During China’s Tang dynasty the emperor has taken the princess of a neighboring province as wife. She has borne him two sons and raised his eldest. Now his control over his dominion is complete, including the royal family itself.
Curse of the Golden Flower is probably the most talked-about Chinese film of 2006. International star Chow Yun Fat returns to Chinese cinema to team up with Gong Li in a film directed by the famed Zhang Yimou, who continues in the period epic genre after Hero and House of Flying Daggers. In addition to these three big names, the film also features acclaimed Mainland actor Liu Ye and Taiwanese top singer Jay Chou in his first costume role. The extravagant palace and the omnipresent chrysanthemums give the film its dazzling colors, creating an unprecedented visual sumptuousness that is beyond astounding.
Turning Cao Yu’s famous play Thunder Storm into an epic film, Curse of the Golden Flower details a complicated dispute that encompasses both familial and political dimensions. Patriarchal Emperor Ping (Chow Yun Fat) summons his second son, Prince Jie (Jay Chou), to return to the palace after his tour of duty defending the border. Meanwhile, Prince Xiang (Liu Ye) wants to hide his incestuous affair with his step-mother, Empress Phoenix (Gong Li). Spectacularly beautiful from the outside, the royal family is actually falling apart within the golden confines of the palace. The calculating Emperor Ping wants to slowly kill the Empress with help from the Imperial Physician (Ni Dahong) and his daughter (Li Man), but Phoenix is also trying to ally with Prince Jie to start a coup…
The film demonstrates how the hunger for power eventually distorts human nature and leads to shocking brutality. Filled with jaw-dropping fighting scenes and beautifully designed costumes and settings, Curse of the Golden Flower exhibits the full potential of the genre’s aesthetics. Zhang Yimou uses the most exorbitant visual elements to narrate a thrilling story, in which the brightest colors come into contrast with the darkest acts that human beings are capable of.
Also Known As:
Autumn Remembrance (Hong Kong: English title) (working title)
Curse of the Golden Flower (International: English title)
The City of Golden Armor (Hong Kong: English title) (working title) Directed by: Yimou Zhang Starring: Chow Yun-Fat, Gong Li, Liu Ye, Chen Jin, Jay Chou MPAA: Rated R for violence. Runtime: USA:114 min / Hong Kong:111 min Country: Hong Kong / China Language: Mandarin Subtitles: English
This film tells the story of Chinese Martial Arts Master Huo Yuanjia (1869-1910). Huo Yuanjia was the founder and spiritual guru of the Jin Wu Sports Federation.
The son of a great fighter who did not wish for his child to follow in his footsteps, the bullied Huo Yuanjia resolves to teach himself how to fight–and win. Years of training enable him to ace match after match in his home region of Tianjin. But as his fame as a martial arts master grows, so does his pride. After an ill-advised fight leads to another master’s death, members of Huo’s family are slain in revenge. Grieving and ashamed, Huo wanders the country in shock. Near death, he is rescued by women from an idyllic village, and is offered simple kindness and generosity that help him heal and regain his equilibrium over a period of several years. Huo realizes that the future of martial arts lies in sportsmanship and not brutality, and he rejoins society to apply what he has learned. Returning to Tianjin, Huo takes steps to come to terms with his past and restore his family’s name. His evolving, graceful Mizong (Missing) Fist method of fighting brings Huo renewed success, and he forms the progressive Jingwu Sports Federation. Taking note, duplicitous members of the Foreign Chamber of Commerce engineer a Shanghai tournament pitting Huo against four fighters, each representing the major foreign powers in China. Huo commits to the bout and faces off against, respectively, a British boxer, a Spanish swordsman, a Belgian soldier and a Japanese martial artist. What happened that day in 1910 has never been, and will never be, forgotten in China.
Starring: Jet Li, Betty Sun, Dong Yong, Shido Nakamura, Collin Chou Directed by: Ronnie Yu Also Known As:
Fearless (International: English title) (USA)
Jet Li’s Fearless (USA) (complete title)
Legend of a Fighter (Hong Kong: English title)
Untitled Jet Li Project (USA) (working title) MPAA: Rated PG-13 for violence and martial arts action throughout. Runtime: USA:103 min / UK:104 min / Philippines:105 min Country: China / Hong Kong / USA Language: Japanese / English / Mandarin Subtitle: English IMDB: www.imdb.com/title/tt0446059/
NOTE: Please download both the torrents, one is the movie and other subtitle.
Dog Bite Dog shocks its audience with a brutality rarely seen in Hong Kong cinema. The exorbitant violence, a necessary evil for survival in Dog Bite Dog, ensures the film a cult following. Acclaimed director Soi Cheang (Home Sweet Home) departs from frightening thrillers for this stunning piece. Edison Chen (Infernal Affairs II) and Sam Lee reunite after Gen-Y Cops, delivering breakthrough performances as a merciless assassin and a mentally unstable cop, respectively. The normal struggle between a cop and an assassin takes place in a surprisingly nihilistic world, creating enormous cinematic tension and a relentlessly pessimistic mood. Visually and thematically unique among Hong Kong films, Dog Bite Dog is a must-see for those interested in alternative cinema.
Edison Chen gives up his usual Prince Charming roles in this film without heroes. With yellow-dyed hair and tanned skin, he plays Pang Jr., a Cambodian hitman accustomed to cruelty since childhood. He arrives in Hong Kong to kill a judge’s wife, but ends up abandoned in this unfamiliar city, shooting at whoever crosses his way. Sam Lee, known more for comedic characters in recent years, takes up the challenging role of Wai, a cop with an extreme personality. His anger explodes when Pang Jr. kills his colleagues one by one, and he becomes as inhumane as his opponent. Sichuanese actress Pei Wei Ying, best known for appearing in a cell phone commercial opposite Jay Chou a few years ago, plays the assassin’s newfound girlfriend. Her appearance signifies the only humanity that remains in the merciless hitman. Veteran television actor Lam Ka Wah returns as the cop’s father, and Eddie Cheung and Lam Suet from Election round out the cast as police officers.
Casts: Edison Chen, Sam Lee Chan-Sam, Pei Pei, Lai Yiu-Cheung, Eddie Cheung Siu-Fai, Lam Suet, Lam Ka-Wah, Lee Ka-Wing, Chow Ka-Sing Directed by: Pou-Soi Cheang Also Known As: Dog Bite Dog Runtime: Hong Kong:109 min Country: Hong Kong Language: Cantonese Subtitles: English Certification: Hong Kong:III IMDB: www.imdb.com/title/tt0819765/
Huang is a taciturn detective, hired to catch the elusive Li Chonggao in an illicit tryst. Having failed that, he placates himself by collecting evidence: taking pictures of a rumpled bed or attempting to question the locals. When he meets the stunning Yu Ran, he suspects she may be the key to capturing Li, but she has secrets of her own.
Starring: Huang Xiaxi, Huang Lu, Xu Baihui, Huang Guangliang, Liao Zhong Language: Chinese Subtitle: English IMDB Link: www.imdb.com/title/tt0777768/
A tale of passion that unfolds against a backdrop of war as a beautiful and mysterious princess becomes the object of affection for three very different men–a powerful duke, a brave general and a lowly slave. As passions spark and egos clash, lives will be ruined and lovers spurned and no one will ever be the same.
Kunlun is hired to be the personal slave of General Guangming (Japanese actor Hiroyuki Sanada), a celebrated and ruthless warrior wearing magnificent gold and crimson armor. Guangming is called back to the capital to protect the King from the forces of Wuhuan (Nicholas Tse), a preening prettyboy who’s after the King’s girlfriend, Princess Qingcheng (Cecilia Cheung). However, the Goddess Manshen (Chen Hong) shows up out of nowhere to tell Guangming that the man wearing the Crimson Armor will be responsible for the King’s death, and will become a national pariah. Guangming scoffs at her prophecy, but after an unsuccessful assassination attempt by Wuhuan’s pet assassin Snow Wolf (Liu Ye) leaves Guangming injured, he sends Kunlun in his place - wearing the crimson armor. The King ends up turning on Qingcheng, and seeing a woman in peril, Kunlun kills the King.
Genres: Action/Adventure, Romance and Science Fiction/Fantasy Cast: Jang Dong-Gun, Hiroyuki Sanada, Cecilia Cheung Pak-Chi, Nicholas Tse Ting-Fung, Liu Ye, Chen Hong Running Time: 102 min. Release Date: May 5th, 2006 (NY/LA) MPAA Rating: PG-13 for stylized violence and martial arts action, and some sexual content. Distributors:
Moonstone Entertainment, Warner Independent Pictures
IMDB LINK : www.imdb.com/title/tt0417976/
The Catch Directed by DJ Chen.
Taiwan 2006. Mandarin.
Rumor has it that legendary Alpha is planning the greatest comeback ever! He is the Godfather of fraud, yet no one has actually seen him. With the rumor of his return spreading, law enforcement assigns their best men to investigate the case. As part of the police strategy, actor-wanna-be, Gene, gets recruited by the department as an undercover agent to infiltrate one of the crime gangs. That was the easy part. Now the gang leader’s own plans to lure Alpha involve making Gene a celebrity. With Gene’s growing popularity, news anchor, J.C. Chang (Gene’s long-time dream-girl), gets intrigued by his story - dedicating herself to the discovery of the real Gene. While dealing with the police, the crime gang, and his dream girl, Gene suddenly becomes the object of everyone’s attention. In all this confusion, how can Gene pull it all together and escape almost certain catastrophe?
DJ Chen - Director Born in 1980, DJ Chen can be considered the first director from within a generation of filmmakers in Taiwan to be interested in making popular films. Her films are stylized with many shots, rapid movements frames, and fast pace story plots with dramatic climaxes. Among her influences are Hong Kong director/comedian Stephen Chow, Tsui hark, UK film Danny Boyle, and Hollywood icon Charlie Chaplin. Chen’s feature film debut Formula 17 is the Taipei International Film Festival opening film in 2004 and a commercial success of the recent years in Taiwan.
RELEASE DATE : 2006/08/21
THEATER DATE : 2006/06/16
DVD DATE : 2006/08/18
RESOLUTION : 544×320
RUNTIME : 02:00:34
VIDEO BITRATE : 679 kb/s
FRAME RATE : 23.976
AUDIO CODEC : VBR MP3
AUDIO BITRATE : 127 kb/s
MOVIE GENRE : Action / Comedy
LANGUAGE : Mandarin
SUBTITLES : English/Chinese
Sean LAU features as a talented actor Fai who has won the Best New Artist of the Hong Kong Film Awards and always plays leading roles in television. However, being an arrogant guy, Fai does not cherish the opportunities given to him. As he keeps on criticizing his co-workers, his career and popularity gradually deteriorates. He is not offered leading roles anymore and has to take the parts of villains and rapers. Finally, he has even lost his job in the TV station. Fai becomes extremely depressed, but a twist of fate makes him become an agent for extras. As Fai gives pointers to a young girl named Fei (starring HUO Si Yan), who truly loves acting, he regains his own enthusiasm towards acting and life.
Jackie Chan’s latest is a schizophrenic affair. Gratefully, The Myth mixes a few new things in with the old, the result being an unusual but still watchable Jackie Chan cocktail. Like most Chan films, the whole is questionable, but the parts can entertain.
Calling The Myth a good movie is a tough thing to do, because it’s not really a movie. The Myth is actually two movies intertwined into a questionably coherent time-spanning plotline that works better in concept than in execution. Jackie Chan takes on two roles; some of the time, he’s a Qin Dynasty-era general named Meng Yi, and the rest of the time, he’s Meng Yi’s reincarnation, archaeologist Jack Lee. Basically, what happened in the past fuels the plot in the present, but the parts don’t work as well as advertised. Still, The Myth provides welcome flashes of Jackie Chan’s trademark cinematic panache - and even manages to throw in a surprise or two. The film is also cheesy and occasionally embarrassing, and features a SFX-enhanced ending that’s best left to a standard Hollywood wannabe film. Sadly, you can’t win them all.
When we’re first introduced to Jackie Chan, he’s playing General Meng Yi. A supreme leader and warrior, Meng Yi is assigned to receive the Emperor’s latest wife, a Korean princess named Ok Soo, played by Korean megastar Kim Hee-Sun. Ok Soo’s union with the Emperor isn’t heavily popular with some Korean nationals, including General Choi (Choi Min-Soo), who attacks Ok Soo’s entourage to get his point across. In the ensuing melee, Ok Soo is endangered, and Meng Yi and his superpowered horse (more on that later) manage to save her, but not without getting cut off from the rest of the Chinese army. Ok Soo and Meng Yi are stranded and must journey back to China alone, during which romance blooms and the overbearing orchestral score swells.
Meanwhile in the present, archaeologist Jack Lee finds himself dreaming of his past life and his love for Ok Soo…though he has no idea it’s his former life. Currently, Jack is involved in a deal with scientist pal William (Tony Leung Ka-Fai, as the official “dope” of the movie). The two are investigating meteorite fragments that possess gravity-defying abilities. Basically, the rocks can make things float, and there’s a coffin in Dasar, India that’s proof of this special power. However, in raiding the tomb, Jack stumbles upon a painting of Ok Soo and an ancient sword that likely belonged to Meng Yi. Past and present collide, and Jack soon finds himself chasing a dream that may actually be reality. Plus there’s time-outs for comedy, Jackie Chan-style action, a voluptuous yoga-practioner named Samantha (Bollywood queen Mallika Sherawat), and even more flashbacks to ancient times. Somewhere in there, there’s content that’s actually supposed to wring some emotion out of the audience. Emotion in a Jackie Chan film? No way.
Yes, way. Director Stanley Tong and Jackie Chan have gone on record stating that The Myth is meant to be a departure from the usual Jackie Chan norm - and it is. Sometimes. The present day story features the typical Jackie Chan stuff, i.e. a mixture of stilted exposition, amusing action and prop sequences, and uneven comedy that would probably be funnier if it were dubbed. Chan’s Jack Lee is your typical nice-guy Chan character, and is ultimately as interesting as that uncle you see once a year at Christmastime. This is standard post-nineties Jackie Chan stuff, and fun for what it is. Tony Leung Ka-Fai plays an amusing “dope” character, and Mallika Sherawat is supreme eye candy, if nothing else. At its best, the modern day scenes play like a kinder, gentler version of the original Armour of God. At its worst, the scenes are like leftovers from The Accidental Spy. Thankfully, nothing here is as bad as anything in The Medallion.
The modern-day scenes are a far cry from the Qin Dynasty-era stuff, and the effect can be heavily jarring. While the present-day scenes can be eager-to-please and throwaway, the sequences set in the past go straight for the heartstrings. Meng Yi’s ill-fated romance with Ok Soo is given mega importance, and the romantic sequences are presented in a disturbingly bombastic way. Stanley Tong punctuates every gooey scene with a swelling orchestral score that’s overbearing and damn near laughable. If the romantic scenes work at all, it’s because the insanely beautiful Kim Hee-Sun manages compelling emotions, plus Chan looks appropriately tortured as the conflicted Meng Yi (though it could just be the uncomfortable-looking helmet that makes Chan into a method actor). Regardless, the filmmakers wield a pretty heavy hammer for the emotional moments - and they’re not afraid to use it. Subtlety, thy name is not Stanley Tong.
However, the scenes in the past do yield the film’s best surprises. Unlike his usual “aw shucks” good guys, Jackie Chan cuts a surprisingly heroic and even tragic figure as Meng Yi. Chan gives the character a world-weary honor that’s quite effective, especially during the harrowing battle sequences that reveal Meng Yi’s ultimate fate. Much of The Myth is set against true Qin Dynasty lore, and while a sense of pageantry may be missing, Tong and Chan do get the most out of their Ancient China settings. Chan still engages in some nimble fisticuffs, but Meng Yi is weighed down by his sword, and armor, and the resulting effect on the action sequences almost seems to work better than the typical Chan action seen in the present-day scenes. If the goal of The Myth was giving audiences a Jackie Chan they’ve never seen before, then the filmmakers accomplished their mission. That it works as well as it does is practically a bonus.
Still, that’s only part of the time. Unfortunately, even the Qin Dynasty-era scenes are not saved from silliness. Meng Yi’s superpowered horse has supreme kicking skills, and can even deflect boulders without splintering his legs. The bad guys use normal arrows on human beings, and silly-looking big arrows on horses. The present-day stop in Dashar bleeds silliness, especially when yoga-practicing Samantha and her omnipresent navel enter the picture. Then there’s the ending, which decides to take past and present plotlines and smash them together into a goes-on-forever ending that feels less like Jackie Chan, and more like Michelle Yeoh’s egregious The Touch. The ending itself manages to be unlike any Jackie Chan film known to man, but that fact merely renders The Myth noteworthy, and not necessarily good. By the time the SFX-enabled ending rolls around, there are likely to be many diehard Chan fans wondering what went wrong.
They’ll probably still stick around though, which is what any Chan fan would do. There’s always the promise that something - anything - will occur in a Jackie Chan film that will make it more than just another movie. It’s that promise of something special that makes all Jackie Chan films worth watching, even if they don’t always deliver - the result of which is usually a movie that’s better in parts than as a whole. The Myth sometimes does deliver, as its patchwork plotline and tone manage some moments of genuine surprise or entertainment. Jackie Chan manages to do a few new things, and when he doesn’t, he compensates with some of the old. If you can ignore the silly plot, concede Chan his advancing age, and forgive Stanley Tong for China Strike Force (it’s exceptionally difficult…but not metaphysically impossible), then The Myth can be a diverting yarn. Overall, the whole film isn’t that good - but like any Jackie Chan film, parts of it can be. (Kozo 2005)
Artist Name(s) : Jackie Chan, Kim Hee-Sun, Tony Leung Ka-Fai, Mallika Sherawat, Yu Rong-Guang, Choi Min-Soo, Patrick Tam Yiu-Man, Ken Wong Hap-Hei, Sun Zhou, Shao Bing, Jin Song, Ken Lo Wai-Kwong, Hayama Go Release Date : 11/17/2005 IMDB Links : www.imdb.com/title/tt0365847/
Rumor has it that legendary Alpha is planning the greatest comeback ever! He is the Godfather of fraud, yet no one has actually seen him. With the rumor of his return spreading, law enforcement assigns their best men to investigate the case. As part of the police strategy, actor-wanna-be, Gene, gets recruited by the department as an undercover agent to infiltrate one of the crime gangs. That was the easy part. Now the gang leader’s own plans to lure Alpha involve making Gene a celebrity. With Gene’s growing popularity, news anchor, J.C. Chang (Gene’s long-time dream-girl), gets intrigued by his story - dedicating herself to the discovery of the real Gene. While dealing with the police, the crime gang, and his dream girl, Gene suddenly becomes the object of everyone’s attention. In all this confusion, how can Gene pull it all together and escape almost certain catastrophe?
