Joey Chin Movies
- 2002
Joe G.M. Chan's subtly humorous Not a Day Goes By follows the surreal events surrounding a young, aimless Asian man's life just after the death of his mother. A sometime bookstore employee and resident of New York's Chinatown, Wolfgang finds himself wandering aimlessly from conversation to conversation, trying to come to terms with the death of his mother as well as other seemingly non-related life events that have recently occurred to him. The young Asian recalls past conversations and arguments with his domineering and ultra-traditional mother, as well as the particularly painful break-up with his ex-girlfriend -- who abandoned him in favor of a Caucasian man. Both his deceased mother and his ex-girlfriend seem to have had enormous sway over Wolfgang's sense of identity and both of these events force him to reconsider how he will live his life from this day forward. Not a Day Goes By was selected for viewing at the 2002 Asian American International Film Festival. ~ Ryan Shriver, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Larry Chin, Joey Chin, (more)
The gritty underbelly of New York's complex, ethnically divided criminal world is exposed in this dark drama from director Abel Ferrara. Christopher Walken stars as Frank White, a drug lord who's just been released from a long stint in prison. Aware that feeding off of society's depravity has made him a wealthy man, Frank has become determined to give something back to the city, and he hatches a scheme to build a multimillion-dollar public hospital in one of Brooklyn's worst ghetto neighborhoods. Needing the assistance of his fellow criminals to pull it off, Frank and his adjutant Jimmy Jump (Laurence Fishburne) encounter a wall of resistance from every faction, including drug-trade partner Lance Wong (Joey Chin) and temperamental cop Dennis Gilley (David Caruso). Frank's do-gooder efforts ultimately result in a Mob war and in a bloody showdown between the city's various ethnic criminal actions. Ferrara followed King of New York with a similarly themed film that many critics considered his masterpiece, Bad Lieutenant (1992). ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Christopher Walken, David Caruso, (more)
- 1987
- R
Director Abel Ferrara liberally employs his blackjack intensity in this lunatic gang romance that comes across as a cross between Mean Streets and West Side Story. The New York City street gangs of Chinatown and Little Italy are rattling their sabers and they become drawn when a Chinese restaurant opens up on the Italian side of Canal Street. In the middle of all this tension and violence, beautiful Chinese teenager Tyan-Hwa (Sari Chang) falls in love with Tony (Richard Panebianco), a pizza delivery boy. Of course, continuing with in the West Side Story vein, the parents of the two lovebirds are against the match. Not only that, but the Mafia and the Chinese mob conspire to separate the lovers in order to maintain an uncertain peace in the community. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Russo, Sari Chang, (more)
Best known for his 1978 film The Deer Hunter or perhaps the less-successful Heaven's Gate, director Michael Cimino turned to this fast-paced actioner set in an authentic (back lot) Chinatown. This thriller stars a rogue Polish-American cop (Mickey Rourke) out to not only keep Chinatown safe for the local consumers, but to dismantle its deep-rooted crime and drug cartels as well. No one backs the crusading cop in the latter objective, and as he faces a suave and wily crime boss (John Lone of The Last Emperor) and a libidinous newscaster (Ariane), he may be taking on more than he can handle. At least his wife thinks so, and the guys at City Hall think so -- but mayhem and murder will strew the streets with corpses before the smoke clears and the dust settles, and a vague, unresolved future sets in. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mickey Rourke, John Lone, (more)
