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The King of Shanghai: The Triad Years (The Ava Lee Series #7) by Ian Hamilton

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The King of Shanghai: The Triad Years (The Ava Lee Series #7)
By: Ian Hamilton

The seventh novel in the Ava Lee series finds Ava getting caught up in the election for the chairmanship of the Triad Societies.

Ava steps into her new business with May Ling Wong and her sister-in-law, Amanda. On a trip to Shanghai, Ava meets with Xu, a young man Uncle had been mentoring and who is also the head of the Triad in Shanghai. Xu makes an audacious business proposal that she and May are compelled to consider. Meanwhile, separately and privately, he confides to Ava that he intends to run for the chairmanship of the Triad Societies and attempts to recruit her as his adviser and confidante.

Against her will, Ava becomes enmeshed in Triad warfare and her future is threatened . . . – Goodreads

The seventh novel of the Ava Lee series starts off a new era for our female protagonist Ava who we’ve seen investigate and muddle herself in many wild and dangerous tasks as she puts her forensic accounting background to great use as she helped Uncle on her various assignments. Now, Uncle has passed away and the novel starts off on how she is dealing with the grief of the situation while trying to pick herself back up to continue her business with Three Sisters as they set out to widen their portfolio and evaluate the companies seeking their investment on various fronts. As they deal with this, Xu comes back into play as he lays his cards on the table first with a business proposal but one that comes with certain ties that ends up sending Ava into the middle of the Triad wars as the chairmanship for the Triad Societies approach imminently and the leaders of Wanchai, Shanghai and Guangzhou both have their own stakes to consider.

There’s a lot to love about this series and despite the change of pace in this one as it deals with the depart of a very fantastic character Uncle, it takes our focus back onto Ava as her growth on a personal front might not be as strong anymore other than the emotions she’s dealing with but also on a more professional level. I remember in the past, I’ve praised previous books for finding that balance of her personal and investigative developments but somehow this one makes me reconsider that statement a little as this book really found its footing when Ava was able to approach the more dangerous elements of the books and in some ways, maybe it shows a forte for author Ian Hamilton as he crafts these ramping intense scenes that almost feels like you’re reading a 90s Hong Kong action thriller (something like Election).

While its not to say that the beginning investment conflicts and such weren’t a pleasure to read since Ava as a character is well-built and her way of speaking and maneuvering through certain conversations has a firmness and sharpness that makes it quite a pleasure to read. However, it lacks that actual punch because the story even loses its foothold on that as it gives up on those elements to her partners as she deals with the Triad situation.

As an official introduction to this new phase in her life, not that the previous book isn’t since that’s when this business did start out with the previous book’s situation, however, it sets a footing that Ava isn’t going to get out of this Triad world any time soon. I think its a pretty fascinating thing to do especially since Uncle tried to keep her away from that element of his life despite his involvement but his passing opened up the doors that lead her into certain ties that she now dives deeper into this world. Its a refreshing change in pace and opens up the doors to meeting more interesting characters especially since we’ve only met three of these Dragon Heads or Mountain Masters. Who knows what other dangerous dilemmas are around the corner. Of course, at this point, I’ve fallen so behind in this series that one look at the coming books already gives a good idea of where Ava will be heading in the next few worlds and some of them do sound like it’ll bring some more exotic cities into play, another element that I do love about this book as it dives into the different places around the world but especially in Asia.

Overall, The King of Shanghai is a great addition to the series. I actually wouldn’t mind of Ava discovered less about herself if she kept pursuing these dangerous and exciting adventures. Its these situations that make this series so fun to read and gets me wanting to jump right into the next book.

Rating: 4.5/5

For previous book reviews:

The Water Rat of Wanchai
The Disciple of Las Vegas
The Wild Beasts of Wuhan
The Red Pole of Macau
The Scottish Banker of Surabaya
The Two Sisters of Borneo
The Dragon Head of Hong Kong

Customs Frontline (海關戰線, 2024)

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Customs Frontline (海關戰線, 2024)

Director: Herman Yau

Cast: Nicholas Tse, Jacky Cheung, Karena Lam, Francis Ng, Yase Liu, Brahim Chab, Michelle Wai, Melvin Wong, Amanda Strang

“After boarding an unauthorized cargo ship and finding its entire crew dead, Hong Kong customs officers discover a hidden cache of illegal weapons and trace them back to an ongoing and highly volatile international conflict. But when elite agents go undercover abroad to locate the source of the smuggled firearms, they uncover a complex transnational operation with roots far closer to home than they ever imagined.”- Well Go USA

Directed by Herman Yau and seeing the return of Jacky Cheung onto the big screen after a 7-year hiatus as an actor as well as Nicholas Tse’s first time as action director, Customs Frontline is an action thriller with a focus on illegal trade and smuggling with a focus from the angle of the Customs and Excise Department of Hong Kong. With an action-packed plot and an impressive cast along with a look at mental disorders and international turmoil.

The focus using the Hong Kong Customs Department as the pivot point is a good angle as it brings in the internal politics between the characters but also as a central focus to educate the audience a a little about this department and its duties while also shedding some light on the negative impact of illegal trade on an international scale. There are some minor writing issues that make the script feel a little clunky especially around the foreign dialogue and some little CG issues which feel below standards which take away from the moment. With that said, there is a lot of great moments in execution and the film does have a decent pacing to push all the events forwards with characters on one hand, investigating abroad but also the Hong Kong officers also finding more evidence to piece together the mystery of the tanker and the mastermind while having their own personal issues to deal with especially in terms of Jacky Cheung’s character.

There’s no doubt that the pull of bringing back Jacky Cheung to the big screen for the first time in years is going to be a big selling point. While Jacky Cheung is much more renowned for his singing, his filmography is equally impressive with the beginning of his acting career in Once Upon a Time in China and a handful of Wong Kar-Wai’s films as well as his his early collaboration with Stephen Chow as well as 2002’s July Rhapsody and 2016’s Heaven in the Dark, two films that he acted with Karena Lam to see them here again in another collaboration except this time in a much more conventional relationship than the previous films. Jacky Cheung has one of the more prominent roles in the leading characters who also has a harder role as his character Wan-nam suffers from bipolar disorder but also has a high EQ that makes him mask it from everyone around him and as the film moves forward, it ends up being a personal struggle. In some ways, this element adds to the plot but at the same time, there’s a few moments here that truly feel like there wasn’t enough time and depth given to his character as the film’s plot gets busier.

On the other hand, Karena Lam’s Madam Siu does make for an interesting pairing as she plays a higher ranking commissioner fighting for a chance to be promoted in competition with Francis Ng’s character who is a rougher character as he pushes his harshness on Wan-nam and Ching-Lai which gives these two characters their own respective intrigue as the film turns its suspicion on them possibly collaborating with the illegal group run by Dr. Raw (Amanda Strang).

Nicholas Tse’s character Ching-Lai does get a lot more space to grow as he moves through loss, war, investigation and trust. As Ching-Lai pairs up with the Thai special agent Ying, played by Yase Liu whom I previously saw in Sakra and I Did It My Way and delivers a decent role here, he ends up being the center of investigation and action which works well as Nicholas Tse also has the action director role. Nicholas Tse as an actor is almost always impressive as he truly does excel in his acting. As action director, it works for the most part. If there was anything to criticize it would be one of the earlier scenes that probably had too much cuts in his shot making the camera work feel like it was either covering up for the use of stunt double or something else which is the only instant as most of the other action scenes are well choreographed especially in the big finale with the fight against Dr. Raw’s minion Leo (Brahim Chab).

Overall, Customs Frontline has its heart in the right place. As an action thriller, it delivers a lot on the action part with a lot of fast-paced action-packed scenes driving the film’s execution. However, what does truly grab for this film is its staked cast from Nicholas Tse, Jacky Cheung, Karena Lam and Yase Liu being top billed to the supporting roles for Shek Sau, Michelle Wai and Kenny Kwan and the guest role from Francis Ng. Hong Kong films have changed from its heydays but while it seems like a lot of it is dominated by veteran actors, Customs Frontline brings in a different line-up that still has enough star-power and acting experience to deliver a satisfying film experience.

Customs Frontline is currently screening in selected theatres in North America. You can find more information on Well Go USA HERE.

**Film screener provided by Well Go USA**

Wolf Pack (狼群, 2022)

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Wolf Pack (狼群, 2022)

Director (and writer): Michael Chiang

Cast: Max Zhang, Aarif Lee, Luxia Jiang, Ye Liu, Yi Zhang, Gianluca Zoppa

While seeking answers about his father’s suspicious death, a tactically trained physician infiltrates a mercenary group and soon uncovers a dangerous international conspiracy that could threaten the lives of millions of civilians. – Well Go USA

Wolf Pack is the directorial debut of Singaporean screenwriter-playwright Michael Chiang while also penning the script of this action thriller which follows a young physician that gets caught up in a mercenary group as he tries to learn about his father’s death which gets thrown into an international conspiracy.

When we look at the script of Wolf Pack, its not necessarily the most original idea about mercenaries and international conspiracies, not even how the whole issue pans out. However, what does stand out is the little moments that add together to create a lot of variety and maybe a little unintended comedy to lighten up the mood in an increasingly tense plot. Despite that, the film does keep a steady tone and keeps things focused on a different view of mercenaries and focuses a lot on having good and bad guys in any spectrum whether its political or solely in the mercenary world.

As we follow the main character Ke Tong (Aarif Rahman) and learns more about this mercenary group which he basically got kidnapped into by one of the members called Monster (Luxia Jiang), he realizes that there’s a strong sense of belonging, loyalty and righteousness in this group that extends further than simply making money under the leadership of Lao Diao (Max Zhang). Loyalty and righteousness, good and evil are usually common themes in Chinese films which root from classic Chinese stories and the fact that its implemented here fairly subtly does work well. What doesn’t work as well is the melodramatic bits which is a normal staple in Chinese cinema but loses a little bit of its momentum when not executed well.

Wolf Pack does hit a lot of good elements where it counts. The casting here is pretty solid. Max Zhang has been in the business for a long time starting out as a stunt actor and eventually getting his own films. He has been part of some Hollywood films in minor roles like Pacific Rim Uprising. His wushu training from when he was an athlete lends well to his action sequences. While this film leans heavily on the firearms elements, there were a few close combat moments which was able to show off some of his skills.

The same applies for Luxia Jiang who is also trained in martial arts and wushu. However, her role of Monster has a lot more room to play around as the character brings in a little charisma to the group of men in this mercenary crew. Both Max Zhang and Luxia Jiang deliver pretty decent roles here. The mercenary crew as a whole work well while the other members have less screen time outside of the action scenes, they each do represent their role in the crew well. The cast on the whole is pretty decent especially since this involves an international plot and the English dialogue all lands pretty well.

For fans of mercenary films with lots of shootouts and infiltration, Wolf Pack is a fun choice. Of course, for those less familiar with Chinese films, perhaps there might be a little bit of dramatic moments that might feel more than what the film needs. However, Wolf Pack is a surprisingly satisfying and entertaining action film. While its a little thin on the hand to hand combat which is what Max Zhang and Luxia Jiang is trained in, there’s still enough action to keep this a thrilling film experience.

*Wolf Pack is currently available digitally on Well Go USA*

I Did It My Way (潜行, 2023)

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I Did It My Way (潜行 ,2023)

Director: Jason Kwan

Cast: Andy Lau, Gordon Lam, Eddie Peng, Yase Liu, Simon Yam, Suet Lam, Kent Cheng, Philip Keung, Hedwig Tam, Kevin Chu, Terrance Lau

As the secretive, complex world of online drug trafficking increasingly targets Hong Kong, the police launch a risky, top-secret sting operation to bring down one of the most notorious drug lords in Asia. – Well Go USA

Hong Kong crime films have been a huge staple of the last two decades of its cinema from drugs to human trafficking to terrorists and more. Infernal Affairs kicked off the undercover phase and really pushed the recognition of these types of crime films into a whole new world. I Did It My Way enters another realm as its police force dives into the dark web and online drug trafficking. The concept is more modern and has more technological elements involved in their operations on a wider globalized scale. With many regular faces taking on the leading roles like Andy Lau, Gordon Lam and Simon Yam in a Jason Kwan film, the film in concept has no issues but in execution, there are some issues

There has been a lot of crime films in Hong Kong from incredibly successful ones in the early 2000s like Infernal Affairs to Cold War in 2012. In recent years, its been a lot more rehashing of familiar ideas and many sequels for Z Storm running through a few more letters. In concept, many of these films work very well especially since the casting is solid even if the characters and plot are familiar. I Did It My Way sets up its stage well in the first stage but quickly loses its pacing in the second act and spirals off into explosions and montage killing by the third act to end in a fairly odd way. In some ways, the film script does give a nod at the use of its older casting by using classy cars and classic Cantonese music as its soundtrack. However, for a few moments, I felt like I was watching Michael Bay film with the generous explosions happening on screen throughout the film. Its not exactly a bad thing except it feels like it was going very far for its purpose (but then maybe it was also to shape the character). While explosions are still acceptable, perhaps the biggest criticism of this film does go to the subplot of the pregnant wife and the death of a baby, granted its computer-animated, that truly felt like it was there to create an unnecessary motivator but wanted to be more of an emotional manipulator.

Looking at this script with the globalized drug trafficking, it is a decent idea which works to a certain extent. There is a little stretch of imagination here needed especially since it uses the dark web as a means of distribution. While there is no way to do this in a non-sped up version for film pacing purposes, it did grasp the global feeling and the threat that it created. Jason Kwan implements a lot of montages to help speed up the film a little from kill montages to drug effect ones. For a crime film, this one does use a decent amount of action and for the actual fighting bits, credit does need to be given to Ka Lok Chin as Action Director that choreographs some pretty neat action moments that adds a lot of tension overall.

While there’s been a general criticism of the use of older actors and actresses in Hong Kong cinema, I’m in the group that believes any actor or actress can act as long as they are capable of doing so and still offer great material. If not, how would there be Time, a spectacular offering by an even older cast than this one. In that sense, everyone in this casting are well able to do that even if the leads are in their fifties and sixties with a few younger cast like Kevin Chu and Terrence Lau. This roster is what made this genre great in the first place so for them, this is definitely familiar territory and well above their capabilities. As these films start to form, we’re really starting to actually see the fantastic work that Gordon Lam and Philip Keung is capable of, two actors that started out in supporting and smaller roles respectively but in the past decade finding themselves picking up more prominent roles and in I Did It My Way, these two characters stood out the most, much like Taiwanese actor Eddie Peng who carried most of the action scenes incredibly well especially one in a wine cellar/store. Having watched Kevin Chu recently in TV series Dead Ringer, this actor does feel like he would have potential for bigger things in time, much like Terrence Lau who was in the Anita Mui biopic as Leslie Cheung and in this one, captures a more mischievous hacker persona.

Overall, I Did It My Way tries to craft an action crime film to the globalized illegal business. While in concept, a lot of these ideas do work, there are some issues throughout from pacing which possibly showed its cards a little too soon but also adding unnecessary plot. However, its strength is in its casting choices and its action. There are some truly strong moments in this film that build up tension very well but its mixed in with some dragging and predictable ones as well.

I Did It My Way opened in theatres January 12th.

**Screener provided by Well Go USA**

Saltburn (2023)

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Saltburn (2023)

Director (and writer): Emerald Fennell

Cast: Barry Keoghan, Jacob Elordi, Rosamund Pike, Richard E. Grant, Archie Madekwe, Alison Oliver, Paul Rhys, Carey Mulligan

A student at Oxford University finds himself drawn into the world of a charming and aristocratic classmate, who invites him to his eccentric family’s sprawling estate for a summer never to be forgotten. – IMDB

Entering the dark comedy psychological thriller upper social class world that Emerald Fennell is at times odd but visually stunning one. Its follows around the character of a student Oliver Quick (Barry Keoghan) from Oxford who tries to find him place in the elite university to be suddenly pulled into the world of Felix Catton (Jacob Elordi) after helping him out as he builds a friendship with him and get pitied by the rich boy who wants to offer him help in times of need into his family estate home Saltburn.

Stepping into the titular location of this film is where things truly start taking a turn for the odd and awkward moments and yet, this cast of character offers a stunning world that you can’t help but be a little offended by in the perceptive of Oliver as he overhears judgmental conversations behind his back but receives a welcoming and accepting attitude. The human element of the occupants add a class theme to the film. However, the location of Saltburn is also filmed in a wonderful way as it moves throughout the different areas of the house whether its the elegant interior design especially atmospheric at night with its dimmed lighting or the exterior with its hedge maze and swimming hole. Saltburn is a beautiful estate as it uses a location called Drayton House which is contracted to be a location and never be filmed in ever again, which is a neat little detail requested.

As things start to unravel and we learn more about Oliver Quick, much like any thriller, things start to fall apart into a twist. As odd and dark as these characters are, they are casted really well. Barry Keoghan does a great job and capturing the essence of Oliver who has a roller coaster of emotions and surprising reactions. In terms of nailing the dark comedy element, Rosamund Pike’s character as Felix’s mother Elspeth is truly the standout role here along with Felix’s father Sir Catton played by Richard E. Grant. Even the small cameo role of Carey Mulligan as Elspeth’s friend Pamela truly grasps that perfect balance of dark comedy. It does feel necessary to say that I’ve given The Kissing Booth trilogy a really hard time so Jacob Elordi’s portrayal of Felix is a very great surprise and it makes me look forward to him what other projects he will do after this film.

I’m a big fan of psychological thrillers and its incredibly challenging to find a right balance of decent pacing and dropping enough moments to set up for the twist to have that moment of impact. Emerald Fennell writes this script with a sufficient amount of twisted moments to make Oliver’s character a true mystery whether its a weird obsession over Felix or his weird encounters with his sister Venetia (Alison Oliver) and Farleigh (Archie Madekwe). In an objective view, there isn’t anything I can criticize about the film as whether its the well-used location or the atmospheric cinematography and visual style or even the surprises it offers in this thriller really hitting some unexpected moments. However, on a personal preference, this film isn’t one that I would go revisit as it hits those fairly uncomfortable to watch elements as it gets weirdly unexpected. Although I’m positive that those scenes are meant to have that reaction, its not exactly something I’d want to put myself to watch again. However, there is no doubt that Emerald Fennell is a director to keep an eye on and I’ll definitely be catching up with Promising Young Woman soon.

TV Binge: The Midnight Club (Season 1, 2022)

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The Midnight Club (Season 1, 2022)

Creators: Mike Flanagan & Leah Fong

Cast: Iman Benson, Igby Rigney, Ruth Codd, Annarah Cymone, William Chris Sumpter, Adia, Aya Furukawa, Sauriyan Sapkota, Matt Biedel, Samantha Sloyan, Zach Gilford, Heather Langenkamp

The Midnight Club follows an octet of terminally-ill teenage patients at Brightcliffe Hospice as they gather at midnight to share scary stories. – IMDB

Based primarily on the 1994 novel of the same name by Christopher Pike as well as adapting some of his short stories of various other books, The Midnight Club is a horror mystery thriller directed by Mike Flanagan which takes place in a hospice and the eight terminally-ill young adults who form The Midnight Club, following a long line of patients who are part of this club that get together at midnight to share scary stories and have a pact that whoever dies first will find a way to reach out if they can. The admission of their latest member, Ilonka (Iman Benson) stirs up the group as she tries to find the truth behind a story about a past patient who disappeared from the hospice and came back completely healed.

While I haven’t read the source material, The Midnight Club has an appealing execution and series structure. There’s a sense of watching an anthology as each episode focuses around a story told by one of the young adults which seemingly reveals a part of their own story with a twist. At the same time, the main storyline also strings through their conflicts and realities that they need to face with family that struggles to accept their illness or simply their own personal issues. This structure does have similar anthology genre issues where some stories are stronger than others and the scary element varies from some that push the outwardly unnerving but others are more subtle psychological horror. While it might have a little of something for everyone, it might not hit everyone the same. The central storyline follows each of them but Ilonka is a central focus as she starts to encounter odd things in the establishment itself as well as discovering more about the area that the hospice resides as well, which gives character to the location as well (something that I’m personally a big fan of).

Running at ten episodes, The Midnight Club manages to its rhythm well. While the scares aren’t like its previous shows and its set as a limited series instead of a mini-series, the series sets up the foundation for its characters and creates a mysteriously sinister location with Brightcliffe Hospice as it explores both the supernatural, cultist and historical elements. The characters also have their own uniqueness whether its their terminal illness or their personality, which creates a good balance between the harmony and friction to better understand these characters.

Mike Flanagan’s creations usually bring back familiar faces from previous projects that fit into this one. In this case, a good portion of his previous project Midnight Mass is here while adding in some new faces from its main leads like Ilonka played by Iman Benson or Anya played by Ruth Codd in her debut role to veteran cast like Heather Langenkamp who takes on the role as the doctor who runs the hospice. The Midnight Club truly shines in its characters because its them who tells the different stories and also shines the light on their struggles with their respective terminal illnesses as they experience loss, friendship and acceptance as well as all the unknown creepy things happening around them. While Ilonka’s character feels the most fleshed out in the group and she even has her own little mission, investigation and even romance along the way, Ruth Codd in her debut role here as Anya truly does steal the show. Despite its young cast being the focal point, most of the characters are well-written and believably portrayed.

Overall, The Midnight Club isn’t exactly what Mike Flanagan has done before on Netflix but at the same time, it still sticks a lot to the atmospheric execution that he is very good at. While it might not be as strong as its previous Netflix offerings from Mike Flanagan (which is pretty high bar that he set for himself), The Midnight Club still offered a lot of fun moments and the concept itself is unique as it explores so much more than just death. With a slated limited run of two seasons, it feels like a silly thing to just cancel it with just one more season to do especially since the first season set up the foundation of the series and its character incredibly well and had quite a few mysteries left to explore. Pity that we won’t get to see what happens.

Final Destination (2000)

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Final Destination (2000)

Director (and co-writer): James Wong

Cast: Devon Sawa, Ali Larter, Kerr Smith, Kristen Cloke, Daniel Roebuck, Roger Guenveur Smith, Chad Donella, Seann William Scott, Tony Todd, Amanda Detmer

Alex Browning is among a group of high school students on a trip to Europe. He suddenly has a premonition their airplane will crash, he screams to warn the others but is thrown off of the plane, and the plane crashes after they get off. – IMDB

Chinese people have a saying “閻王叫你三更死，誰敢留人到五更/If King Yan (aka god of death) wants you to die at midnight, who dares to keep you until dawn?” A saying that is suitable for Final Destination since its about a bunch of high school students that cheat death and now death is coming to get them one by one. With a hint, they end up figuring out the pattern of Death’s plan to try to avoid each other’s demise. How far could they cheat death and to what extents will it take to claim their lives to set the order right?

Final Destination is a surprisingly fun film. For a movie that has some predictable death moments at the beginning, the execution of the death scenes work effectively for the most part. The execution of Death’s plan for each demise is able to create enough slow-moving pieces as things fall into place one by one with many possibilities of what could happen but taking its time to show all its cards. Its what makes supernatural horror effective since death has no face and it isn’t like the typical killer, so the audience can never truly anticipate when it will show up which leaves room for surprises.

The film has a cast of unexpected groupings. While most horrors like to get a group of friends, this group is mostly not friends in school but simply classmates from French class that ends up forced to come together to try to stay alive. When Alex (Devon Sawa) gets taken off the plane after waking up hysterical from a nightmare that the plane crashed, some of his classmates also get thrown out along with one of the teachers taking them on the field trip including a young Ali Larter as the loner girl Clear who follows Alex off the plane out of instinct which I know more from her role as Claire Redfield in the Resident Evil films. The relationship between these two takes a very sudden leap in the film which doesn’t seem to really matter too much in the big picture. There’s really not much to say about the acting as a whole since they do well in their respective characters that they need to portray for the roles in this group. It is notable that Tony Todd (aka Candyman) makes a cryptic cameo appearance to give them hints about Death’s plan which is a small role but the most memorable in the whole film.

There’s not a whole lot to say about Final Destination. Its an enjoyable horror film for sure. I’m not sure how horrifying it actually is but it does have its tense moments and hits those horror thriller notes pretty well. Death is a well-executed invisible villain that can basically manipulate everything to make a killing happen in both the simplest and most complicated way. In the simple way, it has that one predictable kill moment but in its complicated executions, its where the tension builds the most. What Final Destination does is build up the foundation for this film series by letting the audience understand the basics of what we need to know about Death and the consequences of escaping Death’s plan. With the 6th film confirmed, there’s still a long road to head down, we will see how strong this foundation will hold out in terms of logic because already he ending of this film is a bit of a headscratcher but maybe the second film will explain it further.

TV Binge: The Glory (2022)

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The Glory (Season 1, 2022)

Director: Gil Ho Ahn

Cast: Hye-Kyo Song, Do-Hyun Lee, Ji-Yeon Lim, Sung-Hoon Park, Hye-ran Yeom, Sung-il Jung, Kim Hieora, Joo-Young Cha, Gun-woo Kim, Sang-Im Park

A woman lives for absolute revenge against her childhood bullies who destroyed her life. – IMDB

Revenge is a dish best served cold. The director and writers for The Glory really took this saying and crafted an entire 18 year revenge plan put in motion. The 16 episode series takes you on a two part journey since it was released in staggered 8 episode chunks. The first part is the motive for the revenge and the set-up for her revenge plan and the second part sees her revenge plan in motion as she breaks down her bullies one at a time. In case you don’t know the story and the IMDB synopsis isn’t quite detailed, a woman who was physically (and mentally) bullied by a group of rich kids and their not well off but wanting to be rich friends when they were in high school decides to come back with an elaborate revenge plan to reveal them for their wrongdoings and destroy their status. With the help of some friends she meets along the way, she sets these plans into motion to mostly psychologically disturb them.

The Glory is an intense narrative. It comes with the territory when the intense level of bullying that happens in the first part is revealed. The first part keeps a strong sense of hatred as the main character Dong-eun still has these moments haunt her from her youth. I’m not going to say what the bullying is to avoid spoilers. The story itself focuses on the injustice of the situation because of the group’s status in society that creates a situation where Dong-eun is unfairly treated and betrayed. The first part acts as a stepping stone to truly understand why she is targeting these people as they either hurt her or treated the situation unfairly, all contributing to her plan not only including the five bullies but also a few people. In many ways, as we see her past, the characters in the present also prove to be even worse than they were, making them even more abhorrent.

To be fair, the first 8 episodes lays the motive and hatred on very thick and in some ways, it feels almost too much but when the last 8 episodes come in and the revenge plan unfurls, all the build-up in the first part makes a lot of sense because it makes it easier to fully embrace how she manipulates each of these situations, setting herself up through meeting certain people or verbally creating fear and controlling the situation then actually dealing the harm herself. Its a clever plan that might be morally wrong but its a strong message that if she was heard when she was experiencing this, perhaps it wouldn’t have turned out like this. There’s a few decent twists throughout the series as well, with one of the biggest ones probably in its finale.

While the writing itself is done pretty well, the true shining elements of this series is the cast. Dong-eun is played by Hye-Kyo Song which probably credits for the start of the Korean series popularity internationally with Autumn in My Heart (at least to my knowledge), a role that is very different from this one. This one digs much deeper into a vengeful psyche and she’s able to create a lot of friction especially facing her main counterpart, the leader of the high school bullies Yeon-Jin who is casted incredibly accurate with Ji-Yeon Lim who truly captures the condescending and self-centered elite when faced with the much less fortunate like Dong-Eun and believes that there is nothing wrong with treating them that way. She is the ringleader which sparks the fire for her little group of bullies which not only physically but mentally traumatizes their victims (yes, its not only Dong-Eun) to fulfill their constant need to prove what they can do. She has these little facial cues which reveals how her character is feeling even if she doesn’t say it.

The group itself also has its own diversity in characters. The whole group being rather well-casted to fit their own profile uniquely to fit into the revenge plan and ends up all finding their own fates in the end with a slight guidance in the revenge plan by all digging their own grave. The other shining characters has to be Dong-Eun’s amateur detective Hyeon-nam, played by Hey-ran Yeom who was also in The Uncanny Counter (review) who has a rather sad backstory but is the comedic and heartwarming relief that balances out all the negativity much like Dong-Eun’s love interest aka “executioner” who is a plastic surgeon with his own set of inner turmoil Yeo-Jeong played by Do-Hyun Lee previously seen in Sweet Home (review) who adds that little element of comfort in this whole plan but he also ends up playing the hidden sly character that helps her out of situations.

Overall, The Glory is well-deserving of its hype. The story itself highlights a lot of societal issues that stem from the basic foundation of the mentality that divides the elites and anyone below them which transfers from its generation. Bullying becomes a means to make them feel powerful and in control. The execution of the TV series is pretty clever since sometimes, the guilty only need a little nudge to drive themselves into their own doom when their dirty laundry is laid out for everyone to see and they need to desperately seek a path of redemption.

As an ending note, while The Glory does set up the stage for a potential second season if they do want to do it, I’m not really sure it needs to have one. The characters are great but when the stage shifts to the revenge plan for this other character, it might not quite have the same effect. Who knows, right? I say that but if a second season were to happen, I’d probably still watch it just to see these characters again.

Hidden Blade (無名, 2023)

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Hidden Blade (無名, 2023)

Director (and writer): Er Cheng

Cast: Tony Leung, Yibo Wang, Chengpeng Dong, Zhou Xun, Eric Wang, Huang Lei, Mori Hiroyuki, Shuying Jiang, Jingyi Zhang

Follows the story of underground workers who risked their lives to send intelligence and defend the motherland, set after Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor when the Wang Jingwei regime declared war on Britain and the U.S. – IMDB

The last chapter of Bona Film Group’s China Victory Trilogy (which feature separate stories), Hidden Blade is a World War II espionage thriller. The film is structured from scattered events throughout the Japan-China War of Resistance from the bombings of Guangzhou to Japan’s surrender. Structured in a scrambled timeline of events, the espionage thriller right away implicates that there will the unknown elements of which character is secretly working for their own forces while on the service the characters all work for Japanese espionage agencies performing at times some brutal moments. Between the director’s intricate script and the outstanding cast selected for this film, Hidden Blade delivers a great thriller and will keep the audience keeping its detective hat on to spot who is not who they appear to be.

Hidden Blade is a visually stunning film. Er Cheng crafts a film where every scene is set up beautifully. There is a wonderful and atmospheric use of lighting and the cinematographic grasp of each scene from where the characters of placed all add to the suspense. The artistic element sets its tone right from its first scene with darkened space and Tony Leung’s character sitting on a chair with nothing much around and he just turns to the camera. With that said, the structure of the scrambled storyline is one that relies on having a decent knowledge of what happened between Japan and China with the Chinese Communist Party and Japan’s invasion. While that’s the case, it does give common knowledge like the attack on Pearl Harbor for wider known events which gives a good point of reference for that timeframe.

The script does touch a few details to give it the basic foundation but knowing more does help with grasping how the timeline moves back and forth through different events and scenes. It does help that the film makes the effort to add in the necessary timestamps to make it easier to grasp. Once the different scenes are set up at the beginning, it does become easier to figure out the sequence and follow the story. While the scrambled storyline takes a little bit of time to adjust to, it does help to create the suspense for the characters and their actions. There are certain hints like drops of blood and a newspaper on the table to help hint towards certain events but a lot of the reveals are cleverly written to give its twist in the final act. Another great element of the film is the language it uses and even for Chinese audience, it will still require subtitle reading as it moves between Mandarin, Japanese, Shanghainese and Cantonese.

The cast is a highlight with Hong Kong veteran actor Tony Leung, most notable to the Western audience from In The Mood of Love and more recently, in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. For those familiar with his filmography, this is right up his alley as he has done films before from this era as well like Lust, Caution but also excels in a variety of genres, much like his work in Infernal Affairs. There is no doubt that Tony Leung is the headliner for this film. However, China’s rising young celebrity Yibo Wang is one that does a fantastic job as well. Multitalented musically as his boyband debut in South Korean band Uniq as their rapper and dancer, his recent years of acting has opened up a lot of opportunities, most notable for popular TV series The Untamed (which is currently available on Netflix Canada and Youtube). Hidden Blade is probably the most sophisticated role he has taken on and proved that he is capable of delivering both a subtle character but also not afraid for the action scenes. While his role as Mr. Ye is mostly paired with his partner Mr. Wang, played by Eric Wang, there are some pivotal plot points that deliver some well-choreographed action scenes. The leading cast between these two are very deceptive for the majority of the film.

The supporting actors are also pretty big names. Eric Wang, Huang Lei and Chengpeng Dong are all renowned actors in China. These three all have rather significant roles in Hidden Blade and each has their own twists and reveals. Its as much as praise again to the intricate script and in turn, the character design as none of the characters are what they seem. Its a strong male cast in this film and reasonably so due to the decade and era that its set. However, the limited female cast also gets very little screen time which is most surprising with Zhou Xun as Ms. Chen who is one of the biggest female actresses in China. While Ms. Chen doesn’t have a big role, her character is embedded in a few plot points in Hidden Blade. Unlike her, actress Shuying Jiang mostly known for TV series like The King’s Avatar (currently on Netflix Canada) and Nothing But Thirty who has one scene in Hidden Blade as an alluring character called Ms. Jiang who we can only wish had a bigger role as that one scene was very memorable.

Hidden Blade is a well-executed espionage thriller. It has all the pieces to put together a thoughtful and clever story set in a significant part of history especially for China as they were oppressed by foreign powers. It focuses heavily on the Japanese espionage agencies inner working with its various characters and spends the film making the audience wonder who is not what they seem. Packed with an exceptional cast, visually stunning cinematography and a well-constructed non-linear thriller, Hidden Blade is definitely a great addition to Chinese cinema.

*Screener provided by Well Go USA*

Project Wolf Hunting (2022)

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Project Wolf Hunting (2022)

Director (and writer): Hong-Sun Kim

Cast: Seo In-Guk, Dong-Yoon Jang, Dong-Il Sung, Gwi-Hua Choi, Park Ho-San, Moon-sung Jung, Jung So-Min

Follows dangerous criminals on a cargo ship who are transported from the Philippines to South Korea, as they unleash a sinister force after an escape attempt leads to a riot.- IMDB

Premiered at the TIFF Midnight Madness as the opening film, Project Wolf Hunting is an violent action thriller that fits the term madness to a tee. Recent years (maybe even decade or more) has seen a rise of hyper violent films hit the market and create a lot of accolades and conversation especially on the film festival circuit, a good example being The Sadness (review) which is one of the most gruesome and disturbing films I have seen to date. Project Wolf Hunting does a lot right from the setting to the hyper violence but it also lacks in its overall plot and characters.

Setting a film on any marine vessel as its one setting (for the most part) is actually a rare move (although look at director Hong-Sun Kim’s filmography, one of his earlier films were also set on a ship). There are a few movies who do it but its still a fairly underused setting. Project Wolf Hunting utilizes its space very well as it moves its characters throughout the ship which poses its own issues right from the get-go. Everything comes into play and they all have their purpose. The narrow passageways and the close pipes and even the deck and different levels all add to what is hidden and how the group can use its abilities to their advantage but also leave space for more discoveries to expose a little backstory to the threat at hand.

This brings up a central issue of this 2 hour film: the story. Sure, we can argue that films like this is all about the visual element in the satisfaction of watching hyper violent scenes, the endless ways someone can be killed ruthlessly and the excessive amount of fake blood a human can actually exude with each kill until every surface is covered in blood. However, we watch this film, there’s no doubt that it all becomes rather mind-numbing especially when the plot is fairly generic in its twist of events. The first part is actually pretty clever when the actual prisoner escape attempt riot starts and not a whole lot of violence has happened at this point so it becomes impressive to see all this being a huge plan that had started even before everyone got on the ship. Even the twist and change of enemy force is expected since it was revealed early on but the enemy design is surprising at first. The deal is that there are a lot of characters, a lot of body count and just not enough cohesive backstory to keep itself engaging. It doesn’t help that while the plot takes some predictable twists that a bigger threat is brewing on the ship with a big secret that will gradually be revealed, how all this goes down feels a little unclear.

The question Project Wolf Hunting brings up for these sort of films is a key one: How do you balance plot, blood and violence? Is it enough to just cover a generic plot with blood and violence and use the shock factor? For myself, the answer is probably no as the film loses its appeal as the violence and blood loses its shock element from simply its overabundance, pounding away the purpose one kill at a time. To be fair, the film started on the right foot in the first half. The action sequences and the kills do have some creativity that works with the setting and some extremely brutal ones as well. Looking past all the violence, the prisoners grouping together to create a riot to escape is pretty clever and even if the leading prisoner character is a tad generic in its psycho-killer ways, he still had a certain extreme brutality that made him rather convincingly creepy. Even the timing for the entrance of the new enemy along with their design was sufficiently spine-chilling but what transpires from that point to the end right up to the finale and that ending that almost feels like it could work up for a possible sequel really does feel so lackluster.

For viewers who are there for simply the hyperviolence and bloodshed, Project Wolf Watching is everything it promises. There are every way possible to kill and some pretty creative deaths as well with various items and weapons. There is an over the top use of blood that would probably put Quentin Tarantino’s to shame (but then The Sadness was even more extreme in its bloodbath extremity). The sole amount of blood a head slowly being crushed can pour out from its orifices is apparently an astoundingly ridiculous amount and that’s just one very quick example. The director never forgets that the heart of the film is this element.

*Project Wolf Hunting will hit digital, Blu-ray & DVD on February 14th and available for pre-book on January 10th. Find more info HERE*

**Screener provided by Well Go USA