2011 Hong Kong Film Awards- Complete Results
The 30th Annual Hong Kong Film Awards ceremony was held at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Grand Theatre on Sunday, April 17th. Films, Gallants <打擂台> and Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame <狄仁傑之通天帝國>dominated the awards night. Gallants won four awards and received the coveted Best Film award. Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame won six awards, including Tsui Hark winning for Best Director and Carina Lau for Best Actress. Thirteen years after receiving the Best New Actor award, Nicholas Tse received the Best Actor Award for his performance in The Stool Pigeon <綫人>.
Andy Lau financed Gallants while Gordon Lam produced the film. Producing a film for the first time, Gordon was emotional upon receiving the Best Film Award, “The box office results are not important. The most important is the spirit and meaning behind the film!” Gallants’ Director, Derek Kwok said, “If you do not fight, you will not lose. If you must fight, you will win. This is the spirit of Hong Kong films!”
Although Andy Lau did not attend the 30th Annual Hong Kong Film Awards, he quietly supported the film’s cast and crew and was mindful of the awards results. Facing stiff competition from other films, Gordon indicated that he was extremely nervous and was surprised when the film won four awards.
Below are the complete results of the 30th Annual Hong Kong Film Awards:
Best Film: Gallants <打擂台>
Best Director: Tsui Hark, Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame <狄仁傑之通天帝國>
Best Screenplay: Pang Ho Cheung and Heiward Mak, Love In A Puff <志明與春嬌>
Best Actor: Nicholas Tse, The Stool Pigeon <綫人>
Best Actress: Carina Lau, Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame <狄仁傑之通天帝國>
Best Supporting Actor: Teddy Robin, Gallants <打擂台>
Best Supporting Actress: Susan Shaw, Gallants <打擂台>
Best New Performer: Hanjin Tan, Bruce Lee, My Brother <李小龍>
Best Cinematography: Peter Pau, Confucius <孔子 決戰春秋>
Best Film Editing: Cheung Ka Fai, Ip Man 2 <葉問2>
Best Art Direction: James Choo, Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame <狄仁傑之通天帝國>
Best Costume and Make-Up Design: Bruce Yu Ka-on, Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame <狄仁傑之通天帝國>
Best Action Choreography: Sammo Hung, Ip Man 2 <葉問2>
Best Original Score : Teddy Robin and Tommy Wai, Gallants <打擂台>
Best Original Song: Jun Kung, Here to Stay <東風破> from Merry-Go-Round
Best Sound Design: Wang Dan Rong and Zhao Nan, Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame <狄仁傑之通天帝國>
Best Visual Effects: Lee Yong Gi and Nam Sang Woo, Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame<狄仁傑之通天帝國>
Best New Director: Felix Chong, Once a Gangster <飛砂風中轉>
Best Asian Film: Confessions (Japan)
Professional Achievement: Willie Chan
Lifetime Achievement: Terry Lai
Compiled from the Sun, Sina.com, and Mingpao
Jayne: Congratulations to Gordon Lam! Although he never graduated to lead roles in films, glad to see his success as a producer!
The Hong Kong Film Awards is still the biggest awards event in Hong Kong and generates much international excitement. Stay tuned for red carpet coverage soon!
Was Kara Hui well-deserving of the Best Actress award last yr? Though she won Best Supporting for Golden Horse. She seems really really piercingly good based on clips.
Despite Kara Hui receiving the Best Actress Award last year, I do question her acting skills based on her performance in TVB series such as “Rosy Business.”
I personally don’t feel that an award means much anymore since people/movies that do deserve it at times don’t get it, while there are other people/movies that do not deserve it get it… I really question awards and their purpose at times.
Her acting was fine in “Rosy Business”. It’s just that her role is not outstanding. Her character is outshined by other strong women characters.
Maybe she dun get used with series. In Echo she is more stable.
I think Kara is fine too. She might be pale in comparison to other actresses because her character is weaker and meek. In a typical TVB series, the more dramatically enhanced character will outshine other characters, but it doesn’t mean the person being outshined is weaker in acting. It depends on the character.
TV dramas versus movies should never be compared together, it’s pretty much a comparison of apples vs orange.
We’ve seen several excellent movie actors fail miserably in movies and vice versa.
I disagree. Kara was shaky in the beginning but now she has blossomed and she was one of the reason why I can tolerate A Fistful Of Stances. She somehow became a better actress and that was starting with Rosy Business. And she is very beautiful! Always dressed like a glamorous stars. HK actresses can learn from her.
@Jayne,
I thought Kara Hui was the best among the 3 wives in terms of character portrayal.
I would want to see her in more TVB series, but enough of her in ancient costumes!
@Pandamao, films and tv series are different mediums…but I wonder why some actors appear better in films than tv series? Such as Cecilia Yip and Michael Wong, they are better on big screen than small screen. Perhaps better directors, more outtake opportunity, more rest, more film editing. A movie’s length is much more compact.
@Moonriver, personally I found Kara unsuitable for her role in Rosy Business. I found Susan Tse more captivating, although some of her evil stares were too much, but Susan’s character truly propelled much of the series.
@ Jayne
personally I found Kara unsuitable for her role in Rosy Business. I found Susan Tse more captivating, although some of her evil stares were too much, but Susan’s character truly propelled much of the series
See? You also said Susan’s character propelled the series. It’s the character that is captivating. Kara has a naturally fierce look. So, she’s a miscast in terms of look. But, her acting was fine. A meek, timid and quiet character is easy to outshine.
Btw, just a trivia info. Kara was the first Hong Kong Film Award Best Actress winner. She won this award back in 1982.
@Kidd, Kara’s role was not as interesting as Susan Tse’s role in “Rosy Business,” but I also found that Kara’s expressions of fear were over exaggerated in the series, which is my chief compliant. I suspect she was mainly cast for the role because of her martial arts background. A meeker actress would have been more suitable for role.
I am aware that Kara had won the 1st Annual HKFA Best Actress before, but I find her acting to be mediocre based on TVB acting and not her film roles. I also remember she played Joe Ma’s wife in” At the threshold of an Era” and was not captivated back then either.
The final delivered performance is still mainly attributed to acting talent and not just how interesting the role was. Actually Kara’s role had adequate likeability: loyalty, love and fierce protection of her son, Ron.
@Pandamao,
I think what you are saying is true to an extent. However, I still think that your acting foundation needs to be there or else I don’t think you will be successful whether it be in movies or series. I think Kara is a pretty good actress and has really grown a lot as an actress. THere are some that act for many years but never seem to grow or improve, but Kara has.
I actually thought she played the meek role perfectly. Especially that scene where the first 2 wives ganged up on her and she was crying and yet had to comply. Susan has the more dramatic role, she was the reason why BTROC was tolerable but Kara really improved from Safe Guards onwards. I felt she played the role very well. Susan was a bit too opera-ish in her performance, I thought she lacked expressions (but those suited her in BTROC whilst Kiki Sheung was wasted in a thankless role. If Ron was said to give a breakthrough role, the Kara certainly gave one of her best performances. Ron wasn’t that great in my opinion. It was just that the role was such a likeable character.
I mean to say her fear and her trembling from fear. Superb. That scene alone shows how good she is.
@Jayne
I agree with the reasons you listed but I would add, character development. Series, especially tvb, try to jam pack everyone into 20 episodes and its just not possible.
Movies focus on a certain segment of a person’s life while a tvb series tries to tell the whole story. I think that may be a contributing factor to why actors and actresses have a hard time adjusting to both screens.
@HeTieShou – of course with the foundation you will survive and not be dreadful but to excel in both, only the elites can handle it.
@Kara Hui’s debate. Kidd nailed it for me, it was the character that attracted the attention and not so much of the portrayal. However, Kara needs to tone down her emotions. She’s a little too exaggerated and not natural enough. I find her acting in Lady Flower Fist the best amongst all her tvb series. The 2nd installation of Rosey Business was borderline unbearable.
I think Carina shld have won for Ah Fei Zheng Zuan from the start.
Now let’s vote for worst HK movie of 2010!!! Oh damn the list of nominess are so much larger for this one and the competition is much more fierce now. Let the battle begin!
SDS, haha what films and performances would get the worst mentions?
for 2010 –
Detective Dee
Flirting Scholar 2
家有喜事 whichever part we are on … so disappointed in Raymond Wong. the movie is not funny at all!
