Secret Review 2007 Taiwan 不能說的秘密

Jay Chou’s directorial debut is an interesting and engaging drama with an original story full of twists which will leave you dumbfounded. Starring Jay Chou(Initial D) and Gwei Lun-mei(Black Coal, Thin Ice).

Yeh Hsiang-lun/Jay (Chou) is an exceptionally gifted pianist who has recently transferred to the Tan Jiang College of Arts at the behest of his father (Anthony Wong). One day, while walking through the school's soon-to-be-demolished conservatory, Yeh hears an intoxicating melody being performed by talented Lu Hsaio-yu/Rain (Guey Lun-mei).

Jay Chou rocking that school uniform

Secret is one of those films that you really can't describe too much in the synopsis or go into too much depth in discussion because that will ruin the entire point of the film. Everyone should avoid reading message boards or spoiler reviews before they see this film, it's the best way to enjoy it and get the full effect. The first hour almost plays out like a love triangle drama, then suddenly the film becomes much much more.

While Jay Chou might not be known as the greatest actor. He pulls off roles like this. Jay has the charisma and charm to make it work. Gwei Lun-mei is a stunning actress and carries the emotional side of the film, as well as making the chemistry between her and Jay believable.

Kung Fu and action scenes are replaced in Secret by intricate piano battles and compositions. Director, writer and actor Jay Chou really gets to show off his musical genius with not only the piano playing scenes but also the soundtrack, many of the songs were composed and performed by Jay himself. The title song “Secret” went on to win Best Original Song at the 44th Golden Horse Awards. The score is fantastic, offering drama to the simplest scenes, and sending the exciting scenes through the roof.

Listen to my award winning soundtrack

Anthony Wong plays a great supporting role as Jay’s father, which is the second time he's played this role, Initial D being the first. Anthony is instantly likable in this role and actually gets to exercise those acting chops in some important scenes. There is great screen chemistry between Jay and Anthony Wong, some more scenes focusing on their relationship would have been a bonus.

Visually, Secret looks fantastic. The school chosen for the story is a stunning building with wonderful interiors and green surrounding parks. Another high point of Secret is the visual effects. For a film with a relatively low budget there is some wonderful looking added special effects. This of course all looks even more spectacular on this excellent Blu-Ray release from Edko Films.

Secret is a really great film! It was probably aimed at the teen audience, but it is more complex than a standard love drama and I think it is fitting for everyone. Plus, it further cements just how creative the writer, musician, actor and director Jay Chou is.

8/10

Be wary, this disc was locked to Region A. Blu-ray.com has it listed as Region Free, so there may be various editions out there.

The Admiral: Roaring Currents Review South Korea 2014 명량

Director Kim Han-min’s(War of The Arrows) 16th century historical epic is one of the greatest naval battle films ever made. And it now happens to be the biggest grossing South Korean film of all time. Starring Choi Min-sik(Oldboy/Lucy), Ryu Seung-ryong(Blades of Blood), Cho Jin-woong(Nameless Gangster), Jin Goo(Mother), Lee Jung-hyun(Juvenile Offender) and Kim Myung-gon(Masquerade).

South Korean war drama based on the Battle of Myeongnyang which took place in 1597. After being disgraced and demoted Yi Sun-shin (Min-sik Choi) is reinstated to Admiral and commands the last 12 ships of the Joseon Navy in a battle against the invading Japanese forces and their fleet of 200. Against the odds, can Yi lead his men to victory?

Spectacular looking film based on the true battle led by revered Admiral Yi Sun-shin. Domestic audiences are well aware of the history and facts of this legendary battle, but international audiences are in for some surprises and a real treat.

Squad Goals.

Yi was known for his strategies. Using unorthodox tactics, “turtle” ships and even the current to win battles. The story is interesting from beginning to end, but it's the battle scenes were things really get compelling and exciting. You never know exactly what Yi has up his sleeve, and some of his tactics are rather surprising.

Visually the battle scenes are spectacular and intense. A fine blend between CGI and replica ships, the scenes look extremely realistic with only a few sketchy CGI moments. The ships look fantastic, especially up close, and especially while they are being blown to pieces sending woodchips and bodies flying everywhere.

Stunning costumes in The Admiral.

The 2nd half of the film is action filled, but the first half is filled of backstories and character development. This causes some issues as there are too many side stories and characters being introduced from both sides that it gets complicated and hard to keep up.

Minor issues aside. Choi Min-sik delivers another stunning performance. A reserved but still charismatic, intimidating performance. The Japanese characters(played by Korean actors) are also extremely interesting in their methods and the costume designs are stunning with the Samurai-esque outfits,

A great war film from South Korea which is extremely different from their usual North Vs South war story. Highly recommended.

8/10

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny Review 2016 臥虎藏龍：青冥寶劍

Arriving 16 years after the original, Sword of Destiny doesn't live up to it's predecessor as a sequel, but as a film on it's own merits it is decent, entertaining and reminiscent of 90s Kung Fu films.

Renowned warrior Yu Shu-Lien comes out of retirement to keep the legendary Green Destiny sword away from villainous warlord Hades Dai.

An extremely basic plot, but it works with the style of film. The main point that can't be emphasised enough is, do not go in to this expecting the original Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Times have changed. The budget is smaller. It has a different director, different producers, different writers and the only returning cast member is Michelle Yeoh. It can't match the original. But it is a fun Wuxia film in it's own right.

Could this be Yen's last Wuxia film?

If you are wanting some great fight scenes, then you will get your Netflix money's worth. That's one of the high praises CTHD2 has, the great Martial Art scenes. Directed by legendary Yuen Woo-ping and starring Michelle Yeoh and Donnie Yen, the fights were always going to be good. But they honestly surpassed expectations. The fights are fast, furious and vicious and all completely varied throughout. There is a fight in a tavern which has great comedy elements. There is a stunning fight on a frozen lake which was innovative. And the last fight with Yen and Jason Scott Lee is extremely well choreographed and very exciting, even if it has a little too much CGI.

Something that Sword of Destiny relies on that the original didn't is CGI. Filmed in New Zealand instead of China, CGI is used to add in backgrounds or buildings or mountains to make the film’s setting look more like China. The majority of these are used tastefully and are actually pretty to look at. However, the CGI added to the fight scenes is when it becomes a little jarring, especially the last fight when it comes across unnecessary but it never ruined the scene or made it unwatchable.

Michelle Yeoh is superb in her role as usual. And Yen always delivers. The rest of the cast all vary from acceptable to good. Jason Scott Lee is a great villain, a little over the top but all in the best way, and he looks like he is having a blast in the role. The rest of the English speaking cast do a fine job in their limited roles, some of the dialogue may sound a little cheesy but acceptable. It is pretty amusing to see a Wuxia film with Asian actors with accents varying from American to Australian to English.

The magnificent Michelle Yeoh

Yeoh playing the teacher to Snow Vase (Natasha Liu Bordizzo) is one of the most interesting dynamics. The 2 characters have great chemistry together and a relationship that should have had more screen time. These scenes were done wonderfully and another great highlight of the film.

For the purists who are going to complain about this film regardless, one of the main issues they have is that it was filmed in English. Well, an interesting option is you can change the audio language to Chinese with English subtitles. After checking this out it does add a bit of authenticity to the film, although there is no real issue with the original English language. But the option is there.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny is an interesting experiment. The name has obviously been used for marketing purposes. People who loved the original will watch it out of curiosity and people who already have Netflix will surely watch it just out of interest. I just hope that the film gets great viewing figures because Netflix is the future and I would love to see them fund more Kung Fu films or Asian films in general.

7/10

Office Review 2015 Johnnie To 華麗上班族

Johnnie swaps cops, gangsters and shootouts for office workers and catchy musical numbers in his new film Office.

Billion-dollar company Jones & Sunn is going public. Chairman Ho Chung-ping (Chow Yun-fat) has promised CEO Winnie Cheung (Sylvia Chang), who has been his mistress for more than twenty years, to become a major shareholder of the company. Lee Seung (Wang Ziyi), a new hire at Jones & Sunn, brings with him youthful ideals and dreams. On Lee Seung’s first day he is paired with another new start, under qualified Kat (Lang Yueting) who has her own secret agenda. As the IPO team enters the company to audit its accounts, a series of inside stories start to be revealed.

Johnnie To making a financial based musical is such a crazy idea on the surface to the western fans. Most western fans know of To for his action and bloodshed films. But, he has actually directed a bunch of comedy and drama films, so it isn't that much of a stretch for new territory.

The financial world setting works well and comes across as fun and even exciting in parts. Set before and after the 2008 financial crisis, there is enough meat to chew on.

