Eddy Ko Movies
Johnny To's police drama PTU details the ramifications of an officer losing his weapon. Seargant Lo (Lam Suet), head of the police anti-crime division, finds his gun missing after an altercation with a gang. Police Tactical Unit (PTU) team leader Mike Ho (Simon Yam), not wanting to get the soon-to-be-promoted Lo in hot water, gives him some time to recover the firearm. While Li and Mike attempt to find the gun before the gang kills anyone with it, police investigators suspect that there may be corruption within the PTU. To filmed the picture off-and-on for over two years before it played at the 2003 Berlin Film Festival. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
Veteran Hong Kong director Johnnie To spins this wild, kinetic crime thriller. Following a failed assassination attempt on his life, crime boss Lung (Ko Hung), instructs his henchman Frank (Simon Yam) to find the villain behind the plot. Frank soon hires a quintet of hired guns to guard the boss, including the laconic Curtis (Anthony Wong), the flinty Roy (Francis Ng) and his protégé Shin (Jackie Lui), the haggard Mike (Roy Cheung), and firearms expert and peanut enthusiast James (Lam Suet). The group manages to thwart three attempts on the old man's life -- one from a sniper, a second in a shopping mall, and the third in an old warehouse -- until they figure out that rival crime boss Fat Chung (Wong Tin-lan) had order the hit. This film was screened at the 2000 Berlin Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anthony Wong, Francis Ng, (more)
Detectives Martin Riggs (Mel Gibson) and Roger Murtaugh (Danny Glover) reteamed for their fourth foray together in this buddy-cop action-comedy series based on characters created by Shane Black. With the passage of years, Murtagh's daughter Rianne (Traci Wolfe) is now about to upgrade Murtagh to grandfather status, while Riggs' relationship with Internal Affairs officer Lorna Cole (Rene Russo) means he'll become a proud papa. Elsewhere on the family front, Chinese triad members in Los Angeles smuggle families from the mainland, but this is only one item on the criminal agenda of triad leader Wah Sing Ku (Jet Li), who executes balletic martial arts maneuvers with blinding speed (fight sequences were staged by Hong Kong director Corey Yuen). The film opens with fire (when Riggs and Murtaugh encounter a flame-thrower in a bulletproof suit) and travels an entertaining popcorn plot path to a frightening, watery climax (which we won't reveal here). In between, Riggs and Murtaugh tackle the troublesome triads with an assist from wickedly witty, sharp-edged newcomer Lee Butters (Chris Rock) and private detective Leo Getz (Joe Pesci), the character first seen as a mob accountant in the second film of this highly popular series. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mel Gibson, Danny Glover, (more)
Prepare for the hardest hitting martial arts action since Bruce Lee as Donnie Yen reprises the role made famous by the tragic screen legend in this made-for-television effort inspired by Lee's timeless classic Fist of Fury. As the dejected citizens of Shanghai cower in fear of the Japanese occupation, Chen Jun (Yen) joins the Jin Wu Martial Arts Academy in hopes of refining his skills and striking back at his oppressors through the formation of a well-organized underground resistance. When Chen's master (Eddy Ko) is poisoned by the leaders of the Japanese occupation, the furious student puts his skills to the ultimate test by embarking on a skull-cracking revenge spree that will leave martial arts fans breathless. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Donnie Yen
After their parents are murdered by bandits, Chen Jun (Donnie Yen) and his younger sister are forced to journey to Shanghai in order to raise enough money to rebuild their homes. Neither of them, particularly Chen, realized just how dangerous city life could be. Chen quickly finds himself the member of a gang, which nearly gets him killed. Finally, he becomes a student of kung fu master Fok Yuen Gaap (Eddy Ko). This film also features Hung Yen Yen and Lau Chi-wing.
~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Donnie Yen, Eddy Ko, (more)
Brandy Yeun directs this unusual look at Bodhidharma, the man credited for bringing Zen philosophy China and for creating kung fu. The film opens with young prince Puti Tara (Derek Yee Tung-sing), who following the death of his father, decides to become a monk and follow teachings of Prajna Tara. Years later, Puti Tara changes his name to Dharma and ventures over the Himalayas to China where he discovers to his dismay that central tenets of Buddhism is rapidly being forgotten. Over the next years and decades, Bodhidharma works to spread the Buddha's philosophy, and demonstrating his strength by mediating for nine years without food nor water. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Derek Yee, Chen Sung-Yung, (more)
- 1990
Police Academy meets Ghostbusters in this wild and woolly horror-comedy directed by Chen Chi-hua. When police inspector Chan (Eddy Ko Hung) finds himself the target of vengeful ghosts as the result of some mean-spirited act by a distant ancestor, he follows his Taoist priest's advice and assembles a variety of male and female officers from the rank and file to be a part of a special ghost-thwarting task force. During their rigorous training regime, they learn the finer points of taking on the undead -- placing used panties on a ghoulie's head is one tried and true method -- while at night the cadets gamble, drink, and engage in all forms of sexual intrigue. This film also features Sandra Ng as Madam Lee, a world-weary ghost-busting veteran. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
A group of Chinese soldiers take on a vicious drug lord in Heroes Shed No Tears, an early film from famed director John Woo. The action takes place in Southeast Asia's Golden Triangle, notorious as one of the largest international centers of drug trafficking. As the film begins, an elite commando force is deep within the Triangle, launching an extremely bloody attack on the headquarters of drug kingpin General Samton. The raid ends with the successful capture of Samton -- but that is only the beginning of the their mission. The greater challenge lies in surviving long enough to bring their captive across the border of Thailand. During their journey, the group must struggle against Samton's henchmen and a brutal Vietnamese colonel they encounter along the way. While there is plenty of firepower in evidence, many of the action sequences lack the same level of elegance and style as Woo's later work. Instead, the film veers between moments of slapstick and horrific brutality of war in a fashion that would be more successful in his later Bullet in the Head. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eddy Ko
- 1983
Hong Kong filmmaker Brandy Yuen wrote and directed this breezy sports comedy set in the 1960s soccer scene. Yuen Biao stars as Lee Tong, who leaves his remote farming village after accidentally injuring the chieftain's son and travels to the big city. While settling in, Lee meets Suen (Cheung Kwok-keung), an aspiring soccer player who encourages him to audition for the Luen Wah team. Unfortunately, Lee falls for a trap, as he had earlier disgraced the team's star player, King (Dick Wei), who is eager to get revenge. Lee becomes the team's ballboy and is subjected to repeated humiliation, but finally gets his chance to shine when King accepts a bribe to throw a match and has Lee take his place, assuming that the lowly ballboy will make a fool of himself. As has become standard procedure in films like this, Lee singlehandedly leads the team to victory, gets the stuffing beat out of him as punishment, and finally redeems himself one-on-one in a climactic showdown with King. Moon Lee co-stars with Eddy Ko. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Yuen Biao
- 1979
Within the walls of Shum Castle, a flock of butterflies seems to have acquired a taste for blood. In this complex tale, a classic of Hong Kong cinema, writer Fong, who knows nothing of martial arts, unravels the mystery with the help of his fearless female companion, the lovely Green Shadow. Together they face robots from the future, the aforementioned butterflies, and martial artists from their present. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lau Siu-Ming
- 1976
Respect for people with connections in high places is so great in Chinese society that a simple newspaper photo of the head of the Manix Detective Agency shaking hands with an important government official is enough to win him scores of clients, though his track record is somewhat spotty. Despite this, he has enough work to consistently get into a lot of trouble in the most unexpected places (i.e., a supermarket). He has double the fun when he hires a young man who was fired from his job in a bottling factory for practicing kung fu on soda bottles. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Hui, Ricky Hui, (more)
