David Wu Movies

Too epic in scope to be contained in just one film, the historical saga that began in John Woo's Red Cliff heats up as Prime Minister-turned-General Cao Cao (Zhang Fengyi) leads the Emperor's army southward to do battle with a small but resolute coalition led by fierce opponent Zhou Yu (Tony Leung Chiu-Wai). Incensed at the rebellion displayed by southern warlords Liu Bei (You Yong) and Sun Quan (Chang Chen), Emperor Xian (Wang Ning) grants his trusted General Cao Cao permission to crush their outspoken opponents. But the journey south isn't easy for Emperor Xian's massive military, and before long, the soldiers are tiring from lack of water and sheer exhaustion. Meanwhile, Zhou Yu's army draws a line in the sand and prepares to defend it with their lives. When typhoid breaks out among Cao Cao's troops, the quick-thinking strategist successfully infects Zhou's army with the disease, causing the latter to realize that psychological warfare has finally come into play. Subsequently deserted by Liu Bei, Zhou prepares to lead an army of approximately 30,000 men against Cao Cao's massive force of several hundred thousand. The battle drawing near, Zhuge Liang (Takeshi Kaneshiro) resorts to some clever tactics in order to undermine Cao Cao, and undercover princess Sun Shangxiang (Vicki Zhao) delivers secret messages from the Cao Cao's camp. As violence erupts on the Yangtze River, Zhou Yu's wife (Lin Chi-Ling) emerges to play an unexpectedly crucial role in the historical proceedings. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

This love story set in the 1880s follows a Chinese girl (Sun Li) who poses as a boy to work on the transcontinental railway, where she falls for the son of the railroad contractor. ~ Michael Chant, Rovi

A small time con artist and his loyal companion must fight to prove their innocent when they are accused of attempting to poison a princess in this adventure mini-series directed by David Wu (The Bride with White Hair) and starring David Carradine. D.B. (John Reardon) was abandoned at birth on the docks of Shanghai, but while most children never would have survived that traumatic start David was rescued from certain death and soon forged a close bond with the resourceful Bird (Carradine). As D.B. grew into a young man, Bird became his constant companion. It always seemed like there was no jam that D.B. and Bird couldn't eventually work their way out of, and when it came to swindling this cunning pair were always at the top of their game. Neither D.B. nor Bird would have ever imagined that one of their brash schemes that would ultimately change the course of their entire lives, yet a daring mission to steal the royal court's jewels did precisely that. Upon carrying out the potentially profitable but highly dangerous mission, D.B. fell desperately in love with the stunning princess Li Wei (Desiree Siahaan). Though his affections were indeed reciprocated, it began to look like their love was doomed as the princess' father attempted to find her a more suitable husband. The princess, however, thwarted this plan by challenging her suitors to a series of arduous and impossible tests ostensibly staged to prove their love for her. When the nefarious Prince of the North (Rupert Graves) frames D.B. and Bird for attempting to murder the princess and sentences them to death, the wily companions rightly begin to surmise that they may have finally gotten themselves into a jam from which there is no escape. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Directed, acted, and produced in the same mold -- and on the same level -- as its many other family friendly, critically-acclaimed television specials, Hallmark Entertainment presents Merlin's Apprentice: Search for the Holy Grail. Starring screen legend Sam Neill (Dead Calm, A Cry in the Dark) in the title role and one of Britain's most accomplished thespians, Miranda Richardson (Damage) as The Lady of the Lake, the miniseries opens with the great wizard returning to Camelot, only to find the entire mythical community in ruins from the theft of its most revered Holy Grail. Accompanied by a rambunctious young pickpocket named Jack (John Henry Reardon), Merlin undertakes a quest to retrieve the Grail and restore Camelot to its original glory. Merlin's Apprentice: Search for the Holy Grail co-stars Tegan Moss as Yvonne, Christopher Jacot as Graham, Meghan Ory as Brianna, and Woody Jeffreys as Arthur. Veteran Hong Kong Kung-fu filmmaker and John Woo-apprentice David Wu directs. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

While on the job at an abandoned Chicago office building, four electrical workers -- Dean (Richard Grieco), Ray (Richard Yearwood), Junior (Jason Jones), and Sheldon (Jeff Douglas) -- stumble upon a time portal. Instantly, Dean and Junior disappear, rematerializing in a modernistic alternate Chicago. Soon after, Ray and Sheldon follow their buddies -- a bad mistake, inasmuch as this parallel world is ruled by cannibalistic, spider-like humanoids. The four heroes link up with a group of survivors of the spider invasion, led by Dr. Morelli (Colin Fox), Elena (Kate Greenhouse), and Crane (David Newman). Will they be able to escape the rampaging arachnids and return to their own world, or will they be betrayed by a spy in their midst and delivered up to the omnivorous Spider Queen? Bearing more than a passing resemblance to the TV series Sliders, the made-for-cable Webs debuted June 28, 2003, on the Sci-Fi channel. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

French legend has it that a creature known as the Beast of Gevaudan -- a huge, wolf-like monster -- was responsible for the violent deaths of over 100 persons in the mid-18th century, and this horror fantasy blends the lore of this fabled beast with a story of two men who set out to capture it. After a number of mutilated corpses begin appearing across the French countryside, naturalist Chevalier Gregoire de Fronsac (Samuel Le Bihan) is dispatched by the King to find and capture the animal responsible for the killings. Mani (Mark Dacascos), an Indian from Canada and an experienced hand in the wilds, is hired to assist de Fronsac in his work. Gregoire's assignment earns him the acquaintance of Marianne de Morangias (Emilie Dequenne), the lovely daughter of the idly wealthy Count de Morangias (Jean Yanne), but Gregoire receives a much chillier welcome from her brother Jean-Francois (Vincent Cassel), who, despite having lost an arm to a lion in Africa, is quite the huntsman himself. As Gregoire and Mani arrive in the village of Gevaudan, they're drawn to a local house of prostitution, where the animalistic allure and supernatural powers of Sylvia (Monica Bellucci) prove to have a profound effect on the naive Gregoire. Jim Henson's Creature Shop provided the special-effects expertise for the creation of the Beast of Gevaudan. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Originally shown on The Movie Channel, Once a Thief: Family Business is a re-edited compilation of two episodes of the Once a Thief TV series: "Family Reunion" and "Endgame." ~ Rovi

