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I wanted to hop away from this one
Aside from also starring Lam Ching Ying and featuring hopping vampires, Mr. Vampire 2 had little to do with the original Mr. Vampire. Mr. Vampire 2 seemed to think if 2 Idiot assistants were good in the first film, 3 or more would be even better. The relentless slapstick comedy dragged this movie down for me.Grave robbers come across 3 Jiangshi in a cave and take them back to their lab. They believe the hopping vampires will fetch a good price. In the process of transporting the little boy vampire, his talisman comes loose and he escapes. A little girl finds him and makes friends with him. The mother and father vampires are set loose first by Idiot #1 and then again with Idiot #3. “Hilarity” ensues.
The humor in this film didn’t work for me. Wanting to molest a frozen female vampire wasn’t humorous to me. A snake going up Idiot #1’s pants or Idiot #2 keeping a frog in his mouth didn’t tickle my funny bone. And once again a snake was killed, this time its heart was eaten by Idiot #2 as a tonic. Idiot #3 tried to convince Lam Ching Ying to let him marry his daughter by telling him he was already banging her. Who does that? How many times could people stupidly free the vampires while hamming it up for the camera? Each “hilarious” fight took around 10 minutes. Another thing that took away from my enjoyment was the terrible dubbing for the children. The little boy vampire was cute and because he couldn’t talk, didn’t have the bad dubbing by an adult. Despite the cute little vampire and the children taking him with them on outings, this shouldn’t be mistaken for a children’s show though it felt like they were trying to lean in that direction.
The best part of this film was Lam Ching Ying and his unibrow who appeared to be the only adult in the room. Moon Lee who was featured in the first film had a couple of small scenes in this sequel. Wu Ma made a brief appearance as a neighbor. James Tien who played in many kung fu movies showed up as an inept police captain. The three trouble-makers had me rooting for the hoppers who were far less annoying. The only other bright spot was when Lam Ching Ying’s character rattled off his credentials, such as---his master Sammo had Spooky Encounters and Lam had caught a Mr. Vampire last year. Speaking of Sammo, I missed the kung fu that took place in Mr. Vampire (1985).
Mr. Vampire 2 had possibilities by being set in the then present 1986. If you enjoy Hong Kong slapstick comedy you will likely enjoy this film far more than I did. I won’t be crypt-ic, there was nothing I could sink my teeth into and enjoy.
6 October 2024
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Wasn't electrifying
Whether watched under the title Frankenstein Conquers the World or Frankenstein vs Baragon, this movie was a letdown on both counts. I enjoyed War of the Gargantuans, the loose sequel to this film and had higher hopes for the origin story. All the scenes of decimated animals had me wanting to bolt for the door.During the last days of WWII a German mad scientist’s work is taken by the Nazis and delivered to the Japanese via submarine. An equally mad Japanese scientist in Hiroshima looks at the indestructible beating heart and envisions an invincible army of soldiers who cannot be killed. As luck would have it, as they were doing their experiments, it turned out to be the disastrous day of August 6, 1945. Fifteen years later scientists come across a feral boy who is eating people’s cats and dogs and bunny rabbits. He’s eventually captured and after some research is believed to be a Frankenstein. With an oversized brow, a terrible wig, gapped teeth, and unable to communicate he continues to grow the more protein he is fed. Meanwhile, an earthquake, unbeknownst to the citizens, is actually Baragon burrowing and causing havoc.
A feral boy who continues to grow until he’s over three stories tall and a giant burrowing kaiju with a glowing horn ought to make for an electrifying movie. Alas, most of the film was as dull as dirt until the last 15 minutes or so. The scientists continually waffled back and forth whether Frankenstein should be or could be killed. Most believed he wasn’t human so it didn’t matter how they treated him when he was shackled and caged. This could have led to an interesting moral discussion but they were unable to piece together a workable body of logic.
The miniatures for the most part were skillfully done. The trees being thrown had roots to good effect. The boar on wheels and puppet horse were funny because they were so unrealistic and made the scenes less problematic. Although I did not need to see a dismembered rabbit. The overlays worked for the most part when Baragon blasted through a dance party.
