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The success of Bruce Lee's films on the international scene saw several attempts over the years by Golden Harvest to try and recapture the lightning in a bottle. Some saw efforts to launch a new star, others like “A Queen's Ransom” featuring recognizable “talent” from the west. George Lazenby whilst not a big star at the time was still a “name” having appeared as 007 in “On Her Majesty's Secret Service”. So, it feels somehow apt that he was cast as the terrorist out to kill her here. Backed up by Jimmy Wang Yu and Angela Mao it should on the surface have been a bigger deal. With Eureka Entertainment releasing it on Blu Ray we can discover for ourselves whether it deserves to be.

on Terracotta by clicking on the image below

Morgan (George Lazenby) is hired to head up a team to assassinate the Queen...

Back in the distant days of VHS (showing my age here) over in the UK, there was a video label “Made in Hong Kong”. As I began to watch Hong Kong movies, I would await the next release with true fan boy excitement. The promo trailer reel that would open the release would invariably start with one I’m about to review and as soon as the theme hits, you immediately just want to watch it. So, does it hold up now over 30 years after its original release or has its charm faded into the midst of time?

on Amazon

Ko Chun (Chow Yun-fat) is the God of Gamblers, a man blessed with almost supernatural ability at the gambling table. After defeating Japan’s finest Tanaka, he is asked by him for assistance in beating Chan Kam-sing aka the “Demon of Gamblers” who had driven Tanaka’s father to suicide.

Taiwan has denied prominent Hong Kong film producer and entertainment mogul Charles Heung Wah-keung and his son visas to live there, citing national security concerns.

Heung is known for founding Win’s Entertainment in the 1980s and 1990s powerhouse China Star Entertainment, the Hong Kong-listed production company and distributor that helped cement the stardom of Hong Kong cinematic icons such as Jet Li, Chow Yun-fat, Stephen Chow, Andy Lau, Johnnie To, and many more. In recent years, China Star has been more focused on the Macau gambling scene than production of new movies. Heung’s son Jacky is a rising action star.

The two had applied for permanent residence in Taiwan in December, according to the island’s Mainland Affairs Council (Mac), which oversees cross-straits policy. They had entered the country in September on three-month work visas, which could then be extended a further three months.

On Thursday, however, the...

In cinema, we often talk about genres and sub genres that unfold from within them. Many debates ensue as some movies defy such pigeonholing and Hong Kong cinema delights in often mixing in as many as possible in one production to cause categorizing mayhem. “Casino Raiders” is one such enigma. Whilst on the surface part of the gambling film sub genre, there are elements of heroic bloodshed thrown in as well as traces of neo noir. When done wrong, this cocktail can be a problematic, lacking an identity as a whole, whilst failIng to succeed as either one thing or another. When it clicks, then you wonder why no one has tried it before. It’s a line that is very hard to tread.

In Hong Kong, there has always been a steady stream of gambling movies that fits within the ideology of wealth accumulation. From “Games...

Fantasy film from director Koan Xu stars Jet Li [pictured].

Distant Horizon has picked up international rights to Hong Kong-based China Star’s big-budget fantasy action movie, League Of Gods, starring Jet Li, Tony Leung Ka-fai and Fan Bingbing.

Directed by VFX artist Koan Xu, the film revolves around a group of superheroes with unique powers and is based on the ancient novel Fengshen Bang (loosely translated as Creation Of The Gods). The cast also includes Louis Koo, Angelababy and Andy On.

The creative team on the project includes composer John Debney (Jungle Book), animation director Randall William Cook (Lord Of The Rings), sound designer Brent Burge (The Hobbit) and editor Wayne Philip Wahrman (I Am Legend).

“We have been tracking League Of Gods from development stage and what has emerged is an action-packed visual spectacle that combines China’s best talent with an award-winning international creative team,” said Distant Horizon president Anant Singh.

“The film has...

Hong Kong director Wong Jing has teamed up with Chow Yun Fat, Andy Lau and Charles Heung from the original God Of Gamblers movies for the latest film in his popular From Vegas To Macau franchise. Jacky Cheung, Nick Cheung and Carina Lau are also part of the all-star cast.Thanks to Australian distributor Magnum Films, we have Five double passes for the film to give away to our readers. For a chance to win, all you have to do is to follow these two steps:1) Like the Magnum Film Facebook page, and2) Email your name and postal address to me at: hugo[at]twitchfilm.netFrom Vegas To Macau 3 will open in Australian cinemas on February 5, and this competition will close at 3pm on February 4. -- Good...

[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...

HONG KONG -- The Hong Kong film industry is sending a delegation of nearly 100 top film bosses, actors and industry personnel to meet with Chinese mainland officials in Beijing today. The main aim of the delegation would be to express industry concerns about the recently signed Closer Economic Partnership Agreement between Hong Kong and mainland China, and to discuss clearer guidelines. The meeting was organized by the Hong Kong Kowloon and New Territories Motion Picture Industry Assn. and the South China Film Industry Workers' Union with the aid of the Hong Kong-Macau Affairs Liaison Office. Among the delegates scheduled to attend are China Star chairman Charles Heung, Media Asia chairman Peter Lam, Universe Films chairman Daneil Lam and Emperor Multimedia Group CEO Albert Lee, as well as such representatives of film industry-related unions as actress Anita Mui and directors Derek Yee and Johnnie To.

BEIJING -- The first day of the Hong Kong Film & TV Networking Mission to Beijing ended on an upbeat note Wednesday, with many delegates praising the organizer, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, for arranging "useful" and "informative" sessions. Delegates also expressed surprise over the announcement that China will phase out its 20,000-plus video cinemas over the next five years. "The response from our Chinese counterparts has been very encouraging," said Derek Yee, chairman of the Directors Guild of Hong Kong. Participating in the three-day mission to Beijing are 125 delegates from 64 film and television companies, including such top-tier executives as Golden Harvest chairman Raymond Chow, eSun Holdings chairman Peter Lam, Mei Ah Films chairman Li Kuo-hsing and China Star chairman Charles Heung. Yee and members of the delegation attended meetings Wednesday with officials from China's Film Bureau of the State Administration of Radio, Film & TV and the Press and Publication Administration, which oversees copyright issues.

BEIJING -- The first day of the Hong Kong Film & TV Networking Mission to Beijing ended on an upbeat note Wednesday, with many delegates praising the organizer, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, for arranging "useful" and "informative" sessions. Delegates also expressed surprise over the announcement that China will phase out its 20,000-plus video cinemas over the next five years. "The response from our Chinese counterparts has been very encouraging," said Derek Yee, chairman of the Directors Guild of Hong Kong. Participating in the three-day mission to Beijing are 125 delegates from 64 film and television companies, including such top-tier executives as Golden Harvest chairman Raymond Chow, eSun Holdings chairman Peter Lam, Mei Ah Films chairman Li Kuo-hsing and China Star chairman Charles Heung.

This loud, feisty comedy takes two glamorous Hong Kong superstars and puts them in silicone suits so they look incredibly fat. The story then follows the blubbery characters through several unconventional dieting techniques as they try to achieve romantic happiness.

The Novel Idea of dressing the slim duo of Andy Lau and Sammi Cheng in fat suits should be enough to pique interest in all Asian markets. Indeed, "Love on a Diet" packed cinemas in Hong Kong and Singapore during its first week of release. The Japanese setting also should bolster its appeal in that key territory. But "Diet" will have less to offer distributors whose audiences are unfamiliar with the performers -- all of the humor comes from the stars playing against type.

Cheng and Lau most recently performed together in "Needing You", a light romance that became the biggest local hit of 2000. Here, executive producer/co-director Johnnie To, a filmmaker who never likes to repeat himself, replaces "Needing"'s endearing kookiness with upbeat slapstick. Think Chevy Chase.

Cheng plays Mini Mo, a rotund, droll girl who puts on weight when she loses her concert pianist boyfriend. When Mini discovers that her ex still loves her, she strives to shed weight quickly to look good for a reunion. A new friend, the equally rotund Fat Lo (Lau), helps her. The two discover that they have a lot in common, but Mini is too obsessed with her pianist for love to blossom.

The jokes revolve around Mini's attempts to shed weight under the heavy-handed supervision of the sincere Fat Lo. She even eats a tapeworm to speed up the dieting process. A passing nod to political correctness is made during a scene when Mini claims that it's not your looks, but your personality that counts. Nevertheless, the film wholeheartedly reinforces the stereotypes that thin is popular, fat is funny.

Special makeup effects are executed by America's XFX Inc., which designed the silicone fat suits. The results are effective. Known for their delicate facial features, Cheng and Lau are rendered jowly and unrecognizable by the makeup.

Johnnie To again uses the team of creatives from his company, Milkyway Image, to good effect. The provincial Japanese locations add a fresh feel to the movie, and art direction and costumes have been well-thought out. Fat Lo's tiny van is a nice touch, and his occasionally eccentric clothing -- obscurely, he wears an Ed Koch T-shirt! -- adds sparkle. Plotting is above-average for H.K. but still far from tight.

LOVE ON A DIET

China Star Entertainment and 100 Years of Film

A Milkyway Image production

Credits:

Producers: Charles Heung, Tiffany Chen

Directors: Johnnie To, Wai Ka-fai

Screenwriters: Wai Ka-fai, Yau Nai-hoi

Executive producers: Johnnie To, Wai Ka-fai

Director of photography: Chen Siu-keung

Art director: Jerome Fung

Editor: Law Wing-cheung

Music: Raymond Wong

Cast: Fat Lo: Andy Lau

Mini Mo: Sammi Cheng

No MPAA rating

Running time -- 95 minutes

Color/stereo...