Weekly Cinemeh

Hello, and welcome to another edition of Weekly Cinemeh. This week our selection of movies where from actor/director/writer Stephen Chow. Chow is a master at physical/absurdist comedy and makes movies that are essentially live action Looney Tunes movies. His movies also tend to be spoofs of genre films that poke fun at what is considered normal genre tropes. If I could sum up most of what I have seen of Stephen Chow it would be "the phrase 'what the fuck just happened!?' in movie form", though not in a bad way. Eshi and I are both fans of his work, so this week we picked a few movies of his we have not seen. It was a pretty fun week here. So, without further ado: To the list!

1: Out of the Dark
A movie that blends The Exorcist with Leon (and a little bit of slasher film at the end). In this movie the main character is Leon (played by Stephen Chow), who spends his time escaping mental institutions and running around an apartment building exorcising ghosts. The plot focuses on a couple who killed their mother/mother-in-law who die trying to get away from her ghost/Leon/the building's security force (basically a bunch of mall cops) who come back from the dead to kill the people responsible for their deaths. This movie is very funny, and the story, while being slightly bat-shit insane, is very fun to watch. Several times during the movie Eshi and I would turn to one another and say, what the fuck just happened? in baffled glee. I had a good time with this and think you will too. Watch it.

Eshi: I have a special place in my heart for Stephen Chow, so this week was good for me. Out of the Dark manages to take a nearly incomprehensible story about ghosts and turn it in to a comedy slasher-ghost-romance. Karen Mok running around dressed as prepubescent Natalie Portman was kinda weird but a fun poke at the creep-factor in Leon. Like all of the movies on the list today, this one is a lot of fun, but definitely go in with an open mind or you'll end up confused or annoyed.

2: God of Cookery
This movie had me giggling for hours afterward. It is basically a Kung-fu movie version of the Iron Chef TV show. Its about an amazing chef, known as the God of Cookery, who runs his business like a greedy, narcissistic tyrant and looses his respect for the craft. He gets deposed by one of his partners and an apprentice with amazing skill. Afterward he is on the street and he must earn his title back. Its a fun movie with a lot of ridiculous jokes and funny references to old school Kung-fu movies. Anyone who likes old school Hong Kong action movies will like this movie, and even if you don't, give it a try.

Eshi: This is a fun take on the old "comeuppance and redemption" story. Guys a dick, gets fucked by his shady buddy, finds love but is a dick, stops being a dick and kicks his shady buddy right in the shady balls. The street fight and cooking competition play interesting counterpoint and I really enjoyed the final showdown. Do it, do it with friends.

3: King of Comedy
In this movie, Chow plays a failed actor who keeps getting fired while trying to land a big acting gig during the shoot of a movie that is suspiciously similar to a John Woo movie. While in need of some extra income, he takes a job teaching hostesses how to act interested in customers so that they can get more money. The movie turns into a romantic comedy for a little between Chow and one of the hostesses named Piu Piu (Cecilia Cheung) before going full Woo and going undercover to stop a smuggler for some reason. Its a fantastic movie that pokes fun at action movies and romantic comedies. Give it a shot.

Eshi: Life is really hard for the intermittently hyper-competent. If Out of the Dark is shameless in its lampoonery; King of Comedy is straight up tenacious. The fight scenes are delightfully ridiculous, the dialog is fun and the characters are bombastic. I love this movie even with its gratuitous waste of mother fucking Jackie Chan. My only disappointment is that they didn't get Chow Yun Fat.

Honorable mentions: Anything else Stephen Chow does.
Kung Fu Hustle is the standout one for me here, it was my first experience with Stephen Chow, and I have been in love with him ever since. It has excellent writting, great action, and some good music. I would consider it a must see. Journey to the West and Shaolin Soccer are also very good, and worth the watch. Really, if you like comedies, most of his movies are worth it.