Jeffrey Lau Movies

In lieu of the action-heavy sci-fi spectacular suggested by the title, this unique chronicle from Hong Kong-based director Jeff Lau (The Top Bet, Out of the Dark) essentially constitutes a comedic , sci-fi-driven romance about a love triangle involving two robots.. Hu Jun stars as Xu Dachun, police chief in a picturesque small town located in the Zhejiang Province. Lin Xiang (Eric Tsang), the oddball head of the TN Research Corporation, visits Xu and asks him to try out his latest robot on the police team, K-1 (Alex Fong). Xu obliges, and thereafter, K-1 promptly falls for sexy female cop Zhou Sumei (Sun Li). Unfortunately, Xu also harbors feelings for Zhou, and has ever since her father, on his deathbed, asked the chief to protect his daughter. Yet the situation grows even more complicated when K-1 assists Xu on an assignment and eventually saves Xu's life from a rogue cyborg, turning the police chief into an android in the process. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

Master Hong Kong filmmaker Wong Kar-Wai directed this lyrical, dream-like martial arts epic. A famously troubled shoot, the film took two years and 40 million dollars to produce (a shocking sum for a national cinema populated with low-budget quickies) and features a virtual who's who of the Hong Kong film world. Conceived as a prequel to the popular martial arts novel The Eagle-Shooting Hero by Jin Yong, the movie is less a straightforward action thriller than a visually striking meditation on memory and love. It nominally centers on Ouyang Feng (Leslie Cheung), who ekes out a lonely existence as an itinerant hired sword. Getting on in years and tormented by memories of a lost love, he also works an agent for other mercenary assassins from his remote desert abode. Ouyang's old friend and fellow swordsman, Huang Yaoshi (Tony Leung Kar-Fai, who starred in the The Lover) drowns his lovelorn misery in a magical wine that makes him forget. Later, a mysterious young man named Murong Yang (Brigitte Lin) hires Ouyang to kill his sister's unfaithful suitor, Huang Yaoshi. The following day, that spurned sister, Murong Yin (Lin again), hires Ouyang to protect her dearly beloved. Meanwhile, Hong Qi (pop star Jacky Cheung) finds some redemption for a life of killing by accepting a poor girl's offer to avenge her brother's death -- a task that Ouyang brusquely shunned. In another subplot, a master swordsman (Tony Leung Chiu-Wai) is slowly going blind. He agrees to defend a village from horse thieves so that he can afford to go home and see his wife before his eyesight fails completely. This film is one of the most celebrated examples of 1990s Hong Kong cinema: it won multiple awards in its native Hong Kong, along with a Golden Osella for Best Cinematography at the 1994 Venice Film Festival.

In the years following Ashes of Time's initial theatrical release, the original negatives were lost and multiple versions of the film began to crop up all across the globe. As a result, director Wong Kar-wai longed to compile these various versions into a restored, remastered, and definitive final cut. With Ashes of Time Redux, the director restructures the film according to seasons, effectively clarifying the central narratives, and digitally colorizes the film to render cinematographer Christopher Doyle's masterful imagery all the more lavish and intoxicatingly gorgeous. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

The work of international superstar Stephen Chow, Kung Fu Hustle is a humorous, special-effects-filled, action-packed martial arts epic set in early '40s China. A bumbling thief named Sing (Stephen Chow) desires to be the toughest member of the dreaded gangster hit squad known as The Axe Gang, but to completely join the gang he has to commit murder. When Sing attempts to rob a crowded run-down apartment complex known as Pig Sty Alley, the locals begin to defend themselves with some high-flying kung fu skills, and a tiny war erupts between the local masters and the axe-wielding gang. After the gang busts the ancient kung fu king known as The Beast (Leung Siu Lung) out of jail, tensions reach a boiling point as Pig Sty Alley's landlady (Yuen Qiu) leads an all-out attack against the gang and Sing discovers his true heroic fate. Kung Fu Hustle, which set box-office records across Asia during its December 2004 release, also stars Yuen Wah and Xing Yu, and features fight choreography by legendary masters of martial arts cinema Yuen Woo Ping and Sammo Hung. ~ Jason Gibner, Rovi

A high tech corporation is sent into turmoil when hackers demanding ransom break into their internal computer system with a powerful and apparently unstoppable virus. A mysterious, beautiful young woman who calls herself "Computer Angel" quickly saves the business. But when she requests a meeting with the company's shady CEO, he gets more than he bargained for. Lynn (Shu Qi of The Transporter) turns out to be a highly skilled assassin, who knocks off the CEO with the help of her rambunctious younger sister Sue (Zhao Wei of Shaolin Soccer). Sue uses a powerful computer program developed by the girls' murdered father, which uses satellites to tap into closed-circuit security cameras, enabling her to see where all the cannon fodder/guards are and direct Lynn's escape, while taking over the security team's audio system to pipe in a cover of the Carpenters' "(They Long to Be) Close to You." But things soon get dicey for Lynn and Sue. A brilliant, sexy forensics expert, Hong (Karen Mok, who also sings the film's theme song), is hot on their trail, and the creeps who hired the girls decide to cover their tracks by killing them. Complicating matters further, Lynn reunites with an old flame and contemplates giving up the business and settling down, much to Sue's chagrin. So Close was filmed in Mandarin, necessitating (reportedly poor) dubbing into Cantonese for the Hong Kong release. The film was directed by Corey Yuen, who made his Hollywood debut with The Transporter. Before that, he was best known for his fight choreography on many of Jet Li's films. So Close was shown at the Subway Cinema's 2003 New York Asian Film Festival. ~ Josh Ralske, Rovi