@Jayne
Hmmm well I haven’t watched everything that came out in 2010 but most of the stuff I have deserves a nomination in some category. I can’t seem to find the nomination criteria for the 30th HKFA so it would be difficult to know which ones I can’t nominate 😛
But, in my opinion, the nominees for Worst Film “第三十屆香港電影無厘頭大獎 最廢電影” are… drum rolls… 14Blades, Future X Cops, Fire of Conscience, Legend of the Fist: Chen Zhen…
Well those are the big name ones I’ve seen. I haven’t seen The Jade and the Pearl or Just Another Pandora’s Box but I hear they’re pretty bad too and in the ‘big movie’ category.
@Jayne
Woops, I left out City Under Siege… it certainly deserves to be there. There’s a good reason why all the big action ones are here… actually All About Love comes close too.
@pandamao
Did you see Alls Well That Ends Well (家有喜事) 2009? I cannot state how much I wanted to gouge my eyes out after sitting through that… In the end I told myself- ‘this wasn’t a movie, it was just a bad trailer… now relax and move on…’
@SDS
im a crazy movie fan but i never finish the bad ones ..
i have to say, eric tsang’s movies are much better compared to raymond wong now … lol
all the movies u hated, i hate too!!! which one is all about love?
@pandamao
I really love watching HK movies too. But in recent years I’ve watched less HK stuff since both quality and entertainment value has dropped to my tastes. And I’ve had less time with other stuff going on.
Raymond Wong is a very commercially minded director/producer in that he makes films that makes money. His older films had star power, which meant it was alright to have shoddy scripts. But now its too hard to gather the same level of star power in the same movie cause salaries have skyrocketed. Thus I think most Raymond Wong films he partakes are in two categories: watchable and forgetable.
All About Love (得閒炒飯) with Sandra Ng and Vivian Chow. It was ummm you’d have to watch it to understand. It was suppose to be a realistic movie about lesbians dealing with realistic issues, but… yea. didn’t go very well. Turned out quite a chore to sit through.
I try not to watch obviously bad movies. But sometimes certain stars suck you in and you realise it was crappy halfway in. The worst celebrity committing this offence of ‘sucking people in’ is probably Mr Andy Lau. lol Sorry if ur his fan. just my view.
YES, it seems the list is growing more every year…
Most boring movie: Confucius
To be honest I have no idea which bright spark wanted to turn Confucius into a movie… its obviously motivated by political reasons… I mean how can you squash something so profound into a movie length feature. A 60 episode TV series would have been more appropriate to cover the subject properly. Not saying it would be any more interesting if you’re not already a fan on the subject.
Not trying to start a philosophical debate here, but I believe a movie on Lao Tzu would have been much more interesting. Better still, turn it into an animation. Not so much like Master Turtle of Kung Fu Panda, but more towards the style of A Chinese Ghost Story.
One thing I admire about Andy. He likes to finance first time directors and help indi projects. A lot of the films he finance are low profile but unique and good in quality films.
Congrats to the Gallants crew.
Congrats to Carina and Detective Dee art direction crew and congrats to Tsui Hark.
I admire his perseverance. He’s made a lot of poor business decisions but he never gets scared of trying again.
There are so many 80s actors/actresses who share qualities I adore and it’s unfortunate the new celebrities do not share these qualities.
The entertainment field just does not seem the same that it was back in the 70s and 80s… I really really miss the old days so very much. Back then, things were based more on talent instead of looks. The quality of series and films were much higher. I still remember how the actresses had more natural beauty and even plastic surgery was not allowed for MS. Hk contestants. But now, a lot of actresses have something done that you really question if any of them are 100% natural anymore. It seems like these days, anyone who looks half way decent are allowed to sing and act and have no talent whatsoever… Where are the golden good old days??? I wonder if there will be another golden era for series and movies?
I was pretty pleased with the recent era that just passed for TVB though.
Actress: Jessica Hsuan, Flora Chan, Ada Choi, Maggie Cheung, Marianne Chan, Esther Kwan
Actors: Bobby AuYeung, Lawrence Ng, Gordan Lam, Michael Tao, Bowie Lam
They were pretty excellent in my books. 🙂
Not sure if you would count Lawrence, Bobby and Micheal as part of the recent era because they were all from the 80s. It’s just that they weren’t as popular before. I still remember soo many series from the 80s where they all played extras. I remember in the Foundation where Micheal and Lawrence played the extras in so many scenes. Francis Ng and Sandra Ng were servants in there too. Bobby played that bum that got beat up by Beggar Elder Pang(played by Richard Ng) in Legend 83. That was one of the funniest scenes to me.
@pandamao
I suppose 10 years down the track the currently promoted TVB actors/actresses will be remembered by the current generation that idolise them as the ‘greats’. Its all kind of relative to what qualities each generation look for so its hard to compare.
Most the actors/actresses you’ve named weren’t great in the first years of their acting. Some of them played a lot of supporting characters and some were extras for many many years.
Agreed Andy Lau seems to support Gordon especially.
Well i heard when Andy Lau was in a pinch, Gordom decided to stay with him no matter what. I guess that commitment gives Andy the reason to support Gordon.
I’m confused. Why is Chow Yun Fat nominated for Best Actor? Isn’t ‘Confucius’ a China production?
I suddenly thought of this because my housemate was disappointed that ‘Reign of Assassins’ didn’t get any award and I check and found that ‘Reign of Assassins’ was not nominated in any category. So, why is ‘Confucius’ in the running?
Opps sorry. Made a mistake. ‘Reign of Assassins’ was nominated.
RoA is a failure. It only has the half box office of TJATP, then you know…
Too bad the box office is low. I really like the love story in the movie and I’m not a sucker for romance. But, really like the love story in the movie.
I quite like the love in it, too. It isn’t too forced like some other romantic movies. However, if the director can decrease the redundant details in the beginning, it would be better.
These are the most “fixed” results ever.. The HK Film Awards has become one big, fat joke. They gave a pity award to Carina Lau. And Nicholas Tse as best actor? You’ve got to be kidding me.. I think it’s an insult to Chow Yun Fat, Tony Leung Ka Fai and Cheung Ka Fai just to have him nominated alongside them. They’re not even in the same league.. not even close. His acting is so superficial. Maybe he should first learn the skill by getting some real professional training before calling himself an actor. But I guess having a bunch of “aunts & uncles” as the judges voting for him in this joke of a ceremony is enough.
@trustno1
I’m sure all awards are rigged in one way or another, regardless of the country presenting the awards.
Many people have noted this year’s productions were not memorable thus contributes to the winners this year.
Did you watch Carina Lau’s performance in Detective Dee? What was it about her that you disliked? I found her performance parallel to what a queen should be or like.
Nicholas Tse – He’s been acting for several years. If his aunts and uncles were any help, he would have gotten the award a long time ago.
Yes, I saw Detective Dee. I think Gong Li would’ve been a better fit for the role and she would’ve made Carina Lau’s performance look like a joke. Carina Lau’s not awful.. just not great. But I guess given the fact that she really had no competition this yr, she’s the obvious choice.
I know Nicholas Tse has been acting for several yrs.. more than 10 as a matter of fact. But his style is too pretentious and superficial.. I see no “deepness” in his performance. His career stalled early on when he got in trouble with the law and it took him a few yrs to get any decent jobs back. It wasn’t till recent yrs did he get any significant roles. I’m sure his “aunts & uncles” granted him all these opportunities. It helps that his father is buddies w/ the owner of EMI. He can’t even carry his own movie. Some older and more seasoned veteran actor is always there to help carry the movie. If he’s best actor material, why can’t he carry his own movie?
trustno1, Nicholas might be inconsistent but his performance in Stool Pigeon was stellar and competed fairly with Nick. Anyone of them can win and since Nick Cheung just won last year there we have the winner.
The industry also has to move on. Nic is holding the torch for young HK actors. Fat Gor also supports him.
Actually Nic started out very promising. He is a fine actor except these days he looks rather moody.
I saw Stool Pigeon too. Besides being beaten to a bloody pulp in much of the movie, I didn’t really see any “real performance” from him. This might be his “best performance”, but it certainly is not “best male performance” against the likes of Chow Yun Fat & Tony Leung Ka Fai. Nick Cheung might’ve gotten the best actor award last yr, but the award is not a hot potato.. you don’t pass it on to the next guy. It should be given to the guy w/ the best performance.
