James Hong Movies

Inspired by a familiar Chinese folk tale, this $90 million animated Disney drama follows the adventures of a young woman in ancient China. Character animator Tony Bancroft and 17-year Disney veteran Barry Cook (Captain EO, Tron, Trail Mix-Up) formed the directing team with production design by Hans Bacher (Balto), and work on the film began 2 January 1995 under the working title The Legend of Mulan. While the merciless Shan-Yu (Miguel Ferrer) leads invading Huns over the Great Wall, young Mulan (Ming-Na Wen, with singing by Lea Salonga) sees a matchmaker about her matrimonial future. Mulan's views on accepted marriage traditions prompt the ballad, "Reflection," as she hopes for a recognition of her true self. To repel the Huns, a man from each family is required to join the Imperial Army. When Mulan's elderly father Fa Zhou (Soon-Tek Oh) volunteers, she objects. He warns, "I know my place. It is time you learned yours." Mulan, however, cuts her hair, dresses as a man, and is ready for military camp, prompting the concern of her First Ancestor (George Takei), who converts an inanimate incense burner into the 18-inch high comedic dragon Mushu (Eddie Murphy). With Mushu hidden in her clothing, she joins a group of raw recruits under the command of Captain Shang (B.D. Wong, singing by Donny Osmond). During an ambush by the Huns in a mountain pass, Mulan steps in to turn defeat into a victory. Mulan was the first Disney feature from the company's 200,000-square-foot Orlando facility (now known as Walt Disney Feature Animation Florida). ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi

Making TV history as the first-ever American sitcom to film on location in mainland China, The Drew Carey Show takes this opportunity to dish up its most surrealistic episode to date. Pulling off the practical joke to end all practical jokes, Mimi (Kathy Kinney) manages to maroon a sleeping Drew (Drew Carey) on the Great Wall of China with no money or passport. As his friends wonder why Drew didn't show up for his scheduled business meeting in Winnipeg, our hero sells chickens and gives impromptu sock-puppet shows in order to pay his way to the American Embassy in Beijing, 200 miles away. Several disasters later, Drew's only hope for ever getting back to Cleveland hinges upon his rendition of "You Deserve a Break Today" at the Tiananmen Square McDonald's! ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this action--stuffed martial arts outing, former thief and championship martial artist, Alex Cardo returns to avenge the death of his mentor Master Sun and to get back his master's " Kumite sword. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

The strong anti-China beliefs of actor and political activist Richard Gere were evident in this Hitchcockian thriller that sought to expose the civil and human rights abuses of that country's legal system. Gere stars as Jack Moore, counsel to a large media conglomerate seeking to open trade relations with China, thereby delivering American television shows by satellite to the largest untapped market in the world. After an evening out at a nightclub and fashion show, Jack goes home with a beautiful model (Jessey Meng), then wakes up the next morning to discover her dead body. To his horror, Jack is accused of murdering the girl, who is revealed to have been the daughter of a high-ranking general. Assigned a court-appointed lawyer, Shen Yuelin (Bai Ling), Jack discovers that the repressive Chinese court system does not grant bail, encourages quick guilty pleas and executions, and looks upon him with disfavor for his Western moral turpitude. Finally persuading Shen that he's innocent, Jack and his lawyer embark on an investigation impeded at every turn by Chinese authorities, eventually uncovering a plot to discredit Jack and his company's entry into China. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi

In this family-oriented action comedy, the klutzy demeanor of a large but unassuming toy seller (wrestler Hulk Hogan) is but a facade for a highly skilled, globe-trotting secret agent working for a super-secret peacekeeping operation. His son Jeremy knows only that he doesn't get to see his dad very often as he is often away on "business trips." As his mother died years ago, this is especially difficult for the boy. One day, his father brings home a new type of laser gun he swiped from a pretty foreign arms dealer. He tells Jeremy that it's just a new kind of toy, but his secret finally comes out when the arms dealer sends her henchmen to retrieve it. His father is captured, but Jeremy escapes with the laser gun. With practice, he learns the truth about its uses and becomes an expert shot with it. To save his dad, he enlists the aid of some good friends and together they hatch an ingenious rescue. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Based on a popular British cult comic book, this film is the story of a futuristic feminist superhero and her fight to preserve the environment against an evil government bureaucracy. The action is set in the year 2033, after an ecological disaster of drought and pollution has ravaged the countryside, and water is scarce. Tank Girl (Lori Petty) is a sassy punker who has her own vintage tank in tow, along with other high-tech weapons. Her mutant friends join her in bizarre battles against the corporate-statist Department of Water and Power and its villainous chief, Kesslee (Malcolm McDowell). At stake is the world's water supply, which the Department is hoarding and which the rebels frequently raid. Rock star Iggy Pop has a cameo as Rat Face, one of the half-human, half-kangaroo Rippers. Courtney Love coordinated the post-punk soundtrack. ~ Michael Betzold, Rovi

This old fashioned service comedy is suitable for the whole family. It is set in Vietnam during the war and chronicles the efforts of a small band of Green Berets as they endeavor to help out a beleaguered village located next to a major supply route for the Viet Cong. The leader, Capt. Sam Cahill has been working overtime to create good relations between the American soldiers and the villagers so he can use their little town to monitor enemy activities. Unfortunately, Cahill is slated to retire and his replacement is shaping up to be the classic Ugly American. It is he who accidentally lets the North Vietnamese know that the hapless villagers have been harboring American soldiers. To punish them, the VC shoot the only elephant in the village. To help the villagers, Cahill goes against the wishes of the new leader and promises to replace the slaughtered beast in time for an important local ritual. The trouble is, the Americans have only five days in which to find and bring back an elephant; they find one, but it is 200 miles from the village. The men decide the only way to do it is to load the beast aboard a transport plane and send it to the village via parachute. Now all they have to do is figure how to engineer this feat. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

A crime fighter created in the 1930s and popularized in movies, pulp novels, and a radio show starring a young Orson Welles, The Shadow came back to life in 1994 in this slick, well-cast production. Alec Baldwin stars as Lamont Cranston, a murderous opium dealer reformed by a Tibetan mystic, who teaches him how to use his keen mental powers to manipulate others. As penance for his past misdeeds, Cranston masquerades as a degenerate New York City playboy by day and secretly plays the heroic Shadow by night, staving off evildoers with a network of agents and a cab-driving sidekick (Peter Boyle). A greater challenge arrives when Cranston must fight Shiwan Khan (John Lone), the final descendent of Genghis Khan, who has received training from the same Tibetan master who instructed Cranston. Shiwan plans to use atomic weapons to take over New York and then the world. At the same time, Cranston meets socialite Margo Lane (Penelope Ann Miller), and, although he's instantly enamored of her, he discovers that her psychic abilities render his secret identity vulnerable. The Shadow was directed by former music video creator Russell Mulcahy, whose feature film debut Highlander (1986) was a cult classic. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi

Everyone's favorite headbangers from Aurora, Illinois, are back in this sequel to the 1992 hit comedy Wayne's World. The success of their TV show allows Wayne Campbell (Mike Myers) and Garth Algar (Dana Carvey) to finally move out of their parents' homes, but now they have to figure out what to do with their lives. Wayne's girlfriend, up-and-coming rock star Cassandra (Tia Carrere), is enjoying a career boost thanks to her new manager Bobby Cohn (Christopher Walken), but Garth thinks that Bobby is more interested in her body than her place on the charts. Meanwhile, Wayne is visited in a dream by the late Jim Morrison (Michael A. Nickles), who convinces him to promote a massive rock festival, "Waynestock," featuring Aerosmith as headliners. Garth, on the other hand, is finally relieved of his pesky virginity by femme fatale Honey Hornee (Kim Basinger), though it turns out that Honey has a hidden agenda. Drew Barrymore, Harry Shearer, and Charlton Heston play cameo roles in Wayne's World 2, and Jay Leno, Rip Taylor, and Todd Rundgren appear as themselves. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

In this futuristic film, the controlling corporations of the world gain and lose power by competing with one another in one-on-one death matches. However when fighter Falchion (Paul Coufos) refuses to compete, he must run from the wrath of the big businessmen and his spurned opponent. ~ Iotis Erlewine, Rovi

A movie star (Wendy McDonald) and her body double (Kathy Shower) square off for the affections of an oblivious Hollywood executive (David Heavener). ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi