Do sing

Ridiculously funny and filled to the brim with style, chow in particular has a great screen presence and does dumb incredibly well, slapstick isn't really my thing but the way it is handled in this film is incredibly well-done with absolute precision, this is all helped by the impeccable blocking, there are three type of scenes in this movie: comedic slapstick scenes, action scenes (hand to hand combat), and gambling scenes, and each one is edited and filmed in completely distinct and wonderful ways, it takes three different genres and manages to create something beautiful in all those three ways, lau's direction is something that is over the top but also manages to be incredibly subtle in how brilliant everything is done, it is a very simple story but it manages to be entirely complex with the filmmaking, writing, and performances, one of those gems that might be one in a long line hong kong slapstick/action pictures but even if that is the case this still manages to be incredibly well-made and consistently hysterical

would make a great double feature with Roger Donaldson/Tom Cruise's Cocktail.

From Seasonal Films and Ng See Yuen, comes one of my favourite Chow Sing Chi (and Jeff Lau) films, All For The Winner - a ridiculously hilarious comedy that spoofs Wong Jing's mega-hit, God Of Gamblers, parodying many memorable scenes, music and even artwork to excite any fan of Hong Kong film!

Of course, it has a lot of its own originality also, including some great action scenes courtesy of co-director Corey Yuen Kwai - who also co-stars. He is joined by the always fantastic Sandra Ng and Chow's regular right-hand-man, Ng Man Tat who plays his uncle Tat, with the majority of the films comedy based around the incredible on-screen chemistry these guys have together due to their long working career alongside each other.

Co-director Jeff Lau gets his obligatory role, this time as a big boss gambler, and the rest of the cast is pretty strong with the great (Sharla) Cheung Man and Wan Yeung Ming - both of which play the aids of King Of Gamblers, Paul Chun, a very recognisable face from almost 200 Hong Kong movies. Even the great Chow Yun Fat gets a brief appearance albeit through a video when Chow and Ng are watching God of Gamblers in order to learn how to behave at gambling matches...

And of course, when you have a country bumpkin as daft as Chow Sing Chi trying to play the suave, cool city slicker (now known as the Saint of Gamblers), you know its just going to get even more ridiculous! Cue the slow motion walking, insane card tricks, and hilarious reactions which shows Chow at his best with lots of laugh-out-loud moments!

Ironically, Chow Sing Chi would also star in God of Gamblers 2 the same year playing a role pretty much exactly the same in director Wong Jing's satirical sequel that also stars Andy Lau as his character from the original.

The great Corey Yuen provides some fantastic action scenes, even giving us a great shot of Cheung Man in a slo-mo, John Woo/Chow Yun Fat inspired, double-gun moment before letting loose on the bad guys in a rescue mission. The chubby faced Sheila Chan gets in on the action in a restaurant fight, along with Ng Man Tat in a dress... As per usual, when Chow Sing Chi gets a bit of action time, the Bruce Lee moves start coming out - including one such moment that may have inspired him to do Fist Of Fury 1991 and leaves the cross-dressing uncle Tat foaming at the mouth...

A lot of people I know (and other critics) can't handle Chow Sing Chi's kind of humour, but I love it and do think he is one of the funniest actors ever. Personally, I believe he has inspired many a Jim Carrey and Will Farrell moment with his insane style of comedy, and probably don't laugh out as loud at other comedies like I do when watching his! And in All For The Winner, there are far too many to mention!

Overall: I can't love this movie enough. Definitely one of the best action comedies from Hong Kong's golden years!

This is probably Stephen Chow's signature movie, where he plays Chow Sing Cho, a Mainland nephew who visits his Uncle Tat (Man Tat Ng) in Hong Kong and is being encouraged by him to enter the gambling world. Cho possesses supernatural powers that enable him to see through objects, thus, Tat thinks this would be a good strategy for Cho to score some big gambling wins to him get out of being poor.

