Kill Zone 2 (2016)

God I love Hong Kong Cinema! I know I'm showing my Eurocentric roots when I say this, but sometimes I forget that it exists. Back in the 90's it was EVERYTHING, but then something new comes along. Suddenly there's a new flavor of the week. But things don't just go away because you stopped paying attention. Lots of 90's bands are still touring with loyal followings. The same goes for Hong Kong Cinema. It is still alive and kicking, kicking, kicking. It's even keeping alive the old exploitation model of taking a popular title, slapping it on a new movie and filling it with stars from all around the world. It's comforting to know that Hong Kong Cinema will always be there for you when you need it. Go enjoy your mumblecore or whatever people are into these days. When you need to watch some serious ass-kicking, Simon Yam et al will be there waiting for you to catch up with everything they've been doing since you left. And unlike Matchbox 20, they've learned a few new tricks since the last time you came around.

Election 2/Traid Election (2006)

My film collection is filled with all sorts of strays. Though there are now seven Fast & Furious films, I only own one and it's number five. Though I don't own Captain America: The First Avenger, I sure as heck own Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Sometimes this is a reflection on the quality of the film. For example, I don't see myself ever owning the first Sam Raimi Spider-Man. But sometimes the decision is simply economical.

As much as I enjoyed the first Election film, the second one is far and away the better film. It does everything that the first one does but in a more artful manner. Rather than repeating the manic chase film energy of the first outing, this one adopts the melancholic tone of a funeral dirge. And like The Godfather Part II, it expands beyond the borders of this insular society of gangsters to address sociopolitical issues of the world at large. Eventually I will own the first film, but when funds are limited, you have to go with the one that truly speaks to you.

Days of Being Wild (1990)

Unlike so many other ensemble pieces, Days of Being Wild doesn’t proclaim itself as such from the onset. There’s no rapid montage introducing us to all the various characters we will meet along the way. When we start, we are certain that Leslie and Maggie Cheung’s characters are going to be our protagonists. Yet before you know it, one character is jettisoned for another and it is their film, for a while…

A full year before Slacker, Wong Kar-Wai was already excelling at the type of narrative Richard Linklater would be praised for with that film. It’s a daisy chain structure where one character introduces us to another who in turn introduces us to another. Everything loops back eventually but not in the configurations you were expecting. In the end, you get these weird combinations of characters you never thought would end up together, but that’s life. You never know who is going to enter the picture next or return from the past. You can really tell what an influence this film had on Pulp Fiction.

Apparently this film didn’t do very well upon initial release. From what I gather, there was supposed to be a follow-up film which is hinted at in the final scene. But after the poor box office reception, those plans were scrapped. Yet, rather than make this film feel like some sort of vestigial appendage of a larger creature, the inclusion of that final scene inadvertently solidifies what makes this movie so wonderful. There’s always someone new, waiting in the wings, ready to enter the story of your life. Where will they end up taking you?

Drug War (2013)

In China, the manufacture and distribution of drugs is a capital offense. When you're caught there are only two options, either you turn informant, or shoot your way out and pray for the best.

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I’ve never been able to understand the algebra of how/when a great film talent suddenly gets “discovered” by the larger film world. I mean I get it when a hot new director suddenly bursts onto the scene and grabs everyone’s attention with their first film, but what about when an older master suddenly gets his or her moment in the spotlight after years of churning out numerous high quality productions?

Among Hong Kong Cinema Cultists, Johnnie To has always been a revered name. Over the course of his thirty year career he has produced more than fifty films ranging from romantic comedies to triad shoot-em-ups. But it wasn’t until the mid-2000’s that his name started to gain any cache within the broader, world-wide film community. What changed? Certainly his cinema hasn’t changed. Maybe it has to do with the internet making it easier for people to discover exciting talents? Or maybe it’s just chance?

Whatever it is, I’m glad that Johnnie To is finally getting the attention he deserves. Though some of his films are more successful than others, they are all of a consistent high quality and most importantly, they always strive for something more than just cheap thrills. The final act of Drug War is absolutely brutal and leaves you with so many conflicted thoughts and emotions. As much as I enjoy the action cinema of someone like John McTiernan, Predator and Die Hard have never been able to elicit anything from me other than sheer joy. Of course there’s not thing wrong with that, but a cinephile cannot live on explosions alone.

In The Mood For Love (2000)

A man (Tony Leung Chiu Wai) and woman (Maggie Cheung)  who are neighbors discover that their spouses are having an affair.

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Shooting a period piece in a rapidly modernizing locale like Hong Kong can be tough when your budget is small. Add to this countless scenes set in cramped hallways and apartments, and things can get downright claustrophobic. But for Wong Kar-Wai and the aching tales of longing he seems to specialize in, such limitations become assets. He and cinematographer Mark Lee Ping-bin (along with Christopher Doyle) even double-down by employing extremely long lenses to further compress space and crowd the frame. How better to immerse an audience in this long-ago world of strict social mores and suppressed passion?  I am perfectly fine with this film being the highest ranking film of the 2000s on Sight & Sound's most recent poll. In the Mood for Love yearns like no other film I can think of. It's a secret worth sharing.

The Game of Death (1972)

Hai Tien (Bruce Lee) must battle several martial arts masters to reach the top of a Pagoda where something important is being kept.

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Bruce Lee died before this film was complete. It was finished using doubles. A hilarious film called Finishing the Game was made about the fictional search for an actor to double Bruce. But honestly there is nobody on earth who could possibly substitute for Bruce Lee. The man was a machine and capable of things no mere mortal could ever even think of attempting. Thankfully Warner Brothers saw fit to take all of the original Bruce footage, and assemble it as Bruce intended for inclusion on the Enter the Dragon DVD. I highly recommend you do the footwork necessary to see these scenes - they're worth it.

And before you ask: Yes, this is where Tarantino got the idea of having Uma wear a yellow track suit in Kill Bill Vol. 1.

Happy Together (1997)

Follow the tumultuous relationship of two gay men from Hong Kong (Tony Leung and Leslie Cheung) as they try to make a last go of it in Argentina.

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Wong Kar-Wai must be a very sad and lonely guy. He seems nice and affable in interviews. Yet nearly every film he has made is a story about beautiful, passionate and often unfulfilled longing. He instinctively knows exactly which moments to freeze or slow down. "Real" time is not enough for these moments. These moments are to be drawn out to their heartbreaking zenith. Viewed through Wong's lens, the smallest and most intimate story becomes an emotional epic. There's a reason this film won best director at Cannes that year.

Hard Boiled (1992)

Tequila (Chow Yun-Fat) is a bad ass super cop and he's going to bring down the mobsters that killed his buddy...with maybe a little help from an undercover cop (Tony Leung).

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After years of glorifying Triad gangsters in films like The Killer and A Better Tomorrow, John Woo decided to use every trick in his filmic arsenal to glorify the police. Holy shit did it work! Since this film, Woo's work has been pretty light in the 'pistol ballet' department and I think it's because there's really no point. As sad as it is to see him churning out stuff like Mission: Impossible 2 and Paycheck, you have to remember: Everything that can been done has already been done. There's no new ground to cover. The known world has been conquered. But fortunately for us, those early battles exist forever on DVD to watch over and over and over and over again!

Vengeance (2009)

After a violent tragedy befalls his daughter's family, Costello (Johnny Halladay) seeks the help of a trio of Chinese hit-men to help him extract his bloody revenge against the man responsible.

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Anyone who claims the Chinese-Gangster-Shoot-‘em-Up genre died when John Woo left for America has clearly not seen Vengeance. It’s like the late 80s/early 90s all over again in this action masterpiece from director Johnnie To. And I’m not using the term masterpiece lightly. This film was actually in competition at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival. God bless the French for accepting the fact that art can be fun. It’s like watching The Wild Bunch, Leon: The Professional and Memento ALL AT THE SAME TIME. And for the snobs out there, the film has “echoes” of Ford, Hawks & Melville. Oh and please don’t let the fact that the film’s main characters are French and Chinese scare you because:

(Q) How do French and Chinese people communicate with each other?

(A) In English!

Plus this is an action film, so most of the time people aren’t even talking. Most of the time they’re too busy unloading bullet after bullet into each other. What more could you really want?

(As of this writing, it's streamable on Netflix! Check it out!)