Vmovie - The Rebel (2007)

Synopsis - Wikipedia
Photos - Google

Vietnam in 1922 is under colonial French ruling, and anti-French rebellions by peasants have emerged all over the country. In response, the French have activated units of Vietnamese secret agents to track and destroy the rebels. One agent is Le Van Cuong. Although branded with a perfect track record, Cuong's inner conscience is troubled by the sea of Vietnamese blood he has spilled. Following an assassination of a high ranking French official, Cuong is assigned to seek and kill the notorious leader of the resistance. Cuong encounters Vo Thanh Thuy, a relentless revolutionary fighter and the daughter of the rebel leader. She is captured and imprisoned by Cuong's cruel superior, Sy. Cuong suspects that Sy knew about the attack on the French official before it happened, and could have prevented it. Suspicious, he warns Thuy that her organization has a mole, helps break her out of prison and becomes a fugitive himself. Her fiery patriotism inspires Cuong, and he develops feelings for the young woman as well. Meanwhile, Sy is tracking Cuong and Thuy, knowing the pair will lead him to Thuy's father.



I have never seen a Viet movie before. However, Johnny Nguyen made it worth while.



A familar face is Dustin Ngyuen who I have seen from the popular tv show in the 90s, 21 Jumpstreet, with Johnny Depp.



Take the hot stud, a familar face, and a fearless female, you get a big hit!



I love the martial arts scenes a lot. The backstory was good and had inspiration too.

A must watch!

Kmovie - The Good The Bad The Weird (2008)

Source - Yahoo
Photos - Google


Set in the 1930s Manchurian desert where lawlessness rules and many different ethnic groups clash, three Korean men fatefully meet each other on a train. The train's diverse passengers and imminent danger with guns and knives everywhere serves as a microcosm of the turbulent times. Do-won is a bounty hunter who tracks down any criminals with rewards on their heads. Chang-yi is the leader of a group of tough-as-nails bandits. He cannot stand to be the second best. Tae-goo is a train robber with nine lives. The three strangers engage in a chase across Manchuria to take possession of a map Tae-goo discovers while robbing the train. Also on the hunt for the mysterious map are the Japanese army and Asian bandits. In this unpredictable, escalating battle for the map, who will stand in the end as the winner?



Korean cowboy style! That's what I thought when I first saw previews. I'm not a Western cowboys type of movie person. I passed when I first heard about it.

So what made me change my mind???



Exactly!

That man is so gorgeous!. Total hotness.



Lee Byun Hun is my fave Korean actor. He can act and is sooo irresitably hot as the villian. He was a badass, don't-mess-with-me pain but so good at it.



Even though I looooooooved LBH in the movie, it was Song Kang Ho all the way. The movie should've been titled, "The Weird The Bad The Good." I love his silliness!!



Jung Woo Sung does well in his part but is a little underappreciated because of LBH & SKH. He was more of the cool, calm guy.



Must see, just for Lee Byun Hun. The action scenes were good. However, I like more physical contact. It's hard for me to explain but in a lot of Korean movies, the action are done very well, especially the gun shooting scenes.

But when it comes to the physical fight scenes, those are not done well. It's almost cartoonish. For example, the hero and villian will be fighting, you see the hero pull out a sword to stab the villian. You won't actually see the sword go through the villian. Instead you will see hero with the sword, then the villian with the sword wound. I want to see it all!

I know, that's just my pet peeve. Otherwise, the movie is pure fun!

Cmovie - New Police Story (2004)

Synopsis - IMDB
Photos - Google
Inspector Wing of the Hong Kong Police Force has become the victim of a gang, led by the evil Joe. When his entire team is killed, Wing becomes a hapless drunk, feeling guilty for the deaths of his team. A young man with a troubled past pretends to be a police officer working on the case with Wing, to get him back on his feet and begin an adventure to get revenge on the evil Joe and his Gang of Five, especially when it becomes personal.



