Ex-Files 2 Review 2015 前任2：备胎反击战

(Note: This sequel is not related to the original, you can watch it on its own.)



A fun Chinese rom-com which tops the original with its humour and its story.

Yi Ze is a director's assistant working on a big talent show. On the day of the Auditions she is dumped by her boyfriend by text message. Yu Fei, a budding singer and dancer is rejected for his audition by arriving late. Yi Ze feeling sympathetic and emotional let's him on the show, and to her surprise he goes on to win the show and becomes a mega popstar.

Seven years later Yi Ze becomes the assistant of an Advert director. While shooting a commercial that stars Yu Fei, the two meet once again. Yu Fei flirts with Yi Ze and tricks her into thinking he has fallen for her so she’ll change the advert in his favour. When Zi Ye realises she has been had, she goes about seeking revenge on him with help from a mysterious love guru.

Adapted from the Korean film How To Use Guys With Secret Tips, Ex-Files 2 actually has an extremely relevant and fresh story. China is producing a bunch of hit romantic comedies, and they seem to have found a winning formula. Queue the montages!

Montages seem to be a big part of Chinese romantic comedies, with some Mando-pop hits playing while the characters fall in love, or when then break up or fall out. Ex- Files 2 possibly has a little too many montages, but they never felt unwelcome, and many of the songs were actually extremely catchy. The song featured while they cook breakfast is one I need to track down for myself now.

This film is actually extremely funny. There are many laugh out loud moments. Some sexual jokes. Some slapstick. And some great visual comedy which translates to any language. There is a long running gag throughout featuring 3 male super fans of Yu Fei which always got a laugh from the audience.

Ex-Files 2 tops the previous film with its consistency. It flows better and doesn't sag like the first one. Also, although there is melodrama near the end(hey, it's a Chinese rom-com!), it's not nearly for as long or as depressing as the original.

A fun little film which will keep you entertained by making you laugh, making you cry and overall warming your heart

7/10

Ex-Files 2 has a limited Cinema release from the 6th November in the UK, USA, Australia and New Zealand. So see it quickly! Click here for more information. Or if you miss out, look for it coming to DVD/Blu-ray soon!

The Assassin Review 2015 Hou Hsiao-Hsien 刺客聶隱娘

Hou Hsiao-Hsien's The Assassin is a stunning film. With beautiful costumes, sets and exquisite fight scenes, packed with a wild original soundtrack. Unfortunately the confusing plot and lack of emotion causes the story to drag and almost feel like a chore at times.

Nie Yinniang(Shu Qi) is a deadly female assassin who has been raised and trained as a killer by a nun Jiaxin. After failing to kill her target out of sympathy during a mission, Yinniang is punished by receiving the ultimate test from Jiaxin. She is sent to Weibo to kill the military governor Lord Tian Ji'an(Chang Chen) and send the region in to chaos. This is no easy task as Yinniang was originally arranged to marry Lord Tian before her disappearance.

This sounds like a basic plot, and it should be. But with the story telling and dialogue that HHH uses in his film, the story ends up extremely muddled. Rather than flashbacks, we are treated to more dialogue of characters explaining previous events, which doesn't make the story any clearer.

If that was all the problems The Assassin had, it would be still great! But unfortunately the slow pacing is a real issue in this film. The marketing probably hasn't helped, with reviews, trailers and posters stating this is a martial arts or Kung Fu film, when it is actually quite far from it.

Yes, there are a few great fight scenes in this film. Excellently choreographed. With an interesting style which sometimes is so quick it takes you a second to release who has the upper hand or dealt the last blow.

That is the juxtaposition of The Assassin. The fight scenes are so quick and finish almost instantly, yet the pacing and story telling is so slow the film almost grinds to a halt on a couple of occasions.

Hou Hsiao-Hsien's way of film making uses lots of long cuts. Sometimes these are of wild beautiful scenery. Or of people staring without dialogue. This can be a useful tool in film making, but it feels that it's used so often in The Assassin that sometimes you might wonder if your DVD has stuck.

The Assassin was a bit of a disappointment. It's one of the most talked about and exciting films of the year and it ends up falling a little flat. The film looks gorgeous. And Shu Qi is a fantastic lead. But the film has many flaws which unfortunately ruins the experience.

This is one that I think everyone has to see for themselves and make up their own mind. Many love it. And many hate it. It won best director at Cannes! Give it a watch but just don't expect a House of Flying Daggers.

6/10

The Cat Review 2011 South Korea 고양이: 죽음을보는 두개의눈

A South Korean horror mixed with cats surprisingly turns out to be one of the best Asian horror films I have seen in years! 

So-yeon works in a pet grooming store called Kitty N Puppy. After a Persian cat owner dies she gets stuck looking after the cat until an owner is ready for it. Everything is fine until the cat starts acting up and a mysterious little girl with green cat like eyes starts haunting her.

I can't quite place exactly what made this film work. But it is just incredibly fun.

The Cat is a good mix of Asian suspense horror with some of the more American "jump scares". This works very well with the flow of the film and is actually pretty refreshing. The film never really has time to slow down or get dull.

I love cats. I love every kind of cat. I just want to hug all of them. But I can't.

Some of the film is a little typical of Asian horrors with the creepy little girl. But mixing it with the cats is new and fresh, and it's used in a way that doesn't feel over played. The film also has a good mystery feel to it, almost like The Ring, which really draws you in to the story until the very end when you discover what has been taking place and why.

A very fun modern horror, while not essential viewing, it is fun and reminds me of the horrors Asia was releasing in the late 90s and early 2000s.

7/10

#TheCat #Horror #SouthKorea #고양이

Shaolin Prince Review 1982 Hong Kong - Shaw Brothers

Crazy Shaw Brothers fantasy Kung Fu comedy guilty pleasure! This film is actually insane! But so entertaining.

The films starts with an evil iron fingered villain Lord 9th over throwing the monarch to take the thrown. The King's guards manage to get his 2 sons to safety, although they are separated. One makes it to the Prime Minister's house. The other makes it to the Shaolin temple where he is left in the care of 3 monks known as The Three Holy Fools. The story picks up 20 years later. The younger Prince(Derek Yee(Protégé)) has been brought up training as a master swordsman to get his revenge on Lord 9th. The Crown Prince(Ti Lung(A Better Tomorrow)) has been brought up as a Shaolin Kung Fu master, but has no idea he is the rightful King.

Shaw Brothers were struggling in the 80s and you can see their answer was to make everything bigger. More fight scenes. More sets. Lots of special effects and explosions. Crazy wire work. Technically, it isn't the best Shaw Brother's film, it doesn't have the best fight choreography, or the best story line. But it is one of the most fun. There isn't a dull moment! The film was actually ahead of it's time in many ways.

The Three Stooges meets Shaw Brothers!

This film is so crazy! The 18 Buddha's are spectacular! The Three Holy Fools are hilarious! The Magic Sword is nuts! The Demon exorcism is campy and over the top! Shaolin Prince has to be seen to be believed.

Another excellent job by Celestial with the remastering of this old title. The picture quality is crisp and new. And the audio is brilliant. This release comes with an English Mono dub or Mandarin with English subtitles. Released by FUNimation as part of their Hong Kong Connection releases.

7.5/10

Ip Man 3 is getting a cinema release in the UK, Australia and New Zealand on the 24th December!

Although the details are vague, this looks extremely likely now!

The Facebook page that made this post "I Love Asian Cinema UK" is the same people who brought Lost In Hong Kong and now Ex-Files 2 to worldwide cinemas. Their aim is to release Asian films in various countries on the same original release date. So this looks very promising! 

Here is the link to the trailer they posted. The description says UK, Australia and New Zealand cinemas on the 24th of December!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bbLb2CCi6I0

Fingers crossed for now. And when I hear any more news I will share it here!

Ex-Files 2 - Chinese Comedy gets UK, USA, Australia and New Zealand cinema release!

The same kind folk who brought Lost In Hong Kong to cinemas across the UK, USA, Australia and New Zealand are doing the same with the new Chinese comedy "Ex-Files 2" on the 6th of November.

You don't need to see the first Ex-Files before you see 2. But I am going to track it down and check it out anyway before I go see Ex-Files 2 on the big screen!

For a full list of cinemas, check the link below:

Ex-Files 2: The Backup Strikes Back

The Detective Review Hong Kong 2007 C+偵探

A Hong Kong mystery thriller set in Thailand directed by Oxide Pang(The Eye/Abnormal Beauty) and starring Aaron Kwok(After This Our Exile/Cold War).

Tam(Kwok) is a private investigator living in Thailand who has been hired by a man nicknamed Fatty to track down a young woman who he believes is trying to kill him. Tam takes the job after being paid a large amount of cash and handed a photo of the woman. This could all be linked to a series of murders in the area.

Aaron Kwok delivers a stunning believable performance which really makes this film so good. Complete with a brilliant setting and style, and a captivating story, the result is one of the best Pang Brothers films in years.

Where did I leave my keys?

An intriguing story which may get a little muddled towards the end but the negatives don't out way the positives. Still a highly entertaining film with a satisfying and exciting ending. Also, the film has a fantastic soundtrack to really set the mood. That Thai pop song used in the intro is incredibly catchy.

As far as recent Hong Kong films go, this is better than most. I'd definitely recommend it to fans of the genre.

7.5/10