It is sad to see that nobody in the younger generation can really hold a torch to the older generation. That’s why the older veteran actors are still carrying most of these big productions. I’ve never seen Nicholas Tse carry a movie on his own. Frankly, of the younger generation, I think Daniel Wu and Shawn Yue has more potential than Nicholas Tse. Their acting looks more natural and realistic onscreen. And less “pretentious”. They also look more like leading men than Nicholas Tse.. They’re taller, have more “screen presence” and look more mature.
Of course Fat Gor supports him.. he’s not gonna put a “little nephew” down. But it doesn’t mean Nicholas Tse is a better actor than Fat Gor (@@).. not even in the same league..
@Funn Do you know why Nic is always moody? I didn’t get to finish watching the entire HKFA show, but from what I’ve seen of him, he seems rather of a quiet man. I was a bit surprised. Is there any English source for Nic news and info?
@trustno1,
I also feel that all awards are fixed regardless of the country, therefore, these are of course no exception. THat was how I felt way back in 1999 when Lawrence Ng and Dicky Cheung won an award from TVB for most memorable character. So many people were against it and thought that TVB only gave the award to them out of pity. It does seem like Carina got the award out of pity, but who really knows??? The results are out already so there is no use for us to say anything anymore.
I wouldn’t say pity but more like she has no competition and based on body of work. Dicky Cheung is a fine actor and he should have gotten recognition by TVB for his performance in JTTW but he got screwed over, much like Sammul is being screwed over these days except with less epic proportion and less whining.
I say it was pity and it was her turn. Her acting is average in that performance.
@trustno1
lol his not that ‘bad’. in fact his pretty good for someone his age.
I think Daniel Wu & Shawn Yue are better than him. And this is not The Young HK Film Awards. He’s not competing against actors his age only. He’s competing against “real actors”.
Hmmm whether you like it or not Nic is a real actor despite his occasional overacting but that’s just the same as Chow Yun Fat in many movies his done before. Although I do agree Nic Tse’s performance in Stool Pigeon is very very average and I don’t like how he keeps doing the boisterous angry roles. But in Stool Pigeon I can accept he comes off as portraying a character that convinces people of its realism.
Daniel Wu hasn’t shown to be a very convincing actor when doing emotional and/or in-depth roles. He can do introverted but his not expressive enough. His accented Cantonese is still a barrier like it or not. His best performance was Protoge when he actually looked to be someone affected deeply by what’s happening around him.
Shawn Yue is more natural and controlled, but his only presented the same face for most movies so far- his ‘serious badass cool’ look. Might not be his fault of course, just how the filmmakers wanted him to act.
Daniel Wu is overrated. He can’t carry a movie by himself and I haven’t seen him giving a performance you can call great to justify his A-list category.
Compared to past generations Nic Tse isn’t that great but at least he’s the best one among Shawn Yue and Daniel Wu.
I agree with SDS, Shawn isn’t versatile.
Agree Nicholas is good for his age. Much better than Edison Chen and better than Shawn.
@Vivien
I think Edison was actually showing some promise in two films: Jiang Hu (2004) and Dog Bite Dog (2006). The latter film is a Category 3 (not because of sexual stuff though but cause its depiction of violence) so wasn’t widely screened.
Of course I still cannot forget his first movie in Gen Y Cops cause he was so awful i would have thrown my grandmother out the window along with all my senses. And to this date I still have not forgotten when he said “See you at the Jumbo.” I laughed so much at how bad he was that I missed 6minutes of the movie.
I like the fact that Gordon Lam didn’t gel his hair back like everyone else.
One thing I do want to mention regarding Nic’s speech.
When he said what he said at 18 to his dad, he also didn’t realize – different from his dad, he’s got the connections to aid in his entrance to the industry.
If he came into the industry as a new person with the attitude he has now, he wouldn’t have gotten anywhere.
Glad he came to the realization. In terms of second generation, I find Jaycee a better actor.
Isn’t having connections puts you a step ahead in any profession, especially in the circle?? I think Nic is lucky that he had the connections due to his parents both being in the circle. I am glad that he finally realized how to love and appreciate his father.
Quite unfortunate connections help so much in life, experiencing that at work right this moment. Ughh!!!
I find the entertainment industry more prominent in regards to connections.
I wonder if Jen Tse is also a rebel too. She seems like a party girl but who wouldn’t be if they shared her looks too. It’s amazing how the same face can look good for a girl and a guy. Lol.
@Pandamao,
Yea, it really stinks that connections matter so much in life… You can be more qualified than another, but if they have more connections then you cannot compete with them…
Of course connections are even more important in the circle. You can be really talented and all, but if you don’t have connections you may not be able to go as far as you want to go.
From what I know about Jen Tse. I think she may be somewhat of a rebel. I heard that Nic highly opposed her joining the circle, but she did anyway. I also question if she had any plastic surgery because I remember seeing a video of her and the whole family and she looks really different from how she looks now.
@HeTieShou
My friend dated her and I met her in person prior to entering the industry. She had surgery since I saw the before and after but it was subtle.
In my humble opinion the Best Film award going to “打擂台” seems to be a really bad joke. “Gallants” shouldn’t even have been nominated for this award. On another note, Nicholas Tse really deserved the award since his performance in “Stool Pigeon” was actually very good. The competition in this category was fierce since almost all of the nominees if not all, did a good job in their respective roles. Stool Pigeon should have done better… 😀
Have you actually seen all the nominated movies?
Yes, I have watched pretty much all of them before the awards night. At least I have watched those nominated under the Best Film award nd Best Director.
Alrighty.
I think its a bit ‘out there’ to give the award to Gallants but compared to the other films nominated it is the one that’s truly a bit ‘different’ and a bit ‘quirky’. You might not like the story since its a bit personal and is paying homage to Chinese KungFu films but I think it resonates well with the jury.
Problem is, Reign of Assassins and Detective Dee were kinda sucky for the budget and directors helming them. Ip Man2 was very forgettable. Stool Pigeon was the closest competition but its like Beast Stalker all over again since its not really deserving in the sense it offered audiences something new + good.
Just watch ‘Reign of the Assassins’. I think it’s a better movie than ‘Detective Dee’. Love the ending.
RoA has a better plot than Detective Dee but the real storyline started too late (after 40-50 mins). And there are too many redundant details in the movie.
@ SDS
“I think its a bit ‘out there’ to give the award to Gallants but compared to the other films nominated it is the one that’s truly a bit ‘different’ and a bit ‘quirky’. “
After watching 3 of the 5 nominated movies, I still think Gallants is the most deserving. 😀
Gallant was well deserving. It was different from the mainstream and told a story in a clean and simple way. The characters were believable and the story was told well. I loved the movie. 🙂
Stool Pigeon, on the other hand, was just too much for me. I felt like it was the fifth movie I’ve seen.
But – opinions are meant to differ … I’m glad Stool Pigeon had its supporters too.
Hopefully we agreed that Detective Dee was bloody awful.
Yeah…I only endured the movie for Tsui Hark, since I liked his word in the past. It is not that “Gallants” was THAT bad for me, it is that it is not up to standards (always the way I viewed it) to be the best film of them all.
I still rmb how I laughed at the “deer god” in Detective Dee :P.
Detective Dee goes down as one of a dozen awful movies Tsui Hark has made for its budget size.
And yes, the ‘deer god’ was just a nod to that. I especially dislike the fact they dubbed the deer. Why can’t they just let him speak deerish and have subtitles. It would be so much more realistic…
If I was on the HKFA jury I would’ve nominated the deer god in the Best Supporting Actor category. I mean, without the deer there would have been no premise for the entire Detective Dee movie. The title should have been ‘Detective Deer’!
If the deer speaks deerish then how can human understand him?
BTW, this deer is so cute. Like in Painted Skin (movie), the Fox is the only character I like (the real fox, so adorable. Look at her naive eyes).
Detective Deer is not true eh! The deer is not the detective. Detective and Deer is better. However, this name will make the audience more curious.
@Fox
Lol well we would have subtitles and Andy Lau will be able to understand cause his Andy Lau, the financier of movies with no finaciers. And the rest of the cast will just have to second guess what the moaning and groaning is about. Or the deer could just hang around outside Dee’s prison cell. Look anything but making it talk would’ve been more exciting! 🙂
That’s where you’re wrong; the deer is the detective! Why you ask? Does anything in a Tsui Hark movie need to have a reason? lol
Gallants: Special in it’s own right and yeah it’s a story well told with likeable characters. Teddy Robin also deserved his win.
