Charles Heung Movies

Notorious Untold Story director Herman Yau returns to terrify viewers with this supernaturally-charged tale concerning a Hong Kong policeman whose extramarital affair literally comes back to haunt him. Cheung Lok-man (Mark Cheng) is a hard-boiled CID detective who is better known as "Rockman" by his fellow law enforcers, and who previously entered into a heated tryst with sultry stripper Elli (Teng Tzu-hsuen) while in Thailand investigating a case involving both the Hong Kong and Thai underground syndicates. Unexpectedly summoned back to Hong Kong, Rockman promises Elli that he will return for her sometime in the not too distant future but ultimately fails to make good on his word. Three years later, Rockman is investigating a murder in Hong Kong when his son dies under mysterious circumstances and notorious fugitive Lam Chiu (Kenny Wong) murders a high-ranking policeman. Despite the fact that he was shot in the head by Rockman, Lam miraculously recovers from his would-be mortal wound and finds that he is no longer able to experience physical pain. As the local newspapers scramble to find a connection between the two cases, supernaturally perceptive detective Brother Sum (Lam Suet) begins to suspect that the lovelorn Elli may have placed a curse on detective Rockman after he failed to return to her in Thailand. At first Rockman is skeptical of this speculation, but when his grieving wife Kar-pi (Maggie Siu) begins suffering from a potent form of black magic known as Gong Tau he quickly seeks the assistance of renowned exorcist Master Clear Sea. Unfortunately the exorcism fails to take, causing the malevolent sorcerer who originally placed it to grow infinitely more powerful. Later, when Lam offers to remove the curse that hangs over Kar-pi if Rockman allows him to go free, it is revealed that the originator of the curse was Elli's guardian angel Lockman, and that the malevolent Gong Tau-practitioner is determined to make Rockman and his family suffer the worst torment imaginable. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

A crime family flirts with democracy, leading to a fierce gangland battle in this stylish crime drama from Hong Kong director Johnnie To. With over 50,000 members, the Wo Shing Society is one of the largest and most powerful Triads in Hong Kong, and when the leadership committee needs a new head man, they decide to put the matter to a vote of their underlings. The two candidates are Lok (Simon Yam), a cool leader who doesn't rattle easily, and Big D (Tony Leung Kar-Fai), who has a short temper and is prone to violence. After Uncle Weng (Wong Tin-lam), an elderly and well-regarded member of the Triad, gives Lok his endorsement, he wins by a landslide, which does not sit well with Big D's uncertain temper. A ceremonial walking stick which is given to the Wo Shing Society's elected leader has disappeared, and Big D will stop at nothing to make sure it stays out of Lok's hands; meanwhile, the Hong Kong police are determined to bring down the Triad, and Big D ends up behind bars. The Wo Shing Society falls into chaos as in-fighting threatens to tear the Triad apart before the walking stick can be returned and Lok can be inaugurated as their new chief. Election (aka Hak Sewui) was a major box office success in Asia, and the story continued the following year in Election 2 (aka Hak se wui yi wo wai kwai). ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

A spirited female detective who never had time for love realizes just how complicated romance can be after meeting Prince Charming while vacationing in Malaysia with her best friend. Grace is completely dedicated to her job, and as a result she's never had the time to seek out the man of her dreams. Invited by her best friend Joey to take a trip to Malaysia where he's scheduled to shoot a commercial, Grace decides to take the trip but gets caught off guard when she meets the perfect man. Unfortunately for Grace, this is only the beginning of a most unusual nightmare. Shu Qi, Andy On, and Simon Yam star. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

"Big" (Andy Lau of Infernal Affairs, wearing a gargantuan prosthetic muscle suit) is a competition weight lifter and part-time male stripper. One night while dancing at a strip club, Big responds to the frantic exhortations of a comely patron (Cecilia Cheung) and strips completely naked. Unfortunately for Big, she turns out to be Detective Li, and she promptly busts him for indecent exposure. Worse yet, a murder has just taken place in the office above the club, and when Big tries to escape his minor charge, he's caught by the cops and questioned in connection with the murder. Detective Li helps him get out of the jam, and he, in turn, helps her track down the elusive killer. Li develops a romantic interest in Big, but he seems to want to avoid her. Pressed to explain himself, he eventually reveals his bizarre and tragic past. Big was a kung fu monk until a woman friend of his was murdered years ago, sending him into an uncontrollable rage, during which he inadvertently killed a sparrow. After meditating over the bird's corpse for a long time, Big developed the ability to "see karma." He can look at any animal (including people) and see what they did in their past lives. When he looks at Detective Li, he sees that in a former life she was a brutal Japanese soldier who murdered many. Even though she's a good person, she still carries that soldier's karma, and Big believes she'll eventually have to die for his crimes. Despite his misgivings, he finds himself increasingly drawn to the persistent young cop. Running on Karma was directed by the team of Johnny To and Wai Ka-fai (PTU). The film was shown at the 2004 edition of Subway Cinema's New York Asian Film Festival. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide

When an otherwise quiet man takes the law into his own hands, he sets off an unexpected chain of events in this action comedy from Hong Kong. Sung (Patrick Tam) works in a photo processing lab and generally keeps to himself, but when Sung spots a group of notorious gangsters dining in a restaurant one evening, he uncharacteristically decides to do something about the law-breakers, slipping some poison into their food. The gangsters drop dead, and Sung decides he rather likes dishing out justice; after a few similar incidents, Sung's adventures attract the attention of Hak (Jordan Chan), a yellow journalist who paints a picture of Sung as a fearless vigilante. Hak's stories make Sung out to be a much greater threat to Hong Kong's criminal element than he actually is, but the leader of the nation's criminal underworld (Wu Hsing-kuo) doesn't know that, and soon police detective Michael (Sunny Chan) teams up with Hak to find Sung before the crooks can put him six feet under. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

