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Sunday, July 28, 2024

It's My Duty: Customs Frontline (2024) Review

Director: Herman Yau

Notable Cast: Jacky Cheung, Nicholas Tse, Karena Lam Kar-Yan, Liu Yase, Francis Ng, Kenny Kwan Chi-Bun, Carlos Chan Ka-Lok, Michelle Wai, Ben Yuen Foo-Wah, Michelle Yim

 

Considering that director Herman Yau has been one of Hong Kong’s most prolific directors since the early 1990s, it’s fascinating how he has transformed his career to match what the market is looking for. His most recent stint combines a love letter to golden-age 1980s HK action and a craving for Hollywood-style spectacle. He still occasionally slides back to dramatic thrillers or horror films, but he has mostly stuck to his “guns” in recent years. 

 

After dropping four (!) large-scale action flicks in 2023, he’s back with Customs Frontline, which is receiving quite a bit of international press. Featuring two icons of Hong Kong cinema with Nicholas Tse and Jacky Cheung, Customs Frontline follows in the footsteps of some of his previous action blockbusters like The White Storm 3, Moscow Mission, and Shockwave 2. It’s bigger than life, filled with soapy melodrama, and brimming with action sequences that border on refreshingly insane. So, despite a thinly threaded script and characters that feel more like caricatures than people, it’s hard to deny that Customs Frontline doesn’t entertain. It does have a giant ass boat tear through other boats and docks in the neon glow of the Hong Kong skyline. There’s that. 

 

Thursday, July 4, 2024

The Fight for Freedom: Escape (2024) Review

Directed by Lee Jong-pil

Notable Cast: Lee Je-hoon, Koo Kyo-hwan, Hong Xa-bin, Seo Hyun-woo, Song Kang, Esom, Shin Hyun-ji, Lee Ho-jung, Jang Yo-hoon

"I'm going there to fail as much as I desire." - Lim Kyu-nam

Relations between North and South Korea have been explored via cinematic offerings for as long as the tensions began in real life. There have been many gems, some hidden and others praised universally, for the portrayal and explorations on-screen that highlight the intricacies and nuances between two very different countries and the powers that be, which ultimately shape how the citizens of each nation exist. If you want to see any films on this topic, you don't have to dig far. South Korea has been putting out titles for as long as I can remember, and a quick online search will give you an entire landscape of outings to explore. I will admit sometimes these films range in quality, and almost always, they have a very nationalistic leaning, which is to be expected to an extent, and Escape is no different in that regard. It sings its own praises quite loudly, but being a thrill ride that is meant to entertain first and foremost, this movie excels at delivering the goods. Escape is a taut thriller that keeps the tensions mounting to anxiety-inducing levels.