Eight of the new Hong Kong films we’re most looking forward to, from Big Brother to Warriors of Future
2018 Filmart is the fair where producers hawk movies to distributors and show trailers to critics. From what we’ve seen, these are the pick of Hong Kong-made movies coming to a cinema near you sometime soon
Another year, another exciting glimpse into the immediate future for cinema-goers at Hong Kong Filmart, where producers hawk their latest films to distributors. Here (in alphabetical order) are trailers from Filmart week for eight of the films we’re most looking forward to seeing.
1. Big Brother
Director: Kam Ka-wai ( Colour of the Game )
Starring: Donnie Yen
Why we’re excited: Yen plays a high-school teacher who is nevertheless forced to kick a lot of arses when a student of his is abducted by bad guys – and the martial arts superstar enlisted an exciting roster of MMA experts, veteran stuntmen and action actors to join him for the project.
2. Bodies at Rest
Director: Renny Harlin (Skiptrace)
Starring: Nick Cheung, Richie Jen, Yang Zi
Why we’re excited: The director of Die Hard 2, Mindhunters and, well, the Jackie Chan flop Skiptrace again lends his crime movie expertise to this flamboyant action thriller, which pits Cheung against Jen in a cat-and-mouse game involving a plan to steal a certain important corpse.
3. Destiny of an Emperor
Director: Roy Chow Hin-yeung ( Rise of the Legend )
Starring: Wang Kai, Louis Koo, Ray Lui, Han Geng
Why we’re excited: The immensely popular hack-and-slash video game Dynasty Warriors receives the big-screen adaptation that few people thought it warranted courtesy of director Chow, a supreme stylist in staging exhilarating action. Koo will play the iconic warlord Lu Bu.
4. Fatal Visit
Director: Calvin Poon Yuen-leung
Starring: Sammi Cheng, Charlene Choi, Tong Dawei
Why we’re excited: After 29+1 proved that Hong Kong plays could inspire big-screen success, Candace Chong’s Murder in San José – unquestionably one of the best local plays of the past decade – is next in line for adaptation. It helps that Philip Yung ( Port of Call ) is writing the screenplay.
5. Limbo
Director: Soi Cheang ( The Monkey King 3 )
Starring: Lam Ka-tung, Mason Lee, Cya Liu
Why we’re excited: If his recent Monkey King films appear to show a much gentler Soi than before, the director of such hysterical cult movies as Dog Bite Dog (2006) and Shamo (2007) shows the beast is still very much in him with this apparent homage to torture porn, adapted from a Chinese crime novel.
6. No. 1 Chung Ying Street
Director: Derek Chiu Sung-kee
Starring: Neo Yau Hawk-sau, Fish Liew Ziyu,
Why we’re excited: Social activism takes centre stage in this political drama written, directed and produced by Chiu. Controversies look set to beckon upon its release; the film looks back at the upheavals in 1960s Hong Kong and asks urgent questions about modern China.
(Trailer is in Mandarin)
7. The Trough
Director: Nick Cheung ( Keeper of Darkness )
Starring: Nick Cheung, Xu Jinglei, He Jiong
Why we’re excited: After showing massive improvement from his first (Hungry Ghost Ritual) to his second film (Keeper of Darkness), Cheung’s third film as director switches gear from horror to crime, following Cheung’s own undercover cop as he sinks ever deeper into the criminal underworld.
8. Warriors of Future
Director: Ng Yuen-fai
Starring: Louis Koo, Lau Ching-wan, Philip Keung, Carina Lau
Why we’re excited: Koo fulfils his ambition to create a visual-effects-heavy sci-fi epic for Hong Kong with this years-in-the-making project. The futuristic story will see humans around the world team up to tackle mysterious robots rising from the sea to invade major cities.
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