Hong Kong Film Awards Nominations 2013

Best Film
The Viral Factor
Motorway
The Bullet Vanishes
Vulgaria
Cold War

Best Director
Dante Lam : The Viral Factor
Pang Ho Cheung : Love in the Buff
Soi Cheang : Motorway
Law Chi Leung : The Bullet Vanishes
Sunny Luk Lu / Longman Leung : Cold War

Best Actor
Nick Cheung : Nightfall
Tong Leung Chiu Wai : The Silent War
Lau Ching Wan : The Bullet Vanishes
Chapman To : Vulgaria
Tony Leung Kar Fei : Cold War

Best Actress
Zhou Xun : Silent War The Great Magican
Sammi Cheng : Romancing in Thin Air
Elanne Kwong : Love Lifting
Miram Yeung : Love in the Buff

Best Supporting Actor
Alex Man : The Bounty
Chapman To : Diva
Liu Kai Chi : The Bullet Vanishes
Ronald Cheng : Vulgaria
Gordon Lam : Cold War

Best Supporting Actress
Elaine Kam : The Viral Factor
Mavis Fan : Silent War
Jiang Yi Yan : The Bullet Vanishes
Susan Shaw : Vulgaria
Dada Chen : Vulgaria

Best Screenplay
Pang Ho Cheung, Luk Yee Sum, and Lam Chiu Wing : Vulgaria
Pang Ho Cheung, Luk Yee Sum : Love in the Buff
Law Chi Leung, Yeung Sin Ling The Bullet Vanishes
Longman Leung, Sunny Luk : Cold War
Alan Mak and Felix Chong : Silent War

Best New Performer
Zhang Lanxin : CZ12
Joyce Feng : The Last Tycoon
Jayden Yuan : Tai Chi 0
Alex Tsui : Cold War 
June Lam : Love in the Buff

Best Cinematography
Andrew Lau and Jason Kwan : The Last Tycoon
Chan Chi Ying : The Bullet Vanishes
Kenny Tse : The Viral Factor
Jason Kwan and Kenny Tse : Cold War
Anthony Pun : Silent War

Best Editing
Yau Chi Wai : CZ12
David Richardson and Allen Leung : Motorway
Chung Wai Chiu : The Viral Factor
Kwong Chi Leung and Ron Chan : The Bullet Vanishes
Kwong Chi Leung and Wong Hoi : Cold War

Best Art Direction
Yee Chung Man and Eric Lam : The Last Tycoon
Yip Kam Tim : Tai Chi 0
Lau Sai Wan : The Guillotines
Silver Cheung and Lee Kin Wai : The Bullet Vanishes
Man Lim Chung : Silent War

Best Costume Design and Make-Up
Yee Chung Man and Jessie Dai : The Great Magican
Yip Kam Tim : Tai Chi 0
Dora Ng : The Gulliotines
Stanley Cheung : The Bullet Vanishes
Man Lim Chung : Silent War

Best Action Choreography
Jackie Chan and He Jun : CZ12
Sammo Hung : Tai Chi 0
Chin Ka Lok and Wong Wai Fai, Ng Hoi Tong : Motorway
Dante Lam, Chin Ka Lok, Wong Wai Fai, Ng Hoi Tong : The Viral Factor
Chin Ka Lok and Wong Wai Fai : Cold War

Best Original Film Score
Chan Kwong Wing and Yu Peng : The Last Tycoon
Teddy Robin and Tommy Wai : The Bullet Vanishes
Peter Kam : Cold War
Eman Lam and Veronica Lee : Diva
Chan Kwong Wing : Silent War

Best Original Song
定風波 (from The Last Tycoon)
刀鋒偏冷 (from The Guillotines)
DoReMi (from Romancing in Thin Air)
戀無可戀 (from Lan Kwai Fong 2)追風箏的風箏 (from Diva)

