Kent Cheng Movies

After wowing audiences both in Hong Kong and abroad with her jaw-dropping stunts during Supercop, Michelle Yeoh stars in this melodrama -- directed by Ann Hui -- about a stuntwoman struggling to survive in Hong Kong's notoriously cutthroat film industry. Kam (Yeoh) is a fearless stunt double trying to gain the respect of a ornery, battle-worn action director known only as "the Chief" (Sammo Hung). Though a father-daughter relationship of sorts eventually forms between the two, their relationship to the craft of stunts is complicated. Kam gets pulled away from her profession first through a bad relationship and then through looking after the Chief's kid Long (Jimmy Wong). The Chief, in turn, gets killed during a scuffle with the Hong Kong triads. This film, however, is perhaps best remembered because of a serious injury Michelle Yeoh incurred when she misjudged an 18-foot jump from a bridge to a truck. In venerable Hong Kong cinema fashion, the outtakes of Yeoh's brush with death are included as the film's end. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide

Hong Kong filmmaker To Hoi-sang directed this low-budget gangster film set in 1920s Shanghai, where ambitious Shiu Chi-hung (Dicky Cheung) seeks to make a name for himself. First he tries to work his way into a triad organization headed by Tu Wu, and manages to make a little money but can't get a permanent position in the gang. It matters little, as Tu Wu's organization is soon decimated in a bloody drug war by the gang of rival triad leader Chin Chiu-hwa (William Ho). Thanks to his cousin Kang, Shiu then becomes a member of yet a third gang, this one led by Chang Tung-pin (Dick Wei). Shiu advances in the organization quickly, receiving his own house as one of the perquisites of his growing status and power. He also becomes a target, as Chin's chief assassin tries to kill him, only to pay with his life. Shiu eliminates Chin himself next, consolidating his power and worrying Chang, who has seen his employee become so influential as to become a threat. That leads to a violent face-off between the two men, but Chang isn't the only threat to Shiu's continued survival. Kent Cheng and Yvonne Yung co-star in this fast-paced thriller. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide

Billy Tang directs the extremely dark and sadistic thriller Run and Kill. Hong Kong businessman Fatty Cheung (Kent Cheng) walks in on his wife and another man. He immediately gets drunk at a bar, and before he realizes it, he has made a deal with some gangsters to kill her. When he sobers up, he learns that the gangsters have fullfilled their end of the bargain and are demanding their money. Unable to pay them, Cheung flees to the mainland and meets the Vietnam veteran Ching (Simon Yam), who turns out to be a brutal psychopath that terrorizes Cheung and his remaining family members. Also stars Danny Lee. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide

Michael Mak directs this Category III box-office smash loosely based on a notorious 17th century text. Mei Yeung-sheung (Lawrence Ng) is a scholar who has a hard time keeping his mind on his studies because of his raging libido. When he cannot satisfy his appetites with his seemingly insatiable wife, Chau-yin (Amy Yip Chi-mei), he gets an operation on his undersized phallus which literally leaves him hung like a horse. He sets out to give his new addition a test drive by seducing the wife of abusive merchant Wong Chut (Tsui Kam-kong). As he moves on to the sexually adventurous though emotionally unbalanced Shui Chu (Yip again), Wong Chut sets out for revenge by luring Mei's abandoned wife Chau-yin, who spends her free time learning new uses for calligraphy brushes. Athletic coupling in gauzy soft focus ensues. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide

Though generally unknown to Western audiences, Tsui Hark is considered a giant among Asian filmmakers and this exceptional epic, combining hard-hitting martial-arts action with romance, comedy, history, genuine poignance, and sharp insight into the effects of the century-long encroachment of Western civilization in Asia more than amply demonstrates why. The story centers on the exploits of Master Wong Fei-hung (a familiar figure in Hong Kong cinema) a 19th-century doctor, Confucian, and exceptional martial artist. As the film begins, he has just opened a new clinic in Canton Province. To help him with patients, he hires a few apprentices including Porky Lang (the comic relief) and Buck Teeth Sol, who was raised outside China and barely can speak the language. Wong is platonically involved with the lovely, worldly Aunt Yee, who has been abroad most of her life. Wong soon gets in trouble when he begins using his skills to protect and assist the poor and helpless in his community. As a result, someone torches his clinic, forcing Wong and his compadres to set off and get spectacularly staged revenge. They also try vainly to stop Western culture from changing traditional Chinese ways, but they soon find that they may as well be shoveling sand against a rising tide. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Character actor Kent Cheng takes a turn behind the camera with this gritty crime melodrama. Wayne (Kenny Ho) is a spoiled rich kid whose churlishness lands him with a brief stint in jail. There he befriends Henry (Andy Lau), a working-class kid spending four years in the clink for manslaughter. When Wayne is released, he goes to Britain to study law. Yet Henry, once in the real world, has fewer options. He tries to make a go at teaching school, but his past soon catches up with him. Vicious gangster Charlie (William Ho) demands that Henry fork over 100,000 dollars as compensation for killing one of his men. Once Charlie starts attacking Henry's family, Henry joins Charlie's gang hoping to ameliorate the situation. Soon Henry becomes not only a feared criminal himself, but a serious smack addict. Wayne returns from Britain and tries to straighten out his friend. When Henry gets framed for murder, Wayne is forced to defend him in court. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide

Prolific Hong Kong filmmaker Lau Kar-wing directed this gangster-themed crime-drama about the internecine struggles within a powerful triad family. Lung Ying (Ko Chun Hsiung) is the patriarch of the clan, and -- in a setup used in many such films since The Godfather -- is attempting to slowly move the family away from criminal enterprises and into legitimate business, although his sons and employees make it nearly impossible. Allan (Alan Tam) is a ruthless killer who later has to seek refuge in Taiwan. Kar-wai (Miu Kiu-wai) is the fiery tempered Sonny Corleone character, Hua (Andy Lau) is the calm, rational one, and Chung (Max Mok) is the dedicated student whose learning is unable to prepare him for what is to occur. Yip (Kenneth Tong) is the most dangerous to Lung Ying's plans, as he is a compulsive gambler whose addiction to the activity will lead the family to irreparable harm. Eventually, two thugs from another family, Ko (William Ho) and Keung (Norman Tsui), have Lung Ying killed and ambush the Lung family at his funeral. That's when Allan, Chung, and Hua get together to bring down Keung, who followed his deadly strike on the Lungs by murdering his own employer, Ho E (Ku Feng), and taking control of his organization. This leads to the inevitable bloody shootouts, reprisals, and dire consequences for many of those involved. The film is bolstered by a supporting cast familiar to any Hong Kong film buff, including Kent Cheng, Shing Fui-on, Phillip Ko, and Kara Hui. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide

When a news writer begins digging into village affairs even more deeply than the police did, she runs afoul of a multiple murderer. She was only looking for some local color and inspiration and is accompanied by her sister and a friend known as "weeny eyes." ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

Intrigue and mystery surround this martial-arts film set in the Shanghai of the 1920s. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide

Made for television, Why Me? is the true story of Air Force nurse Leola Mae Harmon (Glynnis O'Connor), whose face is all but destroyed in a head-on automobile accident. As Leola recuperates in a military hospital, her will to live is seriously tested, not only by her shattered face, but also by the loss of her unborn child and the breakup of her marriage. The one person who refuses to feel sorry for Leola -- and who, in fact, admires her spunk -- is dedicated plastic surgeon James Stallings (Armand Assante). Persuading Leola to allow him to rebuild her face, Stallings puts his patient through 40 operations in the next four years. Understandably, the film's dramatic impact is greatest in the early sequences, wherein actress O'Connor, her face obscured by bandages (and by Michael Westmore's disturbingly realistic, Emmy nominated makeup), must convey her thoughts and moods through her eyes, her body language, and an occasional incoherent grunt. Why Me? originally aired March 12, 1984, on ABC. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide