Peter Kwong Movies
- 2000
Jon Bon Jovi and Bai Ling star in this culture-clash romance about a down-and-out ex-con and a lonely Chinese immigrant. Just out of Riker's Island for taking the fall for his thuggish brother Gil (William Forsythe), Jamey (Bon Jovi) lands low-paying work as a door to door census taker. On the job, he happens upon Chun Hua (Ling) who lives with her baby, her grumpy middle-aged husband, and her meddlesome mother-in-law. Taking advantage of her poor English, Jamey asks a series of increasingly personal questions under the guise of official necessity, learning that Chun Hua is desperately lonely in her unhappy arranged marriage. A slow, hesitant relationship develops between the two. Later, Gil stumbles back into Jamey's life, up to his neck in debt with a blood-thirsty Chinese gangster. As a result, Jamey finds himself and especially Chun Hua in danger. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jon Bon Jovi, William Forsythe, (more)
An man gets an unexpected lesson in love and life from a much younger woman in this romantic drama. Will Keane (Richard Gere) is a wealthy 50-year-old restaurant tycoon who has a knack for wooing beautiful women, but is unable to commit to a lasting relationship. On day Will meets a beautiful woman in her early-20s named Charlotte Fielding (Winona Ryder); he turns on the charm in an effort to impress her, and soon the two are having an affair. But what Will thought would be a brief, casual fling proves to have far deeper repercussions when he learns that Charlotte is suffering from a serious illness and does not have long to live. Autumn in New York was directed by actress-turned-filmmaker Joan Chen and co-stars Anthony LaPaglia, Elaine Stritch, and Jillian Hennessy. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Gere, Winona Ryder, (more)
- 1999
Executive-produced by actor Anthony Edwards, the made for TV Border Line is a showcase for Edwards' ER costar Sherry Stringfield, cast as attorney and single mom Allison Westlin. As the representive of the LA-based Fuller Adoption Agency, Allison has never had any reason to question the integrity of her employers--until she stumbles upon the murder of an Asian woman. Investigating, Allison unhappily concludes that the Fuller Agency has been using illegal strongarm tactics abroad, literally snatching babies from the arms of poor and helpless Asian mothers to service their customers. Working hand in glove with Private Eye Mariano (Christopher Reid) and immigration officer Macivers (James LeGros), Allison puts her own life on the line--not to mention those of her daughter and her Hispanic nanny (Elizabeth Pena)--to see that justice is served. Border Line debuted February 22, 1999 on NBC. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
James L. Brooks' showbiz comedy I'll Do Anything is "The Musical That Almost Was" (after test screenings Brooks removed all the musical numbers in the film, turning the film into a songless romantic comedy). Matt Hobbs (Nick Nolte) is a hardly working actor who finds himself raising his 6-year-old daughter Jeannie (Whittni Wright) after her mother Beth (Tracey Ullman) is sent away to prison. Since Matt now has to support a daughter, he has to develop more regular work habits. As a result, he takes a job as a chauffeur for a William Castle-inspired schlockmeister named Burke Adler (Albert Brooks). As Adler develops a relationship with divorced test-marketing researcher Nan Mulhanney (Julie Kavner), Matt becomes romantically attached to beautiful development executive Cathy Breslow (Joely Richardson). ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nick Nolte, Whittni Wright, (more)
- 1993
- R
Andrew Dice Clay trades in dumb yucks for numchucks in Brainsmasher: A Love Story as Ed Molloy, a part-time comic and bouncer who takes on a belligerent gang of ninjas. The story kicks in when supermodel Samantha Crains (Teri Hatcher) receives a red lotus flower from her sister that has to be delivered to Seattle. Samantha makes the delivery only to find that her sister is has been held captive by Shaolin Monks who want the red lotus because it contains "the key to the ultimate power." The two sisters manage to escape the clutches of the mad monks but the Shaolins immediately give chase. Samantha runs into Ed's nightclub, where he prevents her from entering, but when the monks come to get her, Ed holds them off. Impressed by Ed's brawn, she hires him to protect her. The chase continues as Ed and Samantha run from the ever one-step-behind ninjas, climaxing in an extended battle in a go-go bar. During the fight, Ed is captured by the Shaolin monks and Samantha and her sister have to decide whether they should exchange the red lotus flower for Ed. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Andrew Dice Clay, Teri Hatcher, (more)
Made on the proverbial shoestring, Combination Platter represents the directorial debut of 23-year-old Tony Chan. Himself a Hong Kong émigré, Chan draws from his own experiences in detailing the tribulations of illegal immigrant Robert (Jeff Lau), who takes a low-paying job at a Szechuan restaurant in New York (the film was shot in the restaurant owned by Chan's parents!). Robert would like to attain U.S. citizenship and has been told that this will be possible if he marries an American girl. Frightened at this prospect -- -especially since it will set him back 25,000 dollars -- Robert nonetheless scurries about to "Americanize" himself in as short a time as possible. (Did you know that tipping the waiter is considered an insult in China?) The plot is secondary to the film's atmosphere and ambience: the dialogue flows so naturally from the restaurant's patrons and employees that one is hard pressed to believe that a written script (by Tony Chan and Edwin Baker) actually existed. Combination Platter received mainstream distribution after its Best Screenplay award win at the 1993 Sundance Festival. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jeffrey Lau, Colleen O'Brien, (more)
- 1989
- PG13
- Add Gleaming the Cube to Queue
Gleaming the Cube does for skateboarding what Over the Top did for arm wrestling -- i.e. not a hell of a lot. Christian Slater is the skateboarding star, playing Brian Kelly, a sneering and laconic teen outcast. He feels left out and envious of his adopted Vietnamese brother Vinh's (Art Chudabala) success as an honor roll student and as the center of attention in his family. When Vinh commits suicide, Brian is suspicious and rolls away on his skateboard to find out what really happened -- and ultimately to avenge his murder. Brian's investigation is aided and abetted by a sardonic detective named Al Lucero (Steven Bauer), a collection of skateboard aficionados, and an incredibly attractive Vietnamese girl, Tina (Min Luong). ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Christian Slater, Steven Bauer, (more)
This action-adventure film is based on a novel by Edgar Wallace. In the story, Colonel Smith (Ernest Borgnine) is an aging military man whose son is a CIA agent. His son has been captured by a bevy of iron-curtain bad-guys involved in a civil war in the African country of Angola, and Col. Smith is determined to rescue him. He puts together a group of military types to effect the rescue, and runs afoul of all sorts of nefarious characters in the process, including an East German military advisor (Robert Vaughn) and a shady diamond company security chief (Oliver Reed). Lovely Sam (Nancy Mulford) adds visual interest to the rescue team, and manages some dandy hand-to-hand combat moves. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ernest Borgnine, Robert Vaughn, (more)
It doesn't take long for the alleged story line to disappear from this kickboxer feeding-frenzy of a film so the real action can begin. Supposedly the movie is about an Olympic-caliber kickboxer who leaves Paris, headed to "some" southern California school to get an engineering degree and help train a kickboxing team. But it's really an effort to show how many Mexican- American hoodlums one artful foot flinger can dispatch. ~ All Movie Guide
San Francisco detective Jay Austin (Mark Harmon) is assigned to investigate the murder of a female MP at the 212-year-old Presidio army base in this crime drama. Jay must interview Lieutenant Colonel Caldwell (Sean Connery), his former commander from his military days. The two must overcome their past and present differences to track down the killer as they manage to stumble across a smuggling operation relating to the murder. Jay falls for Caldwell's pretty daughter Donna (Meg Ryan), who proves to be as forceful as her father. Highlights of the film are the chase scene through Chinatown and Connery's exceptional performance. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sean Connery, Mark Harmon, (more)
- 1988
Yvonne Wilder and John Aprea make their first series appearances as Irene and Nick Katsopolis, the bombastic parents of Uncle Jesse (John Stamos). After selling his first TV jingle, Jesse decides to give up his job with the family's extermination business and become a full-time musician--if only he can work up enough nerve to tell Irene and Nick. Meanwhile, a terrified Stephanie (Jodie Sweetin) prepares to have her first cavity treated by the family dentist (Peter Kwong). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1987
- R
An alcoholic Vietnam vet who has lost both his wife and his job as a cop while struggling to adjust to civilian life in southern California heads out for unintentionally hilarious revenge against the newly immigrated Vietnamese drug lord who slaughtered his best friend and his family in this campy "Rambo-esque" actioner. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1986
- R
In this James Bond parody, the evil villain is also an evil villainess, Velvet Von Ragner (Gene Simmons), an androgynous, leather-bound cross-dressing criminal genius out to finish off all of L.A. by contaminating the city's water supply. Standing in the way of his/her success is undercover agent Drew Stargrove (George Lazenby), but he does not stand for long. Once he has been slain, his son Lance (John Stamos) takes up the fight assisted by Danja Deering (Vanity) who has the requisite sex appeal for her job. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Stamos, Vanity, (more)
