Chin Ka-lok Movies
- 1997
Jacob Cheung directed this $1.5 million Hong Kong lesbian drama. Shot in China, the film was first shown in Hong Kong in a two-hour version, but a longer version, the director's cut, runs 158 minutes. In 1990s San Francisco, designer Wai (Theresa Lee) has friction with her boyfriend Wah (Winston Chau). Wai moves her father's former servant, aged Auntie Foon (Gua Ah-leh), into her apartment, later taking her to China to reside at a Guangzhou (Canton) retirement home. During the trip, the older woman experiences flashbacks to the '30s and '40s, a time of bittersweet memories when Japanese bombs separated her from her lover. These flashbacks follow the young Foon (Charlie Young), who ignores her parents' wishes and joins the Comb Women sisterhood, the women of southern China's Pearl River delta who "combed their own hair" (meaning they chose chastity over marriage). Foon is working at a spinning factory when she's seen by Wan (Carina Liu), wife number eight of silk-merchant Siu Tung (Tung Wei). Wan hires Foon as a maid and becomes jealous when Foon is attracted to fisherman Hung Ngau (Chin Karlok). Foon is stunned when Wan confesses her love for Foon, but the women finally become a couple after Hung Ngau rejects Foon. Amidst Japanese bombing raids, as Siu Tung tries to get Wan to safety, tragedy erupts, as the story continues to dissolve back and forth between past and present. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Carina Liu, Charlie Yeung, (more)
Four young Chinese boys will defend their country against the Japanese in this World War II action drama. Fighting under the name "The 4 Little Fortunes", the boys utilize the martial arts passed down by their ancestors in order to defeat the years old enemy that now threatens their honor. ~ Cammila Albertson, All Movie Guide
A cheeky beer promotion girl (Miriam Yeung) falls for a hard-drinking, hard-luck French-Chinese fusion cuisine chef (Daniel Wu) in a dazzling romantic comedy from One Night in Mongkok director Derek Yee. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Daniel Wu, Miriam Yeung, (more)
- 1992
Casey Chan Lai-ying directs this Hong Kong/Japanese co-production about a pair of Hong Kong cops -- Julia Cheung (Sibelle Hu Hui-chung) and Teddy (Chin Kar-lok) -- who arrive too late to prevent crazed Japanese detective Sato from murdering a group of mobsters from notorious crime boss Jimmy Lee's syndicate. Teddy eventually catches up with Sato, only to let him go because they are longtime friends. Lee, who lost two sons in the melee, blames Teddy and kills him along with his entire family, save Teddy's sister Sally who is also Sato's girlfriend. Soon Lee's henchmen are heading to Japan to track down Sato, as is Julia, but for entirely different reasons. Karate master Sonny Chiba also appears. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sibelle Hu, Chin Ka-lok, (more)
A fearless Chinese immigrant uses Wushu to defend his people from a violent gang of brothers in this period martial arts action thriller starring Michael Chin and David Bao. When Chinese immigrants descend upon a small mining town, they immediately clash with a gang of vengeful siblings. Only by employing the lethal power of Wushu will the brave warrior succeed in awakening the power of the Four Dragons and defeating an enemy of unprecedented strength. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
Derek Yee Tung-sing remakes Jacob Cheung's Goodbye Hero with this tale about an aging stuntman and motorcycle racer. Joe's (Andy Lau Tak-wah) formerly stellar career is languishing with a suspended license. Worse, he hates his father and is bored by his timid, dull girlfriend, Yee (Gigi Leung Wing-kei). Some young hotshot named David Kwan (David Wu Tai-wai), who has joined his father's racing team, is threatening to top him on the racing circuit. With new license in hand, Joe gets into an ugly accident that lands him in the hospital for a very long time. There, Joe re-evaluates his life and realizes what is really important to him. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
After his Hollywood debut (Maximum Risk), Hong Kong director Ringo Lam returned to his homeland for the 34-day shoot of this $13 million action pic. After cops find a corpse and bomb chemicals, Inspector Pao (Lau Ching-wan) arrests suspect Mak Kwan (Francis Ng), hoping his girlfriend will lead them to his Taiwan gang, but Mak makes an escape and the girlfriend makes off for Macao. Pao figures that the gang will go for the $230 million at the Hong Kong Jockey club. Shown at 1997 film festivals (Rotterdam, Berlin). ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lau Ching-Wan, Francis Ng, (more)
Academy Award-winning director Ang Lee adapts this Eileen Chang story set in World War II-era Shanghai that details the political intrigue surrounding a powerful political figure named Mr. Yee (Tony Leung) in Japanese-occupied Shanghai. Spanning the late '30s and early '40s, the movie introduces us to Hong Kong teen Wong Chia Chi (Tang Wei), a shy college freshman who finds her calling in a drama society devoted to patriotic plays. But the troupe's leader, Kuang Yu Min (Wang Leehom), isn't just a theater maven -- he's a revolutionary as well, and he's devoted to carrying out a bold plan to assassinate top Japanese collaborator Mr. Yee. Each student has an important role to play, and Wong puts herself in a dangerous position as Mrs. Mak; she befriends Mr. Yee's wife (Joan Chen), and slowly gains trust before tempting him into an affair. While at first the plan goes exactly as scripted, things suddenly take a deadly turn and Wong is emigrated from Hong Kong. Later, in 1941, the occupation shows no signs of ceasing and Wong is simply drifting through her days in Shanghai. Much to her surprise, the former actress finds Kuang requesting that she resume the role of Mrs. Mak. Now, as Wong again gains intimate access to her dangerous prey, she must struggle with her own identity in order to pull off the performance of a lifetime. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, Tang Wei, (more)
- 1997
A crack shot with a cool head and an eye for beautiful dames, Mumble Chow, private detective, embarks upon one of his most challenging cases when a pretty femme fatale lures him to the home of a triad boss looking for his missing daughter Cher. Stuffed with action, comedy and beautiful women, this exciting Hong Kong-set detective adventure is based on a popular Japanese manga. Before becoming a gumshoe, Ben Chow had been a marksman with one of the city's most elite commando police units. He got fired after arriving late to a training exercise that ended in disaster. As a detective, he meets Cher by accident when he saves her from a deadly situation. After going to work for her father, he manages to find the missing girl and bring her home. The murder of her oily fiancé, causes the triad boss to hire Mumble as Cher's new bodyguard. That's fine with the detective, for he wants to kindle a relationship with her. At the same time, he is quietly stalked by a vengeful woman who is convinced that Mumble murdered her father. Other troubles arise when someone kidnaps Cher's father, and Mumble finds out that his former commando buddies are out to fulfill a contract on his head. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Chow, Pauline Suen, (more)
A deadly car accident threatens to cause a violent gang war on the crowded streets on Hong Kong's Mongkok district in writer/director Derek Yee's thriller One Night in Mongkok. Officer Milo (Alex Fong)'s task force is assigned to the case when a gangster's son is accidentally killed during a drunken dispute with a rival gang. He soon learns that a hitman has been hired to take out the rival gang leader. While Milo and his crew desperately try to find and stop the hired gun, fearing all-out war in the streets, Lai Fu (Daniel Wu), a smart but inexperienced killer from a small town in the mainland, arrives in Hong Kong to do his job. A decent sort, he intercedes when he sees a thug threatening a prostitute at his hotel. She turns out to be Dan Dan (Cecilia Cheung from Running on Karma), from a small town not far from his own. Dan Dan is a very practical young woman, and when she sees the wad of cash Lai Fu is carrying (half of his payment for the job), she pretty much latches onto him. Since she knows her way around town, this turns out to be a help to Lai Fu when he finds out that the contractor who hired him has ratted him out to the cops. As it turns out, Lai Fu isn't really that interested in killing for money, and has an ulterior, more benign motive for his trip into town. But the cops and assorted bad guys are closing in anyway. One Night in Mongkok, winner of the 2004 Hong Kong Film Award for Best Director and Best Screenplay, had its New York premiere at the 2005 New York Asian Film Festival, presented by Subway Cinema. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Daniel Wu, Cecilia Cheung, (more)
In this second of three "Swordsman" martial arts thrillers, the swordsman Ling Jet Li is traveling with his sister to a religious retreat when they are informed that the leader of the sect has been captured by a mysterious being who has been transformed into a nearly immortal woman through the agency of a sacred scroll. At the same time, the Japanese are once again threatening to take over the Chinese mainland, and this dire fate can only be thwarted by a heroic few. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jet Li, Brigitte Lin, (more)
Jackie Chan returns in one of his greatest roles in this action-comedy sequel to his 1978 Hong Kong blockbuster Drunken Master. Wong Fei Hong (Chan) is a young master of the martial art of "drunken boxing," in which fighters use alcohol to blind themselves to pain and release the angry brawler within; with the right amount of drinks under his belt, Hong can become a furious one-man army. Hong accompanies his father (Ti Lung) on a voyage to China, where they purchase a precious supply of ginseng. When Hong discovers thugs stealing from their luggage, he leaps into action to get their belongings back. Instead, he winds up with a box of valuable Chinese artifacts, which criminals are hoping to smuggle to England at a tremendous profit. Hong sets out to fight the gangsters and give the artifacts back to their rightful owners, but while his stepmother (Anita Mui) encourages him to use his drunken boxing skills, his father feels his boozy antics bring shame to the family. Jackie Chan brought some of his most elaborate stunt work to Drunken Master 2, including a remarkable fight on a bed of hot coals; Chan also directed part of the film, after Lau Kar Leung was fired after a number of disagreements with his star. Six years after it became a box office hit in Asia, Drunken Master 2 earned a theatrical release in the United States; the film was re-titled Legend Of The Drunken Master (in part because the original Drunken Master never had a proper theatrical release in America), re-edited, and dubbed into English, with a new score by Michael Wandmacher. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jackie Chan, Ti Lung, (more)
- 2009
A simple Chinese immigrant wages a perilous war against one of the most powerful criminal organizations on the planet in this sprawling action drama directed by Derek Yee (One Night in Mongkok) and starring Jackie Chan, Daniel Wu, and Masaya Kato. In Japan, foreign migrants are shunned by mainstream society. Taunted by the yakuza, they live in constant fear of being discovered and repatriated. Into this perilous world ventures Steelhead (Chan), a humble tractor repairman who has traveled to Tokyo in search of his missing girlfriend, Xiu Xiu (Xu Jinglei), who vanished into thin air shortly after arriving in the city. It doesn't take Steelhead long to learn just what kind of hardships Chinese immigrants in Japan endure at the hands of underworld gangsters and foreign crime syndicates, and upon discovering that Xiu Xiu has adapted a Japanese identity and married up-and-coming yakuza chief Eguichi (Masaya Kato), the two men form an uneasy alliance. Over time, Steelhead earns the respect of his fellow Chinese immigrants by establishing a place for them to gather. But the dark side still beckons to Steelhead, because after helping Eguichi dispense with a powerful rival, he is granted full control of Shinjuku's most popular nightspots. Resistant to the allure of the criminal lifestyle, Steelhead discovers a new love and opens a tractor repair business just outside the city. When Equichi begins using Steelhead's former compatriots as pawns to front the yakuza's drug trade, the vengeful immigrant returns to the city determined to exact justice, even if it means destroying the future of the woman he once loved. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jackie Chan, Naoto Takenaka, (more)
Jackie Chan's son,Jaycee Chan, makes his second big screen appearance, this one opposite neophyte Asian starlet Fiona Sit, in the cross-class romance 2 Young (Cho Suk), authored by Derek Yee. The film -- Yee's sophomore effort -- is a light melodrama charting the emotional textures and ramifications of a love affair between 18-year-old underachiever Fu (Chan) and 16-year-old Nam (Sit). Fu belongs to a lower economic bracket than his paramour, but nothing could matter less to the two lovers, and when her parents head out of town on a Christmas holiday, she becomes expectant. When mom and dad go through the roof, Fu and Nam pull a Paul and Michelle by eloping and setting up house together. Anthony Wong, Eric Tsang, and Teresa Mo co-star. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jaycee Fong, Fiona Sit, (more)