First of all, OMFG, I looooooved it! I watched it several times already. The first time I watched it was by myself. The second time was with my daughter. The third with the rest of the family. Every one of us looooved it! Yes, it is that good!

I've seen Jackie Chan's Police Story and Police Story 2 a while ago but re-watched them again. New Police Story is a reboot version, meaning that it doesn't follow the trilogy, first three parts. However, it still has the same formula but you get more emotionally involved and the martial arts action was even better! Add in my other Hong Kong crushes -- Nicholas Tse & Daniel Wu!!! No disappointment at all!



My son asked me how come in a lot of modern martial arts action, the heroes are usually cops. I never thought about that, but he is right! A lot of law enforcements are seen in Hong Kong action, whether or not they do martial arts. Either that or gangsters. Or maybe it's the movies that I watch? If I like a certain star, I will try my best to watch their full filmography.

I've always been a fan of Jackie Chan from his 70s movies to modern. That man got a lot of talent. He doesn't even look like he's aging at all!



Nicholas Tse is my latest Hong Kong crush. Before him, it was Stephen Fung. I've seen Nicholas in numerous movies before but he got me...finally! I still adore Stephen Fung but his choice of films aren't as great as Nicholas. I think Stephen is taking a break from acting and focusing on directing instead now.



Daniel Wu is a hottie too. I always thought he was good looking but he is probably my favorite actor, for the most diverse acting. His spoken English is really good, no accent. Then I read more about him and learn that he grew up in the USA.



Charlie Yeung who plays Jackie's love interest is so gorgeous! I love her hairstyle and color. I didn't realize she was the same girl in After This Our Exile with Aaron Kwok. She's wonderful!



The girl villian, Coco Chiang, my daughter loves her style. She even had some kickass action scenes!



The only downfall is Charlene Choi who I found a bit annoying (and I like her a lot!) She does *not* look good in short hair! I didn't find the significant of her part until later on in the movie. She didn't even fit the role of a police officer and was a bit kiddish.



Yes, do watch it!!

If you enjoyed Jackie's other Police Story series, you won't be disappointed at all! This is just a modern version of his previous work, with hot, happening stars!

Cmovie - Dragon Tiger Gate (2006)

Synopsis - Heroic Cinema
Photos - Google


Tiger Wong is a highly skilled martial artist with a strong sense of justice. While eating at a floating restaurant, he chances upon a bully. Unable to stand by and watch him terrorize the victims he defeats the bully using his special move - Dragon Slaying Leg Eighteen. At the same time, he unwittingly grabs a gold medal. It turns out that this gold medal is the Lousha Death Plaque given by the leader of the Lousha Gate, Shibumi. Whoever owns the gold medal has the power to demand the full cooperation of Lousha Gate. Tiger, unaware of the medal's powers, is ambushed by the gang during his celebrations. As fate has it, he is saved by Dragon Wong, the bodyguard of one of the gangsters, who is sent to retrieve the medal.



Honestly, I saw this a few years ago and did *not* like it. I think my expectations were too high since I'm a huge Donnie Yen fan and just finish watching SPL. I wanted to see more awesome maritial arts.

After learning that Dragon Tiger Gate was adapted from a manhua (Chinese version of manga) called Oriental Heroes, I was more interested. However, it was really after realizing that Donnie Yen was the fight choreographer and Wilson Yip was the director that made me give it a second chance. And oh yeah, my crush on Nicholas Tse!



So when I finally got a hold of the dvd (again), I re-watched with a clear mind.

Was this the same movie that I disliked several years ago? It was good! The storyline could've been better because you could easily get confused. But the action scenes are very Stephen Chow-like at times.

I didn't mind Donnie or Nicholas's hairstyles. Donnie looks badass with it though. But Shawn's hairstyle made me cringe!! It looked like a mop on top of his head, lol.



I am glad I re-watched. Not every movie out there is meant for an Oscar. Some are just here to entertain. The more movies I watch, the more open-minded I have become.

Don't shoot down Dragon Tiger Gate either!

Cmovie - Blood Brothers (2007)

Synopsis - Amazon
Photos - Google

Blood Brothers is set in 1930s Shanghai, a flourishing modern-day Babylon, replete with warlords, politicians, wealthy industrialists, courtesans and gangsters. Three innocent young brothers, Kang (Liu Ye, Curse of the Golden Flower ), Fung (Daniel Wu, Around the World in 80 Days ) and Xiao Hu (Tony Yang), arrive in this seeming paradise in search of a better life. Enticed by the rich and powerful world of organized crime, the three brothers start down a path of no return: they are hired to do the bidding for one of the city s largest mob syndicate. When Fung begins an affair with the mob boss girlfriend, beauty Lulu (Shu Qi, Transporter), and life takes a difficult turn for all three brothers when the forbidden love affair is exposed. Friends turn against friends, brother against brother. The days of innocence have passed; the three brothers must stand up as men and make their choices.



I looooved the movie!! Storyline was really good. I love the art direction with the 1930s Shanghai look. The direction couldn've been better since I was a bit confused at first.

Acting is excellent from everyone. Shu Qi is my fave actress, and Daniel Wu is slowly becoming one of mines!

Cmovie - Goddess of Mercy (2006)

Synopsis - Rotten Tomatoes
Photos - Google

Yang Rui falls in love for the cleaning woman who works in a taekwando gym, only to later discover she's an undercover cop named An Xin. An is in hiding from drug smugglers who have a score to settle with her - a raid she led resulted in the death of one of the smuggler's parents. To complicate matters further, An was previously romantically involved with the smuggler whose parents were killed.



Overall, the movie was very well made. Storyline is good. It is an adaptation from a popular book (I have no idea the name of the book).

However, with "acting." I was disappointed with Vickie's presence. Because I do not understand Mandarin, I cannot just judge her acting. I was going by her body language and voice. I could barely hear her!!! I kept turning up and down the volumne just to hear her, which was very annoying.



It's not the first time I've seen Nicholas Tse in any movies but this is the movie that made me go, "Damn!! where have you been all my life?" I am seeking more of his movies!!!

The guy who plays Yang Rui was awesome. I really liked Yunlong Liu's acting.

Definitely worth a watch.

Cmovie - 49 Days (2006)

Synopsis - Amazon
Photos - Google

Lau Sing (Stephen Fung) as a successful entrepeneur of a medicinal company. He must leave his wife and children for a number of years while he goes off to make his fortune, and his business a success. His business is medicinal herbs: some from various plants and animals which indeed makes him very successful. However, he has a scheming business partner whom he thought was a close friend. The films antagonist, Pang Shi (Ho-Yin Wong) betrays his friend Lau Sing, and is responsible for the deaths of several people when he torches Lau Sings' business. Lau Sing is charged with the crime. It is here where the film introduces the character Siu Chin (Gillian Chung) who acts as Lau's defense attorney.



From the dvd cover, you would think it's a horror/thriller. Apparently, it's not. Well, not really. There are haunting moments but nothing scary. There are good moments but overall, a complete letdown.

I am a huge fan of Stephen Fung and Gillian Cheung but cannot say the same about the movie.

Cmovie - Heavenly Mission (2006)

Synopsis - YesAsia
Photos - Google


Young and Dangerous icon Ekin Cheng steps into a new triad role in his latest film, Heavenly Mission. Directed by James Yuen (Crazy N' The City), Heavenly Mission pits Ekin Cheng in a dangerous game of wits and bullets against Alex Fong (One Nite in Mongkok) and Stephen Fung (House of Fury). The film also features an impressively star-studded supporting cast including Julian Cheung (Wo Hu), Eric Kot, Wayne Lai, Wong Yau Nam (Men Suddenly in Black), Niki Chow (Love Battlefield), and Shaw Brothers veteran Di Lung. Entertaining and intriguing, Heavenly Mission is an uncommon triad action drama that engages from beginning to end.

After eight years in Thai prison, legendary triad leader Autumn Yip (Ekin Cheng) returns to Hong Kong, sending the police, the underworld, and the media into frenzy as they try to anticipate his next big move. Teaming up with his former buddies, the high-profile Autumn opens a legitimate company, gives to charity, and appears every bit a mild-mannered, reformed man. Seasoned cop Ming (Alex Fong), however, is convinced that his actions are a front for something illegal. Equally suspicious is aggressive triad boss Ghost (Stephen Fung) who resorts to nefarious tactics to challenge both Autumn and the police.



Intersting storyline but some parts bored me. I felt that the script had potential but the characters were never fully developed.



I watched this movie mainly for Stephen Fung. He is my Hong Kong crush. I know most people like other stars, but I adore Stephen ever since House of Fury. I love his cute dimples!



Another plus besides Stephen Fung and Ekin Cheng is Ti Lung. I was a huge fan of his 1970s martial arts Shaw Brothers movies back in the

Cmovie - Little Big Soldier (2010)

Synopsis - Fandago
Photos - Google

Two rivals strike up a wary friendship in this blend of historical drama, action and comedy starring international martial arts star Jackie Chan. It's 227 B.C., and during the era of the warring states, a fifty-something Liang soldier (Jackie Chan) captures a wounded Wei general (Wang Leehom) in the wake of a battle. The soldier's goal in taking the general prisoner isn't glory but the hope of collecting a reward so he can buy some land and start a farm once then fighting is over. The general, however, is vain and arrogant and insists he was taken captive only after his own men turned against them. As the two men slowly make their way back to Liang territory, they're followed by a duplicitous Wei prince (Steve Yoo) who has his own reasons for wanting the general back, as well as villains and scoundrels on both sides. While the soldier and the general don't get along at first, in time a grudging admiration grows between them as the general comes to appreciate the decency and good nature of his captor. Da Bing Xiao Jiang (aka Little Big Soldier) was an official selection at the 2010 Berlin International Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi



"In development hell for 20 years, Little Big Soldier was a pet project of Chan's. He not only stars, but also wrote, co-produced, and action-directed the film. It certainly feels like more thought and care went into the production and the result is a satisfying friendship story of which he can be proud."

Cinemaspy



Overall, I did enjoy it. Some parts could have been deleted just to make the slow-paced movie. Jackie Chan still infuses with his comical style and martial arts. Worth a watch

Kmovie - Romantic Island (2008)

Synopsis - AsianMediaWiki
Photos - Google

A poor but vivacious lady, Soo-Jin (Lee Su-Kyeong) takes a vacation to an exotic island for the first time, totally free from work and her family. A rich but cold-hearted gentleman, Jae-Hyuk (Lee Seon-Gyun), secretly visits the island for his estranged fathers funeral. Jae-Hyuk bumps into Soo-Jin at a hotel and attracted by her lively spirit, Jae-Hyuk asks her to be his tour guide during his stay on the island.


A famous idol star, Ga-Young (Eugene), is stressed out from her hard schedules and takes an impulsive vacation. A hopeless clerk, Jung-Hwan (Min-gi Lee), gets a free ticket to the island from his friend. Spoiled, Ga-Young sees Jung-Hwan standing alone at the airport and asks him to carry her bag and to take her to the hotel. Mr. nice guy, Jung-Hwan cant turn her down and he becomes her companion to the island.


A father and husband, Joong-Sik and his wife, Yoon-Suk, take their very first trip abroad to the island. In the romantic island, Joong-Sik tries to make his wife the perfect vacation, presenting an unforgettable memory with him for the last time.




One of my friends gave me this movie thinking I will enjoy it...and yes, I did. I love how all three of the stories were told. None of them connected with the other but each story unfolded in the "romantic island."