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Fat Choi Spirit

2012 Mar 29

Directed by Johnnie To, Wai Ka-Fai
Produced by Johnnie To, Wai Ka-Fai
Written by Wai Ka-Fai, Yau Nai-Hoi, Au Kin-Yee
Starring Andy Lau, Gigi Leung, Louis Koo, Lau Ching-Wan, Cherrie In
Cinematography Cheng Siu-Keung
Editing by Law Wing-Cheong, Yau Chi Wai
Distributed by Hong Kong China Star Entertainment Group
Release date(s) 8 February 2002
Running time 96 min
Country Hong Kong
Language Cantonese
Box office HK $19,218,759

Fat Choi Spirit (simplified Chinese: 呖咕呖咕新年财; traditional Chinese: 嚦咕嚦咕新年財) is a 2002 Hong Kong comedy film produced and directed by Johnnie To and Wai Ka-Fai, and starring Andy Lau, Gigi Leung, Louis Koo, Cherrie In and Lau Ching-Wan.

The film is a comedy, falling into the peculiar Hong Kong genre of Mahjong films, and was released during the Lunar New Year of 2002.

Plot

Andy is an extremely compulsive Mahjong player. Thrown out of the house by his mother and ignored by his more academically gifted and successful younger brother, Louis, he had a hard time running away from debt collectors until one day he met a young girl named Gigi after a run-in with some of the debt collectors’ men. Gigi started out as a thief, but because she fell for him and gave him immense luck, Andy gained great success with his extreme good luck in mahjong games and became very rich. However he refused to marry Gigi because she, though a nice woman when with him, was in reality quite a sore loser who threw temper tantrums while on the verge of losing mahjong games. She could not understand that he couldn’t stand the way she behaved. As Andy said, her behaviour could be revealed by just playing a game of mahjong where when she lost, she would throw the tables. He promised her that he would marry her if she could play a game of mahjong without such a bad temper. She couldn’t and so he couldn’t marry her though he loved her. In the meantime, Andy found his mother who was now suffering from Alzheimer’s disease and his brother who faced bankruptcy and moved in with Andy, who coincidentally lived in a bungalow. Not wanting to lose out in finding a job, Louis who had excellent luck in Mahjong but zero skill, was conned out of all his money and even his clothes by a skilled, yet devious mahjong player, Sean, portrayed by Lau Ching-wan. But being a kind hearted simpleton, a woman on the con team, (Cherrie) fell for him and decided to mend her ways.

In the meantime, Gigi who was very disappointed with Andy’s refusal to marry her, went with the bad crowd, in the form of mahjong con men led by Lau Ching-wan. Andy who was cursed by Gigi lost his winning streak and instead found a living as a taxi driver and moved into public housing. Being ever optimistic, he did not complain. However, not wanting Gigi to fall into the con men’s trap, he played a game of mahjong with Sean and lost terribly. But Gigi was touched by his actions and went back to him, promising she will return a better woman. But before she left, she gave Andy a blessing and from there on, Andy’s winning streak came back. Louis who had created a mahjong computer game with his new girlfriend (Cherrie), received word that there would be a Mahjong tournament sponsored by his game. The ever optimistic Andy decided to join the contest which saw him competing against Sean. Before the tournament began, he discovered that Gigi had returned to her old job as a stewardess and gave him a lot of good fortune items from around the world. During the tournament, Andy was able to secure a seat in the final match which also included Sean, Sean’s father and a henchman. Andy easily won the match but was then confronted by Sean to have a rematch. Andy agreed and the two of them squared off. Before the match could end, Andy gave up and gave the prize to Sean. Sean, surprised at what had happened, decided to look at Andy’s hand, which was a major breakthrough set. Sean realized all his mistakes and decided to learn from Andy. Andy then regained all his money and started a Mahjong school by the sea. He eventually got married with Gigi.