These are the hardest films to review because Frankenstein Conquers the World wasn’t awful but it wasn’t very good either. It was an interesting origin story for War of the Gargantuans but didn't reanimate the genre. Baragon would be seen again in 1968’s Destroy All Monsters and the mouthful of a title Godzilla, Mothra, and King Ghidorah-Giant Monsters All Out Attack in 2001. The latter was the best out of all the movies mentioned here. There were parts of an interesting story and the final fights were good (make sure to watch the international version which has an additional kaiju), it just wasn’t stitched together well as a whole. The writers could have used a hand but sadly it crawled off.
5 October 2024
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Nailed it!
Kung fu, hopping vampires, silliness, and ghostly romance---what more could you ask from a movie called Mr. Vampire? It had typical 1980’s slapstick style humor. Some of the jokes haven’t aged well but many were still able to stick the landing.Lam Ching Ying’s Master Ko is in charge of stopping a deadly vampire with only two incompetent disciples to help him. One disciple (Chin Siu Ho) becomes possessed by an amorous ghost (Pauline Wong) while the other one (Ricky Hui) begins to transform into a vampire after being bitten. Matters are not helped when a greedy rice dealer (Wu Ma!) adds regular white rice to the sticky rice needed to deter vampires. Did that suck! Master Ko uses every trick in the book to destroy the vampire. Buffy had it a lot easier. All she had to do was stake the fangers or decapitate them. Ko has to use chicken blood, ink, talismans, coated wire, sticky rice, and a host of other magical spells to try and stop the nearly indestructible homicidal hopper.
Mr. Vampire was aided by Lam Ching Ying and Chin Siu Ho having some martial arts abilities. Chin was particularly acro-bat-ic. Kung fu veteran Yuen Wah played the vampire which added to the martial arts fun. There was wire work which fit the magical atmosphere. There was a grave mistake, I spotted the wires in one scene.
What I learned from Mr. Vampire: Sticky rice slows down a vampire. A vampire can’t see you if you hold your breath. If a beautiful person of the opposite sex suddenly appears and wants to take you home on a dark night, best to make a date for coffee during daylight hours to see where it goes and whether they can appear because they may not be the ghoul of your dreams. If someone grows long blue nails overnight keep the sticky rice nearby. Hong Kong has gorillas? lol
Mr. Vampire was fun, especially if you like hopping vampires/Jiangshi combined with martial arts. As always with these older films there won’t be the high production values and CGI you see in modern films. Though you will be able to see guys hop in unison and others get set on fire. Props to Yuen Wah who was able to take the heat and his performance to the neck level!
(Trigger alerts below)
4 October 2024
TRIGGER ALERTS: A real chicken was killed as well as a snake (they made soup out of it later). There were also rats in one scene.
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Hopping Vampires!
I thought that I’d been led astray in my research of hopping vampire movies when I began Era of Vampires aka Vampire Hunters. The first creature of the night was a super powered blood sucking vampire that did not so much as hop, jump, or skip. Later on, my patience was rewarded when a whole herd of hoppers appeared. This was a low budget Hark Tsui produced film of which I expected more yet still found enough to keep my attention.Be very, very quiet for Wind, Rain, Lightning, Thunder and their sifu Mao Shan are hunting a vampire. This mostly dead ex-general was juiced up and took exception to the vampire hunters. Many of the red shirt hunters were killed and Mao Shan was feared dead as well. Three months later the weather crew followed their vampire compass to the Jiang residence on the day of a wedding. The Jiangs were experts in making and using wax which led to some uber creepy goings on in a house where things didn’t just go bump in the night but also hopped and slithered. A secret stache of gold, a greedy brother-in-law, the Vampire King, the hunters, and the macabre household would all eventually collide in one gory mess.
This film had a very low budget look to it. The sets were simple but made to appear frightening with blue lighting and copious amounts of smoke masquerading as fog. The Vampire King was gruesome and buggy, no sexy fang banger here. Two of the humans did have time for some romance while running away from and fighting vampires. Even though there was some gore, the special effects were extremely low tech which took away much of the fear factor.
I didn’t recognize the Phoenix from Eternal Love TMOP at first. A young Ken Chang played Thunder and had the most screen time. Old martial arts movie star Chen Kuan Tai showed up as a Taoist corpse wrangler and set the hoppers loose at one point to distract the hunters while thieves sought out the golden treasure. He was even able to show his kung fu stuff in a short fight with one of the baddies. There were several wire-fu fights in dim lighting that weren’t as creative as I would have liked but were okay for this film.
Era of Vampires was more reminiscent of early kung fu films than films from the same timeframe. It had some intriguing moments and for this bargain basement niche mixed genre of martial arts and vampires it held its own.
30 September 2024
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Table for Two
Before Harry Met Sally, Figgy and Jenny met in An Autumn’s Tale. Mabel Cheung directed this romcom from a script by Alex Law. Set in New York City, it showed some of the obstacles Figgy and Jenny had to overcome on the way to love and the American Dream.Jennifer Lee flies from Hong Kong to NYC in order to go to acting school and be with her boyfriend, Vincent. Her cousin Samuel Pang aka Figurehead aka Figgy greets her at the airport and gives her a ride in his deathmobile to her new apartment. Jenny’s mom had been informed that Figgy was a very successful businessman with his own apartment and car. Technically, all those things were true, if exaggerated. Vincent gave her a worse surprise than riding in Figgy’s junker. Unmoored and not sure what to do, Jenny went to school and picked up two part-time jobs to make ends meet. When Figgy wasn’t working or gambling he spent time with her, helping her overcome a broken heart and also had to make a better bowl of fish soup.
This film may have smacked of a tried-and-true romcom formula, but it was a newer trope nearly 40 years ago when this film came out. Even at that I found it entertaining and well done. The film eschewed secondary characters for the most part and focused on Jenny and Figgy which helped deepen my bond with them. Both were flawed, likeable characters trying to find their place in the world. Chow Yun Fat gave a delightful performance as the good-hearted Figgy who always helped a friend in need. This was the most vulnerable I’ve seen him. From joyous to down crested, he made Figgy believable and sympathetic. The younger Cherie Chung held her own with him as Jennifer. The two had nice chemistry going from strangers to something more even when Jenny and Figgy weren’t sure exactly what that something more was.
NYC was shown from its dirtiest closet to its shiniest showroom. Jenny went from being unsure of how to navigate the city to gaining her confidence with each passing day. Unlike Figgy, Jenny not only hung out with Cantonese speaking people, she also made friends at her school. Though ten years older than her, it was Figgy who needed to gain the confidence required to meet his goals. The two characters helped each other to grow and figure out what they wanted in their lives and each other.
An Autumn’s Tale was a subtle and slow burn romance without any annoying melodrama or slapstick comedy. Even the misunderstandings were overcome quickly. What it did have was character growth and personal discovery for both Jenny and Figgy. Their endearing relationship and adventures made the trip to NYC worthwhile.
25 September 2024
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"Sometimes I have to follow what others do. I don't know why life is this hard"
All the Crows in the World is a short film by Tang Yi that won the 2021 Palme d’Or Best Short Film and the 2022 SXSW award for Narrative Short. A clever satirical look at “respectable” businessmen and also a warm take on how friendships can occur in the strangest of places. Tang Yi built her world, added some surreal elements, and let her sharp female lead navigate it with care and fun.Zhao Sheng Nan and her friend are enjoying a snack when the shop owner takes off with a female “friend” before his wife comes back. Sheng Nan starts a stopwatch and bets how long he’ll last. A relative advises her with a bullhorn that her cousin wants to meet up with her. At the restaurant table filled with middle-aged businessmen she finds herself, her virginity, and her marriageability the center of conversation. A conversation that includes a Taoist priest. She’s also gifted numerous red envelopes. The party moves to an “entertainment” establishment where numerous girls in short dresses are introduced. Sheng Nan finds a safe harbor with Wang Jiang Guo who has no interest in women or the evening’s proceedings.
Shot on a small budget, Tang Yi was the writer, director, and cinematographer. She utilized her 14 minutes and managed to make Sheng Nan and Jiang Guo come to vivid life, also helped by the actors’ performances. Though teenage Sheng Nan still had an innocence about her, with each zip of her jacket she showed that she was also aware of what men’s eyes desired. And was confident enough to put the businessmen in their places. Unlike the mainland where gay love is verboten, this Hong Kong film had an openly gay character. Jiang Guo and Sheng Nan formed great co-conspirators as they found their own way to enjoy their evening.
I enjoyed this quirky short film which even found time for a quick dance number complete with wings, bubbles, and strobe lights. Sheng Nan and Jiang Guo’s developing friendship was entertaining to watch as they commiserated with each other and poked fun at the respectable people around them. Tang Yi is a fresh voice and one I want to hear more from.
24 September 2024
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Don't buy our cars!
It’s Me Here, Bellett was composed of three car commercials written and directed by Oshima Nagisa. Ozu Yasujiro was a script consultant/creative consultant but these three films bore no resemblance to any of his films. Nakamura Hachidai provided the score which ranged from a typical 1960’s jazz background to dark noir trumpets. Each of the segments were unique and none of them would make you want to buy the Isuzu Bellett sedan.Segment 1-A young guy who dotes on a red Bellett that may not be his picks up his girl for a night of lovin’ by the sea. Things do not go as planned when she takes offense at his overly fastidious obsession with the car.
Segment 2-A darker noir story featuring an actor in love with the female producer he works for, complete with the narration such films had. He uses his apartment money to buy a car he can’t afford to show her he’s a serious actor. When he has the opportunity to give her a ride, just as in the first segment, things do not go as planned.
Segment 3-A boss who is having an affair with a beautiful subordinate calls things off when he buys a car to show his commitment to his wife. His lover takes exception to this and steals his car while he and his wife are on vacation.
My rating is on the actual art of the commercials which was excellent. The cinematography and different moods evoked by lighting, acting, story, and music were excellent. But they were the most anti-ads I’ve ever seen. If I had to grade by how much they created a desire in me to purchase a Bellett my rating would be a zero. All of the owners were either jerks or oddballs which became strangely humorous by the end. The acting ranged from sufficient to proficient. The acting by the young actors in the first segment was supposed to be comic which didn’t work for me as well. In the darker second segment, Oshima’s wife, Koyama Akiko, played the producer who had an unusual ride with an actor. Segment three threw the actors straight into a melodrama.
Watashi wa Beret aka It’s Me Here, Bellett is only 27 minutes long, but a fascinating anti-car commercial made for television to sell cars by several well-known directors aside from the ones mentioned such as Yamamoto Kajiro, Chiba Yasuki, Gosho Heinosuke, Nakahira Ko, Hideo Sekigawa, Tanaka Shigeo, and Nomura Yoshitaro. Worth your time if you enjoy films from the past and windows into a different world and don’t mind the short format.
10 September 2024
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"Every place is the same"
Xiu Xiu the Sent Down Girl was a haunting and angry film set during the Cultural Revolution. The Tibetan steppes with an ocean of green and endless blue skies belied the ugliness taking place in a small, ragged tent.Xiu Xiu waves goodbye to her family as she and other youth from her community are sent to the “countryside” during the Cultural Revolution. At fifteen years of age she is assigned to work with a horse herder in order to learn the skills to come back in six months to lead the Iron Girls Cavalry. Lao Jin is a skilled horseman who understands the land he lives on. During a battle twenty years ago he was castrated, something none of the local men let him live down. Xiu Xiu doesn’t care for her remote assignment but gamely works with Lao Jin in the sun and rain. When the six months come to an end, homesick Xiu Xiu packs her belongs and eagerly waits to be picked up. The bus home never arrives. One by one men come to her and convince her that they can help arrange her permission documents if she will give them the favor of using her body. Desperate to leave the steppe and return to her mother and father she opens herself to the degenerate men while slowly and surely her hope and dignity begin to ebb away.
This was an infuriating movie to watch. Director/writer Joan Chen left most of the politics out and focused more on human nature. Xiu Xiu was a naïve child who wanted to go home. The vast steppe wasn’t freedom to the teenager, more like being stranded on a desert island. As evil men do who have power over women or in this case a beautiful teen girl, they took what they wanted offering empty promises in return. Like the child she was she committed to the only path she could see that might help her escape. Lao Jin allowed her to make her own choices even when he saw how disastrous they were. Only when something happened that wasn’t her choice did he spring into action.
The connection between Xiu Xiu and Lao Jin was engaging. The difference in age was substantial which Lao Jin respected if the men at headquarters did not. He cared for her more as a ward than possible love interest. Xiu Xiu tended to boss him around yet Lao Jin tried to make her as comfortable as possible. Li Xiao Lu (Lu Lu) and Lopsang gave natural heartfelt performances that drew me in as the mismatched work couple.
Both Joan Chen and the author* of the novel this film was based on lived during the Cultural Revolution which gave them some basis for their artistic endeavor. Watching a child willing to do whatever was necessary to break through the corrupt bureaucratic red-tape and institutional abuse of human rights and dignity was devastating. Joan Chen took advantage of the stunning scenery and cloudy skies as the backdrop for the film. Even when human darkness began to erode Xiu Xiu’s self-worth the sun shone brightly. The juxtaposition was jarring. With these kinds of films I worry that they can be more exploitive than revealing. Instead, there was a coiled fury underlying the manipulation and mistreatment of a child who had no money, no power, and no knowledge of the ways of the world. The Cultural Revolution didn’t have a monopoly on those vices. To quote Lao Jin, “Every place is the same.” Every place is the same when those in power are free to do as they will to those with less power.
31 August 2024
*Yan Ge Ling wrote the short story Celestial Bath in 1981
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"Everyone has their limitations"
Director Marilu Diaz Abaya crafted a daring film about four female friends in 1982. Moral talked about martial law under Ferdinand Marcos while he still held power. There were frank discussions about premarital sex, married sex, sex between men and women, men and men, and women and women. One character spent as much money on weed as she did on cigarettes. Marital rape was brought up as was abortion. No subject seemed to be taboo in Ricky Lee’s script.Pregnant Maritess and Dodo tie the knot in the opening scene with guys taking bets on how long the marriage will last. Present at the wedding are Maritess’ best girls-Kathy, Sylvia, and Joey. Maritess moves into a large house with Dodo’s even larger extended family. Kathy is determined to become a famous singer and isn’t afraid to use any of her wiles to make it happen. Sylvia is a divorced mother with a child around 5 years old. She still loves her ex, Roberto, but Roberto loves Celso, a dancer at a gay bar. Finally, Joey is adrift with no place to call home spending the night with whoever will take her in. She dulls her emotional aches with marijuana and sex with strangers. Her heart belongs to Jerry, who is heavily involved with the fight against the government and is in love with Nita. The women are about to graduate from university with many decisions personally, professionally, and socially to come to terms with.
There were less love triangles and more love conga lines. At one point, teacher Ernie loved Sylvia, who loved Roberto, who loved Celso, who loved sleeping with other men. Sylvia’s relationship with Roberto and Celso was the most endearing. The three became emotionally involved if not sexually. Maritess found herself repeatedly pregnant and caged in a house with 20 children with little say in her life. Like a trapped raccoon she was ready to chew her arm off to escape. The price for fame began to take its toll on Kathy as it became more apparent she wasn’t a very good singer. Joey lagged behind the others in growing up until she hit bottom and had to make some hard choices.
Moral showed the moral choices the women had to make that were breaking new ground in a conservative society. Sylvia was deemed immoral for not wearing a bra to work, imagine the horror if someone found out she shared a bed with two men. Joey was talked about for being promiscuous, something that was a right of passage for male students. Kathy slept with a woman in order to further her career. Maritess had to decide whether to be a voiceless babymaker or stand up to have a life of her own. All four women were three dimensional characters who had their own growth arcs. The men were not vilified though some of them behaved in the entitled way they were accustomed to in 1982.
Scenes from the film were censored for being offensive to the army, not surprising with two characters actively involved in the New People’s Army. Moral was not a box office success or one with the critics back in the 80’s. Over time people were able to see its groundbreaking themes and emphasis on women’s challenges and lives in a changing society. The negatives of the film were badly degraded, damaged by time and mold. L’Immagine Ritrovata spent 2600 restoration hours working to salvage it with the restored film being shown in 2017. There were still some issues but nothing distracting.
Even here near the end of 2024, films about women, directed by women are all too rare. In 1982 I cannot imagine what it took to get this film made and distributed. Especially a film where women were the powerful agents of their own lives. No wonder it didn’t get a positive reception, Marilu Diaz Abaya and Ricky Lee were treading on new territory and it would take time for people to catch up with them. The film had its flaws and some performances were stronger than others, but given its age and the courage to make it I was generous with my rating.
Favorite line---“Next time you see Ernie, tell him his mother is a whore.”
29 August 2024
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"Once you see hope, embrace it!"
I went into Last Night trepidatiously given the subject matter. Suicide is far too serious and complex a matter to take lightly. This film had mixed results with how it broached the topic. In this particular story, the motivation was sudden catastrophic changes in life and not long-term clinical depression which made the movie’s approach more palatable.Mark is about to jump off the Jones Bridge when he hears a woman calling for help. Carmina’s sweater is caught on the sign below in a failed suicide attempt. They end up agreeing to die together and begin attempting different ways but are continually foiled.
This was a tale of two movies for me which made it hard to rate and hard to watch at times. As I was slogging through the first half of this film, it was sitting at a 5.0 for me, largely because of the character of Carmina. Everything Toni Gonzaga’s character did was over the top, cringe-worthy, and annoying. Even Mark asked Carmina, “Are you a child? Do you always have to be entertained?” Piolo Pascual’s Mark was more reserved and felt like he was in a completely different movie. The suicide attempts were more farcical than saddening. Long before the half, I’d figured out the upcoming twist and was waiting for it to be revealed. The second half was more engaging and the comic acting was toned down. The cinematography and music were actually quite good and put to much better use as the film went on.
If you enjoy Gonzaga’s comic routines you will likely enjoy this more than I did, I tend to be hypersensitive to overt comic acting, especially with a serious subject matter. Without any spoilers, the ending was satisfying and I did enjoy her acting later in the film. If suicide is a trigger or the Catholic view of it troubles you, best to skip this one.
26 August 2024
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"Are you happy?"
Autumn Moon was a melancholy story of three lives in transition set in Hong Kong. The blue filter gave an added layer of existential angst to a 25-year-old Japanese traveler, a 15-year-old girl readying to meet her family in Canada, and her grandmother who knows that won’t be the trip she’s making.Hong Kong teenager Lee Pui Wai and Japanese traveler Tokio meet on a bridge where he’s fishing. Tokio’s looking for a great place to eat, having been let down by his guidebook. Wai takes him to her favorite restaurant---McDonald’s. Later she brings him to the home she shares with her grandmother. Wai and Tokio communicate in broken English but Grandma doesn’t speak any and aside from asking his name, generously feeds him. Wai and Tokio strike up a friendship sharing their life experiences and the difficulties they are going through.
I was concerned this would be an age-inappropriate romance but there wasn’t a hint of romance between Tokio and Wai. Tokio had become involved with an older woman and Wai was in love with her classmate. Tokio went through women like a giant Pez dispenser. The casual sex didn’t bring any satisfaction, only reinforcing his alienation from society and himself. Aside from her grandmother, the rest of Wai’s family had already emigrated. Most of her friends had left Hong Kong as well. Once her family found a house, she would be moving. Grandma was the odd person out, unable to emigrate due to her age. The only trip she was planning on was to the Goddess of Mercy.
The available version of this movie that I found was badly degraded and cropped for television. Visually, I could see the potential spoiled by graininess and wavy lines. The dialogue could also be hard to follow when the friends were speaking broken English as there were no subtitles during the common language scenes. What still held up well was Tats Lau’s music which ranged from playful to mournful and always hauntingly beautiful.
Director Clara Law filmed the leads on different locations around Hong Kong. Though the crowded city is usually shown packed with people, Wai and Tokio always seemed to be alone. Surrounded by the unseen people and crowded buildings, they were desperately isolated in worlds of their own. The two suffered from having “trapped hearts”, unable to break through the barriers. Tokio wanted someone to get to know him instead of his 'wham, bam, thank you mam' anonymity. Wai struggled with being separated from her family and friends. Yet she wasn’t prepared to say good-bye to her grandmother and her home. She was also dealing with the complicated feelings first love creates in a young girl's heart and body. Grandma’s legacy lay in the refrigerator filled with secret, sacred ingredients that would no longer be needed.
Three generations of people and two different cultures were lovingly and respectfully shown. The characters dealt with loss, soul shattering boredom, and the unknown. Through their friendship and a private celebration of the Mid-Autumn Festival, Tokio and Wai would discover how to revel in the small moments and find the courage and contentment they would need to travel the paths that led to happiness.
“When will the spring flower and autumn moon fade,
How much of the past do we know?
At my home last night the East wind blew…”
21 August 2024
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"The society is harmonious but I am bullied!"
Director Zero Chou gave a Taiwanese interpretation of how mainland Chinese gay couples are received in We Are Gamily. Her view of the complexities of loving someone that a conservative society will not accept was important but I found the interpretation on the screen lacking.“Any conflicts and unharmonious relations existing in a society, require us to actively harmonize them to achieve a stable, harmonious, and orderly outcome.”
Wu Gang and Yang Duo are both in relationships that their families would never approve of and that are not believed to contribute to a harmonious society. Gang and Sam have been lovers for over three years as have Duo and Liya. In order to get both of their families off their backs, Gang and Duo marry but continue to live with their lovers. Their plan goes array when their mothers decide they need to have a baby as soon as possible and Gang’s mother moves in with them to push the matter along. How having a live-in mother pressing a couple to have sex would enhance their performance is something I don’t want to know. Neither Sam nor Liya are happy about the new living situations. Complicating matters, Gang’s lesbian sister Rou moves in as well.
The comedic set-up had possibilities but didn’t work for me. The writing, acting, cinematography, music, and sound were all a “C” at best. Ang Lee made a similar movie nearly 25 years before this one on a shoestring budget that delivered a more emotional punch. In a two-hour movie, We Are Gamily had very little character development. Gang and South African Sam had been together for several years but all I knew about them was that they loved each other and had a penchant for phallic shaped art. Duo and Rou had similar development issues, but at least we were told what they did for a living. Ruo and Sam were both ready to rock the boat, while Gang and Duo were more concerned with their mothers’ acceptance.
Gamily started out with a comedic tone and then morphed into a more serious one as the couples began to wonder when they could stop acting and start living their lives. I found it hard to become emotionally invested in the story as Rou and Sam were dragged into the play neither wanted to act in. Rou was the character I could most connect with. She accepted who she was and was willing to live away from home in order to be honest with herself, even if she couldn’t be honest with her family. When societal harmony was brought up, she replied, “The society is harmonious, but I am bullied!”
We Are Gamily was a lighthearted look at a serious subject about being different and upsetting familial and societal harmony, when the lack of “harmony” or sameness should never have been the responsibility of those being judged. The social and familial commentary were elements to appreciate about this film. However, the overly contrived situations, poor camera work, and often terrible sound challenged my attention span.
14 August 2024
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Could have used more rom and more Tang Wei
Despite starring Tang Wei and Jacky Cheung, this ended up being Jacky and Pau Hei Ching’s movie. Tang Wei was criminally underused. Crossing Hennessy was a scrambled ensemble that too often pulled focus from the main couple.Loy is a 41-year-old man who sleeps until noon and has difficulty with responsibility. His mom owns an appliance store where he fixes equipment and does installs near as I could tell. His aunt dotes on him while his mom berates everyone around her. Queenie, the mom, sets him up for a matchmaking dinner with the woman whose uncle owns a shop across the street. Oi Lin, much like Loy, has no intention of following through with the match. She has a jailbird boyfriend and Loy is seeing his ex-girlfriend. Later, after meeting coincidentally the two find they share an interest in mystery novels. Kismet! Queenie, family friend Uncle Ching, and Loy’s aunt end up in a love triangle of their own.
I watched this film mainly because Tang Wei was starring in it. Before the hour mark she all but disappeared from the screen until the end of the film which was quite disappointing. Her character was given little to do overall. I also struggled to understand what thirty-year-old Oi Lin would see in a forty-year-old man (49-years-old in real life) who had no direction and nothing to offer her but the ability to make her laugh. Jacky Cheung’s acting style is not my cup of tea. I find his mugging for the camera and eyerolling more annoying than cute. It was difficult to understand what lit the attraction between Oi Lin and Loy. Pau Hei Ching as Loy’s mother was continually loud and overbearing with no nuance. I kept waiting for her older sister to finally snap after being continually rundown by the family diva. I only know Danny Lee from old kung fu movies so it was interesting seeing him as the henpecked, dog carrying Uncle Ching. The veterans’ love triangle dominated the second half of the film along with Loy’s challenges while Oi Lin sold toilets offscreen in her uncle’s shop.
