The New York Asian Film Foundation and Film at Lincoln Center will unspool the 2021 edition Aug. 6-22 at Flc, kicking off with the premiere of “Escape From Mogadishu,” directed by Ryoo Seung-wa.
In all, 60 films will screen to audiences in person and virtually, with premieres of first and second features from directors for the feature film competition: “Anima”, “City of Lost Things”, “Hand Rolled Cigarette”, “Joint”, “Ten Months” and “Tiong Bahru Social Club”.
Hong Kong new wave director Ann Hui will receive the Variety Star Asia Lifetime Achievement Award, and the festival will screen her film “The Story of Woo Viet” and Man Lim Chung’s pic on Hui, “Keep Rolling.”
The festival will introduce the section Asian American Focus, which will feature films including Aimee Long’s “A Shot Through the Wall.” The team behind the film will be present at the festival.
“Sensei, Would You Sit Beside Me?...
In all, 60 films will screen to audiences in person and virtually, with premieres of first and second features from directors for the feature film competition: “Anima”, “City of Lost Things”, “Hand Rolled Cigarette”, “Joint”, “Ten Months” and “Tiong Bahru Social Club”.
Hong Kong new wave director Ann Hui will receive the Variety Star Asia Lifetime Achievement Award, and the festival will screen her film “The Story of Woo Viet” and Man Lim Chung’s pic on Hui, “Keep Rolling.”
The festival will introduce the section Asian American Focus, which will feature films including Aimee Long’s “A Shot Through the Wall.” The team behind the film will be present at the festival.
“Sensei, Would You Sit Beside Me?...
- 7/16/2021
- by Shalini Dore
- Variety Film + TV
For the uninitiated, Stephen Chow comedies on the surface can be a tad confusing with a constant stream of cultural references and wordplay that is lost on non Cantonese speakers. His style of “make no sense” (mo lei tau) comedy does require an understanding of some of what he parodies. With “Shaolin Soccer” and “Kung Fu Hustle” aiming more at the international market, “Forbidden City Cop” is a great entry point to his more locally aimed work.
Ling Ling Fat (Stephen Chow) is an imperial guard with no actual fighting skill. Instead, he invents gadgets for himself and his wife Kar-ling (Carina Lau). After getting ostracized by the emperor, he tries to protect him from being assassinated by No Face (Yuen Shun-yi). After redeeming himsel,f he must bring the beautiful Cho (Carmen Lee) back to the palace for the emperor’s attentions. But things, as always,...
Ling Ling Fat (Stephen Chow) is an imperial guard with no actual fighting skill. Instead, he invents gadgets for himself and his wife Kar-ling (Carina Lau). After getting ostracized by the emperor, he tries to protect him from being assassinated by No Face (Yuen Shun-yi). After redeeming himsel,f he must bring the beautiful Cho (Carmen Lee) back to the palace for the emperor’s attentions. But things, as always,...
- 7/13/2021
- by Ben Stykuc
- AsianMoviePulse
I’m a fan of Hong Kong film maker Stephen Chow. There’s something about Chow’s cinematic sensibility that resonates with me. Dark humor, genre satire, social criticism, and off the wall ideas are common to all his movies. I enjoy Chow’s flawed, somewhat narcissistic, but redeemable characters. His action staging is always imaginative. He’s a genuine comedic auteur, so I’m offering some Chinese trailers of his movies in the hope that you will find his body of work worth exploring.
Stephen Chow grew up in a Hong Kong working class suburb. He wanted to follow in the footsteps of his idol Bruce Lee, and study his style of martial arts, after seeing Lee’s break-out movie The Big Boss ( US: The Chinese Connection) when he was 11. But after his parents’ divorce, Chow could not afford the cost of tuition. Nonetheless, he studied acting, starting in...
Stephen Chow grew up in a Hong Kong working class suburb. He wanted to follow in the footsteps of his idol Bruce Lee, and study his style of martial arts, after seeing Lee’s break-out movie The Big Boss ( US: The Chinese Connection) when he was 11. But after his parents’ divorce, Chow could not afford the cost of tuition. Nonetheless, he studied acting, starting in...
