easternkicks.com » John Woo

Jackie Chan and the Kung Fu Kid

Andrew Heskins — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 09:00:31 +0000

The Karate Kid isn’t the only adolescent trying to crib moves off Jackie Chan…

Zhang Yishan is a 15-year-old Chinese boy who idolises Jackie Chan. Living in Indonesia with his grandmother and in his last year of Chinese-speaking High school, his grades are slipping. Though he loves sport, his academic classes are of no interest, and ability to actually read or write Chinese are severely lacking. He’s dreading a trip to his Beijing based grandparents, until he learns that Jackie is shooting a film there.

Using it as an excuse to follow his hero, Yishan turns up without a clue on how to get to his intended destination. Unsurprisingly this causes him a few problems, but along the way the people he meet (interestingly mainly female) start to make him reappraise his priorities. But will he ever meet Jackie?

Oddly marketed almost as a documentary (it isn’t), Jackie Chan and the Kung Fu Kid (aka Looking For Jackie) exists in a rather awkward world between real life stars as themselves, like Jackie himself and Bai Bing (New Shaolin Temple, Crossed Lines), and the rather juvenile invention of the script. Jackie’s appearance itself comes across more like those uncomfortable moments in a soap opera when a ‘real life’ star appears, than say Being John Malkovich or even Billy Idol in The Wedding Singer… well, are you with me, anyone?

(Hell, even Jackie has made better appearances in this mode – even in the diabolical An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn!)

Jackie Chan and the Kung Fu Kid is almost like one of those Children’s Film Foundation efforts that we (in the UK) were brought up on in the 70s and early 80s: not terrible by any means, but rather cheap looking and never quite, you know, all that. And let’s be straight here: this is a kids movie!

The biggest problem with Kung Fu Kid seems to be how it has devoured plotlines from bad 80s movies as the basis for it’s ‘realism’. On the one hand presenting us with quite positive role models for China in the 21st century, intelligent and kind, against one-dimensional, cardboard villains who appear to have walked straight out of John Hughes comedies like Home Alone. Exactly what is this film trying to tell us?

One thing’s for sure, intentionally or not this says some pretty interesting things about middle class China right now, with plenty of very Western originated magazines like Bazaar lying around.

Perhaps it’s due to the stars who were so happy to give there time for (quite possibly) very little, if anything at all, but ultimately this comes across rather like an advert for the Chinese film industry. Far from dispelling the myth of a glamorous life in film, even with the rather discounted sets, the camera follows the stars like a faithful hound.

It also makes it seem like there’s films being shot all over Beijing all the time – maybe things have changed since the Olympics but that definitely wasn’t the case both times I was there. Perhaps the films actually been funded by the Beijing Tourist Board?

The interesting thing about that is just how ingratiated Hong Kong filmmakers are into mainland China now. It’s not just Jackie Chan, John Woo is mentioned and so are a bunch of other Hong Kong stars. Old fans of JC will be happy to see another ex-pupil of the same Peking Opera school Chan was brought up in, Yuen Wah (Kung Fu Hustle, Iceman Cometh). Of course it seems funny to make such a deal of it now, but for those of us who’ve loved Hong Kong cinema for a long time it still feels quite strange.

The thing is, the kung fu isn’t bad at all – mainly thanks to the involvement of another member of the Yuen clan/ex-Peking Opera student Yuen Bo (PTU, Election, Protégé). But by it’s very presence – where everyone seems to ‘know kung fu’, like a bleedin’ shaolin monk – seems rather absurd against the attempts to set this in the real world.

And it all leads up to a rather heavy handed sermon from Jackie Chan that seems more pointed generally at young Chinese teenagers who may be not be respecting their elders and keeping up with their school work, rather than directly at the little toerag that is Yishan. I mean, please!

Sure Kung Fu Kid is okay, but kids will probably prefer even the original Karate Kid to this – even if Ralph Macchio made the world’s least convincing karate expert!

On DVD and Blu-Ray today: Invisible Target – and here’s a clip!

Andrew Heskins — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 09:00:55 +0000

Yep, I’d forgotten just how much I enjoyed some of the action scenes in Invisible Target (and how good Nicholas Tse was in them!), so here’s a special treat for you. And there’s loads more – it’s like all the best bits from Divergence and New Police Story without the, well, schmaltz.

The UK DVD and Blu-ray versions are out today (at last!) and it’s a pretty solid release. Basically this is the US Dragon Dynasty release, which itself transfers most of the content from the outstanding Hong Kong 2-disc and 3-disc releases. The big difference is the original commentary is supplanted with a new one with DD fave Bey Logan and stars Jaycee Chan, Shawn Yue and Andy On. And the Blu-Ray is even out a few days before the US gets it!

