leonblackwood Review: What a brilliant movie but I must admit, I missed a lot of the plot because the subtitles are going too fast. With that aside, the witty script and brilliant performances from Chow Yun- Fat, (Master Huang) and Wen Jiang, (Pocky Zhang), made this crazy, unique, and definitely unpredictable ride, a joy to watch. When I heard that this movie had a western backdrop, I thought that it was going to be, more like a Cowboys & Indians type of storyline but once the movie gets going, it's a funny political comedy about a ruthless bandit who steals from the rich to give to the poor. The script is top class but it does get a bit complicated after a while, mainly because you have to concentrate on the annoying subtitles. The cinematography and costumes are authentic and the real governor, who wouldn't stop going on about losing his wife, cracked me up. The clever mind and coolness of Pocky Zhang is truly something to watch and the few action scenes were also impressive. Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed the movie, even though I lost the plot but it's definitely worth a watch, for its originality and crazy storyline. Enjoyable! Round-Up: When this movie was released in December 2010, it broke several box office records in China, and has received critical acclaim. It became the highest grossing domestic film until 2012, when it was beaten by Painted Skin: The Resurrection, which grossed $140million worldwide. The movie was directed by Wen Jiang, 53, who also played the leading character, so he really did give this movie his all. He also contributed his directing skills to New York, I Love You in 2008, which had a top cast, and he brought you Devil's on the Doorstep, The Sun Also Rises and Gone with the Bullets. This movie definitely has something for everybody but you have to be a fast reader to keep up with it.Budget: N/A Worldwide Gross: $104millionI recommend this movie to people who are into their action/comedy/westerns starring Chow Yun-Fat, You Ge, Wen Jiang, Carina Lau and Jon Hu. 7/10

lasttimeisaw I'm quite lagging behind the progress of recent Chinese film market, LET THE BULLETS FLY is still the No.1 film in the all-time domestic grossing (approximately 100 million US dollars, it seems that the record still holds steady judging by the under-performance of Yimou Zhang's THE FLOWERS OF WAR 2011 and Hark Tsui's THE FLYING SWORDS OF DRAGON GATE 2011 in the past Christmas season), and its preeminent word-of-mouth prompts itself as a must-see for every aficionado, it is a bit shameful of me to been not have watched this one, aside from that I'm a bona fide Chinese, thus I chose this one as the first film to start my 2012. However the road is bumpier than I thought, at first the abrupt dialogs and some implausible scenes grate on my nerves (particularly the absurdly droll disembowelment suicide). But it is a genuine slow burner, the tension ignited by a spanked-up manhood hegemony is sterlingly fabricated at the latter part, there is a conspicuous political intent has been underlined in a metaphorical method while contains some visceral vibes being spiritually entertaining and optically stylish! As a matter of fact the censorship of cinema in China is harshly stern (politically preferred), thus it is wondrous to guess how this film had evaded it and subsequently became the highest grossing one in the Chinese film history, lots of context reading could be arresting and effectual for other film directors. As the elite in contemporary Chinese film market, LET THE BULLETS FLY is Wen Jiang's most ambitious work to date (after a failed attempt with DEVILS ON THE DOORSTEP 2000, which was shut down completely in the domestic cinema due to some political reasons, and a box office debacle in 2007 with THE SUN ALSO RISES), Wen cunningly harness a cast with trio male leaders, which has an overpowering appeal towards nearly all the Chinese audience. You Ge (a household name in China and majorly allures the large northern demography) stands out in the mêlée, his satirical aura is the key catalyst in the film and also salts his tragical doom with a poignant flavor. Yun-Fat Chow (the Hongkong marque name which has more box-office sway in southern area) is solid too, but his villainy is a trifle overstated with his over-stately appearance. The real top dog is Wen himself, the winner both in and outside the film, with a gutsy supporting characters (Yun Zhou, Carina Lau is the meager female included).Hardware-wise, the film represents the top-notch level of contemporary Chinese film (one exception is the CGI effect of the opening train accident, which is risibly artificial), and the final battle of the strategy about acquiring the dominance and manipulating of the mass demonstrates that Wen is the master of fashioning a compelling period mainstream work with modern political allegory, which is a highly valued rare bird in this era.

DICK STEEL With the current election fever brewing in Singapore, one can't help but to view this through a tinted prism and taken note of the surreal, and perhaps coincidental parallels in this Jiang Wen film about the relentless grab for power and money amongst officials and wannabes, of that fight for moral justice against another hell bent on consolidating ill gotten gains and fending off new entrants to the turf. Jiang Wen doesn't make as many films as he stars in, but here's a Chinese filmmaker with an interesting vision, almost always successfully blending stylish art-house sensibilities and visuals with mass entertainment, bearing the biggest names and featuring the hallmarks of a rich Mandarin language.The incredibly strong story centers around three major characters set in the warring 1920s in China, with Ge You playing Bangde Ma, a man who had unscrupulously bought his position of governorship and is on his way to claim it, having done his sums and understanding the material wealth that comes with holding that position through partnering the rich and the exploitation of the weak. However the train he's travelling in with his wife (Carina Lau) gets hijacked by infamous bandit Pocky Zhang (Jiang Wen) and his band of loyal merry men, who decide to take on Bangde's identity as the incoming Governor of Goose Town, while keeping the real Bangde Ma by their side as a councilor for his political savvy. But standing in their way is the local godfather and real seat of power Wang (Chow Yun-Fat) and his gang, which obviously sets a showdown between the two camps.And I'm not kidding you when I say there are parallels drawn here with our sunny little island, since the introductory shot of Goose Town made it seem like an island that Bangde Ma and Pocky Zhang had to cross into, before confronted with by a wily, scheming political incumbent determined to hold onto his turf and not yield it without a fight. Like politicians, they plot and counterplot against each other's schemes, with deep mistrust all round even when smiling at each other during a round table discussion. Those amongst the elites horde most of the wealth of the town, and it is not until Pocky Zhang had a change in heart and strategy of wealth distribution and moral justice did he find it within himself and his lean, mean team to inch toward power in his fight for the little man. Though of course it's pretty clear still who's being manipulated for someone's objective.As a film, Let the Bullets Fly is sheer spectacle for its action sequences, lush cinematography, and comically awkward CG at times, with some scenes being deliberately and extremely over the top. But that's part of the fun, as the narrative is kept tight with nary a wasted scene, and what would be one of the best parts of the film is the rapid fire dialogue exchange between characters. Black humour is rampant as well to make this very close to a laugh a minute affair through its wickedness, though I have to admit at times things do get lost in translation, especially when required to read between the lines of what's said when the characters try to outdo one another, or in attempts to understand their opponents, through many twists and turns.Stellar performances from the leads make this a must watch as well. Jiang Wen has this air of gravitas associated with his presence, and he makes for a believable bandit who found the moral courage to turn his life, and that of his followers, around to fight the good fight against Chow's Wang. Chow Yun Fat redeems himself from his really cringeworthy foray into Hollywood with dubious roles in films like Dragonball Evolution, and his performance here in dual roles as Wang and his body double, reminds us why Chow is top of the class when he gets his act together in the right charismatic role. Ge You himself is no pushover, although his character gets the least screen time. Still, when all three share the same frame or scene, the mood is nothing short of electrifying, as they banter and feed off one another's energy.And Jiang Wen also assembled a credible ensemble support group with the likes of Carina Lau, Hu Jun in yet another cameo as a make pretend Pocky Zhang, Chen Kun as a cocky young upstart in Wang's camp, and even Feng Xiaogang making a cameo in the beginning of the film trying to suck up to Bangde Ma. You can label it a satire, or an action comedy, but one thing's for sure, this Chinese film showcases just what their industry is capable off in pulling something quirky, offbeat and yet entertaining for the masses. Jiang Wen continues to expand his filmography in a slow but assured pace, and hopefully we can get to see another one of his films soon. Highly recommended as one of the best this year, and I'm really tempted to get the DVD in order to watch this battle of wits all over again.

Harry T. Yung The opening of the movie proffers LI Shu-tong's sadly languid "Song of farewell", the best known musical piece of the period in the warlord-troubled period of China of the early 20th Century. The transition to the farce that follows is a stroke of brilliance.The main drawing card of the movie is of course three superstars in the Chinese language cinema today, JIANG Wen, CHOW Yun-fat and GE You – in the order of The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. This is actually the second time Jiang has fashioned a movie in this way, the first one being "Tian di ying xiong" (2003) in which he also took the role of The Good, while roles of The Bad and The Ugly were taken up, respectively, by Kiichi Nakai and WANG Xueqi (who back then had not yet attained today's lofty status in the movie world). The beauty in that one was ZHAO Wei.As mentioned in my summary line, to the main structure of "The Good, the Bad and The Ugly" is added certain elements of the Kurosawa's classic Yojinbo (1961). But while therein, the hero (played by Toshiro Mifune) is the guy between two opposite camps, here in "Bullet" it's the clown, i.e. The Ugly.I am not going to go into the plot which can be summarized as a convoluted game of power struggles between two rivalling gangs for control a small town. Exciting action and outlandish black humour make the movie thoroughly enjoyable. The highlight is of course the acting of the three superstars. One scene, in particular, must not be missed – the first meeting between The Good and The Bad, with the Ugly as the balancing factor in the subtle confrontation. Just to witness how in this scene the three pull all plugs in their acting reservoir to outdo one another is worth the admission price.