I know what you're thinking. How can we call it a Shu Qi
triple bill when we're only watching two movies? Well as luck would have it,
The Second Woman features not one but two star turns from everybody's favourite
waste of time. Shu Qi plays twin sisters in Carol Lai's The Second Woman, which
is all the incentive I need quite frankly. The second film is Stephen Chow's
action fantasy, Journey to the West. You all remember Stephen Chow, right?
Quite why he disappeared off the face of the earth is anybody's guess, but
let's not get ahead of ourselves here. Shu Qi plays twin sisters in The Second
Woman. If that's not enough to reel you in, I don't know what is.
Shu Qi was one of my first loves of Asian cinema, alongside
Japanese horror and Donnie Yen. I'm pretty sure that still counts as a
compliment. I remember seeing her for the first time in A Man Called Hero, and
since that day our love affair has blossomed into something indescribable.
That's how my lawyers have advised me to put it. I'm not allowed to use the
term 'obsessive relational intrusion'. Besides, I only use the word 'affair'
because affair by definition suggests a passionate attachment of two people.
I'm fairly confident she's aware of my passion. But that's only because It took
me a while to master the art of stalking. My predatory skills have improved
since then. My lawyers are refusing to comment at this juncture.
The Second Woman finds Shu Qi teaming up with both herself
and Shawn Yue (Love in the Buff), as a pair of twin sisters and the characters
they play in the story-within-a-story. She plays the sisters, Yue plays quite
possibly the luckiest man on earth. It all makes sense when you watch it. The
Second Woman is the latest thriller from writer-director Carol Lai (The Third
Eye), but despite the presence of two of our favourite wastes of time, The
Second Woman loses focus, not to mention interest, all too swiftly.
Bao (Shu Qi) and her boyfriend Nan (Shawn Yue) are busy
rehearsing for their new play "The Legend of Lady Plum Blossom", but
Bao falls ill just before the final show of the national tour. Surprisingly,
she still manages to deliver a career-best performance to the joy of an
expectant theatre audience. We soon learn that Bao's identical twin sister
Huixiang (Shu Qi) secretly took her place on stage and won the crowd over. That
fills Bao with jealousy and suspicion, and she begins to see her sister as a
threat to both her career and the relationship she shares with Nan. You can't
really blame the girl, she is in competition with Shu Qi after all. Wait a
second. She is Shu Qi. This isn't going to end well...
Black Swan springs to mind as the drama unfolds, but that
probably has more to do with the stage-set shenanigans than a welcome intake of creepy visuals and
tormented souls. The Second Woman starts promisingly enough before jumping off
a cliff with at least one of its characters. The Second Woman could have been a
blast had it dared to dig deeper, but the second act descends into farce as two
new faces are introduced in order to solve the case. They're not police
officers, they're not even detectives. They're just friends of Nan that
completely derail the movie. The exposition is endless and The Second Woman
becomes a chore, despite the presence of both Shu Qi and Shu Qi.
Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons is an altogether
different beast. Making his first film since 2008's CJ7, Stephen Chow is
back to doing what he does best; and boy have we missed him. An enchanting
blend of comedy, smarts, striking visuals and pitch-perfect performances,
Journey to the West is a rip-roaring fantasy adventure for all ages. Conquering
the Demons became the second highest-grossing film ever at the Chinese box
office and the top-grossing Chinese-language film in history, proving that
Stephen Chow is still a big hit even when he stays behind the camera. Having
Shu Qi in his corner doesn't hurt a bit.
Demon hunter Chen Xuanzhang (a pitch-perfect Wen Zhang)
believes that he can purify any demon through love. However, his belief is
shaken when his attempt to defeat a demon fish - in a breathtaking opening that
sets the scene for all that follows - ends in the untimely death of a family
and most of the villagers. Xuanzhang, filled with self-doubt and anger,
attempts to hunt down the demonic hog with the help of Duan, who has fallen in
love with him all too quickly. Despite help from other demon hunters, the
badly-rendered hog manages to escape and as a last resort, Xuanzhang and Duan
turn to Sun Wukong (Huang Bo) for help. Chaos, calamity and comedy gold ensue.
Stephen Chow co-directs alongside Gallants helmer Derek
Kwok, but it's Chow's brand of humour that shines through. Journey to the West
is a hilarious reworking of The Monkey King legend, overflowing with poor CGI,
zany humour and scene-stealing performances. Shu Qi is magnificent in this,
make no mistake about it, but Wen Zhang steals the film from under her heavenly
feet. Zhang is exceptional, bringing warmth, vulnerability and natural
comedy timing to the role of Xuanzhang. The supporting players are spot on, including a few familiar Stephen Chow faces, but special praise goes to
Huang Bo for his humanised - and hilarious - take of the Monkey King.
Journey to the West is far darker than you might expect, and
all the better for it. The weak effects aren't necessarily a distraction, but
that's only because the set pieces are so breathtakingly funny. This is a
smart, hilarious and deeply rewarding return to form for Chow, a film that
demands your utmost attention. He might not be performing in front of the
camera anymore, but as long as he has the likes of Wen Zhang and Huang Bo to
fall back on, it's fair to say we'll be just fine.
Three Shu Qi's. Two very different movies. The Second Woman,
despite two striking lead turns, is a dismal mystery thriller with little to
recommend beyond its shining star(s). Journey to the West, however, is an
absolute riot from start to finish. Next up for our favourite waste of time, a
full length animated feature film, written and directed by Jonathan Lim. Sounds
like a load of old bull to me. AW
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