From: NO TOP TEN CENTRAL Newsgroups: alt.asian-movies,soc.culture.hongkong.entertainment Subject: [TAKE OVER] HKSAR Film No Top 10 Box Office (OCTOBER 30 2008) Organization: Chaffing Heart Club (TM) The following publication contains material that might be objectionable to some readers. Parental guidance and reader discretion are advised. [FLUFF OF THE WEEK] Courtesy of Ming Pao, Sing Tao Daily, Apple Daily, Oriental Daily, and Ta Kung Pao 1. THIS TOP 10 IS DEDICATED TO 2. MISCELLANEOUS * (11/5/2008) Dicky Cheung Wai Kin in CHAMPIONS (DUET BIU) gave quite an effort to his performance, even if he was covered with scars. He even once injured his lower body. In one scene he and Xu Xiangdong fought. Director Tsui Siu Ming spent a long time on coming up with this fight for more the realistic result. During the fight, Xu Xiangdong applied the low blow eagle claw toward Dicky's lower body and actually injured him. Later he laughed, "Although I have participated in many action projects, this was the first time an enemy snuck in a low blow. I felt a little awkward and flushed. During this shoot Xu Xiangdong has already hurt my 'little brother' several times. I couldn't help but scream out, covering it and rolling on the floor. Ultimately it was an important organ, so my nervousness was inevitable. Later Xu Xiangdong repeatedly apologized to me. After resting it was fine and I relaxed." * (11/5/2008) Wong Chi Gau directed for the first time for Taiwan Filmko's OI DOH DAI (LOVE TO THE BOTTOM). Famous local host Siaoyin suddenly visited the set. The entire team suddenly grew seriously. She even joked that she was very angry that Gau Gau did not compensate her. Gau Gau immediately took the chance to play back the earlier shoot for Sister Siaoyin's opinion. A dog lover, when she saw the scenes with Lollipop and dog star and with Alec Su (So Yau Peng) and Big Mouth Sister Siaoyin cracked up at each's interesting costumes and hilarious dialogue. Then she chanced in lead actress Chou Choi Si's costume and imitated her scene, which made everyone laugh. Gua Gua invited many industry friends like So Yau Peng, Lollipop, Ken Chu Hau Tin, Chen Bo Lin, Big Mouth and others. Later he only gave symbolic compensation with red envelopes and cell phones. Sister Siaoyin claimed that she did not know about this and threw a tantrum at Gau Gau. She asked him for her "compensation" and showed her program host humor. * (11/5/2008) The film BEAST STALKER (JING YUN)'s most crowded scene was the one in villain Nick Cheung Ka Fai's home. Under 37 degrees Celsius high heat, Nicholas Tse Ting Fung, Cheung Ka Fai, Zhang Jingchu, Liu Kai Chi and Mainland female star Miao Pu, along with the crew 30 people were stuffed without any air conditioning in a 500 square foot unit. Even with fans, the wind was hot. Everyone spent four days of hellish life in a sauna. In the film Tse Ting Fung accidentally killed Zhang Jingchu's 6 year old daughter. After learning about the child's death, Ting Fung once thought about suicide. He finally changed his mind and risked his life for Zhang Jingchu's remaining daughter with villain Cheung Ka Fai. Ting Fung said, "This film was the most tiring in my film career. From the opening's accidental murder of a child I had to remain upset, heavy, helpless and guilty. Everyday after work I returned home without the ability to resolve it. It was even more tiring than climbing several story tall building." After 9 years without shedding a tear in the film, Ting Fung's right tear duct was broken in an earlier shoot. He would not shed tear again. When he planned his suicide, he could only cry with one eye and the other one needed eye drops. In one scene Ting Fung from the neon light sign found Ka Fai's home and climbed onto the sign to look inside Ka Fai's home. The team borrowed a Causeway Bay old building to shoot everyone entering Ka Fai's home. All of the actors needed to fry in the unit. The team bought a lot of cold drinks for everyone, but everyone was still sweating. * (11/4/2008) Andy Lau Tak Wa yesterday attended a McDonald's World Children Day Bear Bear event with his "sons" Andox and Blackie. Earlier Shu Qi expressed willingness to take a pay cut to save the market, would Wa Jai follow suit? Wa Jai joked that her salary was already very low. If he cut further he would get nothing. He joked that his salary might not be as much as Shu Qi's. Then he could not hold back his laughter, "That sounded too exaggerated, maybe I make a little more than her." However, Shu Qi still has not accepted a role after reducing her salary. Wa Jai expressed that he was luckier. At the end of the year he would work with Barbie Hsu (Tsui Hei Woon) on a new film and at the same time he would be in negotiation for THE HOST 2. Earlier THE HOST's lead actor Song Kang-Ho won Best Actor in Hong Kong. He has seen the film and felt that he deserved it. * (11/4/2008) The Yuen Woo Ping directed martial art epic SO HAK YI (BEGGAR SO) earlier started production. Two days ago a press conference was held. Attending actors included Zhou Xun, Zhao Wen Zhou, Guo Xiaodong, and Jay Chou (Chow Kit Lun). That day the film's official site, www.yuenwooping-truelegend.com, officially launched. The cast's costume looks yesterday was unveiled for the first time on the sit. Chow Kit Lun's was a sketch. The other actors' costumes were the responsibility of Oscar level costume designer Yee Chung Man. The character's costume designs were based on Qing Dynasty traditional costume with a strong comic book feel. Zhao Wen Zhou played So Chan who has strong martial art abilities, Chow Kit Lun played martial art god, Zhou Xun played Yuan Ying, So Chan's wife, Andy On Chi Kit played Yuan Lie, So Chan's sworn brother and Yuan Ying's brother. On the site in the future will be director Yuen Woo Ping's dairy, where he would share the entire production process with everyone. * (11/4/2008) Chen Kaige's film MEI LANFANG will be released on December 12 in Mainland and January 1 in Hong Kong. The 2 minute trailer has been released in early November. Earlier Gillian Chung Yun Tung's scenes were rumored to be cut out due to her sex photo scandal. China Film Group yesterady officially announced that Ah Gil who played the young Mei Lanfang's wife has been completedly removed from the film. China Film Group yesterday announced Chen Kaige's film MEI LANFANG will be divided into three major parts, DEATH PARTING, LIFE SEPARATION, and UNION AND SEPARATOIN. Ah Gil's part was completed in DEATH PARTING, which was about a young Mei Lanfang's duel with Thirteen Swallow and finally replaced Thirteen Swallow as the first international superstar in China's history. The editing process was very difficult but director Chen Kaige handled it delicately. Using lighting and shadow editing technique, he has made young Fu Qifang and the Chen Hong played adult Fu Qifang very natural. If Ah Gil's part was not removed, the film would have been completed a month in advance. Chen Kaige once has been troubled over this. Whether the DVD version would keep Ah Gil's part so far it is still up in the air. Chen Kaige honestly said that Ah Gil's role has been removed and regretted it. He pointed out that Ah Gil has shown a professional actor's proper quality and professionalism and worked very hard. He appreciated each participating actors and hoped that everyone would no longer mention anything outside the film as well as providing Ah Gil the biggest understanding and sympathy. The young Mei Lanfang player Yu Xiaokwun had the most screen time iwth Ah Gil. He pointed out that working with Ah Gil has been pleasant. Ah Gil was very professional. After performing in the U.S. she immediately returned to the production and did not rest for 40 hours. He hoped that she would have great future developments. * (11/3/2008) Stephy Tang Lai Yun and Kary Ng Yu Fei yesterday promoted their new film NOBODY'S PERFECT (JUET DOI SEUNG GIU). In the film they had to perform ugly versions of themselves, but during the shoot they never thought about how ugly they would get and completely let go. At the same time they would switch characters they would pay more attention to the others' movements and gestures. Stephy noticed Kary's habitual frowning, evil eye and rude sitting posture. Kary pointed out that Stephy would be very mean while scolding others, widen her eyes and points all over. Stephy honestly said that she was very passive and would like to be impulsive like Kary. Kary would like to learn Stephy's calmness. Has the film deepen their understanding of each other? They said, "We have always understood each other very well already, perhaps the director caught on." * (11/3/2008) Yuen Woo Ping's new film SO HAK YI (BEGGAR SO) earlier officially started production. The production team even held a press conference yesterday. He lead Zhou Xun, Zhao Wen Zhou, Guo Xiaodong and the just arrived Jay Chou (Chow Kit Lun) in attendance. After eight years away from the director's chair, Lord Eight finally decided to return to directing after the film's legendary hero story touched him. After testing his abilities a little with CURSE OF THE GOLDEN FLOWER, Chow Kit Lun who has a fondness for Chinese martial art fulfilled his dream and became a "martial art god". In the film, he had an immortal look and top notch martial art abilities. At the same time due to his guidance the Zhao Wen Zhou played Beggar So understood the secret of martial art. "I have always admired Lord Eight's martial art. Being able to personally learn from him truly was a hard to come by chance." Playing the drunken fist founder So Chan, Zhao Wen Zhou has gone to study in the U.S. in 2007. After returning home he has not worked on any film or television role. Now he has chosen the film as his first film to return to the film industry. "Lord Eight is the world's top action director. No one can rival his strict demand. This film would have no special effect and would fight from the beginning to the end. Truly I wouldn't be able to get lazy even for a little." To play this role well, he has already been training