Dennis Dun Movies

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

Produced on a shoestring $2 million budget, documentary director Nancy Kelly and her husband, editor Kenji Yamamoto created this romantic western based on a true story. Rosalind Chao stars as Lalu Nathoy, a young woman sold into marriage by her impoverished father in late 19th century China. Lalu is transported to the U.S. by a slave trader, Jim (Dennis Dun), on whom she develops a crush. Although conflicted, Jim fulfills his professional obligation to deliver Lalu to Hong King (Michael Paul Chan), a saloon owner in a rough Idaho mining town. Refusing to participate in Hong King's plan to make her into an exotic prostitute, Lalu keeps her dignity about her and wins the adoration of Charlie (Chris Cooper), Hong King's white, alcoholic partner. Despite the prejudice of the locals, Lalu becomes a cleaning woman and a successful laundress. Though she dreams of marriage to Jim or escape to China, she recognizes Charlie's admirable qualities after a violent incident that casts him in a different light. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi

The Last Emperor is the true story of Aisin-Gioro Pu Yi, the last ruler of the Chinese Ching Dynasty. Told in flashback, the film covers the years 1908 to 1967. We first see the three-year-old Pu Yi being installed in the Forbidden City by ruthless, dying dowager Empress Tzu-Hsui (Lisa Lu). Though he'd prefer to lark about like other boys, the infant emperor is cossetted and cajoled into accepting the responsibilities and privileges of his office. In 1912, the young emperor (Tijer Tsou) forced to abdicate when China is declared a republic, is a prisoner in his own palace, "protected" from the outside world. Fascinated by the worldliness of his Scottish tutor (Peter O'Toole), Pu Yi plots an escape from his cocoon by means of marriage. He selects Manchu descendant Wan Jung (Joan Chen), who likewise is anxious to experience the 20th century rather than be locked into the past by tradition. Played as an adult by John Lone, Pu Yi puts into effect several social reforms, and also clears the palace of the corrupt eunuchs who've been shielding him from life. In 1924, an invading warlord expels the denizens of the Forbidden City, allowing Pu Yi to "westernize" himself by embracing popular music and the latest dances as a guest of the Japanese Concession in Tientsin. Six years later, his power all but gone, Pu Yi escapes to Manchuria, where he unwittingly becomes a political pawn for the now-militant Japanese government. Humiliating his faithful wife, Pu Yi falls into bad romantic company, carrying on affairs with a variety of parasitic females. During World War II, the Japanese force Pu Yi to sign a series of documents which endorse their despotic military activities. At war's end, the emperor is taken prisoner by the Russians; while incarcerated, he is forced to fend for himself without servants at his beck and call for the first time. He is finally released in 1959 and displayed publicly as proof of the efficacy of Communist re-education. We last see him in 1967, the year of his death; now employed by the State as a gardener, Pu Yi makes one last visit to the Forbidden City...as a tourist. Bernardo Bertolucci's first film after a six-year self-imposed exile, The Last Emperor was released in two separate versions: the 160-minute theatrical release, and a 4-hour TV miniseries. Lensed on location, the film won nine Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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, Rovi