The music is extremely upbeat and easy going even if you don't understand the native language, the feeling isn't lost through the subtitles although some of the lyrics might not translate as poetically to English. Some real catchy songs are included and also a superbly shot dance which left me in awe.

Office does have it's problems, one being the length. At just under 2 hours, it almost feels like you are putting a shift in at your work office and time is going by slow while you are willing it to end. This is about the 3rd quarter mark though, and the film does pick up again thankfully.

Another issue is the main character's stories. Lee Seung and Kat have the easiest going sections, full of humour and both likable characters, their story plods along at a reasonable pace. Chow Yun-fat doesn't star in this film, it's a "special appearance". And, although his character Ho Chung-ping is conflicted, you still find yourself rallying behind him, and as usual it's another great performance.

The third story revolves around David Wong played by Eason Chan. David is really the only villain type of the story, and unfortunately the part which is least interesting. Oddly David is the most polished character and Eason delivers a fine performance. But there is too much already going on and the film would have benefited with his story being trimmed down.

Saving the best for the last, the set design is simply incredible. I don't think a film about an office environment could actually look any better. Based on Sylvia Chang’s stage play Design for Living. The film has embraced it's theatre roots. Filmed entirely on a set, the office changes to a rooftop, a convince store, a nightclub, apartments and much more. The sets are made up of long lights, mainly blacks and whites, long vertical lines, and a giant clock. It's almost simple bare bone sets but with a neon steampunk twist. And it is exquisite. Production designer William Chang has created stunning sets which almost takes the world they create to style over substance as you can't peel your eyes off these stunning visuals.

Office is still a fun harmless film and if you enjoy musicals you will get plenty of enjoyment out of it. However, it just isn't up to the standard that Johnnie To has been delivering to us for so long.

6.5/10

The Mermaid Review 2016 美人鱼

The Mermaid

The Mermaid is the latest film from fan favourite Stephen Chow. Unfortunately for viewers Stephen Chow yet again doesn't star in his own film, but he is a marvelous comedic Director and his comedy timing is perfect in his new fantasy-romantic-comedy film.

Real estate tycoon Liu Xuan (Deng Chao) has been making a fortune using new sonar technology which happens to destroy all near by sea-life. Liu buys up a large area of protected land which he intends to use for real estate development, it just so happens this area is the home to a group of mermaids.
The mermaids hatch a plan to take down Liu Xuan and get him to abort his new development. The plan involves getting one of the mermaids to seduce and then kill him. Shan (Lin Yun/Jelly Lin) is chosen as the sexiest mermaid, she gets modified and trained to blend in with the humans then complete her mission.

From the synopsis, you can almost guess where this film is going. The basic story isn't that fresh but the film as a whole is completely original and distinctive from pretty much any film for years. Comparable to possibly only Splash and The Little Mermaid, this is such a refreshing take on the mermaid rom-com genre.

The Mermaid is genuinely hilarious. Full of great entertaining and creative gags, there's something that makes you genuinely laugh every few minutes, the pacing is brilliant. There is great uses of subtle humour in a scene with Liu trying to explain to the police that he was kidnapped by mermaids which had the cinema roaring. But there is also plenty of crazy slapstick comedy, one scene in particular is of Shan trying to kill her target and failing miserably, it gets stretched out with each gag getting funnier and more absurd.

A Mermaid... half person, half fish.

The cast are all brilliant in their roles. Liu Xuan comes off great as a wealthy jerk who is actually misunderstood and looking for real love. The Octopus played by Show Luo was surprisingly good and involved in a couple of hilarious scenes, one involving him pretending to be a chef and part of his body ends up getting cooked for customers.

But Shan(Lin Yun) is the star of the show. Unknown to most audiences, the 19 year old's performance is adorable and incredibly cute. Full of quirkiness, from her facial expressions, to reactions, to her waddling about pretending to be human. Lin Yun has an ocean full of charisma and could go on to be a big star. She reminds me of a young Shu Qi mixed with Zhang Ziyi, only a lot more warming.

I hope no one notices I'm peeing right now.

Like a lot of Chinese comedies, the tone of the film changes drastically at points. Towards the end it gets a little too dark, which shocked me considering how light in tone the rest was. But this is more as part of their environmental message, which is still as important today as ever. Using real footage of water pollution and dying sea-life, The Mermaid does contain an underlying message from Chow which should be applauded.

The CGI in The Mermaid is hit or miss. In some scenes it actually looks pretty great. In others, it stands out too much and is quite jarring with how fake it looks. But for a comedy, this isn't actually too important. And in some ways, it almost adds to the charm of the film.

A shock to many, The Mermaid has not only gone on to become the highest grossing film in China. It is also now the 2nd highest grossing film in the WORLD this year, so far!

Sitting right behind Deadpool, it's second in terms of money. But for me The Mermaid is first in terms of laughs.

7.5/10

The Mermaid is currently showing in many cinemas across the UK, USA, AUS/NZ and of course Asia. So check if any cinemas near by are showing it now!

Fukuchan of Fukufuku Flats Review Japan 2014 福福荘の福ちゃん

Fuku-chan of Fukufuku Flats

Billed as a comedy, Fuku-chan actually plays out more like a very well told drama with some great humour inbetween.

32-year-old Tatsuo Fukuda, nickname Fuku-chan (Miyuki Oshima), is a painter who lives in a run-down apartment complex called Fukufuku Flats. One day, an unfamiliar woman turns up at Fukufuku Flats. It is Chiho, his first love from his junior high school days who he has not seen for around 20 years, and she has come to apologize for something that happened in their past. As Fuku-chan allows himself to get caught up in Chiho's quest to become a photographer, he begins to fall in love all over again with this woman who was responsible for the traumatizing incident that led to his fear of women...

A very interesting story which really doesn't come together until about 40 minutes or more into the film. Until that point it's really not clear how the characters are connected. But the main and supporting characters daily antics, and character development is enough to keep the film rolling at a fast pace until it all comes together.

The heart of the film belongs to the character Fuku-Chan and the actress who plays him Miyuki Oshima. A female comedian is certainly an interesting choice for a 32 year old male, but with her dedication to the role by shaving her head and gaining weight, Miyuki plays the part perfectly with grace and believability. It's a charming role which will certainly attract a lot of attention.

The comedy varies from subtle humour to occasionally going way over the top. Way way over the top. But even then, it still gets a positive reaction and it's a film that will definitely make you smile regardless. One scene in a curry house is so absurd that you can't help but laugh at the situation and ridiculousness.

An extremely fun film. Not life changing, but the simple story with the intriguing characters works very well. A film that will warm your heart, put a big smile on your face and make you fall in love with Fuku-Chan.

7/10

Another excellent release from Third Window Films.

#FukuChanofFukuFukuFlats #ThirdWindowFilms #YosukeFujita #MiyukiOshima #AsamiMizukawa #YoshiyoshiArakawa

A Moment of Romance Review Hong Kong 1990 天若有情

A Moment Of Romance

Classic Hong Kong Cinema at it's very finest. Superb film by Benny Chan with a wonderful story and characters and a career defining performance from Andy Lau.

Queue the montages.

Wah Dee is a skilled motorbike rider and getaway driver but is still seen as a small time gangster in the Triad ranks. After a botched heist where Wah Dee is working as the getaway driver, to avoid being caught by the police he takes a young girl Jojo (Wu Chien-Lien/Jacklyn Wu) hostage. The rest of the gang decide they want the girl dead after she sees all of their faces, Wah Dee volunteers to take care of her, but actually sets her free. This starts an unlikely romance between a low level Triad and an innocent rich girl.

Moment of Romance isn't the most original story, in fact there were many similar films from Hong Kong around this time. But the depth of the characters and the directing is what makes it stand out.

There is nothing cooler than Andy Lau riding a motorbike!

Andy Lau is instantly likable as the calm cool gangster, who,  although being a Triad, he seems like he secretly wants a clean happy life. His motorbike riding scenes along with the music is so iconic it will stay with you! And has also now been spoofed and copied many, many times.

The music is also excellently fitting. The score and original songs fit the movie like a glove. And the cantopop slow motion montages aren't used in a cheap way, but instead they progress and develop the story.

The violence and action scenes are shot gritty and realistic in an unflinching way which suits the Triad drama and makes some scenes uneasy to watch, and also makes you really feel and worry for the characters.

Speaking of iconic. The ending to the film, and the last shot before the credits are extremely haunting and will stay with you for a long time.

A real gem of Hong Kong filmmaking. Recommended to all. If you are a fan of Hong Kong cinema this is on your must watch list.

8.5/10

#MomentOfRomance #天若有情 #BennyChan #AndyLau #JacklynWu