Vital Sign 送院途中 (2023) Review

The first thing that Vital Sign <送院途中> caught my attention is the rarely-explored story of Hong Kong paramedics as the central theme. Of course, this is not the first time I’ve seen such a story with TVB’s acclaimed 2018 series Life on the Line <跳躍生命線> starring Joe Ma and Matthew Ho being the prime example.

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No More Bets 孤注一掷 (2023) Review

No More Bets <孤注一掷>, which was originally released in China on August 8 has amassed over RMB2.74 billion and still counting. The movie currently stands as the fourth highest-grossing Chinese movie so far behind Lost in the Stars <消失的她>, The Wandering Earth II <流浪地球2> and Full River Red <满江红>.

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Death Notice 暗殺風暴 (2023) Review

It’s Herman Yau again and this time, it’s a mid-budget mystery thriller titled Death Notice <暗殺風暴>. A long-delayed production that has been circling around since 2019, with multiple release dates getting reshuffled for various reasons, making me wonder whether the movie is ever going to see the light of day.

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Mad Fate 命案 (2023) Review

Soi Cheang last directed a Milkyway production back in 2012, which was an action thriller starring Shawn Yue and Anthony Wong titled Motorway <車手>. It’s nice to see him back in the director’s chair under the same production banner — his first in 11 years since that aforementioned movie.

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Hidden Strike 狂怒沙暴 (2023) Review

The long-delayed Hidden Strike <狂怒沙暴> falls into the category of “woulda, coulda, shoulda” of a potentially good action comedy. It has Jackie Chan and John Cena (even though, the latter was supposedly intended for Sylvester Stallone but dropped out instead). The movie is directed by Scott Waugh of Act of Valor and Need for Speed fame. And it also boasts a big-budget price tag, reportedly costing approximately RMB570 million (US$80 million) to make.

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The White Storm 3: Heaven or Hell 掃毒3: 人在天涯 (2023) Review

Herman Yau sure knows how to blow stuff up in The White Storm 3: Heaven or Hell <掃毒3: 人在天涯>. Vehicles exploded and flipped in the air before hitting the ground. The army base headquarters, which was purposefully built on a full-scale set in New Territories as a stand-in for Thailand’s Golden Triangle due to pandemic-era travel restrictions at the time of filming, ended up getting blown to smithereens as a result of an air assault.

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Lost in the Stars 消失的她 (2023) Review

At the time of writing, Lost in the Stars <消失的她> has amassed over RMB3.08 billion (US$430 million) at the China box office alone, making it one of the highest-grossing Chinese-language movies of 2023 as well as in the all-time chart. The movie exceeded expectations, where it even overcame stiff competition like Chow Yun-Fat’s long-awaited comeback dramedy of One More Chance <別叫我“賭神”> and Harrison Ford’s swan song of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.

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One More Chance 別叫我”賭神” (2023) Review

Originally titled Be Water, My Friend <驕陽歲月> when it was filmed in 2019, this long-delayed Hong Kong dramedy has since settled with a more mainstream-friendly (and generic-sounding) English title, One More Chance <別叫我”賭神”>. The Cantonese title, though, is literally known as “Don’t Call Me God of Gamblers”, an apparent reference to Chow Yun-Fat’s iconic Ko Chun character in the 1989 genre classic.

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Shadows 殘影空間 (2023) Review

It sure feels like forever waiting for Shadows <殘影空間> to finally arrive in cinemas after years of postponement. The psychological thriller made its debut at the Hong Kong Asian Film Festival in 2020 before it screened in several other film festivals the year after.

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A Guilty Conscience 毒舌大狀 (2023) Review

At the time of writing, A Guilty Conscience <毒舌大狀> has already made HK$30 million and still counting at the Hong Kong box office, proving Dayo Wong’s hot streak continues since hitting the jackpot in Agent Mr Chan <棟篤特工> five years ago.

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