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Zhuo Yao Ji
Monster Hunt
China / Hong Kong 2015
produced by William Kong, Yee Chung Man, Doris Tse, Alan Yuen for Champion Star Pictures, EDKO, Dream Sky Pictures
directed by Raman Hui
starring Bai Baihe, Jing Boran, Jiang Wu, Elaine Jin, Wallace Chung, Eric Tsang, Sandra Kwan Yue Ng, Tang Wei, Yao Chen, Yan Ni, Bao Jianfeng, Wang Yuexin, Guo Xiaodong, Li Jingjing, Cindy Tian, Zhang Yuexuan, Cheng Taishen, Liu Chunxia, Kang Kai, Lin Ludi
written by Alan Yuen, music by Leon Ko, visual effects supervisors: Jason Snell, Tang Bingbing, visual effects produced by Ellen Poon, action director: Ku Huen Chiu
review by Mike Haberfelner
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A war between good and bad monsters has caused the monster queen to
flee the monster realm with her two bodyguards in human disguise (Sandra
Kwan Yue Ng, Eric Tsang) and come into the world of humans - where they
soon face rivaling monster hunters Xiaolan (Bai Baihe) and Luo Gang (Jiang
Wu), and eventually the queen can't make it anymore ... but before she
dies, she implants her egg into inept do-gooder Tianyin's (Jing Boran)
womb. Now even though he's nominal mayor of a small village, Tianyin has
never amounted to anything much, especially in the eyes of his grandmother
(Elaine Jin), who can't stop to compare him to his father and grandfather,
both top class monster hunters. Anyways, being pregnant was not exactly on
top of Tianyin's to-do list, so he hooks up with Xiaolan to eventually get
rid of the monster he's carrying, for a lump of money if possible - but
before he can even give birth, he and Xiaolan find themselves on the run
from pretty much everyone in sight (and fall in love while doing so), so
they should be so happy when Tianyin finally does so and the two manage to
sell the little one ... but they soon realize the newborn monster, Wuba,
has grown on them and want them back - but by now he has already fallen
into the hands of an evil restaurateur (Wallace Chung), who likes nothing
better than feed monsters to his customers - and he's not someone who'll
let go of little Wuba easily ... Now I won't for a minute claim
that Monster Hunt actually breaks new ground in terms of
storytelling, basically it's a rehash of many a Far Eastern fantasy epic,
mixed with some Hollywood cuteness, and brought to life by very flawless
CGI effects, great animation, and well-staged live action all rolled into
one - and the result is a pretty hilarious movie with lots of heart (some
of the tearjerker variety) and some breathtaking imagery as well as
exhilarating setpieces - so even if one might have seen everything in this
movie before - maybe better even -, Monster Hunt undoubtedly gets
the blend just right, resulting in some family friendly madness that's
totally worth a watch!
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review © by Mike Haberfelner
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Robots and rats,
demons and potholes, cuddly toys and shopping mall Santas,
love and death and everything in between,
Tales to Chill Your Bones to is all of that.
Tales to Chill Your Bones to -
a collection of short stories and mini-plays ranging from the horrific to the darkly humourous,
from the post-apocalyptic to the weirdly romantic,
tales that will give you a chill and maybe a chuckle,
all thought up by the twisted mind of screenwriter and film reviewer Michael Haberfelner.
Tales to Chill Your Bones to
the new anthology by Michael Haberfelner
Out now from Amazon!!! |
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