Gau geung ching dou foo (2017) Reviews

• The Mr. Vampire is Back! The Best Hong Kong Genre Film of the 21st.Century!

  hilaryswank20112017-04-01

  This feature film successfully restored and developed the tradition of Goeng Si, the Chinese Vampire franchise of the 1980s (1985-1989) ! I was really impressed with their eagerness and the perfect construction of the well made genre film! First of all, I have to thank you all film crew for making this remarkable Hong Kong genre film that other countries are not able to make. As you know, what Mr.Vampire series (1985-89) depicted was stewardship between a stubborn master and his bad students. The three act structure well embodies the bad students' development via comedic interactions with their stubborn master. For instance, in this film, Chin Siu-ho's role is equal with Lam Ching-ying's Taoist master in Mr.Vampire (1985) in which he played his student. And Babyjohn Choi is equal with the Chin's role in the master piece. The most impressed detail is that the directors selected the cleanup department workers as their Ghost Busters of Hong Kong who are decisively effective and full of contributions to the hygiene of urban and rural sights all over Hong Kong. This setting complies with the foundation of art in general according to what Leo Tolstoi said in the late 1890s. About the creativity with the newly renovated Coeng Si, their computer graphical work resembles the vampires in the rebooted Fright Night (2011) and Let Me In (2010). In conclusion, this film was loved and welcomed by kinds of the contemporary Hong Kong film audiences and me! One of the casts, Richard Ng said that the traditionally loved Coeng Si film is comedy! Yes, he was right! Thank you again for this great gift for Coeng Si film lovers!

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• Holy Jumpin' Vampires Batman

  futuretype2017-12-25

  This cockamany story has the "hero" bitten by a vampire but he turns out to be immune (explained in the first twenty minutes) and joins a Ghostbusters like anti-Vampire crew only to be assigned to sweeping the floors, where he develops kung fu like moves akin to the Karate Kid. On a search for vampires he encounters a drowned ugly one [aren't they all?] that swallows his cell phone. He falls into the water trying to retrieve it and they lock lips making the vampire iurn into a beautiful twenty year old woman who died (was buried alive) in the 1800's. She hops around, as apparently Chinese vampires do (which helps me better understand "Crazy Safari" where a Ctinese vampire falls out of a plane over Botswana {The Gods Must Be Crazy #3 of 5}). She is able to communicate account the cell phone she shallowed (using Siri like exchanges). She takes a fancy to old Chinese Operas on the television so he leaves her watching while he attends his other duties - what could go wrong?

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• Nice movie with a heartwarming ending.

  Aktham_Tashtush2018-08-15

  The movie is surprisingly good, i thought it would be one of those lame vampires movies but it wasn't ,, the comedy was clear, fast and comprehensible, the action and fight moves were also impressive. The cinematography and CGI was really good,, the story itself though appeared short ,, this would look much better on a TV show .. I liked the intro where it looked like the credits from Sherlock movie .. The cast are funny and engaging ,, loved them all. Final thought,, lately i'v been watching a lot of Korean movies ,, and this Chinese one popped up by accident on my list ,, but it was all worth it so it is without a doubt recommended.

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• Personally speaking... waste of time...

  kperakis2018-09-20

  First thing first:I always rate judging by what the movie actually aims to sell.I rate "The Godfather" and "12 Angry men" as excellent movies, but I also rate "Top Secret" and "Airplane" very highly in their own genre, and the same applies for "Sharknado". So I don't pretend to be a movie critic stuck with cinefil movies or a B-movie junkie. To the actual review: I honestly regret spending the time to watch this movie! I don't know what actually made it feel so bad. The bad acting? The even worse story? The humiliating representation of vampires who just jump around for the first time in history? The fact that it turns out to be yet another love story??? OK...maybe for people with Eastern culture it makes more sense...but for people with a more Western philosophy...I think it will be a waste of time...

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• Light entertainment

  jim9tan2017-12-25

  Vampire Cleanup Department (2017) The term 'vampire' is incorrect in this Chinese genre (dating from literature of the 19th Century). The living corpses are more like zombies (the animated dead). They hop around (hahaha!) and attack humans. In the 1980s, this genre was briefly popular in Hong Kong movies, Since this genre predated the craze for zombies in the West, the term vampire was applied in the English translation. And sure enough, some zombies went for the neck. In the context of a feudal rural context, the old movies were atmospheric and spooky. This movie is set in modern Hong Kong, and the old-style zombies look silly where there are motorcars and SWAT. The special effects are minimal. So, the actors have to ham it up. With the small budget, the film makers have to target micro audiences. Richard Ng represents nostalgia. The film starts with a bloody flourish in slasher style. Then, we are introduced to the small team of 'ghostbusters' known as Vampire Cleanup Department (VCD). The VCD hang out in a Batcave-style secret HQ. Then, there is the romance angle. The VCD has a young recruit who falls for a teen zombie. Interestingly, the teen zombie looks like a doll (Japanese fetish for life-like girl dolls). The bottom line is that this is a commercial production with little originality. Possibly entertaining if you are looking for a little entertainment. But, its not the next-big-thing as the producers might hope.

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