Roy Chiao Movies

In this Hong Kong comedy drama a father's illness brings him closer to his daughter-in-law. May is married with a teenage son. She works as an executive in a trading company. After her mother-in-law drops dead from a stroke, she and her husband, Sun Bing, reluctantly take in Old Sun, a former air force lieutenant (none of his other children will take him). The family is immediately thrown into turmoil as they try to deal with Sun's strange behavior. He frequently wanders away, acts strangely, and suffers from rapid personality changes alternating between a child-like and extremely irritable state. They finally get medical help after they catch him eating a soap sandwich. The old man is diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. May must now balance her career, her family and Sun's needs. She tries hard, but eventually the strain is too much for her. They must place Old Sun in a nursing home. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Jean-Claude Van Damme makes his starring debut in the aptly titled Bloodsport. An American soldier at large in Hong Kong, Van Damme becomes involved in the Kumite (also spelled Kumatai), a highly illegal kickboxing competition. Whoever survives the bout will be crowned Kumite champion of the world-a title that has plenty of challengers with homicide in their hearts. The finale offers a duel to the death (or near-death) between Van Damme and reigning Kumite king Bolo Yeung. The script is based on the real-life exploits of martial arts champ Frank Dux (who serves as the film's fight coordinator). Denied such niceties as production values, Bloodsport scores big-time in the violent action department. A sequel followed in 1995, inventively titled Bloodsport 2. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Although this American action film, which has little of Jackie Chan's comedic martial arts, was less successful in the U.S. than hoped, it is still a worthy effort. Chan plays Billy Wong, a New York cop whose partner is murdered by Hong Kong gangsters. His new partner is Danny Gorani (Danny Aiello). They are sent to rescue an American woman who was kidnapped and taken to Hong Kong. There, they must also stop a shipment of narcotics before it reaches the U.S. The mismatching of Chan and Aiello is reminiscent of the chemistry between Nick Nolte and Eddie Murphy in the original buddy-cop film, 48 HRS. The lack of success of this enjoyable thriller was unfortunate; Chan would not make another attempt to break into the American market until 1996 with the hit Rumble in the Bronx. ~ Jonathan E. Laxamana, Rovi

Two young children leave mainland China with their father, illegally hitching a train ride into the city where on departure, they are spotted by the police and the unfortunate father is slapped in jail. Meanwhile, the two enterprising youngsters escape and have to make it on their own somehow, while searching for their Aunt Tina in the big city. Little do they know that Aunt Tina is a friend of the policeman who nabbed their father, providing one more avenue for ultimately finding the children. The little brother and sister end up meeting several other youngsters, some of whom are survivors with a good knowledge of the streets, while another is a wealthy boy simply curious about street life. The grit and optimism of the children, their nerve and their sense of right and wrong, steer them through the worst parts of this urban world of poor shanties, colorful markets, fortune tellers, and millions and millions of pedestrians. Bolstered by their attitude, it is not difficult to imagine that at least a few of their fondest wishes (the "mirages" or dreams they want to see materialize) might just come true. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

Inspired by a true story, this action-adventure thriller concerns the race to obtain the blueprints of a MIG-25 "Foxbat" Soviet fighter plane which has landed in Japan, complete with a pilot who is asking for asylum. Undercover U.S. spy Michael Saxon (Henry Silva) is trying to get the microfilms for the state-of-the art film back to his country, but he is competing against agents and representatives from many countries for the privilege: at one point there is a super-secret auction of the plans. Naturally, the KGB is not taking this situation sitting down, and agents are dispatched to destroy the plans and anyone who has them. The action moves from Tokyo to Hong Kong, as Saxon attempts to contact a man who can arrange for the proper delivery of the plans. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

An influential martial arts film and an acknowledged influence on Ang Lee's amazing Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, King Hu's A Touch of Zen opens with young scholar Ku Shen-chai working at his portraiture stand in a small frontier town. He lives with his nagging mother in a supposedly haunted, rundown house at the edge of the abandoned Ching Liu estate. One day, a stranger named Ou-Yang Yin asks for his picture to be painted, and then suddenly leaves. Soon, another stranger -- this time a beautiful woman named Yang Hui-Ching -- suddenly moves into the complex next door. The presence of these strangers has an increasingly unnerving effect on Ku, and he rightfully comes to believe that the entire town is involved in some bizarre political intrigue. After a night of passion between Ku and Yang, Ou-Yang Yin stages a surprise attack on the compound, which Yang surprisingly thwarts with dazzling aplomb. Yang reveals to him that her father was an honorable general executed due to the nefarious doings of the powerful Eunuch Wei. With the aid of General Shih and Lu (who pose as the town's blind beggar and herb vendor respectively), Yang was spirited away first to a monastery where she learned martial arts and then to Ku's remote corner of China. Ou-Yang Yin, Eunuch Wei's henchman, has in turn vowed to pursue her to the ends of the earth. As Ou-Yang Yin rallies Wei's army to the walled estate, Ku -- having spent a lifetime researching military history -- devises a brilliant strategy to crush the siege and win the heart of this most unusual woman. Though his plan works, he fails to win the loyalty of Yang; she flees into the night as Ku slept. After searching desperately, Ku finds her in the same monastery where she learned kung-fu. Now a Buddhist nun, she hands over their child to him and sends him packing. Realizing that Ku is in danger, Yang and her mentor -- a saintly abbot -- then set out to protect him. Suddenly out of nowhere, Hsu Hsien-Chen -- the profoundly evil army commander of Eunuch Wei -- confronts the abbot and an all-out battle between good and evil ensues. Screened at the 1975 Cannes Film Festival and winning a technical prize, this was the first Chinese language film ever to win a major western film festival award. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi