Your 2013 Lunar New Year Comedies!

Shu Qi Chrissie Chau Journey to the West
[adrotate banner=”1″]It’s that time of the year, when China shuts down thanks to Chinese New Year! In between everyone going to see their family and every family going out for an incredibly expensive dinner, there is also the tradition of going to see ridiculous comedy films in the theaters! The Lunar New Year comedies are a source of some of the best comedy films from Hong Kong! And also some of the most terrible… But let’s not dwell on those failures, because they get buried beneath the sands of progress progress progress. And more films the next year! This time, we got a three-way battle plan, and the first time in two years that there isn’t an I Love Hong Kong/Alls Well Ends Well matchup at the box office. Because last year’s entries are buried beneath the sands of progress progress progress.

Journey to the West: Fell Monsters Chapter (西游·降魔篇) – The most anticipated of the three new years comedies, because it’s the long-awaited return of Stephen Chow to film! He’s directing this insane take on the famous Monkey King story, even if his appearance in front of the camera will be brief if he does it at all. In any event, I cannot wait, and will literally murder every single one of you to get to see this film. Yes, even you, Tiny Tim. Think I’ll spare you because of your gimpy leg? Think not!
We posted the trailer here

Hotel Deluxe (百星酒店) – Vincent Kok’s entry takes place at a fancy hotel, and like all good Lunar New Year comedies, a bajillion things are going on. The hotel hires scab employees, it’s being used as a film set, is being renovated, and is hosting a fake wedding. Yes, only those few plot lines! Hotel Deluxe stars Ronald Cheng Chung-Kei, Sandra Ng Kwun-Yu, Teresa Mo Sun-Kwan, Chapman To Man-Chat, Fiona Sit Hoi-Kei, Eric Kot Man-Fai, Raymond Wong Pak-Ming, Lynn Hung Doi-Lam, Karena Ng Chin-Yu, and many more. Raymond Wong is producing. It opens February 7th
The trailer:

Better and Better (越來越好·村晚) – Zhang Yibai (with help from Xie Dong-Shen) bring us this Mainland funded comedy on February 10th. It features Tony Leung Ka-Fai, Wang Bao-Qiang, Sandra Ng Kwun-Yu, Wu Gang, Aaron Kwok Fu-Sing, Wang Luo-Dan, Xu Jing-Lei, Ni Da-Hong, and cameos from the likes of Karen Mok Man-Wai and Zhang Ziyi.
Trailer:

Who will win the ultimate showdown of ultimate 2013 Lunar New Year Destiny? Probably Stephen Chow unless that film sucks, than it’s anyone’s game!!!!!!! Enjoy the lots of pictures below.

via Roast Pork, Sina

And let’s not forget I Love Hong Kong 2013 (2013我爱香港之恭喜发财), like I almost did!

Mr. and Mrs. Incredible (Review)

Mr. and Mrs. Incredible

aka San kei hap lui aka 神奇俠侶

2011
Directed by Vincent Kok Tak-Chiu
Written by Steven Fung Min-Hang, Vincent Kok Tak-Chiu, and Chan Po-Chun


I’ll be blunt – Mr. and Mrs. Incredible is the best film I’ve seen out of Hong Kong in 2011 so far. That’s either great praise for Mr. and Mrs. Incredible, or a scathing indictment of this year’s crop of movies. It’s both, actually! Mr. and Mrs. Incredible is less of an action fest superhero movie, and more of a film about couples and conflicts that arise in a relationship that just happens to be between two superbeings. And it’s pretty damn good. A costumed period piece that takes queues from The Incredibles and several other super hero in real world pictures, we join Gazer Warrior and Aroma Warrior ten years into retirement as Flint and Rouge, living out their lives in a peaceful village in the middle of nowhere. But fate has decreed that the two superheroes will once again don their uniforms.

The real world super hero subgenre has grown significantly as of late, with storytellers finding the same thing Marvel did in the 1960s, that it is much more interesting to have actual people be the super heroes vs. mythological perfect beings with no problems ever. Movies like Watchmen, Super, and Defendor show real people with real problems donning capes and punching people. Now, the leads of Mr. and Mrs. Incredible don’t have deep psychological problems, emotional abuse issues, anger management problems, delusions, or revenge fantasies brought about by murdered parents. Their problems are much the same as most real couples. Part of Mr. and Mrs. Incredible‘s strength is that it sounds like familiar arguments even as it is surrounded by super hero antics and wacky comedy.

Flint (Louis Koo Tin-Lok) – The former Gazer Warrior has been retired for ten years and now serves as the head of the guard at a small peaceful village. His eyesight is starting to go, and he’s one of the few people in town who can read. But suddenly his peaceful village gets a lot fo visitors…Louis Koo is in like a bajillion movies, even getting injured in a motorcycle accident hasn’t slowed him down, they just had to work his action films around his injury.
Rouge (Sandra Ng Kwun-Yu) – The former Aroma Warrior is also retired and living with her husband, running a restaurant in town. Her days are spent listening to the local gossiping women and hating cockroaches. Sandra Ng is also in The Eight Hilarious Gods and Beauty on Duty.
Gazer Warrior (Louis Koo Tin-Lok) – Gazer Warrior sports laser-beams from his eyes, super sight, super strength, invulnerability, super speed, and a costume fit for a dark knight.
Aroma Warrior (Sandra Ng Kwun-Yu) – Aroma Warrior sports the Aroma Palm, super strength, invulnerability, super speed, and being hot.
Phoenix Bleu (Li Qin) – a martial arts apprentice come to watch the tournament. Takes a shine to Flint due to her love of Gazer Warrior. Gets unwanted attention from spoiled kid King Kong.
Grandmaster Blanc (Wang Bo-Chieh) – The organizer of event who looks creepy and is obviously up to no good. I’m on to you, Blanc! Blanc, like your moral compass! White, because you are empty, empty of color, empty of soul! Your body cold as ice, because you’re a sparkle vampire written by some Mormon chick in some terrible novels! Oh, yes, I know all about you, Blanc!


Continue reading