Reviews

This is one very cool film! The graphics are amazing, they are so life-like that when I first saw them, I thought it was real! Charming characters, good storyline remarkable for something that had to juggle the thin line between adults and childern, and very funny, esp. the outtakes...Don't be scared (like I was) that this is a Disney film-it's not as corny as it could have been. It's a tad predictable in some spots but, well, who cares? Great entertainment for anyone of any ages.

Following the great HK tradition of sequels, this is the third (and last) in line. Made four years after the original, it's not a bad film, with some big shoes to fill, but the storyline by now is predictable as. Also, only one person from the original cast! However Tony Leung is very charming as the monk who is finding himself falling in love, and Joey Wong is again ethereal as the ghost. Well, it's a fair attempt but the magic's gone.

Director Alfred Cheung must either hate Mainland Chinese or something, as this film hilariously sends them up! Two Mainlander cops bring with them a prisoner, and poor Tony Leung has to look after them during their stay. Dodo Cheung gives an amazing performance as the loudmouthed, patriotic Madam-she is so funny without being anything remotely vulgar (which is a great temptation). The scenes where Tony's father and Dodo battle it out is a classic. A wonderful parody of Mainland Chinese cops and their methods of investigations...."We don't need evidence to charge people! All we need is our imagination!".

After the resounding success of "A Chinese Ghost Story" a second part had to be made. And what a sequel it is! This time our bumbling tax-collector finds himself in prison, fighting stacks of rubber monsters and befriending a Taoist who likes to travel underground! It's nice to see all the cast back too. This movie is very funny and never takes itself too seriously. For some who didn't quite understand the first movie, this is great to clear up any confusion. For the others, this is lighthearted entertainment.

The movie that Chang Cheh's disciples, John Woo, Wu Ma, and a host of others, put together to help their master ease the debts. Everywhere on the net I see all these people complaining about the film. After I watched it, I don't see why people would hate this, unless you're a diehard John Woo fanatic/macho person. Yes, women have a more prominent role in this film! They have an impact on the plot! They aren't just flower vases! "Just Heroes" (or "Tragic Heroes" if you like) borrows sections of "The Godfather", complete with the intrigue. Only complaint that I have is that the ending was a little rushed, which is to be expected since they were pressed for time, and at times the storyline pulls in all sorts of directions, but the gunfights were some of the best I have seen. The deconstruction of heroism was great, with the last few minutes powerfully hitting the mark. Great work for a film that was put together in a few weeks.

This was supposedly the "sequel" to Wu Ma's film "The Dead And The Deadly" but they have just about nothing in common! (aside from the supernatural references.) Oh well. A very interesting film about shocked spirits who have no idea that they are dead (and found floating in the Thames) and the cousins in HK that have to keep that fact hidden or the spirit will never reincarnate. Some very funny moments and Richard Ng brings a lot of charm into this...so if you want a dose of gallows humour, HK style, this is a fine example.

The main reason why I watched this was simple-I wanted to see how Hollywood can waste close on $300 million on a film. After leaving the cinema I thought they had wasted all this amount on some tripe, and I said to myself-what could they have done to help some poverty stricked country. The plot itself was one of the weakest of 1997, the leads were cardboard characters and the dialogue made me want to get up and slap them all crazy. The computer generated graphics were so obvious, esp. when they did overhead shots of the ship sailing through the ocean (polygon people anyone?). Still however there are always good sides to every bad thing, and the sinking of the ship was a feast for the eyes. It was almost like you were there! The details on the whole were very accurate and the costumes were gorgeous. The ending was very sad, and gave a human face to the tragedy, but it didn't erase the first three-quarters. It's an average film at best, and a Leo DiCaprio trailer/James Cameron ego satisfier, and DOES NOT deserve all the accolades it has gathered.

This movie is a classic of Chinese cinema! It has everything a movie should have-beautiful cinematography, great cast, engrossing storyline and some very good fights. It's funny yet sad at times, and this is somewhat of a rarity in HK cinema in the late 90's: you actually care about what happens with the characters! All credit should be given to the cast, with Leslie Cheung charming as the bumbling tax collector, Joey Wang as one of the most etheral ghosts that have haunted the silver screen and who could forget Wu Ma as the sarcastic Taoist. Also, this film started a whole new chain of imitations (about a thousand) on forbidden love between mortal and ghost. It's very highly recommended.