Tacticalin An absolute waste of money

Chirphymium It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

Doomtomylo a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

Quiet Muffin This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

Horror Icon "Even in a fight, there are principles."Watching with a Chinese friend, he explained the important social issue which Mr Six highlights - the rapid development and urbanisation of China over the past few decades means that the old, more traditional China is juxtaposed with the modern, changed China. This is an issue many elderly Chinese face, particularly in Beijing where you can visually see it when finding traditional buildings in amidst ultra-modern skyscrapers.In the movie, Mr Six - a 'gangster' leader in his youth, but also a man of principles - remains well- respected in what's left of old Beijing. He struggles to come to terms with a city he hardly recognises anymore, and must deal with the new, young gangsters who lack any and all principles. It's quite deep and Feng Xiaogang does excellent in the main role. The movie is well-known for it's heavy use of the Beijing dialect, which is very rarely seen in such large proportions in cinema. Main weakness of the movie was the last 20 mins of the film, which was a bit weird. Other than that, very good. Even Kris Wu was OK. Would recommend.

Vivian Zhu This is a movie that has nostalgia written all over it. It utilizes elements of the traditional Chinese culture and combines it with modern issues. Essentially it is a tale of redemption between a neglectful father and a broken son, of how people we put down can have their own big story and of how modern society lacks the "rules" that define our actions. The themes in the movie were intriguing (corruption, old gangs...), the premise of the story was promising but it just wasn't a well told story. The scenes dragged, the dialogue felt flat at times and all in all the movie easily lost the audience. This could be blamed on the unnatural pauses in the story telling, the weird cuts and mis-en-scene as well as the out of place soundtrack. It felt like the team behind this movie was pushing the 'artsy' tones a little too much and it all came out forced and fake.A good film drags the audience in, makes the audience empathize and feel every raw emotion of the characters. In this film, the character I was moved by one character and it happens to be an unnamed ostrich. Jokes aside, the only female lead was played wonderfully by Xu Qing, the character worked because her actions felt real. The title character Mr. Six was played well by leading man Feng Xiaogang, but I couldn't help but feel he was 2D at times. With cinematography of this standard, and this type of storyline the movie could not possibly attract the attention of the younger population. So, it decided to cast two of the hottest young actors, Wu Yifan and Li Yifeng. Voila! Teenage girls will go crazy! There's one down side though...they can't act! Wooden expressions, awkward delivery...sometimes the performances bordered ridiculous. Yes, there were a few shining moments but all in all the younger characters were a failure. Heck, they even got one of the most popular "teen idol" groups to make a cameo! What happened to movies being about acting... The take-home message here is that this is a great idea squeezed inside a small container, it tried to be personal, but it wasn't, it tried to be epic, but it wasn't that either. It seemed like the ending of the film tried to be both...it ended up making me want to retreat into my seat and never come out again.

er-24005 Not an action movie by any means but an interesting drama concerning traditional values versus new free-market attitudes seen from the perspective of an older criminal element trying to deal with the new-money, corruption-based variety.The movie does a nice job of showing community life in the laid back old hutongs that still exist in Beijing and while the plot is a little slow it develops well. Since this film was designed to appeal to a domestic audience a lot of the nuance will be lost on foreigners. It emphasizes relationships, loyalty and honor in contrast to the quest for individual wealth, power and exaggerated regard of face. It also reinforces the notion that you can trust the Party to do the right thing but not the police.Some ask "what's happened to Chinese cinema?" I guess the answer is that it is booming and delivering a wide variety of product. If you want a big budget action film with lots of CG you'll find it in Mo Jin - The Lost Legend. I enjoyed Lao Pao Er more though.

neo-306 I had no idea what this movie was about or seen any of the trailers before going into this film so it really was quite a pure experience. From the first scene I was looking forward to the story and the rest of the movie.Unfortunately what I experienced instead was a terrible movie going experience that I don't think has been or will be bested. If I wasn't with others I would have walked out about halfway through.What's wrong with this movie? Where do I begin? Scenes that should be short are drawn out for no reason at all. There are shots and plot elements they spend heaps of time on and turn into absolutely nothing. The story is so simple that you could write it in 2 sentences and yet they make you think its some great and amazing thing they have concocted.I think it does appeal to Chinese people a lot though since it has many famous stars in it. But if you look past that and just try to see it as a movie it is truly a great disaster.The worst part of all was the ending. No meaning behind it, extremely forced, no emotion. What happened to Chinese cinema? I cry every time when watching Hero and Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. Now I have to put up with movies like this. 2 hours felt like 2 weeks.In reality it probably is a 3/10 but since there are obviously so many fake ratings and hype I wish I could give it a 0/10.