Not to be confused with director Zhang Yimou's acclaimed 2002 effort of the same name, director Corey Yuen's 1997 crime drama is loosely based on the 1972 feature Boxer From Shantung. As thousands of refugees make their way from Shantung to Shanghai, Ma Wing Jing (Takeshi Kaneshiro) and his brother Ma Tai Cheung (Yuen Wah) follow the horde in hopes of finding a better life in China's largest city. When Ma Wing Jing discovers that the whole of Shanghai is run by a mere two triad bosses, his appetite for power is only exceeded by his unquenchable thirst to make a name for himself in the criminal underworld. Though it appears that his friendship with triad head Tam See (Yuen Biao) has served well to set him on the fast track to notoriety, Ma Wing Jing's hasty takeover of one of rival crime boss Yang Shuang's (Yuen Tak) provinces soon sparks a desperate and bloody turf war. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Master Hong Kong filmmaker Wong Kar-wai directed this lyrical, dream-like martial arts epic. A famously troubled shoot, the film took two years and 40 million dollars to produce (a shocking sum for a national cinema populated with low-budget quickies) and features a virtual who's-who of the Hong Kong film world. Conceived as a prequel to the popular martial arts novel The Eagle-Shooting Hero by Jin Yong, the movie is less a straightforward action thriller than a visually striking meditation on memory and love. It nominally centers on Ouyang Feng (Leslie Cheung), who ekes out a lonely existence as an itinerant hired sword. Getting on in years and tormented by memories of a lost love, he also works an agent for other mercenary assassins from his remote desert abode. Ouyang's old friend and fellow swordsman, Huang Yaoshi (Tony Leung Kar-fai, who starred in the The Lover) drowns his lovelorn misery in a magical wine that makes him forget. Later, a mysterious young man named Murong Yang (Brigitte Lin) hires Ouyang to kill his sister's unfaithful suitor, Huang Yaoshi. The following day, that spurned sister, Murong Yin (Lin again), hires Ouyang to protect her dearly beloved. Meanwhile, Hong Qi (pop star Jackie Cheung) finds some redemption for a life of killing by accepting a poor girl's offer to avenge her brother's death -- a task that Ouyang brusquely shunned. In another subplot, a master swordsman (Tony Leung Chiu Wai) is slowly going blind. He agrees to defend a village from horse thieves so that he can afford to go home and see his wife before his eyesight fails completely. This film is one of the most celebrated examples of 1990s Hong Kong cinema: it won multiple awards in its native Hong Kong, along with a Golden Osella for Best Cinematography at the 1994 Venice Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi

Jeff Lau Chun-wai spins this wild and woolly parody of Wong Kar-wai's martial arts epic Ashes of Time, which was actually produced by Wong himself and features many of the same cast members as Ashes. This loosely plotted film centers around the misdeeds of a pair of royals (Tony Leung Chiu-wai and Veronica Yip) looking to usurp the throne. Also appearing in this film is the bubble-headed Third Princess (Brigitte Ling Ching-hsia) who martial arts ability is dubious at best, a mysterious flying head (Tony Leung Kar-fai), and the dreaded kung fu form "Toad Has a Pee Pee." Because of Ashes' notoriously difficult production, Dong Cheng actually beat the film to the theaters. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi

This low-budget knockoff of God of Gamblers succeeds primarily due to an exuberant star-making turn from Stephen Chiau as Shing, a rube from the Chinese mainland who comes to Hong Kong to visit his uncle, Blackie Tat (Ng Man-tat). Blackie isn't thrilled about his nephew's visit until he learns that Shing has the ability to see through things, a sort of X-ray vision. As a gambler, it doesn't take Blackie long to realize that Shing's abilities could make him a great deal of money, but news travels quickly and Shing is soon torn between two powerful gamblers who want him to be their proxy in a big competition. Taiwanese kingpin Chan Chung gets Shing first, so his Hong Kong rival, Hung Kong (Paul Chun), tries to kill him. Shing survives the attempt, but Hung manages to stop him from competing by kidnapping Chan's pretty bodyguard, Yee-mong (Sharla Cheung), who has won the young man's heart. The film is filled with action as well as humorous takeoffs on everything from Fist of Fury to A Better Tomorrow. In an amusing twist of fate, this knockoff actually made more money than its model, and was followed by a sequel audaciously titled God of Gamblers II. Sandra Ng co-stars with co-director Corey Yuen and Sheila Chan. ~ Robert Firsching, 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

Hong Kong gangster Kao (Charlie Qin) was a coolie once but now runs an organization dedicated to snuffing out unwanted enemies for a fee. When he is broached by the usual female go-between to take on the assignment of killing off the head of a major smuggling ring, he sets to his work with a "business as usual" attitude. That changes quickly as his associates start getting murdered, one after the other. Soon Kao is aware that he is the real target, and he must find some way to both save himself and eliminate his attackers -- an objective that many of his victims may have had at one point or another. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi