3D SEX AND ZEN: EXTREME ECSTACY
Not a perfect film by any means, Christopher Sun's spirited remake of the campy 90s classic proved a hell of a lot more entertaining than anyone was expecting, not to mention more competently constructed. The cast is a veritable babe fest, the 3D was impressively handled and while the third act is a little misjudged, no other film has taken more cash or column inches in Hong Kong this year.
BUDDHA MOUNTAIN
Three college dropouts head out of the city and hire an apartment in the countryside owned by a retired opera singer. There they slowly realign their life perspective and realise that they may yet have a role and purpose within the community which had before threatened to suffocate them. Directed by Li Yu and starring Fan Bing Bing (in one of her best roles yet), Chen Po Lin, Fei Long and Sylvia Chang, BUDDHA MOUNTAIN is one of the best examples of Chinese Independent Cinema and a rare voice of disillusionment amongst a youth seemingly more proudly nationalistic than ever.
INVASION OF ALIEN BIKINI
You only have to look at something like the trainwreck that is TRANSFORMERS: DARK OF THE MOON for an example of Hollywood excess and how a whole lot of money can amount to so little onscreen. No film has proved that big budget does not equal good movie better than Oh Young Doo's INVASION OF ALIEN BIKINI. Costing less than US$5000 to make, it's a charming, funny, challenging, brutal and yet rather life-affirming tale of one young vigilante defending the world against a seductive invader.
LET THE BULLETS FLY
Nothing gives me greater pleasure than announcing that the best Asian film of 2011 so far is from Mainland China and stars Chow Yun Fat. Keeping national pride and communist propaganda on the back burner this is a smartly scripted warlord western, telling the tale of a cunning bandit going head to head with a local gangster over control of a small town. Written and directed by star Jiang Wen, it is to-date the all-time biggest grosser at the Chinese box office, and for once it's for good reason.
THE LOST BLADESMAN
I've never been much a fan of Alan Mak and Felix Chong's collaborations, but their retelling of the life of legendary General Guan Yu was hugely entertaining, and boasts some of the best onscreen martial arts displays of the year so far. Donnie Yen plays the formidable warrior, worshipped in China in almost God-like fashion today, who must successfully traverse the country and get home, defeating six great generals along the way. Jiang Wen plays his nemesis, but it's Yen's fight with Andy On that remains the film's highlight.
SACRIFICE
Chen Kaige returns to form in fine style with this epic Shakespearean tale of a court doctor forced to make the ultimate sacrifice when a mutinous general comes looking for the infant heir, with whom he has been entrusted. While drawing criticism for altering the original true story upon which it is based, Sacrifice still made a shedload of cash in China and boasts a couple of wonderful performances from Ge You as the tortured physician and Wang Xueqi as the evil General looking to wipe out the sole heir to the throne.
SHAOLIN
Andy Lau stars as the evil warlord forced to rethink his ways after he is betrayed by his young protege (Nicholas Tse) and forced to seek refuge in a Shaolin monastery. Benny Chan directs this grand-scale action epic, which also features solid support from Jackie Chan, Fan Bing Bing and Wu Jing, together with a healthy slice of Zen Buddhism. Hardly ground-breaking, Chan's first Mainland production is nevertheless top drawer entertainment and Andy Lau is at his very best.
THE UNJUST
No-one can do unbridled machismo like the Koreans, and few Korean filmmakers can bring it the way Ryu Seung Wan can. For his latest effort, the director of CRYING FIST and CITY OF VIOLENCE reunites with younger brother, actor Ryu Seung Bum, who plays a sleazy public prosecutor going head to head with a dodgy cop (Hwang Jung Min) when a botched serial killer case gets entangled with an ongoing property scandal. If you like murder, intrigue, corruption and watching grown men scream at each other - this is the film for you!
VILLAIN
Lee Il-Sang's latest is a slow-paced yet all-consuming tale of a troubled and complex young man embarking on an ill-fated relationship with an even more fragile and vulnerable woman. Essentially a murder investigation that evolves into a kidnapping, before morphing into a lovers-on-the-run story, VILLAIN is an immensely rewarding experience cemented on two knockout performances from Tsumabuki Satoshi and Fukatsu Eri.
WHEN LOVE COMES
Not normally the kind of film I gravitate towards, Chang Tso-chi's domestic drama is a fantastic portrait of a non-traditional Taiwanese family, told through the eyes of errant teenage daughter, Laichun (Li Yi Jie). Her father's restaurant is being targeted by gangsters, her mentally disabled uncle is proving increasingly difficult to care for, her two mothers can't live together happily and her boyfriend has just run off, leaving her pregnant and without anyone to help her. Beautifully told and brilliantly acted, this was a wonderful surprise and is well worth seeking out.