News

HKIFF43 Festival Report 2019 Reviewed by Andrew Chan (Film Critics Circle of Australia) Help us continue to cover more Asian and Martial Art films by making a donation to Neo Film Blog below. (Our resident Chief Film Critic represents the Film Critics Circle of Australia at the opening of 43HKIFF) Day 1 - 18 March 2019   Opening Ceremony (Image courtesy of HKIFF) The 43rd edition of the Hong Kong International Film Festival kicks off with much fanfare as Hong Kong superstar and film festival ambassador Aaron Kwok and youth ambassadors Jennifer Yu and Neo Yau leads the carpet with the director Renny Harlin...

Dear Ex 誰先愛上他的 (2018) - Taiwan   Reviewed by Andrew Chan (Film Critics Circle of Australia) Help us continue to cover more Asian and Martial Art films by making a donation to Neo Film Blog below. Netflix’ original “Dear Ex” is a deeply affecting tale of how one reacts and adapt to the death of their once loved ones. What complicated the matter is that the late father, the husband and gay partner is the same person (played by  in true stoic form by Spark Chen). In return we get an intriguing look into how different people deals with grief, anger, understanding and...

Vice 為副不仁 (2018) - USA   Reviewed by Andrew Chan (Film Critics Circle of Australia) Help us continue to cover more Asian and Martial Art films by making a donation to Neo Film Blog below. After depicting the 2008 financial crisis in “The Big Short”, Director Adam McKay takes on a bigger fish in the form of the most powerful Vice President in US political history - Dick Cheney. “Vice” is the kind of political drama that is also one that is concentrated on human morality, human condition and survival of the fittest. Christian Bale is absolutely spot on as the quiet yet...

Integrity 廉政風雲 煙幕 (2019) - Hong Kong / China   Reviewed by Andrew Chan (Film Critics Circle of Australia)  Director Alan Mak and frequent corroborator Felix Chong decided to kick off the Chinese New Year with the first instalment of a trilogy of ICAC films in “Integrity”. Pitting two best actors in the form of Lau Ching Wan and Nick Cheung as Chief ICAC and key whistleblower respectively to the high profile fraud and bribery case. The audience gets two excellent performance plus a strong turn and welcome return to the big screen to screen goddess Karena Lam as Lau’s...

A Lifetime Treasure 如珠如寶 (2019) - Hong Kong   Reviewed by Andrew Chan (Film Critics Circle of Australia)   The biggest problem of comedian Andrew Lam Man Chung directed, scripted and starring vehicle - “A Lifetime Treasure” is not the cast, but the overall let down of the script and often prolonged crude jokes that gets repetitive as the film progresses. Andrew Lam is a funny guy and his comic timing is second to none, however, when other people are required to be like him and deliver those unique lines, it simply doesn’t work. Imagine Sammo Hung trying to apt...