Black Coal, Thin Ice
China, 2014
Genre: Crime, Thriller
Language: Mandarin
Director: Yinan Diao
Starring: Fan Liao, Lun Mei Gwei, Xuebing Wang
What's it about?
Two former cops start investigating the series of murders that ended and shamed their careers when the killings begin again. This stylish film noir was the winner of the Golden Bear at the 2014 Berlinale.
[link title="Black Coal, Thin Ice review: Chinese noir thriller unlike anything else " url="node/17724"]
Metro Manila
United Kingdom, Philippines, 2013
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Language: Filipino
Director: Sean Ellis
Starring: JM Rodriguez, Miles Canapi, Ana Abad-Santos, John Arcilla, Althea Vega, Jake Macapagal
What's it about?
Farmer Oscar Ramirez and his young family seek a better life, travelling from the rice terraces in the northern Philippines to the chaos of Manila - but they fall victim to blackmail.
The Last Emperor
M
China, 1987
Genre: Biography, Drama, History
Language: Mandarin
Director: Bernardo Bertolucci
Starring: Victor Wong, John Lone, Ruocheng Ying, Joan Chen, Peter O'Toole
What's it about?
A dramatic history of Pu Yi, the last of the Emperors of China, from his lofty birth and brief reign in the Forbidden City, the object of worship by half a billion people; through his abdication, his decline and dissolute lifestyle; his exploitation by the invading Japanese, and finally to his obscure existence as just another peasant worker in the People's Republic.
[link title="Dinner and a Movie: The Last Emperor" url="node/44657"]
Forever Enthralled
PG
Hong Kong, 2008
Genre: Biography, Drama, History
Language: Mandarin
Director: Kaige Chen
Starring: Leon Lai, Ziyi Zhang, Honglei Sun, Hong Chen
What's it about?
Set in the artistic underground of 1930s China, this is the epic story of Mei Lanfang - the performer who overcame prejudice to become China's greatest opera star. (China)
One Last Dance
M
Singapore, 2006
Genre: Action, Romance
Language: Mandarin, Cantonese
Director: Max Makowski
Starring: Lung Ti, Francis Ng, Harvey Keitel
What's it about?
An assassin is hired to kill the men responsible for kidnapping an important man's son. With every death, the killer gets closer to the last kidnapper's name. Nominated for the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival in 2006.
Isabella
Hong Kong, 2006
Genre: Suspense
Language: Cantonese
Director: Ho-Cheung Pang
Starring: Isabella Leong, Chapman To, Anthony Wong Chau Sang
What's it about?
Rogue cop Shing is a bachelor who enjoys women and parties. One day, his world is turned upside down when a young woman claiming to be his daughter comes into his life. (Hong Kong)
Reign of Assassins
MA15+
China, 2010
Genre: Action
Language: Mandarin
Director: John Woo
Starring: Woo-sung Jung, Michelle Yeoh
What's it about?
In Ancient China, Drizzle (Michelle Yeoh) is the most deadly and ruthless assassin. After a life of theft and murder, she seeks to atone for her ways. She starts a new life in the capital, but her old gang are hot on her trail.
Ong bak
MA15+
Thailand, 2005
Genre: Crime, Martial Arts
Language: Thai
Director: Prachya Pinkaew
Starring: Tony Jaa, Petchtai Wongkamlao, Pumwaree Yodkamol, Suchao Pongwilai, Chumphorn Thepphithak, Cheathavuth Watcharakhun, Wannakit Sirioput, Rungrawee Barijindakul
What's it about?
In a poor village, the sacred statue of Ong Bak watches over its inhabitants. When a former villager steals the statue's head to sell it to the the underworld, the villagers are fearful of the consequences, and pin their hopes on Ting, a gifted but reluctant Muay Thai boxer. Ting is charged with travelling to the seedy streets of Bangkok, to and fight and reclaim Ong Bak for his village.