Stool Pigeon: After Beast Stalker I’d come out and said “It’s good!”. After Stool Pigeon I’d come out and said “It’s ok. Not bad. Feels a bit like Beast Stalker.” Nic did a good job and it’s a deserving win.
Detective Dee: Tsui Hark can do much better than this piece.
Confucius: Huargh, sleepy. Does this piece even belong to HK?
@ SDS: Obviously no :P.
That’s why I hate watching HK movies. I often can’t understand why it’s this and why it’s that :P. The ending is always a “huh” to me in most of the movies I watched.
@Fox
Hong Kong excels in kung-fu/martial arts film.
It’s sad that HK lost its ground to comedy … it seems like chinese people are just not funny anymore.
My last funny movie was probably Shaolin Soccer. I miss Ng Man Tat.
I love Shaolin Soccer but not so much for Kungfu Hustle.
I quite like some first eps of Shaolin Kungfu.
@Mas ..
kung fu hustle had it’s funny moments. the whole road runner and coyote was cute. i like these small details. stephen chow excels in that.
he also defines a character very well. all 7 of the soccer players had a distinctive persona and memorable in each its own respect.
@Fox
I think HK films make people go “huh” in two ways. One is the “huh, that was kinda weird but its an alright atypical film” – cue the Milkyway Johnnie To type films.
The next one is the “huh, that was pointlessly shit”- cue Flirting Scholar 2, City Under Siege, most of Wong Jing’s recent films.
I can accept the first type of “huh” but its the fact HK seems to be making more of the second type and less the first that annoys me. It use to be fairly even. Now its dominated by the second type. Detective Dee comes dangerously close to the second type dare I say.
pandamao, yeah Kungfu Hustle has its moments but as a whole I prefer Shaolin Soccer premise more.
I like Detective Dee. Not the best Tsui Hark movie, but, entertaining nonetheless. I like the quirky art direction and I like the white Pei Dong Lai. but, I agree the story is a bit weak. Why villains like to provide clues to the investigator to put themselves in a disadvantaged position?
@Kidd
Cause villains have no friends hence they became villains to get attention. And providing clues is just the icing on the cake to get more friends.
Kidd, because they like to brag, to be centre of attention, they think they can outsmart everybody so they’re dying to tell people what they did and how they do it because every crime for the egoistical ones is art.
Wow Detective Dee dominated the awards? I must admit, I was very impressed by the cast and characters. But the movie itself was not very captivating. I actually paused it, went to sleep, then woke up to watch it again…because I invested 45 minutes of the previous day on it…and Li Bing Bing haha.
I must catch “Gallants”.
What was suppose to be a murder mystery became just another banal ‘kill the ruler’ type plot led by a very unconvincing Big Tony Leung (not his fault though; it was a very badly written character).
Seriously I think Tsui Hark is trying to say something to the Chinese Government. Its amazing how it got past the censorship board!
*his work
I just saw the stool pigeon on TV. I don’t get why Nic Tse is in the lead actor category. He looks more like supporting to me. And I don’t get why he won, unless competition is weak because I find his performance rather one facial expression.
Nick also. But the biggest problem is the story itself. Very messy. And I don’t get why Nick’s character feels remorse because the cause of Nic’s downfall is that woman, not him. But it is an interesting movie, considering HK movies are mostly terrible. I hope TV will show Gallants.
I think its cause none of the other nominated actors performed particularly well.
One facial expression isn’t a problem as long as the actor gives you a sense he is reacting to what’s happening. Its all about fit.
Personally I thought his acting was only slightly above that in Beast Stalker. Not really ‘best actor’ material but what would I know.
@Funn
This shows how HK movies and HK movie actors are weaker and weaker? Same with SDS it might be because the other nominated actors don’t perform that well.
Just look at Best Actress even worse. Fiona Sit????
That’s why HK can’t differentiate between a good actor and an actor in an arty movie.
@ Funn
I have not watch Fiona Sit’s movie. But, I was listening to an RTHK program a few days ago, and one of the host said Fiona acted very well in the movie. The movie itself is not that great, but, Fiona’s acting is good.
That’s her view. My review said her acting is only on surface and don’t go deep. Her acting is quite annoying too.
