Chow Yun-fat

Starting with its unlikely origin as an amusement park ride, the Pirates series quickly mushroomed into a sort of meta-pirate film, a vast and whirligig universe unto itself that drew in every possible nautical cliché and legend possible. Thus the first film concentrated on yo-ho-ho-ing, rum-drinking, and general pirate-y scalawaggery. The second roped in Davy Jones and The Flying Dutchman -- not to mention an excess of secondary characters and familial drama. For the third (but not necessarily last, given the teaser it ends with) entry, the bursting-at-the-seams script tosses in a raging maelstrom, an actual trip to Davy Jones' Locker, and even the sea goddess Calypso. Dead Man's Chest showed that more is not always better, with excess just leading to more excess and a general sense of lethargy -- they were just setting us up for the conclusion and marking time until then. At World's End, however, shows that Hollywood excess, when combined with the right combination of actors and an occasionally smart script, can work out quite nicely, thank you very much.

Continue reading: Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World's End Review

"The Corruptor" gets off to a shaky start --literally. The over-stylized, '70s-inspired shake-and-zoom handheld cameraworkin the establishing action scenes was enough to make me wish I had a someDramamine.

The first act of the movie mostly by-the-book ganglandcop stuff, featuring Hong Kong action king Chow Yun-Fat ("TheReplacement Killers") as a hard-boiled(naturally) NYPD detective working the gang beat in Chinatown who reluctantlytakes on Mark Wahlberg ("Boogie Nights") as his inexperienced and laughablyidealistic new partner.

Early on Wahlberg and Chow, in his trademark sunglasses,slick suits and leather duster get into the kind of bystander-endangeringchases and shoot-outs that would get a real cop suspended (if not fired),but instead they receive commendations. They rough up informants, cut dealswith mafia leaders and raise the FBI's hackles by busting an undercoveroperative. They're kick-ass Chinatown gang cops who don't play by the rulesand act like a gang themselves.

Continue reading: The Corruptor Review

Because "Anna and the King" stands on its own remarkably well, it may be unfair to begin this review with a comparison to "The King and I," the most famous film adapted from the same source material. But what I found most striking about the elegant, intelligent remake is how acutely aware it made me of the insulting Euro-centricity of its predecessors.

In the same story told in 1946 ("Anna and the King of Siam"), 1956 (from the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical) and 1999 (that dreadful cartoon version), widowed English schoolteacher Anna Leonowens has always been portrayed as a much wiser, civilized woman who teaches the elaborate but backwards Asian monarch to think like a European, to waltz like a European and shapes his diplomatic policy by whispering in his ear.

The prudent but powerful screenplay for this non-musical, epic remake -- directed by Andy Tennant, who so successfully reinvented Cinderella in "Ever After" -- puts this Anna (played by Jodie Foster) and this King (Chow Yun-Fat) on very equal footing, making their relationship far more combative and compelling.

Continue reading: Anna & The King Review

A magnificently crafted hybrid of Chinese historical epic, F/X-enhanced martial arts spectacular, mystical romantic tragedy and live-action anime, "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" is a film that defies genre while embracing traditionalism.

It's an intellectually challenging story of noble warriors in feudal China, yet it's packed with eloquent swordplay and lightning-fast hand-to-hand combat. It's also the story of a burning, long-unspoken love between one warrior and the fiancée of a fallen comrade -- a woman his honor forbids him from pursuing, even years later as they fight side-by-side against a mysterious and vengeful sworn enemy.

What's more, it is an unconventional coming-of-age fable as well, about the beautiful teenage daughter (Zhang Ziyi) of a provincial governor, who longs desperately for freedom in the face of an impending arranged marriage that will surely clip her wings.

Continue reading: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon Review