Ong Bak 2
[country], 2009
Genre: Action, Martial Arts
Language: [language]
Director: Tony Jaa
Starring: Nirut Sirichanya, Sarunyu Wongkrachang, Sorapong Chatree, Tony Jaa
What's it about?Set in the regal times of King Naresuan, a young thief seeks revenge on the man who brutally killed his parents when he was ten. (Thailand)
Let the Bullets Fly
MA15+
China, 2010
Genre: Action, Comedy
Language: Mandarin
Director: Jiang Wen
Starring: Carina Lau, Ge You, Jiang Wen, Feng Xiaogang, Chow Yun-Fat
What's it about?
Set in China during the warring 1920s, notorious bandit chief Zhang (Jiang Wen) descends upon a remote provincial town posing as its new mayor, an identity that he had hijacked from Old Tang (Feng Xiaogang), himself a small-time imposter. Hell-bent on making a fast buck, Zhang soon meets his match in the tyrannical local gentry Huang (Chow Yun-Fat) as a deadly battle of wit and brutality ensues.
[link title="Let the Bullets Fly Review" url="node/5697"]Watch interview
Mad Detective
MA15+
Hong Kong, 2007
Genre: Action, Crime, Thriller
Language: Cantonese
Director: Johnnie To, Ka-Fai Wai
Starring: Kelly Lin, Andy On, Ching Wan Lau, Lam Ka-tung
What's it about?
A rookie cop asks a retired detective inspector to help solve a crime involving a missing police officer and a number of robberies involving the missing officer's gun. The retired detective, Bun, was recognised as a gifted criminal profiler until he went mad several years ago and was forced to retire. Hong Kong's largest grossing film of 2008.
Election
MA15+
Hong Kong, 2005
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Language: Cantonese, Mandarin
Director: Johnnie To
Starring: Ka Tung Lam, Louis Koo, Simon Yam, Siu-Fai Cheung, Suet Lam, Nick Cheung, Tony Leung Chiu Wai
What's it about?
The largest and oldest Triad, The Wo Shing Society, Hong Kong is 50,000 strong and every two years the 'uncles’ appoint a new director from an elite assembly of candidates. This time, he tension between warring factions is heightened by the need to recover the society’s treasured leadership symbol; a dragonhead baton that has been shipped to the mainland.
Election 2
MA15+
Hong Kong, 2006
Genre: Crime, Drama
Language: Cantonese
Director: Johnny To
Starring: Louis Koo, Siu-Fai Cheung, Nick Cheung, Simon Yam
What's it about?
Two years after the events of Election, it's time to elect a new chair. This doesn't sit well with the current occupant of the positon, who is sets in motion a bloody campaign to secure himself another term.
Merantau
MA15+ 2009
Genre: Action
Language: Indonesian
Director: Gareth Evans
Starring: Sisca Jessica, Christine Hakim, Mads Koudal, Iko Uwais
What's it about?
A chance encounter results in Yuda, a martial arts masters, defending a young orphan from a human trafficking ring led by the wildly psychotic Ratger.
Wonderful Town
M, 2007
Genre: Drama
Language: Thai
Director: Aditya Assarat
Starring: Supphasit Kansen, Anchalee Saisoontorn
What's it about?
Revealing the frailty of a Thai town dealing with the aftermath of the Boxing Day tsunami, this love story follows the relationship between a visiting architect and a local woman.
Gallants
PG
Hong Kong, 2010
Genre: Action, Comedy
Language: Cantonese
Director: Chi-kin Kwok, Clement Sze-Kit Cheng
Starring: Teddy Robin Kwan, Kuan Tai Chen, Siu-Lung Leung
What's it about?
Kung fu experts Tiger (Siu-Lung Leung) and Dragon (Kuan Tai Chen) were able to defeat any opponent until their master (Teddy Robin Kwan) fell into a long coma. Now they must protect their restaurant from encroaching gangsters on their own.
Ilo Ilo
Singapore, 2013
Genre: Drama
Language: Mandarin
Director: Anthony Chen
Starring: Koh Jia Ler, Angeli Bayani, Tian Wen Chen, Yann Yann Yeo
What's it about?
In Singapore, a struggling family of three with another way hire a new maid from the Philippines (Angeli Bayani), all the while battling money issues and the troublesome behaviour of their young son.
[link title="Ilo Ilo Review" url="node/6240"]
Motorway
Hong Kong, 2012
Genre: Action, Crime
Language: Cantonese, English
Director: Soi Cheang
Starring: Shawn Yue, Anthony Wong, Barbie Hsu, Guo Xiao-Dong, Josie Ho
What's it about?
Sean, an overconfident rookie with a need for speed, works for a covert police unit consisting of the best drivers in the force who tackle underworld racing and fugitives on the run. Jensen is one such target, a legendary escape driver for criminals, who has never been caught.
The Magic Kitchen
PG
Hong Kong, 2004
Genre: Romance, Comedy
Language: Cantonese
Director: Lee Chi-Ngai
Starring: Nicola Cheung, Sammi Cheng, Maggie Q, Andy Lau
What's it about?
Sex and the City meets The Iron Chef in this sassy comedy about three girls on the lookout for love and/or sex in modern day Hong Kong.
Little Big Soldier
M
Hong Kong, China, 2010
Genre: Comedy, Adventure, Action
Language: Mandarin
Director: Sheng Ding
Starring: Jackie Chan, Ling Peng, Leehom Wang, Sung-jun Yoo
What's it about?
Set during the Chinese wars of the third century BC, Jackie Chan plays an old foot soldier who manages to capture an injured enemy general during a battle.
Assembly
MA15+
Hong Kong, 2007
Genre: Action, Drama, History, War
Language: Mandarin
Director: Feng Xiaogang
Starring: Fan Liao, Yan Tang, Wenkang Yuan, Chao Deng, Hanyu Zhang, Baoqiang Wang
What's it about?
The absurdity of war and the value of heroism are scrutinised in this brutal epic about a soldier's quest for personal honour and that of his fallen comrades in China's Civil War.
Sun Valley
M
China, 1995
Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama
Language: Mandarin
Director: Ping He
Starring: Yang Gao, Zhenbo Chen, Feng Ku
What's it about?
A mysterious swordsman, the last of his kind, appears at an isolated inn in Sun Valley, on the remote western frontier of China, and waits for the chance to avenge himself for an incident which occurred 20 years ago.
Dangerous Liaisons
M
China, 2012
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Romance
Language: Mandarin
Director: Jin-ho Hur
Starring: Cecilia Cheung, Dong-gun Jang, Ziyi Zhang
What's it about?
Entrepreneur and libertine Mo Jieyu (Cecilia Cheung) strikes a deal with her ex-lover, the handsome playboy Xie Yifan (Jang Dong-gun). Mo’s most recent tycoon lover has dropped her for a young virginal schoolgirl. If Xie takes the girl’s virginity, he'll make a laughing stock out of the tycoon – and Miss Mo will give herself to Xie. But Xie has his eyes on a different prize – the virtuous widow Du Fenyu (Zhang Ziyi).
[link title="Dangerous Liaisons: Hur Jin-ho, Ziyi Zhang and Jang Dong-gun" url="node/1071"]
[link title="Dangerous Liaisons Review" url="node/5999"]
The Four
M
China, 2012
Genre: Action, Foreign
Language:
Director: Gordon Chan, Janet Chun
Starring: Ronald Cheng, Collin Chou, Deng Chao, Liu Yifei
What's it about?
A government department known as the Six Panels appoints their best officer to infiltrate a special force called the Divine Constabulary, to stop the circulation of counterfeit coin currency in the capital. He uncovers a plan far more dastardly than funny money.
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