In 1997, as political control of Hong Kong shifted from the British government to that of China, Hong Kong's legal system went through a metamorphosis, and this drama tells the tale of one young man caught in the middle. As a teenager, Cheung Yau-ming (David Lee) fell in with a group of thugs and in 1985 was involved in an assault on a girl that led to her death. Cheung was arrested and found guilty of the crime, and was sentenced to be "detained at Her Majesty's Pleasure" -- an open-ended sentence that could last as long as the authorities saw fit. Twelve years later, Cheung is still behind bars, and with mainland China soon to take power, Zhang Yul-ing (Ai Jinhg), a Chinese activist, sets out to help Cheung and others like him by working with lawyers to give prisoners fixed sentences, rather than have their sentences translated to "at the Chief Executive's Pleasure," which generally means the prisoner is never released. While Zhang and lawyer Leung (Stephen Tang) do all they can to help, it doesn't take long for them to realize that they're facing an uphill battle. Danghau Tung Chee-wah Fatlok generated a certain degree of controversy upon its initial release; the film was expected to be the opening night attraction at the 2001 Hong Kong Film Festival, but it was pulled from their schedule, with many believing the film's political content angered government officials who refused to allow the film to be shown, though a government spokesman claimed the film's screening was cancelled due to poor creative merit. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

In this action-comedy, which pokes fun at the conventions of Hong Kong crime movies while following them at the same time, Tony Leung Kar-Fai plays Jim Yam, an underworld kingpin whose days in the Mob appear to be numbered after he narrowly escapes an attempt on his life. Deciding he'd rather be the hunter than the prey, Jim sets out to wipe out his enemies before they can wipe out him, though it turns out to be more complicated than he imagined. Gongwu Gogap also stars Sandra Ng as Jim's wife, with their sometimes-stormy relationship providing a subplot. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Three dedicated health-care workers try to save a hospital from itself in this satiric comedy. Sir Ho Kau Kei Hospital is an absurdly mismanaged medical facility in Hong Kong where most of the doctors have given up caring about their patients, and the few that still do are frustrated with the endless red tape of the hospital's management team. Three exceptions are doctors Joe (Ekin Cheng) and Jim (Jordan Chang) and nurse Yan (Cecilia Cheung) -- or at least two of them are exceptions, since Joe has quit to become a mechanic with a team of race car drivers. Jim, however, tries to convince Joe to return to the hospital, where he knows he's doing something worthwhile. Yan, meanwhile, was inspired to enter the medical profession when her life was saved by an emergency appendectomy performed at Sir Ho Kau Kei Hospital; Yan has decided she'll marry whoever it was who performed the surgery, but no one is sure if the doctor on call was Jim or Joe. Lat Sau Wui Cheun was created by the same production team responsible for the box-office triumph Gu Nam Gwa Nui, and was screened in competition at the 2001 {~Berlin Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Zhang Yimou (Ju Dou, Raise the Red Lantern) is the executive producer of this film directed by his past associate/co-director Yang Fengliang (Ju Dou). This period revenge drama, set during the early days of Republican China, begins when the wedding of Lanjuan (Taiwanese actress Wu Chienlien) is interrupted by gunfire that wipes out her family. Almost a decade later, obsessed with revenge, she engages the services of hitman Li Qingyang (You Yong) to kill the assassins, headed by Dragon Town warlord Xiong Jinbao (Huang Zhongqiu). Assuming the identity of a merchant and his wife, Li and Lanjuan begin living in the town during the New Year Festival. Unknown to Lanjuan, Xiong's rival Hu Danlong (Lam Wai) has also contracted Li to kill Xiong. In an interesting story twist, Xiong deduces the couple's identity, and becomes friendly with them, with more unique plot threads unraveling as the tale develops. The original title translates literally as "New Year in Dragon Town." ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

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

Martial arts star Jet Li donned a black hat and mask to portray a comic book superhero in this pulp action tale that gets the full-blown Hong Kong treatment from choreographer Yuen Wo Ping, who later designed the fight scenes for The Matrix (1999). Li stars as Tsui Chik, leader of Squad 701, an elite commando team of genetically-engineered super-soldiers. When the unit was deemed a failure because of mental instability in some of the test subjects, the project was disbanded. Tsui now lives quietly in Hong Kong, masquerading as a shy librarian whose only friend is a cop (Lau Ching Wan). When some drug lords begin turning up dead, Tsui dons a black mask and hat to investigate the slayings and learns that his former Squad 701 comrades, led by psychotic Commander Hung (Patrick Lung), are plotting to take over the drug kingpin's illegal trade. Among their number is Tsui's ex-girlfriend Kaelin (Francoise Yip). ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

Tsui Hark is the executive producer, production designer, and screenwriter of this 82-minute Chinese animated feature displaying a full panoply of magical supergods, vexing spirits, and mere mortals. After debt collector Ning (voice of Jan Lam) loses his girlfriend Siu Lan (Lasi Suiyan), he beckons his playful dog, Solid Gold (Tsui Hark), and the two embark on fantastic adventures encountering the attractive Shine (Anita Yuen), a follower of Madame Trunk (Kelly Chen). Their eventual goal is to board the Reincarnation Train in hopes of getting Shine reborn. The original Siu Sin title is Shine's name in Chinese. To realize this fluid-action fantasy, animators at Tsui Hark's Film Workshop in Hong Kong labored for four years. Shown at the 1997 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide