With The Yellow Sea playing NYAFF on July 19 here is Mc C's thoughts from when it originally played

With YELLOW SEA returning to NYAFF here is Mr. C's thoughts when it played 15 years ago

The 10th annual NY Asian Film Festival came in whimpering to the theme of love & being horny on the 1st day of screenings to going out with a bang on the Yellow Sea of revenge by the 14th night! Mucho thanks to the guys & gals at Subway Cinema for organizing such a fun event!



THE YELLOW SEA directed by Na Hong-Jin, part of the korean sea of vengeance themed programming was the last screening on this fortnight of NYAFF bliss! Let me highlight a few things from this festive night that made the finale quite unique before going off on a tangent with an abbreviated mr. c monarch note of the film. Trouble would lurk in the projection booth at Walter Reade Theater before the Yellow Sea screening. There were technical difficulties with projecting the subtitles and/or they didn’t have the right format of the film for the showing. The movie seemed to be of the digital projection variety as opposed to traditional film with no subtitles burned onto the image. The director, Na Hong Jin had to use power point with the english text translations on each slide to translate the dialogue for all the scenes in the movie while he tapped on the computer to forward each slide in morse code like rhythm to be in sync with the conversations in real time! The power point slide would be projected onto the digital print of the movie on the bottom of the screen where traditional burned in translations would be! Na Hong Jin did a great job with the subtitles as his timing was impeccable! There were a few instances when the subs were a millisecond or two ahead of the dialogue but better early than late, I suppose! The director told us that he had only one hour to prepare for this debacle! Kudos to Na Hong Jin for rolling with the punches to allow us to watch this film! The 2nd highlight or more accurately, lowlight of the night was the Q&A session after the screening. Some of the questions that were asked by the audience to the director were totally ridiculous & quite embarrassing in my opinion. It definitely made the Q&A awkward & sort of weirded out the night to an otherwise enthusiastic crowd for the screening! The translator also looked confused. Maybe she botched up the translations so we didn't look as bad?! The 1st question/comment posed to Na Hong-Jin from the audience was: I screened this film in China a few months ago & I liked that version better. Do you think an alliance or collaboration with East Asia is important? *WHAT?*
The 2nd question was: How many cars did you smash up on the set? Another bright question: How pertinent was North Korea in relation to the film? *WHAT?* The film had nothing to do with North Korea. It was all about South Korea, China, & the ethnic Koreans living in China. You should of seen the look on the director & translators face! One south asian film student asked: Do you think about the edited portion of the scene before you actually shoot the footage? *WHAT*
The one question that took the golden trophy was (not in these exact words): What is going on with Korea & the epidemic of recent thriller-killer-violent films like the Yellow Sea, I Saw the Devil, The Chaser, and so on! What does that say about Korean society? *STEREOTYPE* It’s called entertainment, buddy!

To be honest, I had mixed feelings about THE YELLOW SEA. The movie had big budget aesthetics written all over it and it seemed to be expertly filmed minus a little bit too much of the shaking camera syndrome & closeup shots to show intensity when under the duress of a life or death action sequence. For fans of ultra violence & blood splatter induced by a hatchet in a thriller setting which crosses over to the horror umbrella, you might find this of interest! For you realism fans, you might start out believing in the dream like Martin Luther King Jr said, but after a few twists & turns here and there, you might start questioning the script. The story starts out great, real grim, dark, & bleak! The setting of the movie takes place in Yanbian, China, a city that is not too far from the borders of north korea. Yanbian would be heavily populated by ethnic Koreans otherwise known as joseonjok who live/work there in hopes for a better opportunity outside of Korea. Our main character, Ku-nam is a cabbie, living day to day with a mah jong gambling habit. He suspects that his wife is cheating on him as she disappears into the arms of South Korea while the grandma takes care of their child. Temptations would soon grab a hold of our furry ethnic Korean friend when a proposal from a raggamuffin gangster type who is very proficient with a hatchet wants to hire him as a hitman to eliminate someone in Seoul. With a big debt on his hand, a runaway wife, and a kid to support, our joseonjok man takes up the offer to murder a professor and bring back his thumb! The only caveat is that he must complete this mission under a strict time limit or else his mother & daughter will be in harms way. The games would soon begin as a rocky boat ride of immigrants from yanbian china to south korea proves to be lethal for some. Things don’t go as planned as Ku-nam entangles with another mafioso when going for the hit. Things from here on out will get the movie realists to shake their heads. Car chases, evading police, eating dog meat off the bone, hatchet hacking, running...lots of running, & some South Korean, Benny Hill style law enforcement will all be a part of this dark thriller-horror-comedy?! The prospects of finding his wife and/or the lover will add fuel to the fire! The crazy hatchet master that hired Ku-Nam will eventually come out from Yanbian-China to play in South Korea! Both of these characters will have more than 9 lives each as death seems to elude them! Realizing that he has been framed, Ku-nam tries to unearth the story as survival & the search for his wife will make a heavy heart. This movie will be a real hit or miss for some. The story takes a bit to build up, but when it does, it gets real suspenseful offering up lots of violence to boot. The instrumental soundtrack to this film is very eery and puts you on edge when the characters start fleeing for their lives or while they are breaking down human parts for portability reasons! The movie is over 2.5 hours long & even with the unbelievable plot, I have to say that I was still engrossed in all the melee! I was completely fascinated by the ethnic Koreans aka joseonjok's that are living in Yanbian, China! I hope to see more movies on this subject!

Slamdance 2022 capsule reviews : Forget Me Not, Poppy, Fury, Doggy Love

Mr. C is in the building! It's been a long time, how's everyone doing??!  I’m a little late in chiming in as the Slamdance Film Festival is nearing the last few days of its virtual runtime but you still have a chance to see some gems especially at that $10 See all - Be all inclusive pass! Buy a pass here! At the very least, you can flag & take note of some interesting films so that you can consume now or later! I caught a handful of features that I thought were worth mentioning.

Forget me not

Forget Me Not 

An infuriating look into the navigation & process of getting public education needs met for an all needs abilities child in the NYC school system. Apparently NYC is one of the most segregated school systems in the nation and that includes children with special needs. But not every parent wants to segregate their kids into a special school that is usually much further away from home & metaphorically, further away from society. Some believe it’s best to include their all needs ability child into the public education system so that they can develop & socialize in a normal setting in order to assimilate and progress like the rest. This formula will give the person the skills, support, & confidence to contribute to society. Of course, the NYC education system prefers to segregate the special needs students into a separate environment with or without the parents’ wishes. This documentary will help to enlighten the process and help parents to make the best decision for their child. Fight the power & Forget me not!

 

 

Fury

 Fury

I very much liked this verite styled look into the life of an aspiring amateur MMA fighter in Poland and her internal struggles of finding confidence & pride in herself without attaching it to a meaningless relationship that makes her feel insecure. I loved the grey, doom & gloom look of the background/settings, vibes, & just overall emotions of the film. I’m not sure if it was the small town feels of this little village in Poland or if it was the technical aspects of the shooting of the film. It’s probably a combination of both. It left me wanting to know more of how she ended up. 

 

Poppy

 

 

 

 

 

Poppy

Loved the sentiment that this film presented as Poppy, a gifted person living in New Zealand follows her passion of becoming a car mechanic in a family owned garage while also finding love in all the right places! Of course it’s not all fun n games as Poppy deals with naysayers, haters, & an overprotective brother with his own issues. It's a feel good story and also a reminder to not judge a book by its cover. 

Doggy Love

Doggy love 

An all too realistic, nitty gritty look at a couple that are passionate about saving stray dogs in their makeshift shelter in Iran when the odds are stacked up against them. Religion, the community, & the government  don’t look at dogs in such an endearing way. In contrast, the couple also has a complicated relationship as the only thing that seemingly keeps them together is the love for dogs. The film parallels the struggle for women in society and to what an uphill battle that the dogs are going through. Love the message.

UNSEEN FILMS STAY AT HOME FESTIVAL: Film Twelve: Mr. C on SUPER INFRAMAN (1975)

I'm reposting Mr C's review of SUPER INFRAMAN because there is no other film quite like it anywhere. Yea it rips off Ultraman and other similar shows but it is really its own glorious thing. Pretty much everyone at Unseen loves the film - and some day I will get Hubert to write down his thoughts on the film.

If you like wild and crazy give the film a shot. It can be had on most VOD platforms

Due to the success of ULTRAMAN & KAMEN RIDER in Hong Kong, Shaw Brothers Studio came back with a HK phooey kaiju chop of their own, known as SUPER INFRAMAN! Literally translated from the chinese characters as Chinese Superman! I think the marketing folks wanted to name the movie as similiar to Ultraman as possible without stepping on the boundaries!

This film is most certainly a fun filled mashup of colorful & evil monsters led by a pretty, but devilish lady princess with a one track mind to invade & destroy earth with the help of her radioactive goons! What stands in their ghoulish ways is a crazy scientist, his research team, & their nuclear bionic creation, a masked Chinese heroine blessed with the extraordinary powers of kung fu, a thunder fist, laser beams, a fire bomb, & the ability to grow to an enormous size!

For being a 1975 production, the special effects, costumes, and the Skeletor-He Man looking set design was pretty darn good in my opinion! The kung fu fighting was also first rate and flowed really well, thanks to the fighting choreography of the great Tang Chia! If you have ever seen a Power Ranger episode then you’ll have a decent idea of what to expect with this film! Super Inframan is eons better with a more twisted looking monster cast, crazy FX, cooler costumes, & more fighting!

Some of these outrageous monster characters included the mutant drill, fire dragon, plant monster, the crabman that turns into a gi-normous version at will, and the skeletor mount devil soldiers! The evil princess & her henchwoman, the sexy witch eye had costumes that looked like Madonna might have copped’ for one of her world tours with her torpedo breasted inspired self! The Chinese superman was played by none other than DANNY LEE! (The Oily Maniac, The Killer, The TeaHouse, Blood Brothers). Though, I’m pretty sure when the masked superman came on the screen, it wasn’t Danny Lee in the costume as I have never seen him kung fu fight like that before! Especially, when Super Inframan is doing backflips on the clouds and does butterfly kicks on the crabman! All would not be well on earth as the Professor and the Chinese Superman look for ways to save society from the mount devil demons!

Some cool scenes (there are many) that stood out for me included the boat ride with the monsters & the professor to mount devil, the supersize fight scene, & the He Man like set melee between the mutant drill, skeleton soldiers, the research team, & Super Inframan!

Mr C's video of the LOST ARCADE World Premiere Q&A

Mr C went to the world premiere at DOC NYC this past Saturday. I was outside of the theater when it was about to go down and the standby line to get into the screening went down the block a good distance from the IFC Center. The desire to get into the screening was so high that even when the people from the fest said that most of the line couldn't get in they stayed there and waited and hoped.

While a  full report can be found over at his regular home PLANET CHOCKO but at the same time I wanted to post the video C took of the Q&A. Its brief but I thought some of you might be interested in seeing it.




And for Mr C's complete report on the LOST ARCADE world premiere go here.

it's today in New Jersey but IT'S ALREADY TOMORROW IN HONG KONG (2015) - NYAFF 2015

(Jamie Chung at Walter Reade Theater - photo by Chocko)

The opening weekend at the 2015 New York Asian Film Festival had me all tweaked out for films with disturbing characters involved with murder and psychological thrillers at psychiatric hospitals in Hong Kong which had me wanting to try the drug ketamine to sedate my racing thoughts. Now, along comes the screening of It's Already Tomorrow in Hong Kong and I was like ok, two american ex-pats from the States working in Hong Kong - they meet by chance at Fragrance Harbour (Hong Kong), have passionate sex at one of the slimey hotels at Chung King Mansions, and the story begins there with a crime of passion and someone getting dismembered.

Back to reality - now let me start with the real story of It's Already Tomorrow in Hong Kong. The skinny: One american gweilo ex-pat from New York meets a Chinese american girl from L.A. while visiting Hong Kong and they walk and talk discussing their unfulfilling relationships as they enjoy each other's company. Another chance meeting the following year at the Star Ferry heading towards Kowloon, they enjoy each other's company again and begin wondering if maybe they are both in relationships with the wrong partners. I hate to use the word cute - ok maybe it's more charming and innocent but It's Already Tomorrow in Hong Kong is kinda cute. It's simply a quiet relationship movie teetering towards the fringes of romance. The two players in the film, Jamie Chung and Bryan Greenberg had great chemistry on the screen which is not a surprise since they are in a relationship together and engaged to be married in real life. The actors didn't seem like they were acting and we the audience were just flies on the wall. The film also doubled as a public service announcement for tourism in Hong Kong as both of these characters show us the local sites in Hong Kong Island including Central, Mid level escalators, Soho, & Lan Kwai Fong districts as well as taking us across the harbor to Kowloon on the Star Ferry to Tsim Tsai Tsui, Nathan Road with Chung King Mansions to pick up a suit, to shopping at Lady Street, & stopping by at a Cantonese opera singing performance on Temple Street. From some of the panoramic shots of HK, the Sogo department store area in the Times Square scene had a lot of video play, too! Ok, this film has got me hankering to look for flights to HK! But in all seriousness and comedy, It's Already Tomorrow in Hong Kong is a charming movie about two individuals that we can relate to and who are very likeable. I'm honestly hoping that there's a sequel here. And please don't take the story to New York City or Los Angeles. Grab some popcorn and snuggle with your honey bunny to watch It's Already Tomorrow in Hong Kong. If you're a dude and you're flying solo, don't tell the fellas' about the rom-com play! See y'all in Hong Kong!

-Thanks to Chocko for recording the Q/A after the screening of It's Already Tomorrow in Hong Kong with Jamie Chung, Bryan Greenberg, & director Emily Ting on the panel!

Insanity (2014) - NYAFF 2015

I liked the mood of this HK psychological thriller from the very beginning, a desperate & disturbed schizophrenic played by veteran actor Lau Ching-Wan abuses his wife physically & verbally until acts of desperation and stupidity causes her to take an unwilling leap to the death. While Lau's character gets off scott-free as the courts denounce the case as death by insanity, Lau gets shipped off to a psychiatric hospital where Dr Chow will be his so called saviour in curing our schizophrenic main lead. Little would we know that Dr Chow would be the star of this show as his past dealings will show why he became a healer in the first place. Who is the patient and who is the Dr of Psychiatry here? Both of our lead protagonists or antagonists whichever way you decide to lump them into, face a "mental" hurdle that many in our society face - that mental health issues often go untreated and undiagnosed. This doesn't seem exactly the case here as the act of treating is certainly recognized but twists and turns in the story will lead this to another type of fate. I liked how the story emphasized mental health treatment and once exhibiting good habits from the treatments, a chance to blend back into the community is offered but other factors from past experiences such as the mother in law will make there presence known. It almost seemed like this movie could of morphed into the horror realm if given a few more traits. What I liked about the film mainly centered around the performance by Lau Ching-Wan as he portrayed the disturbing character of Fan Kwok Sang. I would have never pictured Lau Ching-Wan playing such a bastard but recovering role because of the characters that he has portrayed in the past. I very much liked the cheap thrills and scares from the film involving the distraught mother in law. It really did amp up the tension in the scenes. The film often invokes anger,confusion, & suspense which is mostly dictated by the obtrusive instrumental sounds designed to race your thoughts. The mental flashback scenes that one might get when under the influence of narcotics added anxiety and strain in the membrane! If I was allowed to be picky about the film, the actor that played Dr. Chow seemed to be too stiff & boyish and not enough of the maniacal for the role to my liking. I'm still not sure what to think about the film as the plot of the story is so far fetched but I'm not going to lie, I surely did find it entertaining & suspenseful!

The Iron Ministry (2014) - The New York Film Festival 2014

                Director: J.P. Sniadecki after screening

Film: The Iron Ministry

Director: J.P. Sniadecki

Documentary

I’ve always been fascinated with chinese culture ruled under the iron hand of mother China. The dynamics of their social structure & the economic growth of the motherland dictates the constant pressure of producing and manufacturing goods on those factory floors occupied by their labor soldiers who often work 10-12 hours a day with minimal pay. Rural and urban folks alike, most struggle with sociopolitical issues, human rights, & reform to try to make things right. That being said this documentary has nothing to do with the intro that I just laid down but at the same time, it encompasses everything that I just wrote. It’s a story about the people from the People’s Republic of China observed throughout a train journey.

The loud sounds of the railway will penetrate your senses. The opening segment of the film is dark - sight wise - so much so that you think the theater is having technical difficulties but the familiar echoes of a train smashing on the track at breakneck speeds keeps you at bay. The camera work often left me uneasy, claustraphobic, & twitchy. The beginning scenes were like psychedelic pieces of sound & visuals. I felt like I was an ant crawling up the insides of the train, hearing the creaking sounds of the cars with the accordion like suspension as the train rumbles through the tracks. It was like the director wanted his audience to be a fly buzzing about the train cars at all angles, observing its subject and listening to any interesting conversations, or even just to appreciate the quietness lingering about. Other unique camera angles included zig zagging down the aisles of the train having the point of view of the camera zooming in on the feet of the people that it passes, a foot role call of sorts! Most of the film is void of dialogue or narration except for a few encounters with the passengers. The director engaged a few of the riders with some questions to stimulate conversation and vice versa - a lot of the passengers were also interested in speaking to a gwailo from the U.S. who spoke fluent Mandarin. The Tibetan lady talking about the evolution of the transportation system from China into Tibet was interesting as was the young lady escaping the grips of monotonous work in the factory of Guangzhou. Discussions of the Muslim religion and other social commentaries of China would also flow out from a group of riders as does a conversation about marriage and mother in laws.

All in all, I found The Iron Ministry an invigorating story of the chinese based on travel from the elementary observation through the camera of the director. Your height of sight and sound will most definitely be enlightened.  I learned through the Q&A after the screening that the train ride and footage was amongst many a train rides throughout China. I believe the director said he amounted to about 500 hours of footage over 3 years of train travel from 2011-2013.  It was amazing to see the sleeping conditions of some of the passengers from the coach class of the train as opposed to the preppy sweater wearing bunch with a TV, laptop, & internet access in their first class more roomier counterpart.  The only thing that I wished more for in the film was more output in dialogue with the train riders. The tone was set with a lot of the quiet observations of our subject but more conversations or perhaps some narration would of added more personality for me that would of roped me more into the film. That being said The Iron Ministry is a documentary that you should wrap yourself around especially in a theater to appreciate the tranquil thrill of the ride that will alert your senses!   

Killers on Wheels (1976) New York Asian Film Festival 2014

Over at his regular home base, Planet Chocko, Mr C ran a review of the crazy Shaw Brothers biker flick KILLERS ON WHEELS. I can't hope to top his review so if you're curious about the film I'm going to direct you to his review which can be found here.

Mr C's Sandra Ng weekend at The New York Asian FIlm Festival 2014

Mr C spent this past weekend seeing several ofthe Sandra Ng films that played at the New York Asian Film Festival.  and hewas kind enough to send them along for me to post.

Here's Sandra after recieving The Star Asia Award

Here's Sandra, her husband Peter Chan and their daughter.

Here's her during the Q&A after GOLDEN CHICKENSSS 


The video of the GOLDEN CHICKEN Q&A


The video of the PORTLAND STREET BLUES Q&A

An Autumn's Tale (1987) - celebrating Chinese New Year!

Director: Mabel Cheung
Stars: Chow Yun Fat, Cherie Chung

A Hong Kong movie filmed in New York City, An Autumn’s Tale leaves its markings as a subtle slow brewing romance that develops between Chow Yun Fat, a foul-mouthed-street talking immigrant from Hong Kong now living in NYC and his long distant cousin visiting from HK played by Cherie Chung. Things don’t go as planned as Cherie’s character discovers that her current boyfriend who lives in the states has eyes for another lady.  Luckily her degenerate cousin is there to consul her as their relationship starts to simmer despite being polar opposites in personality and lifestyle. There is nothing hot & heavy in this movie, quite the opposite actually as situations and circumstance will make both these characters look in the mirror to re-evaluate themselves. And that’s pretty much it with the plot, folks! There is definitely nothing mind bending, twisted, or dramatic with this film. The simplicity, honesty, and the non-contrived, less is more feel of the story is what makes this such a charming film. It also didn’t hurt that Chow Yun Fat and Cherie Chung turned in a tremendous showing with their individual performances as well as the chemistry between them.  

My 2nd reason for really digging this movie is because of the filming locations. An Autumn’s Tale showcased a 1980’s NYC that I remember growing up to as my parents and sisters worked in the Lower East Side/Chinatown area.  From the sweatshops to the noodle shops to the banks, I remember hustling and bustling with the family in this grimey part of the area. The film would highlight shots from an apartment building underneath the Manhattan Bridge just across the way from what is now a Skaters park as well as a very famous Dim Sum Restaurant from that era on the Bowery called Silver Palace in which Chow Yun Fat was a waiter. Other visuals from the film that brought back thoughts of a vanishing New York included the gritty 42nd St/Times Square with the XXX/grindhouse theaters and peeps shows to go along with those outstanding video stores selling the gammut of Kung Fu/Karate movies. To offset the sleazy, there was also a scene that showed the famous steps leading to the exclusive Lincoln Center!  Of course you can’t be a true blue New Yorker without stepping foot at the Promenade in Brooklyn Heights as the Fat man showed us! To impress us NJ folks, the film crew also ventured into Hoboken to show off the Hoboken/Lackawanna Train & Ferry Terminal as Chow Yun Fat dropped off Cherie Chung to pickup her boyfriend at a NJ Transit Train.

