Bowie Lam Movies
Superstar comedian Stephen Chow continues with his streak of successful of his courtroom-themed comedies, like Justice, My Foot and Hail to the Judge, with this yarn set in 1899. Chan (Chiau) is not only a brilliant lawyer, but also a master practical joker known far and wide as "The King of Brain-trusters." His perennial victim is the long-suffering Foon (Eric Kot), his clueless assistant. After 20 years of putting up with Chan's japing, Foon one day freaks out and flees to Hong Kong, which has just been placed under British law. When Foon winds up with a murder rap, Chan ventures down to the colony looking to free him. Unfortunately, Chan's buffoonery soon lands him jail for contempt of court and his wife, Wu-man (Karen Mok Man-wai) is forced to take over. Yau Chingmy, Bowie Lam, and Law Kar-ying also appear. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- 1996
The cynical bite of this Hong Kong comedy will be most appreciated by those intimate with the culture as it comments upon those who use superstition and religion for their own benefit. Fung was raised in a Buddhist temple and so has the first-hand knowledge needed to run a first-class scam with his buddy Chi. Things go well until Chi tries for more than his share. After they split, Chi becomes a renowned, wealthy television prophet. Fung enacts his revenge by staging miraculous healing sessions with an unemployed actor posing as a priest. Sure enough the ploy works and Chi tries to lure the magical priest, Chun, to his camp. The trouble begins when Chun begins believing that he really can heal the sick. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Hard-Boiled is the last film directed by Hong Kong action auteur John Woo before his arrival in the U.S. This 1992 thriller, along with The Killer, is widely seen as one of his best from his Hong Kong days. Every ingredient of the quintessential Woo thriller is present, including his ever-present anti-hero (Chow Yun-Fat). Yun-Fat portrays a maverick, clarinet-playing cop nicknamed "Tequila" whose partner is killed in the dizzying chaos of a restaurant gunfight with a small army of gangsters. It is soon revealed that one of the mob's high-ranking assassins is Tony (Tony Leung), an undercover cop who, despite his badge, is dangerously close to the edge. Tequila and Tony must team up in a tense partnership, and their common pursuit of a vicious crime lord results in a brilliantly elaborate climax in a hospital, where the heroes must rescue newborn babies from the maternity ward while fighting off dozens of mob soldiers. The characters Tequila and Tony are two sides of the same coin, another trademark theme of Woo's films that would later be most fully realized with Nicolas Cage and John Travolta in the American hit Face/Off. ~ Jonathan E. Laxamana, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chow Yun-Fat, Bowie Lam, (more)
