Posts with tag JohnnieTo
Posted May 7th 2008 8:02PM by Jeffrey M. Anderson
Filed under: Foreign Language, New Releases, Theatrical Reviews, Festival Reports
While Hong Kong filmmakers have a gift for action, they tend to overdo it in the melodrama department, at least when it comes to watching their films through Western eyes. Perhaps the worst Hong Kong film I've seen to date is Jackie Chan's
Heart of Dragon (1985), which features Jackie caring for his developmentally disabled brother (played by goofball Sammo Hung, who co-directed). All the heartstring tugging made me want to claw my eyes out. Or take another look at a masterpiece like John Woo's The Killer and you'll see an operatic hugeness to the emotional scenes -- especially between men -- that an American would never even dream, much less dare. These folks have an extremely high tolerance level for sentimentality; it takes an enormous amount before their sap detectors begin going off.
The same goes for action director and one-man HK film industry Johnny To (also known as "Johnnie To Kei-Fung"). To was a fairly minor director during Hong Kong's exciting late 1980s/early 1990s heyday, when imported films began to tantalize American viewers bored with big explosions and Vietnam rescue flicks. His biggest credit was as co-director on the exceptional supernatural superhero movie The Heroic Trio (1992). But after the 1997 handover to China, when most other filmmakers withdrew or abandoned ship, To flourished and eventually became the country's most successful and exciting filmmaker. His action hits included: The Mission (1999), Running Out of Time (1999), Help!!! (2000), Fulltime Killer (2001), Running Out of Time 2 (2003), Running on Karma (2003), Breaking News (2004), Election (2005), Triad Election (2006) and Exiled (2007), along with some 40 other films.
Continue reading SFIFF Review: Linger
Posted Apr 16th 2008 7:32PM by Monika Bartyzel
Filed under: Drama, Thrillers, Casting, Scripts, Remakes and Sequels
The man behind
Election might not be heading to Hollywood yet, but he is heading to Europe, and he has a certain pirate in his sights.
The Hollywood Reporter posts that Hong Kong filmmaker
Johnnie To is heading to France to take on
Red Circle, a remake of the 1970 crime thriller
Le Rouge Cercle, and
Wai Ka-Fai is developing it. So far, so funky, until you imagine that he wants
Orlando Bloom to star in it.
I want to like Bloom. Really, I do. But the man just kills me. Rather, he has in his post-
Lord of the Rings work. He inspired people to hope for his demise in
Pirates, sunk with
Elizabethtown, and is now being eyed to lead a crime thriller? A crime thriller that would have him star as a cool thief straight out of prison, no less. I just don't see it; he doesn't have the charisma for a tough thieving heist.
At least it's far from definite. To is said to have sent an offer to the actor, but negotiations haven't happened yet. Meanwhile,
Chow Yun-Fat and
Liam Neeson are in negotiations to co-star. Those two -- they sound just about right, but it makes me even more nervous about Bloom, who couldn't even begin to battle the presence of Johnny Depp. So, I ask you -- do you agree with To's selection, or can you think of someone better?
Posted Dec 3rd 2007 8:32PM by Monika Bartyzel
Filed under: Comedy, Foreign Language, Independent, Deals, Distribution, Cinematical Indie
Last year, there was a little show called
Raines. It starred Jeff Goldblum as a detective who solved crimes by talking to himself. However, instead of just muttering inwards, he'd hallucinate and see the slain people he was investigating. When he saved them, so to speak, by finding their killers, the hallucinations would go away until the next murder was discovered.The show might not have made it to its second season on TV this year, but we're about to see some similar cinematic treatment.
The Hollywood Reporter has posted that IFC Entertainment is about to score the distribution rights to Hong Kong directors Johnnie To and Wai Ka-fai's
Mad Detective, which they call an "offbeat cop thriller." The film stars
Lau Ching-wan as "a loopy police inspector who solves cases by seeing a suspect's inner 'ghosts.' After a long absence from the force for mental-health reasons, he is brought back to track down a missing officer." So it isn't quite murdered people, but the same general idea. The film has screened in Venice and Toronto, and
Variety described one scene as such: "Lau Ching-wan plays Inspector Bun, who, in a witty intro, solves a murder by getting his sidekick, Ho Ka-on (
Andy On), to zip him up inside a suitcase -- like the victim -- and chuck it downstairs. 'It was the ice cream seller,' he proudly announces as he's pulled out." If this sounds like your cup of cop tea, IFC is releasing it in theaters and VOD, if they seal the deal.
Posted Sep 25th 2007 11:02AM by Eric D. Snider
Filed under: Foreign Language, Oscar Watch, Cinematical Indie
The October 1 deadline looms large, and the countries that have not yet submitted their candidates for the Best Foreign Language Film category at next year's Oscars are hurrying to do so. Three nations announced their choices over the weekend: Hong Kong, Estonia, and Macedonia.
Hong Kong's pick is
Exiled, from the much-buzzed-about action director
Johnnie To (whose
Triad Election played in a few U.S. cities earlier this year). It's an underworld crime caper full of shooting and double-crosses and associated mayhem. Not typical Oscar fare, maybe -- but then again,
The Departed won Best Picture this year. Scott Weinberg
reviewed Exiled mostly favorably at the Philadelphia Film Festival in April.
Two Hong Kong films have earned nominations in this category before --
Raise the Red Lantern and
Farewell My Concubine -- but the country has no wins so far.
Estonia chose
The Class, a disturbing drama about high school students who takes revenge against bullies. Directed by
Ilmar Raag, the film has played at film festivals in Cannes, Karlovy Vary, and Copenhagen. This is only the fifth time Estonia has submitted a film for Oscar consideration; before 1991, the country was part of the Soviet Union.
Macedonia's candidate is
Milcho Manchevski's
Shadows, a drama about a doctor whose life changes after he survives what should have been a fatal car accident. Macedonia -- which you'll find wedged between Serbia, Albania, Bulgaria, and Greece -- broke off from Yugoslavia in 1991. This is the country's sixth Oscar submission since then.
Major players such as Spain, Mexico, Brazil, and China haven't announced their submissions yet, so watch for that news in the next few days.
Posted Aug 3rd 2006 5:33PM by Martha Fischer
Filed under: Action, Comedy, Documentary, Foreign Language, Romance, Newsstand, Other Festivals, Toronto International Film Festival, Cinematical Indie
Alright, I'm officially excited about the
Toronto Film Festival now. The lineup for the Fest's new Vanguard sidebar -- a group of 11 "risky, more challenging" films -- was
announced yesterday, and there's some great stuff included. Personally, I'm most looking forward to finally seeing John Cameron Mitchell's
Shortbus, which James (and everyone else)
loved at Cannes, as well as Johnnie To's award-winning
Election and
Election 2, both of which are are being featured in the Vanguard program. Also on
the list are
2:37, an Australian,
Elephant-style movie about a suicide (that
almost drove James to off himself),
Renaissance, the black and white French animated flick we've
told you about a
couple of times, and
Macbeth, a modern, Melbourne-set adaptation of the play, which will be making its world premiere.
The TIFF runs September 7-16 this year, and we'll be driving you nuts with lots and lots of reviews from there.
Posted Jul 17th 2006 5:03PM by Martha Fischer
Filed under: Action, Foreign Language, Casting, Newsstand, Cinematical Indie
We've reported a couple of times here about an intriguing-sounding, unnamed collaboration between Hong Kong superstars
Johnnie To,
Tsui Hark and
Ringo Lam. Referred to as a "
puzzle film," the movie is expected to be a 90 minute crime feature, with 30 minutes directed by each man, based on what has occurred in the previous section (there is not a screenplay for the film; each bit is being made independently, according to the desires and ideas of its director).
A couple of weeks ago it was
revealed to the surprised of no one that To's long-time collaborator
Simon Yam would star in his segment, and now
further details about the film are starting to leak out. Though no cast members apart from Yam have been confirmed, it's expected that
Louis Koo,
Kelly Lin and
Sun Honglei will also star in one or more segment. In addition, the film -- currently called
Triangle -- now has a vague plotline from which Hark, who is at the helm of the first segment, will work.
According to people at Twitch who can read the Chinese media, the film will start with "a few guys with little money and a lot to worry about [who] gather together to chat about how to get rich. Then a mysterious man sitting in the same room approaches them with a treasure map. ... To get their hand on the treasure, the map is only the first of a series puzzles they have to solve."
Frustratingly, there's still no reliable info available about shooting or release dates. Rest assured, however, that whether you like it or not, we'll let you know when those details emerge.
Posted Jul 2nd 2006 9:02AM by Martha Fischer
Filed under: Action, Drama, Foreign Language, Casting, Newsstand, Cinematical Indie
Well, hell. I've been
all excited (and, hopefully, the few of you interested in Hong Kong film have, as well) about the fact that
Simon Yam is part of the ever-expanding cast for
Olivier Assayas' multi-cultural
Boarding Gate, and now it turns out that Yam
isn't going to be able to do the film. Which, you know, sort of sucks. The good news, though, is that Yam pulled out of the project because he's committed to playing a part in
Johnnie To,
Tsui Hark and
Ringo Lam's "
puzzle film." In case you've forgotten, the film will be directed in thirds, with each section being completed before the next is made. The three will reportedly tell a single story, but each director will have to write his segment based on what the director before him does with his own piece -- for example, if Hark, who is going first, kills off his main character at the end of his segment, To, who comes next, will have to come up with a way to deal with that event.
As a frequent collaborator with To, Yam apparently felt he had to make the puzzle film a priority (plus, it sounds like a hell of a lot of fun); because it was likely to shoot at the same time as
Boarding Gate, he was forced to pull out of Assayas' project.
Posted Jun 25th 2006 7:35PM by Martha Fischer
Filed under: Drama, Foreign Language, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Casting, Newsstand, Cinematical Indie
Just last week, I
shared the exciting news that Hong Kong superstar (and a pretty good actor, to boot)
Andy Lau was going to appear in
Olivier Assayas' Boarding Gate, assuming the film fit into his schedule. It now appears, unfortunately, that despite the fact that Assayas reportedly flew all the way to Hong Kong (From Paris, I assume. It's less impressive if he was in Beijing before making the trip.) to make the request in person, Lau won't be able to take part in the project. Before you fans of HK film get too depressed, however, check this out: Both
Kelly Lin and Simon Yam (aka one of the most wonderful supporting actors the world has ever known)
will now be appearing in the film. Yay! As long as this sucker doesn't turn into an HK-stars-making-cameos mess (which, since we're talking about Assayas, seems very unlikely), it's sounding more exciting by the second.
In other news from Hong Kong,
Johnnie To has announced that he
recently signed a deal with Meridian Pictures. Under the terms of the deal, To will reportedly direct 3-4 "big budget" films for the studio over the next six years. What's interesting about this news is that the first project has already been revealed: It's called
Butterfly Flies and will star Li Bing-bing and Vic Chow in a story about "a girl who has a fight with her boyfriend right before he dies in an accident. She gets depressed, and then she meets his ghost." (A far cry from To's output for Milky Way, huh?) There's no word on the timeframe for this one (the script is yet to be written), but things happens fast in Hong Kong, so it could easily be out sometime next year.
Posted May 31st 2006 10:06AM by Martha Fischer
Filed under: Action, Drama, Foreign Language, Thrillers, Deals, Distribution, Remakes and Sequels, Cinematical Indie
Ok, so everyone in the US who wanted to see
Johnnie To's Election already has a region-free DVD player and the disc from Hong Kong. Me too -- but the thought of it actually getting distribution here remains pretty exciting, if only because it's a sign of respect for the film and maybe, just maybe, a hint that more quality from HK and its sister Asian indistustries will find its way to American screens. No, you're right -- I'm dreaming. Still, though, the news that
Tartan has stepped up and acquired US distribution rights to not only
Election but also its sequel (which reportedly had a very successful screening at Cannes) is heartening to fans of quality Asian films. I mean, when is it NOT better to see a movie on the big screen?
That said, it's unclear whether Tartan's plans for
Election include a theatrical run or only a DVD release. The company does, however, fully intend to get
Election 2 into theaters later this year, a run that will be supported (they say) by "
a strong publicity campaign."
[via
Kaiju Shakedown]
Posted Apr 9th 2006 10:33AM by Martha Fischer
Filed under: Action, Drama, Foreign Language, Music & Musicals, Thrillers, Awards, Mystery & Suspense, Newsstand, Cinematical Indie
The big winner at last night's Hong Kong Film
Awards was
Johnnie To's widely-praised gangster film
Election,
which garnered four major awards including best picture, a category in which it defeated the night's other big winner,
Perhaps
Love. To took home the trophy for best director, while star
Tony
Leung Ka Fai (not the one in all the Wong Kar-Wai movies) was named best actor. Despite losing out to
Election in most of the major categories,
Perhaps Love, the big budget, star-filled musical, actually
won the most awards on the night with six, including the one for best actress (Zhou Xun). The film was also recognized
for its cinematography, score, and original song.
In addition, the fantastic
Anthony Wong was named best supporting actor for his work in
Initial
D, a film whose star, Jay Chou, took home the award for best new performer. Finally,
Kekexili:
Mountain Patrol, a film to which National Geographic has acquired the North American distribution rights, was
named best Asian film, defeating Oscar nominee
Howl's Moving Castle, among others.
Edit: A full
list of nominees can be found here.Posted Apr 8th 2006 7:30PM by Martha Fischer
Filed under: Drama, Foreign Language, Horror, Fandom, Remakes and Sequels, Other Festivals, Cinematical Indie
The 30th
Hong Kong International Film
Festival is in full swing, torturing all of us from afar. In addition to a broad slate of premieres and other new
films, this year's festival also features a 20-film tribute to the Hong Kong industry's greatest action choreographers,
including the work of people like
Jackie
Chan,
Bruce
Lee,
Sammo
Hung, and
Yuen
Woo-ping. The tribute is being seen as bittersweet because, as GreenCine Daily contributor Saul Symonds put it in
his
first report for the site, the "blood and sweat
[of these men] literally built up Hong Kong cinema into one of the world's most vibrant and productive industries...and
now Hong Kong cinema is dying, and everything they've worked towards is being sadly swept away." Yeah, that's
depressing.
On a more positive note, also at the festival is the always-reliable Grady Hendrix, who is
posting reviews and reactions over at
Kaiju Shakedown. Among his reviews
is
one of
Johnnie
To's eagerly-awaited
Election 2 (he really, really digs it), as well as looks at
Simon Yam's
fashion sense, and
Black Night, a horror anthology
featuring segments from Japan, Thailand, and Hong Kong.
If you're interested in Asian film and, like me,
wish you were in Hong Kong right now, keep checking in with Grady and the folks at
GreenCine Daily for your fixes on the fest until it closes, on April 19.
Posted Mar 24th 2006 4:04PM by Martha Fischer
Filed under: Action, Foreign Language, Thrillers, Deals, Fandom, Newsstand, Cinematical Indie
According to
Johnnie
To (
Election,
The Mission) three of Hong Kong's big-name directors are going to
collaborate on what he calls a "jigsaw" thriller. To will be joining forces with
Ringo
Lam (
City on Fire) and
Tsui
Hark (
Once Upon a Time in China,
Time and Tide) to create an unconventional, multi-part film.
Instead of each directing a segment of the same screenplay, or directing segments based on the same loose theme, the
three will write and direct their segments based on the work of the director who precedes them in the film's
chronology. In other words, knowing only that he is to make a cop thriller, Hark will write and direct a 30 minute
film. When he's finished, he'll hand the result over to Lam. Based on Hark's segment, Lam will then write and direct
another 30 minutes; the completed hour will go to To, who is responsible for crafting a conclusion. Got it?
To me, this sounds awesome. That said, however, as a vaguely pathetic fan of HK films, I tend to look kindly on
pretty much anything coming out of that (sadly faltering) industry, only giving up hope when people I trust tell me the
film I've been waiting for is, in fact, a disaster. So, here I am again with my blind optimism, praying that this
project is
not a mess and, instead, does what the directors hope it will and gives HK cinema a kick in the
proverbial pants.
[via
Twitch]
Posted Mar 15th 2006 6:01PM by Martha Fischer
Filed under: Action, Classics, Foreign Language, Thrillers, RumorMonger, Newsstand, Remakes and Sequels, Cinematical Indie
A whole lot has happened to Hong Kong action director
Johnnie To in the past 24 hours, and the likelihood
is that he didn't even notice. To start things off, a small item appeared in a Hong Kong tabloid yesterday, announcing
that To was going to
direct a remake of
John Woo's seminal
Hard-Boiled. In the US.
With its original star,
Chow Yun-Fat, on board.
Needless to say, certain Asian-film-loving corners of the internet erupted in a vivid mixture of disgust and disbelief.
But, before anyone even had a chance to get really worked up, To's
denial to
the
Hong Kong Sun was reported everywhere this morning (he also took the opportunity to make it clear that he's
considering lots and lots of projects in Hollywood, thanks very much). So it's all cleared up, right?
Not so
fast. It turns out that the quotes in the Chinese-language
Sun actually came from an assistant, not from To
himself. Not only that, but the assistant ended his statement with what is surely one of the top 10 most cryptic
"denials" in film history: "There are still no answers about those questions: when will the
Hard-Boiled remake begin filming, which US actor will star in the
Hard-Boiled remake, which company
will finance the
Hard Boiled remake...Because the script of the
Hard-Boiled remake is still not
finished." Got it. So it's not happening, the non-script isn't done, and the non-movie isn't cast yet.
Er, what?
