For a movie that clocks in under 80 minutes, you expect it to find even a basic footing quite early. No such thing occurs in The Bomb-Shell that wanders between what turns out to be its main characters for the longest of time without revealing its true intentions. May have sounded clever to the filmmakers to put focus on assassins taking out undercover cops only to switch gears to the plot about a mad bomber (Hui Bing-Sam, overacting to little acclaim here as opposed to in Cops And Robbers) but it's the true definition of steering consciously without a steering wheel, hoping for the best. Hoh Hong-Ming's ham-fisted direction almost warrants attention by the end as the tension is at least tolerable but his open end makes even rapid conclusions in kung-fu movies seem drawn out. In the case of The Bomb-Shell, someone pulls the plug. Roll credits. At any rate, in the role of the cop whose family is a victim of the bomber we see Norman Tsui while Wilson Tong plays a fighting Taoist magic practitioner (very much fitting for a modern day cop-thriller). Shing Fui-On also appear.

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Meaningless nonsense in the best possible way, Chu Yen-Ping (Golden Queen's Commando, Island Of Fire) unleashes cops, conmen, children, Japanese gangsters, kids, Yukari Oshima and game stuntmen who all combine in the hunt for a treasure map with gold at the end of the rainbow. Decidedly different in feel compared to a broad Hong Kong product (this is a Taiwanese production and with the director's cartoony stamp on the proceedings), Chu Yen-Ping may not bring the bellylaughs but he keeps annoyance far away from A Book Of Heroes. So decidedly funny in bursts but more so when the terrific action kicks in. With an array of stuntmen taking falls, going through walls and being on board with intricate exchanges, adding a slapstick element within the expertly choreographed fights pay off beautifully. Especially in Laam Sam-Mei's terrific bar fight at the start but it's Yukari Oshima in her debut movie that brings the jaw dropping (despite being doubled) as Yasuaki Kurata's henchwoman. Also with Elsa Yeung, David Tao and Eugene Thomas.

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A former cinematographer and the director of Devil Fetus, Lau Hung-Chuen still infuses his immigrant drama with natural grit and not over the top style. Which is suitable and not due to cheap and bad filmmaking. For sure his story about immigrant girls falling into the world of prostitution and catching the eye of the wrong people (mainly Shum Wai's violent robber) and ultimately drifting apart as sword sisters is familiar. However some emotional beats in particular towards the end are effective but combining look (which is really style) and heavy duty heroic GOREshed and violence once there's no turning back for characters makes Border Line Story a minor winner. With Jo Jo Ngan, Peter Yang Kwan, Johnny Wang in a fighting cameo and Tin Ching.

TROY'S REVIEW: Good God! - If American Commando Ninja wasn't bad enough on its own, by some dumbfounding means it managed to spawn a bloody sequel! Picking up after the events of the first film (if you indeed managed to survive the ordeal), this reunites the interminable, horrific fashion wearing characters from last time for yet another excruciating adventure involving the continued hunt for a Japanese scientist's biological weapon serum. Once again we are subjected to the same abysmal attempts at dramatic acting, mercilessly drawn out pacing and careless dubbing and let us not forget that all this is filmed on a glorious home movie camera! Wow, aren't we lucky eh? To be equitable, I will say that at least the fight sequences in this are a big improvement over the first film but let's be honest, this is much akin to stating that a solid turd is easier to clean up than diarrhea.

KENNETH'S REVIEW: It's hard to admit it but somehow Wong Jing delivers a pleasant time with Born To Gamble. Nat Chan is Lolanto, confident and king of every gambling and betting you can think of. Trying to woo Hung (Joyce Godenzi) proves to be difficult though as she demands him to stop gambling. Friend Ah Fan (Stanley Fung) is also fooled by his wife so he goes off to the Philippines to get a maid that thinks she's a wife...

It's all very much based on tangents and incoherent plotting, which doesn't make the flick an abnormality in Wong Jing's filmography. First half doesn't shape up very well, with everything being cheap, fast and generally unfunny. Somehow when adding up this anti-social behaviour that's supposed to be comedy, we flow with it in the second half and laugh unwillingly. Witness for instance Wong Jing do the famous sperm joke in the vein of the subsequent Kingpin, treat Maria Isabel Lopei like a native monkey by having her eat bananas while waiting, have characters teach her naughty Cantonese but the top award goes to an AIDS joke that is so dumb, it's kind of genius. It's hard to admit it indeed. A cast of familiars include Chor Yuen, Wong Jing, Ken Boyle, Charlie Cho and the dad of our director, Wong Tin-Lam. Try and spot Elvis Tsui if you can too.

Now here's a story you don't see everyday, portrayed like this. A Taiwanese fishing village is struck with a disease that makes the men's testicles grow bigger and bigger and bigger (women and their breasts are inflicted too to some degree). Theories are thrown out, such as that it's the anger of the gods due to all the sex going on or that the village has a sanitation problem of sorts. While the medical community continues to ponder, the village quickly loses its fishing status as the men can't physically go out and do the work. Solutions may be on the horizon but since the disease has progressed this far, castration is the only option for those who wishes for the village to prosper again...

A crazy setup with many wacky interludes as well as dark and highly melodramatic ones, director Hsu Chin-Liang indeed juggles many balls in the air but keeps splendid track of each mood the movie employs. Possessing no fear in letting this story go into serious territory, when eventually there, it's not a mockery of drama. Instead it's a full on sincerity attack that talks of how the medical community ultimately uses the little people in this case and the villagers are also drawn apart when faced with the decision of castration. The movie is barely done at this point as it goes deeper and deeper into its examination of the effect this disease will have on life in a larger perspective while also having no problem bouncing into comedic elements on occasion. It's all perfectly pitched humour, used suitably, with subtlety and one shouldn't resist saying that Boss Noballs has balls because such an unexpected, unpredictable gem deserves the pun. With Ma Yue-Fung, Luk Siu-Fan and Chan Chung-Yung.

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Produced by the company The Media Evangelism Limited, The Boss Up There indeed injects a religious message. What could've been the more intrusive parts of this shot on video feature actually turns out to be the most noble and the TV-soap melodrama instead is what drags the film down. Tung (Athena Chu) and friend Cat (Wong Mei-Man) start to hang with the wrong crowd and are soon on a path towards drug addiction and prostitution. As Tung finds love in triad hoodlum Fung (Paul Wong), here's a kid who actually confesses his love and means it but is on a downwards spiral anyway...

The storybeats right out of TV melodrama (set to Canto-pop... in montages) greatly detracts from the noble message as mentioned. As Athena Chu's Tung goes through hell in a juvenile home, being homeless and drug addicted, saints are out there for her but there's only one time and place where this character is receptive to the word of Jesus. Remarkably unforced by the filmmakers despite being a message shoved down Tung's throat eventually, this message is balanced as sometimes saving a soul isn't about forcing beliefs on them. It is suitably mentioned that Tung doesn't walk alone but it's her that have to take control of her life. A helping hand and off you go. Via Athena Chu's dedication, the above remains a little less cheesy as well and we hope for her character to get above the surface again. Otherwise, matters are too on the nose, lacking engagement and amateurish. It does indeed look like TV.

Detailing Ma Yung Chen's (Chen Kuan-Tai) rise to power and the bloody turf war that follows, together with Ni Kuang Chang Cheh has crafted the familiar in a very cinematic way but also with attention to character. Ma doesn't fall into the trap of wealth and subsequently corruption but instead favours his fellow man and their well being (physically, financially). It's a confident portrayal, from the makers down to the direction of lead Chen. Walking his own path but looking up to Boss San Ti (David Chiang), despite buying a cigarette holder, it's out of respect rather than shallow worshipping. All's very sharp as directed (the Ching Li singer subplot with her emotional reaction about Ma's rise in the gangster world is woefully underdeveloped though) and surprisingly free from action aside from a few bursts throughout. But capping it with a primal ending that delivers extensive blood but also surprising psychological twists as Ma is amidst so much violence, The Boxer From Shantung is honed stuff from the confident bunch hovering around Chang Cheh. Also with Ku Feng and Cheng Hong-Yip. Corey Yuen remade the film as Hero in 1997, starring Takeshi Kaneshiro and Yuen Biao.

This....is criminal. You shouldn't be able to get away with this but creating so much of his patented wacky Hong Kong cinema trying to disguise itself as feature filmmaking, sometimes Wong Jing just has to succeed. Boys Are Easy is the flick and it's not even due to gathering up a terrific cast but simply managing to time his often tired and silly gags well. Making light genres collide head on with a gunplay opening and a gunplay ending, in the middle is an unscripted mess about the daughters (Brigitte Lin, Maggie Cheung and Chingmy Yau) of Richard Ng's character finding their respective men. Against all odds, Lin manages to find the bad man she wants in Tony Leung Ka-Fai's gigolo (bad meaning she is touched by the thought of being beaten and raped. Thank you, Wong Jing), Cheung goes after a low-life triad (Jacky Cheung) that does awfully well during the annual (?) Triad Olympics (close to brilliantly staged, the highlight of the film) while Chingmy Yau tricks Ekin Cheng's virgin character that she's a prostitute so all matter of complications are jammed in there. Naming a character after action director Ching Siu-Tung and inserting a parody of A Better Tomorrow represents Wong Jing's usual tired routines but mostly hitting his mark otherwise, all cast is for Wong. Especially Tony Leung who at one point hypnotizes himself into becoming a bad man (the Lunar New Year greeting "Kung Hei Fat Choy" makes him go normal again), take part in a bowling alley dance number and turns into Bruce Lee towards the end. Screwy. Also with Jimmy Lin, Wo Fung, Shing Fui-On, Helena Law and Sandra Ng.

Approximately 12 minutes of footage went missing on Mei Ah's vcd and dvd releases. Despite the running time suggesting otherwise, Tai Seng's dvd is uncut.

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A sedated revenge story considering it's from the mind of Jimmy Wang Yu post-Shaw Brother's. He does let his imagination run fairly wild eventually but it's a slightly tedious wait for fans who took to heart The Chinese Boxer and The One Armed Boxer. Jimmy's action directing overall leans more towards the trend of its time with the swinging arms and legs combat but he does amp the weapons tactics during the long climax. The Brave And The Evil here takes on a very watchable ferocious aura but it's not thoroughly easy to forget that the film is not as distinguishable as one has come to expect coming from Jimmy. Fans certainly should tune in and you always easily see why Jimmy turned into such a big star prior to Bruce Lee's entrance onto the scene. Also with Polly Shan Kwan.