Cheung Man Movies

Hong Kong filmmaker Andy Chin directed this colorfully gaudy and delightfully satirical fantasy based -- very loosely -- on the classic novel Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils by Jin Yong. Popular Asian pin-up queen Brigitte Lin stars in dual roles as Li Chou-shui, an outcast member of the San sect, and her twin sister, Chong-hoi. Chou-shui is engaged in a vicious and ongoing magical duel for power with another exiled San sect member, Mo Han-wen, played by the popular Chinese actress Gong Li (Raise the Red Lantern). Han-wen's magical mastery is somewhat undermined by her sexual attraction to Chong-hoi, which Chou-shui exploits to hurt Han-wen's pride and sap her will at every opportunity so that she can gain the upper hand in their ever-more fierce confrontations. These battles attract the interest of the powerful leader of the Sing Suk sect, Ting Chun-chou (Norman Tsui), who believes that he will take over in the wake of the women's mutually assured supernatural destruction. Ting starts slaughtering all of his rivals, but runs into trouble when an opportunistic lackey named Purple (Sharla Cheung) steals a scroll containing the Yi-ken sutra, capable of bestowing incredible powers, and gets a Shaolin monk who can interpret it for her own particular ends. Funny, visually spectacular, and paced slightly this side of light-speed, the film is marvelously entertaining, if a bit challenging to follow for newcomers to the world of Hong Kong fantasy. Frankie Lam co-stars with Liu Kai-chi and James Pak. ~ Robert Firsching, Rovi

Thomas Yip directed this low-budget Hong Kong action film shot back-to-back with Crystal Hunt and utilizing many of the same actors and locations. Sharla Cheung stars as Peggy, a CIA agent who joins the Hong Kong police in chasing fugitive convict Tong Yiang (Shing Fui-on). Tong is quite the hot property, since he has a stolen computer chip which not only the CIA but two rival criminal organizations want to get their hands on very badly. One of the gangs is headed by a corrupt business tycoon named Fok Chi-kien (Eddy Ko), who grabs Tong Yiang but is assassinated by the henchmen of the other gangleader, Long Hair (Gordon Lau) before he can get the chip. Long Hair takes off for Thailand with the chip, and Peggy joins her new Hong Kong partners in tracking him down. Donnie Yen, Carrie Ng, and Ken Lo lead the familiar cast. ~ Robert Firsching, Rovi

An exuberant performance by Sharla Cheung as the masked superheroine Nightingale Wong enhances this otherwise standard low-budget Hong Kong fantasy from director Taylor Wong. Unlike most masked heroines in this distinctly Asian subgenre, Nightingale actually enables gangland activities. She comes to Hong Kong from the United States to help her adopted father, the triad gangster Yip (Kwan Hoi-Shan), deal with his backstabbing second in command, Jaguar Lui (Ken Lo). The meeting is rigged as a trap, however, and a gun battle ensues which leaves Nightingale with amnesia and her foster father dead. Two madams -- a mother and daughter played by popular actresses Deanie Yip and Chingmy Yau -- find her and nurse her back to health. They believe that the amnesiac woman is the missing daughter of a millionaire who is offering a lucrative reward for her return, and in order to keep Nightingale around, they convince her that she is a prostitute in their employ. Eventually, Nightingale runs into Jaguar Lui at a nightclub and gets her memory back. She gets her revenge against him and his men in the end, aided by Yau's boyfriend, a former triad assassin called Big Nose Fu (Jacky Cheung). ~ Robert Firsching, Rovi

This blend of comedy and historical adventure from Hong Kong stars Stephen Chiau as a trusted advisor of the emperor, while Cheung Man plays the leader of a sect out to stop the imperial forces. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Sammo Hung Kam-po directs, produces and stars this comedy action thriller about Success Hung, an ace cell phone salesman who his feeling the heat from young, up and comer Miss Cheng (Carol Cheng Yu-ling). One day, Hung witnesses a mob hit. Though the panic-stricken salesman tries to tell his friends about the incident, Hung's gift for exaggeration in the past makes everyone suspicion of his claims except for a relative the deceased who comes to believe that Hung pulled the trigger. Soon two different groups of mob hitmen are out for Hung's head. As the misunderstandings multiple, Hung's wife, Miss Cheng and a female psychologist (Joyce Godenzi) wind up entangled in this mess. Soon Miss Cheng winds up in the hospital while Hung and the other two woman in a police safe house, which inevitably proves to be none to safe. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi

When an incompetent cop continually fails to clean up the streets, it takes a little assistance from beyond the grave to ensure that justice is served in this action comedy featuring Shaolin Soccer and Kung Fu Hustle star Stephen Chow. A police officer has been murdered in the line of duty, and it will take more than mere death to come between him and the man who took his life. Between a cop who couldn't catch a criminal to save his life and a vengeful entity from the afterlife, there may be some hope for the citizens of Hong Kong after all. ~ Jason Buchanan, 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