- 3/19/2021
- by Brian Trenchard-Smith
- Trailers from Hell
The Hong Kong action movie has a distinctive love of guns since the evolution of the genre brought about by the “Heroic Bloodshed” genre from the mid to late 1980’s. Bullets would be fired in slow motion, with two handed gunplay exhibiting an almost fetishistic coolness by the leads as the screen would turn crimson. “Double Tap” would be the ultimate extension of this with its central characters obsessing over the speed and accuracy of their weaponry. The first of a loose trilogy featuring Alex Fong’s policeman Miu Chi-shun, it is the action movie as psychodrama.
Rick (Leslie Cheung) is a gun expert who spends his life modifying them to achieve a faster draw along with accuracy. Considered one of the best, he had recently retired from competition until policeman Miu Chi-Shun (Alex Fong) tempts him back. Before a winner can be declared, one of Miu...
Rick (Leslie Cheung) is a gun expert who spends his life modifying them to achieve a faster draw along with accuracy. Considered one of the best, he had recently retired from competition until policeman Miu Chi-Shun (Alex Fong) tempts him back. Before a winner can be declared, one of Miu...
- 3/12/2021
- by Ben Stykuc
- AsianMoviePulse
Hong Kong star Eason Chan (Office, Dream Home) is delivering kung fu slapstick with ‘Keep Calm and Be a Superstar’, a fun-filled comedy from director Vincent Kok (Gorgeous). The film has obvious references to Jackie Chan’s Drunken Master and Police Story and centers around a cop who goes undercover on an action movie to try and stop a drug trafficking ring. Alongside Easton Chan the cast includes Eason Chan, Li Ronghao, Li Yitong, and Danny Chan Kwok-Kwan.
- 1/16/2018
- by Don Anelli
- AsianMoviePulse
Hong Kong star Eason Chan (Office, Dream Home) is delivering kung fu slapstick with ‘Keep Calm and Be a Superstar’, a fun-filled comedy from director Vincent Kok (Gorgeous). The film has obvious references to Jackie Chan’s Drunken Master and Police Story and centers around a cop who goes undercover on an action movie to try and stop a drug trafficking ring. Alongside Easton Chan the cast includes Eason Chan, Li Ronghao, Li Yitong, and Danny Chan Kwok-Kwan.
- 1/16/2018
- by Don Anelli
- AsianMoviePulse
The Ex-File: The Return Of The Exes stays top of the chart.
Now nearing $300m, The Ex-File: The Return Of The Exes continued to top the Chinese box office in the second week of 2018 (Jan 8-14), while Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle won the weekend.
Source: Sony / Disney
Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle / Star Wars: The Last Jedi
Local romance comedy Ex-File 3 (The Return Of The Exes) has further consolidated itself as the year’s first megahit, adding $76.3m for a 17-day total of $293.3m. It has surpassed two 2017 Chinese New Year blockbusters, Kung Fu Yoga and Journey To The West: The Demons Strike Back, to become the fifth highest grossing local film of all time and the eighth highest grossing film overall.
Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle debuted with $42.9m from its three-day opening weekend, ending Ex-File 3’s reign as the No.1 film for 13 straight days. Sony’s adventure sequel was the undisputed top performer for the weekend...
Now nearing $300m, The Ex-File: The Return Of The Exes continued to top the Chinese box office in the second week of 2018 (Jan 8-14), while Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle won the weekend.
Source: Sony / Disney
Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle / Star Wars: The Last Jedi
Local romance comedy Ex-File 3 (The Return Of The Exes) has further consolidated itself as the year’s first megahit, adding $76.3m for a 17-day total of $293.3m. It has surpassed two 2017 Chinese New Year blockbusters, Kung Fu Yoga and Journey To The West: The Demons Strike Back, to become the fifth highest grossing local film of all time and the eighth highest grossing film overall.
Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle debuted with $42.9m from its three-day opening weekend, ending Ex-File 3’s reign as the No.1 film for 13 straight days. Sony’s adventure sequel was the undisputed top performer for the weekend...
- 1/15/2018
- by Silvia Wong
- ScreenDaily
Production and distribution outfit reveals strong slate of titles at Hong Kong market.
Hong Kong-based Sun Entertainment Culture (Sunec) has unveiled a string of titles at Filmart, including crime suspense thriller Schemer from filmmaker Sunny Luk (who won best director at the 2012 Hong Kong Film Awards for Cold War [pictured]); the big-screen adaptation of Louis Cha’s wuxia novel The Book And The Sword from veteran director Jacob Cheung and writer James Yuen; and Chinese New Year action comedy Keep Calm And Be A Superstar by director Vincent Kok.
Also on Sun’s slate are The Neighbour, a remake of German horror The Good Neighbour that will be directed by Stanley Liu and produced by Pang Ho Cheung.
Pang is also the producer of new TV series Women Who Flirt, based on his big-screen romantic comedy of the same name and directed by TV drama director Sammy Ko, and DoP Jason Kwan’s directorial debut A Nail Clipper...
Hong Kong-based Sun Entertainment Culture (Sunec) has unveiled a string of titles at Filmart, including crime suspense thriller Schemer from filmmaker Sunny Luk (who won best director at the 2012 Hong Kong Film Awards for Cold War [pictured]); the big-screen adaptation of Louis Cha’s wuxia novel The Book And The Sword from veteran director Jacob Cheung and writer James Yuen; and Chinese New Year action comedy Keep Calm And Be A Superstar by director Vincent Kok.
Also on Sun’s slate are The Neighbour, a remake of German horror The Good Neighbour that will be directed by Stanley Liu and produced by Pang Ho Cheung.
Pang is also the producer of new TV series Women Who Flirt, based on his big-screen romantic comedy of the same name and directed by TV drama director Sammy Ko, and DoP Jason Kwan’s directorial debut A Nail Clipper...
- 3/13/2017
- by [email protected] (Silvia Wong)
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: Sean Lau Ching-wan, Louis Koo and Eddie Peng will head the cast of Benny Chan’s epic action film The Deadly Reclaim, which is being launched at Filmart by Universe Films Distribution.
Set in 1914 following the collapse of the Qing dynasty, the $32m project tells the story of a group of villagers standing up to a cruel young warlord.
Production is scheduled to start in April for delivery at the end of the year.
Universe has also added Oxide Pang’s comedy Detective Gui and Vincent Kok’s comedy House Of Wolves to its Filmart slate.
Currently in production Detective Gui, about a talented female investigator, stars Luodan Wang (The Continent), Vic Chou, Simon Yam and Nina Paw Hee-ching, while House Of Wolves, about three conmen who have a change of heart, stars Francis Ng, Ronald Cheng and Jiang Shuying.
Set in 1914 following the collapse of the Qing dynasty, the $32m project tells the story of a group of villagers standing up to a cruel young warlord.
Production is scheduled to start in April for delivery at the end of the year.
Universe has also added Oxide Pang’s comedy Detective Gui and Vincent Kok’s comedy House Of Wolves to its Filmart slate.
Currently in production Detective Gui, about a talented female investigator, stars Luodan Wang (The Continent), Vic Chou, Simon Yam and Nina Paw Hee-ching, while House Of Wolves, about three conmen who have a change of heart, stars Francis Ng, Ronald Cheng and Jiang Shuying.
- 3/23/2015
- by [email protected] (Liz Shackleton)
- ScreenDaily
In its own way, “Hello Babies” is something of a landmark, with traditional Lunar New Year box office rivals Eric Tsang and Raymond Wong joining forces for a combined assault on audiences instead of offering up more instalments in the “All’s Well Ends Well” and “I Love Hong Kong” series. Prolific director and actor Vincent Kok (“Hotel Deluxe”) writes and directs, pulling together the usual cast of familiar faces who tend to appear in this kind of extremely popular seasonal film, including the likes of Ronald Cheng, Fiona Sit, Alex Lam, Sandra Ng and others, with plenty of famous gag cameos being thrown in along the way. Though essentially an hour and a half of good-natured nonsense, for what it’s worth, the plot revolves around Raymond Wong and Eric Tsang as long standing rivals Lui Ming and Yeung Ah Wei, competing in a race to see who can...
- 4/13/2014
- by James Mudge
- Beyond Hollywood
"Men are brothers! Women are laundry!"So goes one of the many pearls of wisdom in Hong Kong director Vincent Kok's new romantic comedy, the bizarrely titled Love Is... Pyjamas. It appears from this rather perplexing, if enthusiastic trailer that Ronald Cheng plays a TV relationship guru who imparts pearls of wisdom on his female audience about how to best treat their men. "As clothes", seems to be his advice. Nope, I'm not entirely sure what he means by that either, but no doubt I'll be watching the film when it opens in Hong Kong on 11 October. Cheng stars alongside Teresa Mo, Raymond Lam, Lynn Xiong, Karena Ng, Raymond Wong - and rather unwisely, Ronald Cheng appears in Blackface at one point. No doubt all will be...
- 9/14/2012
- Screen Anarchy
The San Francisco Film Society, along with the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, will present the inaugural Hong Kong Cinema festival September 23-25 at the Society's new home of New People Cinema. Clement Cheng's and Yan Yan Mak's "Merry-Go-Round" and Vincent Kok's "Mr. and Mrs. Incredible" will open the festival, while Benny Chan's "City Under Siege" will close it. Tickets are $13 for the general public. For more information, ...
- 8/16/2011
- Indiewire
Gallants, Confucius, Ip Man 2, and the other winners of the 2011 Hong Kong Film Awards have been announced. The 30th Annual Hong Kong Film Awards, “founded in 1982, are the most prestigious film awards in Hong Kong and among the most respected in mainland China and Taiwan. Award ceremonies are held annually, typically in April. The Awards recognize achievement in all aspects of filmmaking, such as directing, screenwriting, acting and cinematography. The awards are the Hong Kong equivalent to the American Oscars and the British Baftas.” The awards were handed out on April 17, 2011 at the Hong Kong Cultural Center. “The ceremony was hosted by Teresa Mo, Vincent Kuk, and Lawrence Cheng.” The full listing of the 2011 Hong Kong Film Award winners is below.
Best Film
(Gallants), produced by Lam Ka Tung
Best Director
Tsui Hark, (Detective Dee And The Mystery Of The Phantom Flame)
Best Screenplay
Pang Ho Cheung & Heiward Mak, (Love...
Best Film
(Gallants), produced by Lam Ka Tung
Best Director
Tsui Hark, (Detective Dee And The Mystery Of The Phantom Flame)
Best Screenplay
Pang Ho Cheung & Heiward Mak, (Love...
- 4/18/2011
- by filmbook
- Film-Book
Hong Kong -- Comedy rises again in the year of the rabbit, as local-language Chinese New Year films return to their former prominence. Lighthearted fare always thrives during the beginning of the lunar calendar, and comedy is poised to continue as filmmakers take advantage of the lucrative Chinese market's new-found love of laughs.
"Comedy is now the mainstay of the Chinese-language film industry," says producer, comedy writer and actor Raymond Wong, who was behind many in the genre since the 1980s, including some of the highest grossing Chinese New Year comedies. Wong is credited for re-launching the trend with 2009's All's Well Ends Well, a continuation of the successful 1990s series that became the top Chinese-language film at the Hong Kong box office that year. "Hong Kong comedy filmmakers are more adept as to what appeals to the mainland audience. We've tested the grounds with films specifically catered to the Chinese New Year period,...
"Comedy is now the mainstay of the Chinese-language film industry," says producer, comedy writer and actor Raymond Wong, who was behind many in the genre since the 1980s, including some of the highest grossing Chinese New Year comedies. Wong is credited for re-launching the trend with 2009's All's Well Ends Well, a continuation of the successful 1990s series that became the top Chinese-language film at the Hong Kong box office that year. "Hong Kong comedy filmmakers are more adept as to what appeals to the mainland audience. We've tested the grounds with films specifically catered to the Chinese New Year period,...
