Fruit Punch (1992)

There are many things in this world I thought I would never get to see. Like world peace. A cure to all disease. A greener future. Fans of Big Brother not getting totally carried away...

But top of all those must be two clean-cut squeaky clean icons of cantopop such as Leon Lai and Vivian Chow getting steamy with each other. Come on, Elvis being found alive behind the counter at a Bradford chippy is more likely surely? But no! This is the film to see Leon and Vivian snog! Incredible!

So what is this but one of those happy HK idol films. The recipe for which is very familiar: grab a load of current pop idols (and in 1992 this was Leon Lai, Vivian Chow, Hacken Lee and Grasshopper), give them a script about young people trying to find their way in the world and how to find love. And stir.

So five guys (and typical stereotype HK guys you'll only ever find in these kinds of films - carefree and funny and somehow are able to live despite no visible income) go into business together... but fail of course.

Hacken steals the show with his shy guy who stutters all the time, but still lands the cute chick. So there is hope for all of us stutterers everywhere. Leon fools around with Vivian but his carefree attitude leaves their relationship on the edge all the time...

Oh well you know it ends up happily in the end after some minor peril involving one of the main characters. Enjoyable fluff just nothing that hasn't been made many times before.

Play Catch (1983)

Play Catch is a gem of the early 1980s, a good old HK slapstick comedy with the right formula of comedy, action and general entertainment HK cinema cracked so often back then. Of course it also has a totally incomprehensible plot. 

Alan Tam plays an illegal immigrant looking for his father, he comes across a crook who smuggles in illegal immigrants played by our hero Eric Tsang who thinks Alan can pretend to be a Triad boss' son (naturally). That Triad boss is being investigated by Olivia Cheng who plays a reporter who unknowingly is carrying a tape recorded by an ICAC investigator (now dead) in which the Triad boss incriminates himself in wanting to kill a judge. Still with me?

And so follows a frantic race against time as the crooks chase the tape, then the girl. And with the police unwilling to help the heroic trio decide to save the judge themselves... unfortunately he's at the circus. Yes really.

Hilarious HK fun, like it used to be.

Hawkeye (1988)

Hawkeye is a ridiculous movie but despite shoddy acting, a plot that veers between nonsense and incoherence, and poor camerawork it has a strange kind of magic that makes it worth watching.

It stars George Chung as a Las Vegas police officer who has a weird way of enforcing crime (basically shooting everyone including the victims). He is teamed up with Troy Donahue who is supposed to keep George on the straight and narrow though that doesn't last very long.

The two cops are pitched against the yakuza and mob, mayhem ensues of course. A series of action set pieces follow which make little sense (though with some decent martial arts at times) and includes a random appearance by a bazooka. Well it is that kind of film, complete nonsense and hilarious (not always intentionally).

Easy Street (1917)

Easy Street is a rough slum terrorised by a big thug (Eric Campbell) who eats the police for breakfast. The Tramp (Charlie Chaplin) is down on his luck (as usual) but inspired by a bit of religious fervour decides to become a policeman... unfortunately his beat is Easy Street. What could possibly go wrong?

Well a lot obviously, but somehow The Tramp manages to arrest the thug. Unfortunately he soon gets free again and with the help of his gang is out for revenge...

Well it is the usual slapstick mayhem in a Charlie Chaplin film. Some nice touches in this film though including a very bendy gas lamp!

My Lady of Whims (1925)

Two former soldiers (Bartley Greer and Lee Moran) are hired by a rich father to bring his wayward daughter (Clara Bow) home from the bohemian life in Greenwich Village.

Bartley's intention is to befriend Clara and persuade her to return home though not being the sharpest tool in the box Clara sees through that and knows he is an agent of her father pretty much from the off.

So follows rip-roaring adventures, skin tight outfits and wild parties. Bartley tries various schemes to bring Clara back home though she also has her own plans to stay away forever. The film is sometimes silly though seldom bores and the view of the scandalous Jazz Age is fascinating. Clara looks amazing, the personification of the flapper.

The Benson Murder Case (1930)

Another delightful Philo Vance murder mystery. A stockbroker (Richard Tucker) who seems to have more enemies than toupees (and he has a lot of them) is murdered in his lodge on a wet and windy night. His house filled with a motley crew of criminals, fast women and gigolos - all of whom had reason to kill him.

William Powell's Philo Vance, the dashing amateur detective, is actually on hand when the stockbroker is murdered. But who committed the crime? All the ingredients therefore for a great Golden Age murder mystery.

The film maybe takes a while to get going but once Vance is on the investigation the film flies - maybe flies a little too much the film is a bit breakneck at times. The final reveal is very ingenious and elevates this murder mystery into something very good indeed.

The Toll of the Sea (1922)

The Toll of the Sea was one of the earliest Technicolor films and the first to gain a general release. The story itself isn't that special, being a variation of the Madama Butterfly tale though set in China and covers pretty familiar ground. The film was Anna May Wong's first starring role.

So Chinese girl saves life of half-drowned American (Kenneth Harlan), they fall in love, though he then returns to America without her (heartbreak). Though they obviously did the deed as she has his child. Later on he returns to China, only with an American wife in tow (more heartbreak).

If the story isn't special the film itself looks amazing. It was once thought lost but was restored after being rediscovered in 1985. At times it is more like a painting than a film, the reds and greens of the Chinese costumes and gardens so vivid.