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Given that the original Korean romantic comedy “My Sassy Girl” was such a phenomenal and influential hit back in 2001, the idea of a sequel probably shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise. However, “My Sassy Girl 2” has come a little from leftfield, arriving nearly a decade later and shifting the action from Korea to China, with a Hong Kong director in Joe Ma (“The Lion Roars”) and an all new cast headed by Lynn Xiong (“Ip Man”), Singaporean idol Leon Jay Williams (recently in the Stephen Chow produced “Jump”), Mainland TV show host He Jiong, gorgeous Taiwanese actress Abby Fung, and popular Hong Kong Tvb actor Bosco Wong (“I Love Hong Kong”). Although the film has no real links to its predecessor, it does see the return of writers Choi Seok Min and Kim Ho Sik, who ensure that it sticks to similar themes and delivers the same brand of aggressive,...

Chie Jen-Hao's Gangster Rock is a lovable mess, though more mess than lovable. It's essentially about people realising fame and fortune isn't everything as long as they're alive and have options, and while there are plenty of ways to film this sort of thing - from the stunning low-key fantasy drama of Studio 4C's Princess Arete to the laid-back coming-of-age vignettes that pepper Hong Kong and Taiwanese cinema - you generally need a compelling cast of characters and at least a modicum of professionalism to pull it off. Gangster Rock has neither.

There are two stories here. One plotline follows Hau (Leon Jay Williams, Jump), a small-time gangster not long out of prison after a shakedown gone horribly wrong led to the death of his then girlfriend. The other stars (collectively) Gangster, a group of musicians working the underbelly of Taipei's club scene, where industry sharks insist the two lead...