As much as I loved the backdrop of the film, the performances & chemistry displayed by Chow & Chung were undeniably what drew me in. You can easily identify with the day to day struggles of the characters as well as struggles internally as they rediscover themselves.  If you are a blood in/blood out HK cinema fan, An Autumn’s Tale is a must on your list for bliss! For the chinese immigrant in you, this is required viewing! But Chow Yun Fat - why are you a Met’s fan in the movie? Oh, that’s right - 1986! Front runner!

The God of Cookery: Celebrating Chinese New Year!

I couldn’t celebrate the lunar new year without referencing a Stephen Chow film and none better or ludicrous to be more exact than one of his better works as in The God of Cookery.  As with most of his movies, the over the top - slapstick, buffoonery, & foul language are all part of his magic elixir. The God of Cookery is a story of conceit, betrayal, redemption, & love...love for food that is! For those that attended last years NY Asian Film Festival and got a chance to screen the  Malaysian film - Nasi Leemak which was another food inspired fantasy/comedy, you will see many similiarities and influences taken from this Chow film.

Stephen Chow plays the arrogant & celebrated chef known as the God of Cookery.  He has a walk on water persona and operates a successful business with his empire of restaurants besides the mass distribution of low quality instant food.  He is also a much heralded judge of cooking competitions offering an iron clad system of dismissing other chefs with futility in the heat of the battle during judgement time. But every king is destined to be dethroned as ‘Bull Tong’ acts as a mole as Chow hires him out of pity to become his lowly assistant but little does the God of Cookery know that deceit and his ego gets the best of him as a new God of Cookery is named with Chow finding himself in handcuffs as he gets framed for serving low end quality beef which got many sick at his restaurant.

With his tale between his legs, Stephen Chow finds himself in the famous Temple Street Night market as the 2nd main character enters the story, Sister Turkey (Karen Mok) who runs a hawker stand serving noodles as well as also serving as a laison with the local triads. Sister Turkey saves Chow from self destruction and the local gangsters get into the mix too. With a new recipe in tow for the explosive pissing shrimp beef ball which promises the freshness of beef with the sweetness of shrimp, Chow & the gang have a new dish to hawk on Temple Street to bring back his reputation as well as redemption from those that double crossed him. The kitchen of the ‘Chinese Cookery Academy’ in Mainland China will provide some assistance to Stephen Chow as well as the presence of some chinese deities!

I think you will either love or hate this film. As with most of his films, Chow brings out the inner evil cockiness in his characters, strips them down completely, then rebuilds his role with more reverence and hero like characteristics often involving references to the Shaolin Temple and Kung Fu in general. Of course, there is always a love story sprinkled in there somewhere!  For being such a beautiful lady in real life, the makeup & costume made Karen Mok look pretty damn hideous in the film!    

For those more familiar with Stephen Chow’s Shaolin Soccer & Kung Fu Hustle, you will see many comedic elements from the God of Cookery that all his films will possess: the parodies, the overacting, overexaggerated physical comedy & violence, and the foul language! Here, Chow’s Kung Fu is cooking and he does a darn fine job exploiting that! And man, I’m fiending for some good BBQ pork over rice right about now! For all my money, I’m in it to win it with this Stephen Chow gem. Go see this!

Invisible Target (2007) - Celebrating Chinese New Year!

Director: Benny Chan
Stars: Nicholas Tse, Shawn Yue, Jaycee Chan, Wu Jing, Andy On
Genre: HK action/revenge-crime thriller

It was really fun revisiting this film for 2 hours of mind-numbing, adrenaline rushing escape from reality as the high voltage action just kept on getting bigger and bigger as the film went on. I can’t say the same for the plot but for the pure balls to the wall fighting, explosions, gun-play, and stunts - you can do no wrong with this one! Without giving out any spoilers, the story starts out with the organized crime gang of 7 led by Andy On and the always kick-ass Wu Jing who robs an armored vehicle full of bank notes. Explosions, rapid-firing, death, & getaways are atop this scene. One of the unfortunates is the fiancee of renegade HK cop - Chang Chun (Nicholas Tse). Revenge is on this cop’s mind as the first layer of the movie would be set. The 2nd tiered layer cake of revenge comes in when the gang of 7 is also on a mad hunt looking for those that double-crossed them in the armored truck heist. Jaycee Chan (real life son of Jackie Chan) is a to the books-beat cop patrolling the streets of HK. He gets involved in this case because his brother - an undercover cop who was part of the sting to infiltrate the gang becomes a person of interest to the HK police force. Shawn Yue plays Carson Fong, another outlaw police officer who is going to join the others in capturing the outlaw 7.  There are other twists and turns in the story that are not too hard to figure out once things get on the road. Nicholas Tse and Jaycee Chan does a reputable job in being quite dramatic when called upon when they are not exchanging fists & kicks with the villains!

There are major flaws with the story and lack of character development however, the main thing that kept this movie boat afloat was the intensity and the bravado as displayed in all of the action scenes. There were spectacular shots of the Central district in HK as great camera work allowed us to follow a sequence of unbelievable stunts involving a double decker bus that was Jackie Chan-esque. As a matter of fact, all the action in the film was Jackie Chan-esque!  One of my favorite fight scenes involved the 3 cops in the restaurant vs the loudmouth gang of thugs. Jaycee Chan gets the living snot beat out of him, but the three in general displayed some great martial art moves. Bodies were flying and countless chairs, tables, & glass were being shattered! Then there is Wu Jing who plays a nasty & vicious villain as he displays his wu-shu skills like a wicked tornado that enters the scene as he slays his victims with mass blood appeal! Another amazing sequence that still plays in my mind is when the cops and robbers where hopping from rooftop to rooftop playing a deadly game of cat & mouse! It was certainly a breathtaking shot of moving images! The end fight scene takes precedent in of all places - a police station! Without doubt, the finale ends in dramatic fashion - Hong Kong style! If you are a shallow action movie admirer like myself - the crazy stunts like jumping off of buildings, getting smashed by buses, rolling down stairs, the street & car chases, rooftop hopping, gunplay, explosives, & the fighting will certainly lure you into the darkside of Invisible Target!   

Painted Faces (1988) - Celebrating Chinese New Year!

Director: Alex Law
Stars: Sammo Hung, Lam Ching Ying, Cheng Pei Pei
Produced: Shaw Brother Studios & Golden Harvest
Genre: Drama - based on true story of a Peking opera school in HK


The Chinese Drama Academy based in Hong Kong in the 1950’s & 60’s was a performance school that taught acrobatics, kung fu, & peking opera to children as young as 7 years old. The academy was run by Master Yu - Jimmy Yuen. It was more of a boarding school where the students would train for about 10 years on contract from their parents as the teacher provided room, board, food, & training. The students would give back by participating in Peking Opera performances at Theaters. What is significant about the Chinese Drama/Peking Opera Academy is that Master Yu churned out some talented students like Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, Yuen Biao, Yuen Wah, & Cory Yuen who all became successful actors, stuntmen, fight choreographers, & film directors in Hong Kong. Painted Faces is a dramatized version of the legend of this school and its founder told by the experiences of Sammo Hung - he himself a senior student of the Master. Sammo Hung incidentally plays Master Yu in Painted Faces!

Painted Faces depicts Master Yu (Sammo Hung) as a very harsh disciplinarian often using face slappings, bamboo canings, verbal abuse, and handstands as forms of punishment. Some of the scenes with the extreme stretching exercises had me cringing with pain. When Yu was away or had to step out - the senior most student of his class, Sammo would be his muscle to lead the class. Unknowbenownst to Yu though, Sammo would lookout for his classmates in a more lenient and caring way.  When another young student who enters the academy named ‘ah lung’ or some of his classmates called ‘big nose’ which we all later know as Jackie Chan - would receive much discipline in forms of black and blues. Though the troupe would be highly disciplined, kids will be kids as adventures such as sneaking out for food, western dance, and fighting would be inevitable but they will have there consequences.

This film is partly about the brotherhood that is congealed through enduring the same pain, training, and the cliche but true - age old adage of blood, sweat, and tears earned at the Chinese Drama Academy but make no mistake about it - the main dish served at Painted Faces is the coming of age story in Master Yu - Jimmy Yuen. He truly cares for his students like children of his own, but just as some fathers have funny ways of expressing their love, Yu likes to express his through discipline and training in the form of what doesn’t kill you will make you stronger. The film is often charming, cruel, touching, and manages to be very sad at the same time. Sammo Hung puts on a great performance playing the role of his real life teacher! Hell, I think it might be his best acting performance in a non-martial art role to be honest!  The beautiful Cheng Pei Pei is also cast in the movie as the head master in an all lady Peking Opera school. Ironically, the legendary Hopping Vampire master in films such as Mr. Vampire, Lam Ching Ying plays the Kung Fu brother (Uncle Wah) of Master Yu in Painted Faces. Lam Ching Ying in real life attended a rival Peking Opera School in Hong Kong to the Chinese Drama Academy called the Spring and Autumn Drama School. Their students included well known HK film actors Chin Kar Lok, Hsia Hou, Mars, Meng Hoi, Lee Hoi San, & Austin Wai.
Master Yu seemed to have a soft spot for ‘A Wah’ and Cheng Pei Pei’s role as they seem to press a more sensitive button in his soul. There is a very touching scene of A-Wah and Yu performing a Peking Opera set perched above the rafters of a film set as onlookers looked in astonishment. This one ‘act’ might have served as the ultimate reality check to Master Yu’s Peking Opera students as to the hardships in the film business. Thoughts of retirement and the murky outlook in regards to the footprint of his school is causing his mind to race. A turtle that was used as an extension to hold up Master Yu’s bed is finally set free to crawl as it pleases. The turtle was a very symbolic piece in the movie. Perhaps the meaning referred to being suspended in time or running in place of sorts or perhaps the turtle was the extension of his students & the school and with that on the brink of the unknown, the stability of that fourth leg is in the state of flux. I prefer to think of it as the turtle crawling away with a new beginning, a new chapter to be told.

Symbolic meaning or not, I recommend that you grab a hold of this rare/out of print movie and digest the hell out of Sammo Hung’s dramatic performance! Jackie Chan, Sammo, Yuen Biao, Cory Yuen, & Yuen Wah fans or not, this movie stands by itself even without the seven little fortunes of the Chinese Drama/Peking Opera Academy!

The Zen of Bennett

After hearing some rumblings of this film from Chocko who reported live and direct when it first screened at the Tribeca Film Festival and seeing some of his red carpet photos from the event, he sent out warning arrows to the tribe that The Zen of Bennett was playing at IFC with Tony Bennett scheduled to be in attendance for the October 24th screenings! So off we went to IFC to investigate and extrapolate! Below is a cross-post from our native haunts at Planet Chocko!

(Tony Bennett and son - Danny Bennett: photo by mr c)

The documentary, The Zen of Bennett takes us on a behind the scenes look at Tony Bennett and what makes this legend tick even up to his gingerly age of 85 years young. From the onset of the film, Bennett preaches what he practices – that everything about yourself – your aura, your looks, your every move, your work should be about quality. No time should be wasted or vacated by anything less than being your best. So there begins the pace that the legendary singer sets as we follow him to various studios (NJ,London,Italy) for a recording session with some well known and talented musicians/vocalist in their own right including Norah Jones, Amy Winehouse, Natalie Cole, John Mayer, Lady Gaga, Michael Buble, Carrie Underwood, and legends like Willie Nelson, Andrea Boccelli, and Aretha Franklin. We get to see the amazing interaction between Bennett and the current artists of today – how he nurtures, compliments, and basically passes the torch from a lion like himself to the young pride! You would imagine Bennett and Aretha Franklin’s duet performance would of been the most explosive in terms of energy but it seemed like the Bennett – Lady Gaga combination was pretty darn earth shattering! It was also great to see Tony work his gentle demeanor and playfulness with Michael Buble and Amy Winehouse to ease the anxiety pains in the studio. It was very touching to see how Bennett was truly concerned for Winehouse and her battle with the demons. You can catch Tony’s Zen like magic (not in a religious way) as he coddles Amy Winehouse to make her feel more comfortable with her fidgety self in the recording session. Winehouse and Bennett teamed up for a smoky, down and dirty version of “Body and Soul”. Unfortunately thereafter, the tragic death of Amy would cause a ripple of sadness within Bennett.

Not everything is all peaches and cream & Zen like with Tony as we see some examples of being stubborn and cranky at times but hell – who’s perfect? Michael Buble’s interview with the media causes concern for Bennett as he misinterprets the message as being old. Another incident in Italy at Andrea Boccelli’s home/studio will question someones work ethic. Don’t even talk about rearranging the tempo and flow of the songs!

We also had the privilege to see the singing legend’s other passion – drawing and painting! It was fun watching Tony do a quick sketch of Willie Nelson in the studio. The Zen of Bennett, not to be confused with the religious aspects of Buddhism portrayed a quiet, compassionate, and tender side of our subject as he kept all things classy! I can easily see how this man remains young at heart, humble, & successful. It’s all because of family dynamics and the tight bond between them.

Tony Bennett fan or not, The Zen of Bennett will give you a different perspective with living/appreciating life to the fullest and will perhaps touch your tender button. At the very least it will bring the sexy back to wearing ties and with making sure that those shoes get polished correctly!

The Zen of Bennett continues to screen at IFC Theaters in NYC until 10/30!

Those that are fiending for Tony Bennett and the above mentioned artists & others collaborate, do yourself some justice and buy the DUETS II album!

Chio-Tian Folk Drummers from Taiwan - DIN TAO: Leader of the Parade

We are not quite ready to let go of that New York Asian Film Festival train just yet as I have at least one more sugar sweet Taiwanese treat to share with the Unseen Films family.  DB & I went to the screening of DIN TAO: LEADER OF THE PARADE last July which was part of the NYAFF programming. DB gave a nice overall capsule review of that particular day’s festivities HERE. In a nutshell, this Taiwanese film was basically a feel good story about a traditional drum team and their struggles to maintain an identity, remain relevant, & to come together as a unit to compete with a rival troupe.  I liked the movie a lot but I LOVED the cultural and drumming aspects of DIN TAO even more so.

As luck would have it, the drum team that the film would set the spotlight on, The CHIO-TIAN FOLK DRUMS AND ARTS GROUP happened to be coming to NYC for a debut performance at Hearst Plaza on the grounds of Lincoln Center last friday. Unfortunately, I couldn’t make their show on-time but luckily I found out that they had one more performance slated at Foley Square by City Hall the next morning at 10am before flying back to Taiwan.  Seeing and hearing the CHIO-TIAN group in person made me appreciate Din Tao even more. The drummers looked fierce and ready for battle as they pounded rhythmic tribal beats on the drum wearing their ferocious face paint with traditional bottoms and no tops while the ladies looked elegant dressed in their custom embroidered folk uniform.

Din Tao is a religious Taoist procession which features drumming, huge body costumes of gods and an even bigger & taller body costumes of the Eight Generals who serve as “policeman” to capture and punish evil spirits.

I recognized at least one of the drummers at the performance in Foley Square who was in the movie as well. I hope you enjoy the ritualistic Taiwanese drumming and dance routines!

                                (All photos and videos by mr c)

Mr. C's favorites from NYAFF 2012

The 2012 New York Asian Film Festival ended more than a week ago and I’m finally taking a step back to list my top 5 favorite films of the fest. The highlight of the festival for me had to be the special guests including Choi Min Sik, Donnie Yen, & Chung Chang-Hwa!

First of all, I’m so impressed with Choi Min-Sik’s off/on screen persona. He seemed to be such a genuinely nice guy offering his time to shake everyone’s hand, take photos, & sign autographs. While in interview mode after the screenings, he offered candid, witty, & well thought out - inspirational answers about himself & the film industry. And as far Choi Min-Sik’s movie programming for the festival- wow to FAILAN, CRYING FIST, OLD BOY, & NAMELESS GANGSTER! The range of roles that Choi played in those films truly was awe-inspiring!

Donnie Yen was well - DYNAMIC to say the least! Great job to NYAFF and Subway Cinema for tapping into the resources to get someone like Donnie in the mix! I honestly thought that he was an untouchable!

It was also an honor to hear and see a legendary director that has direct links to the Shaw Brother Studios & Golden Harvest! Chung Chang-Hwa is a dying breed of no-nonsense, old school film pioneers that paved the path for martial art movies as we know it today. Thank you sir!