in secret for months. Zhou Xun would play So Chan's wife Yuan Ying. She said, "Although in the film my character Yuan Ying did not learn martial art, because of her So Chan successfully left the abyss of life. She was the spiritual leader of So Chan's heart. She after experiencing a drastic life change still remained persistent and lived on, an embodiment of a woman's brilliance and nobility. In terms of spirit, Yuan Ying could match the strong martial artist men. She was a very strong and very powerful character." * (11/3/2008) Dicky Cheung Wai Kin yesterday promoted CHAMPIONS (DUET BIU) with Priscilla Wong Chui Yu, Debbie Goh (Ng Tin Yu) and Mr. and Mrs. Tsui Siu Ming. Cheung Wai Kin joked that he has never suffered so much in a film promotion. Earlier he went to seven Mainland locations to promote from the South to the north. He promoted as soon as he got off the plane and the schedule was intense. Because the temperature differed drastically between the locations, in a short week he has experienced all four seasons. Today he would head to the U.S. for the Chinese American film festival. Cheung Wai Kin also said that due to the busy promotion he has not seen his wife. Earlier they ran into each other at the Beijing premiere. Wai Jai felt that his wife has slimmed down a lot and urged her to eat more. During the promotional trip, Kin Jai saw how loving Tsui Siu Ming and his wife wee and hoped to be able to be like them. Lead actress Wong Chui Yu expressed that today she would head to the U.S. to attend the Chinese American film festival, which she was very nervous about. She joked that her figure was so flat that she was afraid people would mistake her chest for her back! * (11/1/2008) CHAMPIONS (DUET BIU) was invited to be Los Angeles' 2008 Chinese American Film Festival opening film. Director Tsui Siu Ming, producer Li Fengming, and the cast were very happy to learn the news and received a shot of confidence. Tsui Siu Ming pointed out that the festival was a new one. Many Chinese film professionals would like to participate. The process was very strict. In past years opening films included PERHAPS LOVE and Jiang Wen's THE SUN ALSO RISES. Dicky Cheung Wai Kin felt everything has been very smooth for CHAMPIONS. During the Mainland promotion the audience response was great. Now a professional film festival has recognized the film's position and value, which was even more meaningful. * (11/1/2008) This year's Golden Horse Award two days ago announced its nominations. Takeshi Kaneshiro (Gum Sing Mo) received Taiwan Outstanding Film Worker of the Year, but his qualification came under question. Thus the Golden Horse Award Film Festival executive committee yesterday made a statement to announce the cancellation of Gum sing Mo's nomination. The statement pointed out that the Golden Horse jury according to the film company's application information made the selections. The Hong Kong film company's application listed Gum Sing Mo as a Taiwan film worker. After confirming with the film company the jury felt that Gum Sing Mo started in Taiwan film and has become one of the top international film stars with excellent performance. It nominated him for the category but due to the qualification under question the committee asked the film company for another confirmation. The film company expressed that it always thought Gum Sing Mo was from Taiwan, but his management confirmed that Gum Sing Mo did not qualify and wrote to correct the film company's application for THE WARLORDS. The film company expressed that it did not know the application information would become the jury's nomination. They had no interested in apply for the category. * (10/31/2008) The 45th Annual Taiwan Golden Horse Award yesterday announced its nominations. The Peter Chan Ho Sun directed THE WARLORDS (TAU MING JONG) defeated the recent Taiwan box office record breaking hit CAPE NO. 7 for 12 nominations. CAPE only had 9. With nothing going right from its production start to its release, RED CLIFF might have a strong cast and buzz but only received 4 nominations. Tony Leung Chiu Wai and Takenshi Kaneshiro (Gum Sing Mo) were not nominated for Best Actor; Stephen Chow Sing Chi's CJ7 (CHEUNG GONG CHUT HO) only received one nomination. This year's Hong Kong Film Award big winner THE WARLORDS this time challenged the Taiwan Golden Horse Award. Hong Kong Film Award Best Actor Jet Li (Lee Nin Kit) along with THE ASSEMBLY's Zhang Hanyu, OCEAN FLAME's Liao Fan and RUN PAPA RUN (YUT GOR HO BA BA)'s Louis Koo Tin Lok would compete for Best Actor. As for Best Actress Prudence Lau Mei Kwun fully returned this year with TRUE WOMEN FOR SALES (NGOR BUT MAI SUN NGOR MAI JI GUNG), OCEAN FLAME's Monica Mok Siu Kei and MIAO MIAO's Chang Yung Yung would compete for Best Actress. Eason Chan Yik Shun with TRIVIAL MATTER (POR SI YI) received a Best Supporting Actor nomination. Nora Miao Hor Sau received a Best Supporting Actress nomination with RUN PAPA RUN. First time actors Lin Chiling and Xu Jiao were not nomination for Best New Actor. Hong Kong Film Award Best Director Peter Chan Ho Sun's opponents this time included the Taiwan hit CAPE NO. 7 director Wei Te-Sheng, TRIVIAL MATTER's Pang Ho Cheung and RUN PAPA RUN's Sylvia Chang (Cheung Ngai Ga). Chan Ho Sun was very happy about THE WARLORDS' 12 nominations. He of course hoped that each actor would be nominated. As for CAPE NO. 7's strong box office, Chan Ho Sun expressed that he definitely would make time to watch it because this was a film legend. Zhang Hanyu was very happy about the Best Actor nomination because the Golden Horse award was a professional award, a heavyweight class award in Chinese film. He was already very happy about the nomination for a Mainland film. Koo Tin Lok expressed joy about the nomination, which proved that he has improved. Last year he was nominated for Best Supporting Actor with PROTEGE. He hoped to be able to attend and at the same time thanked Cheung Ngai Ga. Chan Yik Shun was surprised and happy about the Best Supporting Actor nomination. He said that the strangest was when director Pang Ho Cheung called to thank him. He felt that even if he did not take this role this film should have been made anyway. As for competitions from Hu Jun and CAPE NO. 7 Ma Yu Long, Eason heard that CAPE was a hit but he has not seen it yet. As for Hu Jun, he has always admired him. He was already very happy with the nomination. Pang Ho Cheung has not seen CAPE NO 7 yet but felt that other films were very strong. As for Gillian Chung Yun Tung's lack of nomination, he pointed out that many actors like Ah Gil, Juno Mak Chun Lung and Chan Yik Hun performed very well. He was very happy for Eason. Lam Ka Yun would compete for Best Actress. Due to more new comer among the competition Ka Yun instead felt pressure as new actors had less burden and concern than her. Yet she was already very happy about the nomination. Most importantly she thanked the director for letting her make a good film. Mok Siu Kei received a Best Actress nomination for her first film and she was unusually excited. She felt very lucky. OCEAN FLAME's producer Simon Yam Tat Wa was very happy and the nominations proved everyone's hard work was not wasted. This film's lead actor Fan Liao also was nominated for Best Actor. He honestly said that he has never imagined that. Earlier he was already very satisfied with the Cannes Film Festival competition and felt very lucky to be able to participate this time. THE 45TH GOLDEN HORSE AWARD COMPETITION NOMINATIONS http://www.goldenhorse.org.tw/gh_tc/gh/gh-e-5.aspx BEST FEATURE FILM CAPE NO. 7 ORZBOYZ ASSEMBLY OCEAN FLAME THE WARLORDS BEST SHORT FILM MY GRANDMA A SON HOPSCOTCH THE END OF THE TUNNEL BEST DOCUMENTARY THIS DARLING LIFE EROTIC FLOAT DANCERS UP THE YANGTZE BEST DIRECTOR Peter Chan Ho Sun (THE WARLORDS) Wei Te-Sheng (CAPE NO. 7) Pang Ho Cheung (TRIVIAL MATTER) Sylvia Chang (RUN PAPA RUN) BEST LEADING ACTOR Jet Li (Lee Nin Kit) (THE WARLORDS) Zhang Hanyu (THE ASSEMBLY) Liao Fan (OCEAN FLAME) Louis Koo Tin Lok (RUN PAPA RUN) BEST LEADING ACTRESS Karena Lam Ka Yun (CLAUSTROPHOBIA) Prudence Lau Mei Kwun (TRUE WOMEN FOR SALE) MOnica Mok Siu Kei (OCEAN FLAME) Sandrine Pinna (Chang Yung-Yung) (MIAO MIAO) BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR Ma Ju-Lung (CAPE NO. 7) Eason Chan Yik Shun (TRIVIAL MATTERS) Leon Dai (PARKING) Hu Jun (RED CLIFF) BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS Mei Fang (ORZBOYZ) Lai Ming (MONEY NO ENOUGH II) Wu Li-Qi (DETOURS TO PARADISE) Nora Miao Hor Sau (RUN PAPA RUN) BEST NEW PERFORMER Chie Tanaka (CAPE NO 7) Johnny C.J. Lin (CAPE NO 7) Pang Chin-Yu (ORZBOYZ) Suming Chiang (HOPSCOTCH) Best Original Screenplay Yang Ya-Che (ORZBOYZ) Tsai Tsung-Han, Tom Shu-Yu Lin (Winds of September) Xu Lan, Chun Tin Nam, Aubrey Lam, Huang Jian-Xin, Jojo Hui, He Ji Ping, Guo Jun Li, James Yuen (The Warlords) Ivy Ho (Claustrophobia) Best Screenplay Adaption Pang Ho-Cheung (Trivial Matters) Liu Heng (Assembly) Best Cinematography Chin Ting-Chang (Cape No.7) Chen Ying-Chan, Chen Chor-Keung (Ocean Flame) Arthur Wong The (Warlords) Cheng Siu-Keung(HKSE) (Sparrow) Best Visual Effects Phil Jones (Assembly) Ng Yuen-Fai, Chau Chi-Shing, Tracy Kok (The Warlords) Craig Hayes, The Orphange (Red Cliff) Eddy Wong, Victor Wong, Ken Law (CJ7) Best Art Direction Li Yang, Raymond Kwok (Ocean Flame) Yee Chung-Man, Yi Zheng-Zhou, Pater Wong (The Warlords) Chao Shih-Hao (Parking) Tim Yip (Red Cliff) Best Makeup & Costume Design Man Lim-Chung (Trivial Matters) Luke Huang, Sai Com (Candy Rain) Yee Chung-Man, Jessie Dai, Lee Pik-Kwan (The Warlords) Tim Yip (Red Cliff) Best Action Choreography Park Ju-Chun (Assembly) Li Chung-Chi (Connected) Ma Yuk-Sing, Huang Ming-Jian, Ching Siu-Tung (An Empress And The Warriors) Ching Siu-Tung (The Warlords) Best Original Film Score Fred Lu ; Lo Chi-Yi (Cape No.7) Chan Kwong-Wing, Peter Kam, Chatchai Pongprapaphan, Leon Ko (The Warlords) Ricky Ho (12 Lotus) Xavier Jamaux, Fred Avril (Sparrow) Best Original Film Song from : « Cape No.7 » Lyric: Matthew Yen Composer: Tsang