds Wing drunk in a gutter and masquerades as his new partner. Now guided by Fung's street smarts, the force's supercop sets himself on a no holds barred collision course with the most dangerous criminals in Hong Kong.

The film is fast-pased with action along with its human sentiments. Its a good treat for both action buffs as well as classic movie seekers. Worth to add in your home DVD collections:-).

HERO (2002)

An extraordinary story telling with the arrival of a nameless warrior (Jet Li) at the palace of King Qin (Chen Daoming). The warrior (or Nameless, as he is referred to in the film) is brought before the king to gift his extraordinary killing of (or as told to the king) the three King's would-be assassins, Sky (Donnie Yen), Broken Sword (Tony Leung), and Flying Snow (Maggie Cheung). Because of such heroic service, Nameless is allowed to sit within ten paces of the King and asked to provide the details of his victories. However, as Nameless begins to tell how he overcame the three assassins, Qin begins to smell something fishy in the narration, and senses that Nameless is not what he appears to be. (the story telling is done as we have seen in Akiro Kurosowa's Roshamon)

You can actually get the directors touch when the King identifies that nameless is one of the assassins and the others have helped him to reach 10 paces near the king (reason being Nameless can hit with surgical precision within 10 paces). The King gets to know this details due to the bad energy waving the candle lights apart (what a way to identify!!! i was wondering why 100s of candles have to be near the kings throne)

Broken sword educates nameless that the Kings step in uniting China with hard rules is very much required to form a nation and better not to assassin him, in the event broken sword and flying snow ends their life. Nameless finally understands the King and refuses to assassin the king even when the King volunteers to his death.

Nameless admits that the King has to live for a nation to form and volunteers to die as a martyr. The last scene with 1000s of arrows coming straight to the brave Nameless leaving just the mark of the HERO behind the fort doors is a remarkable directorial example.

The initial stunt scene with Nameless and Sky (Donnie Yen) is my favourite with visually stunning movements and cinematography. Donnie yen though comes for a brief time but leaves an everlasting mark in the film.

Its a spectacular Chinese movie released 2002 and came to hit the Hollywood around 2004 only, but still won all our hearts with its compassion and emotional story line.

Don't miss it.

Yesterday (2002)

Just another addition to my Korean movie collection. Its a kind of Police Story feature from Korea side. Not to forget it also contains a lot of sentiments and grievance. The Movie is a flashy and competently put-together South Korean take on futuristic sci-fi. It's essentially about a group of lab experiments, led by the biggest and baddest lab experiment of them all, coming out of the wood works in search of their creator, all in the name of revenge. Trying to stop them is tough cop Seok (Seung-woo Kim), who runs an elite police unit made up of tough cookies like May (Seon-a Kim).

The film takes you into the topic of genetic manipulation (something much advanced at the time of release to the movie fans)and human genome stuff). "Yesterday" is a thrilling sci-fi movie, with heavy doses of edge-of-your-seat action and emphasis on the word "thrilling". But because this is a South Korean production, all the characters have as much energy as a rock sitting on the beach. There are critcis who points out there are no emotions on the Cops face but i would praise the director on this front since it takes out once emotions to be an elite cop and that's what is projected in the movie (just check out the stone face of Kurt Russell in the Hollywood film "The Soldier"). One thing which i feel lacks in the movie is a better introduction on the Cops team or a proper back round would have maintained a level set with the audience.On the plus side "Yesterday" is a good-looking picture with slick production values. On the negative side the action is sometimes hard to follow and Min-su Choi ("Libera Me"), as the lead villain, is not very fearsome, even as he's wiping out Seok's team one by one by one. And with Hui-su leading Seok's unit to death en masse, the bad guy manages to rack up a pretty impressive body count.

Nothing less compared to today's Hollywood stuff the movie has the quality cinematography and action. Only thing is the story line is too vague to follow with a secret science project of genetic mutation to get an elite member of emotionless soldiers. Why and how come the project gets cancelled and why the patients or project samples escaped and how come the government didn't trace or wipe out them is all a question mark.

Its a movie still worth watching and hope if some Tamil directors like to remake the movie :-).

Bo bui gai wak (ROB-B-Hood) (2006)

This is the latest Jackie Chans movie i have seen. But let me set a level that this is not the usual Jackie style of action movie. It has the typical Asian family touch with it having a very caring but poor family for never-do-well compulsive gambler Fong (Jackie Chan), We have another latest addition to Chinese movie reviews starting this new year 2007.

Fong has only one thing more fearsome than debtors at his doorstep - having to coax a crying baby. Its a accidental twist in the film. Jackie and his tech side kick saves a millionaire are baby from a crazy lover (who dies in that incident). Unfortunately the three thieve (Jackie, his side kick and Jackies house owner-who is a master lock breaker) plans to steal a huge money from a millionaire and gets to grab their baby instead.But what if the baby becomes his golden goose to fend off his debtors? Can he overcome his phobia of diapers, milk bottles, and cloying lullabies? They come to a deal for 30million dollars with the father and another billionaire of the dead crazy lover (who turns out to be his only son).

The villain wants to take the baby thinking that its his grand son, but when the DNA tests proves the other way he turns crazy and orders to kill the baby. Oops as usual our Jackie come s to the rescue.

The film is very sentimental involves the love and feeling of a father to son, a Lover to his boy friend and the love for the cute little baby.

Hope to see this move in English again ;-) as we still got only the Chinese dialogue.