SHOCK WAVE 拆弹专家 Movie Review

Synopsis

JS Cheung, a Superintendent in Explosive Ordnance Disposal Bureau (EOD) of Hong Kong Police Force,went undercover seven years ago into the gang led by the most-wanted crime boss Blast. Cheung successfully uprooted the gang and arrested a few robbers including Blast’s younger brother Biao. However, Blast was on the loose and he swore he’d be back for revenge. Seven years have passed and Blast kick starts his plan – a series of bomb attacks have sparked fear among Hong Kong citizens. To maintain law and order, Cheung must put Blast behind bars and he is ready to sacrifice his life to fight a tough battle with the ruthless bomber.

The original theme song “慢慢习惯” (Getting Used To) is composed by local music producer Eric Ng 黄韵仁, lyrics written and sang by刘德华 Andy Lau

Cast and Production

Executive Producer: Daneil Lam

Producer/ Starring: Andy Lau

Director/ Scriptwriter: Herman Yau

Also Starring: Jiang Wu, Song Jia Phillip Keung,Ron Ng

Scriptwriter: Erica Li (“Sara”, “Ip Man: The Final Fight”, “The Legend is Born: Ip Man”)

Action Choreographer: Dion Lam (“The Storm Riders”, “Spider-Man2”, “The Matrix Revolutions”)

Art Director: Eric Lam (“As The Light Goes Out”, “Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons”)

Director of Photography: Joe Chan (“Ip Man: The Final Fight”, “The Mobfathers”) 

Special Effect Production: FreeD Workshop (“To The Fore”, “Helios”, “Firestorm”)

Date of Release: 20th April 2017

Rating: TBA

Language: In Mandarin with English and Chinese Subtitles

Run time: 119-mins

Genre: Crime, Action

Review

If you are die-hard fan of Andy Lau, you must watch this movie. An explosive expert. This is something new for a change. But it is still an action packed movie. Fast paced and be warned of at least two sudden loud burst of sound, or shock wave during the movie. 

The storyline is fast paced and most of the drama are located within the tunnel. Unexpected treatments of hostages when demand are not met by the HK authorities. Acting from Jiang Wu as bad guy was pretty convincing. The explosions, from the special effects were also well created. But honestly, Andy Lau seems like a Robocop. Even with all his injuries, he still is able to execute his task as a bomb expert. There is heroism in him as he always said that he is there to save lives. 

Although there is not much storyline, but the excitements battling the terrorists help to keep the audience glued to the big screen. The funny thing is that you get to see some familiar faces of elderly actors whom once dominates the Hong Kong TV drama in their heydays. I think it is now a trend to get them to appear in movies. Although their roles are small but it helps to remind audience that they are not forgotten in this entertainment industry. 

There is also love shown between Andy and his girlfriend. Due to Andy occupational hazards, he does have difficulty find a wife.

Unfortunately, Andy Lau with his recent injuries, was unable to attend any movie promotion as in Gala Premiere around Asian countries. Hope to see more of his films after his full recovery. 

My rating for this movie is 3/5. Dying for some Asian action movie, this will be my recommendation. 

Movie Trailer

Theme Song MV

Movie Review of SARA

My Review

This award winning movie was based on an age old social problem, poverty and the sexual exploitation of women. The movie was rated R21 due to the sexual theme of the movie. Interestingly, no male and female genitals were shown except for heavy petting, kissing and undressing.

The exploitation of women centred around two women. Both situations were quite similar. Due to poverty, they were willing to be sexually exploited in exchange for a better future. Sara ( Charlene Chooi ) exchanges sexual service with  the educational official ( Simon Yam ) for an opportunity to study. In the case of Dok-my, the young rural girl in Thailand provides sexual service so that her family will not suffer hunger.

To address this issue of poverty and sexual exploitation of women, Sara, a journalist, through her written article, hope to create social awareness on this issue. She left for Thailand in search of information for her journalism. She met Dong-My and help her to leave the sex workers industry. By helping others, she hope to recover from her early memories of her own sexual exploitation. At one point, her early memories haunted her and she committed suicide but was save by Dok-My.

There were a number of flashbacks in this movie. It takes a while to get use to these flashbacks. It can be a bit confusing initially. Flashbacks do have their advantages. In an early scene, Sara’s mother was unable to rescue her daughter from her stepfather. She was raped. It was comforting to see a flashback in the later part of the movie where the mother comforted Sara. It was emotional. I did allow a few tears to roll down my cheek.

My Opinion and Ratings

In my opinion, this is a serious movie highlighting a serious social problem. It had achieved two important things. It satisfies the audience appetite with a good story and also created social awareness on the issue of sexual exploitation of women in the society. It is a good movie and a highly recommended one. I shall rate it 4/5.  

The movie will be showing on 26 March 2015. For those who cannot wait for this movie, there will be a special sneaks from 20 to 22 March 2015. 

Brief Synopsis: 

Journalist Sara has just spent four months completing an in-depth investigation piece. Her editor-in-chief, afraid of offending powerful politicians and business moguls, refuses to run it. Sara’s boyfriend, who works for the same magazine, chooses not to warn her and even sides with the editor-in-chief. In just one moment, Sara is turned off by her work, her love relationship and even about life.

At this low point in her life, Sara exiles herself to Chiang Mai, Thailand. One evening, while at a bar, Sara meets child prostitute Dok-my. During her time getting to know Dok-my and through the process of rescuing her, Sara becomes haunted by the memories of her own past. 

邱礼涛导演继《性工作者十日谈》及《性工作者2我不卖身．我卖子宫》后，再次挑战社会性题材，联同监制杜汶泽，借一个出卖肉体换取机会的少女成长故事，唤醒大众关注雏妓问题。电影已率先荣膺第21届香港电影评论学会大奖推荐电影，其中蔡卓妍更凭脱胎换骨的演技，与影帝任达华双双先拔头筹，赢得第6届澳门国际电影节最佳男女主角。

杂志记者何玉玲（蔡卓妍饰）花了4个月时间完成一篇关于官商丑闻报道，遭老总以杂志社利益为由抽稿，意兴阑珊的她决定到泰国散心。在清迈一间酒吧，玉玲遇上雏妓Dok-My，千方百计要救Dok-My出火海。

原来Dok-My令玉玲忆起自己过去十多年的成长经历：曾被继父性侵犯、离家出走，继而遇上比她年长30年的甘浩贤（任达华饰）──玉玲愿意被包养以换取学费及栖身之所，与甘浩贤展开长达8年的不道德交易，但在这买与卖之间，二人关系实际上千丝万缕，感情如父女又如情人般扑朔迷离……

Directed by: Herman Yau 邱礼涛

Starring : Charlene Choi 蔡卓妍 , Simon Yam 任达华


Release Date : 26th Mar 2015
Rating : R21 | SEXUAL SCENES 性相关画面
Language : In Chinese with English Subtitles
Run Time: 94 mins

Trailers : 

http://youtu.be/2cx_VJ9K1k8 



*Note : Please take note that the movie is shown in colour. The photos provided in my blog were in B/W as I wanted to give an artistic feel of the movie. This is solely my own expression of the movie.