Francis Ng Movies

Prolific Hong King actor-turned-director Francis Ng pulls double duty for this comedy centering on the age-old Chinese ritual of lion dancing. Gai is an office manager whose slacker ways have earned the ire of the higher ups, and now in order to keep his job he is forced to team with colleague Gau to participate in a high-profile talent contest sponsored by the company. Later, after mastering the art of lion dancing with a little help from Gau's uncle (Anthony Wong), the pair unintentionally sends the city into a lion dance frenzy. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

When the star of China's most anticipated musical is brutally slain on opening night and an introverted understudy is quickly cast to take her place, the mayhem that follows leads the shy young replacement begins to believe that a curse has been cast over the production in director Li Hong's stage-bound frightener. Everyone wants the role of Lola, but it was the beautiful young Tian (Tian Yuan) who landed the role when the original actress fell prey to a mysterious killer. Haunted by the traumas of her childhood and isolated from her fellow actors, Tian seeks comfort in the strong arms of her boyfriend, a lowly gaffer named Zhen (Francis Ng). The sadistic killer isn't finished yet though, and as the bodies start to pile up, Tian begins to suspect that the killer may know more about her than she previously suspected. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

The prequel to Andrew Lau and Alan Mak's smash hit Infernal Affairs opens in 1991, with Inspector Wong (Anthony Wong) explaining the frustrations of police work to gangster Sam (Eric Tsang). He also expresses his desire to see the seemingly reasonable Sam take over he reins of the local triad from the current boss. When that boss is murdered, with no apparent heir, it seems that Hong Kong is going to explode in an all-out gang war. But the boss' bespectacled, soft-spoken, and well-mannered son, Hau (Francis Ng), unexpectedly takes charge, calmly and cleverly defusing the situation. Meanwhile, Yan (Shawn Yu, reprising his role as the younger version of Tony Leung's character in the first Infernal Affairs) is thrown out of the police academy for breaking the rules, and it's discovered that he's Hau's half-brother. Wong recruits him to work undercover in Hau's organization. Ming (Edison Chen playing the younger Andy Lau) is a corrupt cop secretly working for Sam. His progress up the ranks of the police force is swift, but his relationship with Sam is threatened when he finds himself falling in love with Sam's girlfriend, Mary (Carina Lau). For his part, as the handover of Hong Kong to China approaches, Hau plots to become involved in "legitimate" politics, and to avenge himself against those he believes responsible for his father's death. Chapman To reprises his role as the goofy Keung. Infernal Affairs II was selected by the Film Society of Lincoln Center for inclusion in the 2004 New York Film Festival. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide

Yip Wai Man's quirky comedy Beauty and the Breast concerns a man who works for a drug company that produces a pill designed to increase the size of a woman's breasts. He is romantically interested in a co-worker, but she refuses his advances. N order to get her sympathy, he pretends to have brain cancer. She falls for this, but soon discovers the truth about her attempted paramour. When she discovers that the company has been lying about the side-effects of their product, the woman attempts to make all of the men get their comeuppance. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

After witnessing the death of his brother at the hands of murderous secret agents, helpless Peter must summon the courage to clear his brother's name and save the world from a forthcoming catastrophe in director Gordan Chan's action-packed tale of high-tech espionage. Peter's brother Greg was one of the best computer programmers on the planet, but when Greg is killed in a horrific act of violence and Peter bears witness to his brother's death, the CIA, the Hong Kong Police, and a mysterious Singaporean special agent are hot on his trail. When a woman claiming to have been Greg's fiancée appears, Peter vows to elude his pursuers long enough to find out the truth behind his brother's untimely demise and being the men responsible to justice before the citizens of the world suffer the consequences. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

One of Hong Kong's brightest young directors, Winston Yip, whose previous work, Mongkok Story, received a 1996 Hong Kong critics' prize, returns to the screen with this character-driven reworking of the gangster genre. Mike (Francis Ng) and his younger partner Brian (Louis Koo) are plainclothed policemen hot on the trail of a violent band of bank robbers. Their search leads them to a grotty old Hong Kong tenement. Expecting a long surveillance, the pair hole up in the apartment of the building's owner, an old woman called Granny (Helena Law), who is alternately gruff and kind toward them. While there, they get to know some of the locals and eventually fall in love -- Mike with a beautiful pregnant single mom who runs a laundromat (played by 1991 Miss Malaysia Stephanie Lin) and Brian with a teenaged slacker (Michelle Alicia Saram). Just as the two get comfortable in their new surroundings, the crooks make their inevitable return, resulting in gunplay and stylized over-the-top violence. This film was screened at the 1999 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide

In 1998, Andrew Lau's groundbreaking smash hit The Storm Riders came out of nowhere and resurrected the ailing Hong Kong film industry. Lau's follow-up, using much of the same cast and crew, is another martial arts epic set largely in New York's Chinatown. The film opens in the early 20th century with a young Hero Wah (Ekin Cheng) going to study under Master Pride (Anthony Wong). When he returns to his parents, he learns that they have been murdered by a band of evil Westerners. After impregnating his wife Jade (Kristy Yang), Hero Wah ventures to New York in search of his parents' killers. Sixteen years later, Hero's son Sword Wah (Nicholas Tse) along with family friend Sang (Jerry Lamb), arrive at Ellis Island in search of Hero's dad. Once the tearful reunion finally takes place, much of the rest of the story is related through flashbacks involving a fearsome fight with Japanese ninjas and the death of Jade at the hands of the ninja ring leader. The film climaxes a la Alfred Hitchcock or Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins (1985) with a battle to the death against the ninja grand master at the Statue of Liberty. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide

A registered dentist moonlighting as a rapist embarks on a relentless killing spree before framing another man for his crimes in this bloody sequel to Lau Wai-Keung's 1993 exploitation flick Raped By an Angel. Phillip is a psychotic sexual sadist with a penchant for women in uniform. When Phillip tries to rape Jenny and the determined girl resists him with all of her strength, he brutally murders her and sets the crime scene to make it appear as if Peter is responsible for the horrific transgression. Despite Po Wan's suspicion that Phillip is the true perpetrator, she must get dangerously close to the madman in order to get the evidence needed to put him behind bars where he belongs. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide