Author: Andrew Saroch

An often spectacular and thoroughly enjoyable action comedy with a range of characters that the audience really begins to care about.

With strong performances from its two leads, a cast of solid background characters and a nod to the indomitable spirit of the Hong Kong people, ‘Little Big Master’ is captivating viewing.

‘The Mermaid’ has the feel-good factor and is probably as good a rom-com as you’re likely to see this year. Yet that somehow doesn’t seem enough from a film-maker like Chow.

While ‘Time Raiders’ starts with competent special effects it descends to a level of incompetence that makes ‘Sharknado’ look cutting edge.

It’s almost as if the makers watched ‘Rush Hour’, ‘Shanghai Noon’ and even ‘Around The World In Eighty Days’ and thought how utilitarian it might be just to throw various elements from these into one puzzling lump.

‘The Top Bet’ is that very parochial fusion of gambling and ‘nonsense comedy’ (mo lei tau) that many of us are still baffled by after all of these years.

A mixture of beautifully written, slightly quirky and completely endearing characters, this is the kind of ensemble comedy drama that Asian cinema does so well.

Wong Fei-Hung gets the revisionist upgrade that someone, somewhere asked for and the results, though mixed, are mostly positive.

Packed with the deluge of banality and popular references that will doubtlessly age the film well before it’s time, this third part is every bit as frustrating and lazy as the one that came before it.

‘From Vegas To Macau II’ gets very mild commendation for a few nods to past glories and the occasional joke that doesn’t feel like waterboarding.

A flawed thriller it might be, but it still retains an ability to chill that is appreciated though not always present in the genre.

Bathed in nihilism from the opening frames to the last and creates a gradual sense of doom that would befit the most ice-cold thriller of the 40s.