tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-788280764985772675.post1517471201780224070..comments2023-06-01T02:18:34.310-07:00Comments on Bullets Over Chinatown: Two by To, HELP and THE EXECUTIONERSKingwho?http://www.blogger.com/profile/02474560455739504154noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-788280764985772675.post-91836677467843303172011-02-27T20:04:25.065-08:002011-02-27T20:04:25.065-08:00I'm on the run tonight and off to work. I sha...I'm on the run tonight and off to work. I shall get back to this topic shortly.....AHND! =PKingwho?https://www.blogger.com/profile/02474560455739504154noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-788280764985772675.post-65103897616342851372011-02-27T06:48:17.212-08:002011-02-27T06:48:17.212-08:00Interesting post and comments everyone, I love pos...Interesting post and comments everyone, I love posts that stir up this kind of discussion, its all about opinion, and thats why we read and write blogs. <br /><br />For me JT is in a bit of a no win situation in some regards, if he sticks to the crime/gangster films he's a one trick pony. When he switches to other genres, he is accused of selling out or even worse, wasting his time.<br /><br />The interesting thing for me is the diversity and blending of genres that To and the Milkyway team can pull off, either in an artistic or commercial way and quite frequently both. We may not like them all, but if a Help or Don't go breaking my heart can help to fund something like Sparrow, then great and you don't have to watch everything.<br /><br />The Mission is a masterpiece of HK cinema for me and while it maybe true that not much else was around to challenge it at that time, that doesn't take away anything from it for me. A hero never dies is open to interpretation, a really interesting film in that it polarises even audiences open to that style of film. I hope that you do the post with stills you mention Kingwho? I would love to read it, and I will be doing something on it soon and then we can really butt heads in a similarly homoerotic manner to Jack and Martin! Leon Lai was never going to be able to compete with Lau Ching Wan (the HK god of actors) in the acting stakes but does about as well as he could I think.<br /><br />Finally, the Bordwell book is well worth downloading, even if you have the older print version, the updates are great.A hero never dieshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13075070081480449104noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-788280764985772675.post-74104387784895423082011-02-26T18:30:23.098-08:002011-02-26T18:30:23.098-08:00Wow! Glad to see I have some people in the same b...Wow! Glad to see I have some people in the same boat.<br /><br />I do like To but he is becoming stale. I would asert that of the two main Milkyway directors, To and Ka-fai, Ka-fai is the more talanted of the two. Maybe it's unfair to compare them since both seem divergent filmmakers. At least recently. Anyone see Ka-fai's WRITTEN BY? That was not a HK film!? Or maybe a HK film that we are used to seeing. Extremely different from To's retreads. Even Ka-fai's stuff Like RUNNING ON KARMA. Easily rooted in a HK cinema feel but wholly of the map in regards to story. <br /><br />I don't mind Fanboys to some extent. I enjoy that they enjoy HK cinema and specific talent so much. Some do go waaaaay overboard and boarder on ignorance, but Fanboys do have a place in cinema discussion. There place is just somewhere near the back =P<br /><br />Diana, I'm kicking myself for missing Bordwell! I don't mind Leon's acting as I know acting isn't his forte going into a film. To looked to really stretch to make Lai look super cool in A HERO NEVER DIES. he did a good job with it, I think? LCW can destroy most anybody on screen. Even in his crap romantic comedies. He has quite a demanding presence on screen.Kingwho?https://www.blogger.com/profile/02474560455739504154noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-788280764985772675.post-69641233936924464632011-02-26T06:49:19.251-08:002011-02-26T06:49:19.251-08:00Agreed, totally, glad I am not the only one. I did...Agreed, totally, glad I am not the only one. I didn't like "A Hero never Dies" much at all. David Bordwell said a couple interesting things about this film last Saturday. There apparently is a whole section on To in his online book (still have to buy that thing!). Much of his comments on the film at the event had to do with some choices To made just because of the low budget. But what helped me most was his comment about Leon Lai's acting. I guess the question was why was LL always looking down and not at Lau Ching Wan when they were talking. And To's response was that LL wasn't a good enough actor. LCW would have destroyed him onscreen.Dianahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00807205757095971212noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-788280764985772675.post-39326422044460197552011-02-26T05:52:36.400-08:002011-02-26T05:52:36.400-08:00He used to be good, but the fanboys ruined him. No...He used to be good, but the fanboys ruined him. Now he has only one thing on his mind: VENGEANCE. Coming soon, an all new, insufferable Johnnie To romantic comedy.© Deliriahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01748639362169097145noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-788280764985772675.post-84913015859234910972011-02-26T02:41:26.060-08:002011-02-26T02:41:26.060-08:00That was a thoughtful stirring of the shit, LOL. ...That was a thoughtful stirring of the shit, LOL. I understand the frustration with the modern To. Hopefully that rom-com thing he's got coming out will remind people he's more than gangsters.<br /><br />FWIW: I didn't like Vengeance very much either. And I saw it on my first day in HK ever. The experience of seeing it was fun but the film was not.<br /><br />I still haven't seen A Hero Never Dies.<br /><br />I think the problem is that some fanboys on sites outside of the ones linked here rave about To the way people raved about Woo back in the day. And that kind of fanboy QT-ish raving is EXACTLY the thing that kept me away from HK Cinema for so long.<br /><br />What makes To interesting is not that "gangster shit" (to quote an Outkast song) but his talent in multiple genres.<br /><br />Just like how I loved HK cinema once I found out it wasn't just Jackie Chan falling off a ladder and John Woo filming a bunch of guns and doves, you know?Glenn, kenixfanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00735095946077123391noreply@blogger.com