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It isn’t shocking that Johnnie To would make an intense, stylish, and smart gangster movie. The Hong Kong auteur has been doing that for about 25 years. What’s amazing is that this story takes place in China, where movies are epic or wacky but rarely gritty, dangerous, or even cool. As often is the case in To’s movies, Louis Koo plays a character who doesn’t say much or show much but has a dark undercurrent that is subtly and superbly played. As a busted meth manufacturer, he is forced to become a mole for China’s drug squad in conjunction with undercover cop played with conviction by Sun Honglei. Is Koo’s character really helping the cops? Who is really in control? As the undercover cop is led deeper into the illegal operation, he is forced to not only travel from city to city but make promises, take dope, and put himself in other unsavory situations. It’s intense and violent and the payoff is worth it. And you can read as much as you want into it. What’s the meaning of the meth lab mutes and the drug trafficking mules? Is the cops and robbers story an allegory for Hong Kong vs. China? And how cool is it that the handsome and tanned Louis Koo is first seen foaming at the mouth and then with cuts and bandages all over his face? This movie actually showed in screens over the summer and it’s very cool that a domestic DVD and Blu-ray is being released in the U.S. by WellGo today. Check it out HERE and don’t forget to watch the Ip Man: The Final Fight trailer while you’re at it…
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It isn’t shocking that Johnnie To would make an intense, stylish, and smart gangster movie. The Hong Kong auteur has been doing that for about 25 years. What’s amazing is that this story takes place in China, where movies are epic or wacky but rarely gritty, dangerous, or even cool. As often is the case in To’s movies, Louis Koo plays a character who doesn’t say much or show much but has a dark undercurrent that is subtly and superbly played. As a busted meth manufacturer, he is forced to become a mole for China’s drug squad in conjunction with undercover cop played with conviction by Sun Honglei. Is Koo’s character really helping the cops? Who is really in control? As the undercover cop is led deeper into the illegal operation, he is forced to not only travel from city to city but make promises, take dope, and put himself in other unsavory situations. It’s intense and violent and the payoff is worth it. And you can read as much as you want into it. What’s the meaning of the meth lab mutes and the drug trafficking mules? Is the cops and robbers story an allegory for Hong Kong vs. China? And how cool is it that the handsome and tanned Louis Koo is first seen foaming at the mouth and then with cuts and bandages all over his face? This movie actually showed in screens over the summer and it’s very cool that a domestic DVD and Blu-ray is being released in the U.S. by WellGo today. Check it out HERE and don’t forget to watch the Ip Man: The Final Fight trailer while you’re at it…
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Life Without Principle is a very different movie by Johnnie To. Namely, there are long stretches that showcase nothing but dialogue. Bankers, thugs, and cops talking about money. This is in stark contrast to the lengthy, wordless, and stylized tracking shots that the Hong Kong director is known for. Yes, there is the double-crossing, deception, and stealing that one might expect from the world’s best crime filmmaker, but it’s all done according to the rules of finance—and not the underworld.

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Punished and Wu Xia take place in vastly different eras and have similarly opposite budgets, but are both smart movies about revenge that came out last month on Region III DVDs.

Produced by Hong Kong’s longstanding king of crime movies Johnnie To and directed by Milkyway Image regular Law Wing-Cheong, Punished stars Anthony Wong and Richie Ren as an unsavory, ruthless businessman and his loyal assistant with a criminal past. After Wong’s daughter gets kidnapped and killed, he asks the enigmatic Ren to apply his underworld experience to track down the perpetrators and make them pay. And how. Naturally, Wong discovers that vengeance is a two-way street and his business, his family life, and his physical and mental health all suffer unexpected, intense consequences. Punished isn’t the first time that such a story has unfolded–and it isn’t the most stylish, sophisticated, or shocking variation, either–but the two main characters are unusually strong and well-played by the actors. The conspicuous lack of cops in the face of crazy violence is interesting as well, making the story about as pure a morality play as can be. And although the movie’s tone is brutal, it manages to beautiful when you least expect it. The most affective, otherworldly moment isn’t powered by violent special effects or a plot twist but family bonds. (Although, it does indeed look amazing…)

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