Chan Siu Wah Movies
The narrative of The Hitman unfolds following the assassination of a sleazy Japanese businessman in Hong Kong. Various groups come together at a meeting held by the administrators of the dead man's Revenge Fund, which offers a $100 million reward to find the killer. Fu (Jet Li), a penniless mainlander, walks into the meeting by accident and is taken under the wing of Ngok Lo, a smooth-talking agent for professional hit men who proposes Fu help him track down the killer. Some of the funniest scenes are when Ngok Lo buys Fu new clothes and coaches him in Hong Kong ways. Ngok's daughter, a young lawyer who is unhappy with her father's background, seems to fancy Fu. Fu and Ngok are busy trying to stay one step ahead of the psychotic son of the murdered man, who is also after the assassin -- a reputed mythical Killing Angel. A genre film reflecting the current zeitgeist in Hong Kong following the Chinese take over, The Hitman was screened as part of the International Forum of New Cinema section of the 49th Berlin Film Festival, 1999. ~ Gönül Dönmez-Colin, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jet Li, Eric Tsang, (more)
This kung fu classic weaving fact and myth earned a theatrical release in the U.S. from Miramax eight years after it was produced, following a successful retrospective screening at the 2001 Los Angeles Film Festival. Wong Kei Ying (Donnie Yen) is a master of the Hung Gar style of boxing in mid-19th century China. His son, Wong Fei Hung (Sze-Man Tsang), though still just a boy, will grow up to become a martial arts legend, a nearly mythical figure in Chinese history. When Wong Fei Hung is kidnapped, his father is forced to use his daunting skills in the service of the abductor, a dishonest politician plagued by the Robin Hood-style thief known as Iron Monkey, a mysterious masked avenger stealing from the rich, delivering the spoils to the poor. Wong Fei Hung's only allies are the kindly Dr. Yang (Yu Rong Guang) and Yang's assistant, Orchid (Jean Wang), who are protecting an important secret. Iron Monkey (1993) director Yuen Wo Ping is also the masterful martial arts choreographer behind The Matrix (1999) and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000); his father served as action choreographer on a series of popular, long-running films centered around the Wong Fei Hung character in the 1950s. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Yu Rongguang, Donnie Yen, (more)
Jean-Claude Van Damme proves that two cracked heads are better than one in Double Impact. Van Damme plays twins Chad and Alex, who were separated at birth when their parents were brutally murdered by members of a Hong Kong criminal cartel. Incredibly both Chad and Alex have grown up to become world-class martial arts experts. Chad is a snobbish Californian karate instructor, while Alex is a cigar-smoking smuggler in Hong Kong. The two are brought back together by the family bodyguard Frank Avery (Geoffrey Lewis) to team up to avenge their parents' murder. But stacked against them is a thoroughly nasty, over-the-top assassin named Moon (martial arts film great Bolo Yeung). ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean-Claude Van Damme, Geoffrey Lewis, (more)
