Tag: Mini Yang

Wu Dang (2012, Patrick Leung)

Wu Dang is a mix of a martial arts competition picture and Indiana Jones. Director Leung never quite emphasizes the 1920s setting, partially because of the plot–the action moves quickly to a timeless temple–but also because everything in Dang looks so fake, if Leung doesn’t move fast, the CG shows. His direction has a lack of personality anyway, which sort of suits Dang. There’s no personality anywhere in it.

Watching the film, I wondering if the target audience is kids. The kung fu scenes are slow–Lincoln Lo’s lame music makes for poor accompaniment–and the script is just dumb. Maybe kids don’t care about the acting being terrible or Tony Cheung’s bad cinematography. Dragging out the action to make up for lack of story only works if the action enterains.

There is one big problems with Dang–technically speaking. Cheung Ka-fai’s editing. He has glaring, obvious jump cuts, he doesn’t match where the characters are standing or, since there’s a lot of wire-work, floating. The only thing worse than Cheung Ka-fai’s editing is that score from Lo. Combined, the two make Dang an ugly film.

As the lead, Zhao Wenzhuo is terrible. He’s got a daughter with him on the treasure hunt (Josie Xu) in an attempt to make the character likable. It fails, mostly because of Zhao’s unbelievable performance. As his romantic interest, Mini Yang is lame. Xu probably gives the best performance and she’s not particularly good.

Dang‘s a waste of time.

0/4ⓏⒺⓇⓄ

CREDITS

Directed by Patrick Leung; written by Chan Khan; director of photography, Tony Cheung; edited by Cheung Ka-fai; music by Lincoln Lo; produced by Chan and David Wang; released by Mei Ah Entertainment.

Starring Zhao Wenzhuo (Professor Tang Yunlong), Mini Yang (Tian Xin), Fan Siu-wong (Shui Heyi), To Yu-hang (Bai Long), Josie Xu (Tang Ning), Paw Hee-ching (Shui Heyi’s mother), Henry Fong (Xie, the chief abbot) and Shaun Tam (Paul Chen).

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Painted Skin: The Resurrection (2012, Wuershan)

Painted Skin: The Resurrection is an unpleasant experience, straddling the fence between stupid and bad. The script, from Ran Ping and Ran Jia-nan, is the weakest link. This magnificent, grandiose melodrama set in Ancient China only has a handful of characters in it. The side characters populating an elaborately constructed–physically and digitally–fall away to concentrate on the leads. While it makes some sense narratively, it makes Resurrection feel empty and fake; the script seems more geared towards cutscenes in a video game.

The CG doesn’t help the artificiality much either. Almost every shot–meaning ninety-eight percent, not sixty or some low figure–has some kind of CG in it. Suspiciously named director Wuershan composes–with his digital crutch–some lovely shots, unfortunately he can’t direct. The action scenes in Resurrection are atrocious, full of inexplicable slow motion. Then Wuershan carries over that slow motion to every sequence in the movie. Like the already boring movie needs to be artificially extended….

Resurrection is a pointless assault on the senses, with Ishida Katsunori’s lousy score an accomplice. It’s too much, every time–except when it comes to pixie cute demon, Mini Yang. The filmmakers inexplicably cheap out on her effects.

None of the acting is good, with lead Zhao Wei probably being the worst. She’s really, really bad. Her demon sidekick, Zhou Xun, is a little better. The object of their mutual affections–Kun Chen–gives the film’s “best” performance.

Resurrection‘s the pits from the opening titles.

0/4ⓏⒺⓇⓄ

CREDITS

Directed by Wuershan; written by Ran Ping and Ran Jia-nan; director of photography, Arthur Wong; edited by Xiao Yang; music by Ishida Katsunori; produced by Pang Hong, Wang Zhonglei and Chen Kuo-fu; released by Huayi Brothers Media.

Starring Chen Kun (Huo Xin), Zhao Wei (Princess Jing), Zhou Xun (Xiaowei), Mini Yang (Que’er), Feng Shaofeng (Pang Lang), Fei Xiang (The Witch Doctor of Tianlang), Chen Tingjia (The Queen of Tianlang) and Morgan Benoit (Wolf Slave of Tianlang).

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