Well, I can’t wait for the next installment of NYAFF 2013 but in the meantime, the following movies were some of my favorites from NYAFF 2012. These are just the top 5 films that I had the most fun watching! Honorable mentions also go out to MONSTERS CLUB and POTECHI! FAILAN (2001) is not a new movie but was new to me and I think it deserves an honorable shout-out as well!

See you next year -- NYAFF!

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TOKYO PLAYBOY CLUB  (Japan) - From the dirty depths and alleyways of shinjuku came this gritty shot in the dark movie that blindsided me into sneaking it to my favorites list from the festival. Without looking or thinking very deeply into the synopsis of the film, I chose to watch this movie just like I might have chosen that horse to win, place, or draw at the Belmont Stakes -- purely based on the name! What I got from TPC was not a pink or softcore porn film as the name might have suggested but instead we were fed with a grimey underworld filled with non glorified yakuza characters mixing in with a bunch of outsider raggamuffin all stars uniting to run a brothel in the Shinjuka district of Tokyo. The outsiders and the Yakuza would blend together like oil and water as tales of darkness with some comedic undertones and implied carnage will keep you itching for the next scene. I’m glad I placed Tokyo Playboy Club to win at this horse race!

 

VULGARIA (Hong Kong) - definitely lived up to the vulgar title as outlaw Hong Kong director Pan Ho Cheung introduced us to a vile, foul mouthed, & off the wall film about the trials and tribulations of a HK producer of 3rd rate films. The director threw the whole HK film industry under the bus in fun fashion and saluted china with the middle finger of death to censorship!  Vulgaria is a category III rated film with plenty of F-Bombs, talks & insinuations of beastiality, and plenty of fun & witty sex talk with a character nicknamed ‘Popping Candy’.  The story is paper thin but the creativity, outlaw techniques, and odd-ball execution of the film wins my votes!  I think having a fluent ear with cantonese would of been optimal to capture subtle nuances of the slang, play on words, & accentuated accents from some of the characters but through the audience laughter in the theater, most of the film seemed to translate pretty well to the gweilo crowd! Oh and remember to stay till the ending credits. You might or might not see Shaw Brother veteran actress - Susan Shaw being handled for lack of better words!

SCABBARD SAMURAI (Japan) - was a story about a broken down, toothless, soulless, swordless samurai - a wanted fugitive who literally lost his fight to live with an embarrassed young daughter in tow. The Scabbard Samurai is finally captured by the Lord but is sentenced to commit suicide unless he can make the young Prince laugh in 30 days.  The Prince is stricken with depression because of the Queen’s death. It took a while for the story to build but once the viewers saw the desperation and spirit emit out of the swordless samurai through his performances, we all knew he had plenty of heart & honor left in his broken soul. The old man brought a lot of laughs to me as the viewer, but would he make the grief stricken Prince laugh? One thing is for certain, the Scabbard Samurai’s daughter would learn a thing or two from her father. I loved the message that this movie was trying to convey - a message of honor, loyalty, compassion, & sympathy.



NASI LEMAK 2.0 (Malaysia) - is one of those silly films a la Stephen Chow style that I enjoyed a little too much at the festival which left me fiending for Malaysian eats! The premise of the movie is about food and the battle between the various cooking styles that makes Malaysia -- Malaysia.  As a matter of fact, I took the ‘food’ battle as a metaphor for ‘ethnic’ battle which eventually turned the fight into the melding and appreciation of all races that co-exist in Kuala Lumpur. The Iron Chef like cooking duel would pit the chinese vs the chinese with a rice dish as the final product. The dark horse would be the chef that would have the foresight to break out of the traditional chinese mold to use local products and heritage from malaysia including influences from India, the Indigenous Malaysians, & the chinese.  The national dish of Malaysia, Nasi Lemak, often served in street hawker stalls is basically a melting pot of ingredients with flavors of curry, coconut milk, & sambal as the base to add fragrance to this rice dish all wrapped up in a bundle of goodness!  
This feel good movie addresses a lot of racial stereotypes in Kuala Lumpur with comedy as the vehicle of transport. A great quote from the movie compares curries to relationships: Finding a great curry mix is like finding that perfect blend of personalities to form a great relationship!  Besides the fun musical/karaoke numbers in the hip hop, bollywood, & traditional chinese realms - I loved that the film is basically a film ode to Malaysia and all its multicultural influences while throwing in steady hints of social issues as well. To celebrate the different cultures of Malaysia, the movie was filmed in a hodge podge of languages including cantonese (chinese), localized malaysian, Indian, mandarin, & even a little Japanese in the end! The flow and the pure wackiness of the film reminded me of last years entry in the NYAFF - SELLOUT! Look out for subtle references to Eason Chan and Edison Chen in Nasi Lemak 2.0!

 
NAMELESS GANGSTER (Korea) is another film that caught me by surprise especially with Choi Min-Sik’s role as the nameless gangster. We have been accustomed with Choi playing the Alpha male in all or most of the characters that he portrays but in this movie, he gives a dramatic - Al Pacino like performance! Set during a time when Korea declared war on gangs in the 1990s, we first see Choi Ik-hyun (Choi Min-Sik) enter in a Police Station in handcuffs. Next the story would flashback to a time when Choi Ik would try to explain his role in the underworld to avoid persecution.  Through contacts, brains, plenty of balls, and the endurance of pain along with the gift of gab, Ik-Hyun remains relevant in intense situations! Politicians, gangsters, & persecutors would be in the mix and our nameless gangster would know how to deal with them by any means necessary!  The black comedy, violence, and pure chameleon like personality of Choi Min-Sik’s character has me intrigued to see him in more multi-dimensional projects like this in the future!