You can read our full review here »

Venice Film Festival line-up revealed, including Takashi Miike’s new samurai film

Andrew Heskins — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 09:00:11 +0000

The full programme for the Venice Film Festival has been announced, including new films by Takashi Miike and Tsui Hark, and the adaptation of Haruki Murakami’s Norwegian Wood

There are several upcoming treats in store at the Venice Film Festival, which is often host to a first glimpse of some of the more interesting Asian films (and, in some cases, the nearest to the mainstream that they get).

There’ll be a lot of interest in Takashi Miike’s latest film, a (doubtlessly very personal) take on a samurai tale, 13 Assassins, which also happens to be a co-production with the UK. Also on show will be the highly-anticipated version of Haruki Murakami’s Norwegian Wood by Tran Anh Hung, the first full length novel Murakami has allowed to be adapted.

Hong Kong stalwart Tsui Hark is also in competition with Detective Dee and the Mystery of Phantom Flame. I, for one, have fingers crossed that we see a true return to form.

Out of competition there’s more from Miike, Zebraman and Zebraman 2: Attack on Zebra City; the latest from Infernal Affairs director Andrew Lau, The Return of Chen Zhen; The Child’s Eye 3D, the first Chinese/Hong Kong 3D film(?) from (who else but) the Pang Brothers; Reign of Assassins by John Woo and Su Chao-Pin starring Michelle Yeoh; Shock Labyrinth 3D by Ju-on: The Grudge director Takashi Shimizu; and Space Guy by Zhang Yuan.

The festival runs from 1 to 11 September, and hopefully we should get to see some of the fallout soon afterwards…

See the official Venice Film Festival site »

Venice Film Festival

Andrew Heskins — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 18:08:18 +0000

The full programme for the Venice Film Festival has been announced, including new films by Takashi Miike and Tsui Hark, and the adaptation of Haruki Murakami’s Norwegian Wood…

Hong Kong stalwart Tsui Hark is also in competition with Detective Dee and the Mystery of Phantom Flame. I, for one, have fingers crossed that we see a true return to form.

Out of competition there’s more from Miike, Zebraman and Zebraman 2: Attack on Zebra City; the latest from Infernal Affairs director Andrew Lau, The Return of Chen Zhen; The Child’s Eye 3D, the first Chinese/Hong Kong 3D film(?) from (who else but) the Pang Brothers; Reign of Assassins by John Woo and Su Chao-Pin starring Michelle Yeoh; Shock Labyrinth 3D by Ju-on: The Grudgedirector Takashi Shimizu; and Space Guy by Zhang Yuan.

The festival runs from 1 to 11 September, and hopefully we should get to see some of the fallout soon afterwards…

See the official Venice Film Festival site »

Coming soon to UK DVD and Blu-ray: Invisible Target

Andrew Heskins — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 09:00:58 +0000

This impressive action/thriller from director Benny Chan (New Police Story, Rob-B-Hood, Divergence) starring Nicholas Tse, Jaycee Chan Shawn Yue and everyone’s favourite bad guy Wu Jing comes to UK DVD and Blu-ray from Cine Asia via US label Dragon Dynasty’s fine two disc set.

Mulan

Andrew Heskins — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 09:00:11 +0000

The lovely Vicky Zhao stars in this fine live-action version of the famous Mulan legend – so why is there such an overwhelming feeling of Déjà vu…?

Thanks to the 1998 Walt Disney film of the same name everyone knows the Chinese folktale of Mulan, right? The young maiden who takes her poorly father’s place in the Chinese army and ends up becoming one of China’s greatest heroes in the process. Go on, girl power!

Directors Jingle Ma’s (Tokyo Raiders, Silver Hawk, Seoul Raiders) and Wei Dong’s take on the legend takes a different slightly direction to the Disney film, as you would hope in an adult film. As with the earlier film, Hua Mulan (Vicki Zhao, Red Cliff, Shaolin Soccer, Painted Skin) takes her father’s (Rongguang Yu, New Police Story, The Storm Riders, The East Is Red) place in the Wei army when she realises he is too old and weak to survive the conflict with the invading Rouran hordes.

