Nobody Knows (Japan 2005)

Nobody Knows (Dare mo Shiranai) is the touching, heart-wrenching story of four kids abandoned by their mother and left to fend for themselves. It stars You as Keiko, the children's mother; Yuya Yagira as Akira; Ayu Kitaura as Kyoko; Hiei Kimura as Shigeru; Momoko Shimizu as Yuki; and Hanae Kan as Saki. The movie is based on a true story.

Akira, 12, is the oldest of four children and he's not only the man of the house, but really the only "adult". He has to look after his younger siblings, do as well as take care of the cooking and shopping while their mother is coming and going as she pleases. Akira eventually works up the nerve to tell his mother Keiko how selfish he thinks she is and how her children aren't a priority in her life like they should be. As it turns out, all four siblings have different fathers, and Keiko once again feels as if she's falling in love with another man. She believes this guy is the one and even tells Akira that she might actually get married this time. The only problem, is that she hasn't told her boyfriend about her four children. Even the landlord of the apartment complex doesn't know that she has children other than Akira because she hid her two youngest, Shigeru and Yuki, when she moved in. Akira's has to pick up his other sister Kyoko from the train station at night so she can be sneaked into the apartment and they all have to be as quiet as possible to keep from being discovered. Except for Akira, the children aren't allowed to go outside, not even on the balcony. It's so bad that they aren't even allowed to attend school. Not long after they've moved in, Akira wakes up to find his mother has left him an envelope of money and a note saying that she has to leave for awhile and she wants him to take care of his siblings. Akira now has more responsibility than ever. making sure the bills are getting paid and him and his brothers and sisters have enough food to eat. After weeks without their mother, the money begins to run out prompting Akira to look for his mom's ex-boyfriends looking for help. Keiko eventually comes back bearing gifts for the children, but her stay is short-lived and she doesn't return a second time. As things worsen for the children in the apartment, they're forced to go to the park in order to get water so they can clean themselves and do laundry. There they meet Saki, a schoolgirl outcast that does what she can to help them get money. Akira wants nothing more than to just be a normal kid, and when he gets more opportunities to do so, he neglects his responsibilities to his family with serious consequences.

I was very impressed with Yagira as Akira as well as Kitaura as Kyoko. I thought both of them were excellent at portraying these complex children that had to be so mature and responsible while also expressing their displeasure and anger towards their mother as kids would do. You and Kan in their respective supporting roles also did a wonderful job, and the two youngest kids, Hiei Kimura and Momoko Shimizu, couldn't have been any cuter. At over 2 hours and 17 minutes, Nobody Knows did feel a bit long at times, however, it did keep my interest throughout the majority of the feel and never once lacked in emotion. (TheIceQueen)



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Exiled (Hong Kong 2006)

Exiled (放‧逐), while not exactly the sequel to 1999's The Mission, definitely feels like it could be. Not only is Exiled also directed by Johnnie To, but it stars much of the same cast, playing different characters of course, but it seems to pick up right where The Mission left off. It reunites Anthony Wong as Blaze; Francis Ng as Tai; Lam Suet as Fat; Roy Cheung as Cat; and Simon Yam as Boss Fay. Other cast members include Nick Cheung as Wo; Josie Ho as Jin; Richie Ren as Sergeant Chen; Siu-Fai Cheung as Jeff; Ellen Chan playing a hooker; and Ka Tung Lam as Boss Keung.

The movie opens with Tai and Cat knocking on a door looking for a man by the name of Wo. Minutes later, Blaze and Fat show up, knocking on the same door also looking for Wo. As it turns out, these five men grew up together and joined the triad together. Blaze was supposed to kill Wo, however the job didn't get done and Wo left town. Wo is back now, along with his wife Jin and their little baby. Tai and Cat are there to help Wo, while Blaze and Fat are there to finish the job assigned to them from Boss Fay and kill Wo once and for all. After Wo gets home and has a little two-on-one shootout between himself, Tai, and Blaze, the men decide to talk things out. Wo tells them that his last wish is that his family will be taken care of financially. The five men go and visit Jeff, who runs a hotel and is also in the crime business. He tells them all about a few jobs he has available and they accept one, a hit on another mob boss, Boss Keung. This hit on Boss Keung just happens to be ordered by Boss Fay. Needless to say, the hit doesn't go as planned and thus the action begins! One of the best and most intense action scenes in the movie takes place at an underground clinic where Wo had to be taken and Boss Fay is right behind them. When things don't end up how they were hoping and Blaze, Fat, Tai, and Cat go into hiding, they happen to come across a gold transporting operation that Jeff had told them about and they all decide to go for the money. That is until Jin goes looking for the four men and ends up at Jeff's hotel where Boss Fay shows up and threatens to kill her and the baby if they don't get the gold and bring it back to him. What transpires when the boys get to the hotel is complete madness and a gunfight so out-of-control that it's hard to know who is getting shot and how anyone could possibly survive.

Once again it's a stellar cast, with Ng being particularly strong. Wong Roy Cheung, Suet, and Nick Cheung are outstanding and Yam is great as an over-the-top crazy villain. Ren does a good job as the silly, intimidated cop that just wants to retire in once piece. Where The Mission fell short was in the action department, but Exiled more than makes up for it. The characters are great as well as the emphasis on the relationships and the respect they have with one another. There is definitely a lot of male bonding going on here. All in all, it's a well-done, entertaining movie that looks great and To does a nice job filming the shooting/fight scenes using slow motion and an in-your-face approach. Exiled has the right balance of everything a movie should have. It is without question one of the best films of 2006. (TheIceQueen)

The Mission (Hong Kong 1999)

The Mission (鎗火) is directed by the always great Johnnie To and has an outstanding cast that includes: Simon Yam, as Frank; Anthony Wong, as Curtis; Francis Ng, as Roy; Roy Cheung, as Mike; Lam Suet, as James; Jackie Lui, as Shin; Eddie Ko, as Lung; Elaine Eca Da Silva, as Lung's wife; and Tian-lin Wang, as Fat Cheung.

After a failed attempt to kill Lung, the triad boss, at the Super Bowl restaurant ran by Fat, also a triad member, Lung's brother Frank brings together five triad assassins to protect his brother. Who exactly is after Lung at this point is unknown. It's up to Curtis, Mike, Roy, James, and Shin to not only protect Lung but to find out who's behind the hit. The five men all have their own unique style of how they get things done and are all very different from one another. Roy is a minor triad boss and runs a bar. Shin is Roy's protege and the most inexperienced of the group. James is a guns expert, and Mike is the most skilled shooter of the bunch. Lastly, Curtis is the cold-blooded, unstoppable killer working as a hair-dresser when he's approached by Frank and asked to meet with Lung. While protecting Lung, it also becomes Shin's job to take Mrs. Lung around and make sure she's safe, a job that proves to have been given to the wrong person when Shin soon finds himself in trouble. The assassination attempts made against Lung have the other high-ranking triad members doubtful of his ability to be the boss, and how his questionable leadership is creating a negative appearance amongst their fellow triad members and outsiders as well. The problem is, one of the triad could be the one responsible for the attempts on Lung's life. Once their mission is complete, Curtis is given a new one from Frank; a job that could very well come between them and put their friendship to the test.

To be honest, not a lot happens in The Mission; it's not an action-packed movie by any means. Instead, it's about the five different men coming together for the purpose of a job, the bond they form, and in the end what's more important, their friendship to one another or their loyalty to the triad. It's the characters and the dynamics between them that really make this an interesting film to watch. Even though it's a slower paced movie, it works because the actors all make it work with good, solid performances. It may not be great, or even the most entertaining movie, but I still liked it and would recommend it to anyone who can appreciate a character-driven movie. (TheIceQueen)

Hard Boiled (Hong Kong 1992)

While the story of an undercover cop that's in deep with the bad guys has been told many times before, Hard Boiled (辣手神探) is an as-good-as-it-gets action movie from director John Woo. The three main stars are Chow Yun-Fat as Tequila, a cop known for not following the rules; Anthony Wong as Johnny, an arms smuggler; and Tony Leung Chiu Wai as Tony, an assassin who isn't all he appears to be. Other supporting characters are Teresa Mo, as Teresa Chung, Tequila's superior officer and girlfriend; Phillip Chan as Pang, Tequila's boss; Wai Sun-Lam as Johnny's #1 guy; and even John Woo himself makes an appearance as a bartender/confidant of Tequila's.

Woo wastes no time getting the action started as Tequila loses his partner in a well-done tea house shootout, which leaves him bent on getting revenge on Johnny and his men. Johnny's competition in the arms business is Mr. Hoi; Tony's boss. Johnny arranges a raid in Mr. Hoi's arsenal and convinces Tony to kill Mr. Hoi and to come work for him. Tequila learns of the raid and shows up. It's there that he learns there is more to Tony than meets the eye. He confronts Pang, but Pang refuses to answer any of his questions. This leaves Tequila to finding Tony for himself. Tony and Tequila form an alliance in order to take Johnny down. Little Ko, an employee of Johnny's, is found to be an informant for the police and is beaten and shot by Johnny's men. He does find out where Johnny's arsenal is and tells Tequila that it's at Maple Group Hospital, where Tequila then takes him. Unfortunately, Johnny doesn't completely trust Tony yet and sends more men, including his #1, to make sure the job gets done. This is where the action really picks up and you get about 35 minutes of pure chaos with bullets are flying everywhere, explosions going off left and right, and a lot of fun!

One of the aspects of Hard Boiled that I really liked was the twist on Tony Leung's character. It wasn't until an hour into the movie that it was revealed and I felt that it added a lot to the story and made it that much better. In between the action scenes, the dialogue at times wasn't the best and the music is cheesy, however, the action scenes more than make up for these short-comings. The acting is as good as expected from Chow Yun-Fat and Anthony Wong, but it was Tony Leung's performance that especially stood out for me. He was a very cool and calculated killer when he had to be, but was obviously not at ease with it and Leung did an excellent job portraying that. With not much dialogue, Wai-Sun Lam also stood out as a fierce and brutal killer.

It's really no wonder that Hard Boiled is considered a classic in the world of Hong Kong cinema. (TheIceQueen)