危城 CALL OF HEROES Movie Review

Director and Casts

Producer/ Director: Benny Chan
Action Director: Sammo Hung

Cast:
Eddie Peng Yuan
Sean Lau
Louis Koo
Wu Jing 

Review 

This martial art action film takes on the theme of the good prevailing over the evil, set in the chaotic warring periods of warlords after the Qing Dynasty collapsed giving way to the founding of the Chinese republic in 1911. It is a tale, as with many in a similar genre, in which justice finally triumphed, with huge loss of lives, when heroes rose to the call of the occasion. The film is supported by a cast of award-winning stars. 

I usually avoid martial art films because of their trite story lines, often told with exaggeration of incredible human spirit and unconvincing martial art flicks. This martial art film, however, actually held me spellbound, continuously engaging me emotionally and visually from one scene to another, enhanced by the rousing music and some spectacular scenes, epic and inspiring at times. I particularly like the memorable scene of the crumbling mountain of jars on which two martial art adversaries fought ferociously, though I found the outcome of the life-and-death duel ludicrously weird when the winning adversary sacrificed himself to save his opponent in the avalanche of falling jars.

The story was set in the remote village of Puchung, with the upright and stubborn Sheriff, played by Sean Lau (刘青云), in charge. The psychopathic son of the warlord Cao, played by Louis Koo (古天乐), dropped by at the village and killed a villager, a teacher and a child. The Sheriff pronounced a death sentence on Cao’s son to be carried out the next day. Cao’s men and soldiers, led by Wu Jing (吴京) came to rescue Cao’s son, who preferred to sit through the night in the prison cell to see how his ‘game’ would play out. The village’s officials and ordinary folks pleaded with the Sheriff to release Cao’s son to spare them and the village to live another day. The Sheriff rather resigned then to violate his principle, and Cao’s son was released. However, the village was not spared and hell broke loose. The heroes of the village responded rose to the occasion, assisted by a wandering vagabond played by Eddie Peng (彭于晏). 

Do note that the film is coded NC 16 owing to the violent and sometimes gory contents. However, you need not be 16 to close your eyes to many of these vividly gory scenes if they are disturbing to watch.  Produced and directed by Benny Chan with action direction by Sammo Hung, I will rate this film 3.5 out of 5 on the whole.  Showing in cinema from 18 Aug 2016.

Trailer

Behind the Scene

A Good Review in Cantonese

PARIS HOLIDAY (巴黎假期) Movie Review

SYNOPSIS

Kit leaves Hong Kong for Paris with a broken heart, to start a new page of life and venturing into the wine business. Through real estate agent, Lau Chung, he finds a shared apartment with a weird tenant, Man, a desperate artist going through a bad breakup.

Man hates men after a devastating breakup, in order to get along with Man under the same roof, Kit pretends to be gay. At the beginning, Man’s eccentric and insane behavior gets onto Kit’s nerve, but after knowing Man’s heartbreaking past by chance, Kit decides to stay and teaches Man how to get over a failed relationship, as this is exactly what he has encountered in the past. Kit also helps Man ignites her passion for drawing, which allows Man to regain her confidence and balance in life. Soon, the two get closer and falls for each other.

One day, Man bumps into her ex-fiancé Fai, she is shocked but surprised that she no longer felt any pain - she has really overcome the past relationship with the help and support of Kit. Meanwhile, when Kit and Man are going to move a step forward, Kit’s ex-girlfriend comes to Paris causing misunderstandings which takes a toll on the relationship.

Cast

Starring : Louis Ko, Kuo Tsai-Chieh, Alex Fong, Janice Man, Jeremy Jones Tsui, Hu Jing, Candy Liu

Directed by : James Yuen

Review

This endearing film is about love, its ups and downs, agony and bliss in all its complexity. But it is made simple by the relationship of a man, charismatically played by Louis Ko, and a woman whose challenging role is convincingly taken by Kuo Tsai-Chieh. Both were escaping from failed relationships and were thrown together in Paris in unexpected, awkward and sometimes humorous situations. 

Through the relationship emerge the lessons about love. In times when love is lost, support of friends is critical to your recovery. In our pursuit of success and material wealth, we often take for granted loved ones until they are gone. There are ‘devils and angels’ in relationships and you need to see them as a part and parcel of your life in order to move on. The director, James Yuen, has ably woven into the story poignant and tender moments, with a touch of romance thrown in. Set in Paris, with Eiffel Tower often as a backdrop, the film offers a glimpse of the enchanting city as well as the peculiarity of some Parisian neighbours.

For those in love, the film will bring them the warmth and comfort of having a ‘soul mate’, a point repeated in the story. For those not yet in love or unfortunate enough to be out of love, the film gives hope and a sense of maturity to take one step at a time and learn to enjoy each step taken with the people around you. I found this film well worth the time spent and enjoyed every moment of it.

Rating

I shall rate it at 4/5. The movie will be showing in cinema on the 13 Aug 2015. 

TRAILER 

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