John Book

When I saw the cover for this, I wondered if it was some weird Chinese comedy with Jet Li. All of the stars are holding guns except for Eric Tsang, who is holding a banana. Why is Gigi Leung giving us a wink? And how come Simon Yam has one gun to his head? If anything, I knew I was in for "something" and this is one film where you can say "don't judge a DVD by its cover".

The acting is great, especially Jet Li who is normally known as a kung fu master or shoot 'em up guy. He combines both of these elements, but also shows he can be a romantic guy, when it comes to Miss Gigi Leung. No wonder the girls love him.

But Eric Tsang outshines everyone as the money-hungry guy who will do anything to make a buck, and is successful in every transaction except when it comes to having a relationship with his daughter (Leung).

The movie centers around the assassination of a Japanese businessman. Jet Li's character, Fu, comes to Hong Kong from the mainland and finds that he is unlike his money hungry friend, but knows he has to do something to survive. Somehow, the former military soldier meets up with a man named Ngok Lo (Tsang), who encourages Fu to join him in finding the killer for the reward money that's being offered. The action picks up from that point on, and the great thing about it is that it has enough kung fu and gunplay to keep you on your toes, but it doesn't go overboard either way. Inbetween this, Fu bumps into a lady (Leung) and eventually finds out she is related to his new boss. Combine that with the police investigating the murder case, and some hilarious moments from Tsang (Hong Kong's Joe Pesci?), and you have one of the best movies to come out of Hong Kong in some time. Well written, nice cinematography, and the acting is on the money. Just when you think they couldn't add any more elements to this film, they do.

Robert Mugge has done a few documentaries on blues music, and here he takes his love of "roots music" by honoring and examining Hawaiian music. Mugge interviews musical scholars and musicians who make the music happen, and also finds out what makes their musicianship so special. Mixing time honored traditions with a need to expand and open up to the future, "Hawaiian Rainbow" is a well done documentary that makes you feel like pulling up a bucket, bringing out your 'ukulele and jamming with friends. A lot has happened to Hawaiian music since the 1988 release of this film, so this becomes a time capsule of sorts.

With the success of "Beat Street" and "Breakin'", Hollywood felt it was the right time to exploit the world of rap music. Keep in mind that this was 1985, and the music was still being promoted by the music. No videos, no shiny record covers, just the music and the people. With that in mind, someone felt it was pretty good to make a film about a few people struggling for a better life, and doing it by having each character rap during key moments in the movie. I don't know what they were thinking, maybe a "West Side Story" for the breakdancers? While this movie could (and should) be exposed as weak, there's a small part inside of you that you eat up like cake. Sure it's cheesy, but at the same time their hearts were in the right place, just not doing it correctly. Mario Van Peebles tries to rap, but the high/lowlight has got to be the ending of the movie, when the entire cast is given a few lines to rap, including the "cowboy" character. And you thought Eminem was the first white wonder.