- 2/10/2011
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
I’ve been following the Chinese superhero comedy, Mr. and Mrs. Incredible, for quite some time now, waiting for new footage, photos and more to be released for the simple fact that I know, as an American, I’ll be deprived of it for at least another year. For the first time though, we finally get to see some actual footage from the film in between interview footage featuring the stars themselves, Mr. and Mrs. Incredible.
The trailer, located below, is very humorous and features references to some very famous movies. When you watch it see if you can identify some of the references. If you like the work of Stephen Chow then I think there is a chance you may enjoy this trailer. Check it out and let us know what you think.
Synopsis:
Love is never meant to be an easy matter – especially for superheroes. Gazer Captain (Louis Koo...
The trailer, located below, is very humorous and features references to some very famous movies. When you watch it see if you can identify some of the references. If you like the work of Stephen Chow then I think there is a chance you may enjoy this trailer. Check it out and let us know what you think.
Synopsis:
Love is never meant to be an easy matter – especially for superheroes. Gazer Captain (Louis Koo...
- 12/31/2010
- by Alex DiGiovanna
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Well, what do you know ... Peter Chan has a sense of humor. Best known as the director of epics both military (Warlords) and dramatic (Perhaps Love), Chan is serving as producer on Vincent Kok's superhero comedy Mr And Mrs Incredible. Louis Koo, Koo's very silly moustache, and Sandra Ng star as a pair of masked heroes who try to settle down to a normal life only to have their plans disrupted when a martial arts tournament comes to town and, from the looks of things, this is going to be big, broad slapstick.
They have released a proper trailer yet, not one that includes footage from the film, but what they have released is a trio of promo videos, each telling some story from the lives of the super duo. They golf an egg through time. They beat America to the moon. And, of course, they render Superman completely unnecessary.
They have released a proper trailer yet, not one that includes footage from the film, but what they have released is a trio of promo videos, each telling some story from the lives of the super duo. They golf an egg through time. They beat America to the moon. And, of course, they render Superman completely unnecessary.
- 7/25/2010
- Screen Anarchy
More Afm news
Hong Kong -- Big-budget Chinese period thriller "Bodyguards and Assassins" has been sold by We Distribution to four territories at the beginning of the American Film Market.
E1 Entertainment picked up the film for the U.K. and Canada, while Cj Entertainment bought it for South Korea and Gulf Films took it for the Middle East.
The $23 million film directed by Teddy Chan is set in early 20th century Hong Kong with all the action taking place on the day of a failed assassination attempt on Sun Yat-sen. Its all-star cast includes Donnie Yen, Tony Leung Ka-fai, Leon Lai and Simon Yam.
" 'Bodyguards and Assassins' caters to the intelligence and appetites of China's increasingly sophisticated and fast-expanding audiences. I am also thrilled that we have phenomenal response from territories outside mainland China," producer Peter Chan Ho-sun said.
The film is already destined for a wide Asian release Dec.
Hong Kong -- Big-budget Chinese period thriller "Bodyguards and Assassins" has been sold by We Distribution to four territories at the beginning of the American Film Market.
E1 Entertainment picked up the film for the U.K. and Canada, while Cj Entertainment bought it for South Korea and Gulf Films took it for the Middle East.
The $23 million film directed by Teddy Chan is set in early 20th century Hong Kong with all the action taking place on the day of a failed assassination attempt on Sun Yat-sen. Its all-star cast includes Donnie Yen, Tony Leung Ka-fai, Leon Lai and Simon Yam.
" 'Bodyguards and Assassins' caters to the intelligence and appetites of China's increasingly sophisticated and fast-expanding audiences. I am also thrilled that we have phenomenal response from territories outside mainland China," producer Peter Chan Ho-sun said.
The film is already destined for a wide Asian release Dec.
- 11/5/2009
- by By Patrick Frater
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
2009 Hong Kong Film Awards 2009 Hong Kong Film Award nominations: Feb. 12 2009 Hong Kong Film Award winners: Apr. 19 ("*" denotes the winner in each category) Donnie Yen in Wilson Yip’s Ip Man, a biopic of Bruce Lee’s kung fu master. Best Film The Way We Are (prods: Ann Hui & Wong Yat Ping) Red Cliff (prods: Terence Chang & John Woo) Cj 7 (prods: Stephen Chow, Chui Po Chu, Han San Ping, Vincent Kok, Shi Dong Ming, Connie Wong) Painted Skin (prod: Gordon Chan Ka Seung) * Ip Man (prod: Raymond Wong Pak Ming) Best Asian Film If You Are The One (China) Cape No. 7 (Taiwan) Suspect X (Japan) Forever Enthralled (China) * Assembly (China) Best Director * Ann Hui On Wah (The Way We Are) Johnnie To Kei Fung (Sparrow) John Woo (Red Cliff) Benny Chan (Connected) Yip Wai Shun (Ip Man) Best New Director * Derek Kwok (The Moss) Heiward Mak (High Noon) Ivy Ho (Claustrophobia...
- 4/19/2009
- by Irene Young
- Alt Film Guide
CJ7
HONG KONG -- A comic trio formed by a poor workman, his son and his alien pet drive the story of CJ7, a hyperactive, wishful-thinking special effects fantasy suitable for family outings. It is the long-awaited brainchild of Stephen Chow, the comedian-writer-director who pioneered the unique Hong Kong genre of mo lei tau (nonsensical) comedy in the early 1990s.
Despite Chow's self-professed desire to salute E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial and oblique borrowings from Japanese anime Doraemon, the sci-fi classic Invasion of the Body Snatchers springs foremost to mind as Chow's one-of-a-kind magnetic screen persona seems to have been abducted by aliens, who replaced him with a pod spouting moral platitudes and CGI-enhanced emotions.
A joint effort by Chow's Star Overseas and Columbia Pictures Film Production Asia, "CJ7" has worldwide release ambitions; it bows stateside Friday. Even with Chow's trademark smart-ass Cantonese neologisms and Hong Kong's ineffable local color filtered out while proficiently rendered visual effects stand in for gags, Chow's strong Asian fan base is still flocking to the theaters. Convincing a North American audience more familiar with Jackie Chan and Jet Li and more likely to prefer Chow's more exotic and action-packed Shaolin Soccer and Kung Fu Hustle won't be so easy, though.
This is Chow's first directorial work shot entirely in China, but geographic and cultural character look fuzzy. He plays Ti, a construction laborer who pays through the nose to send his only son Dicky (Xu Jiao) to an elite school. Dicky's street urchin looks make him a target for bullying. Only his teacher, Miss Yuen (Kitty Zhang), shows some kindness.
Dicky wants his classmate's cyber toy CJ1, but the impoverished Chow finds him a scrap-yard substitute that he names CJ7. The florescent green blob morphs into a creature with a fluffy mane and a bouncy, squishy torso. Dicky dreams of impressing his classmates with alien high-tech gizmos but ends up thoroughly humiliated. However, when an accident happens, CJ7 reveals its hidden powers.
The first half-hour depicts father-son relations with a mischievous charm reminiscent of Chow's early films. Xu, a girl who impersonates the boy Dicky, is the one who holds the film together. A natural in front of the camera, she has a wealth of facial expressions even in solo scenes with a computer-generated figure. Zhang, who wears a cheongsam tight enough to moonlight in a hostess bar, never stirs as a love interest.
"CJ7" revels in a cartoon-like depiction of abject poverty with a priceless scene where cockroach swatting is an alternative to PlayStation. However, such social issues as education, employment and inequality of wealth are glossed over by slogan-like mottos of being poor but virtuous. The storybook ending is artificial and offers no antidote to Ti and Dicky's problems.
CJ7
Sony Pictures Classics
Columbia Pictures Film Production Asia/the Star Overseas/China Film Group
Credits:
Director: Stephen Chow
Screenwriters: Stephen Chow, Vincent Kok, Tsang Kan-cheong, Lam Fung, Sandy Shaw, Fung Chih-chiang
Producers: Stephen Chow, Chui Po-chu, Han Sanping
Director of photography: Poon Hang-sang
Production designer: Oliver Wong
Music: Raymond Wong
Co-producers Vincent Kok, Connie Wong
Costume designer: Dora Ng
Editor: Angie Lam
Cast:
Ti: Stephen Chow
Dicky: Xu Jiao
Miss Yuen: Kitty Zhang
Mr. Cao: Lee Shing-cheung
Building Site Foreman: Lam Tze-chung
Running time -- 88 minutes
MPAA rating: PG...
Despite Chow's self-professed desire to salute E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial and oblique borrowings from Japanese anime Doraemon, the sci-fi classic Invasion of the Body Snatchers springs foremost to mind as Chow's one-of-a-kind magnetic screen persona seems to have been abducted by aliens, who replaced him with a pod spouting moral platitudes and CGI-enhanced emotions.
A joint effort by Chow's Star Overseas and Columbia Pictures Film Production Asia, "CJ7" has worldwide release ambitions; it bows stateside Friday. Even with Chow's trademark smart-ass Cantonese neologisms and Hong Kong's ineffable local color filtered out while proficiently rendered visual effects stand in for gags, Chow's strong Asian fan base is still flocking to the theaters. Convincing a North American audience more familiar with Jackie Chan and Jet Li and more likely to prefer Chow's more exotic and action-packed Shaolin Soccer and Kung Fu Hustle won't be so easy, though.
This is Chow's first directorial work shot entirely in China, but geographic and cultural character look fuzzy. He plays Ti, a construction laborer who pays through the nose to send his only son Dicky (Xu Jiao) to an elite school. Dicky's street urchin looks make him a target for bullying. Only his teacher, Miss Yuen (Kitty Zhang), shows some kindness.
Dicky wants his classmate's cyber toy CJ1, but the impoverished Chow finds him a scrap-yard substitute that he names CJ7. The florescent green blob morphs into a creature with a fluffy mane and a bouncy, squishy torso. Dicky dreams of impressing his classmates with alien high-tech gizmos but ends up thoroughly humiliated. However, when an accident happens, CJ7 reveals its hidden powers.
The first half-hour depicts father-son relations with a mischievous charm reminiscent of Chow's early films. Xu, a girl who impersonates the boy Dicky, is the one who holds the film together. A natural in front of the camera, she has a wealth of facial expressions even in solo scenes with a computer-generated figure. Zhang, who wears a cheongsam tight enough to moonlight in a hostess bar, never stirs as a love interest.
"CJ7" revels in a cartoon-like depiction of abject poverty with a priceless scene where cockroach swatting is an alternative to PlayStation. However, such social issues as education, employment and inequality of wealth are glossed over by slogan-like mottos of being poor but virtuous. The storybook ending is artificial and offers no antidote to Ti and Dicky's problems.
CJ7
Sony Pictures Classics
Columbia Pictures Film Production Asia/the Star Overseas/China Film Group
Credits:
Director: Stephen Chow
Screenwriters: Stephen Chow, Vincent Kok, Tsang Kan-cheong, Lam Fung, Sandy Shaw, Fung Chih-chiang
Producers: Stephen Chow, Chui Po-chu, Han Sanping
Director of photography: Poon Hang-sang
Production designer: Oliver Wong
Music: Raymond Wong
Co-producers Vincent Kok, Connie Wong
Costume designer: Dora Ng
Editor: Angie Lam
Cast:
Ti: Stephen Chow
Dicky: Xu Jiao
Miss Yuen: Kitty Zhang
Mr. Cao: Lee Shing-cheung
Building Site Foreman: Lam Tze-chung
Running time -- 88 minutes
MPAA rating: PG...
- 3/5/2008
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.