On the list of things that I should be doing at this very minute, putting up a complete list of our recent Top 100 Hong Kong Films of the Nineties is not one of them. But it’s been nearly two weeks since the results went out so I figured I should finally get to it.

These guys were happy with the results:

“We have triumphed again, Tony.
Wilson and Donnie have nothing on us!”

Can’t wait for the scene in Wong Kar-Wai’s IP MAN where Ip Man kicks ass and then smokes in slow motion for about half-an-hour.

Speaking of Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, he’s the star of the Top 2 films on this list, CHUNGKING EXPRESS and HARD BOILED. On our list of Top 50 Films of the Aughts, he also starred in the Top 2 films, INFERNAL AFFAIRS and IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE. What does that mean? Is Tony Leung Chiu-Wai really that good? Or did he strike some deal with the Devil to put him in quality films?

“This panda below my sink is the true source of my power!”

Anyway, here’s a recap of the Top 100. I didn’t account for ties below, but you can get the idea anyway. As usual, you can find reviews at LoveHKFilm.com by cutting and pasting into Ye Olde Search Box.

1. Chungking Express (1994), 673 points, 24 first place votes
2. Hard Boiled (1992), 547.5 points, 9 first place votes
3. The Mission (1999), 412.5 points, 7 first place votes
4. A Bullet in the Head (1990), 370 points, 7 first place votes
5. Drunken Master II (1994), 350.5 points, 6 first place votes
6. Running Out of Time (1999), 342.5 points, 5 first place votes
7. Once Upon a Time in China (1990), 335.5 points, 4 first place votes
8. Once Upon a Time in China II (1991), 306 points, 2 first place votes
9. Days of Being Wild (1991), 304.5 points, 4 first place votes
10. God of Cookery (1996), 293 points, 2 first place votes
11. Comrades Almost a Love Story (1996), 276 points, 7 first place votes
12. Fong Sai Yuk (1993), 242 points, 1 first place vote
13. Happy Together (1997), 232 points, 3 first place votes
14. C’est La Vie Mon Cheri (1993), 227.5 points, 3 first place votes
15. Fallen Angels (1995), 218 points, 3 first place votes
16. A Chinese Odyssey (1995), 212.5 points, 4 first place votes
17. Ashes of Time (1994), 200.5 points, 4 first place votes
18. King of Comedy (1999), 190.5 points, 1 first place vote
19. Fist of Legend (1994), 187.5 points, 2 first place votes
20. Iron Monkey (1993), 180 points
21. A Moment of Romance (1990), 178 points, 5 first place votes
22. Police Story 3: Supercop (1992), 161 points, 2 first place votes
23. Swordsman II (1991), 156.5 points
24. The Bride with White Hair (1994), 148 points
25. From Beijing with Love (1994), 140.5 points, 1 first place vote
26. Young and Dangerous (1996), 118.5 points
27. The Blade (1995), 115 points, 1 first place vote
28. He’s a Woman She’s a Man (1994), 113.5 points
29. Fight Back to School (1991), 113 points
30. Full Alert (1997), 112 points, 1 first place vote
31. The Longest Nite (1998), 109.5 points, 1 first place vote
32. Beast Cops (1998), 108 points, 1 first place vote
33. Dragon Inn (1992), 104.5 points, 2 first place votes
34. Expect the Unexpected (1998), 98 points
35. A Hero Never Dies (1998), 96 points
36. Green Snake (1993), 88 points, 1 first place vote
37. The Storm Riders (1998), 84 points
38. Too Many Ways to Be No. 1 (1998), 83 points
39. Tai Chi Master (1993), 82 points
40. Made in Hong Kong (1997), 81.5 points, 1 first place vote
41. Love on Delivery (1994), 73.5 points
42. Forbidden City Cop (1996), 70.5 points
43. Centre Stage (1992), 69.5 points, 2 first place votes
44. Full Contact (1992), 65.5 points
45. The Untold Story (1993), 65 points
46. Once a Thief (1991), 62.5 points
47. The Heroic Trio (1993), 59.5 points, 1 first place vote
48. All for the Winner (1990), 56 points
49. Lost and Found (1996), 55 points, 1 first place vote
50. The Lovers (1994), 53 points, 1 first place vote
51. Bullets Over Summer (1999), 53 points
52. Young and Dangerous 3 (1996), 49 points, 2 first place votes
53. Gen-X Cops (1999), 46.5 points
54. The Longest Summer (1998), 42.5 points, 1 first place votes
55. God of Gamblers 2 (1990), 40.5 points
56. Summer Snow (1995), 38.5 points, 1 first place votes
57. Young and Dangerous: The Prequel (1998), 38.5 points
58. Royal Tramp (1992), 37.5 points
59. Sex and Zen (1991), 37 points
60. Flirting Scholar (1993), 36.5 points
61. 92 La Legendary Rose Noire (1992), 36 points
62. All’s Well Ends Well (1992), 35 points
63. He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Father (1993), 34 points, 1 first place vote
64. Tricky Brains (1991), 34 points
65. Wing Chun (1994), 33.5 points
66. Metade Fumaca (1999), 33.5 points
67. Little Cheung (1999), 33 points, 1 first place vote
68. Naked Killer (1992), 32 points, 1 first place vote
69. Big Bullet (1996), 32 points
70. Fly Me to Polaris (1999), 32 points
71. King of Beggars (1992), 31.5 points
72. City of Glass (1998), 30.5 points, 1 first place vote
73. Shanghai Grand (1996), 28.5 points
74. Dr. Mack (1995), 28 points, 2 first place votes
75. The Chinese Feast (1995), 27.5 points, 1 first place vote
76. Viva Erotica (1996), 27 points
77. Rumble in the Bronx (1995), 26.5 points
78. Task Force (1997), 26.5 points
79. God of Gamblers’ Return (1994), 26.5 points
80. Saviour of the Soul (1991), 26 points
81. Anna Magdalena (1998), 26 points
82. Hail the Judge (1994), 26 points
83. The Eagle Shooting Heroes (1993), 25 points
84. High Risk (1995), 25 points
85. Casino Tycoon (1992), 23 points, 1 first place vote
86. Crime Story (1993), 23 points
87. Justice My Foot! (1992), 23 points
88. Armour of God II: Operation Condor (1991), 22.5 points
89. Sealed with a Kiss (1999), 21.5 points
90. Swordsman (1990), 20 points
91. She Shoots Straight (1990), 20 points
92. Lifeline (1997), 19.5 points
93. The Odd One Dies (1997), 19 points, 1 first place vote
94. A Chinese Ghost Story 2 (1990), 19 points
95. Royal Tramp 2 (1992), 19 points
96. Ebola Syndrome (1996), 18.5 points
97. Tempting Heart (1998), 18.5 points
98. My Father is a Hero (1995), 18 points, 1 first place vote
99. Red to Kill (1993), 18 points
100. A Chinese Ghost Story 3 (1991), 17 points

Aaaand, here are rest of the films that were voted upon. First place votes give a film 10 points, which means that anything that got a first place vote automatically shot into the top 140. This is why we need more people to vote. All told we got about 140 voters. If we had like 300 or so, the results would be even better and my life would be a living hell. Everybody would win.

I have annotated a few films below with my comments, and then bolded them. If you see them, hooray!

101. Lee Rock (1991), 16.5 points
102. Rave Fever (1991), 16 points, 1 first place vote *gotta love RAVE FEVER showing up this high. I thought everybody had forgotten about this movie. This was made when Terence Yin still had promise as an actor.
103. Somebody Up There Likes Me (1996), 16 points
104. Sex and Zen 2 (1996), 16 points
105. Swordsman III: East is Red (1993), 16 points
106. A Chinese Torture Chamber Story (1994), 15.5 points
107. The Case of the Cold Fish (1995), 15 points, 1 first place vote *Easily one of the most underrated Hong Kong films ever. Michael Chow and Michael Wong don’t seem like a must-see duo, but they work wonders here.
108. Once Upon a Time in China III (1992), 15 points
109. Bio-Zombie (1998), 15 points *It is a crime that BIO-ZOMBIE couldn’t break the Top 100. It could be Wilson Yip’s best film. Really. His second best film? Obviously TEACHING SUCKS.
110. Hu-Du-Men (1996), 15 points
111. Casino Raiders 2 (1991), 15 points
112. Full Throttle (1995), 14.5 points
113. Kung Fu Cult Master (1994), 14.5 points
114. Loving You (1995), 14.5 points *I remember when this Johnnie To romance-crimer came out on laserdisc back in 1995, the girl behind the counter shoved the thing in my face and told me how great it was. This was before To took over the known universe.
115. Story of Ricky (1992), 14 points
116. Moonlight Express (1999), 13.5 points, 1 first place vote *Fun fact: the first film I ever saw in a Hong Kong cinema.
117. Executioners (1993), 13.5 points
118. Where a Good Man Goes (1999), 13 points
119. Who Am I? (1998), 13 points
120. Gorgeous (1999), 13 points
121. The Mad Phoenix (1997), 12.5 points *Not enough people saw this film. That’s a shame because it’s really good. Not on DVD.
122. Tom, Dick and Hairy (1993), 12 points, 1 first place vote *Two Tonys are not enough this time.
123. Beyond Hypothermia (1996), 12 points *Did poor DVD availability doom this early Milkyway Image flick?
124. Hitman (1998), 12 points
125. Police Story 4: First Strike (1996), 12 points
126. Troublesome Night 3 (1998), 12 points *Also should have been in Top 100. Easily the best of this horror trend, and a a Top 10 resident in Herman Yau’s filmography. Hell, it could even be Top 5.
127. Portland Street Blues (1998), 11.5 points
128. Queen of Temple Street (1990), 11.5 points
129. City Hunter (1993), 11 points
130. Boys Are Easy (1993), 11 points *Yay, BOYS ARE EASY! Wong Jing can’t make films like this anymore. Which is really strange if you think about it.
131. Once Upon a Time in Triad Society 2 (1996), 10.5 points *I voted for this because it’s really, really good.
132. Bodyguard from Beijing (1994), 10.5 points
133. Dances with the Dragon (1991), 10.5 points
134. Fight Back to School 3 (1993), 10.5 points *The BASIC INSTINCT parody is priceless.
135. Run and Kill (1993), 10.5 points *Hahaha, this movie has some serious issues. Back in 1993, Simon Yam would do almost anything.
136. Cageman (1992), 10 points, 1 first place vote *It’s a shame that CAGEMAN only mustered one vote. It Won Best Picture at the Hong Kong Film Awards, remember?
137. Once Upon a Time in Triad Society (1996), 10 points
138. Ballistic Kiss (1998), 9.5 points *Donnie has seen better days than this.
139. The Enigma of Love (1992), 9.5 points
140. Hero (1997), 9.5 points
141. The Bare-Footed Kid (1993), 9 points
142. Downtown Torpedoes (1997), 9 points *I enjoyed this film once upon a time, but it’s seriously, seriously dated.
143. God of Gamblers 3: The Early Stage (1996), 9 points *I remember really enjoying this film back in 1996. Jordan Chan ruled the nineties.
144. Song of the Exile (1990), 9 points
145. A True Mob Story (1998), 9 points
146. The Day the Sun Turned Cold (1994), 9 points *Kino Video: if you’re paying attention, PLEASE PUT THIS FILM ON DVD.
147. Love is Love (1990), 9 points
148. The Magic Crane (1993), 9 points
149. Future Cops (1993), 8.5 points *This is where FUTURE COPS really ended up. It should make a reappearance on later reader votes.
150. Her Fatal Ways (1990), 8.5 points *Based on its impact, this should be in the Top 100. We’re ashamed that there is no review on LoveHKFilm.com.
151. The Kid (1999), 8.5 points
152. Temptress Moon (1996), 8.5 points
153. Days of Tomorrow (1993), 8.5 points
154. Dr. Lamb (1992), 8.5 points
155. Bishonen (1998), 8 points
156. Victim (1999), 8 points
157. Dragon in Jail (1990), 8 points
158. The Days of Being Dumb (1992), 7.5 points *I voted for this film and do not regret it.
159. The H.K. Triad (1999), 7.5 points
160. Magic Cop (1990), 7 points
161. Out of the Dark (1995), 7 points *Thought for sure this would rank higher given the retroactive Stephen Chow love seen on the Internets.
162. Moon Warriors (1992), 7 points
163. Organized Crime and Triad Bureau (1993), 7 points
164. Prison on Fire 2 (1991), 7 points
165. The Age of Miracles (1996), 7 points
166. Girls Without Tomorrow 92 (1992), 7 points
167. God of Gamblers 3: Back to Shanghai (1991), 7 points
168. In Between (1994), 7 points
169. Tricky Master (1999), 7 points *Not exactly Stephen Chow’s finest hour, but I think every one of his films got voted on.
170. Yesterme Yesteryou Yesterday (1993), 7 points
171. Fong Sai Yuk II (1993), 6.5 points
172. A Man Called Hero (1999), 6.5 points *A sequel to this would make sense. Ekin Cheng is actually nearing the correct age to play the part.
173. Mermaid Got Married (1994), 6.5 points
174. Blue Lightning (1991), 6.5 points
175. The Legend of Speed (1999), 6.5 points *Deserves more points simply for its classic screenwriting. I can quote this film endlessly.
176. The Legend of the Liquid Sword (1993), 6.5 points
177. The Ninth Happiness (1998), 6.5 points
178. Yang +/- Yin: Gender in Chinese Cinema (1996), 6.5 points
179. Young and Dangerous 2 (1996), 6 points
180. Purple Storm (1999), 6 points
181. Skinny Tiger and Fatty Dragon (1990), 6 points
182. Hold You Tight (1998), 6 points
183. Island of Greed (1997), 6 points
184. Lee Rock II (1991), 6 points
185. Operation Scorpio (1991), 6 points
186. Thunderbolt (1995), 6 points *Hard to call this quality, but it rnks high on my list of nineties guilty pleasures.
187. Young and Dangerous 5 (1998), 6 points
188. Peace Hotel (1995), 5.5 points
189. The Private Eye Blues (1994), 5.5 points *Another great movie left at the bottom of this list.
190. Teaching Sucks (1997), 5.5 points *Wilson Yip again. Another film that I wish would show up on DVD. It may never happen though.
191. Walk In (1997), 5.5 points *One of Herman Yau’s great multi-genre efforts. A shame that it’s been forgotten. Someone needs to start a Danny Lee retrospective.
192. Twentysomething (1994), 5 points
193. Century of the Dragon (1999), 5 points
194. Feel 100% (1996), 5 points *Youth romances deserve more cred than this. A shame not a single one cracked the Top 100. FEEL 100% is actually not a bad movie. The MOMENT OF ROMANCE parody is awesome.
195. Love is Not a Game But A Joke (1997), 5 points *Probably the youth romance that should have made the Top 100 cut. CAUSE WE ARE SO YOUNG is pretty good too, but nobody voted on that.
196. Once Upon a Time in China IV (1993), 5 points *I personally think Part V is better, but it got ZERO votes.
197. Temptation of a Monk (1993), 5 points
198. Ordinary Heroes (1999), 4.5 points *No offense to Ann Hui, but this may be the least liked Best Picture winner of the nineties. Although TO BE NUMBER ONE actually got ZERO votes.
199. Shaolin Popey 2 (1994), 4.5 points
200. Twin Dragons (1992), 4.5 points
201. Banana Spirit (1992), 4.5 points
202. Forbidden Arsenal (1991), 4.5 points *Now available on DVD so get it.
203. Kid From Tibet (1992), 4.5 points
204. The New Legend of Shaolin (1994), 4.5 points
205. Sea Root (1995), 4.5 points
206. What Price Survival? (1994), 4.5 points *Made back when Daniel Lee style-over-substance actually seemed to work. Besides, it had Jack Gao.
207. The Lucky Guy (1998), 4 points
208. Fist of Fury 1991 (1991), 4 points
209. Full Moon in New York (1990), 4 points
210. Mr. Nice Guy (1997), 4 points
211. Who’s the Woman Who’s the Man (1996), 4 points
212. Best of the Best (1992), 3.5 points *Sammi Cheng’s debut. Once upon a time that actually meant something to me.
213. Erotic Ghost Story 2 (1991), 3.5 points
214. Front Page (1990), 3.5 points
215. The Fruit is Swelling (1997), 3.5 points *Umm…okay.
216. Hong Kong Gigolo (1990), 3.5 points
217. The Soong Sisters (1997), 3 points
218. Au Revoir Mon Amour (1991), 3 points
219. A Day Without Policemen (1993), 3 points
220. Gun n’ Rose (1992), 3 points
221. The Last Blood (1991), 3 points
222. The Masked Prosecutor (1999), 3 points
223. Outlaw Brothers (1990), 3 points
224. The Raid (1991), 3 points
225. Sixty Million Dollar Man (1995), 3 points
226. The Adventurers (1995), 2.5 points
227. Arrest the Restless (1992), 2.5 points
228. Intruder (1997), 2.5 points *Damn you Chinastar for not releasing this on DVD.
229. Last Hero in China (1993), 2.5 points
230. Erotic Ghost Story (1990), 2 points
231. Taxi Hunter (1992), 2 points
232. The Blacksheep Affair (1998), 2 points
233. The Conman (1998), 2 points
234. Fatal Vacation (1990), 2 points
235. Fight Back to School 2 (1992), 2 points
236. Look Out Officer! (1990), 2 points
237. Love and the City (1994), 2 points
238. Red Dust (1990), 2 points
239. Black Mask (1996), 1.5 points
240. A Chinese Ghost Story - The Animation (1997), 1.5 points *Tsui Hark, please buy this film back from Chinastar. Hell, can anyone buy all of Chinastar’s nineties films and re-release them on DVD?
241. The Fun, The Luck & The Tycoon (1990), 1.5 points
242. The Golden Girls (1995), 1.5 points *Still Joe Ma’s best film, with LOVE UNDERCOVER being the possible exception.
243. Legend of the Wolf (1997), 1.5 points *Awesome Donnie Yen cheesefest.
244. A Moment of Romance 2 (1993), 1.5 points *I know Andy Lau. I’ve worked with Andy Lau. Aaron Kwok, you are no Andy Lau.
245. Phantom Lover (1995), 1.5 points
246. Wonder Seven (1994), 1.5 points
247. Eighteen Springs (1997), 1 points
248. Project S (1993), 1 points
249. Satan Returns (1996), 1 points
250. The Truth About Jane and Sam (1999), 1 points *I know the person who sent in this vote.
251. Angry Ranger (1991), 0.5 points
252. Burning Paradise (1994), 0.5 points *It’s a super crime that this movie didn’t get more votes. When will Discotek finally release their new DVD?
253. Deadful Melody (1994), 0.5 points
254. Don’t Give a Damn (1995), 0.5 points *Takeshi Kaneshiro in blackface = this movie will never be on DVD.
255. Finale in Blood (1991), 0.5 points
256. First Love - The Litter on the Breeze (1997), 0.5 points *You can buy this on UK DVD. Please do. This website is quoted on the cover.
257. Hot War (1998), 0.5 points
258. Kawashima Yoshiko (1990), 0.5 points
259. Saga of the Phoenix (1990), 0.5 points

Now’s the time when I usually list statistics, but with over 250 films to factor in, that’s a bit beyond my current capacity. As such, we’ll simply call it a day. I suppose I also need to post my personal Top 20 to round this thing out. That’ll be our next post.

Again, thanks to everyone for participating. We’ll do this again in a couple of months or so, after my trip to Italy, the LoveHKFilm Awards, the HK Film Awards, and the usual spate of movie reviews. It’s 5 am and I’m working on everything simultaneously.

Hello and welcome to the final episode of the Top 100 Hong Kong Films of the Nineties, as decided upon by LoveHKFilm Readers who had far too much time on their hands. This countdown has dragged on for a week now, so people must be ready to find out what’s in the Top 5. You’re all excited, right?

“I can’t have any more movies on this list, so what do I care?
These people are morons if they can’t rank me higher than #10!
I call shenanigans! Screw this! I’m going home!”

Well, maybe not everyone is that excited.

Anyway, it was necessary to drag this thing out for so long because A) we needed to manufacture suspense, and B) we needed to delay things to finish writing the blurbs, resizing the photos, and attending to that thing called a day job. But hey, we made it. We can finally return to our regular life, which involves sleep, some hopeful PS3 time and maybe some attention paid to the main LoveHKFilm website. Last we checked, it still existed.

We’re always required to always say this: if you’ve just joined us, check out the earlier entries so as not to ruin the experience of reading the countdown from the very first entry. We urge you to punish yourself and start from the beginning:
Numbers 100-81
Numbers 80-61
Numbers 60-41
Numbers 40-31
Numbers 30-21
Numbers 20-11
Numbers 10-6

Okay, let’s finish this thing! Then we can forget that it ever happened.

(more…)

Welcome to the latest entry in our Top 100 Hong Kong Films of the Nineties, yadda yadda yadda, blah blah blah. You know the drill, so let’s get to it, okay? We’re not getting any younger.

“God, that Webmaster Kozco is so rude, Charlene!
And what’s this comment about not getting any younger?
Thanks to digital photography, I’ll be 23 forever!”

Today’s entry introduces you to Numbers 10-6, as usual determined by actual LoveHKFilm readers. We’re down to ten left, but because we enjoy dragging this thing out until the very end, we’re splitting the final ten into two posts with five films apiece. You can do math with that information.

Standard boilerplate: If you have yet to start reading this Top 100, we highly suggest you go back to the beginning so that you don’t inadvertently reveal to yourself that the #12 movie on this list is RUMBLE AGES. Earlier entries:
Numbers 100-81
Numbers 80-61
Numbers 60-41
Numbers 40-31
Numbers 30-21
Numbers 20-11

Let’s get this thing going!

(more…)

It’s put up or shut up time as we enter the Top 20 of our Top 100 Hong Kong Films of the Nineties. Basically, everything that appears from here on out had better be a nearly-unassailable classic, or we’ll have a lot of explaining to do. Already people are jockeying for position:

“Man, we are so going to own this Top 20!”

For the record, right now Tony Leung Chiu-Wai has 5 films in the Top 100, and Stephen Chow has 14. Tony does have some hole cards, though.

As explained in every single entry in this series, this list was selected by actual LoveHKFilm readers who took the time to send in their picks for their favorite Hong Kong films. Judging by the results, you can learn a lot — not only about who reads this site, but also about the general state of international Hong Kong Cinema fandom. Generally, we all watch too much Stephen Chow, plus we have stopped appreciating such fine artists as Carol Cheng, Ekin Cheng and Sammo Hung. Everyone out there, where is your sense of history?

Oh yeah, if you’re just joining us, please check out the previous entries first so you don’t ruin the surprise of finding out that the number one film is INFATUATION:
Numbers 100-81
Numbers 80-61
Numbers 60-41
Numbers 40-31
Numbers 30-21

Enough talk, it’s time to see what shows up for numbers 20-11!

(more…)

Hello and welcome to Day 174 of our year-long look at the Top 100 Hong Kong Movies of the Nineties, as voted upon by actual LoveHKFilm readers who had the time and the generosity to compile their lists of favorite nineties films and send them in. On our end, we compiled the results using five irritable monkees who live on the balcony of my apartment. I think they did a good job.

This guy is still waiting for his first appearance on this list:

“I can’t believe nobody has voted for my films!
I’m going to wear regular glasses to hide my shame.”

As usual, if you’re just joining us today you should really check out the previous lists so that you don’t ruin the surprise and/or aggravation of seeing what shows up:
Numbers 100-81
Numbers 80-61
Numbers 60-41
Numbers 40-31

Today’s list covers numbers 30-21 of the Top 100. At this time I should thank the numerous readers who sent in their lists with comments added, as I can reprint them here to enhance the film blurbs AND spare myself a little time copywriting. You know who you are, and since your names get listed with your comments, now everybody else does too. Thanks a lot!

Hit the jump to get started!

(more…)

Welcome to the latest edition of the Top 100 Hong Kong Films of the Nineties. Now that we’re past the halfway point, we’re slowing down a bit, with this entry revealing numbers 40-31 of the Top 100. We’ll do ten more a day until the very end, when we’ll slow to maybe five per day. If we feel like dragging it out even longer, we’ll move to only one a day. Nobody can stop us.

“God, this site is so annoying.”

Sorry, Charlene. We also apologize because it’s impossible for you to have any movies on this list. Most of the time you were in junior high, anyway.

Anyway, if you’ve just tuned in, we highly suggest that you check out previous entries to make it even more exciting/frustrating:
Numbers 100-81
Numbers 80-61
Numbers 60-41

Will Stephen Chow see even more domination? What about Wong Jing? Hit the jump to see Numbers 40-31!

