Ivy Ho Movies

Fulltime Killer and Mad Detective director Johnny To shifts gears from the usual action fare for his forty-eight feature film, a romantic fantasy about a student athlete who won't let death keep him from the woman he loves. Dong (Taiwanese pop singer Vic Zhou) was a handsome student athlete who suddenly lost his life while playfully chasing a car driven by pretty coed Yan (Li Bingbing). Three years later, Yan is a rising law clerk defending a brash young client who bears an uncanny resemblance to her late love Dong. As Yan findsw her memories drifting back to the time days before Dong's death, grief begins to take hold and the spirit of the deceased athlete returns to accomplish some unfinished business. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

A top celebrity cop finds his ability to solve a series of kidnappings and white collar crimes sidelined by the grief he harbors for his long-missing girlfriend in this dramatic Hong Kong action entry from director Benny Chan. Ever since Suen Sui-yan (Aaron Kwok)'s girlfriend went missing without a trace ten years ago, everything just seemed to fall apart for the high profile policeman who could once do no wrong. These days Suen is investigating a lucrative money laundering scheme, but upon being assigned the task of escorting a crooked accountant named Hung (Patrick Chow) to the Hong Kong airport, his luck takes an even darker turn when an assassin's bullet kills his unfortunate charge. Suen's suspicions that something is amiss are soon confirmed when a barrister acting on behalf of powerful businessman Yiu (Lo Ka-leung) denies that his client played any part in the killing and Yiu's assets are freed-up since the potential police witness has been permanently silenced, and before long the suspicious suit is struggling to pay off a sizable debt to the triads. Soon after triad boss Jim (Lau Siu-ming) admits to a fondness for Yiu's pop-star son Yiu Ha (Tommy Yuen), the adolescent singing sensation is suddenly kidnapped. Now, as Suen struggles to make a connection between all the events and reveal the identity of the mysterious assassin, the resemblance between Barrister To (Ekin Chang)'s beautiful wife Amy (Angelica Lee) and Suen's own long-missing girlfriend fast begins to cloud the determined cop's head and complicate the case. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

A new face in the world of independent cinema in Hong Kong, director Vincent Chui uses his first digital video feature to explore the complex array of emotions that citizens of Hong Kong hold for their city in the face of the 1997 turnover. Utilizing Dogme 95 aesthetics, Chui follows three interconnected stories involving a westernized U.S. citizen who returns to Hong Kong to experience a cultural re-awakening, a passive priest who struggles with his real-estate agent wife over money matters in a hot, pre-1997 property market, and a H.K. gossip columnist whose obsession with his editor leads her to confront the harsh memories that she's tried for years to forget. As the current and former citizens of the city ponder everything from the economics to politics of their beloved homeland, pressing issues of the past and future are brought to the forefront of their consciences, and decisions on whether to carry on with life elsewhere or simply press on in their current surroundings weigh heavily in their daily lives. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Jackie Chan tones down the martial arts action but turns up the international espionage in this globe-trotting adventure. Buck Yuen (Jackie Chan) is a sporting goods salesman from Hong Kong who daydreams of living the exciting and dangerous life of an international spy. One day, Buck makes the news after he accidentally stops a gang of bank robbers from getting away with the loot, and his brief moment of celebrity attracts the attention of Many Liu (Eric Tsang), a low-rent private detective who's looking for help with a missing person's case. One of Many's clients is looking for his long-lost son, and Many thinks Buck is just the guy to help track him down. Buck signs on, and is sent to Korea, where he meets a mysterious man named Mr. Park; Buck doesn't think he's the man Many wants, but he wonders if he might be his own father, who disappeared when he was a child. Buck makes the acquaintance of Carmen (Kim Min-jeong), an attractive journalist who tips off Buck that Mr. Park is actually an infamous North Korean espionage agent; Buck confronts Mr. Park, who has suddenly fallen ill, and Park on his deathbed tells Buck a riddle that, if properly decoded, could lead him to a great fortune. As Buck and Carmen try to unravel the mystery of Mr. Park's final words, their adventures lead them to Istanbul, where the fate of millions is suddenly put into Buck's hands when he discovers a deadly biological weapon coveted by Mr. Zen (Wu Hsing-kuo), a ruthless Chinese crime boss. One of Jackie Chan's most lavish Hong Kong-based vehicles, Takmo Mai Sing was a massive commercial success there, where it did impressive business opening on the Chinese New Year. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

This Hong Kong comedy of relationships is based on composer J.S. Bach's "The Songbook of Anna Magdalena Bach" and is divided into four "movements," each of which presents a sticky romantic situation for the story's three protagonists: Chan (Takeshi Kaneshiro), a piano tuner; his roommate Yau (Aaron Kwok), a rather spaced-out writer; and the lovely Mok (Kelly Chen), the girl who lives upstairs from them. A complex romantic dance begins when Yau falls in love with Yok without realizing that Chan has secretly loved her for ages. This film was screened at South Korea's 1998 Pusan Film Festival. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Destiny brings two people together, but they aren't sure if they're meant to be friends or lovers in this romantic comedy-drama. In 1986, Xiaojun (Leon Lai) arrives in Hong Kong from mainland China, full of dreams about life in the big city and determined to make enough money to send for his fiancée and marry her. Xiaojun knows no one in Hong Kong except his aunt, but with her help, he finds a room in a cheap hotel and picks up a job peddling a delivery bicycle for a butcher. On his day off, Xiaojun decides to get lunch at a McDonalds, which he's heard about but never seen. Xiaojun is waited on by Chiao (Maggie Cheung), a pretty girl who has also moved to Hong Kong from the mainland to seek her fortune. Chiao is taken with Xiaojun, but thinks he's too much the country bumpkin, especially since he can't speak Cantonese or English. Chiao arranges for Xiaojun to get lessons in English and teaches him about life in Hong Kong and how to get rich quick; she also ropes him into helping with her latest business scheme, using his delivery bike to sell flowers. Xiaojun and Chiao become best friends -- indeed, each is the only real friend the other has in Hong Kong -- and one night, on New Year's Eve, the two find themselves alone together and end up making love. The next morning, both Xiaojun and Chiao are certain they've made a mistake; Xiaojun goes on to marry his sweetheart from home, while Chiao opens a flower shop and becomes involved with a kind man who has ties to organized crime. As the years pass, however, Xiaojun becomes convinced that his mistake wasn't sleeping with Chiao, but letting her go, and eventually he decides he must find her and win her heart. Comrades: Almost a Love Story was a runaway success in Hong Kong, where the film won nine trophies at the 1997 Hong Kong Film Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, and Best Actress. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide