Dean Shek Movies

Loosely based on Kazuo Koike's famous manga Crying Freeman, Clarence Fok Yiu-leung spins this wild and woolly gangster drama. The film centers around a ruthless band of criminals called "The Eight Hundred Dragons," who pitilessly track down and kill any defecting members. Snooker (Dean Shek Tien) has held out the longest by hiding out in Russia. When the grand master of the clan learns of Snooker's whereabouts, he kidnaps him and his young daughter. Meanwhile, the villainous master also orders the kidnapping and brainwashing of Snooker's friend Yao (Sam Hui Kook-kit). After his memory has been erased with mind rubbers, Yao is given over to elder master Chimer (Nina Li Chi) and turned into a secret hired gun. When he whacks the Godfather of Japan, who is protected by the wrathful Hunteress (Carrie Ng Kar-lai), Yao soon finds a hit out on him. During the assassination, he runs into May (Maggie Chueng Man-yuk), Yao's former girlfriend. Since she is a witness to the crime, Chimer orders her dead too, but Yao can't bring himself to do it -- even though he has no memory of her. Soon, finds himself protecting May from both Chimer's and the Huntress' henchmen. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide

Popular Hong Kong action filmmaker Ringo Lam (City on Fire and Replicant) reputedly directed this third of four official sequels to 1982's Aces Go Places only as a favor to star Karl Maka, and it shows. King Kong (Sam Hui) once again joins bald detective Albert Au (Maka) and his son Baldy Jr. as they fly to New Zealand to save Albert's wife (Sylvia Chang) from a gang of crooks who have kidnapped her. The crooks, led by Ronald Lacey in a send-up of his role in Raiders of the Lost Ark, are trying to get control of an experimental prism which they need for a machine which turns men into indestructible super-beings. The film is dark, violent, and not quite as funny as previous installments, and the goofy subtitles call Sylvia Chang's character "Sylvia" instead of "Nancy." Still, there is a good supporting cast of genre veterans like Sally Yeh, Kwan Tak-hing, and Cho Tat-wah to please Asian film buffs and Lam keeps the film moving at a speedy clip. The official series ended with the next installment, 1989's Aces Go Places V: The Terracotta Hit, but was revived eight years later with a new cast in the subpar 97 Aces Go Places. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide

A sordid life in an ignoble city is the theme of this drama by Taiwanese director Wen Jen. After a young man's sister has been missing in Taipei for over a year, he decides to do something about it and heads to the capital with the intent of finding her. Since he has no clue about where to begin, his naive investigation leads him to a series of nightclubs, massage parlors, and similar fringe locales. He makes friends with a street-smart hustler who feels protective toward this hayseed from the countryside. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Aimed squarely at the lowest common teenage denominator, this tale of three young men out for sex does not rise much beyond a junior-high, locker room humor. The aptly-named Piggy Chan (Leslie Chung) shares an apartment with two buddies and makes his living as a disc jockey. His favorite avocation is chasing women, but one day he falls for an 18-year-old while riding the bus. Inventive and persistent, he finally manages to end her age of innocence -- and then has no problem in going right back to his pursuit of other women, wherever they may be found. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Melodramatic and maudlin by Western standards, this movie is about a poor bottle collector who finds an abandoned baby one morning and decides to raise her as his own child. While she is growing up, it becomes clear that she has an excellent singing voice and by the time she is an adult, her talent is discovered and she is on her way to stardom. Her new lifestyle precludes visits to her adopted father and her friends, and as a series of tragedies occur, everyone suffers. Meanwhile, the father is getting older and rightly feels abandoned by his successful daughter - with no apparent remedy to his unhappy situation. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

After appearing in cameos in the first two Aces Go Places movies, it was only a matter of time before cult filmmaker Tsui Hark took a turn in the director's chair himself, and the result is a spectacularly silly send-up of the spy genre and one of the series' best installments. King Kong (Sam Hui) is kidnapped in Paris by a British agent called James (Jean Marchent) who wants to recover one of the stolen crown jewels, the Star of Fortune. For some reason, the jewel is hidden at the headquarters of the Hong Kong police, meaning that King Kong will have to steal the jewel without the knowledge of his best friend, bald detective Albert Au (Karl Maka). Albert and his wife, the fiery Superintendent Ho (Sylvia Chang), have a new baby in their house, but their tempestuous relationship produces as many fireworks as ever, with Albert ready to walk out and King Kong using the situation to his advantage by setting Albert up on a date so he can pull off the heist. Eventually, of course, King Kong realizes what the duplicitous James is up to and joins his friend in bringing the bad guys to justice. Peter Graves and Richard Kiel show up to add to the fun, and there are numerous jabs at various genre clichés to go alongside the series' usual blend of action, slapstick, and interpersonal conflict. Purists should note that the dubbed English version on Thorn-EMI is missing approximately 12 minutes and loses a great deal in the translation. The next installment, 1986's Aces Go Places IV, would be helmed by Ringo Lam. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide

Neither a rank imitation of Benny Hill's comedic style nor the evocation of a playboy bachelor life can save this imperfect film about a "perfect" mate. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

In a typical Hong Kong comedy-thriller about mistaken identity, a billionaire is out to murder a judge but his plans for the assassination are tape-recorded by a detective. Before the detective is found and killed, he is able to slip the incriminating tape into the purse of a young female journalist. At that point, a mainland Chinese searching for his father in Hong Kong is mistaken for the son of the billionaire, and so when the reporter meets him, some misunderstanding ensues. After extensive games of hide-and-seek, the forces of evil are sapped and the bad guys, as always, get what they deserve. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Lau Kar-wing spins this restrained horror-comedy flick about a beautiful lass cursed with terrible luck. Irene Leen (Olivia Cheng Man-ar) has the misfortune of having three husbands die on her wedding day. After consulting a slew of fortunetellers, she understandably vows never to marry again. The ghosts of her dead husbands, however, band together to end her loneliness and find her a mate. The prospective spouse they choose is Bruce (Alan Tam Wing-lun), and they spend much of the film trying to get the two together. Complications arise when another ghost tricks Bruce into venturing to the notorious Haunted Island to swipe a pearl from the Ghost King. To make matters worse, he decides to go on the day of the Ghost Festival, the day of the year when ghosts rise from the underworld and party on earth. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide

Introduced by The Wu Tang Clan, 18 Fatal Strikes chronicles the martial-arts trained Tung Wei's introduction to the life of a warrior. After learning the deadly and mysterious 18 Buddha Palm technique from a monk running from the evil Shaking Eagle, leader of the Manchu army, Tung becomes determined to use his newfound skills against the ill-intentioned militants themselves. Other Wu Tang hosted kung fu productions include Shaolin Chastity Kung Fu, Enter the Invincible Hero, Fists of Legend 2, and Sleeping Fist. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide

One of the earliest major films starring Jackie Chan, this 1978 Hong Kong offering highlights the relationship between a student and his martial arts master. This theme would dominate the American martial arts genre for years to come, as evidenced by The Karate Kid and many films to follow. Wong Fei-hong, played by Chan, is a 19th-century folk hero in Chinese culture and cinema, a kung fu master who fights injustice in the time of British colonialism. This character would later be portrayed by Jet Li in the more serious Once Upon a Time in China. Drunken Master finds Wong in his early years as a troublesome youth who is sent to receive discipline and martial arts instruction from his uncle (Siu Tien Yuen), the hard-drinking title character. Wong runs away, but runs afoul of some local villains. Beaten badly, he returns to his uncle, who trains him in "drunken-style" kung fu. The martial arts showcased by Chan in this film are important in the development of his career; the staggering, inebriated techniques allow for a looser, more flowing style, but more importantly, they contribute to the elaborate martial-arts slapstick that have become Chan's trademark and have made him an international star. ~ Jonathan E. Laxamana, All Movie Guide