Daniel Lam Movies
A homicide detective, a botanist with some unconventional theories, and his tabloid TV reporter girlfriend attempt to solve a gruesome murder in this high-concept thriller from The Eye and Bangkok Dangerous director Danny Pang. Botany student Steven is convinced that plants are sentient. He's recently written a doctorate paper on the theory, and spends much of his spare time attempting to prove that plants have a language all their own. Steven's girlfriend Mary works for a major television station, and thanks to a series of sensationalistic reports her career is on the upswing. When the Prime Minister's daughter is abducted, raped, and murdered, the police quickly arrest the prime suspect, a man named Eric. But is Eric really guilty of this heinous crime? In order to find out the truth, Steven conducts a series of tests in hopes that the forest itself may provide an eyewitness account of the brutal crime. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Shu Qi, Ekin Cheng, (more)
Gen X-Cops director Benny Chan helms this action-packed police thriller starring Nicholas Tse, Shawn Yue, and Jaycee Chan. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nicholas Tse, Shawn Yue, (more)
A mentally disturbed girl mistakes a man on the street for the boyfriend who walked out of her life without a sound, only to find out just how deceiving appearances can be in director Oxide Pang's mind-bending psychological thriller. Winnie Leung (Charlene Choi) is a rather plain girl who spends most of her days in her apartment cooking, carving wooden dolls, and waiting quietly alone for her boyfriend, Seth (Shawn Yue), to return. One day, after recording Seth's furtive departure in her diary, Winnie ventures out onto the streets and makes acquaintances with a kind and handsome stranger named Ray (also Yue) after mistaking him for the missing Seth. Later revealing over lunch that Seth had apparently been killed in a tragic car accident, Winnie and Ray form a warm bond, and she eventually invites him to move in with her. As Winnie and Ray gradually begin to grow closer, the parallels between her new relationship with Ray and her old relationship with Seth begin to shed an entirely different light on the events of the recent past. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charlene Choi, Shawn Yue, (more)
When a prominent young author working on her latest novel begins to experience a series of frightening visions, she soon becomes convinced that her latest work is attempting to draw her into an eerie parallel universe in a horrifying tale of fact meets fiction from The Eye directors Danny and Oxide Pang. Ting-yen has risen to much acclaim in the literary community, but in the process of penning her latest novel, the popular writer soon begins to receive visions of a deeply-disturbing alternate reality. As her mind attempts to process the strange visions and the draw of the book becomes ever more powerful, Ting-yen is compelled to tear the pages from her manuscript and discard them in the recycle bin. Unfortunately for Ting-yen, her efforts to purge herself of the strange story only seem to provide the catalyst needed for the malevolent characters to fully manifest themselves in the real world. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lee Sin-Je, Lau Siu-Ming, (more)
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
- Starring:
- Aaron Kwok, Daniel Wu, (more)
Members of the Hong Kong pop group 2Rs star in director Oxide Pang's Ab-normal Beauty. Race Wong plays Jin, a talented art student whose photographs routinely win her school's prizes. Race's older sister Rosanne Wong plays Jas, Jin's best friend, with whom she shares an extremely intimate relationship. Despite the accolades she receives, Jin is dissatisfied with her work. One day, she witnesses a fatal car accident, and impulsively turns her camera on the dying victim. It's a breakthrough for Jin, and she begins to grow more and more obsessed with photographing death. Jin is being pursued by Anson (Anson Leung of One Night in Mongkok), a fellow student who follows her around with a camcorder. Jin tries to make it clear to Anson that she's not interested, but he continues to dog her. As Jin becomes more and more obsessive about death images, she begins flashing back to a traumatic childhood incident of sexual abuse. Jas helps her to confront her past, but just as it seems she is ready to move on with her life, she receives a portfolio of disturbing photos and a videotape of what appears to be a woman being tortured to death. Ab-normal Beauty had its U.S. Premiere at the 2005 Asian American International Film Festival. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Race Wong, Rosanne Wong, (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 supernatural-romance starring pop singer Nicholas Tse and Karena Lam, a deaf courier must choose between a lonely life on Earth or love in the afterlife. Dance student Jane (Lam) and hearing-impaired courier Fung (Tse) first met when Fung delivered Jane her notice of qualification for a local dance competition. When Jane is unexpectedly killed in a tragic automobile accident, her spirit enters Fung's body, giving the lonely delivery boy a new lease on life. Now faced with the prospect of a life alone on the physical plane or sacrificing himself in the name of love, Fung must decide if life is worth living without love. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
One of Hong Kong's top screen comics, Stephen Chow, co-wrote, co-directed, and headlines this three-way blend of sports, action, and humor. Sing (Stephen Chow) is a modern-day Shaolin monk who has become a master of traditional fighting skills, and is renowned for his "leg of steel." However, these days there isn't much call for a Shaolin warrior, and Sing and his fellow monks earn their keep working menial jobs until a soccer coach gets the bright idea of translating Sing's talent for kicking to the soccer field. Sing becomes the lynchpin of a team playing in a tournament that could net them a $1 million purse, but even with Sing's footwork, beating the steroid-fueled champions will be no easy task. Shaolin Soccer also features Man Tat Ng and Vicki Zhao. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stephen Chow, Zhao Wei, (more)
- 1999
Slow Fade is one man's journey to his personal hell and back again. In a nameless city and an unspecified time, Fin (Ken Wong) hits an emotional low when his wife is killed in a car accident. He goes on a binge of self-destruction with heroin. He is salvaged by a young prostitute, Kim Josie Ho whom he meets at the detoxification clinic. Through Kim's eyes, we see Fin's efforts to leave the underworld for the sake of his wife before she died. His best friend Alex (Jimmy Wong), who got him into the crime circuit in the first place, won't let him go. Fin tries to find redemption by helping Kim leave his boss, Chan (Roy Cheung), which sets off a series of betrayals and double crosses that end tragically. The film explores the connections between circumstance and destiny, friendship and betrayal. The director pursues experimental methods of dramatic structure and cinematography while employing modern visual technology such as "cross-processing" -- developing positive film as negative -- to enhance the non-linear narrative which gives the film a special look and feel. Slow Fade was screened as part of the International Forum of New Cinema section of the 49th Berlin Film Festival, 1999. ~ Gönül Dönmez-Colin, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ken Wong, Jimmy Wong, (more)
In this "cops and robbers" film, a raid on a jewelry store staged by a band of amateur hold-up artists goes horribly wrong, leading to a shoot-out. The elite Organized Crime Bureau team, headed by Captain Ching King Gen, is poised to go into action at a moment's notice. Working as a unit, they bring law and order to Hong Kong streets, where they must rely on their courage and skills to survive. Expect the Unexpected is a perfect genre film showing everyday life and reflecting the current situation in Hong Kong after the hand-over to China. "Unexpectedness" is the underlying theme, which also applies to misdirected affections and miscalculations between the cops and the robbers. The favorite line of the film is "You never pay attention to what I say." Expect the Unexpected was screened as part of the International Forum of New Cinema section of the 49th Berlin Film Festival, 1999. ~ Gönül Dönmez-Colin, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lau Ching-Wan, Simon Yam, (more)