Co-directed by nonsensical comedy buff Jeffrey Lau, this film actually has a well mixture of action and drama, from Cho running into the Hong Kong Triads to him attempting to learn the real reason beyond his powers. There is also a good dose of slapstick comedy courtesy of Man Tat Ng and Sandra Ng, who plays the funny Ping, the love interest of Coren Yuen's character. It's a good thing the slapstick stuff doesn't get annoying that will leave a bad aftertaste. In addition, thrown in the beautiful Sharla Cheung and a host of other familiar faces in Hong Kong cinema (Paul Chun, Yuen-yan Lo and Sheila Chan), you'll get a good rush of entertainment.

The plot goes at a fairly fast pace from start finish and all the card playing, triad stuff (wished the villain was utilized more, though), Kung-Fu action and comic humor make this an entertaining film.

Grade B+

Stephen Chow stars as a young man who goes to visit his uncle (played by Ng Man Tat of course). When his uncle finds out he has a supernatural power that allows him to see through objects, he gets Chow to become a gambler. Things don't start off so great for Chow, but he finally puts his special power to use when a certain woman is around. When the King of Gamblers finds out Chow will be in the World Gambling Tournament, he has his gang take Chow out. After his lady friend is kidnapped, he may not be able to participate in the finals of the tournament.

The comedy is very funny and not many jokes fall flat. In one scene Chow makes his first entrance as the Saint of Gamblers and walks into the room in slow motion. I probably shouldn't try to describe it, but it's a must see moment and had me crying with laughter. There are plenty of other great parts like when Chow tries to do some fancy shuffling and sends all the cards flying into a guy's face. Paul Chun does a good job as the King of Gamblers and the whole cast is enjoyable. Jeffrey Lau is one of my favorite Hong Kong directors and he really makes the gambling scenes fun. You never know what kind of movie you will get from him, but they are usually good. I have seen every Stephen Chow movie except his TVB work, and this is one of my favorites. It's a brilliant showcase of his comic genius.

The fight scenes are not long, but still really good. Corey Yuen's choreography is as masterful as it gets. Chow is not one of the better action stars, but he can can get the job done. With Corey Yuen helping him out, expect the action to be top notch. There are 4 fights, and the one shootout scene is very exciting. Like most Chow movies from 1990-1996, Cheung Man plays his love interest, and thanks to Corey Yuen, she isn't just eye candy but also gets to show off her athletic skills. 'Last Hero of China', 'Fist of Fury 91' and 'Sword Stained With Royal Blood' are the only movies I have seen where she looks this good.

All for the Winner, a parody of the Chow Yun Fat movie God of Gamblers, was a huge hit in Asia, further cementing Stephen Chow's reputation as a sure-fire box-office success. Personally, I found the film rather tedious; Chow may have had them rolling in the aisles in Hong Kong, but I watched rather stony-faced, only really enjoying the occasional fight scene or high-octane shoot-out (courtesy of action director, Corey Yuen).

Chow plays Sing, a young man from the mainland, who travels to Hong Kong to stay with his uncle Tat (Man Tat Ng). When Tat discovers that Sing possesses supernatural powers, he tries to exploit them by taking him gambling. But Sing's success at the tables attracts the attention of two rival gamblers/gangsters, both of whom wish to take advantage of his mysterious talents…

I'm guessing that a lot of the movie's comedy was lost in translation (some particularly dodgy subtitles didn't help), since I didn't find it very funny; add to that my general indifference to the gambler genre and I suppose I wasn't destined to love this film as much as I had some of Chow's other offerings (King of Comedy is my favourite so far).

Corey Yuen's deft handling of the action sequences make the film a not entirely worthless viewing experience, but there just aren't enough of them. A few more high-kicking bullet-spraying scenes and I'd have been a much happier bunny.

After the worldwide success of Shaolin Soccer and Kung Fu Hustle, Chow is at last receiving global recognition and I hope that future projects will be as accessible to an international audience as these were. It would be a shame to see Chow losing fans around the world due to his sometimes more baffling and distinctly Chinese 'humour'.