Best Sound Design

Kinson Tsang  :The Guillotines
Benny Chu and Steve Miller : Motorway
Phyllis Cheng : The Bullet Vanishes
Kinson Tsang : The Viral Factor
Kinson Tsang : Cold War

Best Visual Effects
Han Young Woo, Victor Wong, Patrick Chui, and Seong Ho Jang  : CZ12
Chas Chau, Kim Ho, Ng Yuen Fai, and A Law : Tai Chi 0
Victor Wong : The Guillotines
Law Wai Ho and Hellowing Cheung : Motorway
Cecil Cheng : Cold War

Best New Director
Chow Hin Yeung : Nightfall
Brian Tse : McDull: The Pork of Music
Fung Chih Chiang : The Bounty

Best Film of Mainland and Taiwan
Back to 1942  <一九四二>
Gf*Bf <女朋友。男朋友>
Love is Not Blind  <失戀33天>
Painted Skin: The Resurrection <畫皮II>
Love <愛Love>

Hong Kong Movies Box Office 2012

1.Cold War HK$42.6 million
2.Vulgaria HKS$30 million
3. Love in the Buff HK$27.9 million
4. A Simple Life HK$27.8 million
5. The Viral Factor HK$22.2 million
6. Due West HK$19.2 million
7. I Love HK 2012 HK$19 million
8. Nightfall HK$17.6 million
9. Motorway HK$14.7 million
10. All's Well Ends Well 2012 HK$12 million
11. Lan Kwai Fong 2 HK$11 million
12. My Sassy Husband HK$11 million *
13. Painted Skin 2 HK$9 million
14. Romancing in Thin Air HK$8.9 million
15. The Bullet Vanishes HK$8 million
16. CZ12 HK$7.9 million *

*Still in general release

Updated HK Box Office 2012 to date

1. Vulgaria - HK$30 million

2. Love in the Buff HKS$27.9 million

3. A Simple Life HK$27.8 million

4. The Viral Factor HK$22.2 million

5. I Love HK 2012 HK$19.1 million

6. Due West HK$18.8 million

7. Nightfall HKS$17.6 million

8. Motorway HKS$14.7 million

9. Cold War HK$12.4 million *

10. All's Well End's Well HK$12 million

*Cold War has only been in release for 1 week and with a 12 million opening, it's on course to be the biggest hit of the year.

Favourite hong kong movie titles

Here is a list of Hk movie titles which amuse me. They are in no particular order.

Half a loaf of Kung fu

The teacher without chalk

The doctor in spite of himself

Law with two phases

Ungrateful tink

The vampire who admires me

When tat fu was young

Chinese midnight express (I imagine the meeting when like this, 'what is this film like', 'well, it's a bit like midnight express but in Chinese'. 'so what shall we call it?'

A Hearty Response

Is Infernal Affairs II the gangster thriller counterpart to Highlander 2?

Infernal Affairs II is among Ann Hui's top 5 HK films of all time in a recently published list.
Does this mean I need to look back on a film I thought was pretentious mess the first time around?
A film that wants so much to the "The Godfather part 2" but doesn't realise that just because you are doing a prequel, when you don't have Robert DeNiro and have Edison Chen and Shawn Yue, the results won't quite be the same. "Infernal Affairs" was tight, compact thriller that had little fat and could have easily have told the story in 90 mins if we trimmed the superfluous love interest scenes with Sammi and Kelly. Even with those scenes, it was completed in 100 mins or so (101 in HK and probably just under 100 mins if you watch the Mainland edited version, also, if you did see the Mainland edited version then you will be wondering what IA3 was all about). Whereas IA2 was flabby and sprawling in a misguided idea that this equates epic.

Ambition shouldn't be dismissed wholeheartly even if it fails. However, the main problems with IA2 are the complete disregard for anything that took place in the original. It's as if the makers never even watched the original, which is unlikely since they are the same writers and directors.

There are a number of things that just don't make sense or fit right in the universe.

Chapman To's character is apparently Eric Tsang's "go to guy" in IA2. He is basically is right hand man and was with Eric in his rise to power. Whereas in IA, he just seemed to be a regular foot soldier. Just a dumb henchman, who doesn't seem to be that close to the boss. My theory is that Chapman's stock had risen considerably since the first movie and his character was an audience favourite so they just found a way to bring him back and give him a much more prominent role.

The Thai gangsters in IA2 are tight with Eric Tsang. They even help him in his rise to power. However, in the original, the opening scene of the drugs exchange there is tension and a level of mistrust between Eric and the Thais. This change in relationship in IA2 betrays what IA was trying to do in whole scene of Tony testing the drugs etc etc.

Tony Leung's half brother, Francis Ng is a major mob boss. This was never mentioned in IA. You would think that such a major connection might have be referenced unless of course, the prequel was an afterthought and you are making all this up as you go along.

At the end of IA2, Tony Leung's character hates Anthony Wong for killing his half brother. You can see it in Tony/Shawn's eyes. But in IA, they are mates. In fact, since Anthony is the only one who knows he is undercover, he is probably his closest friend. Funny how Tony never mentions the fact that Anthony killed his brother at all. Unless of course this never happened and you decide to make IA2 as an afterthought because of IA's success.

Those are the only major inconsistencies I can think of at the moment but there are other irritations like the characters quoting lines from the first movie like references to speaker quality or having a ugly masseuse in a sauna, which is a bit too "wink wink" and feels like they are a bit too pleased with themselves. It's not as bad as Sean Connery and Christopher Lambert coming from the planet Zeist even thought Macleod was born in Scotland and had parents and everything.

In conclusion, even though Ann Hui has made some great and varied films, such as "Boat People", "A Simple Life", "The Secret" and "Romance of Book and Sword". Infernal Affairs 2 is still pants.

The Dead Wives Club

In a time not too long ago, there was a trend in HK action movies.

If your hero needed some motivation, a quest or drive to spur him on and to create some kind of screwed up personality disorder that will make him singular and lacking in social skills, there was only one thing to do, kill his wife.

In the span of 2 or 3 years, it seemed, more likely or not, our protagonist would have one thing in common, his wife would be dead.

In films such as “Invisible Target”, “Fire of Conscience”and “Accident” , the hero’s wife is dead and this event is the driving force of our hero’s motivation.

Now there are no spoilers in this article as the death in all these cases take place within the first 5 mins of the movies and all these cases, dominate the main character’s actions throughout.

Now you may say that lots of thrillers have their leading man bereft of spouse, such as Harry Callaghan in “Dirty Harry”. But with Harry, it certainly adds colour to his character and explains why he is a loner and a bit surly. But his character’s driving force isn’t because his wife is dead. Her passing is mentioned in passing and it’s not dwelled upon as in the aforementioned movies. And it’s certainly not the life force (or dead force) that powers our hero.

Now I’m not saying that using this device negates the entertainment value of these movies. “Invisible Target” was a thoroughly enjoyable action and “Accident” is a tautly made and tense paranoid thriller. “Fire of Conscience” has Leon with a dodgy beard . However, Leon grew that beard because his wife was dead. So it’s a pretty serious thing to happen if it makes Leon Lai do the facial hair.

No much of a conclusion but I just thought it was an interesting coincidence. Not for me to say whether it’s a lazy plot device to create motivate, oh no.

Dante Lam directed 2 of the movies, so he must hate marital bliss.

Vulgaria

The latest by prolific Pang Ho Cheung is breezy, fun but patchy and isn't quite as outrageous as it thinks or wants to be, even though it looks like it might live up to its threats in the first half hour. But it's a damn sight better than the similarly themed 'Viva Erotica' , which always seemed to look down on its subject matter.

The film has a good set up but descends into a series of random sketches of variable quality. The highlight comes pretty early with the meal with would be mainland investor Ronald Cheng. The scene builds up the level of dread and ickness to it's climax. To which point I would have opened now that a suitable level of depravity had been reached, it would be used as a sign to audiences that this is a movie where anything can happen. But sadly the movie seems so pleased with this event that it is continually referenced and seems to be shrouded in some kind of mystery or secrecy but it seemed quite obvious in the scene following the act that it most definitely did happen. After all, they even mention the use or non use of condoms for the occasion.

I can see comparisons of Dada Cheng's performance to that of Shu Qi's in 'Viva Erotica', and how it can be seen can be seen as a breakout performance for her. It's the simple tart with a heart role but hk is so lacking in decent female parts that I think a hk best supporting actress nomination is a shoo in. Speaking of nominations, Ronald Cheng is highly liked to get one for best supporting.

The film seems to revel in its use of obscenity, like a teenage who has just discovered the words. Which is fine as hong kong films have strangely found the use of swearing in films almost taboo and have only used it in a liberal fashion in a handful of films such as Pang's own 'Love in a Puff/Buff' and the early 90s award winner 'Cageman'. The amount of swearing in the film reminded me of the glory days of Eddie Murphy in the mid 80s, where the curses were almost punctuation and the use made you feel something because you didn't hear it being used so often and with such wild abandon.

The teenager aspects is keenly felt throughout with the wink wink themes of oral sex and masturbation. These jokes feel a bit dated but I guess these gags are new in hk cinema so it can almost be forgiven. But an extended monologue about masturbation which is basically 'the dead hand gang' gag from 'the inbetweeners' is a bit lazy and obvious. The concept is a bit old and urban lore even references prisoners using nail varnish to increase the illusion of a different hand. So to put a gag in like that with such a drawn out punch line just felt like a 5 year old saying "poo" cos he thinks he's naughty.
It's also a little disappointing that no clips of the film they were suppose to be making were ever shown, which seems almost a must for all 'making of' movies. Granted from what I have heard, the film was shot on the fly in less than 2 weeks, which is an achievement in itself and if we were judging it by these circumstances then the film has succeeded what it could have possibly hoped for.

I am pleased this film got made and receiving the kind of success it has been getting. It shows the hong kong audiences are looking for something edgier and different and not endless traditional epics. I see this as a step in a new direction for indie style hk movies and I think it will spawn a legion of lesser movies by much less talented directors. But that's not the fault of Pang and if we have learnt anything about hong kong films, we know they love a good copycat trend

The film seems to revel in its use of obscenity, like a teenage who has just discovered the words. Which is fine as hong kong films have strangely found the use of swearing in films almost taboo and have only used it in a liberal fashion in a handful of films such as Pang's own 'Love in a Puff/Buff' and the early 90s award winner 'Cageman'. The amount of swearing in the film reminded me of the glory days of Eddie Murphy in the mid 80s, where the curses were almost punctuation and the use made you feel something because you didn't hear it being used so often and with such wild abandon.

The teenager aspects is keenly felt throughout with the wink wink themes of oral sex and masturbation. These jokes feel a bit dated but I guess these gags are new in hk cinema so it can almost be forgiven. But an extended monologue about masturbation which is basically 'the dead hand gang' gag from 'the inbetweeners' is a bit lazy and obvious. The concept is a bit old and urban lore even references prisoners using nail varnish to increase the illusion of a different hand. So to put a gag in like that with such a drawn out punch line just felt like a 5 year old saying "poo" cos he thinks he's naughty.

It's also a little disappointing that no clips of the film they were suppose to be making were ever shown, which seems almost a must for all 'making of' movies. Granted from what I have heard, the film was shot on the fly in less than 2 weeks, which is an achievement in itself and if we were judging it by these circumstances then the film has succeeded what it could have possibly hoped for.

I am pleased this film got made and receiving the kind of success it has been getting. It shows the hong kong audiences are looking for something edgier and different and not endless traditional epics. I see this as a step in a new direction for indie style hk movies and I think it will spawn a legion of lesser movies by much less talented directors. But that's not the fault of Pang and if we have learnt anything about hong kong films, we know they love a good copycat trend