Breaking News Review

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(More customer reviews)After very humiliating defeat of Hong Kong police, young and ambitious Inspector Rebecca Fong (Kelly Chen seen in `Infernal Affair') proposes one daring plan - that is, to bring the TV crew to the crime scenes, and let them broadcast how the `real' police are doing their jobs, risking their lives to protect the people from criminals. When another inspector hot-tempered Cheung (Nick Cheung) finds out the hideout of the criminals (and the very criminals that undermined the dignities of the police), Inspector Fong is assigned a job to show the police work on the air. What Fong didn't know is that the criminals are much more resourceful and cleverer than she thought.
Johnny To takes up the idea of reality TV shows, and uses it in the unique way. Not that the idea itself is original - you know so many TV shows following the real-life police officers, or Robert DeNiro film '15 Minutes.' It is the way how the criminals led by the leader Yuan (Ritchie Ren) fight back and tries to escape that is really intriguing.
(ULTRA-STYLISH, GREAT OPENING) Johnny To is known for his prolific career and stylish camerawork, and in `Breaking News' he again shows his great skills in creating the tension and beauty while shooting the action scenes. The opening seven minute sequence is just brilliant. It is shot in one take, and shows us that shoot-out scenes can be so intense without using many fast cuts.
Some may find the film slightly confusing because of the police organization in Hong Kong. Fong belongs to OCTB (Organized Crime and Triad Bureau, and Cheung is a cop from CID (Criminal Investigation Department). Another unit PTU is also mentioned (and PTU played a central role in To's previous film `PTU' starring Simon Yam and Suet Lam, both also seen in `Breaking News), but all you have to do is to keep in mind that Fong and Cheung are from different sections of the police.
I think the ending is a little weak, and cast-against-type Kelly Chen is not convincing. And probably the idea of reality TV could have been more explored. But with the intriguing characters and situations, some of which are humorous - Have you seen the `bad guys' cooking in the kitchen? -- `Breaking News' is riveting throughout.

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When a live TV news crew broadcasts an embarrassing defeat of Hong Kong’s police dept. by just five bank robbers, public opinion of the force plummets and the dept. vows to capture the robbers at any cost.So when Detective Cheung accidentally stumbles upon the five bank robbers hiding out in an abandoned building, Yuen (Richie Jen), the ultra-cool leader of the gang, suddenly finds himself and his partners under siege by thousands of police officers.Sensing an opportunity to restore the public’s faith in the police dept., Inspector Rebecca (Kelly Chen) turns the stakeout into a breaking news show, with live updates beamed out to a transfixed Hong Kong.But she soon discovers how difficult it can be to manage the press when hostages are involved, true identities are unknown, and the building contains not one gang but two…

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In the Mood for Love - Criterion Collection (2000) Review

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(More customer reviews)Perfection in cinema is an almost impossible goal to achieve. Mostly because spectators have varying taste and perspectives. But you can't help but feel that Wong Kar-Wai's "In the Mood for Love" is anything short of perfection. The imagery with its lush colors and breathtaking movements is enough to elevate this film. The simple, yet somewhat complicated tale is both heartfelt and authentic. And the performances by Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung are a marvel. But it's none of these that really makes this film, it's rather the manner that Kar-Wai so magically molds all these factors to set a mood that I have never felt before while watching a movie. In all honesty, I'm really not too fond of "forbidden love" movies, but this film really startled me.
Ironically, "In the Mood for Love" feels nothing like a Wong Kar-Wai film. It's a very slow moving film which uses lots of fades and dissolves. The Criterion edition of this film is probably the best dvd package I've seen to date. There are just so many extras on it, it's hard to believe. Deleted scenes, interviews, and promotional material, are just a few of the extras. The way Kar-Wai shoots his films (without a script) also adds to the suprise of picture. You see in the extras how much different the original concept was for "In the Mood for Love." There is also an alternate ending that seems very plain, but at the same time very heartbreaking.

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Hong Kong, 1962: Chow Mo-wan and Su Li-zhen move into neighboring apartments on the same day. Their encounters are polite and formal-until a discovery about their respective spouses sparks an intimate bond. At once delicately mannered and visually stunning, Wong Kar-wai's In the Mood for Love is a masterful evocation of romantic longing and fleeting moments in time.

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The Warlords (2010) Review

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(More customer reviews)Jet Li as a villain is quite a remarkable piece of casting, and everyone really holds their own in this action epic set in 1860s China. The title in English is Warlords but in Chinese it was Blood Brothers, and features three men who are doing their best to survive in a wartorn land.
Jet Li, a great general in the Imperial army, is betrayed and the only man in his army to survive. His resurrection from the dead is both fascinating and appalling to watch as his desire for power obliterates all before him. Andy Lau gives the performance of a lifetime as the head of a band of brigands, who first follows Jet Li but later becomes disaffected by what he sees and tries to turn back from the collision course the ambitious general has set them all on.
Takeshi Kaneshiro as the youngest of the three strong male leads is remarkable in terms of both his battle prowess and how loyal he is to both men, until he is forced to choose sides. Complicating matters still further is the fact that Li's character unintentionally fell in love with a woman on the road, who turns out to be the wife of Lau's character. The inevitable ending is anything but as each man meets his fate.
The action and battle sequences, music, costume, and above all, the depiction of warfare at the time, including trench warfare, makes this an Asian All Quiet on the Western Front, where there is no glory for anyone, only more bloodshed for the sake of ruthless territorial ambitions. I have watched it several times now, with a variety of friends, and everyone LOVED it, even as they were completely shocked by it. If you like action films, there is plenty to recommend Warlords, but the sheer depth of this epic is remarkable. This is a GREAT film in the true sense of the word.

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Set in the midst of the Taiping Rebellion of the 1860s, THE WARLORDS stars Jet Li as General Pang, who barely survives a brutal massacre of his fellow soldiers by playing dead, and then joins a band of bandits led by Er Hu (Andy Lau) and Wu Yang (Takeshi Kaneshiro). After fighting back attackers for a defenseless village, the three men take an oath to become "blood brothers," pledging loyalty to one another until death. However, their lives quickly derail as they become embroiled in a web of political deceit and a love triangle between Pang, Er Hu and a beautiful courtesan (Xu Jinglei).

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