David Chan Movies

Jackie Chan tones down the martial arts action but turns up the international espionage in this globe-trotting adventure. Buck Yuen (Jackie Chan) is a sporting goods salesman from Hong Kong who daydreams of living the exciting and dangerous life of an international spy. One day, Buck makes the news after he accidentally stops a gang of bank robbers from getting away with the loot, and his brief moment of celebrity attracts the attention of Many Liu (Eric Tsang), a low-rent private detective who's looking for help with a missing person's case. One of Many's clients is looking for his long-lost son, and Many thinks Buck is just the guy to help track him down. Buck signs on, and is sent to Korea, where he meets a mysterious man named Mr. Park; Buck doesn't think he's the man Many wants, but he wonders if he might be his own father, who disappeared when he was a child. Buck makes the acquaintance of Carmen (Kim Min-jeong), an attractive journalist who tips off Buck that Mr. Park is actually an infamous North Korean espionage agent; Buck confronts Mr. Park, who has suddenly fallen ill, and Park on his deathbed tells Buck a riddle that, if properly decoded, could lead him to a great fortune. As Buck and Carmen try to unravel the mystery of Mr. Park's final words, their adventures lead them to Istanbul, where the fate of millions is suddenly put into Buck's hands when he discovers a deadly biological weapon coveted by Mr. Zen (Wu Hsing-kuo), a ruthless Chinese crime boss. One of Jackie Chan's most lavish Hong Kong-based vehicles, Takmo Mai Sing was a massive commercial success there, where it did impressive business opening on the Chinese New Year. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

A romance split -- appropriately enough -- into 12 sections, Aubrey Lam's 12 Ye examines the vicissitudes of the relationship between Jeannie (Cecilia Cheung), a flight attendant, and Alan (Eason Chan), a materialistic business man. The two meet on Jeannie's birthday after she has a fight with her boyfriend; Alan takes her home and what follows is a year spent exploring the ups and downs of love, "he-said-she-said" politics, and basic human needs. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide

In this fast-moving, light-hearted thriller from Hong Kong, Macy (Kelly Chen) is supposed to marry her Japanese boyfriend Takahashi (Toru Nakamura) during a trip to Las Vegas, but instead he leaves her at the altar. Told that Takhashi has returned to Tokyo, Macy and her friend Yung (Ekin Cheng) decide to fly to Japan and find him. Macy and Yung decide professional assistance may be in order, so they retain the services of Lam (Tony Leung Chiu-wai), a detective from China now living in Tokyo. Lam and his right-hand woman Saori (Cecilia Cheung) swing into action, learning that Takahashi's situation is a bit more complicated than anyone imagined. What's more, a dangerous gangster, Ito (Hiroshi Abe), has gotten involved in the case. Dungging Gungleuk was a major box-office hit in Hong Kong but went directly to video in the United States under the title Tokyo Raiders. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

A team of adventurers are out to save the world in this tongue-in-cheek action comedy from Hong Kong. Mac (Leon Lai), Michelle (Michelle Saram), Bird (Jordan Chan), and Sam (Sam Lee) are the Skyline Cruisers, a team of elite, super-intelligent, crime-fighting secret agents who are called in for only the most important assignments. When it's learned that arch-villain Kam (Patrick Lung) has stolen the latest innovation from one of the world's leading medical research labs -- a possible cure for cancer -- the Skyline Cruisers are sent into action, and they travel to Kuala Lumpur to track down Kam's compound and bring back the formula. However, the Cruisers are met by an unexpected ally -- June (Shu Qi), who says she's Kam's secretary and wants to help them recover the drug. San Tau Chi Saidoi was originally announced as a sequel to the 1997 Hong Kong hit Downtown Torpedoes, though the producers later denied any connection between the two films. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

This third film in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series finds the half-shelled ninjas traveling back in time to 17th-century Japan in order to save April O'Neil (Paige Turco). Once there, they also use their skills to help a rebel army battle an evil leader. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide

Rodney Dangerfield plays it cute in this comedy directed by veteran director Sidney J. Furie. Dangerfield plays Chester Lee, a man so anxious for a promotion that he agrees to coach a girl's soccer team his company is sponsoring. If the team has a winning season, Chester will get his promotion. The only problem is that Chester knows nothing about soccer and the team is incompetent. If Chester doesn't get his raise he won't be able to marry his sweetheart Bess (Illene Graff), so he persuades his son Matthew (Jonathan Brandis), who is an expert soccer player, to don a wig and join the team as one of the girls. With Matthew on the team, they make their way to the championship, but Bess discovers the ruse and forces Chester to chose between her and the job. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

In Taipei, Taiwan, a television executive is helping the emcee of a television show about child prodigies prepare for a segment featuring a young chess prodigy. While he does this, he remembers a visit to the mainland at the time of the Cultural Revolution to visit a cousin. While traveling by train, he encountered another chess player who was on his way to a prison camp. As he wonders what happened to him, the film cuts back and forth between the two different stories. One is about the cutthroat competition the prodigy must face in 1980s Taipei, the other is about tournament competition in Chinese labor camps in the 1960s. This film looks like two films cobbled together, because that's exactly what it is. After the director of the prison-camp chess match film walked off the job, the film sat on the shelf until the producer could think up a way to finish it. His solution was to shoot a parallel, contemporary story and intercut between the two. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

In this antic comedy, Michael Hui stars as the editor of a struggling Hong Kong tabloid, the "Truth Weekly." In his never-ending quest to ensure readership, he sometimes has to contrive facts to fit his stories. In this movie, he has assigned one of his reporters (Samuel Hui, Michael's brother in real life) to be the "secret boyfriend" of a popular starlet. In that role, Samuel hides out in bushes only to pop out of them long enough to be photographed with the starlet, and otherwise behaves like a consummate pest - all on the instructions of his conniving boss. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

Michael Hui both directed and stars in this entertaining comedy as an inventive, plucky musician. He overhears some gangsters plotting a murder in an alleyway and when he is caught, he tries to fake blindness to escape with his life (and limbs) intact. Ultimately, the hapless musician is rescued by his roommate, a female band member. He ends up tagging along on a trip to Bangkok with her all-girl band. After arriving in Bangkok with this bevy of musicians, the young man begins to fall for one of them. But as he soon finds out, romantic life never develops in a flawless straight line. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Popular Hong Kong comedy trio Michael, Sam and Ricky Hui star in this box-office smash hit. Chou Sai-cheng (Michael Hui Koon-man) runs Wong's security company with an iron fist. Called "The Crab" by his haggard employees because he walks like Charles Bronson, Chou is in charge of training the employees in all manners of self-protection, ranging from the odd to the bafflingly stupid. Sam (Sam Hui Koon-kit) and Ricky (Ricky Hui Koon-ying) are Chou favorite targets of abuse. Yet the Chou soon finds the shoe is on the other foot when Ricky gets promoted after saving the day in a botched bank heist. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide

The old-fashioned aristocrat in this story has just married a beautiful, sensual young bride when he falls prey to paralysis. They had little in common to begin with, because the aristocrat's life was chiefly occupied with refinements like ancient art and even older traditional forms of music. The bride begins an affair with the couple's houseboy, and together they murder the old man. However, the old man manages to haunt them afterwards, and they do not get to enjoy his fortune peacefully. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

The owners of a Hong Kong television station play a legalistic trick on new employees. They are forced to sign a piece of paper which legally binds them to work for the station for eight years, no matter what. In this comedy, Chi-Man (Michael Hui) gets together with an inventor and a magician to try to steal the contract back from the station even though it is in a heavily guarded safe. Chi-Man uses multiple disguises to distract the safe-keepers; in one he is a dancer-singer auditioning for a role, and another finds him dressed up as a very sexy lady. This film was a number one box-office hit in Hong Kong at the time of its release. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide