Teddy Zee Movies
- 2007
Fresh off the success of his Humanitas Award-winning third feature The Motel, director Michael Kang weaves this modern noir drama detailing the events that transpire when a New York lawyer (John Cho) inadvertently becomes mixed-up with a gang of violent Korean gangsters. Former Dreamworks investor and South Korean film giant CJ Entertainment finances a film produced by Teddy Zee and featuring a special appearance by Marrying the Mafia star Jung Jun-ho. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
The rousing, true-life story of a single dad who went from living on the streets to owning his own brokerage firm is brought to the big screen by superstar Will Smith, appearing for the first time opposite his real-life son Jaden Smith. Set in early-'80s San Francisco, the film charts the hard times and eventual comeback of Chris Gardner, a suddenly single salesman who has custody of his son, but finds that providing for the two of them is a challenge in the increasingly unstable economic climate. He struggles to work his way from unpaid intern at Dean Witter to something more substantial, even as life continues to offer him setbacks. Making his Hollywood debut, Italian director Gabriele Muccino was championed by Will Smith for the project. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Will Smith, Jaden Smith, (more)
A man who teaches dateless wonders how to become irresistible to women learns just how hard it can be to do it yourself in this romantic comedy. When a guy in New York City wants to make the right impression with a certain lady, Alex "Hitch" Hitchens (Will Smith) is the man he calls. Hitch has made a career out of coordinating a man's first three dates so that they'll show him to his best advantage (for a price, of course), and more than a few have taken women to the altar they first started courting with Hitch's help. But Hitch discovers his own romantic limitations when he falls for Sara (Eva Mendes), a journalist who has her own ideas about romance, and might just expose Hitch's underground business to the world. In the midst of all this, Hitch has his hands full with Albert, a sweet but socially inept man who has enlisted Hitch's services. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Will Smith, Eva Mendes, (more)
An Asian-American woman and her mother both find their private lives are becoming a family matter in this romantic comedy-drama. Wilhelmina Pang (Michelle Krusiec) is a surgeon living in Manhattan whose mother (Joan Chen) is eager for her to settle down with a nice man and get married. What Ma doesn't know is that Wilhelmina happens to be a lesbian -- or rather, Ma prefers not to acknowledge it, since she once walked in on Wilhelmina and her girlfriend several years before. As it happens, Wilhelmina is looking for someone special in her life, and thinks she may have found her in Vivian (Lynn Chen), a beautiful dancer, but a fear of commitment and a desire to keep her medical career on track is making their relationship problematic. As Wilhelmina tries to get her love life in order, her mother's shifts into crisis mode. Ma, a 48-year-old widow, has just discovered she's pregnant, and her staunchly traditional father (Li Zhiyu) will not allow her back into the home they share until she's married someone respectable. Unwilling to name the father of her baby, Ma is forced to move in with Wilhelmina, and while enduring the emotional roller coaster of pregnancy she is being pressured by friends and relatives to marry Cho (Nathaniel Geng), a sweet but boring man she doesn't especially like. Saving Face was the first feature film from writer and director Alice Wu. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michelle Krusiec, Joan Chen, (more)
An egotistical TV reporter learns to appreciate the good things in life thanks to an eccentric, homeless clairvoyant in this old-fashioned romantic comedy from director Stephen Herek (Mr. Holland's Opus). Seattle native Lanie Kerrigan (Angelina Jolie) has spent most of her adult existence trying to live down her gawky, geeky adolescence: She toils for hours at the gym to keep cellulite at bay; she's managed to snag an engagement to a star baseball player (Christian Kane); and through her chipper puff pieces on the nightly news, she's cultivated a loyal following of couch potatoes who pester her for autographs. She's ready to take the next step to national news when her boss suggests she further hone her skills with ace cameraman Pete Scanlon (Edward Burns), who also happens to be an old flame of Lanie's. Her comfortable but shallow existence begins to change the moment she and Pete do a story on Prophet Jack (Tony Shaloub), a sage soothsayer who spouts unusually accurate predictions to passers-by in exchange for spare change. Jack offers up the theory that Lanie will not get her cushy promotion; in fact, he says she'll die within a week. When Jack's other prophecies start coming true, Lanie starts living each day as if it were her last -- much to the dismay of her co-workers and her fiancé. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Angelina Jolie, Edward Burns, (more)
