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The Hong Kong box office took $3.9m (Hk$30.6m) over five days from January 28-February 1, down 37.1% on the same five-day Lunar New Year period in 2024 and 59.3% down on pre-Covid 2019.

The Hong Kong Box Office, which released the data, said that the results were disappointing and hoped that more people would go to the cinemas to support Chinese New Year releases.

Two Hong Kong comedies took the top two places. Hit N Fun topped the chart with $959,715 (Hk$7.47m) from Tuesday to Saturday, while My Best Bet ranked second with $744,693 (Hk$5.8m).

Hit N Fun follows a boxing trainer who helps...

Frequent filmmaking partners Johnnie To and Wai Ka-Fai collaborated once more to adapt Jimmy Liao’s illustrated book “A Chance of Sunshine” in the high-energy romantic comedy “Turn Left, Turn Right.” Warner Bros. Pictures notably produced and distributed this Hong Kong production, marking their first Chinese-language Asian film production. Set predominantly in Taipei, Taiwan, it meticulously adapts the source material to frame-by-frame details while maintaining its poetic direction, albeit more comical here.

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Our story follows aspiring violinist John Liu and translator Eve Choi, who recently moved to Taipei. They live in two buildings right next to each other, separated by a wall. While pursuing their ambitions, they eventually cross paths and hit it off. Yet, despite this destined love at first sight for John and Eve, fate keeps them apart through one circumstance after another, despite their continuous attempts to reunite and develop their romantic feelings.

1998, one year into the handover of Hong Kong to China and action cinema was beginning to shift. “The Storm Riders” was the first to really demonstrate CGI enhanced action. Jackie Chan was balancing Hollywood and Hong Kong and Jet Li was about to launch himself onto a wider audience as the villain in “Lethal Weapon 4”. With that in mind, he had one more vehicle for his local fanbase that year in “Hitman”. As Eureka Entertainment re-release it as part of their “Heroes and Villains” box set, it provides an opportunity to go back to revisit a work that has gotten a bit lost in the mix over the years.

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The” King of Killers” has just slain Tsukamoto, a former Yakuza boss. In the event of his assassination, he had in place a $100 Million Dollar revenge fund which is now triggered.

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Normally pinned for their gritty gangster tales, Johnnie To and Wai Ka-fai’s efforts in romance and slapstick have often been sidelined. But as loveable titles “Fat Choi Spirit” and “Turn Left, Turn Right” have proved, the directing/producing duo are indeed dai lous (big brothers) of many genres. “Fat Choi Spirit”, following the tradition of Hong Kong gambler flicks, and like its title: spirit of endless wealth, is the hilarious gift that keeps on giving.

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Similar to the iconic “God of Gamblers” franchise, we have the pleasure of following an impossibly great player. Andy, played by Andy Lau himself, will do anything for a game of mahjong. But Andy is no addict, he’s actually got a gift: he possesses the divine favor of Guanyin. Thus, he is simply unable to draw a bad tile...

The family comedy drew bigger audiences than the latest Marvel superhero film.

Disney blockbuster Thor: Love And Thunder led the Hong Kong box office on its second weekend of release but was beaten in terms of admissions by local family comedy Chilli Laugh Story.

Coba Cheng’s Cantonese comedy earned 1.06m (HK8.3m) over its opening weekend (July 14-17), making it the third highest four-day opening weekend for a local film in the Covid-19 pandemic. It recorded 123,587 admissions, which was 14.3 higher than Thor: Love And Thunder.

However, the Marvel superhero sequel grossed 4.9 more in ticket sales (1.11m /HK8.7m) than...

Lockdown and New Year have something in common. They both bring family members closer (in any sense) and allow them – or force them – to share joys and pains. “Chilli Laugh Story” is the debut feature of young director Coba Cheng, who plays on this convenient communality, and sets this classic Lunar New Year comedy based on his own similar experience, in the Hong Kong community during the lockdown. Because of those same featured restrictions, the film couldn’t be released in cinemas for the New Year, but it is finally out now and also due to UK theatres these days.

The house-bound Cheung family is composed by proud dad Alan (Ronald Cheng), mum Rita (Gigi Leung) eternally worrying and dreaming of owning a flat in Hong Kong one day, and son Coba (Edan Lui) who struggles to work from home, disturbed all day by dad’s television and the constant...

A Hong Kong family’s lockdown project to market a much-loved home recipe is an engaging effort that might just appeal to international tastes

As film distributors are all too painfully aware, comedies are notoriously difficult to export from one culture to another, however successful they may have been in their home territory. But this perky Cantonese feature is relatable and timely, given the story revolves around an extended family of working-class Hong Kong strivers trying to get ahead and survive the recent pandemic.

Twentysomething protagonist Coba Cheung (popstar Edan Cheuk-On Lui), lives in a modest flat with his hardworking mother Rita (Gigi Leung) and charming but shiftless dad Alan (Ronald Cheng). An average student who doesn’t have the same prospects as his friends from wealthier families, Coba has to do what he can with a natural hustler’s instinct. As Covid-19 hits Hong Kong hard and confines everyone indoors,...

Trinity Cine Asia has acquired upcoming Hong Kong comedy “Chilli Laugh Story” for distribution in the U.K. and North America.

The work-from-home story of the director Coba Cheng’s relatives sees a locked-down family starting an online business during the pandemic. It stars Sandra Ng, who also produces, Ronald Cheng, Gigi Leung and Edan Lui, a member of the wildly popular Hong Kong boy band Mirror.

The film earned nearly 150,000 in previews at the Hong Kong box office last weekend and goes on full release from July 14, 2022. It will open theatrically in the U.K., where there is a growing expatriate Hong Kong population, the following day. A release in U.S. and Canadian theaters will follow on July 22.

The film was produced by Treasure Island Production with rights sales handled by Peter Chan’s We Distribution. It was originally set to release at Chinese New Year in February,...

The new horror-suspense film series “Bloody Smart” is adapted from the works of Japanese horror manga master Junji Ito, and is produced by Miracle Production House, with the production of Taiwan Mobile, UDNdnFunLife, Ctbc Venture Capital, Lots Home Entertainment, Jazzy Pictures Malaysia, Angelic-Founder, Bingo-Fund, The opening ceremony was held recently and director Chun-Yi Hsieh and producer Guo-Lun Hsu led the cast of Gigi Leung, Buffy Chen, Jie-En Yu, Rin Zheng, Liu Hsiu-Fu, Devin Pan, and Edison Song in costume. Director Chun-Yi Hsieh said emotionally, “With the efforts of everyone, we were able to create another unique life for Mr. Junji Ito’s work in the film.”

“Bloody Smart” was officially announced as the first Chinese-language film adapted from the works of Junji Ito, and is also a multinational film in cooperation with Taiwan and Japan, so on the eve of the opening, Junji Ito recorded a special video to send...

"Little Q has given me so much more than I deserved." Well Go USA has released an official US trailer for the adorable Chinese / Hong Hong drama titled Little Q, from filmmaker / film editor Law Wing-Cheong. Adapted from the Japanese novel Goodbye, Khoru, following a guide dog and his conflicted master. A story about the life of the dog Quill (nickname Little Q): the interaction between Little Q and the puppy raisers, the guide dog trainer, and the newly blind dessert chef Lee Po Ting, played by Simon Yam – how he earns the trust of Po Ting and makes Po Ting take a new lease of life. This also stars Gigi Leung, Him Law, Charlie Yeung, Shanshan Yuan, Angela Yeun, Frankie Lam, & Roger Kwok Chun On. This same story was made into the Japanese film Quill in 2004, but has been updated as a Hk film now. Reviews say it...

This is an authentic Hong Kong cinema experience from maverick filmmaker Pang Ho Cheung set in the old port city of Aberdeen in Hong Kong’s southwest district. “Aberdeen” the movie is a story about an extended Hong Kong family tormented by secrets and insecurities with an all-star Hong Kong cast. The area of Aberdeen is also known indigenously as “Heung Gong Zai” or “Little Hong Kong” and this is also the movie’s Chinese title.

Widowed grandpa Cheng Dong (Ng Man Tat) is a Taoist Priest who performs rituals at funerals to help the dead to reincarnate. However, he was a fisherman before until the government relocated all fishermen to live on land which he considers a curse. Hence, he becomes a Taoist instead, thereby hoping to seek peace spiritually. Nonetheless, he’s now happily living with Ta (Carrie Ng) who’s a much younger nightclub hostess.

Love them or hate them, online film events have become part of festival-goers’ lives. At the time that would have been the week just after Festival de Cannes, the whole world can come together to “attend” We Are One: A Global Film Festival. The event programmed by 21 renowned film festivals lists a good number of Asian films. In its selection, International Film Festival & Awards Macao (Iffam) offers the 2016 feature debut of Tracy Choi “Sisterhood”.

Sei (Gigi Leung/Fish Liew) lives in Taiwan and, with her husband, runs a small hotel. Despite she might be one of the most loved wives ever, she is not happy. And she drinks a lot. When she finds an ad about her estranged best friend Ling (Jennifer Yu) passing, she decides to return to Macau. Her trip into space becomes a trip into time too. Sei is to meet friends she left behind 15 years ago.

Produced and organized by Tribeca Enterprises, We Are One joins together over 20 of the world’s premier film festivals, including Cannes, Berlin, Venice, Sundance, Toronto, and Tribeca, in celebration of some of the world’s most talented voices, and in a central effort to provide entertainment and relief to people globally, at a time when they need it most.

The digital festival provides audiences the opportunity to immerse themselves into new cultures, viewpoints, and perspectives from around the world that they wouldn’t typically be exposed to. We’re excited to share these voices with the world and would love your support.

The programme includes several films by female directors from across the globe. Here are the Asian titles directed by females in the online festival:

Iron Hammer / China / Premieres June 7 at 4:30pm Et

Synopsis: In her rousing and personal documentary debut, director Joan Chen charts the inspiring life...

A Japanese bra manufacturing company located in Hong Kong wants to expand their markets and decide to create the “ultimate bra”. Accordingly, they are even breaking their tradition of only hiring female employees by recruiting two male designers for the project.

Enter Johnny (Lau Ching-wan), a designer of men’s briefs and Wayne (Louise Koo), the tanned playboy. The company’s head designer Lena (Gigi Leung) is not pleased to be working with the new male designers. However, they all answer to their boss, Samantha (Carina Lau), the executive of this Hong Kong branch. Nonetheless, the female stuff is excited to work with their new male recruits. In return Johnny and Wayne are more than happy flirting with them even though they only have three months to create the “ultimate bra”. As the deadline is creeping up fast, can they deliver the goods?

If Wong Jing were...

Pang Ho-cheung’s latest film “Missbehaviour” is a light and bubbly comedy of friends, held together by a downpour of gags, ranging from slapstick, to sarcastic, to toilet humour vulgarity. The Hong Kong director is a bona fide master of grown-up comedy, being responsible of many excellent additions to the genre, from the popular thirty-something romance trilogy to the more extreme “Vulgaria”, “Sdu: Sex Duties Unit” (as writer) and “Va”.

“Missbehavior” is screening at New York Asian Film Festival (Nyaff) 2019

Not a proper Lunar New Year’s movie, “Missbehaviour” is in fact a reminder of the importance of getting together and not neglecting friendship. It is indeed what New Year’s holiday is all about – friends and family – and therefore it fits quite well in the festive spirit. The film focuses on a group of 8 close friends, members of a WhatsApp chat called “Ba Po” that for a series of...

Hong Kong director Pang Ho Cheung, the man behind comedy hits like Men Suddenly In Black and Vulgaria, is back this Lunar New Year with his new film Missbehavior. His all-star cast includes Miriam Yeung, Gigi Leung, Dada Chan, June Lam, Isabella Leong and many others. Thanks to Australian distributor Magnum Films, we have five double passes for Missbehavior to give to our readers.   For a chance to win, all you have to do is to follow these two steps: 1) Like the Magnum Films Facebook page, and 2) Email your name and postal address to me at: hugo[at]screenanarchy.com This competition will close at 3pm on January 29. Good luck!...

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Golden Scene founder Winnie Tsang’s connections with leading Hong Kong auteur Stanley Kwan go back decades. Even before the launch of Golden Scene, she was involved in handling Kwan’s 1998 romance “Hold You Tight,” which had been hatched with Tsang’s close associate, screenwriter Jimmy Ngai, and set up at her previous employer, Golden Harvest.

Since then, Kwan’s “Everlasting Regret” in 2005 and his 2010 effort “Showtime” have both been Golden Scene efforts.

As one of Asia’s few openly gay filmmakers, and a director who favors female-led subjects, Kwan has repeatedly turned to the twin subjects of sexual identity and cinema- and stage-craft. “Centre Stage” detailed the demise of a silent film star. “Showtime” is a Shanghai-set fantasy. Kwan also directed documentary “Yang +/- Yin: Gender in Chinese Cinema.”

His “First Night Nerves,” based on another screenplay by Ngai, gets its world premiere as a gala screening in Busan.

Audiences looking for the next “Crazy Rich Asians” might take some delight in Stanley Kwan’s diva-licious “First Night Nerves,” a “Feud”-like behind-the-scenes rivalry which forces center stage all the drama between high-maintenance Hong Kong actresses Yuan Xiuling (Sammi Cheng) and He Yuwen (Gigi Leung). Set during the final week of rehearsals for a new play called “Two Sisters,” the film feels soapier than a broken dishwasher, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing for audiences who relish the chance to watch actresses display their full range of emotion in a movie that gives even the smallest female parts more dimension than most movies offer their ostensible leading ladies.

One of Hong Kong’s only openly gay directors, Kwan has crafted a movie that’s nearly Almodóvarian in the appreciation and respect it showers upon ladies of all classes — not just the city’s Ferrari-driving super-elite, but...

Stanley Kwan and Hong Kong star actress Sammi Cheng spoke Friday at the Busan International Film Festival of the physical pain of performance.

The director and co-star of “First Night Nerves” reminisced about Kwan’s previous Busan title “Everlasting Regret,” some 13 years ago. “Last time I was here, I was quite sick. I think I threw myself in too deeply to the film and the character,” said Cheng. “Since then. I’ve had time to recover.”

“In ‘Everlasting Regret,’ Sammi got too far into the film and suffered both mentally and physically,” Kwan said.

But with “First Night Nerves” portraying a transgender stage director and containing multiple Lgbt plot points, the conversation returned several times to sex, homosexuality and gender identity.

“My friends ask me if this film means that I want to be transgender. No. I prefer to live as a man with femininity and sensitivity. I’m a hermaphrodite,...

The festival will close with the world premiere of Yuen Woo-ping’s Master Z: The Ip Man Legacy.

South Korea’s Busan International Film Festival (Biff) will open with the world premiere of Jero Yun’s North Korean refugee drama Beautiful Days, starring Lee Na-young (Howling).

The festival will close with the world premiere of Yuen Woo-ping’s Master Z: The Ip Man Legacy, featuring action stars such as Zhang Jin, Michelle Yeoh, Tony Jaa and Dave Bautista.

Set to run October 4-13, the 23rd Biff will screen 323 films from 79 countries with 140 world and international premieres. All the New Currents...

The festival will close with the world premiere of Yuen Woo-ping’s Master Z: The Ip Man Legacy.

South Korea’s Busan International Film Festival (Biff) will open with the world premiere of Jero Yun’s North Korean refugee drama Beautiful Days, starring Lee Na-young (Howling).

The festival will close with the world premiere of Yuen Woo-ping’s Master Z: The Ip Man Legacy, featuring action stars such as Zhang Jin, Michelle Yeoh, Tony Jaa and Dave Bautista.

Set to run October 4-13, the 23rd Biff will screen 323 films from 79 countries with 140 world and international premieres. All the New Currents...

“Make no mistake, The Monkey King 3 is bonkers, but in a charming, delirious sort of way, with energy to spare and another strong performance by Kwok …”

~ Elizabeth Kerr, The Hollywood Reporter

Director Cheang Pou-soi (Accident) and Aaron Kwok (City Under Siege) reunite for The Monkey King 3, the highly-anticipated third installment in the international blockbuster Monkey King franchise, debuting on digital, Blu-ray and DVD May 15 from Well Go USA Entertainment. A small portion of the epic 16th-century Chinese 100-chapter novel Journey to the Westagain provides the story, picking up where the previous films left off with the Impish magical primate and his motley crew of colorful followers accompanying a monk on a mission to retrieve sacred scriptures. In this installment, they find themselves trapped in a land inhabited only by women. In addition to Aaron Kwok, returning castmenbers include Feng Shaofeng (White Vengeance), Gigi Leung, Xiao Shenyang (The Grandmaster) and...

“Make no mistake, The Monkey King 3 is bonkers, but in a charming, delirious sort of way, with energy to spare and another strong performance by Kwok …” Elizabeth Kerr, The Hollywood Reporter

“… delivers enough broad humour, striking visuals, casual spirituality and larger-than-life action to succeed as a Chinese New Year crowdpleaser.” James Marsh, Screen Anarchy

The Monkey King 3

Action & Adventure Meet Fantasy on Digital, Blu-ray™ & DVD May 15

Director Cheang Pou-soi (Accident) and Aaron Kwok (City Under Siege) reunite for The Monkey King 3, the highly-anticipated third installment in the international blockbuster Monkey King franchise, debuting on digital, Blu-ray™ and DVD May 15 from Well Go USA Entertainment. A small portion of the epic 16th-century Chinese 100-chapter novel Journey to the West again provides the story, picking up where the previous films left off with the Impish magical primate and his motley crew of colorful followers accompanying a monk...

Contemporary Chinese Cinema is a column devoted to exploring contemporary Chinese-language cinema primarily as it is revealed to us at North American multiplexes.The Monkey King 3: Land of BeautyThis year’s Lunar New Year week was the biggest ever, almost doubling the box office take from last year, with grosses over 850 million American dollars. Traditionally the busiest movie-going time in the Chinese-speaking world, packed with crowd-pleasing star vehicles, this year’s holiday was dominated by four major releases, each of which was also released in North America.1 Three sequels opened here on February 16th, The Monkey King 3, Monster Hunt 2 and Detective Chinatown 2, while Operation Red Sea opened the following Friday, February 23rd. While none of the four has had the impact stateside of The Mermaid’s historic run two New Years ago, they’ve all proven to be hits at home. Soi Cheang’s Monkey King sequel opened first,...

Exclusive: Local talents shine at inaugural Macao fest.

Hong Kong-based One Cool Group has branched out into international sales, with Tracy Choi’s first feature Sisterhood on its debut slate. The new sales division, One Cool Pictures, is headed by former Distribution Workshop executive Christy Choi.

The film, which is set to make its world premiere in competition at the inaugural International Film Festival and Awards Macao (Iffam) on Dec 12, revolves around the friendship of two young girls who work in a massage parlour before the 1999 Macau handover.

The cast includes Gigi Leung, Fish Liew, Jennifer Yu and Taiwan actor Lee Lee Ren. The majority of the filming took place in Macao, with a couple of scenes shot in Taiwan and Hong Kong.

Based on Choi’s original story idea, the screenplay is written by long-time Milkyway Image’s writer Au Kin Yee who most recently won the Golden Horse for best original screenplay for Life Without...

Pang Ho Cheung is easily one of Hong Kong's most interesting directors. His recent films Love In A Puff, Love In The Buff and Vulgaria have all been critical and commercial successes. His latest film, Aberdeen, was one of the two opening films at this year's Hong Kong International Film Festival, and on-line tickets for its screening were sold out within 8 minutes! Starring Louis Koo, Miriam Yeung, Gigi Leung, Eric Tsang, Ng Man Tat and Carrie Ng, this is one of the must-see Hong Kong films of 2014. Now thanks to Magnum Films, we have Five double passes for Aberdeen to give away to our Australian readers. For a chance to win, all you have to do is to follow these two steps:1) Like the Magnum...

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Pang Ho-cheung’s Aberdeen and Fruit Chan’s The Midnight After will open this year’s Hong Kong International Film Festival (Hkiff), which takes place March 24-April 7.

Starring Louis Koo, Miriam Yeung and Gigi Leung, Aberdeen is a drama revolving around different members of an extended Hong Kong family. Post-apocalyptic thriller The Midnight After recently premiered in the Panorama section of the Berlin film festival.

The festival will also screen the world premiere of Beautiful 2014, the third installment in the portmanteau series co-produced by Hkiff and Chinese online video platform Youku. This year, the short films have been directed by Australia’s Christopher Doyle, China’s Zhang Yuan, Hong Kong’s Shu Kei and Korea’s Kang Je-gyu.

Another omnibus film, Three Charmed Lives, will also receive its world premiere at the festival. The film comprises shorts directed by three actors: Hong Kong’s Francis Ng, Taiwan’s Chang Chen and Korea’s Jeong U-seong.

On March 30, the...

Hong Kong – Director Pang Ho-cheung's Aberdeen and director Fruit Chan's The Midnight After will open the 38th Hong Kong International Film Festival. Aberdeen, starring Louis Koo (The White Storm), Gigi Leung (The Monkey King), Eric Tsang (Infernal Affairs), and Miriam Yeung (Love in the Buff), will hold its world premiere at 8pm on the festival's opening night on March 24. The film sees Pang (Vulgaria) explore the difficulties faced by three generations of a Hong Kong family. Photos: China Box Office 2013: The Top 10 Movies "We choose Aberdeen because it's a film by Pang Ho-cheung, whom we

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The lineup has been announced, and two films we be officially opening this year's Hong Kong International Film Festival, which runs from 24th March to 7th April. The World Premiere of Pang Ho Cheung's Aberdeen, starring Miriam Yeung, Gigi Leung, Eric Tsang and Louis Koo (who is also this year's festival ambassador) will screen at the Hk Cultural Centre in Tsim Sha Tsui, while the Asian Premiere of Fruit Chan's The Midnight After (which debuted in Berlin) will play concurrently at the Hk Convention & Exhibiton Centre in Wan Chai.It has already been announced that Dante Lam's latest explosive action thriller, That Demon Within, which pits Nick Cheung against Daniel Wu, will close the festival, but in between is a mammoth line-up of prestige titles...

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After a dalliance on the mainland in his hugely successful sequel Love In The Buff, Hong Kong's Pang Ho Cheung has returned home for his latest directorial endeavour, Aberdeen - a comedy-drama focusing on three generations of one family as they deal with heartbreak and hardship.Pang regular Miriam Yeung stars alongside Eric Tsang, Louis Koo and Gigi Leung, and the film is slated for a May release in Hong Kong. While the official line-up has yet to be announced, it's very likely that Aberdeen will debut at the 38th Hong Kong International Film Festival, which is to be held from 24 March - 7 April.Here's the official synopsis:Life starts and ends with a breath of air. And between each breath, one goes through life's ups...

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Yesterday saw the unveiling of the "Ultimate" trailer for Cheang Pou Soi's fantasy event film The Monkey King with action actor/director Donnie Yen as the title character caught in the middle of an epic battle between the Jade Emperor from Heaven, played by Chow Yun-Fat and the Buffalo Demon King from Hell, played by Aaron Kwok. There is definitely no shortage of grand scale spectacle, featuring a Chinese dragon, heavenly palaces floating in the sky and super-powered martial arts action sequences.Also starring in this mystical CG extravaganza are Kelly Chen, Gigi Leung, Eilin Zhang, Joe Chen, Peter Ho, Xia Zi Tong and Carlson Cheng.Ever since the beginning of time, it was the deities who had maintained the order of the heaven and earth. However, owing...

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It’s been a while since I’ve covered anything regarding director Soi Cheang’s fantasy martial arts film “The Monkey King.” To be perfectly honest, the movie had slipped off my radar. In order to remind everyone that the picture is still on its way to the big screen, a brand new teaser has been released. Although you won’t see Yen in action, it’s nice to get a taste of things to come. Based on the classic Chinese novel “Journey To The West,” the film follows the adventures of the Monkey King as he rebels against the Jade Emperor of Heaven. “The Monkey King,” which also stars Aaron Kwok, Joe Chen Qiao-En, Chow Yun Fat, Peter Ho, Faye Wong, Gigi Leung, Cecilia Cheung, and Fan Siu-Wong, is slated for release in China on July 4, 2013. You can check out the latest poster and the aforementioned teaser below...

Hong Kong film maker Barbara Wong, known for romantic comedies that tackle modern issues, such as the recent “The Perfect Marriage” and “The Break Up Club”, returns with something a little more bitter than sweet in “The Allure of Tears”. As its title suggests, the film is a tearjerker of the highest order, featuring 3 vaguely connected stories of love and loss, with the emphasis firmly on the latter. Seeing Wong working again with regular writer-producer Lawrence Cheng, the film features a fine cast made up of newcomers and industry veterans, including Richie Jen (“Punished”), Gigi Leung (“Marrying Mr Perfect”), Aarif Lee (“Bruce Lee, My Brother”) and popular television starlet Joe Chen (“You’re My Destiny”), plus Shawn Dou and Zhou Dongyu, stars of Zhang Yimou’s “Under the Hawthorn Tree”. The first of the film’s segments focuses on Zhou Dongyu as Xili Mei, a young woman suffering from leukaemia,...

“Rest on your Shoulder” is the latest outing from Hong Kong director Jacob Cheung, which sees him shifting from the character driven drama of “Cageman” and “Ticket” to something on a much bigger scale. Adapted from a popular internet novel, the film is a very different affair indeed, being a special effects heavy tale that combines a variety of genres and themes into an ambitious tale of life, love and talking insects. The film certainly has a high profile cast, headlined by Aloys Chen (“Let the Bullets Fly”), Gigi Leung (“Just Another Pandora’s Box”), Jiang Yi Yan (“City of Life and Death”) and Guey Lun Mei (“Taipei Exchanges”). The film takes place in an unspecified near future, with the planet apparently ravaged by pollution and the population under constant threat of disease. Aloys Chen plays Yan Guo, a botanist living on the eco-paradise Moon Island, working to try and...

Sure, “Dog Bite Dog” director Soi Cheang’s “The Monkey King” might be a year and some change away from hitting theaters, but that hasn’t stopped the promotional machine from unleashing a teaser trailer to get you pumped and prepared for the splendor to come. Although there’s no actual footage from the production in the clip you’re about to watch, getting a look at all of the talent associated with this very interesting project is reason enough to keep this flick on your cinematic radar. Granted, this could always be a case of too many cooks in the proverbial kitchen, but I’m more than willing to give Donnie Yen and his impressive team the benefit of the doubt. You’ll see what I mean in a minute. “The Monkey King”, which stars Donnie Yen, Donnie Yen, Aaron Kwok, Chow Yun-fat, Peter Ho, Faye Wong, Cecilia Cheung,...

Production on “Shamo” director Soi Cheang’s big-budget fantasy epic “The Monkey King” already started last month with an impressive cast that included Donnie Yen, Aaron Kwok, and Chow Yun-Fat. The film has now added three lovely lasses to the roster: Cecilia Cheung (left), Gigi Leung and Kelly Chen. “Monkey King”, as you might have guessed, is yet another iteration of the vastly popular Chinese tome “Journey to the West”. In the film, Yen is playing the Monkey King, while Kwok is Bull Demon King. Chow Yun-Fat, meanwhile, will co-star as the Jade Emperor of Heaven. Also joining the cast: Taiwan actors Peter Ho and Joe Chen, and mainland actor Liu Ye. “The Monkey King” is clocking in with an estimated $57 million dollar budget, which may seem “modest” by Hollywood standards, but is a whopper in Chinese movie industry terms. The film is scheduled for release in 2012 in 3D.

We have clips in from Buena Vista Home Entertainment's "The Secret of the Magic Gourd" (a.k.a. "Bao hu lu de mi mi" (Mandarin Title)) which sees release on on January 27th next year. The film stars Gigi Leung, Zhu Qi Long, Guo Kai Min; He Qing, Meng Qian, Drake Johnston, Takayo Fischer, Megan Hilty, Aaron Drozin, Grace Fulton, Josh Reaves, Jeremy Shada and Corbin Bleu. Experience a magical story about the boundless limits of imagination and the strength we each have inside us with Disney's heartwarming film The Secret Of The Magic Gourd. Based on the beloved children's novel and featuring the voice talent of High School Musical's Corbin Bleu...

We have clips in from Buena Vista Home Entertainment's "The Secret of the Magic Gourd" (a.k.a. "Bao hu lu de mi mi" (Mandarin Title)) which sees release on on January 27th next year. The film stars Gigi Leung, Zhu Qi Long, Guo Kai Min; He Qing, Meng Qian, Drake Johnston, Takayo Fischer, Megan Hilty, Aaron Drozin, Grace Fulton, Josh Reaves, Jeremy Shada and Corbin Bleu. Experience a magical story about the boundless limits of imagination and the strength we each have inside us with Disney's heartwarming film The Secret Of The Magic Gourd. Based on the beloved children's novel and featuring the voice talent of High School Musical's Corbin Bleu...

We have clips in from Buena Vista Home Entertainment's "The Secret of the Magic Gourd" (a.k.a. "Bao hu lu de mi mi" (Mandarin Title)) which sees release on on January 27th next year. The film stars Gigi Leung, Zhu Qi Long, Guo Kai Min, He Qing, Meng Qian, Drake Johnston, Takayo Fischer, Megan Hilty, Aaron Drozin, Grace Fulton, Josh Reaves, Jeremy Shada and Corbin Bleu. Experience a magical story about the boundless limits of imagination and the strength we each have inside us with Disney's heartwarming film The Secret Of The Magic Gourd. Based on the beloved children's novel and featuring the voice talent of High School Musical's Corbin Bleu, this wondrous fantasy is sure to delight the entire family. It's "a truly inspiring story that captures the wonder and awe of childhood," raves Carey Bryson of KidsTVMovies.About.com. When an inquisitive 11-year-old discovers a mythical,...

We have clips in from Buena Vista Home Entertainment's "The Secret of the Magic Gourd" (a.k.a. "Bao hu lu de mi mi" (Mandarin Title)) which sees release on on January 27th next year. The film stars Gigi Leung, Zhu Qi Long, Guo Kai Min; He Qing, Meng Qian, Drake Johnston, Takayo Fischer, Megan Hilty, Aaron Drozin, Grace Fulton, Josh Reaves, Jeremy Shada and Corbin Bleu. Experience a magical story about the boundless limits of imagination and the strength we each have inside us with Disney's heartwarming film The Secret Of The Magic Gourd. Based on the beloved children's novel and featuring the voice talent of High School Musical's Corbin Bleu...