A children's fantasy adventure, Warriors of Virtue features five superheroes, dressed in kangaroo-like outfits, who are known as the Roos. The Roos inhabit a magical underground world which is threatened by the foppish villain Komodo (Angus Macfayden), who is mining a life-enhancing mineral from the River of Life. Ryan Jeffers (Mario Yedidia) arrives in this fantasy world unexpectedly, after taking a dare from a bully to walk across a whirlpool in an underground sewer. Ryan has with him an ancient Chinese manuscript, the Tao, given to him by a mystical cook in a Chinese restaurant, Ming (Dennis Dun), before Ryan was suddenly sucked into the nether world. The Tao contains secrets coveted both by Komodo and by Master Chung (Chao-Li Chi), an ancient guru who rules the Roos' kingdom. But only Ryan can read the manuscript. ~ Michael Betzold, Rovi

This Hong Kong melodrama shares only the title Robert Wise's 1956 film biography of American middleweight champion Rocky Graziano. The story begins as a luminescent beauty watches two men fighting in the ring. Suddenly the story jumps back 10 months when Gloria, the girl first fell in love with Ken, one of the fighters. For the two it was nearly love at first sight, but for the intervention of Gloria's older brother who beats the stuffing out of Ken. Rocky, the pugnacious brother, is a local champion and he is currently training to take the pan-Asian title away from the current champ the Japanese fighter Yamada. Deciding that he too wants to fight, Ken begs a noted kickboxing instructor to teach him. The story then jumps to the opening fight, a bout that goes terribly awry when Ken accidentally kills Rocky. Devastated and guilt-filled, Ken leaves legitimate boxing and becomes an illegal bare-knuckle fighter. Eventually he resurfaces to take on the fearsome Yamada in the film's exciting conclusion. Serious aficionados of Hong Kong movies should keep an eagle eye out for numerous celebrity cameos that include filmmakers Clifton Ko and Ann Hui. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Based on a popular Japanese comic, this stylish, romantic French-Canadian actioner features many exciting pyrotechnic effects, elegantly executed murders, and some nifty-doodle gadgets, but very little on-screen bloodshed as it follows the adventures of Yo, one of the world's greatest hit men. Yo works for a mysterious Chinese organization and has been given the dubious honor of being called Freeman, the name the tong gives to its chief enforcer. Yo doesn't want the honor, but there is little he can do; obligation is more important than personal want. Still, after each killing, Yo sheds a few tears for the victims. One day he bumps into Emu O'Hara, a beautiful painter who has avoided people after mobsters killed her father, who was a rigidly honest judge determined to wipe out crime. Emu witnesses Yo's killing three Yakuza on a rugged stretch of California coastline where she is painting. Yo sees her see him, and though they never speak, both know that necessity dictates she be his next victim. Following the police investigation of the killings, Emu goes back to Vancouver, BC. Yo has also been sent there to kill her and a Yakuza don. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Editor and co-writer of the original, David Wu Tai-wai directs this follow-up to the wildly popular romantic fantasy-horror masterwork Bride With White Hair. The last film ended with Cho (Leslie Cheung Kwok-wing), following the defeat of the Wu Tang clan, waiting atop the snowy peak of mount Shing for a rare flower to blossom and heal his ailing lover. Ni-chang (Brigitte Lin Ching-hsia), feeling spurned by Cho thanks to the evil doings of a pair of Siamese twins in the previous movie, has morphed into a demon with a head of white poisonous hair. She creates a cult dedicated to her hatred of men, vowing to kill every member of the Eight Clans of Chung Yuan. Among them is Fung Chun-kit (Sunny Chan Kam-hung), Cho's cousin who is in love with the beautiful Lyre (Joey Maan Yee-man). On their wedding night, Ni-chang, Ling (Christy Chung), and a number of other disciplines crash the party and kidnap the bride. Back in their lair, they slowly turn Lyre against her would-be groom. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi

Hard-Boiled is the last film directed by Hong Kong action auteur John Woo before his arrival in the U.S. This 1992 thriller, along with The Killer, is widely seen as one of his best from his Hong Kong days. Every ingredient of the quintessential Woo thriller is present, including his ever-present anti-hero (Chow Yun-Fat). Yun-Fat portrays a maverick, clarinet-playing cop nicknamed "Tequila" whose partner is killed in the dizzying chaos of a restaurant gunfight with a small army of gangsters. It is soon revealed that one of the mob's high-ranking assassins is Tony (Tony Leung), an undercover cop who, despite his badge, is dangerously close to the edge. Tequila and Tony must team up in a tense partnership, and their common pursuit of a vicious crime lord results in a brilliantly elaborate climax in a hospital, where the heroes must rescue newborn babies from the maternity ward while fighting off dozens of mob soldiers. The characters Tequila and Tony are two sides of the same coin, another trademark theme of Woo's films that would later be most fully realized with Nicolas Cage and John Travolta in the American hit Face/Off. ~ Jonathan E. Laxamana, Rovi