Genre: Romance

‘Table For Six’ blends wit with appealing characters, and the dynamic between the sextet is a real strength for the film.

‘Tai Chi II’ features an average plot and some unnecessary over-the-top moments, but is a decent effort that usually earns little attention from Hong Kong film fans.

The slightly uncomfortable storyline which casts Hui as a potentially cheating husband is turned gradually into another morality comedy with Hui and his initially unpleasant wife learning the error of their ways.

Normally the framework of such a film is at least clichéd, but here it is simply bizarre and uninvolving.

When the closing credits rolled, I opined that I had lost a full ninety minutes that would’ve been better used watching one of these sub-genres more accomplished works.

Yu’s extravagant use of colour and innovative camera techniques are extremely pleasing, but in no way make up for the lack of depth missing from the rest of the film.

It’s no surprise that this Tsui Hark comedy was a box-office smash as it allows the viewer to enjoy superior character interaction and sharp comic routines.

Kwak Jae-young has presented us with a film that is difficult to properly judge. It starts quietly, edges towards something quite special and finally nosedives into woeful melodrama.

Despite not getting the rhythm completely correct throughout, it still reminds the viewer that Korea has an understanding of the quiet desperation of loneliness that has rarely been achieved in the West.

‘The Diary Of A Big Man’ is not ‘laugh-out-loud’ comedy, but is recommended to all Chow Yun-Fat fans as it contains enough elements to make it a highly entertaining film.

Unfortunately, the film itself falls far short the sum of its dazzling parts, with a central love story too lightweight to sustain either the bulk of the plot or the grand tragedy of the climax.

‘The East Is Red’ ends the popular series with a visual bang that pummels the viewer relentlessly. Unfortunately the exercise is very much one of style over substance and the overall effect is a bewildering one.