(more…)

It’s the third in our 23-part series of the Top 100 Hong Kong Films of the Nineties, as decided upon by actual LoveHKFilm Readers. This time, we’re revealing numbers 60-41 of our Top 100. Most likely, you won’t find THE FRUIT IS SWELLING here.

If you’ve just joined us, we highly suggest that you check out previous updates first:
Numbers 100-81
Numbers 80-61

For those keeping score: thus far Tsui Hark had something to do with 5 films, Leslie Cheung has appeared in 6, and Stephen Chow has starred in 7. Johnnie To clocks in at only 4 films. Wong Jing? He’s involved in a whopping 9 out of a possible 40 films. We sense domination.

“I’ve got aces in my pants, too!”

Hit the jump to see what shows up!

(more…)

Welcome to second installment in our countdown of the Top 100 Hong Kong Films of the Nineties. Sorry for the two day gap but we were busy. Life’s like that.

Today, we’ll be looking at Numbers 80-61 of our Top 100, all determined by actual LoveHKFilm.com Readers. Yes, they do exist.

Previous updates:
Numbers 100-81

In case you’re following along, each film has a link to an existing review at LoveHKFilm.com, if not the film’s entry at the Hong Kong Movie Database. When putting this whole thing together, I took the opportunity to read some of the earliest reviews on this website. There are over 15 years of film reviews stored here, and if the later reviews qualify as solid writing, than the earliest are juvenile chicken scratch. I’m actually embarrassed to link to them. However, as Confucius said, “Only by sampling our vomit may we cook a dish that is palatable.”

Okay, maybe he didn’t say that.

“Someone’s bullsh*tting using my name again.”

Hit the jump to find the list!

(more…)

No, we didn’t forget. It’s time for another countdown from a LoveHKFilm Reader Vote! Simon Yam and pals are excited:

“Oh boy! We gotta get to a computer to check out the results!”

After a couple of weeks of tallying and formatting, we’re counting down the Top 100 Hong Kong Films of the Nineties, as voted upon by LoveHKFilm.com’s readers. Response was pretty good; we received over 130 entries and over 250 total films were nominated. We barely got any sleep over here.

First of all, an apology: a lot of good stuff didn’t make the cut, but that’s to be expected. This vote is a totally subjective thing, so if you disagree with the results — well, that’s your problem. Next time you can participate to help sway the vote.

Also, our apologies to everyone who voted for GOD OF GAMBLERS and A CHINESE GHOST STORY, but both those films actually came out in the eighties. You’ll have to vote for them another time.

This entry lists Numbers 81-100 of the Top 100. We’ll follow next time with 20 more, before getting really annoying and cutting it back to 10 or even 5 per entry as things progress. We’ll try to add a new entry every 1-2 days, but that’s not a promise.

Let’s get started:

(more…)

Happy Lunar New Year! This photo is from last year, but Stephy Tang wants to wish you a great Year of the Ox Tiger.

“This year, I want to play a smart person!”

She can do it! You go, Stephy!

Anyway, there’s a lot coming up for Hong Kong movies and LoveHKFilm.com this year, but we’ll start by partying like it’s 1999. Late last year, we completed a reader vote for the Top 50 Hong Kong Films of the Aughts. Even though it’s only February 2010, we’re going to be running yet another reader vote.

“Really, again? Can’t you try
something a little more original?”

We pretty much like to run things into the ground around here. Sorry, Fiona.

In the second of LoveHKFilm.com’s intermittent, poorly scheduled reader votes we’re asking for site readers to help select the Top 50 Hong Kong Films of the Nineties. By readers, we mean everyone: teenagers, sixty year-old retirees, single mothers, agoraphobic technophiles, and even Donnie Yen. You all have an equal say.

“You’re going to vote for all my movies, right?
Don’t forget about COME FLY THE DRAGON!”

We’ll run this vote in a much more relaxed fashion than the last one, as timeliness is not an issue. It’s not like the nineties are going anywhere. To participate, please follow these handy rules:

1. Use the LoveHKFilm.com Contact Form to send a list of your top films from the years 1990-1999.
2. You may list either 10 or 20 films* on your vote, and order them with #1 being the top-rated film and #10 or #20 being at back of the pack.
3. Please print in the subject line of your email “TOP 90s MOVIES”.
4. It’s optional, but you can write a few sentences or words about your faves. We may end up using them when the results are published.
5. Send in your votes by end of day on February 28th. I’m not pushing the whole GMT, PST, EST thing so there’s some leeway. As long as I don’t get your vote on March 2nd, you’l be fine.

*The big asterisk is here to explain why we’re letting you rank 10 or 20 films for your list. Simply put, a ton of movies came out during the nineties, and people may want to list more than just 10. If that’s your deal, go ahead and list 20.

However, please note that this WILL make a difference for the points that your films get. If you vote for only 10, then #1 gets 10 points and #10 gets 1 point. However, if you vote for 20 films, then #1 gets 10 points, #2 gets 9.5 points, and so on. To illustrate, a #10 film gets 5.5 points, and #20 gets 0.5 points. Voting for 20 films means 1/2 point steps between each films, as opposed to the 1 point step between each film.

Are you getting this? Probably not, but rest assured it’s all being done to make this vote even more complex for me to run. I’m all about doing things the hard way.

“I know you’re voting for my films,
so I won’t even act like I care. I shouldn’t
even bother to make movies. Just hand me cash
and we can cut out the middleman.”

Now, which films qualify? During the last vote, the question “What is a Hong Kong film?” was quite tricky. There were foreign co-productions, Pan-Asian casts, movies with Jude Law, etc. It got kind of messy.

However, identifying qualifying films is much easier for this vote as the nineties were a simpler time. Aside from more appearances by Michael Wong and Chingmy Yau, few if any films from the nineties qualified as foreign co-productions. Here are the simplified rules:

1. The film has to be from Hong Kong and released theatrically during the years 1990-1999.
2. Not a single Zhang Yimou film qualifies for this vote. Sorry.
3. If Chen Kaige is your 5th generation director of choice, you may only vote for TEMPRESS MOON.
4. RUSH HOUR, THE REPLACEMENT KILLERS, and any John Woo film after 1992 do not count.
5. Is Jean-Claude Van Damme in the movie? Then it doesn’t count.
6. All series can only be voted for via their individual entries, e.g. the YOUNG AND DANGEROUS movies do not count as a vote. You have to vote for YOUNG AND DANGEROUS, YOUNG AND DANGEROUS 2, and SEXY AND DANGEROUS as separate films. The exception: CHINESE ODYSSEY 1 and CHINESE ODYSSEY 2 can count as a single film.
7. If you’re curious if a film qualifies or not, feel free to ask in the blog comments. I’ll say “yes”, “no” or “nice try, buddy.”

There, totally simple. The most important rule is this one, though: HAVE FUN. You don’t have to select the most award-worthy or acclaimed films - you can just choose movies that you enjoy. As such, I expect to see appearances on this vote from BOYS ARE EASY, SATAN RETURNS, I’M YOUR BIRTHDAY CAKE and, of course, GIRLS UNBUTTON. Loletta Lee fans, this is your time.

This is the only Loletta Lee picture on my
hard drive where she’s wearing clothes.

If you can’t figure out what movies came out when, uh, sorry. There are some online resources that you can use, however, including a downloadable PDF from the Hong Kong Film Archive which lists every film up to 2006. The nineties comprise 99 out of 749 pages, so happy reading. Thanks to Tim Youngs and Kevin Ma for pointing me in its direction!

Alternately, you can use the Awards Archives on LoveHKFilm.com to jog your memory of films released during the nineties. Also, you can visit the handy database at Hong Kong Cinemagic, where you can sort by year to figure out what came out when.

Results will be up sometime in March! I’m hoping for a similar turnout to last time. However, if the results are as diverse as I hope they are, I may expand this whole Top 50 thing to a full Top 100.  As usual, tell your friends and enemies to participate to make it this a more comprehensive, interesting and/or exciting vote. Hopefully, the results will better introduce people to recommended films than the incredible denseness of the site review archive. That would be nice anyway.

Vote early to support nineties-era Ekin!

During the nineties, Ekin Cheng was
more popular than this stuffed bunny.
Now the reverse is true.