Review Hong Kong

“An Inspector Calls” [浮華宴] is a Hong Kong comedy movie that was released on 19th February 2015.

About

The official summary of the movie is “Hours before a family’s party being thrown for daughter’s engagement an inspector shows up at the house. He is investigating the cause of a woman’s suicide.”

It is based, very loosely based, on a play written by J. B. Priestley which premiered on 6th July 1945 in Moscow.

Cast

These are the cast members I recognized from other TV shows and films.

Louis Koo [古天樂] Once well known for the TV performances he currently has a ton of films coming up that are in the works. We’ve seen him in films, some have been good, some have been quite bad.

Out of the main cast, that is all I remember, but there were some famous guest performances.

Donnie Yen played all the characters in a band. That part of the movie was totally hilarious, it was just worth watching it for that scene.

Raymond Wong also played a support role but I have no idea which part. I will have to go back and try to find him.

Review

Well, all I can say is the film was total madness. It felt as though the actors just turned up at work one day and they just did anything they want.

It wasn’t like some of the older Hong Kong comedy films, it didn’t grab the essence of those films way back when..! There were some amusing bits here and there but generally, I was getting bored with it.

I agree with some of the reviewers who said “what is the plot of this movie”! It just felt like a bit of a pickle overall.

So, I will rate it 2 out of 5.

Where Can I See It

The movie can be found on Netflix, at least in the region we are in.

Trailer

Champions (奪標) is a Hong Kong movie that had a release date of 13th November 2008.

About

This is the official description of the film:

“Inspired by real events. When China announces that it will field its very first Olympic team, which will include a handful of martial artists to demonstrate Wushu to the world for the very first time, millions across the country compete for the honor of representing their national sport. With so many diverse styles and so many skilled, determined fighters, the elimination bouts are grueling. A select few are chosen, amongst them street hawker and scallywag Zhang Feng and earnest patriot Bao, who’s dreamed of going to the Olympic Games. However, the road to the games is fraught with hardship and heartbreak, and in getting there Zhang Feng and Bao embark on a journey that will test their strength, skill and spirit to the limit, and their willingness to sacrifice in ways they could never have imagined”

Cast

The only cast member I recognized was Dicky Cheung who played the main character Cheung Fung. I actually didn’t recognize him at first until I saw the cast list after the film then it suddenly dawned on me. Of course, Dicky is very famous in Hong Kong and has appeared in many film and TV productions.

Review

The public reviews on this movie weren’t very good, in the 6/10 region, so I wasn’t expecting a whole lot out of it. However, it was much better than anticipated.

Screenwriter and Director Tsui Siu Ming did a brilliant job with it. I have to mention Lincoln Lo for the music which I found to be equally uplifting as the movie was. The fight scene choreography was amazing with some going on for a very long time, it was very well executed.

There appeared to be some CGI in the movie, in particular movie up ahead around the city. I think parts of the ship were CGI but not all the scene, it was difficult to tell. Parts of the film had fantastic cinematic quality, one part of it reminded me of the film Oliver although much scaled down.

There wasn’t a dull moment in the movie, it was quite fast paced, with something happening all the time. Parts of the storyline got a bit muddled for me here and there but maybe it was because some things got lost in translation.

I will rate this film 5/5. It seems I haven’t given this score in a while.

Where To Watch

The film can be found on TubiTV, they have a lot of interesting Hong Kong movies there. Tubi had it listed as a 2011 release, but I think it was 2008, maybe the later date was when it was released elsewhere?

Rosy Business [巾幗梟雄] is a Hong Kong TV show that was broadcast in 2009.

About

Without giving the plot away this is a quick summary.

Hong Po Kei was engaged to Wuxi rice baron Tseung Kiu until they broke it after a natural disaster many years ago. They meet again and she becomes his fourth wife. Living with the other wives is very challenging as well as running the rice business.

Cast

Sheren Teng (鄧萃雯) as Hong Po Kei
An actress that has been around for a long time who is known for not signing a contract with any particular TV company ie TVB

Wayne Lai (黎耀祥) as Chai Kau
Another very popular Hong Kong actor who started at TVB as a clerk then went to the TV company acting school. Rosy Business was one of the shows he received the most praise for.

Ron Ng (吳卓羲) as Cheung Bit Ching
This dancer, singer and actor played a support role in this drama but later went on to bigger things such as which Flying Tiger show which is now in its 3rd season.

The show also starred Oscar Leung who I totally missed, he must have been too young to recognize.

Review

This was one of the best Hong Kong TV shows we’ve seen to date.

At first, we thought the show was a little slow but soon went on to speed up and become much more exciting. It’s worth sticking with it if you are thinking about dropping it at first.

The script was well done with the typical over the top Hong Kong style performances. There was a cliffhanger in almost every episode keeping the audience on edge to tune in again next time.

There are a number of villains in the show, they are very nasty, but you will have to wait until the last episode to see if justice is served. A couple of the cast members left the show earlier than I had hoped.

From a diversity perspective, it was great to see a woman take charge of a business and overcome many obstacles.

At first, the war between the wives became a little boring, it was the same old arguments and back & forth.

This show is typical Hong Kong which is currently lost in modern shows and it’s worth going back to view them. I give this show a 4.5/5, a must-see drama. The second season is called No Regrets, the third is No Reserve and lucky for us there is a 4th season, called Rosy Business 4, coming later in 2022.

Where to Watch

The first three seasons can be found on TubiTV.

Trailer

Raging Fire (怒火·重案) is a movie from Hong Kong that was released in July 2021.

