three more francis ng movies

December 24, 2008 at 9:17 pm 2 comments

Best to worst

The White Dragon, dir. Wilson Yip, 2004

Francis plays a blind swordsman opposite spoiled and vain rich girl Cecilia Cheung in this 21st century martial arts redux. Full of jokey anachronisms and mo le tau humor, the film is nonetheless affecting due to the charisma and chemistry of the two leads. Francis channels Zatoichi with a twist–he’s a sensitive and noble, lovelorn guy.

Francis with bangs, The White Dragon, 2005

He also battles a very bad haircut but miraculously manages to become more and more attractive, even though he spends half the film with his eyes rolled up in his head. The scene where he discovers that Cecilia thinks he’s handsome is classic–charming, funny and convincing. Kudos to Cecilia Cheung (who won Best Actress at the HK Film Awards) for keeping her bratty character light and appealing. Wilson Yip continues his schizophrenic directing career, combining wuxia, comedy, romance and satire in classic HK style.

Dancing Lion, dir. Marco Mak & Francis Ng, 2007

Kinda dumb, unfortunately. Sitcom-style humor about a dysfunctional family that starts a lion dancing business and becomes a HK phenomenom. Francis co-directs and stars as a forty-year-old hip hop wannabe dope.

Francis and bling, Dancing Lion, 2007

Anthony Wong is amazing as a 72-year-old lion dance master–he’s very fun to watch in an otherwise dippy film.

Francis & Anthony in furry pants, Dancing Lion, 2007

Himalaya Singh, dir. Wai Kar-Fei, 2005

“Hey, you ever been to India?” “No, why?” “Wanna make a movie there?” “Well, what’s there?” “I dunno, elephants, cobras, yoga.” “Okay, sounds great. Think Francis & Lau Ching Wan will want to go?” “Yeah, and maybe Cecilia.” “Okay, let’s do it.” “And we need to find some Indian guys who can speak Cantonese.”

Cultural insensitivity, HK style, Himalaya Singh, 2005

Entry filed under: anthony wong, cecilia cheung, francis ng, hong kong, lau ching-wan, movies, Uncategorized. Tags: cecilia chung, dancing lion, francis ng, himalaya singh, hong kong films, movies, the white dragon, wilson yip, wuxia, 吳鎮宇.