Upcoming Chinese films!

Some future and recent Chinese/Hong Kong releases that have caught my eye.

The Second Woman
Drama/Romance/Thriller - 8 March 2012 (China)

Director: Miu-suet Lai
Stars: Shu Chen, Mengmeng Niu, Qi Shu and Shawn Yue

Synopsis

Wei Bo (Shu Qi) and Nan (Shawn Yue), a longtime couple, are both stage drama actors rehearsing for a new play. When Wei Bo becomes severely ill right before the last show of the tour, it is feared that her failure to perform would destroy her career. Wei Bo's performance, however, totally blows everyone away and is highly acclaimed as her best performance ever. In actuality, Wei Bo's twin sister, Wei Xiang (Shu Qi) secretly substituted her older sister during the performance and took all the credit. Wei Bo is not only ungrateful for her sister's help, but she starts to grow envious and suspicious of her. Wei Bo finds that Wei Xiang, who is as beautiful as she is, yet more sweet and talented, is a threat to both her career and her relationship with Nan.

Lai Miu-Suet(The Third Eye) directs and it gets released on the 8th March across China. The film stars Shu Qi(Confession of Pain, The Transporter, Blood Brothers) and Shawn Yue(Infernal Affairs, Initial D, Dragon Tiger Gate).

2 Shu Qi's > 1 Shu Qi

I am a fan of both Shu Qi and Shawn Yue's work, with Yue really stepping up his game and delivering some more serious roles. If both actors are on their A game then this could be interesting! The Second Woman is a dark gritty thriller yet it looks extremely sharp and stylish from what we have seen. One to keep an eye on and I personally hope it delivers!

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Ghost Bullets

Action/Thriller/Mystery - Summer 2012 (Hong Kong/China)
Director: Law Chi-Leung
Stars: Nicholas Tse, Lau Ching-Wan, Yang Mi

Synopsis
In an arsenal during the warlord era in China, a girl, accused of stealing bullets, is shot to death by the Boss.

Six months later, a series of murders occur. Policemen Bao and Guo investigate the case. But all the clues point to the dead girl! They then discover that "stealing bullets" is a cover-up for a conspiracy between the Boss and the Police Chief. The latter tries to have Bao and Guo killed, but that increases their determination to solve the mystery. Finally, they find the real murderer...

You know my methods, Watson.

 
Ghost Bullets looks to be an exciting Mystery detective film reminiscent of Sherlock Holmes. With it's costumes, sets and big action scenes this will definitely deliver as an entertaining movie. Directed by Law Chi-Leung(Koma and the excellent action thriller Double Tap) this looks to be a good return to form for him. And starring Nicholas Tse(Beast Stalker and Dragon Tiger Gate) who is one of the best young Hong Kong actors and the excellent Lau Ching-Wan(Mad Detective and Running Out of Time), this film also has the star power to be a success.

Check out the exciting trailer below

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Time for some magic

The Great Magician
Drama/Mystery - 22 December 2011 (China)

Director:  Tung-Shing Yee
Writers: Tin Nam Chun (screenplay), Tung-Shing Yee (screenplay)
Stars: Tony Leung Chiu Wai, Ching Wan Lau and Xun Zhou

Synopsis
In 1916, China was in turmoil with warlords battling against each other and Japanese conspirators lurking in the dark. One day, a mysterious man named Zhang Xian (Tony Leung) takes the capital city by storm with his mesmerising magic tricks. He soon catches the attention of ruthless warlord Commander Lei (Lau Ching Wan), who is eager to please his seventh wife Liu Yin (Zhou Xun) by taking her to see Zhang's performance. Unbeknownst to Lei, his favourite concubine was once the fiancée of Zhang, and approaching him to earn his trust is just the first step in the vengeful illusionist's secret agenda...

Tony Leung looking suave as always

The Great Magician has me excited for a lot of reason, the first one being everyone loves magic! There has been a few great magician films coming out of Hollywood in the past few years, The Illusionist and The Prestige, I'm hoping Hong Kong can do just as well with this effort.

Starring Tony Leung(Infernal Affairs and Hero) and Zhou Xun(Confucius and True Legend) as the love interest, and the incredibly busy Lau Ching Wan(Ghost Bullets and Lost In Time) as the villain. It's in the hands of a brilliant director in Tung Shin Yee who has brought us modern Hong Kong classics like One Night In Mongkok, Protege and Shinjuku Incident. Surely one to watch.

If you can't wait for a worldwide release, the films has been released in China, get the DVD from Yesasia with English subtitles.

Good times for Hong Kong/Chinese Cinema!