In the encampment keeping her identity is paramount, particularly as women aren’t allowed there even as girlfriends, let alone as soldiers, but Mulan soon shows herself to be an exceptional warrior. Her remarkable courage and knowledge of the art of war quickly propel her through the ranks to the position of General. Her fellow comrade Wentei (Chen Kun, Painted Skin, Let the Bullets Fly) recognises just how great she could, if she can just leave behind her one weakness on the battlefield – her affection for him.

As seems to be the trend nowadays, the style of Mulan follows the rough and rugged look pioneered by Musa: The Warrior and the highly successful The Warlords, if somewhat less plausibly. Sure, it’s all a bit grimy, but never quite as dark as Peter Chan’s film. Unsurprisingly the early training sequence is played much for laughs, which brings co-star Jaycee Chan (Invisible Target, 2 Young) as close the sort of comedic performance we’d expect from his father Jackie yet.

But about half an hour in or so, I suddenly have a feeling I’ve seen all this before. It takes me a little while to place, then I realise I have – in the first part of John Woo’s Red Cliff II when Zhao’s character goes undercover in the enemy’s army! (Admittedly, Woo was in turn no doubt inspired by Mulan in the first place.)

This casting (Michelle Yeoh, Zhang Ziyi and Liu Yifei were allegedly also up for the role) brings other unfortunate comparisons: the action through most of the film does not compare to other recent historical dramas, even the otherwise terrible Three Kingdoms: Resurrection of the Dragon, despite action director Stephen Tung Wai’s other recent work on Bodyguards And Assassins. When it finally comes down to showing Mulan’s tactical genius, director Ma rather fudges it – instead showing a rather vague montage sequence (much like Three Kingdoms did).

What I’d really like to seen, at least once, is a finely orchestrated battle sequence in line with those in Red Cliff, something that proves just how clever she is.

Vicki Zhao, once again, gives a solid performance in the lead, though oddly decides to play the role in quite a feminine way. Perhaps this is too avoid overplayed, Yentel style deep voices, but it’s hard to imagine anyone being fooled into believing this very (very, very) attractive and somewhat emotional woman being anything but? Personally I still find Zhao a little incongruous when cast in historical roles, even though that seems to have been all she’s done lately. As with Red Cliff I’m happy to overlook that, but perhaps it’s time for Zhao to find a more up to date part?

There’s sturdy support from the cast, including Rongguang Yu, but once again it’s Hu Jun (Bodyguards And Assassins, Infernal Affairs II, Red Cliff) who excels at the villainous of the Rouran Dayan, Mendu, relishing evey minute of screen time as a thoroughly unlikable and dishonourable leader.

It’s obvious that it doesn’t take itself as seriously as many other recent efforts, and in doing so (as is obvious from behind the scenes footage included on the DVD/Blu-Ray) greatly enjoyed themselves on the set while making the film. This shines through, making Mulan a surprisingly enjoyable historical romp, and more enjoyable that many of its peers.

And hell, it’s Vicki Zhao. ‘Nuff said!

Mulan was released on 21 June by Cine Asia on DVD and Blu-ray.

Vengeance

Andrew Heskins — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 09:00:41 +0000

A French co-production, Johnnie To’s superb (partly) English debut pays homage to Jean-Pierre Melville’s classic Le Samouraï…

Francois Costello (Johnny Hallyday) comes to Macau to get revenge for the ruthless shooting of his daughter and her family, from which only she has survived.

By chance Costello comes across a hit carried out in his hotel by Kwai (Anthony Wong, Infernal Affairs, Exiled, Beast Cops), Chu (Lam Ka-Tung, Ip Man, Mad Detective, Infernal Affairs) and Fat Lok (Lam Suet, Breaking News, One Nite In Mongkok, The Shinjuku Incident). It turns out there’s more to Costello than meets the eye, he himself was once a hitman.

He employs the trio to find out who killed his family, which soon pits them against there own boss George Fung (Simon Yam, S.P.L., Triangle, Full Contact, on top form as the villainous triad leader).

There’s only one problem: Costello has a bullet in his brain from his former career that affects his memory, and soon he won’t even remember what he wants vengeance for…

Originally inspired from a conversation between ARP Sélection founders Michèle and Laurent Pétin and Johnnie To in Cannes, while distributing many of his there, the Pétin’s quickly fell on the idea of co-production with To, spouting the possibility of getting Alain Delon to star.

From that nucleus came an idea not to simply create a mainstream repeat of his previous works, but rather a fully fledged homage to a film that inspired so many Hong Kong action thrillers – Jean-Pierre Melville’s classic Le Samouraï in which Delon starred as the fated hitman. He even names his lead after Delon’s character Jef Costello and dressing Hallyday in an identical, if black rather than white, overcoat and hat.

