David Wu Movies

A spirited female detective who never had time for love realizes just how complicated romance can be after meeting Prince Charming while vacationing in Malaysia with her best friend. Grace is completely dedicated to her job, and as a result she's never had the time to seek out the man of her dreams. Invited by her best friend Joey to take a trip to Malaysia where he's scheduled to shoot a commercial, Grace decides to take the trip but gets caught off guard when she meets the perfect man. Unfortunately for Grace, this is only the beginning of a most unusual nightmare. Shu Qi, Andy On, and Simon Yam star. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

East meets West in the changing landscape of Beijing on the cusp of the 21st century in this romantic comedy-drama. Leah Quinn (Catherine Kellner) is an American in her early 20s who has decided to spend some time in China. While studying weiqi, she becomes romantically involved with her teacher, Sun Zhan (Geng Li), a self-styled hipster by night who, during the day, hosts a tacky television program. Meanwhile, Richard Kao (David Wu) is a young American of Chinese heritage who is visiting the country for the first time. He's brought with him the ashes of his grandfather, who wanted them to be scattered in the Chinese village of his birth. As he acquaints himself with the family he's never known, Richard gains a new appreciation for his cultural heritage -- and becomes infatuated with a neighborhood girl, Lin Qing (Shiang-chyi Chen). Restless was the first ever American-Chinese co-production, and marked the first feature for writer/director Jule Gilfillan. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Chen Kaige, the director of the international smash Farewell My Concubine, reunited that film's stars, Gong Li and Leslie Cheung, for this complexly layered, visually spectacular historical epic. Opening in 1911, shortly before the collapse of the Imperial government, Temptress Moon follows the wealthy and powerful Pang Family, whose patriarch is hopelessly addicted to opium, which he calls "the source of all inspiration." Zhengda (Zhou Yemang), Old Master Pang's oldest son, has married a woman named Xiuyi (He Saifei), and her younger brother Zhongliang is brought to live with the Pangs, where he earns his keep as a servant. Zhengda shares his father's dependence on opium, and Zhongliang's responsibilities include minding their pipes; Zhengda also forces Zhongliang to kiss Xiuyi in a shadowy incident that suggests an incestuous relationship. In time, Zhongliang grows to adulthood (now played by Leslie Cheung) and flees the Pang estate; he travels to Shanghai, where he becomes a gigolo, seducing women and stealing their valuables. After Old Master Pang dies and Zhengda's addiction to drugs renders him brain damaged, his sister Ruyi (Gong Li), who had been Zhongliang's playmate in childhood, is proclaimed the head of the household. Knowing of his connection to the Pang Family and long-ago friendship with Ruyi, Zhongliang is ordered by his bosses in the Shanghai underworld to return to the Pang estate, where he is to seduce her, gain control of the family's fortune, and then steal it from her. Like Farewell My Concubine, Temptress Moon proved to be controversial in its native China, due to its frank but unsensational depiction of sex and drug use. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

In this tale of adventure and espionage, Charlie Case (Kristie Phillips) is a star gymnast whose father, Richard Charles (Lance Henriksen), is an international spy. Richard has discovered the launching codes to a number of Ukrainian missiles, which he's trying to keep from falling into the hands of enemy terrorists. Charlie unwittingly becomes involved in Richard's schemes, and when a Soviet agent (Sarah Douglas) threatens the safety of her mother and brother in attempt to get the codes, she must leap into action to save their lives. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

This mediocre Hong Kong ghost story stars Lawrence Cheng as a nutty radio broadcaster whose life is saved by a ghost named Fang Yin (Nonie Tao). She was killed in the titular bloody finale of a romantic triangle gone wrong, and their stories are intertwined in a not particularly interesting manner by director Chan Kwok Kwan. David Wu and Chikako Aoyama co-star. ~ Robert Firsching, Rovi

Twenty years ago, when she was a university student, To Choi Mei (Lin Ching Hsia) had an affair with one of her professors. The professor's pregnant wife convinced them to break the relationship off. Now she is a social worker, and while her old classmates flee the impending reunification with China by moving to Europe and the U.S., she is just taking on a teenaged boy (David Wu) as a new case. Losing sight of her professionalism entirely, she quickly becomes embroiled in a passionate relationship with the boy, whom she discovers to be the child of her old flame. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

Comedy is not as funny as its title would suggest. Although it has its moments, most of the characters, acting, and dialogue are warmed-over versions of well-worn precedents. The setting is Shanghai in the late 1940s when the leaders of the criminal underworld meet in that densely-packed city to decide on who will be "first among equals." Three buddies and petty thieves steal belongings from the criminal leaders, and then are mistaken by the same gangsters as high-level crooks themselves. That sets off a series of "funny" murders as the three try to escape their untenable situation. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi