The Moon Thieves (The Moon Thi4v3s, Dao yue zhe, 盜月者) – Movie Review

TL;DR – While the plot will not be a great surprise to anyone who has watched a heist film before, the cast makes it a fun ride.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There are mid-credit scenes.

Disclosure – I paid to see this film.

The interior of a watch.

The Moon Thieves Review

Long-time readers will know that I love a good heist film, the set-up, the mission when it all goes to pot. However, I have seen how many Western filmmakers have explored the genre, and that is just a tiny section of the filmmaking community. Today, we will start fixing this by looking at a film out of Hong Kong about the surprising world of counterfeit watches.

So, to set the scene, Vincent Ma (Edan Lui) is known in the counterfeit business as someone who creates frankenwatches. These are watches made from original parts but cobbled together for many different watches. This is a lucrative, if dangerous business, even more so when he is called upon by the local crime lord Uncle (Keung To), who is the son of the original Uncle but kept the name. Uncle needs Vincent and Chief (Louis Cheung) to put a group together to replace and steal three precious Picasso watches that have been found in Tokyo. Vincent does not want to do this, but he has no choice. But then, this introduction to a broader criminal world might be just what he needs for his ultimate goal: to find the lost Moon Watch, the first watch worn on the Moon by Buzz Aldrin.

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Warriors of Future (明日戰記, Ming yat zin gei, Virtus, 矛盾戰爭) – Movie Review

TL;DR – A fascinating action story, held back by some frustrating characters.    

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is a mid-credit scene

Disclosure – I paid for the Netflix service that viewed this film.

Looking up at a painted rendition of what Earth used to look like.

Warriors of Future Review

If there is one thing that will get me immediately interested in a film, it is a story about trying to fight for a future. The world has gone to pot, but there is one chance to save us all. I can’t help but sucked into stories like this, and today we look at one around an alien plant.

  So to set the scene, technology had been advancing at a prodigious pace in the last century, as was the propensity for destruction, aided by the development of military robots. The wars and ecological decline led to a societal collapse worldwide. It is hard to go on when even the air you breathe is toxic, so what governments that were left started building Skynets over cities so they could purify the poisonous air. Things were beginning to turn around when a meteorite crashed into the plant. It caused immense destruction, to where it hit City B-16, and it carried an alien plant called Pandora that rapidly expanded when exposed to water. A turn that humanity might not be able to recover from.           

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Movie Review – We Are Legends (入鐵籠)

TL;DR – A charming story with interesting characters, let down a bit by some technical issues.     

Score – 3 out of 5 stars

Post-Credit Scene – There is a mid-credit scene

We Are Legends (入鐵籠). Image Credit: Bravos Pictures.

Review

Over the last couple of years, I have discovered that I really enjoy a good sports film. There are the great highs, and deep lows, as great talent is on display. Today we are looking for a film out of Hong Kong about the world of MMA and the struggle to be the best, based on the life of Dixin Xiong.

So to set the scene, we open with Bunny (Yiu-Sing Lam) as he rushed from work to an underground fight ring. He is asked by his friend to throw the match, but that is not something he can do. Upsetting a bookie, Bunny has to lie low so he goes back home, where he left on not great terms. As he walks in his brother Jack (Edward Ma) is give a press conference as he is about to fight Jason Chan (Jason Li) whose arm Jack broke last time they fought. There is a lot of tension because even though their adoptive father Eric (Eric Kot) and his sister Simo (Qiu Yuen) are happy to see Bunny, Jason is not.

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Movie Review – Chasing the Dragon (Zhuī Lóng, 追龍)

TL;DR – Donnie Yen and Andy Lau are both amazing actors, and I just wish they had been given a better movie to show their talents in.

Score – 2.5 out of 5 stars

P.S. – There is a mid-credit scene

Chasing the Dragon. Image Credit; Mega-Vision Project.

Review

I knew nothing about Chasing the Dragon before going to see it other than it was set in 1960s Hong Kong. This was a really interesting time for Hong Kong, and so I thought it would be a great setting for a film. However, to be honest right from the start I did not enjoy Chasing the Dragon at all, I mean it is not that all films have to be enjoyable, but they should at least be captivating. Now I don’t like ragging on something that people have clearly put a lot of work into, but it is a film that has a lot of flaws, unfortunately. So today we’ll look at what went wrong, but also the highpoints as there are some throughout the film.

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Movie Review – The Adventurers (Xiá Dào Lián Méng, 俠盜聯盟)

TL;DR – Take Bond, True Lies & Oceans 11, add a strong Chinese sensibility, and a dash of French for good measure.

Score – 3.5 out of 5 stars

P.S. – There is a mid-credit scene

The Adventurers (Xiá Dào Lián Méng, 俠盜聯盟). Image Credit: IM Global.

Review

Ah betrayal, nothing motivates a protagonist more than trying to find out who betrayed him and left him for dead in prison for five years. Indeed, this is at the heart of what makes The Adventurers work as it blends the gadget work of James Bond, with the camp absurdity of True Lies, and the best heisting from the Ocean’s 11 series, and somehow it all works. Indeed, this is the second heist film that we have had this month with Logan Lucky (review) also in cinemas, and I have to say I liked The Adventurers better.

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