Action hero Jackie Chan is once again flying through the air at high-speed to save the day.
Chan flew from the U.S. to Beijing on Saturday, April 3rd, and immediately recorded a song to raise money for people suffering from the devastating drought in southwestern China. He performed the song at a fundraising event that evening, helping to raise $29 million for victims.
Joining him at Saturday’s fundraising event were stars from the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan, including Jiang Wenli, Na Ying, Andy Lau, Elva Hsiao and Chyi Yu. Some of the stars performed, while others volunteered to answer phones and collect pledges.
Read more...
Chan flew from the U.S. to Beijing on Saturday, April 3rd, and immediately recorded a song to raise money for people suffering from the devastating drought in southwestern China. He performed the song at a fundraising event that evening, helping to raise $29 million for victims.
Joining him at Saturday’s fundraising event were stars from the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan, including Jiang Wenli, Na Ying, Andy Lau, Elva Hsiao and Chyi Yu. Some of the stars performed, while others volunteered to answer phones and collect pledges.
Read more...
- 4/6/2010
- Look to the Stars
HONG KONG -- What made Hong Kong crime dramas so exciting in the '80s were their urban romanticism and hard-boiled melodrama. The existential Triad gangster elevated to tragic-hero and chivalrous avenger was a common story line that wowed audiences and critics around the world. In "Infernal Affairs", some of that turf has been re-staked by rising writer-director Alan Mak, co-directing with director Andrew Lau ("Storm Riders", "Young and Dangerous").
This gritty police thriller is a gargantuan hit in Hong Kong, having broken numerous boxoffice records during the competitive Christmas season. Although the territory's cinema may not be what it once was, this taut and entertaining picture should have enough macho magnetism to generate international interest.
Leading a high-powered cast is Tony Leung (Cannes best actor for "In the Mood for Love"). He plays Yan, a veteran cop who has spent a decade undercover, infiltrating crime syndicates. Meanwhile, a Triad member lives a parallel but counter life on the opposite side of the law. Perennial Hong Kong fave Andy Lau is Ming, a young Triad planted into the police force in his teens by crime boss Sam (Eric Tsang). The mole has now been promoted to the rank of sergeant.
Both men have grown weary with their personal hells -- living secretive and lonely existences in the gray area between good and bad. (The film's Chinese title, "Mo-Gaan-Do," refers to the lowest level of hell in Buddhism.) Yan is tired of pretending to be an amoral gangster and wants his normal life back. Meanwhile, Ming yearns to become a cop for real and shed his forced role as a Triad spy.
The pathos between the two men come to a head during a failed drug bust when the cops and criminals realize a mole exists within their respective camps. At that point, it becomes a cat-and-mouse game for each man to track down his undercover counterpart before his own identity is exposed.
Driven by two great performances surrounded by solid supporting acts, "Infernal Affairs" is the rare testosterone movie that is also mature and thoughtful. Imagine Michael Mann's "Heat" set in Hong Kong. It doesn't have John Woo-style fireworks, but with character drama this tense and suspenseful, such bullet ballets are not missed.
Brilliantly shot by co-director Lau and cinematographer Lai Yiu Fai -- not to mention the "visual consultancy" of Chris Doyle, which essentially means he dropped by the set periodically to help calibrate the lighting and color between his other projects -- the sheen of the skyline contrasts spectacularly against the scum of its mildewy concrete. Few cities can match Hong Kong for its extreme paradox of urban decay and powerful material lure, and "Infernal Affairs" takes full advantage of the city's look to mirror the corroding ethics of its leads. The only drawbacks are its unfocused female characters played by Chinese pop princesses Sammi Cheng, Kelly Chen and Elva Hsiao, all of whom are here serving as brief feminine respite from the musky showdown.
Otherwise, this is a gripping, well-paced genre piece with an ending that isn't corrupted by a need to please audiences. Without a doubt, "Internal Affairs" is the best commercial movie from Hong Kong in a long while.
INFERNAL AFFAIRS
Media Asia Films
Basic Pictures
Credits:
Directors: Alan Mak Andrew Lau
Writers: Alan Mak, Felix Chong
Producer: Andrew Lau
Executive producer: Nansun Shi, John Chong
Directors of photography: Andrew Lau, Lai Yiu Fai
Visual consultant: Christopher Doyle
Production designers: Choo Sung Pong, Sung Pong, Wong Ching Ching
Costume designer: Lee Pik Kwan
Music: Chan Kwong Wing
Editors: Danny Pang, Pang Ching Hei
Stunt Co-ordinator: Dion Lam
Cast:
Ming: Andy Lau
Yan: Tony Leung
Wong: Anthony Wong
Sam: Eric Tsang
Young Ming: Edison Chen
Young Yan: Shawn Yue
B: Lam Ka Tung
Keung: Chapman To
Mary: Sammi Cheng
Dr. Lee: Kelly Chen
May: Elva Hsiao
Running time -- 100 minutes
No MPAA rating...
This gritty police thriller is a gargantuan hit in Hong Kong, having broken numerous boxoffice records during the competitive Christmas season. Although the territory's cinema may not be what it once was, this taut and entertaining picture should have enough macho magnetism to generate international interest.
Leading a high-powered cast is Tony Leung (Cannes best actor for "In the Mood for Love"). He plays Yan, a veteran cop who has spent a decade undercover, infiltrating crime syndicates. Meanwhile, a Triad member lives a parallel but counter life on the opposite side of the law. Perennial Hong Kong fave Andy Lau is Ming, a young Triad planted into the police force in his teens by crime boss Sam (Eric Tsang). The mole has now been promoted to the rank of sergeant.
Both men have grown weary with their personal hells -- living secretive and lonely existences in the gray area between good and bad. (The film's Chinese title, "Mo-Gaan-Do," refers to the lowest level of hell in Buddhism.) Yan is tired of pretending to be an amoral gangster and wants his normal life back. Meanwhile, Ming yearns to become a cop for real and shed his forced role as a Triad spy.
The pathos between the two men come to a head during a failed drug bust when the cops and criminals realize a mole exists within their respective camps. At that point, it becomes a cat-and-mouse game for each man to track down his undercover counterpart before his own identity is exposed.
Driven by two great performances surrounded by solid supporting acts, "Infernal Affairs" is the rare testosterone movie that is also mature and thoughtful. Imagine Michael Mann's "Heat" set in Hong Kong. It doesn't have John Woo-style fireworks, but with character drama this tense and suspenseful, such bullet ballets are not missed.
Brilliantly shot by co-director Lau and cinematographer Lai Yiu Fai -- not to mention the "visual consultancy" of Chris Doyle, which essentially means he dropped by the set periodically to help calibrate the lighting and color between his other projects -- the sheen of the skyline contrasts spectacularly against the scum of its mildewy concrete. Few cities can match Hong Kong for its extreme paradox of urban decay and powerful material lure, and "Infernal Affairs" takes full advantage of the city's look to mirror the corroding ethics of its leads. The only drawbacks are its unfocused female characters played by Chinese pop princesses Sammi Cheng, Kelly Chen and Elva Hsiao, all of whom are here serving as brief feminine respite from the musky showdown.
Otherwise, this is a gripping, well-paced genre piece with an ending that isn't corrupted by a need to please audiences. Without a doubt, "Internal Affairs" is the best commercial movie from Hong Kong in a long while.
INFERNAL AFFAIRS
Media Asia Films
Basic Pictures
Credits:
Directors: Alan Mak Andrew Lau
Writers: Alan Mak, Felix Chong
Producer: Andrew Lau
Executive producer: Nansun Shi, John Chong
Directors of photography: Andrew Lau, Lai Yiu Fai
Visual consultant: Christopher Doyle
Production designers: Choo Sung Pong, Sung Pong, Wong Ching Ching
Costume designer: Lee Pik Kwan
Music: Chan Kwong Wing
Editors: Danny Pang, Pang Ching Hei
Stunt Co-ordinator: Dion Lam
Cast:
Ming: Andy Lau
Yan: Tony Leung
Wong: Anthony Wong
Sam: Eric Tsang
Young Ming: Edison Chen
Young Yan: Shawn Yue
B: Lam Ka Tung
Keung: Chapman To
Mary: Sammi Cheng
Dr. Lee: Kelly Chen
May: Elva Hsiao
Running time -- 100 minutes
No MPAA rating...
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