Crossing Hennessy had some cute moments but then the film would go in another direction leaving the burgeoning romance on the backburner. Tang Wei’s return to film after being blacklisted (apparently, she did those spicy Lust, Caution scenes all by herself? None of the men suffered any consequences) should have highlighted her acting abilities instead of sidelining her in her own romance. Jacky Cheung’s hangdog, lazy character and verbally abusive mother weren’t interesting enough to carry the film for me.
8 August 2024
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The plot bounced all over the place at the beginning. It didn’t help that the copy I saw was faded with white subtitles over the pale images. A relief fund of 8000 silver coins was stolen from robbers who hit the convoy during the transport. During the melee, the chief escort officer was killed with a bamboo machete. Local crime boss Tsang had ordered the robbery and thought that bamboo boss Chin hit the escort, stealing his plunder in order to pay back money he owed. The actual robbers hid the money on Boss Chin’s land until things settled down. Tsang wanted Chin’s daughter, Lin Tang, to marry him, something she had no intention of doing. And finally thrown into the mix was Pao Liang, the younger brother of the murdered escort chief. Pao strolled into town determined to bring the killers to justice.
Chang Yi starred as Pao Liang, a rare good guy role for him. Chen Chen played the feisty Lin Tang who wasn’t afraid to fight anyone. Chen Hung Lieh who was always assigned the villain roles due to his resting bitch face played the smarmy crime boss Tsang. Wang Yung Sheng did the choreography which would have been challenging with some of the non-martial arts actors. Chang Yi had studied some and performed several impressive jumps. The stuntmen had their work cut for them as most of the fights were big gangs against one or two. They had to sell the limited abilities of Chen Chen and Chen Hung Lieh by flipping, falling, and soaring through the air. During the finale with Chang Yi against the world not a piece of furniture was spared in the gambling den as stuntmen flew over the balcony repeatedly and through the walls. The problem with these grand scale fights was that all the moves began to look the same.
If you are a fan of old kung fu films, The Cannibals is watchable. There were some cute moments with the child actors and flirtatious moments between Pao and Lin Tang. The fights and acting were average for the time frame as was Ni Kuang’s story. It just lacked any kung fu charisma. Chang Yi was always more compelling as an OTP villain.
4 August 2024
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"Families should eat together"
The House of Us was the second full length film by director Yoon Ga Eun. This time instead of the universal theme of rejection and fitting in, she tackled how three little girls dealt with the instability of their family lives. I enjoyed this film but felt unlike the realistic portrayals of her first film that this one veered off into fantasy by the end.Ha Na had just won the Good Classmate award at the end of the school year. Unfortunately, her family wasn’t terribly impressed. More than anything Ha Na wanted the family to eat dinner together and take a trip to the beach together. Her parents were far too busy and distracted to agree to a trip. When they were home the adults spent most of their time screaming at each other. Her older brother didn’t have the time or patience for Ha Na either. Ha Na ended up making a family of her own with two little girls she met who lived by themselves. Yu Mi and Yu Jin’s parents worked at a beach hotel and their uncle was supposed to be looking after them but he was absent most of the time. Ha Na cooked meals for the girls and helped them scare off potential renters for their apartment. They worked together to build a House of Us made of decorated boxes and egg cartons. Ha Na’s overwhelming desire for her family to take a trip together led the three children on a potentially dangerous adventure.
Yoon delved into fractured families and how children processed that information. Ha Na thought if only the family gathered around the table or on a vacation reconciliation could occur. Her little friends Yu Mi and Yu Jin believed if they kept someone from renting their apartment they wouldn’t have to move for the 8th time. Ha Na tried desperately to keep both homes and families intact in a way only a child would attempt.
As much as I liked the core story of the film I wasn’t as enamored with the narrative structure housing it. Yoon used a deux ex machina in the final quarter when Ha Na selfishly put the girls in danger despite having a logical way out. While the child actors were engaging, I never felt emotionally connected to them. House of Us didn’t shy away from the price dysfunctional parents have on children. Ha Na had to learn the painful lesson that families and made families can’t always stay together physically but can stay together in their hearts. Yoon Ga Eun crafts such interesting works of heartfelt art, I hope she is given the opportunity again in the near future.
3 August 2024
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