Chinese Movies

I don't usually watch that many movies but recently, I've watched a lot of Chinese movies, including several on the plane during the Taiwan trip last month. I've noticed that the quality of the English subtitles is very inconsistent. Since I like to watch foreign movies with their original soundtrack, I have problems with some Hong Kong movies that are in Cantonese and have terrible English subtitles. For those movies, I have to switch the audio to Mandarin so I can figure out what they're talking about.


Initial D (2005): I saw this on a plane but I forget which trip. It's adapted from a popular manga in Japan about street racing and drifting.


Needing You (2000): Starring Andy Lau and Sammi Cheng. Cute and funny love story. Really good.


Love on a Diet (2001): Also starring Andy Lau and Sammi Cheng. They get dressed up in fat suits throughout the movie. I liked it but thought the transformation from fat to thin for Sammi Cheng was a bit unrealistic, kind of like those "before" and "after" pictures showing complete different people.


Yesterday Once More (2004): Yet another movie with Andy Lau and Sammi Cheng. This one is not as good as the previous two movies.


All About Love (2005): This movie was kind of weird. It involved a heart transplant, identical looking characters (both played by Andy Lau), and a lot of flashbacks. Saw this one on the plane from LAX to Taipei; it made me cry.


Everlasting Regret (2005): Watched this on the way over to Taipei as well. Not sure what it was all about. Kind of reminds me of 2046, another movie I didn't get.


Chungking Express (1994): This is an older movie but it had a lot of big stars: Brigitte Lin, Tony Leung, Faye Wong, and Takeshi Kaneshiro. There wasn't really a plot to the story but rather it shows the lives of two cops and their relationships. It reminded me of Milennium Mambo with Shu Qi but much better.


It Had to Be You (2005): A typical Hong Kong romantic comedy where both the main characters are the third person in a relationship. The movie itself was mediocre but it had one of the saddest lines in a movie, IMHO. In one scene, a coworker's wife—they all worked at the same Italian restaurant—of many years just passed away and while reminiscing he says, 我娶她 因為我不能沒有她 (I married her because I can't live without her)... :(

Reviews and information on all these movies and more are at LoveHKFilm.com.