About

Several years ago a police officer and some of his colleagues were sent to prison. While in prison they become bitter and resentful. Upon their release, they set out to destroy anyone who has upset them in the past.

Cast

Donnie Yen (甄子丹)
One of Hong Kong’s most famous actors.
He is a very talented actor, martial artist, film director, producer, action choreographer, stuntman, and multiple-time world wushu tournament champion.

Nicholas Tse (謝霆鋒)
A Hong Kong singer who has a lengthy TV and movie career.

Benny Chan (陈木胜)
He was the screenwriter and director of the film. He passed away in 2020. At the end of the film, there was a tribute to him.

Summary

Actually, I didn’t really enjoy this film very much. I was too violent for me and there wasn’t a single character that I could warm up to. The movie started, they blew stuff up, the movie ended. So, I would say, if you enjoy lots of action then this is the movie for you.

I can appreciate there was a lot of work that went into the film, especially the special effects and set up the stunt scenes.

This was the first Hong Kong production I have seen that was made post-National Security Law came into effect. I noticed there were some Chinese based production companies involved in the production, like Tencent.

I’ve seen some movie sites list this as 1hr 30min in duration when in fact it’s actually 2hr 08min. I would rate it as 2/5.

Where To Watch

The movie is available on BluRay via sites like YesAsia.

Trailer

White War (战毒) is a TV series from Hong Kong at aired between 9 July to 1 August 2020 and big-name stars Bosco Wong and Ron Ng.

About

Ching Tin, Wai Chun Hin and Hui Sau Ping grew up together and all joined the Hong Kong Police Force together. One of them stays loyal to the force. While undercover one separates from the police taking up a life of crime. The other is framed by a gang pushing him in the direction of crime to pay for his debt and fathers’ medical expenses.

Meanwhile, the drug war intensifies as they are starting to be sourced from Thailand taking the war onto a different turf.

Cast

Review

The start and end of the show were the most exciting, but the middle part was most difficult to get through. It seemed terribly slow and the script repetitive in the middle. At the halfway point I thought I was going to see the pace quicken but alas it didn’t. The last few episodes, especially 29 and 30, were the best and there was a lot packed into the last episode.

The most annoying part of the show was the voice over for Zhang Ya Zhuo (张雅卓). One could tell it was a voice over since all the background noise vanished. Since she is from the Xinjiang region of China I wonder if she couldn’t speak Cantonese. It seemed there was another actor that had a voice over too, a minor role, but he did appear in several episodes.

The plot was ok, like other dramas it made Hong Kong look like the drug capital of the world controlled by rival gangs, some bigger than the other. In between of course we had the back and forth of romantic stuff. There was humour at the beginning and the end but that kind of sidelined in the middle.

The series should have been cut in half to 15 episodes and the story wouldn’t have dragged so much. I do understand they had some difficulties meeting the demands of the censors so I’m not sure if they had to chop and change it.

I would give it a 6/10, most reviews rated it higher, on average 7.9. So, I would say give it a go.

Where To Watch

I understand both Viki and Tencent have it, both with English subtitles.

Trailer

The Hong Kong movie All’s Well End’s Well was a great find and we really enjoyed it, this is my review.

About

There is a series of films called All’s Well End’s Well, these are the ones I know about:

• All’s Well End’s Well – released in 1992. I believe this is the first one.
• All’s Well End’s Well Too – released in 1993
• All’s Well End’s Well 1997
• All’s Well End’s Well 2009 – this is the one we just saw
• All’s Well End’s Well 2010
• All’s Well End’s Well 2011
• All’s Well End’s Well 2012
• All’s Well End’s Well 2020

They remind of the “Carry On” movies in the UK.

The 2009 movie focuses on the crafty Casanova relationship advisor Dick Cho and a stern magazine editor/writer Yu Chu who is determined to spend her life single. Cho is hired by Chu’s brother to try and find her a relationship which leads to many hilarious situations.

Cast

The actors in this production were just incredible, from the out takes at the end it appears they were all having such a good time working on this production, it show’s in their performance.

Louis Koo as Dick Cho
We’ve seen this actor in many productions, mainly films, both recent and in the past. His best performance has to be in this film. I’ve been wanting to watch the 2001 TV show “A Step Into The Past” that he starred in, but haven’t had the time, I understand he is reprising this role in a film called “Back To The Past” release date to be announced. He has 6 films he has committed himself to acting in, wow, he must be extremely popular.

Sandra Ng as Yu Chu
We haven’t seen this actress in many productions but recently saw “Enter The Fat Dragon” which was great. Her performance in “All’s Well End’s Well” was just brilliant, so funny. I understand she also appeared in the 2010 and 2012 films. Sandra has directed 1 film called Goldbuster and produced 3 films must recently “Zero to Hero”. I can’t wait to see her other work.

Review

As you might have guessed by now, I really enjoyed this movie, it’s as if it was made for me. It was a typical old school comedy romp that only Hong Kong can produce. It did remind me of a British “Carry On” movie but not so rude.

I can’t think of anything bad to say about this movie. Exceptional story line, character development, most of the main cast had a big part to play, it was well executed, and timing is everything in a comedy. All the actors did a fantastic job.

Summary

As soon as I finished the movie I tried to find where I could watch the others, I did manage to find a place that sold the DVD’s so I will probably buy them at some point.

I’m not sure why it’s so badly rated on IMDB with a 4.8/10 rating, but this is the case with many Asian movies. It didn’t bother me but it’s an observation I keep making. I would rate it as a 9.5/10.

The 2009 movie can be found on Netflix. I really recommend it to everyone.

Trailer