(Ironically Le Samouraï was released in 1967, the same year as Seijun Suzuki’s Branded To Kill, which pulled on many similar 60s influences and style.)

Most famously, of course, it was John Woo’s The Killer that made references to that film, but there’s something of Le Samouraï in the approach of every Hong Kong film to the premise of an assassin’s life – even if much of that comes from the influential work of Woo and his peers Tsui Hark and Ringo Lam in the mid 80s. Bizarrely it started something of a love affair between Hong Kong and France and, in particular, films about hitmen.

This interplay is best illustrated in Luc Besson’s Nikita and Leon, the latter pulling heavily on The Killer picture of a ‘kind-hearted killer’ for inspiration. Another example would be Christophe Gans live-action adaption of manga Crying Freeman, which also included a helping hand from HK editor supreme David Wu.

Here To, with regular writing collaborator Wai Ka-Fai, imagines a world where Jef Costello’s character survived, and left the world of the assassin behind him – but not far enough. Of course it’s a shame that Delon turned down the role, but Hallyday makes a fair stand in.

So does that make the film a little too introspective? Perhaps. It’s true it’s laden with references to delight HK film fans, which might account for it’s somewhat mixed critical reaction. Yet personally I don’t think they impact on enjoyment of the film. Instead it stands up to repeated viewing, beautifully shot by cinematographer Cheng Siu-Keung with a great if slightly Goblin-esque score by Lo Tayu, there are several iconic scenes – the showdown in the rubbish dump being just one standout.

It also handles repeated viewing well, as we learn the reason behind Costello sometimes odd behaviour, his fading memory, his reactions become clear. This intriguing premise, a little reminiscent of Momento, echoes Park Chan-Wook’s revisionist look at revenge in his Vengeance trilogy – essentially robbing the idea of all it’s power. Lok asks wouldn’t you choose to forget if you had a chance, Kwai replies that it wouldn’t stop him.

Full of To regulars, the cast once again shines: from Anthony Wong’s performance as a jaded hitman no longer satisfied to follow his bosses whims, to Simon Yam’s delicious villain, for all purposes a less fruity but still highly enjoyable version of his Full Contact character. Lam Suet is on fine comedic form as Lok, Lam Ka-Tung fine as a brooding but fiercely loyal meber of their gang, not to mention solid support from Cheung Siu-fai (Breaking News, Murderer) and Michelle Ye (Accident, Murderer).

As I’ve mentioned previously, it’s part of an interesting stab at an international market for Media Asia, with their similarly To inspired Russian/Swedish co-production Newsmakers. In English and Cantonese in equal parts, with French thrown in, it’s a pretty effective effort at bringing new audiences to Johnnie To’s work – which makes it odd that Optimum didn’t attempt some sort of limited theatrical release as they have for some of To’s other movies.

No matter, it’s here now. Highly recommended…

Vengeance is released on Blu-ray and DVD by Optimum Home Entertainment today.

Bodyguards And Assassins

Andrew Heskins — Tue, 25 May 2010 09:00:14 +0000

Mawkish, overbearingly nationalistic, and perhaps more than a little revisionist – thank god for the second half, then?

Recounting an alleged visit by influential revolutionary Dr. Sun Yat-sen to Hong Kong in 1906, director Teddy Chan’s epic, star-packed film is an overplayed, sentimental piece.

It begins slowly, as rumours of Sun’s visit reverberate through republican sympathisers. Once a haven for intellectual revolutionaries, the British protectorate of Hong Kong is no longer somewhere rebels can hide no longer from the Qing Dynasty.

Two sympathisers of the revolution, local businessmen, newspaper editor Chen Xiao-bai (Tony Leung Ka-fai, Missing, The Myth, Dumplings) and local tycoon Li Yue-tang (Wang Xueqi, Forever Enthralled, Warriors Of Heaven And Earth, The Red Suit) take it upon themselves to organise his protection, yet no one can be prepared for the sacrifices they must make.

With their plan set out, friends and supporter come together to accompany and protect Sun across a few blocks towards his destination, but the Qing Dynasty’s assassins will make this the most perilous journey of their lives, and the most important.

It must have seemed quite a hoot to the PR company to put a screening, not that anyone could have predicted it would become one of the most momentous events in UK politics – a coalition government between the most unlikely bedfellows. (Though whether it stays together remains to be seen.)

Dr. Sun Yat-sen himself was an important political leader of what would become the Chinese movement towards republicanism that overthrew the ruling Manchu dynasty. Though his direct involvement, despite what you might see in this film, is questionable.

Such wholly fictionalised accounts about real figures have always been a large part of Hong Kong cinema, but somehow when the subject matter has been fantastical depictions of legendary martial artists, that detachment from truth has been easier to take.

Sure, there’s always artistic license in any biopic but where do you draw the line? Here the levels of fabrication seem to jar with the figures real importance, as if it in some way demeaning that he was never fully part of the action.

In the build up to the eponymous event itself, there are superb performances from the cast, particularly leads Tony Leung Ka-fai and Wang Xueqi, who wonderfully embody the men who once had the best of intentions, but who have in their own ways become tempted by the better lives success and wealth has given them.

There’s solid support from an all-star cast including Simon Yam, Eric Tsang, Wang Po-chieh as Li Yue-tang’s son, Hu Jun as leader of teh assassins Yan Xiaoguo, and Nicholas Tse as the loyal rickshaw puller, but some of these roles entail little more than a cameo – and all of it is overplayed for sentimentality. (This is particularly true of Yam’s character Fang Tian, a former Qing general who hides under the disguise of an opera troupe with what’s left of his men. This introduces his daughter Fang Hong, played by Li Yuchun, whose character is never fully developed. And don’t mention Jacky Cheung’s two minute appearance…!)

Perhaps the giveaway is the film is produced by Peter Chan. His own The Warlords turned the hysteria levels up to 11 and never came down (though it was admittedly better paced and more importantly he garnered better performances from his cast).

Thankfully the the second half is an entirely different affair, when the cast actually escort Dr Sun through the beautifully realised streets of Hong Kong. There are, of course, plenty of reference points for director Chan, among them Wang Haing-Lei’s Escorts Over Tiger Hills and John Woo’s Heroes Shed No Tears, with more than a little of Woo’s hero, Sam Peckinpah, thrown in.

Perhaps the biggest influence over the film though appears to be the assassination sequence during the fiesta in Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather: Part II. Like that sequence, the fine production and growing tension build as Xiao-bai, Yue-tang and their ragtag collection of friends desperately try to protect Sun from various assaults.

It’s all finely tuned, with first-rate choreography by seasoned Shaw Brothers star and action director Tung Wai (Seven Swords, Mulan, Painted Skin, Beast Stalker), particularly for Donnie Yen’s sequences and those of his Seven Swords co-star Leon Lai, as the metal fan-armed Liu Yubai.

Bodyguards and Assassins may have cleaned up at recent awards ceremonies – particularly the 4th Asian Film Awards, where Wang Xueqi and Nicholas Tse won best actor and supporting actor respectively, and the 29th Hong Kong Film Awards, where the film got the most nominations in the events history, and won 8 awards including best film, best director, best support actor (for Tse again), best cinematography and best action choreography – but what will Western audiences make of it? My guess is most will find the sentimentality heavy going, even if ultimately the second half superbly build the tensions along wonderfully realised Hong Kong streets.

Bodyguards and Assassins is released by E1 Entertainment in the UK on DVD and Blu-ray on Monday, 31 May.

John Woo to receive lifetime honour

Andrew Heskins — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 10:00:20 +0000

Arguably it would have been unimaginable 20 years ago, when his crowning glory The Killer was originally released – if only because few filmmakers from Hong Kong were lauded at the time – yet next year John Woo will be presented with a lifetime achievement honour at the Venice Film Festival.

Some may indeed scoff (and some of Woo’s back catalogue, such as Payback, may well be better glossed over) but his influence over cinema in the last 30 years, particularly action films, is undeniable.

Organisers praised him for being “an innovator of the contemporary language of cinema”. Continuing: “Woo is considered a master who has changed the language of contemporary film for generations of filmmakers.”

The award will be presented next September.

On DVD and Blu-ray: Red Cliff, international version

Andrew Heskins — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 08:30:32 +0000

Easily the most palatable Chinese historical drama in ages, John Woo’s Red Cliff comes to UK DVD and Blu-ray today courtesy of Entertainment in Video. Oh, and it’s the best film he’s done in a long time too, so if you’ve yet to catch it, this is a must!

(Shame it’s not all four hours plus??)

easternkicks.com » John Woo

Jackie Chan and the Kung Fu Kid

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Mulan

Mulan was released on 21 June by Cine Asia on DVD and Blu-ray.

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Vengeance

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Bodyguards And Assassins

Bodyguards and Assassins is released by E1 Entertainment in the UK on DVD and Blu-ray on Monday, 31 May.

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John Woo to receive lifetime honour

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