Ip Man 2: Legend of the Grandmaster 葉問 2: 宗師傳奇

 Released Year: 2010

Directed by 叶伟信 Wilson Yip

Casted by:

甄子丹 Donnie Yen as 葉問 Ip Man

洪金寶 Sammo Hung as 洪震南 Nam

黃曉明 Huang Xiao Ming as 黃梁 Leung

熊黛林 Lynn Hung as  張永成 Sing

任達華 Simon Yam as 周清泉 Chuen

樊少皇 Louis Fan as 金山找 Chau

鄭則仕 Kent Cheng as 肥波 Fatso

Darren Shahlavi as Taylor Miller "Twister"

Charles Mayer as 華萊士警司 Wallace

 Story: 

Wing Chun master Ip Man and his family move to Hong Kong in the mid-1940s after their escape from Japanese-occupied Foshan. There, Ip desires to open a school to propagate his art, as well as make a living during the difficult times, but he has difficulty attracting students due to his lack of reputation in the city. One day, a young man named Wong Leung appears and promptly challenges Ip to a fight, but is easily defeated. Wong leaves humiliated, only to return with some friends to gang up on him. Ip beats them as well. Stunned and impressed by his skills, Wong and his friends become Ip's first students, bringing more disciples to help the school thrive.

Wong is later caught posting promotional posters for the school by some Hung Ga students. One of them challenges Wong to a fight and loses, but his friends take Wong hostage in revenge and demand a ransom from Ip. Ip goes to the local wet market as directed, but the meeting ends in a confrontation with a growing mob of Hung Ga students. Ip and Wong fight their way outside to meet Jin Shanzhao, a martial artist and former bandit, who comes to their rescue with his own gang. The students' master and head of the coalition of Hong Kong martial arts clubs, Hung Chun-nam, arrives to break up the fight. Ip introduces himself, and Hung informs him that before setting up a school, he needs to attend a special fighting ceremony to test his worth. Ip, Wong and Jin are subsequently arrested by Officer Fatso for disturbing the peace but are later released on bail. Hung and Fatso are then shown to be acting as reluctant collectors for the martial arts schools (including Hung's) as part of a protection racket headed by Superintendent Wallace, a corrupt officer in the Hong Kong police.

Ip attends the ceremony and defeats his first challengers, before striking a draw with the last challenger, Hung. Ip is allowed to keep running his school on the condition that he pay his monthly protection fees, but he declines. Hung thus has his students loiter in front of the Wing Chun School and harass anyone interested, causing a street brawl between them and Ip's disciples. Ip is thus forced to close up and move the school nearer to home. Ip soon confronts Hung, who blames him since he wouldn't pay his protection fees, whereas Ip criticizes Hung's management of his students. Hung insists that he is doing what he must and also insists they finish their fight, but during this encounter, Ip stops Hung from accidentally kicking his son as he suddenly appears, earning respect from him. Ip leaves, and the next day, Hung invites him to a British boxing match he has helped to set up, quietly coming to terms with him.

The boxing competition allows for a demonstration by the various martial arts schools to help promote themselves and their Chinese culture. However, the event's star boxer, Taylor "The Twister" Miller, an arrogant, racist and brutal man, openly insults and attacks the students, causing chaos as the masters try to restore order. Hung accepts Twister's challenge to a fight so that he can defend his culture. Although Hung has the upper hand at first due to his wider range of skills, in the second round he suffers a devastating blow that severely disorientates him. As he fights on, he begins to weaken from his asthma and is eventually beaten to death by Twister, as he refuses to concede and allow the man to insult his culture and people. News of Hung's death rapidly spreads throughout the enraged Chinese populace, causing a scandal that spurs Wallace to hold a press conference where he lies that Hung's death was an accident and that he was a weakling who died after a few punches. Twister announces that in order to clear his name he will accept any challenge from the Chinese to participate in a fair, public boxing match, but proceeds to proclaim that he could kill every Chinese boxer in Hong Kong and that he doubts any of the Chinese are brave enough to fight him. Ip Man has already arrived to challenge Twister to a fight.

As his wife goes into labor, Ip finishes training and begins his fight with Twister. Ip exchanges blows with the boxer and seems overwhelmed by the westerner's sheer muscle at first, but begins to make a comeback using his more diverse techniques and great speed. He receives an illegal punch from Twister after the second round's bell, and is also told that kicks would not be allowed due to the judges changing the rules during the match. When it looks like the end, Ip remembers Hung's patriotic spirit and is spurred to go on. He changes his strategy and attacks the boxer's arms to disable him. The fight is brought to a climactic finish as Ip Man rains blow after blow into the knocked-down Twister's face, with flashbacks reflecting the latter's killing of Master Hung. While the Chinese celebrate, Wallace is arrested by his superiors for corruption, as Fatso has secretly reported him. Ip then gives a speech to the audience, stating that despite the differences between their race and culture, he wishes for everyone to respect each other regardless of their status. Both the Western and Chinese audience give him a standing ovation while Twister's manager walks away, unhappy at the defeat. Ip goes home and reunites with his family, including his newborn second son, Ip Ching.

A final scene shows Ip being introduced to a boy named Bruce Lee who wishes to study Wing Chun in order to "beat up people [he does not] like". Ip smiles and simply tells the boy to "come back when [he has] grown up".

 L² Scored: 9/10

L² Comment:

Comparing to the first movie, this time the rival change from Asian to Caucasian. Both Karate & Boxing master has loss to the ultimate Wing Chun. Lol, it might be true or it has been make it up, but this definitely has make a strong impression on Bruce Lee, Ip Man's apprentice, and all his movie was toward this kind of storyline.

Hiroyuki Ikeuchi & Gordon Lam are out from this second movie, replacing by strong and good acting Sammo Hung, Huang Xiao Ming & Kent Cheng; while Darren Shahlavi is a British Persian actor who is actually an expert in Judo. *Note: Darren Shahlavi has passed away in 2015 at his age of 42yo by a fatal heart attack, RIP.

Same comment I'm gonna give since the first movie's review, both Simon Yam & Lynn Hung should be out from the picture as their character is useless and I believe paying them are not cheap as well. I can understand Lynn's character is a continuous, but Simon? He appear less than 3 minutes in the whole film, but maybe he is on a guest appearance form, who knows?

Ip Man 葉問

 Released Year: 2008

Directed by 叶伟信 Wilson Yip

Casted by:

甄子丹 Donnie Yen as 葉問 Ip Man

池內博之 Hiroyuki Ikeuchi as 三浦將軍 Miura

任達華 Simon Yam as 周清泉 Chow Ching-chuen

熊黛林 Lynn Hung as 張永成 Cheung Wing-sing

樊少皇 Louis Fan as 金山找 Kam Shan-chu

林家棟 Gordon Lam as 李釗 Li Chiu

釋行宇 Xing Yu as 武痴林 Master Lam

黃又南 Wong You-nam as 沙膽源 Yuan

 Story: 

In the 1930s, Foshan is a hub of Southern Chinese martial arts, where various schools actively recruit disciples and compete against each other. Although the Wing Chun master Ip Man is the most skilled martial artist in Foshan, he is unassuming and keeps a low profile. As an independent wealthy man, he feels no need to accept any disciples and instead spends his days training, meeting with friends, and spending time with his family. However, his wife is often resentful of the time he spends training and discussing martial arts with friends and colleagues. Though not a professional martial artist, Ip is respected in Foshan due to the abilities he displays in friendly, closed-door competitions with local masters. Ip's reputation is further enhanced when he defeats an aggressive, rude, highly skilled Northern Chinese martial arts master, Jin Shanzhao, thus upholding the regional pride of fellow Southern stylists and others in Foshan.

The Japanese invasion in 1937 adversely affects the life of everyone in Foshan. Ip's house is claimed by the Japanese and used as their Foshan headquarters. Ip and his family lose their wealth and are forced to move into a decrepit house. Desperate to support his family, Ip accepts work at a coal mine. The Japanese General Miura, who is a Karate master, establishes an arena where Chinese martial artists compete with his military trainees. The Chinese earn a bag of rice for every match they win. Li Zhao, a former police officer and Ip's acquaintance, is now working as a translator for the Japanese and is making the offer to the martial artists working at the coal mine. Ip at first declines to participate in the matches. However, when his friend Lin goes missing, he agrees to take part in order to investigate. Ip arrives to see fellow Foshan martial arts master Liu executed by Miura's lieutenant, Sato, for picking up a bag of rice from a prior victory after conceding in a second match against three karateka. He also comes to understand that Lin was killed in an earlier fight. Barely able to contain his rage, Ip demands a match with ten karateka at once. Despite having not practiced Wing Chun since the invasion began (in order to conserve what little food his family had to survive), he proceeds to mercilessly crush each of them with a brutal barrage of his martial art mastery, showing none of the restraint he exhibited in previous engagements. His skill arouses the interest of Miura, who seeks to learn more about Ip and see him fight again.

Ip later visits his friend Chow Ching-chuen, who owns and runs a cotton mill in Foshan. Chow tells Ip that a bandit gang led by Jin Shanzhao is harassing his workers and trying to extort money from them. Ip trains the workers in Wing Chun for self-defense.

When Ip does not return to the arena, Miura grows impatient and sends Sato along with several soldiers to find him. The lieutenant then gestures at Ip's wife, prompting Ip to incapacitate them. When the bandits return to the cotton mill, the workers fight back using the techniques that Ip taught them. Ip himself arrives midway through the battle to take care of things personally and defeats Jin Shanzhao, warning him never to harass the workers again.

The Japanese soldiers eventually find Ip at the cotton mill. Miura tells Ip that his life will be spared if he agrees to instruct the Japanese soldiers in martial arts. Ip refuses and challenges Miura to a match, which Miura accepts, both because of his love for martial arts and because refusing the challenge would be a humiliation to the Japanese. The match between Ip and Miura is held in public in Foshan's square. At first, the two fighters seem equally matched, but Miura soon finds himself unable to penetrate Ip's impeccable defense and becomes overwhelmed by his relentless and direct blows. He is helpless to defend himself as Ip effortlessly uses him as a wooden dummy, inflicting a severe beating on him and clearly winning.

As the beaten general lies down after his defeat, Ip looks over to the cheering Chinese crowd and spots his wife and child with Chow. Enraged, Sato shoots at Ip, sparking a scuffle between the Chinese audience and the Japanese soldiers. During the scuffle, Li Zhao kills Sato with Sato's own gun. Ip is taken away amidst the chaos. The epilogue reveals that he survives and escapes to Hong Kong with his family with the help of Chow Ching-chuen. There, Ip establishes a Wing Chun school, where his students come to learn martial arts from him, including Bruce Lee.

 L² Scored: 8.5/10

L² Comment:

Sorry to all Ip Man's fans, but seriously this is only the first time ever I watch this movie :p This series of movie never really attracted me previously even though later on Mike Tyson was invited to play a role in the 3rd movie as well. But surprisingly this movie is not bad, as I thought i would have fall asleep half way through the movie but I did not... 

Few of the characters in this film which i think is overspend on the budget especially Simon Yam & Lynn Hung, i mean, the movie doesn't need to pay so much for them to be in the film as the character is not really important at all. The one whom is really good, I have to say is Gordon Lam, he really acted well in here; Ikeuchi is another surprise for me, as this actor doesn't have much movies or dramas on him, he might be choosy in selecting his character & film, but i think he definitely loves his part here as he is a Judo black belt master :)

Hero 英雄

 Released Year: 2002

Directed by 张艺谋 Zhang Yi Mou

Casted by:

李连杰 Jet Li as 无名 Nameless

陈道明 Chen Dao Ming as 秦王政 King of Qin

梁朝伟 Tony Leung as 残剑 Broken Sword

张曼玉 Maggie Cheung as 飞雪 Flying Snow

章子怡 Zhang Zi Yi as 如月 Moon

甄子丹 Donnie Yen as 长空 Long Sky

 Story: 

In ancient China during the Warring States period, Nameless, a Qin prefect, arrives at the Qin capital city to meet the king of Qin, who had survived an attempt on his life by the assassins Long Sky, Flying Snow, and Broken Sword. As a result, the king has implemented extreme security measures: no visitors are to approach the king within 100 paces. Nameless claims that he has slain the three assassins and he displays their weapons before the king, who allows the former to approach and tell him his story.

Nameless recounts first killing Long Sky, before traveling to meet Flying Snow and Broken Sword, who had taken refuge at a calligraphy school in the Zhao state. He tells Sword that he is there to commission a calligraphy scroll with the character for "Sword" (劍), secretly seeking to learn Sword's skill through his calligraphy. Nameless also learns that Snow and Sword, who are lovers, had gradually grown distant. Once the scroll is complete, Nameless reveals his identity and challenges both Snow and Sword to a duel the next day. Sword, who knows that the scroll has revealed his weaknesses to Nameless, makes love to his pupil Moon, but is seen by Snow. In revenge, Snow kills Sword, followed by Moon when she attempted to seek revenge for her master. The next day, Nameless kills the emotionally unstable Snow before the Qin army, and claims her sword. As the tale concludes, the king expresses disbelief and accuses Nameless of staging the duels with the assassins, as in the previous assassination attempt he had perceived Sword as an honourable man who would not stoop so low as to cheat on Snow. The king then suggests that what really happened was that the assassins volunteered their lives so that Nameless could gain the king's trust, which would allow Nameless to get close enough to the king to kill him. He then narrates his guess at what really happened.

In the king's version of the story Nameless had sought out Snow and Sword after staging the battle with Sky, telling them that he had acquired a special technique that would allow him to kill any target that is within 10 paces. Nameless explains that he can use this technique to kill the king, but to get close enough he must present Snow's and Sword's weapons to the king. He further explains that he only needs to kill one of them in public to "prove" that he has killed both of them. Snow and Sword argue over who should be the one to die, which results in a short fight in which Snow is quicker and manages to injure Sword. Snow then proceeds to meet Nameless before the Qin army while Sword, still recovering from his wound, watches helplessly as Snow is defeated. Moon then gives Nameless her master's sword, telling him that the swords of Snow and Sword should remain together in death as they had in life.

Nameless admits that he does indeed possess the special technique the king alluded to. However he states that the King had underestimated Sword, and tells the true story. Nameless says that the special technique, while deadly, can also be used to deal a seemingly-fatal blow that nonetheless misses all the victim's vital organs. He had used this technique on Sky, and now asked Snow and Sword to cooperate by faking a duel with him as well. He demonstrates the technique by showing that it is highly accurate as well as deadly. Snow agrees to the plan, but Sword refuses. Snow angrily accuses Sword of ruining the opportunity they had three years ago, when they had broken into the Qin palace yet Sword had refused to kill the king. She then attacks Sword, and manages to wound him with Nameless's help. The next day, Nameless "kills" Snow in front of the Qin army. Sword sends Nameless off to the Qin capital, writing the words Tianxia in the sand before leaving. Sword had not killed the king 3 years ago because he desired a unified, peaceful state, and only the king of Qin could achieve that vision.

The king, touched by the tale and by Sword's understanding of his dream to unify China, ceases to fear Nameless. He tosses his sword to Nameless and examines the scroll drawn by Sword. The king understands that it describes the ideal warrior, who, paradoxically, should have no desire to kill. When Nameless realizes the wisdom of these words, he abandons his mission and spares the king.

When Snow learns that Sword had convinced Nameless to forgo the assassination, she furiously attacks Sword and unintentionally kills him when he chooses not to defend himself so that she would understand his feelings for her. Overwhelmed with sorrow, Snow commits suicide. Urged by his court, the king reluctantly orders Nameless to be executed at the Qin palace. He understands that in order to unify the nation, he must enforce the law and use Nameless as an example. As the film ends, Nameless receives a hero's funeral and a closing text identifies the king as Qin Shi Huang.

 L² Scored: 7/10

L² Comment:

Well, if you are looking for some serious martial arts kinda fighting film, please do not proceed to watch this film or you will only get yourself disappointed. Zhang Yi Mou is not the kind of director who will be shooting action film but this movie does involved a little bit of action especially at Donnie Yen's part, coz his acting skill is sucks. Basically this is about the history of "Jing Ke" who try to kill the King of Qin, the movie has been beautified by the way of Zhang Yi Mou's way of directing which I think is kind of different and cool. But of course, its not a kind of film that you will wanna re-watch after a short while, and p/s: watch it after you have enough sleep~

Everest

 Released Year: 2015

Directed by Baltasar Kormákur

Casted by:

Jason Clarke as Rob Hall

Josh Brolin as Beck Weathers

Jake Gyllenhaal as Scott Fischer

Naoko Mori as Yasuko Namba

John Hawkes as Doug Hansen

Emily Watson as Helen Wilton

Sam Worthington as Guy Cotter

Robin Wright as Peach

Keira Knightley as Jan Arnold

 Story:

In May 1996, two expeditions, Adventure Consultants and Mountain Madness, meet at base camp and prepare to summit Mount Everest, NEPAL in the following days. Rob Hall is one of three guides for Adventure Consultants, whose eight clients include Beck Weathers, who had been climbing for ten years, Doug Hansen, who was climbing to prove an ordinary man can pursue an extraordinary dream, and Yasuko Namba, who had previously climbed six of the Seven Summits and was attempting to become the oldest woman to summit Mt. Everest, NEPAL. Scott Fischer was the guide for Mountain Madness.

A month earlier on the day he leaves New Zealand for NEPAL, Rob says goodbye to his pregnant wife, Jan, and promises her he'll be back in time for the birth. While he is at base camp, she sends him a fax to inform him that the baby will be a girl, and he suggests they name her Sarah, which Jan isn't too keen on. The two expeditions are introduced to Helen Wilton, the base camp manager, who keeps in contact with all of them via walkie-talkies while they climb. On May 7, Expedition members climb from base camp to Camp II, which includes walking across a fixed ladder over a deep crevasse. Suddenly, large chunks of ice break away under the strain of too many climbers crossing one after the other and the ladder almost detaches. Worried, Rob tries to persuade the opposite group to ascend at a later date but they refuse. Both expeditions keep climbing and reach Camp IV on May 9, starting to use supplemental oxygen when needed.

Climbers reach the high altitude "death zone" and set off in the early hours of May 10 from the South Col, planning to reach the top and turn around by 2:00pm, the last safe time that will allow them to reach base camp before nightfall. Smaller expeditions sponsored by the governments of Taiwan and India also ascend on the same morning but from the North Face. Expedition climbers quickly encounter delays. Upon reaching a bottleneck at the Hillary Step, they discover that no fixed line has been put in place and are forced to wait an hour while the guides install one, pushing back their time plan. Three climbers decide to turn back. Meanwhile, Beck has trouble with his vision and sits down. He informs Rob that he had an operation the year before, but believes he will be fine after he rests for a while. Rob allows him half an hour, but tells him he must turn back if he can't see better by then.

Gradually, climbers reach the top of Everest one by one. Anatoli Boukreev is the first 1:07pm, with Rob following soon after, but many others don't reach the summit by 2:00pm as planned due to several more stops along the way. Yasuko also reaches the top and plants her flag of Japan in the snow, thanking God and celebrating with Rob, who tells her how proud of her he is. Boukreev notices that the weather does not look good and at 3:00pm, snow starts to fall and the light diminishes. On his way back down, Rob encounters Doug struggling just above the Hillary Step and orders him to turn back since it's too late to keep going. Doug insists that he won't get the chance to do this again and says he must go on. Knowing how important the climb is to him, Rob agrees and accompanies him up to the summit. Scott Fischer does not summit until around 3:45pm, exhausted and increasingly ill from high-altitude pulmonary edema (HAPE), which began even before he started his ascent; he had not told anyone. He tells the two climbers descending with him to continue on their own.

The weather worsens, particularly the blizzard on the south side of the mountain, causing much difficulty for descending members. Supplemental oxygen is also running out and there are no full emergency tanks stored where Rob had asked. Doug becomes semi-conscious from lack of oxygen, so Rob radios Helen at base camp to send somebody up with oxygen tanks and water, knowing they are in trouble. Doug, left alone briefly by Rob, unbuckles his carabiner from the guide rope in his oxygen-starved daze and takes a few steps along the extremely narrow path in the mountainside. Moments later in the heavy wind, he topples silently off the ridge to his death.

Several descending climbers approach Beck, who is still sitting on the Balcony. Nearly blinded by the effects of high altitude and overexposure to ultraviolet radiation, he tells them he cannot see, and they try to help him descend. He trips and knocks several climbers down the mountain some 20m from a drop off over the Kangshung Face. They later become lost after the blizzard obliterates the trail back to Camp IV and wander past midnight. When the blizzard clears, three of them set off to find help, leaving Beck and Yasuko behind.

Andy Harris, one of the other guides for Adventure Consultants, makes his way back up the mountain with oxygen for Rob and Doug, only to be told by Rob that Doug is "gone". Unable to move due to the blizzard, Rob and Andy are forced to wait on the side of the mountain. Soon, Andy suffers from hypoxia and hallucinates that he's overheating. He strips off his outerwear and dies with Rob lying next to him. In the early hours of May 11, Rob radios base camp, telling them he is still at the top of Hillary Step but Doug and Andy are gone. Helen and others break down in tears. They tell Rob he needs to start making his way down now before his condition worsens, but he tells them his hands and feet are frozen and his oxygen regulator is blocked by ice. Helen believes that if anyone can get Rob down the mountain, his wife Jan can. She calls her and puts the phone near the walkie-talkie so they can hear each other. Jan tells Rob he's got to get moving and he tries, but doesn't get far. Shortly after, knowing Rob doesn't have much time left, Helen again calls Jan, who speaks with her husband. He tells her he is cold but comfortable, asks her to name their daughter Sarah, and finally says, "Sleep well, my sweetheart. Please don't worry too much."

Scott, now alone, knows he cannot make it back and lies down in the snow as his life ebbs away. Boukreev later finds Scott and shrouds his face with his backpack. His body remains on the mountain to this day. Many climbers reach base camp with news that Beck and Yasuko have not descended and need help, but weather conditions remain too dangerous for anyone to try to reach them. Helen calls Beck's wife, Peach, to tell her the situation. Later in the day Beck miraculously regains consiciousness, but Yasuko is dead. Beck stumbles back to camp alone, to the great astonishment of everyone there. He is severely frostbitten and desperately in need of medical help. The group gives him first aid in the tent, believing he won't survive the night. Meanwhile, his wife, having been told he is still alive, calls the American Embassy and organises a helicopter rescue. The flight is risky because the air is thin for a helicopter. The pilots fly over the Western Cwm, the only feasible route, and successfully make one of the highest altitude helicopter medical evacuations.

The closing scenes show everyone departing for home. Helen and several other climbers meet Jan at the airport and embrace. Beck returns home to his family, heavily bandaged. Closing on-screen titles inform the audience that he lost both hands and nose to severe frostbite. Jan later gives birth to a daughter and names her Sarah.

 L² Scored: 10/10

L² Comment:

Oh man, i gotta give this movie a 10/10 or else i will be shooting myself to death or swallow some shits in me dude~ This movie is really awesome... Me myself has climb the Malaysia's Mt Kinabalu and i am already half dead after it, i cant imagine how those ppl manage to climb all the way up to Everest. SALUTE

This is based on a real story which ends very sadly, i cried when the Japanese lady Yatsuko reach the peak with tears and keep on saying "arigatou"... too bad in the real life, the real Yatsuko didnt manage to come down alive during the incident, but i salute her... she's a proud asian lady, and she will always be remember by her fellow frens~ may all those ppl RIP.~

The Haunting in Connecticut

 Released Year: 2009

Directed by Peter Cornwell

Casted by:

Virginia Madsen as Sara Campbell

Kyle Gallner as Matthew Campbell

Elias Koteas as Reverend Nicholas Popescu

Amanda Crew as Wendy

Martin Donovan as Peter Campbell

Ty Wood as Billy Campbell

Sophi Knight as Mary

D.W. Brown as Dr. Brooks

Erik Berg as Jonah

 Story:

In 1987, Sara Campbell is driving her son Matthew home from the hospital where he has been undergoing cancer treatments and traumas. Sara and her husband Peter, a recovering alcoholic, discuss finding a rental house closer to the hospital. On another hospital visit, Sara finds a man putting up a “For Rent” sign in front of a large house. The man is frustrated and offers her the first month free if she will rent it immediately. On the trip home, Matt is in extreme pain, so Sara drives back to the house, where they stay for the night.

The following day, Peter arrives with Matt's brother Billy and cousins Wendy and Mary, and they choose rooms. Matt chooses the basement, where there is a mysterious door. After moving into the house, Matt suffers a series of visions involving an old, bearded man and corpses with symbols carved into their skin. The next day, Peter learns that the house was supposedly a funeral home after finding Matt and Billy in the room behind the mysterious door, which they discover is a mortuary. Peter then confronts Sara but eventually chooses to just ignore the house's dark past.

At the hospital, Matt confesses to another patient, Reverend Nicholas Popescu, that he’s been seeing things. Nicholas tells Matt to call him if he needs to talk. After another vision, Matt calls Nicholas and tells him about the visions. Nicholas advises him to find out what the spirit wants. Later, Matt finds a burned figure in his room as he asks the spirit what it wants from him and the ghost begins to move towards him. When the rest of the family comes home, they find a shirtless Matt with his fingers blood-covered from scratching at the wall. Even though he is tortured by the ghost.

The family begins to crack under the stress of Matt's illness and bizarre behavior. Meanwhile, the children find a metal box of photographs, which show Jonah, a young man from Matt's visions, at a séance, emitting ectoplasm. Wendy and Matt research the house's history. They find out that the funeral home was run by a man named Ramsey Aickman. Aickman also conducted psychic research and would host séances with Jonah as the medium. At one séance, all those attending, including Aickman, were found dead and Jonah disappeared.

Matt and Wendy then contact Nicholas to seek his help. Nicholas theorizes that Aickman was practicing necromancy in an attempt to control the dead and bind them to the house. He asks Matt and Wendy to take his hands and pray with him for the souls of the missing bodies and for Jonah. When Matt takes their hands, he is drawn into a vision of that final séance.

That night, both Wendy and Sara suffer visions of spirits. Peter arrives in a drunken state, and begins shouting at everyone for having the lights on, causing a frightening racket. Sara confronts him shortly after. When the family goes to sleep, all of the electronics in the house go haywire, terrifying them. In desperation, Sara contacts Nicholas. Nicholas finds human remains in the house and removes them. Matt later awakens to find Aickman’s symbols carved into his flesh. He is taken to the hospital, where he encounters Jonah. Meanwhile, Nicholas nearly crashes his car when Jonah appears in his backseat. He and Matt begin to have simultaneous visions, in which Jonah is shown years before. After emitting the ectoplasm, everyone in the séance is burnt to a degree, after a flash of bright light. The severely burnt and barely alive Aickman told Jonah to get out of the house, concerned that the demonic presence will get him next. Jonah then flees. Seemingly the only way out, Jonah uses a dumbwaiter to escape, calling for help. Entering an unknown chamber, Jonah realizes that he has entered the crematory. Quickly before he can escape, the spirit traps Jonah in the crematory, and cremates him alive. Matt and Nicholas then break from the vision, after which Jonah's spirit disappears.

Peter and Sara meet at the hospital and learn that Matt's cancer treatments have had no effect. They then discover that Matt has escaped the hospital. Back at the house, Wendy takes a shower, while Nicholas leaves a message telling the family to get out of the house immediately – Jonah's spirit was actually protecting them from the spirits. Wendy is nearly suffocated by the shower curtain, but escapes, only to see Matt arrive with an axe. Matt breaks through the walls in the front room with the axe, revealing the dusty corpses Aickman hid in the walls. He forces Wendy and the children to get out of the house, barricading himself inside and tearing down the other walls, as marked corpses begin to tumble into the room. As he swings the axe, the view switches from Matt to Jonah, who seems to be occupying Matt's body. Matt lights the bodies and the room on fire.

Sara, Peter and Nicholas arrive with the fire department, Sara and Peter frantically try to get in to save Matt. Sara gets into the house and takes Matt under a table to avoid the falling timbers. The spirits, finally freed, disappear as a firefighter breaks through and pulls Matt and Sara to safety. Outside, everyone watches tearfully as the emergency crew attempts to resuscitate a dying Matt. As Matt slips away, he has a vision of himself standing in the graveyard where he sees Jonah, no longer appearing burnt. He seems about to follow Jonah when he hears his mother’s voice.

He returns to his body and Jonah's spirit leaves him, appearing next to Nicholas before finally vanishing and passing on. At the end of the film, we are told that Matt's cancer has disappeared, and the house was rebuilt and resold with no further reported incidents of haunting.

L² Scored: 6/10 

L² Comment: 

When I watched the 2nd movie 2 years ago, i'm so disappointed about it that i decided not to watch the first movie... But out of sudden, i realize i got the first movie in my hardisc... so i decided to give it a try~ and luckily i did, because this movie is way more better than the 2nd one, no matter the storyline, the acting skills, the make up... its all better than the 2nd movie :)

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre 1974

 Released Year: 1974

Directed by Tobe Hooper

Casted by:

Marilyn Burns as Sally Hardesty

Paul A. Partain as Franklin Hardesty

 Allen Danziger as Jerry

William Vail as Kirk

Teri McMinn as Pam

Gunnar Hansen as Leatherface

Edwin Neal as Hitchhiker

Jim Siedow as Proprietor

 Story: 

Sally Hardesty and her paraplegic brother, Franklin, travel with three friends, Jerry, Kirk, and Pam, to visit the grave of the Hardestys' grandfather to investigate reports of vandalism and grave robbing. Afterwards they decide to visit the old Hardesty family homestead. Along the way they pick up a hitchhiker who talks about his family who worked at the old slaughterhouse. He borrows Franklin's pocket-knife and cuts himself, then takes a Polaroid picture of the others and demands money for it. When they refuse to pay, he burns the photo and slashes Franklin's arm with a straight razor. The group forces him out of the van and drive on. They stop at a gas station to refuel, but the proprietor tells them that the pumps are empty.

They continue towards the homestead, intending to return to the gas station once it has received a fuel delivery. When they arrive, Franklin tells Kirk and Pam about a local swimming-hole and the couple head off to find it. They find the swimming-hole dried up but hear a generator running in the distance. They stumble upon a nearby house. Kirk calls out, asking for gas, while Pam waits on a swing in the yard. After Kirk receives no answer, he enters through the unlocked door, whereupon Leatherface appears and kills him with a mallet. Pam enters soon after and trips into a room filled with furniture made from human bones. She attempts to flee, but Leatherface catches her and impales her on a meathook, making her watch as he butchers Kirk with a chainsaw. Jerry heads out to look for Pam and Kirk at sunset. He finds the couple's blanket outside the nearby house. He investigates and finds Pam, still alive, inside a freezer. Before he can react, Leatherface kills him and stuffs Pam back into the freezer.

With darkness falling, Sally and Franklin set out to find their friends. As they near the neighboring house and call out, Leatherface lunges from the darkness and kills Franklin with a chainsaw. Sally runs toward the house and finds the desiccated remains of an elderly couple in an upstairs room. She escapes from Leatherface by jumping through a second-floor window and flees to the gas station. Leatherface disappears into the night. The proprietor calms her with offers of help, but then ties her up, gags her and forces her into his truck. He drives to the house, arriving at the same time as the hitchhiker, now revealed as Leatherface's brother. When the pair bring Sally inside, the hitchhiker recognizes her and taunts her.

The men torment the bound and gagged Sally while Leatherface, now dressed as a woman, serves dinner. Leatherface and the hitchhiker bring an old man, Grandpa, from upstairs to share the meal. During the night they decide that Grandpa (the best killer in the old slaughterhouse) should kill Sally. He tries to hit her with a hammer, but is too weak. In the ensuing confusion, she breaks free, leaps through a window, and escapes to the road. Leatherface and the hitchhiker give chase, but the latter is run down and killed by a passing semi-trailer truck. Armed with his chainsaw, Leatherface attacks the truck when the driver stops to help. The driver hits him in the face with a large wrench. Sally escapes in the back of a passing pickup truck as Leatherface waves the chainsaw above his head in frustration.

 L² Scored: 7.5/10

L² Comment:

The very first movie of the texas chainsaw massacre franchise movie. Though it was plotted as based on the real story to attract wide audience, but mostly it was fictioned, but based on the real story of the psycho killer Ed Gein. The storyline is not bad, seriously if i'm Sally Hardesty and being chased down by this crazy guy at night, i dont know how far i can run or how long i can run to escape from this guy. This is frightening man!!!

Flirting Scholar 唐伯虎點秋香

Released Year: 1993

Directed by 李力持 Lee LikChi & 周星馳 Stephen Chow

Casted by:

 周星馳 Stephen Chow as 唐伯虎 Tong Pak Fu

鞏俐 Gong Li as 秋香 Chow Heung

鄭佩佩 Cheng Pei Pei as 華夫人 Madame Wah

陳百祥 Natalis Chan as 祝枝山 Chuk Chi San

黃霑 Jim Wong as 華太師 Chancellor Wah

宣萱 Jessica Hester Hsuan as 夏香 Ha Heung

苑瓊丹 Kingdom Yuen as 石榴 Sek Lao

梁家仁 Bryan Leung as 武狀元 Mou Zhong Yun 

劉家輝 Gordon Liu as 奪命書生 Evil Scholar

 Story: 

In the Ming Dynasty, there were four scholars, whose literary and artistic skills are unmatched in China. Tong Pak Fu is the most famous, for having eight wives in addition to his expertise as an artist, poet, and calligrapher. However, Tong's wives are all gambling addicts, unappreciative of Tong's artistic skills. This leads to Tong's quest for a woman who truly appreciates his strengths.

The Tong Family have been generations of martial arts masters and has two major enemies: the Evil Scholar, a notorious swordsman known for The Deadly Scholastic Sword, Due to these rivalries, Tong Pak Fu is forbidden by his mother to use any form of martial arts.

One day, Tong stumbles upon the convoy of the House of Wah, and meets Chow Heung, one of the four maids in the House of Wah. This chance encounter convinces Tong that he has finally found his true love. On the advice of a boatman, Tong pretends to be a lowly servant in order to gain employment in the House of Wah.

Tong finds life as a servant very difficult, until Madame Wah discovers that Tong is actually educated. After some persuasion by Chow Heung, Tong is hired as an assistant tutor for Madame Wah's two young sons.

After the sudden death of the main tutor of the House of Wah, Tong is promoted and manages to get closer to Chow Heung. However, the House of Wah is suddenly visited by Chancellor Wah's political rival, Prince Ning, who is planning a coup. Madame Wah is injured, and Tong steps in to finish the battle in the House of Wah's favor. Prince Ning seizes the opportunity to blame the House of Wah for insulting him. Embarrassed at being utterly defeated at the hands of a tutor, Prince Ning leaves hastily, vowing revenge. In reproducing a painting, Tong reveals his real identity to Madame Wah, who is the former love rival of Tong's mother.

Several days later, the Evil Scholar returns to annihilate the entire House of Wah. Madame Wah attempts to defend the family, but is almost killed. Tong appears and after a fierce battle, Tong kills the Evil Scholar and earns Chow Heung's hand in marriage as a reward. Tong then discovers that Chow Heung is just as much a gambling addict as his previous eight wives.

 L² Scored: 8.5/10

L² Comment:

Hehe, one of my fav Stephen Chow's movie back in the 90's. The only time Stephen Chow film with Gong Li... Gong Li always give us the serious type of look, but in this movie, she did tried some effort to be funny, but of course she won't be able to compete with Sandra Ng, Teresa Mo, Sharla Cheung, Karen Mok or other Stephen Chow's movie actress... The biggest surprise would be Jessica Hester Hsuan in this movie, i almost lost my breath because i laugh too hard on some of her scenes~

Hail the Judge 九品芝麻官

 Released Year: 1994

Directed by 王晶 Wang Jing

Casted by:

周星馳 Stephen Chow as 包龍星 Sing

吳孟達 Ng Man Tat as 包有為 Wai 

徐錦江 Elvis Tsui as 雷豹 Pao

苑瓊丹 Kingdom Yuen as 三姑 Sam

鄒兆龍 Chow Cho Long as 常威 Wai

蔡少芬 Ada Choi as 如煙 Yin

張敏 Sharla Cheung as 戚秦氏 Qin

吳啟華 Ng Kai Wa as 方唐鏡 Keng

梁榮忠 Leung Weng Zhong as 吳廣得 Dak

鍾麗緹 Christy Chong as 吳好缇 Tai

 Story: 

Bao Sing is Bao Zheng’s corrupt descendant, who’s hated by the public for his money-digging ways. He has a change of heart when he sees rape victim Cheung Man get framed by other corrupt lawyers and officials, including legendary lawyer Fong Tong-Ken. Bao goes through hell when he tries to expose them, and soon he finds himself on the run with nephew Ng Man-Tat. They encounter all sorts of wacky characters, including Christy Chung as a circus performer/love interest and Ada Choi Siu-Fun as a classy prostitute/love interest.

 L² Scored: 7.5/10

L² Comment:

First half of this movie is actually quite serious until Stephen Chow was sold in the hooker street, Kingdom Yuen is always the best supporting actress of Stephen Chow's movie when come to comedy part. As usual, Kingdom never wasted her gift and send us a lots of laughter~ Ada Choi and Christy Zhong is beautiful as always :)

Me & Mr X 2: Beijing Beijing 我和x先生2: 北京北京

 Released Year: 2015

Directed by 张文爽 Zhang Wen Shuang

Casted by:

冯五郎 Feng Wu Lang as 晓亮 Xiao Liang

雷升 Lei Sheng as 男友 Boyfriend

 Story:

3 years ago, Liang was happily with his boyfriend until his parents discovered their relationship and his boyfriend promise his father to leave him, just to stop the father from beating him. Liang left his family and work in Beijing alone. 3 years later, they met, Liang feel emo and get drunk, but accidentally got into a fight and hurt himself. In this big city, Liang feel cold, but he then feel warm again when he met his boyfriend and both of them get back together... 

L² Scored: 5/10

L² Comment:

Well, compare to the first mini movie, this is not that strong and romantic... however, it is quite true that living alone in a big city without someone beside u is very lonely and tiring... love, is the one that will keep u strong and continue whatever u r looking for...