Pauline Chan Movies
In the late 21st a disease called Hemophagia has genetically modified nearly an entire race of people, leaving them with such enhanced speed, intelligence, and strength that they resemble vampires in nearly every way. Fear begins to breed within the power elite as the disease continues to spread and those infected prove to be truly superhuman, and now, a civil war is brewing between uninfected humans and those altered by Hemophagia. Caught dead in the center of it is an infected woman called Violet (Milla Jovovich), who is bent on vengeance and has little left to lose. Provoked beyond reason by powers that will not rest until she and her people are dead, she will become everything her persecutors feared her to be. ~ Cammila Albertson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Milla Jovovich, Cameron Bright, (more)
- 1998
Australian novelist Robert Carter adapted and directed his own novel for this low-budget Australian drama about a teen in therapy. Loner Harris Berne (Matt Day), age 17, develops a crush on divorced Helen (Rhondda Findleton) while baby-sitting her two children. But during play one day, the little girl hides in a refrigerator and dies. Harris is sent to a halfway house where he encounters incest victim Angela (Michela Noonan), mute by choice, and psychiatrist Sam Lejeune (John Waters), who helps Harris come to grips with his problems. Shown at the 1998 Karlovy Vary Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi
- Starring:
- Matt Day, Rhondda Findleton, (more)
- 1997
Triad boss Kwan (Francis Ng), wounded by Japanese associates, arrives at the hospital where, with voiceover and flashbacks, he recalls how he was betrayed by his boss, friend, and girlfriend. After telling this tale, however, he reveals it was all a lie and outlines the brutal truth, describing those he killed during his rise in Hong Kong's criminal society. The title translates as "Mongkok Top Dog," a reference to Hong Kong's criminal district. Shown in 1997 at the Vancouver Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi
- Starring:
- Francis Ng, Loretta Lee, (more)
This British horror-comedy is set in haunted house and features a series of assorted nuts getting butchered by a hellish clown. Lucky Max, a record producer has just won a decrepit old mansion from the enigmatic Callum Chance in a poker game. To celebrate, Max invites his family and hitchhikers to stay there. The bitter Chance gets revenge by conjuring up the "Funny Man," who immediately begins to slaughter the guests in a variety of interesting ways. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Tim James, Christopher Lee, (more)
- 1994
- R
Vietnamese director Pauline Chan, known for short films, made her feature debut with this story about a woman living in colonial Indochina. Chan co-wrote the screenplay based on a novel, Dreamhouse, by Kate Grenville. The sexual and emotional awakening of Louise Duffield (Saskia Reeves) takes place against the backdrop of the Vietnamese people awakening to the possibilities of liberation. Duffield is a British photographer who comes to southeast Asia with her husband Michael (Robert Reynolds), an Australian journalist, to fashion an article for a French rubber manufacturer. Louise is emotionally starved in her marriage and feels slighted by playing second fiddle to her husband professionally. Michael discovers that the rubber company is mistreating its workers, and he is trapped between his compulsion to tell the truth and his desire to please his corporate bosses, who may give him a job at their Paris headquarters if he turns in a favorable story. Michael and Louise are staying at the home of a tyrannical French plantation boss, Daniel Renouard (Sami Frey), whose little empire is crumbling as the natives become increasingly restless. His daughter Viola (Jacqueline McKenzie) is rebelling against her abusive father and looking for adventure. She finds some with her new housemates soon enough. ~ Michael Betzold, Rovi
- Starring:
- Saskia Reeves, Robert Reynolds, (more)
- 1994
Hong Kong comedy icon Stephen Chiau stars in this wild and wooly parody of 007 spy thrillers. Ling Ling-chat (Chiau) leads a double life, living both as a modest street vendor in Beijing and a suave international spy. When a priceless dinosaur skull is swiped from China, a rogue criminal known only as "The Man With the Golden Gun" is the prime suspect. Ling is called away from dispensing pork products and sent to Hong Kong to investigate. There, a paid assassin named Siu-kam (Anita Yuen) has Ling in her sites. Yet Ling's utter stupidity and dumb luck makes him seeming invincible and she switches sides. When the duo return to China, Ling realizes that his real enemy is none other than his boss. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi
- 1993
Looking to cash in on the boom of softcore period sagas following Michael Mak's Sex and Zen, this Category III Taiwanese production was directed by Chu Yen-ping. After her father is killed under mysterious circumstances, beautiful dancer Mu-lin (Pauline Chan Po-lin) finds herself penniless and powerless. Soon she's abducted by a bunch of shady characters and sold to a brothel, where she becomes the sex toy of sadistic mistress Yin (Joyce Ngai Suk-kwan). The woman's brother Kin (Jackson Liu Hsiu-hsien) falls completely in love with the lass, and soon Mu-lin is playing him against Yin, whom she learns was partially responsible for her father's death. Meanwhile, a savage is crushing men's necks with sheer brute force. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi
- 1992
This third installment of the popular softcore Category III Hong Kong exploitation series is a great deal less outrageous than Erotic Ghost Story II under the more controlled direction of veteran helmer Ivan Lai. Set in the Tang Dynasty, the plot concerns an engaged couple, Chu Chung and Liu Su-su, who encounter numerous fantastical adventures after meeting Reverend Wick (Shing Fui-on), a cleric who can shrink himself to the size of an atom. Exploring an abandoned shack, Chu Chung finds a painting which is a gateway to another world, where he meets three beautiful maidens. One of them, Yun I-meng (Pauline Chan), seduces him as part of an evil plot to overthrow the god Chia Yuan (William Ho). Chu is told that Chia Yuan is a rapist and had kidnapped I-meng -- lies which lead him to believe that the god is evil and murder him. The whole thing is being engineered by a female demon called Vixen, who wants to cannibalize Chia Yuan to obtain his powerful source of Yang energy. The repentant I-meng sees the error of her ways and helps Chu get back home to his world, but his beloved Su-su gets trapped in the other dimension, leading Chu and Reverend Wick to attempt a daring rescue mission. Chik King-man and Cheung Ching-wah co-star. ~ Robert Firsching, Rovi
- 1990
The Australian children's adventure show The Girl From Tomorrow was the saga of Alana (Katharine Cullen), a teenaged girl from the year 3000. Through a wrinkle in time, Alana found herself hurled backward to 1990, along with a time-travelling villain named Silverthorn (John Howard), who hailed from the 26th century. With the help of her "contemporary" friends, Jenny (Melissa Marshall) and Petey (James Findlay), Alana tried to retrieve her space capsule from Silverthorn's clutches. Making its Australian Nine Network debut in 1990, The Girl From Tomorrow lasted two seasons and 24 half-hour episodes. The second season, which aired in 1992, was officially titled The Girl From Tomorrow: Tomorrow's End. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