Playing in a manner that can be conservatively described as larger than life, Kurt Russell plays a macho truck driver who agrees to go to the San Francisco airport and pick up his friend's (Dennis Dun) fiancee (Suzee Pai, freshly arrived from China. Suddenly, a gang of Chinatown toughs kidnap the girl right before Russell's eyes. After a wild chase sequence, Russell discovers that the girl has been abducted by a genuine, bonafide sorceror (James Hong), the ghost of a 3000 year old warlord. And that's just for starters. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kurt Russell, Kim Cattrall, (more)
Eddie Murphy followed up his Beverly Hills Cop success with this fantasy adventure that plops him right into the land of Ray Harryhausen and Indiana Jones. The plot revolves around a God-like youngster (J.L. Reate) known as a "golden child," who has been sent to Tibet to bring the gift of compassion to humanity. But the devil isn't idle, sending his emissary, Sardo Numspa (Charles Dance) to kidnap the golden child. Sardo absconds with the child and takes off to Los Angeles. In L.A., a beautiful Tibetan priestess named Kee Nang (Charlotte Lewis) seeks out Chandler Jarrell (Eddie Murphy), a social worker and self-styled "finder of lost children." She tells Chandler he has been chosen to rescue the magical child from the devil and save the world from evil. Before Chandler can let go of his first riposte, he finds himself holding a magic dagger, following a sacred parakeet, and under-going several trials by fire. He also falls in love with Kee Nang, who at one point in the film has to be brought back from the dead. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eddie Murphy, Charles Dance, (more)
- 1984
Actress Theresa Saldana plays herself in this gut-wrenching fact-based TV movie. The film begins with Ms. Saldana being savagely attacked by a stalking fan in her own home in 1982. Sustaining multiple stab wounds, Saldana lies near death for quite some time, but eventually pulls together physically and emotionally. But that's only the first half of the story. In the second, Saldana, determined to assuage the pain of others who've suffered from violent attacks, establishes Victims for Victims. The most sobering realization vis-a-vis Victims for Victims is the fact that Theresa Saldana's assailant may very well be paroled someday--a contingency that the actress, and her organization, has been forced to counteract ever since that fateful evening in 1982. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1983
The Golden Pagoda, a Chinese restaurant owned by Wan Chu (James Hong) and sponsored by the A-Team, has been targeted for harassment by a local criminal gang. Things take a sinister turn when it is revealed that Tommy Chen (Peter Kwong), the boyfriend of Wan Chu's daughter Sun (Lydia Lei), is working with the villains, who are determined to smuggle infamous drug dealer Chris Tomas (Paul Mantee into the country. Once the A-Team is involved, the viewer can be assured of an explosive climax--literally, in this case! The episode's title refers to the latest delusion of Team member Murdock (Dwight Schultz), who this week imagines himself to be Humphrey Bogart) ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1982
In this drama, undercover investigators are recruited from the streets to prevent arms smugglers from getting their weapons to street gangs. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1982
- PG
This dismal sci-fi comedy is based on a novel by Kurt Vonnegut and features Jerry Lewis and Madeline Kahn in dual roles as wealthy, respected parents who give birth to two gigantic, and ugly twins. The appalled parents try to keep them hidden away for they do not know that their "children" are really alien ambassadors who have come to help make the Earth a better place. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jerry Lewis, Madeline Kahn, (more)
Paroled criminal Max Dembo (Dustin Hoffman) is compelled to withstand the calculated cruelties of slimy parole officer Earl Frank (M. Emmet Walsh). The more Max tries to go straight, the more he is defeated by circumstance or hectored by the sadistic Frank. It becomes clear after a while that neither Max nor his fellow ex-cons will be able to survive looking for legitimate work. Max is too "far gone" as a human being to succeed at anything other than crime. He goes back to his old thieving ways, inveigling reformed crook Jerry Schue (Harry Dean Stanton) into helping him. A climactic "big caper" goes tragically awry, thanks in great part to the tragic flaws in Max's personality. Based on a novel by Edward Bunker, Straight Time is possibly the most realistic cinematic probe into the sociopathic psyche of the career criminal. Famed theatrical director and instructor Ulu Grosbard directed, with an uncredited assist from star Hoffman; it was their second film together, after Who Is Harry Kellerman and Why Is He Saying Those Terrible Things About Me? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dustin Hoffman, Theresa Russell, (more)