Cast

Andy Lau – Andy
Gigi Leung – Gigi
Lau Ching-Wan – Ching Wan (Sean)
Louis Koo – Louis
Cherrie Ying – Cherrie
Wong Tin-lam – Ching Wan’s Father
Bonnie Wong Man-Wai – Andy and Louis’s Mother
Angela Tong
Lung Tin Sang
Four Tse Liu Shut
Matt Chow

After the Game

2011 Nov 28

Directed by Brewster MacWilliams
Produced by Robert Peters, Roy Winnick
Written by Brewster MacWilliams
Starring Frank Gorshin, Stanley DeSantis, Sam Anderson, Mike Genovese, Susan Traylor, Robert Dubac
Music by Colin Leese
Cinematography Arturo Smith
Release date(s) 1997
Running time 89 min.
Country US
Language English

After the Game is a 1997 film noir drama/mystery film starring Frank Gorshin, Stanley DeSantis, Sam Anderson, Mike Genovese, Susan Traylor, and Robert Dubac.

Directed by Brewster MacWilliams and produced by Robert Peters and Roy Winnick, the screenplay was written by Brewster MacWilliams.

The DVD, titled The Last Hand, was issued in 2004.

Synopsis

After the Game is a crime fiction murder mystery with a theme of “after the game of poker” and “after the game of life.” It deals with revenge, deceit, lust and greed, and explores karma and the afterlife.

Aging gambler Benny Walsh (played by Gorshin) dies in a suspicious car crash after the biggest poker win of his life. His son, Clyde (played by Dubac), comes to the Nevada town in search of answers. He discovers that each of his father’s gambling buddies had ample reason to see him dead.

Cast

Frank Gorshin as Benny Walsh
Stanley DeSantis as Frank Bertini
Sam Anderson as Jimmy Walsh
Mike Genovese as Sam Kowalski
Susan Traylor as Veronica Kowalski
Richard Lineback as Slim, the Bartender
Donna Eskra as Dolly
Robert Dubac as Clyde Walsh
Lou Rawls as Morgue Attendant
Daniel Zacapa as Detective Garcia
Hudson Leick as Grace

5 Against the House

2011 Oct 11

Directed by Phil Karlson
Produced by Helen Ainsworth (associate producer), Stirling Sillphant, John Barnwell
Written by Stirling Sillphant, William Bowers, John Barnwell, Jack Finney (magazine story), Frank Tashlin (uncredited)
Starring Kim Novak, Brian Keith
Music by George Duning
Cinematography Lester White
Editing by Jerome Thoms
Distributed by Columbia Pictures Corporation
Release date(s) June 10, 1955
Running time 84 minutes
Country United States

5 Against the House is a 1955 American heist film starring Kim Novak, Guy Madison and Brian Keith, directed by Phil Karlson and based on a story by Jack Finney. It centers on a fictional robbery of what was a real Nevada casino, Harold’s Club.

Plot summary

During a weekend side-trip to Reno, Nevada, college friends Brick (Keith), Al (Madison), Ronnie (Kerwin Matthews) and Roy (Alvy Moore), visit the famous casino Harold’s Club.

After an hour spent gambling and socializing, the group prepares to leave. Ronnie, however, has lost money playing roulette, and must cash in a check at the cashier’s window. He is accompanied there by Roy, but, unbeknownst to either of them, the cashier is being threatened by a man with a gun. Using a concealed security alarm, the cashier alerts casino officials who then converge on the window believing that Roy and Ronnie are also involved in the attempted robbery. All three are apprehended. Outside the casino moments later, Al persuades the police to release Roy and Ronnie, but the inquisitive Ronnie has already become obsessed with the concept of a spectacular robbery, especially a robbery of a casino like Harold’s Club, and he begins forming his own plans to rob Harold’s Club after he overhears a bystander lament, “There’s no way it (a robbery) can be done.”

Once back at college, the incident is seemingly forgotten, though Ronnie immediately begins developing his plans in earnest whilst the others are preoccupied by the beginning of the new term. Al is also preoccupied by his desire to reestablish his relationship with his girlfriend, Kaye (Kim Novak), who has recently become a singer at a local nightclub. Determined to see her perform, Al takes Brick, Roy and Ronnie to see one of Kaye’s first shows. After the performance, Brick, a Korean War veteran, is provoked into fighting a fellow student over a former girlfriend, and, afterward, he suffers from the effects of a dissociative psychotic episode due to an ongoing battle with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Later in the night, Al encourages a distraught Brick to return to a veteran’s hospital for treatment, but he refuses, and, together, the two agree to move on.

Some time later, Ronnie finalizes an actual plan to rob Harold’s Club. Claiming that the robbery would be an adventurous “first” [experience] in their otherwise ordinary lives, Ronnie reveals the plan to Brick and Roy. Ronnie then maintains that if the robbery were a success, all the stolen money would be returned, thereby ensuring that no one involved would be guilty of a prosecutable crime. Though initially skeptical, Brick and Roy gradually abandon their misgivings. The wealthy Ronnie then uses his personal inheritance funds to purchase an untraceable trailer and car and fabricate a wooden cart that is identical to the cash carts used at Harold’s — the most important component of the heist.

Though his preparations are complete, Ronnie determines that the robbery can only go ahead if Al is present for it, since he maintains that at least four people will be needed for the dangerously complex operation. But Brick, Roy and Ronnie agree that Al will not go along with the robbery if he is made aware of it beforehand. Coincidentally, the day before the robbery, Al proposes to Kaye, and they decide to go to Reno with the others to celebrate their engagement.

On the way to Reno, Al recognizes the cart’s design while riding in the trailer and inadvertently triggers play of a sinister audio recording somehow connected to a button on the cart’s handle and played through a small reel-to-reel recorder hidden inside the cart itself. The message reveals Ronnie’s robbery plans to Kaye and Al. Shocked, they refuse to participate.

Brick then intervenes. Pulling a hidden revolver from his baggage, Brick seizes control of the robbery. Fearing a life of destitution and confinement, the increasingly disturbed Brick explains that the robbery will go ahead as intended, despite Al and Kaye’s objections, but with one significant exception: the money will not be returned to the casino. Additionally, Brick promises to kill Al if anyone attempts to sabotage the plan.

Once they arrive at the casino, the robbery is carried out efficiently as Reno’s casino district is filled with costumed partiers celebrating a distracting cowboy-themed fête, and, in the chaotic festivities, the disguised Brick, Ronnie and Al blend into the crowd, going unnoticed by casino security while convincing a cart operator (William Conrad) to retrieve cash from the casino’s money room through a clever ploy — using the prerecorded message on the tape recorder inside the counterfeit cart to frighten the man into playing along.

After the final moments of the robbery, Brick leaves the others behind and escapes with the money, but he is pursued, by Al, into a casino parking structure. Kaye, having alerted police, follows them, and a tense standoff takes place. Al manages to make Brick give himself up peacefully and the gathered police officers escort Brick from the scene while promising to treat him fairly. No one else is arrested, and, in the final shot, Al and Kaye embrace on a crowded street.

Cast

Kim Novak as Kaye Greylek
Brian Keith as Brick
Guy Madison as Al Mercer
Kerwin Matthews as Ronnie
Alvy Moore as Roy
William Conrad as Eric Berg
Jack Dimond as Francis Spiegelbauer
Jean Wills as Virginia

Reception

The film was praised upon its release by the New York Times, which cited, “brisk direction, crisp, idiomatic and truly comic dialogue” as being chief among its positive qualities, but held reservations about the film’s development of characters and back-story.^[1] Contemporary reviewer Richard Harland Smith has reported that Kim Novak received, “favorable, albeit condescending reviews” for her portrayal of “night-club chanteuse” Kaye Greylek, which improved her status at Columbia Pictures.^[2]

Significance

Released in 1955, 5 Against the House is an early example of a filmed heist, and an early film depiction of casino-robbery, to be later typified by, among others, Ocean’s 11, its remake and sequels. Martin Scorsese has thus specifically indicated that his 1995 film Casino was influenced by Karlson’s own production.^[3] And, though not her film debut, the film was one of future-star Kim Novak’s first screen appearances; Novak was one of the last film stars to be signed to a studio contract and to be recruited through the “old studio system” by producer Harry Cohn.^[4]

DVD Releases

On November 3, 2009, Sony Pictures released the film on standard-definition DVD as a part of their collection Film Noir Classics, Volume I with other early noir films The Big Heat, The Lineup, Murder by Contract, and The Sniper. The DVD includes film introductions and commentaries by notable filmmakers Martin Scorsese, Michael Mann, Christopher Nolan and authors Eddie Muller and James Ellroy.^[5]

References

^ Movie Review – The New York Times. “Harold’s Club Foils ‘Five Against the House , New York Times, June 11, 1955, accessed January 28, 2011
^ Movie Review – Turner Classic Movies. “Spotlight 5 Against the House” , TCM accessed January 28, 2011
^ Movie Review – Turner Classic Movies. “Spotlight 5 Against the House” , TCM accessed January 28, 2011
^ Interview – Washington Post. “Kim Novak: No Fear of Falling” Washington Post, October 14, 1996, accessed January 28, 2011
^ DVD Release – Allmovie. “Columbia Pictures Film Noir Classics, Vol. 1″ , Allmovie, November 3, 2009, accessed January 28, 2011

Play It to the Bone

2011 Mar 16

Directed by Ron Shelton
Produced by Stephen Chin, Kellie Davis, David V. Lester
Written by Ron Shelton
Starring Antonio Banderas, Woody Harrelson, Lolita Davidovich, Tom Sizemore, Lucy Liu, Robert Wagner, Tony Curtis, Wesley Snipes, Mike Tyson, Kevin Costner, Rod Stewart, Jennifer Tilly, Natasha Gregson Wagner, Drew Carey
Music by Alex Wurman
Cinematography Mark Vargo
Editing by Patrick Flannery, Paul Seydor
Distributed by Touchstone Pictures
Release date(s) December 25, 1999
Running time 124 min.

Play It to the Bone is a 1999 sports/comedy-drama film, starring Antonio Banderas and Woody Harrelson, written and directed by Ron Shelton.

It follows the adventures of two boxers and best friends who travel to Las Vegas in order to fight each other for the sake of a chance to compete for the middleweight title. The film also starred Lolita Davidovich, Tom Sizemore, Lucy Liu, and Robert Wagner.

Cameo appearances include: Tony Curtis, Wesley Snipes, Mike Tyson, Kevin Costner, Rod Stewart, Jennifer Tilly, Natasha Gregson Wagner and Drew Carey.

Plot

Aging prizefighters and longtime pals Cesar Dominguez (Banderas) and Vince Boudreau (Harrelson) always regretted not getting one last shot. Out of the blue, such an opportunity comes their way — except it is to fight each other.

Boxing promoter Joe Domino (Sizemore) has a problem on his hands. The fighters scheduled to be on his undercard in Vegas, a preliminary to a main event featuring heavyweight Mike Tyson, suddenly become unavailable at the last minute. He needs replacements fast, so a call is made to a gym in Los Angeles to see if Dominguez and Boudreau would be willing to step into the ring against one another.

The boxers negotiate one condition: that the winner will be given a chance to fight for the middleweight championship. Domino agrees, although the untrustworthy promoter is not necessarily a man of his word.

Cesar and Vince have only a day to get to the fight. They decide to drive rather than fly, so they call upon their friend Grace (Davidovich) to drive them in her lime green Oldsmobile 442. Grace is a former love interest of both. Grace’s own plan is to pitch her various money-making ideas to Vegas bigshots like hotel and casino boss Hank Goody (Wagner) and raise venture capital. Along the way, they pick up a hitchhiker (Liu) whose insults finally result in Grace’s flattening her with a solid right cross worthy of her traveling companions.

The fight between the two friends is sparsely attended, ringside fans and celebrities remaining uninterested until the night’s main event. Cesar and Vince mix it up so savagely, however, beating each other to a bloody pulp, that fans in the arena begin paying more and more attention, as do commentators on TV.

When the action-packed and dramatic bout comes to an end, Cesar and Vince are paid off, but promptly spend most of their money in the casino. Grace, too, comes away bruised and empty-handed, except for her everlasting relationship between a couple of hard-headed but soft-hearted guys.

Reception

The film garnered a generally poor reception, with Rotten Tomatoes giving it an average rating of 3.9 out of 10.^[1] Professional critical reception was similar, with Empire magazine giving it just 2 stars out of 5.^[2]