Chi Ho Preformer:Van I Don't Sell Dou Fu from : « Kung Fu Dunk » Lyric:Vincent Fang Wen Shan Composer:Jay Chou Preformer:Jay Chou,Tu Kuo-Cgang Pang Pang from : « Drifting Flowers » Lyric:Christine HSU Composer:Christine HSU Preformer:Serena FANG Get together from : « Miao Miao » Lyric:Cin Cin Lee, Cheng Kuei Composer: Cin Cin Lee, Cheng Kuei Performer: Chilam Cheung Best Film Editing Chen Hsiao-Dong (Winds of September) Yau Chi-Wai (Connected) Wenders Li (The Warlords) Kong Chi-Leung (Claustrophobia) Best Sound Effect Tu Duu-Chi (Cape No.7) Wang Danrong, Kim Suk-Won (Assembly) Sunit Asvinikul, Nakorn Kositpaisal (The Warlords) Steve Burgess (Missing) The Outstanding Taiwanese Film of the Year Cape No.7 Winds of September Parking The Outstanding Taiwanese Filmmaker of the Year Wei Te-Sheng Lifetime Achievement Award Chang Feng Lee Long-? Special Contribution Award Huang Ren * (10/30/2008) Stephy Tang Lai Yun, Kary Ng Yu Fei, Ken Lo Wai Kwong, Chow Sau Na, Chubby (Siu Fei), Sammy, director Patrick Kong (Yip Lim Sum) and boss Paco Wong two days ago attended the film NOBODY's PERFECT (JUET DOI SEUNG GIU) wrap banquet. In the film trailer, Stephy got laughs with her "ugly look". Stephy said that said in the film she not only had to take a rice spit take but also licked custard tarts with Sammy, which felt very gross. She said that originally she was a little worried but later the director convinced her to try her best. Now that she saw the trailer she felt like she was fooled. Was Stephy afraid of scaring away vermicelli? She said, "I am! Ultimately it's my first time playing ugly." Stephy's dispute rumors with Theresa Fu Wing have been rampant. Would she like to work with her? She honestly said that she was not the decision maker and it would depend on the boss and the screenplay. She said that of course she would if the screenplay was suitable. Since they are in the same company they would have a lot of opportunity to work together. She would like to work with different people more. Kary expressed that after working Stephy received fashion label ad offer. The compensation was rather good. Since Twins this year rarely worked together, would she like to form Twins to make money? She expressed no, they had a tough time jumping out of the group to begin with. Kary said that Stephy was a very good friend and they were very familiar. She even claimed that Stephy has seen everything. Would she dare to make a lesbian film with her? She said, "We already have good chemistry. I am not afraid of my sexual orientation being question because I am not." New model Chow Sau Na recently was accused of "she would do anything to go abroad with the boss". She explained that the reporters mixed two subjects together. Her parents were from Chouzhou so money making would definitely have respectable. She honestly said that she was a little unhappy about the report but the pictures made her look very pretty. * (10/30/2008) The Film BEAST STALKER (JING YUN) for realism continuously shot all over Hong Kong. In one of Nicolas Tse Ting Fung and Nick Cheung Ka Fai's chase scenes, they took two days to shoot in the most crowded streets of North Point and the market and spent over 300,000 on over 100 air guns as props. Not only did they turn nearly 30 stalls in the market upside down but also that they caused panic for over 100 pedestrians. After dark the armored police unit appeared, some mistook something big was going down and called the police. Although the production team has already applied for a road block, ultimately ordinary traffic operation could not be impacted. Ting Fung and Ka Fai had to run along with the tram for over 300 meters. With the narrow streets Ting Fung ran while looking out for cars and dodging people. He even knocked over street vendors three days, luckily he did not cause any accident. Finally he ran nearly 15 times before the director accepted a take. Ting Fung's old knee injury showed signs of acting up again. Then he had to rest then continued the shoot. During the shoot, although the team has already assigned people to disperse the crowd still over 100 people looked on. When Cheung Ka Fai picked up a heavy prop air gun to open fire in the streets, it was excessively real and people thought that it was a real gun fight and called the police. * (10/30/2008) Sundream film CHAMPIONS (DUET BIU) two nights ago held a Beijing premiere. Director Tsui Siu Ming led actors Dicky Cheung Wai Kin, Priscilla Wong Chui Yu, Xie Miu, Debbie Goh (Ng Tin Yu) and others in attendance and attracted over 1,000 onlookers. With Liu Xiaoqing and Dicky's wife the event was even more cheerful. Before the premiere began, over 1,000 waited by the red carpet. Onlookers kept screaming each actor's name and held banners for them. A girl sang Brother Siu Ming's hit, others sang along and finally the entire crowd sang. Then, the onlookers came Cheung Wai Kin' songs. When a female fan saw Dicky she screamed, "Dicky, you are very handsome!" Some even ignored everything and rushed toward Dicky with hugs and kisses. When his wife saw Dicky, she immediately joked, "Long time no see, how are you?" Her humor has made everyone laugh. She also presented Dicky with a tea cup and a letter. No one knew what they were for and she sweetly responded, "Actually Dicky gave me this tea cup ten years ago, I have kept it in proper care until now when it is a very suitable time to present it to him. With this chance, I want to tell all his effort hasn't been wasted and the result is right in front of his eyes. In the letter, I expressed my appreciation to him for always supporting me and for his attentive care. He has never complained once, making me feel that I live in his embrace everyday. I feel very luck to be his wife, this is the absolutely right choice for me." Her words has touched everyone and Dicky's face was covered in tears as he passionately embraced her. [ BLAH OF THE WEEK ] Columns, Reviews, Interviews 1. MING PAO DAILY, NOVEMBER 5 2008, FILM AND TELEVISION OBSERVATIONS FILM DEVELOPMENT FUND SHOULD BE EXAMINED IN ADVANCED The government film production investment rules of the game is too tight. The HK$300 million film development fund cannot be delivered has already become fact. Everyone knows change is needed, but yet another set of rules tightly strangles it. Any examination actually must wait for two years, at least until the end of next year to have any chance for change. The fact is currently only 2 to 3 films are in production. Most people in this business are not working. Big films due to keeping co-production in mind are mostly shot in Mainland. Even when they use Hong Kong workers they would only use them in several key positions. The rest all use Mainlanders. The financial tsunami and the difficulty for Mainland inspection to approve a film have held up many completed co-productions that have no way to be released, which means investment cannot be returned and funding has been crushed. As bank loan tightens, now film companies would have even more difficult time with borrowing money to make movies. Where would the movie come from? The government started a so-called economic opportunity committee to discuss how to rescue the economy. Film production rate further declines, industry insiders are on the edge of unemployment. Even those who are working are not working enough. With the 300 million development fund, no further fund allocation would be needed. No one understands why in the face of this crisis no examination has been immediately taken to complete the operation of this allocated fund. 30% of the current investment should be loosen, the return management standard should also change to follow the rules of the industry. For example advanced sales and cinema circuit advance could be immediately allocated into production budget, which actually is also an advantage to the government as an investor because it would not need to pay the entire investment budget. The current rules of the game require industry experts to feel the super value project would definitely make money or have very little loss opportunity before it is approved, to creativity and quality they have no strong demand. The writer feels that promoting creative industry must demand creativity and must take risk. A system should be in place to encourage creative and entertaining Hong Kong films. Many have mixed creativity and experimental together. Creativity can also have commercial value. - KWOK HIN CHING 2. MING PAO DAILY, NOVEMBER 4 2008, FILM WORDS THE MAGIC HOUR IS HILARIOUS Fruit Chan Gor has made HOLLYWOOD HONG KONG but the Hong Kong film industry has lost its edge and become depressed. Currently the Eastern Hollywood remains Japan. Although in recent years Japanese films often have been comic book style, melodramatic, ghost and nostalgic, they have anew focused on common attraction and occasionally come up with decent films. The Koki Mitani written and directed THE MAGIC HOUR is a wonderfully conceived comedy that is rather cute. This film makes fun of the mob and actually is a homage to film noir and film veterans, cooking up madcap film set scenes and cheering on anonymous actors, directors and technicians. In the film a romantic pretty boy (Satoshi Tsumabuki) has an affair with the mob boss' mistress (Eri Fukatsu), in turn earning a mob death sentence. He comes up with a film set up, playing a director and creating a film production adventure with thrills and laughs. The most wonderful is his hiring of a down on his luck extra (Koichi Sato) to play a big killer. The more he plays the more excited and convincing he becomes and earning himself the only chance to thoroughly demonstrate his acting abilities in his life. The story is completely a movie, of course it is surreal. Yet the film world is actually the MAGIC HOUR that is wonderful among all the fiction and falsities. This film finally truly uses film set magic that becomes an interesting trick. The key sets imitates old Europe’s alleys and small buildings, which are fake to the point of fun. However, of course it cannot be asked to be made like the old French film DELICATESSEN and its unique flavor and unusual setup. Koki Mitani's directing style is more ordinary, with more theater than film feel. Luckily the screenplay is written with more turns and fun, full of human kindness instead of pranks. Actor wise the most successful is Koichi Sato, who is lively and hilarious. He also has a weathered sorrow; old Toshiyuki Nishida is also wonderful as the mob boss and surprisingly is the most romantic one in the entire film. - SHEK KEI 3. MING PAO DAILY, NOVEMBER 4 2008, FILM AND TELEVISION OBSERVATIONS HONG KONG SPECIALTY FILMS SHOULD BE PROMOTED The film development fund Hong Kong film investment has not increased production rate, a fact that the industry has all attested to. The writer has discussed where this problem lies. Film professionals would rather take risk on their own then to ask the government for money, which shows how ridiculous the rules of the game are. Aside from investing, the fund also have other events to promote Hong Kong film, one of which is to introduce new Hong Kong films to neighboring Asian markets. The goal is great. Hong Kong films in recent years have new changes, with new directors and new genres, products that seek survival amid hard time for even more overseas buyers to get to know. Even without any short term benefit they can also pave the way for the future. Yet some promotional events are only limited to film festival or award show nominated film creator participation, which the writer felt had some problem. Products that have participated in film festivals or film awards of course are recognized as quality films. Its creators should be further promoted. The writer is not saying that they should not be, not they should not be the only ones. After participating in film festivals and receiving nominations, they are already known to many film buyers. Yet these products mostly are not mainstream commercial films. In the several traditional markets in Asia they may not have a lot of market. The writer feels that the development fund should also promote some commercial films that have performed decently in Hong Kong, especially Hong Kong films with local specialty and in the past primarily focused on Hong Kong box office. Hong Kong films once excessively expanded and reigned in the Southeast Asian market, but finally due to the larger market's restrictions lost their local specialty. After excessive production they ran into the piracy wave and began the journey to oblivion. Promoting outward again is a return to the first step, to encourage overseas film buyers to again get in touch with Hong Kong films that are full of Hong Kong modern senses and Hong Kong viewers accepted. Like Taiwan's CAPE NO. 7, it is a big hit in Taiwan and attracted unprecedented amount of Taiwan viewers to the movies because of its Taiwan flavor. Overseas viewers although may not be able to relate are still interested to see what kind of movie it is. - KWOK HIN CHING 3. MING PAO DAILY, NOVEMBER 3 2008, FILM WORDS DETROIT METAL CITY: SATIRICAL FUN In this strange world seemingly a nice guy is hard to be, innocence is made fun of as wild and foul can easily stand out and get attention. Demons and devils are running rampant, vicious and mean, horrifying and deranged. Based on Kiminori Wakasugi's manga, the new Japanese film DETROIT METAL CITY wonderfully enables the innocent lead to become a wild demon star. Actually he absolutely is not truly wild, only dresses up in the popular music scene. However the idea is fun, makes fun of trends and is common and hilarious. Kenichi Matsuyama plays a silly kid like an innocent girl who likes to write and sing old fashioned sweet love songs that no one would even take a second look at. Then the music company packages him as a death god demon and makes him the lead singer of DETROIT METAL CITY. He sings ferociously wild songs and only then does he have passionate fans. The story actually borrows from the SUPERMAN and SPIDER-MAN format with variation. The lead ordinarily is an absolute nice guy with a crush on an innocent girl (Rosa Kato). He tries everything to hide his demon singer side and suffers from painful personality split that in turn cooks up a lot of comedy. This story of course is childish and exaggerated, luckily the director Toshio Lee has made the film light and crisp. Even more important is Kenichi Matsuyama's wonderful comedy sense. Since playing the shut in and gluttonous genius detective L in DEATH NOTE, Kenichi Matsuyama has risen. He indeed is an exceptional young wonder. This time as the nice guy he is very tame and very dumb, as the demon singer he is wild and cool. With the cute girl and sassy female boss the film becomes very playful. This film not only shoots in the big city of Tokyo but also captures a familiar and elegant country flavor. That farm village mother is especially good. DETROIT METAL CITY is very comic book. Finally the U.S. music scene's "demon king" goes to Tokyo for the challenge that is even more outrageous. However, this film is not simple minded, pointing out that although demon trend have bad influence it also provides bored little people with an emotional release that can turn from bad too good. The fact is, world saving heroes may have good intention but do bad things. Evil sometimes achieves the opposite effect. Thus ordinary people also like naughty demons. Basically, human nature has good and evil. Over a century ago TREASURE ISLAND writer Stevenson's other book DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE, in which a good doctor becomes a monster. It is a personality split classic that has already been made into numerous films. With DR. JEKYLL AND Mr. HYDE, then came SUPERMAN, SPIDER-MAN, BATMAN, THE HULK, which all became this new Japanese films' ancestors. - SHEK KEI 4. MING PAO DAILY, NOVEMBER 2 2008, FILM AND TELEVISION OBSERVATIONS MORE FILM RELEASES MEAN POOR BOX OFFICE 29 films are in release, more than you have imagined? The other phenomenon of more movies is poor box office, because the pie has been cut into too many slices. The 29 films included the over 100 day in release THE DARK KNIGHT, which is still the cumulative box office champion with 58.5 million. On only one screen it made 1,600 on Thursday. Yet Thursday after 99 days, a day away from 100 days in release WALL*E was on one screen and had no box office. A cinema allowed a movie that accumulated 17.45 million to be shown for nearly 100 days, it truly had faith. Who knows if it would have the same kind of patience for a Hong Kong film? JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH is already near 80 days in release and made 34.94 million. It is also only showing on one screen and made 1900 on a single day, better than the two screen 20TH CENTURY BOYS and its 1300. This Thursday six films opened. DETROIT METAL CITY was on top but only made 468,000 that first day. SAW V only made 316,000 in second place. In third was last week's release HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL 3 THE SENIOR YEAR, which made 299,000. This film had young viewer support, after a week it made 5.23 million. The result was decent. Such a performance would be obvious from looking at the screen numbers. In its second week it still had 40 screens. The opening had more. Cinema owners already have given it their vote. Even with the cinema owners' favor, the film still needs real viewer attendance to count. HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL has reached its third installment and accumulated a group of young fans. In the U.S. its box office was good, which was also the reason for the optimism. Non super big films rarely would open with 100 million box office on the weekends. This film did, which proved that mid scale film that targets youth is more stable. With similar subject a movie that can satisfy viewers of this age group would not drop as rapidly in its second week at the box office as this installment of HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL. Unfortunately Hong Kong youth films are either sad or angry. - KWOK HIN CHING 5. TA KUNG PAO, NOVEMBER 2 2008 DICKY CHEUNG WAI KIN, XIE MIU EACH GAIN FROM CHAMPION People say that film is a dream factory, but the Tsui Siu Ming directed CHAMPION (DUET BIU) honors real gong fu and real martial arts. Leads Dicky Cheung Wai King and former martial art child star Mainland action actor Xie Miu said that the director pinpoints every details and has to repeatedly shoot until perfection. Yet, behind the strict production, both had new experience from the film production. Cheung Wai Kin with his emotions from losing a child achieved comedy that touches the audience and crosses over a professional actor's test. Xie Miu had an even clearer idea of the difference between martial art film and action film and understood his direction even more. The November 13th release CHAMPION is Hong Kong's only Olympic subject film in the year of the Beijing Olympics. The story is based on the 1936 China wushu team's closing ceremony performance at the Berlin World Games. The Cheung Wai Kin played Zhang Feng and Xie Miu played Guan Shubao trained hard to represent the nation and competed with each school and style; other actors included Priscilla Wong Chui Yu, Debbie Goh (Ng Tin Yu) and Yu Rong Guang, Xu Xiangdong and Li Fai. Dicky Experiences Challenges Cheung Wai Kin has always excelled in comedy, but this time he had to handle a series of action sequences. He says, luckily in the past he has made many action films and with many famous action directors so he has picked up the edge from each. "The director says that this character needs an actor who can succeed with both comedy and tragedy so he feels I am the right choice; secondly, he has seen many of my fight scenes and feels that I can achieve what he asks for. However, I have made so many fight films, this one has the highest bad take ratio. Some moves that I feel are very simple and often only took one or two takes to complete in the past somehow took several dozen takes this time. The director seems to think film is not a big deal." Dicky in the film uses the mantis fist the most. Tsui Siu Ming himself is a descendant of the school so he would pay extra attention to each action scene. "With so many films and television series, no director has ever told me to first train. When Brother Siu Ming suggests that, I feel 'I finally run into such a movie.' Today with the poor Hong Kong box office, he still is willing to invest money and time to do so. I appreciate that a lot." Yet the greatest challenge to Cheung Wai Kin in making CHAMPION instead his expertise of comedy. As the film was about to go into production his girlfriend had a miscarriage. "In the past I made comedy with a light mood. This time happened to be when something happened with the baby so my mood was heavier. Inside I was definitely unhappy but I had to make the audience laugh, which was actually vyer hard. At the time I had two roads in front of me, either I resign, which I believe any director would understand; or I let go of my personal affair and completely entered the character. Finally I very quickly decided to stay on the set and adjusted my mood. Actually at the time she gave me a lot of support and encouragement. She said she was fine and could face the difficulty, which put me at ease." Earlier, CHAMPION was screened at the Beijing university. When he learned of the great student reaction, when they laughed heartily at the comedy and even applauded in response he felt very satisfied. He knew that he has already passed a test. Dicky in the film had a romance with Wong Chui Yu. He said, that romance although was a very little part of the film but was very "eye catching". "I basically haven't made any movie that touched the audience because I never had such a chance. This is one of the reason that I took this role. The character has a lot of dimensions and at the same time can provide an actor room to play comedy, drama and tragedy. Such a character is truly very hard to come by." He has always planned to write, direct and star. From this filmmaking experience he has seen the director's passion for film and understood that actually being a director had a huge price to pay. Xie Miu's Clear Mind As for the director's persistence, Xie Miu also agreed. He said, almost every action took 20 times, the most took over 40 times. Just taking a beating took three different cast changes. "The director paid a lot of attention to every detail, including drama, action, set and props. Although he seemed a little too picky, it actually was good. If a director had no demand, that should be something to be afraid of. Actually every time a shot was done I felt a huge sense of accomplishment because the director would provide special recognition. Once after a very dangerous scene he even took the bullhorn and told the entire team that they just finished a very pretty shot. Sometimes he would get some dishes during meal time for everyone to have together." Xie Miu had a deep martial art root, he happened to study mantis fist previously, which made him feel destined to be in CHAMPION. Yet the director was thus more demanding of him. "What I used to study was more modern and prettier, unlike Director Tsui's functional style. Thus he on the set would constantly ask me to change. Luckily the framework was the same, only minor changes were made. In addition, Director Tsui would explain to me what mantis fist should be like, I didn't know any of that before." "Making CHAMPION clarified the difference between action and martial art films for me. I realized that martial art film is a type of action film but they were very different. CHAMPION is a martial art film, with a very strong martial art flavor in it. I feel that not any action actor is suitable to play martial art films because martial art requires a very long time to hone to be flavorful." Since playing Jet Li (Lee Nin Kit)' son twice in LEGEND OF SHAOLIN (HUNG HEI KWUN) and MY FATHER IS A HERO (CUP BA BA DIK SHUN) in his childhood, Xie Miu has not officially made a movie in 14 years. His return to the set gave him a special familiarity. He also hoped that if he would run into good screenplay and good team, he could develop in film again. "Action film definitely is definitely my first choice, movies with very strong martial art flavor is the best. As for my role model, Lee Nin Kit is definitely it. His martial art ability is very high and he is someone I admire the most." Xie Miu's character in the film is a righteous and kind martial artist. He says, "In the film I am someone who lives for martial art. His love for martial art exceeds anything. I feel someone who is stubborn in the film would appear to be very lovable. He and Cheung Wai Kin in the film are good brothers, but their personalities are very different. In one scene they run into each other in competition. I feel that feeling is very meaningful, because he must choose between martial art and friendship. Both to him are the most important so the conflict is enormous." To Cheung Wai Kin and Xie Miu, the experience of making CHAMPION is different, but one explosion scene is extraordinarily unforgettable for both of them. During the scene, they had to grab a villain and fall from several stories up into a sea of fire below with explosion in the back. Xie Miu honestly said, although precautions were taken to prevent actor injuries the set was still very dangerous. When he was looking down from above he truly felt fear. The most difficult was the moment of deciding to jump. Cheung Wai Kin said, he has always feared explosion scenes the most, but seeing Xie Miu performing in person he did not feel right to ask for a double. "The scene would look very bad and unfair to him. Before hand I would clearly understand the usage amount of explosive, how much fire is below, the locations and the orders of the explosions. I feel actors would be better off paying more attention themselves." - SIU () 6. TA KUNG PAO, NOVEMBER 2 2008 QUESTIONS ABOUT CO-PRODUCTION Two weeks ago, the film ministry assistant minister visited Hong Kong and led to a lot of controversy. An article about him last week in a publication was worthy of discussion. The article writer questioned whether after the meeting the chilly winter of co-productions has already passed? This point was truly very hard to say, it would depend on whether films are smoothly approved and whether movies meet co-production rules. As for the "official tightening control that tends to make creators adjust and not inspected in advance" reference in the article, it is untrue. According to industry insiders, the film ministry has requested directors to make edits but also has requested the director to pay attention to areas that do not meet the rules during registration. It absolutely would not ask for additional shoots as the article suggests. The most recent production approvals (registration approvals) indeed are approved later and lead to many long period production postponements. As for the article says, "due to the lack of a clear investment and production environment, co-productions have no direction." Now assistant minister Zhang is also discussing this issue with the Hong Kong industry. The film ministry is focusing and trying to resolve the order and difficulty. The article also pointed out, filmmakers in the face of unclear (co-production) production environment had three choices: give up and never make another film, work according to the rules but the writer questioned what the resulting film would look like, or bargaining. Actually less than few never make another film. No one in any business due to some difficulty or unclear future immediately leaves. The ordinary reasons should be "work according to the rules" and "bargaining". Many worry that films that are made according to the rules would be mixed, but past experience seems to lack strong evidence. Overlooking costume films, PROTEGE, CONFESSION OF PAIN, CONNECTED and Jackie Chan's few films had no problem. People mentioned film rating in the meeting. Assistant minister Zhang's response was the film rating was a legislative matter and its execution would be difficult. In other words, now movies would be for the whole family. No category III films (according to Hong Kong standard) could be made, which indeed was a limitation. However, the Hong Kong industry longed not to make category III film or a certain genre of film, but clear inspection rules and stable inspection work days, 20 or 30 days would work. Otherwise investors would have no way to calculate a film's economic cycle and would have difficulty to decide to invest or not. Thus film workers unemployment rate would rise again and creating a vicious cycle. Earlier several still not yet approved films created negative butterfly effects (in the words of assistant minister Zhang). Speeding up film inspection afterward and setting clear workday upper limit would create positive butterfly effect and sweep away the film industry concerns. - TIN LIK [ In Production Now/Soon ] CLAUSTROPHOBIA Can : Chun Muk Lit : Intimate d. Ivy Ho Dior Cheng Yi Kin, Karen Lam Ka Yun, Andy Hui Chi On Length : 100 mins. Opening October 26 2008 at the Hong Kong Asian Film Festival Opening March 23 at the Tokyo International Film Festival Site : http://www.tiff-jp.net/en/lineup/works.php?id=4 [ BROADWAY CIRCUIT ] Pearl has quietly fallen in love with her boss Tom, who’s married with a family. Without warning, Tom asks Pearl to interview for another job. Wounded, Pearl demands that Tom terminate her. The gauntlet has been thrown down. Screenwriter Ivy Ho (JULY RHAPSODY) makes her directorial debut with CLAUSTROPHOBIA, using eight scenes and multiple characters to explore the complications and the irony of workplace romance and politics. In a space as small, crowded and claustrophobic as the office, love doesn’t grow - it incubates and breeds, like a virus. LOOKING FOR A STAR Can : Yau Lung Hei Fung Lit : Swimming Dragon Acting Phoenix AKA : Sing Mung Kei Yuen Lit : Star Dream Fantasy Destiny d. Andrew Lau Wai Keung Andy Lau Tak Wa, Shu Qi, Denise Ho Wan Si, Zhang Han (Cheung Hom), Ella Koon Yun Na, Elle (Siu Shuet), Pei Wei Ying, Pu Pu, Lam Ka Wa Can : Oi Dut Hei d. Joe Ma Wai Ho Gigi Leung Wing Kei, Chen Bo-Lin (Chan Pak Lam), Shaun Tam Chun Yin, Terry Fan Siu Wong, HotCha Can : Yau Jet Geung Si Um Luen Nei Lit : A Zombie Has a Crush On You Roger Kwok Chun On, Natalie Meng Yao, Jo Kuk Cho Lam, JJ Jia (Ga Hiu Sun), Maggie Lee Man Kwan, Tanya Wu (Ng Ka Yun), Anke Bei, Angel Ho Cheuk Ying Can : Um Sat Lit : Assassination d. Soi Cheang Po Shui Louis Koo Tin Lok, Richie Jen (Yam Yin Chai) Can : Tung Moon Lit : Classmate d. Herman Yau Lai To Shawn Yue Man Lok, Ada Choi Siu Fun, Ella Koon Yun Na, Elanne Kong Yeuk Lam, Chapman To Man Jat, Jun Kung Shek Leung STORM RIDERS II Can : Fung Won II Lit : Wind Cloud II d. Pang Brothers Aaron Kwok Fu Sing, Dior Cheng Yi Kin, Nicholas Tse Ting Fung, Charlene Choi Cheuk Yin, ALL ABOUT WOMEN Can : Nui Yun But Wai Lit : Women Not Bad d. Tsui Hark Zhou Xun, Kuei Lun-Mei, Kitty Zhang Yuqi, Alex Fong Chung Shun Can : Si Lim Lit : Reminisce d. Wai Ka Fai Lau Ching Wan, Kelly Lin (Lam Hei LUi), Yan Qing, Jo Kuk Cho Lam Can : Giu, Won Lit : Call, Soul Grace Ip Pui Man, Carl Ng Ka Lung, Jolie Chan Yuen Kei, Raymond Wong Ho Yin, Chucky Wood Gei Lan, Kwok Hoi San Can : Ang Hong Lit : Tough Guy Anthony Wong Chau Sun, Ellen Chan Nga Lun, Liu Ye, Sun Honglei FANTASTIC WATER BABES Can : Chook Shui Fu Yung Lit : Out of Water Hibiscus d. Jeff Lau Chun Wai Gillian Chung Yun Tung, Alex Fong Lik Sun, Stephen Fung Tak Lun, Tian Liang, Eva Huang Shengyi, Opening October 23 2008 in Malaysia Official Site : www.emp.hk [ OFFICIAL SITE ] A beautiful and cocky swimmer Jill and her teammates kidnaps Alex, Hong Kong's champion swimmer, in order that he can train her to win a duel against her rival in swimming and in love. All hell breaks loose when hate at first sight inadvertently becomes something else... Can : Kit Ji Lit : Scorpion d. Joe Ma Wai Ho Sam Lee Chan Sam, Emme Wong Yee Man, Leung Siu Lung, Miki Mizuno (Shui Yeh Mei Gei), Nana Natsume (Ha Muk Noi Noi) Can : Hok Hau Hak Sai Lik Lit : School Mob Power Jordan Chan Siu Chun, Lee Si Pui, Annie Man Chung Han, Lui Hoi Yun Ada Wong Chi Hom, Timmy Hung Tin Ming Can : Goo Mo Mui Ying Lit : Ancient Tomb Phantom d. Chan Kwoon Wai Chin Kar Lok, Yuen Wah, Candy Lo Hau Yam Can : SI GUONG DOI LAU DIK WA Lit : IF TIME FLOWS BACKWARD d. Mak Kai Kwong Fiona Sit Hoi Kei, Kenny Kwan Chi Bun, Yan Ng Yat Yin, Ken Wong Hap Hei, Karen Tong Bo Yu NEW PERFECT EDUCATION Can : Sun Gum Sut Pui Yuk ji Oi Dik Fu Lo Lit : New Chamber Cultivated Desire: Captive of Love d. Ng Man Lik Kaori Sakagami (Ban Seung Heung Jik) Tony Ho Wa Chiu, Vonnie Lui Hoi Yu Can : Jin Fu Lit : War Tiger Eric Tsang Chi Wai, Kristy Yang Kung Yu, Julian Cheung Chi Lam, Lam Ka Tung, Candy Yu On On, Guo Xinqi (Kwok Sam Kei), Jason Chu Wing Tong, Koey Leung Shuet Mei, Iris Wong Yat Tung, Pavarit Mongkolpisit Nahatai Lekbumrung, Yunee Can : Mo Yau 24 Siu Si Lit : Worry Free 24 Hours Chiu Chung Yu, Natalie Ng Man Yan, Simon Loui Yu Yeung, Siu Chuen Yung, Carl Ng Ka Lung, Libby Lao Kuai Ieng Can : Nui Kuen Wong Lit : Female Fist King Diana Pang Tan, Angie Cheong Wei Yee, Lai Yiu Cheung, Emi Tojo (Dung Sing Gong Mei) Mizuho Ishikawa (Shek Chuen Mei Jung Shui) --- [ NOW SHOWING ] Info from Mov3.com (http://www.mov3.com), Ryan's Hong Kong Movie DataBase (http://www.hkmdb.com), Korean Movie Database (http://www.krmdb.com), Cinema Thai (http://www.cinemathai.com), Hong Kong Entertainment News In Review (http://www.hkentreview.com), Internet Movie DataBase (http://www.imdb.com) KUNG FU CHEF Sammo Hung Kam Bo, Vanness Wu (Ng Kin Ho), Cherrie Ying Choi Yi, Lam Tze Chung Opening October 16 2008 in Malaysia [ GOLDEN SCREEN CINEMAS ONLINE ] Jo had kept hatred in his heart for a very long time and did what he could to oust his uncle Wong Bing-Yi (Sammo Hung) from the village and to claim the rights to the “Dragon-Head Cleaver”, a symbol of power to the clan. As Wong Bing-Yi was forced out of the village, he encountered Shen Qing by chance and is determined to help her during the troubled times at her restaurant “Four Seas”. Here, he discovered a young cooking wonder, Lung Kin-Yat. To bring “Four Seas” back to the top, Lung ends up representing “Four Seas” to the competition against Chef Tin, two times “Top Chef” winner and the head chef at “Imperial Palace”, the restaurant owned by Jo. At the day of the finals, Wong Bing-Yi and Jo met privately to try to resolve their problems. Lung shined by overcoming many obstacles and preparing a dish called “Fresh Water Bak-Choy” just as his master, Wong Bing-Yi had taught him. However, the head judge has been bribed by “Imperial Palace” and he is also the master of Chef Tin. Who will finally win the title of “Top Chef”? Can the “Kung Fu Chefs” finally win over the hearts of many? LOST INDULGENCE Can : Bei Ong Lit : Secret Coast d. Zhang Yibai Eric Tsang Chi Wai, Karen Mok Man Wai, Eason Chan Yik Shun, Jiang Wenli Rating : IIA Length : 101 mins. Opening October 2 2008 [ BROADWAY CIRCUIT ] The story starts with a car accident that shatters the silence lives of family of three. Husband Ng To's taxi falls into the river. He is missing, leaving an injured female passenger -- barmaid So Dan. Wife Fan Lai faces a hefty compensation. With a family in trouble she can only first take So Dan home to recover. At home her son Siu Chuan has just finished his examination and faces his own love and father's passing, all of which has him feeling alone and lost. The entrance of So Dan into his home stirs up changes in his life, as So Dan's beauty seems to lead his growth from a boy into a man. While treating her injury he seems to have fallen for her legs. Siu Chuan panics in the face of desire. Mother Fan Lai under So Dan's silent influence seems to have found a strain of youth. She runs into a Hong Kong businessman Siu Yi with a type of awkwardness. Finally So Dan after recovering leaves them. Two years later, Siu Chuan finds So Dan and learns the cruel but sad truth of the accident... CHASER Can : Jui Gik Jeh d. Na Hong-Jin Kim Yoon-Seok, Ha Jeong-Woo, Seo Young-Hee Rating : III Length : 125 mins. Opeing September 25 2008 [ YAHOO! MOVIES HONG KONG ] Once a cop, Joong-Ho has always become a pimp. Yet lately trouble has increased as his call girls vanish without clearing their debts. He receives a call from a client and sends Mi-Jin, even though she has a bad cold. Mi-Jin goes as Joong-Ho realizes that this client's number is the same as the previous ones with the vanished call girls. He realizes something is wrong and immediately goes after Mi-Jin. On the way, Joong-Ho crashes into another car in an alley. That driver Young-Min does not ask for compensation. Joong-Ho sees the blood stain on his shirt and suspects that he is behind the missing call girls. After a chase, Joong-Ho finally catches up with Young-Min. Yet because Joong-Ho impersonates a police officer, both are brought to the police station. Inside the police station, Young-Min admits that he has killed the missing call girls but Mi-Jin is still alive. Although he confesses the police has no evidence to charge him, so everyone is frantically looking for bodies. Only Joong-Ho believes that Mi-Jin is still alive. As the 12 hour holding period fades, he must find the missing Mi-Jin in a hurry. DIVE Can: Fa Yeung Tiu Shui Siu Nin Lit: Trick Diving Youth d. Naoto Kumazawa Iori Ashihara, Toru Emori, Yuya Fukuda Opening September 18 2008 [ YAHOO! MOVIES HONG KONG ] A diver who has dreamt of becoming a diving master after years of hard work finally successfully joins the diving team and sees the coach's son and three time champion teammate as his target. however, the diving team faces financial trouble and is about to disband. The new coach must train a national diving representative to be able to turn the crisis around. She thus tries her best to invite a rebellious diving elite to join the team and trigger competitiveness among the team. To focus on his training, the diver ignores his girlfriend who has a change of heart. The rebel leaves home and his live in girlfriend behind and the champion time and again struggles with his coach father. As the national competition edges closer, each of three young divers faces his own troubles and fear. The competition grows more and more fierce because only one can qualify... [ COMING SOON ] BREATH d. Kim Ki-Duk Chang Chen, Zia, Ha Jung-Woo [ BROADWAY CIRCUIT ] On a cold winter day, after learning her husband has found a new woman, Yeon absent mindedly heads for the prison where Chen is confined. Although she does not know him personally, repeated news of his suicide attempts on TV has subconsciously grown in her mind and now is leading her to seek him. Jin has no visitors and normally would not agree to meet with a complete stranger, but hearing that it is a woman he accepts her meeting request out of curiosity. Their first meeting is as awkward as it can get. Yeon treats Jin like an old friend whereas Jin does not open up so easily. WINDS OF SEPTEMBER - THE TAIWAN CHAPTER Can : Gau Gong Fung d. Lin Shu Yu Rhydian Vaughan, Chang Chieh, Wang Bo Chieh Length : 113 mins. Opening March 21 2008 at the Hong Kong International Film Festival Site : http://www.hkiff.org.hk/eng/programme/show_detail.php?fi_id=684 [ HONG KONG INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL ] The winds of September are the wind of Hsinchu, a strong wind that visits the county and city between September and November. The film takes us back to 1996, during the time of the tragic Taiwan baseball scandal, an event that devastated many teenage boys. The story follows Yen and Tang and their gang through the last year of their high school life. From chasing girls to midnight skinny dipping to rooting for their favorite baseball team, they do everything together. When an accident throws Yen into a coma, their world starts falling apart. A cruel reality has announced itself, can the boys grow up quickly enough to face it? WINDS OF SEPTEMBER - THE MAINLAND CHAPTER Can : Gau Gong Fung d. Han Yan Tai Junjie, Wu Xiaoliang, Liu Shuhan, Chi Jia Rating : 105 mins. Opening March 21 2008 at the Hong Kong International Film Festival Site : http://www.hkiff.org.hk/eng/programme/show_detail.php?fi_id=682 [ THE HONG KONG INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL ] Some time before the return of Hong Kong's sovereignty to China, a Mainland high school stages a variety show to celebrate the occasion. One of the most brilliant openings among the many recent Chinese high school titles, it introduces the unfolding drama of rival groups of "good" and "bad" students and their "internal contradictions", and serves as a continual mental backdrop for the audience: of youth caught in a society whose founding ideology has become obsolete and absurd. WINDS OF SEPTEMBER - THE HONG KONG CHAPTER Can : Gau Gong Fung d. Heiward Mak Lam Yiu Sing, Sham Ka Kei, Anjo Leung Hiu Fung, Venus Wong Man Yik Length : 100 mins. Site : http://www.hkiff.org.hk/eng/programme/show_detail.php?fi_id=683 SNIPER Can : Sun Cheung Sau Lit : Godly Gunslingers d. Dante Lam Chiu Yin Richie Jen (Yam Yin Chai), Edison Chen Koon Hei, Huang Xiaoming Opening November 6 2008 in Malaysia [ CINEMA ONLINE MALAYSIA ] Ming is renowned as the top shooter in the police force. However things get complicated after the release of his former teammate and superb marksman Ching from prison. With only vengeance on his mind, Ching wants to take on Ming and the police, believing that they are the ones who put him in jail. When a mysterious sniper sabotages a high-security prisoner transfer and a convict escapes, Ming and his team are dispatched to profile the suspect. THE SHINJUKU INCIDENT Can : Sun Juk Goo Si Lit : Shinjuku Story d. Derek Yee Tung Sing Jackie Chan, Ken Watanabe, Daniel Wu (Ng Yin Cho) [ CINEMA ONLINE MALAYSIA ] In the early 1990s, a tractor mechanic from China nicknamed Steelhead illegally enters Japan to search for his girlfriend. To make ends meet, he joins his friend in Shinjuku in doing menial labor. Steelhead finds out that his girlfriend has married Eguchi, a Japanese Yakuza leader. Steelhead decides to stay in Japan and work for Eguchi as a hitman. Soon, Steelhead gets used to the power and find himself embroiled so deeply in the ways of the underworld that there is no turning back. WUSHU Can : Mo Shook ji Siu Nin Hung Lit : Martial Art : Youth Journey d. Anthony Szeto Wing Wah Sammo Hung Kam Bo, Wang Wenjie, Liu Fengchao, Mak Wai Cheung, Wu Ma [ YAHOO! HONG KONG MOVIES ] 9 year old Li Yi and brother Li Er after their mother's passing followed their father to a no name small town martial art school. Their father is this school's instructor. The children are full of curiosity about their about to start new lives... CHAMPION Can : Duet Biu d. Tsui Siu Ming Dicky Cheung Wai Kin, Xie Miu, Priscilla Wong Chui Yu, Debbie Goh (Ng Tin Yu), Ronnie Yu Rong Guang, Xu Xiangdong, Li Fai Length : 118 mins. Opening November 13 2008 [ YAHOO! MOVIES HONG KONG ] China officially sends a team to participate in the World Games for the first time and announces that wushu will be its performance. Each school and style actively participate in private duels. Central martial art hall chief Zhang Zhijiang decides on a national recruitment for representatives...... LADY COP AND PAPA CROOK Can : Cha Ji Nui Lit : Woman of Investigation d. Alan Mak Siu Fai, Felix Chong Sammi Cheng Sau Man, Eason Chan Yik Shun, Zhang Guoli, Chapman To Man Chat, Wilfred Lau Ho Lung, Kate Tsui Tsz Shan, Michelle Ye (Yip Shuet), Liu Kai Chi, Lok Ying Kwun, Lo Mik Shuet, Chan Bo Yuen Richie Jen (Yam Yin Chai) Official Site : www.mediaasia.com/lcpc Opening November 20 2008 [ CINEMA ONLINE MALAYSIA ] When an oil tanker explodes, John Fok becomes the focus of investigation by the Hong Kong and Mainland Chinese police and is forced to put on hold his business to settle things out. Just as John is planning on a comeback, his son is kidnapped. Doomed in love, Senior Inspector Molline Szeto is fed up with her 10-year relationship with her boyfriend. With no prospect of an imminent wedding, she ends the relationship. Excited with her new crossroads in life, she is thrilled to be assigned to investigate the case of John's kidnapped son. 1ST 7 DAY Can : Tau Chut d. Herman Yau Lai To Michelle Ye (Yip Shuen), Lam Ka Tung, Julian Cheung Chi Lam, Eddie Cheung Siu Fai, Fung Hak On, Tony Ho Wa Chiu, Chiu Yu Nung [ YAHOO! MOVIES HONG KONG ] A depressed driver, a mysterious passenger, a poor woman, a touching past and an unknown forbidden land......like one piece after another of a lost puzzle, together it creates a suspenseful and touching story that is full of twists and turns. Taxi drive map King accepts an order that no one is willing to take. The destination is a Spring Thunder Hotel that has been abandoned for 33 years. Mysterious passenger Siu Ma drives his light truck and asks Map Wong to be his guide with a high offer. When they successfully arrive at the destination he would pay Map King even higher salary. Siu Ma is surprised that Map King is rather familiar with the direction of Spring Thunder Hotel. On the way Map King and the just as strange Siu Ma have too much knowledge of what happened then at the Spring Thunder Hotel. Yet they are unwilling to talk about it freely. After arriving Siu Ma says that the mission has been completed and gives the goods on the truck to Map King. When Map King opens the merchandise...... THE BEAST STALKER Can : Jing Yun Lit : Witness d. Dante Lam Chiu Yin Nicholas Tse Ting Fung, Nick Cheung Ka Fai, Zhang Jingchu, Liu Kai Chi, Sherman Chung Shu Man, Miao Pu Opening November 27 2008 [ YAHOO! MOVIES HONG KONG ] A car accident thoroughly changes their lives. Cop Tong fei while chasing a wanted criminal Cheung Yat Tung has a severe car accident. Later he even accidentally kills a girl. He spends his days in darkness; prosecutor Ko Man witnesses her daughter's death in the hands of Tong Fei and can only give all of her love on her young daughter Ting Ling. Three months after the accident, the comatosed Cheung Yat Tung finally awakes. Ko Man immediately wants him in the court. Criminal Hung Gaing is ordered to kidnap Ting Ling and runs into Tong Fei, who cannot save Ting Ling in time. Ko Man receives a threatening call to recall the charges against Cheung Yat Tung to save her daughter; if she calls the police her daughter is dead. Tong Fei swears to save Ting Ling to make up for his past mistake...... NOBODY'S PERFECT Can : Juet Doi Seung Giu d. Yip Lim Sum Stephy Tang Lai Yun, Kary Ng Yu Fei, Chubby (Siu Fei), Sammy, Tong So Kei, Hotcha, Length : 99 mins. Opening November 27 2008 [ YAHOO! MOVIES HONG KONG ] Lam Fung Giu and Tsui Giu have been rivals since childhood. As adults, Lam Fung Giu has become a famous fasthion columnist. Vicious, she loves criticizing city celebrities' clothing the most. Yet due to some outstanding comments she has the love of the readers and remains popular; On the other hand Tsui Giu does not have too much career ambition. She and her family operates a traditional dress store in the old district. Although her life is simple, she is optimistic and has no worry...... MIAO MIAO d. Cheng Hsiao-Tse Sandrine Pinna (Cheung Yung Yung), Wing Fan Chih Wei, Ke Jia Yan Opening November 27 2008 [ YAHOO! MOVIES HONG KONG ] The 18 year old Ai is an energetic and happy high school student. Her grades are average. Everyday she only focuses on baking ugly and hard cakes. She feels that in life nothing is happier than making the perfect dessert until she runs into a new firends who makes her realize that some things are even sweeter than cake...... BALLISTIC Can : Dan, Doh d. Lawrence Lau Kwok Cheung Simon Yam Tat Wa, Joseph Chang Hau Chuen, Alice Tzeng Hoi Won, Lam Ka Tung, Liu Kai Chi, Ko Chun Hsiung, Zhang Guozhu Opening November 27 2008 [ YAHOO! MOVIES HONG KONG ] The story opens with an election assassination. Each side with its own agenda struggles for power. Siblings like cops originally are about to uncover the fog after danger after danger. Yet instead they fall in further and are swept into the power storm between the mob and those in power. The duo is forces to make a life and death choice between good and evil, ahead of them remains dead ends at every turn...... IKIGAMI: THE ULTIMATE LIMIT d. Tomoyuki Takimoto (Lung Boon Ji Hung) Shota Matsuda (Chung TIn Cheung Tai), (Sing Mei Lei Ji), Takayuki Yamada (Tin San Hau Ji), Koji Tsukamoto (Chung Boon Go Si) Opening December 4 2008 [ YAHOO! MOVIES HONG KONG ] A place with similar history and environment as Japan has a law called "natoinal vibrance maintenance law". Its goal is to created a reduced national crime rate, highly productive utopia. As each new student enrolls in an elementary school, he or she would receive an immunization shot. One among a thousand would be injected with any extremely small pouch that would stick to the heart. Between the ages of 18 to 24 the poison would be released and killed the person. The government can accurately calculate the poison release time so the 1/1000 person who is selected to die can be assigned a death notice 24 hours before so he or she can make preparations...... IP MAN d. Wilson Yip Wai Shun Donnie Yen Chi Tan, Simon Yam Tat Wa, Lynn Hung Opening December 2008 [ CINEMA ONLINE MALAYSIA ] Adapted from the life story of Ip Man - the grand master of the Wing Chun style of kung fu and sifu of legendary kung fu superstar Bruce Lee. This movie will be the first important record of the master's life. Ip's persistent devotion to Wing Chun is a classic example of the love and respect shown to wushu and the freedom and spirit it represents. Ip Man is a concept, a spirit, a way of thinking - and it exemplifies a new peak in Hong Kong's wushu movies. RED CLIFF PART II AKA : BATTLE OF RED CLIFF Can : Chet Bik Lit : Red Cliff d. John Woo (Ng Yu Sum) Tony Leung Chiu Wai, Takeshi Kaneshiro (Gum Sing Mo), Janny Lin Chiling, Vicki Zhao Wei, Chang Chen, Zhang Fengyi, Hu Jun, You Yong Opening December 18 2008 ALL'S WELL ENDS WELL 2009 Can : Ga Yau Hei Si 2009 Lit : Family Has Joyous Event 2009 d. Vincent Kuk Tak Siu Sandra Ng Kwan Yu, Louis Koo Tin Lok, Ronald Cheng Chung Kei, Raymond Wong Pak Ming, Lee Heung Kam, Ha Chun Opening January 22 2009 in Malaysia [ GOLDEN SCENE CINEMAS ONLINE ] Kei's eldest sister Sandra is a hot-tempered magazine editor and her temperament has left her single all this while. They have a traditional family and one of the rules is that none of the siblings could get married before their eldest sister. In view of this, Kei sort help from the famous “Casanova”, Koo Chai (Louis Koo), who is the new journalist in Sandra’s firm to pretend to court his eldest sister and lure her into the mood of love. With Sandra falling in love with Koo Chai, she decides to introduce him to her parents (Lee Heung Kam, Ha Chun Chou). However, Koo Chai fell in love with another girl, Mun during an assignment and this broke Sandra’s heart. To avoid the disappointment of her parents, Sandra asks Mr. Wong a private investigator to pretend as her boyfriend. With Sandra love life going nowhere and her career plunging low, will she get what she wants? Will Kei find his true love and marries her sister off? Who will Koo Chai choose? Will all’s well end’s well? --- [ Entertainment URL ] EMPEROR MOTION PICTURES http://www.emp.hk GOLDEN SCENE http://www.goldenscene.com SING PAO http://www.singpao.com THE HONG KONG FILM ARCHIVE http://www.lcsd.gov.hk/hkfa/ CHANG CHUN CHINA FILM FESTIVAL http://www.cc-film.com GOLDEN HARVEST http://www.goldenharvest.com STAR EAST http://www.stareastnet.com CITY ENTERTAINMENT http://www.cityentertainment.com.hk Commercial Radio http://www.crhk.com.hk Television Broadcast Limited http://www.tvb.com.hk --- [ NORTH AMERICA AREA CONCERTS ] Courtesy of our neighbors at : High Level Entertainment's Concert & Event News Center http://www.levelhigh.com http://www.geocities.com/NapaValley/1721/hlecaen.htm * INTERNATIONAL ENTERTAINMENT MARKETING AND MOHEGAN SUN PRESENT JAY CHOU WORLD TOUR 2008 CHRISTMAS CONCERT DATE AND TIME : Saturday night / Sunday morning, December 21 2008 @ 2PM Sunday, December 21 2008 @ 2 PM VENUE LOCATION: Mohegan Sun Arena Mohengan Sun Uncasville CT TICKET PRICES : $ 268 VIP, 188, 138, 88, 68 TICKET OUTLET LOCATIONS: ONLINE : www.iemshowplace.com/html/jaychou.html CHINATOWN : 89 Bowery 212.925.1898 FLUSHING International Entertainment Marketing 135-05 40th Rd., 2nd Floor Flushing NY 11354 718-888-3113 BROOKLYN International Entertainment Marketing 5609 8th Ave., 2nd Floor Brooklyn NY 11220 718-437-7717 ELMHURST 85-08 Queens Blvd. 2/F 718.803.3326 EDISON, NEW JERSEY: 1681 Rt.27 Suite 3 732.819.8883 BOSTON : 12A Tyler Street 612.695.1989 * RAYMOND MIU PRODUCTIONS, INC. AND TRUMP TAJ MAHAL PRESENT MOONLIGHT RESONANCE CONCERT 2008 with Linda Chung Ka Yun, Raymond Lam Fung, Lee Sze Kei, Ha Yu DATE AND TIME : Saturday night / Sunday morning, December 20 2008 @ 1AM VENUE LOCATION : Mark G Etess Arena Trump Tah Mahal Casino Resort Atlantic City NJ PRICE : $118, 88, 68, 48 TICKET OUTLET LOCATION: Raymond Miu Productions 195 Canal Street, Suite 201 New York NY 10013 212.966.0800 www.rmpny.com * Jolin Tsai live in San Jose,CA Nov 30,2008 Date & Time: Sunday night, November 30,2008 @ 7:00pm Venue Location: San Jose State University Event Center 290 S. 7th Street San Jose, CA 95192 Ticket Prices: $58, $78, $98, $138, $188 (VIP) Info & online ticket: http://www.usastarimage.com http://www.usastarimage.com/EventDetail.aspx?id=29 concert info hotline: 510-651-6888 concert info email: concert@usastarimage.com ticket outlet locations: Ng Hing Kee: San Francisco: 415-781-8330 Sunset SF: 415-759-1999 Millbrae: 650-692-8922 Mountain view: 650-969-2034 Oakland: 510-272-0822 Milpitas: 408-433-5188 World Journal Bookstore (San Francisco) 415-397-8473 Evergreen Books (Milpitas) 408-383-9798 Mo Mo Bookstore (Cupertino) 408-863-1288 Tara Books (Newark) 510-818-9666 Nan Hwa Group (San Jose) 408-453-3330 free roundtrip bus for concert ticket holders in: san francisco chinatown (contact ng hing kee sf & world books), san mateo & millbrae marina food call 650-212-3988 & 650-692-8922 for details http://www.usastarimage.com http://www.usastarimage.com/EventDetail.aspx?id=29 concert info hotline: 510-651-6888 * INTERNATIONAL ENTERTAINMENT MARKETING AND MOHEGAN SUN PRESENT RICHIE JEN "LOVE & BELOVED" CONCERT with Special Guest Huang Pin Yuan DATE AND TIME : Wednesday night / Thursday morning, November 27 2008 @ 2PM Thursday, November 27 2008 @ 2 PM VENUE LOCATION: Mohegan Sun Arena Mohengan Sun Uncasville CT TICKET PRICES : $ 138, 108, 78, 48 TICKET OUTLET LOCATIONS: ONLINE : www.iemshowplace.com/html/richie_jen.html CHINATOWN : 89 Bowery 212.925.1898 FLUSHING International Entertainment Marketing 135-05 40th Rd., 2nd Floor Flushing NY 11354 718-888-3113 BROOKLYN International Entertainment Marketing 5609 8th Ave., 2nd Floor Brooklyn NY 11220 718-437-7717 ELMHURST 85-08 Queens Blvd. 2/F 718.803.3326 EDISON, NEW JERSEY: 1681 Rt.27 Suite 3 732.819.8883 BOSTON : 12A Tyler Street 612.695.1989 * RAYMOND MIU PRODUCTIONS, INC. AND TRUMP TAJ MAHAL PRESENT ADAM CHEN LIVE IN CONCERT 2008 Special Guest : Fala Chen DATE AND TIME : Wednesday night / Thurday morning, November 27 2008 @ 1AM Thursday, November 27 2008 @ 2 PM VENUE LOCATION : Mark G Etess Arena Trump Tah Mahal Casino Resort Atlantic City NJ PRICE : $98, 68, 38 TICKET OUTLET LOCATION: Raymond Miu Productions 195 Canal Street, Suite 201 New York NY 10013 212.966.0800 www.rmpny.com -------------------------------------------------------------------- Box office info : What Box Office Info? The usual suspects : MOV3.COM, Internet Movie Database, Yahoo! Hong Kong Erors : ye olde chaffing editor For Tuesday November 4 2008 10 MIRRORS d. Alexandre Aja Kiefer Sutherland, Paula Patton, Amy Smart 9 VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA d. Woody Allen Javier Bardem, Penelope Cruz, Scarlett Johansson, Rebecca Hall 8 BODY OF DIES d. Ridley Scott Leonardo DiCaprio, Russell Crowe 7 THE MAGIC HOUR d. Koki Mitani (Sam Guk Hung Hei) Satoshi Tsumabuki (Chai Fu Muk Chung), Toshiyuki Nishida (Sai Tin Mun Hung), Haruka Ayase (Ling Lai Yiu), Koichi Sato (Jor Tung Ho Si), Eri Fukatsu (Sum Luk Wui Lei) 6 SMART PEOPLE d. Noam Murro Dennis Quaid, Sarah Jessica Parker, Ellen Page, Thomas Haden Church 5 CITY OF EMBER d. Gil Kenan David Ryall, Ian McElhinney, Harry Treadaway 4 TROPIC THUNDER d. Ben Stiller Ben Stiller, Jack Black, Robert DOwney Jr. 3 SAW V d. David Hackl Tobin Bell, Costas Mandylor, Scott Patterson 2 HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL 3 THE SENIOR YEAR d. Kenny Ortega Zac Efron, Vanessa Anne Hudgens, Ashley Tisdale 1 DETROIT METAL CITY d. Toshio Lee Kenichi Matsuyama, Yoshihiko Hosoda, Ryuji Akiyama ------ Summaries for some of the films above. Some contain SPOILERS DETROIT METAL CITY Rating : IIB Length : 103 mins. Opening October 30 2008 Site : http://www.tiff08.ca/filmsandschedules/films/detroitmetalcity [ TORONTO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 2008 ] Souichi is a timid, sensitive and innately polite music geek who moves from the Japanese countryside to Tokyo with big dreams: he aspires to sing sugary love ballads and become a chart-topping sensation. But life does not turn out the way Souichi had hoped, and the only gig he can get is that of front man for the notorious band Detroit Metal City (DMC). Wearing a cape, tights and ghostly demon makeup, Souichi storms the stage each night as Johannes Klauser II, smashing guitars and spewing verbal filth in songs about murder and rape. The band's crazy getups and destructive performances have earned them a legion of devoted, maniacal fans, who believe that Klauser is a drug-gobbling demon from hell. To make matters worse, this reluctant rocker runs into his college crush, the demure and adorable Ms. Aikawa, who is now a magazine pop critic. Soon he is struggling to keep his wild metal stardom a secret. After defeating rival bands and winning recognition as one of Japan's top acts, DMC is challenged to a duel by death-metal icon Jack IL Dark. Souichi finds himself locked in a battle of satanic guitar riffs for the title of ultimate death-metal king, all while keeping Ms. Aikawa sweetly ignorant of his alter ego. THE MAGIC HOUR Length : 136 mins. Opening October 30 2008 [ BROADWAY CIRCUIT ] Bingo has stolen away the girlfriend of his crime syndicate boss, and now he faces an ultimatum: find him a legendary assassin named Della Togashi, or die. But time is running out and Della’s whereabouts remain moot. As a desperate measure, Bingo decides to hire a failing actor, Taiki Murata to play the part of the elusive assassin. Believing he’ll be starring in an epic gangster film in the role of his life, Taiki comes to the port town of Sucago, where the film is to be shot. In his attempt to convince his boss that he has found Della Togashi, Bingo inadvertently winds up indenturing Taiki into the service of the town’s crime syndicate just as it prepares for a major gang war. ------ GLOBAL CHINESE SONG CHART For Saturday, November 1 2008 15 HOW FAR IS FOREVER Can : Wing Yuen Gei Yuen Ivana Wong Yuen Chi 14 I DECIDE Can : Ngor Kuet Ding Jasmine Leong Jing Yu 13 STRANGE FETUS Can : Gwai Toi Ronald Cheng Chung Kei 12 ROLL N' ROCK WHAT Can : Yiu Gwun Jup Mor Liu Wang Leehom (Wong Lik Won) 11 LOVE NOT ENOUGHT Can : Oi But Gau Raymond Lam Fung 10 SEASIDE HIGHWAY'S EXIT Can : Yuen Hoi Gung Lo Dik Chook Hau S.H.E. 9 FALLING LEAF Can : Lok Yip Hai Mingwei (Hoi Ming Wai) 8 TAKE ME TO THE STAR A Shin (Ah Shun) 7 SLEEPING WITH BUTTERFLY Can : Yu Dip Tung Min Joey Yung Cho Yi 6 GRAIN FRAGRANCE Can : Doh Heung Jay Chou (Chow Kit Lun) 5 NICE PERSON CARD Can : Ho Yun Card Huang Xiaoming, Vicki Zhao Wei 4 MISSING YOU van Fan (Fan Yat Sun) 3 YOU UNDERSTAND MY LOVE Can : Nei Dung Ngor Dik Oi Leon Lai Ming, Zhang Ziyi 2 NOT YET TO HEARTBREAK PLACE Can : Mei Doh Seung Sum Chu Andy Lau Tak Wa 1 LITTLE DIMPLE Can : Siu Jau Wor JJ Lin Junjie, Charlene Choi Cheuk Yin ---------------------- HK Top Ten Central hktopten@hotmail.com | http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Towers/2038