@Viv
what’s with the dislike in Fiona? i thought she did a good job. she’s probably not an outstanding actress since she’s only good with jaycee. lol.
but based solely on the movie, she deserves the role.
not role .. i meant nominee… sorry
Watching the show. I love Teddy Robin acceptance speeches the most. He’s so excited and exuberant. Also like Siu Yam Yam and Jun Kung’s speech.
Tsui Hark looks better now than when he’s younger. Very happy that he won.
Just saw the movie. It was terrible. How can that movie qualify such a win??
The script is a little weak, but, I think the direction is good.
To each his own. I just like Tsui Hark’s style. 😀
The direction is the reason why the weak script never got translated properly at all. It is too dark and at times I wonder what the hell is going on. It is too long and the director too in awe of the special effects that he forgot the storytelling part. Not to even mention uninspired performances, totally wrong casting of Carina Lau as the Emperor Queen and the villain was too easy to identify. Overall the movie does look like it was filmed in front of the green screen and frankly I was never impressed with Tsui Hark movie. For him to win best director is an indicator how poor the other qualities may be. The only part I do like is the ending or the idea of the ending and how the victims died. The rest was just utter mess and I blame the director. Reminds me of The Promise by Chen Kaige but this is at least a bit better than the insipid embarassingly god awful The Promise and again I never thought Chen Kaige was great to begin with.
It is not even a decent movie to begin with, I know it must be expensive but unfortunately the casting, the acting, the story, the script, the effects and the direction all combined to a substandard effort. I feel somewhat the same with Stool Pigeon but that was more of confusing storyline, waste of time characters and frankly I don’t get why both Nic Tse and Nick Cheung were nominated to begin with FOR THIS MOVIE ITSELF since both have different degrees of a fixed expression, except one cocky and the other somewhat mad.
Now I want to watch Confucius. If these 2 are praised and confucius is panned, Confucius must be really really terrible.
Can HK awards not nominate anyone for one year? Maybe scrap it? Because awarding sub standard efforts is like applauding mediocrity and this is not a way to excellence. No wonder Eric Tsang was preaching and pleading at the very start of the award show.
The script was not written by him. As for translation of the script to the screen, I think he did well. I understand what’s going on the whole time.
Maybe you read way more detective novels than me, but, honestly, I didn’t know who the main culprit was until the end.
I think he deserves the award, and the James Choo also deserves the Art Direction Award.
“Can HK awards not nominate anyone for one year? Maybe scrap it? “
No, they shouldn’t scrap it just because you don’t like the nominees.
But no one is worthy. Or maybe amongst mediocrity there is one worthy. I have never heard of a script bigger than the director. Anyway it was obvious because I see Tony Leung and since he didn’t die half way through, I guessed the villain was him because why is he there? The movie was just… terrible for many many reasons.
I still think it shouldn’t be scrap. It’s a film award for 2010. So, choosing the best among the production that came out in year 2010 is good enough.
nicholas tse, oh not, look at what he said during the award ceremony, he didnt even say thank you and he kept mentioning how his dad treated him badly in the past.
What are you talking about? Nic didn’t badmouth his dad at all in the ceremony.
What the heck??? Did you even watch the ceremony or read the new reports at all?? He said a very touching speech to his dad and even thanked his dad for teaching and raising him… I guess you are only into Raymond that you are completely clueless about everybody else. I bet if it were Raymond you would praise him and support him like he is a god while you knock down others…
yes i do, i like him because of his attitude and talent, i still love him for who he is, and i believe this years ray will prove more.
Hey….
Why Michelle Yeoh not even nominated in the best actress category? her acting is great in reign of assassins….
Reign of assassins was the best wuxia I have watched since Crouching Tiger…
The story is very engaging and the action scenes are just appropriate in the scene. It’s the movie that has the substance…
I really like the story of forgiveness rather than revenge…
It let the audience –
– feel the romance and the intensity of the love without showing off/baring their skin…
– feel the intensity of the actions without too much violence/bloody scene
The movements are well choreograph, though its simple its really amazing and not tiring to watch. I enjoy their movements as if they are just dancing…
I hope the jury see this point…
Maybe next year? Didn’t make it to this year’s cut off point?
‘Reign of Assassins’ made it to this year’s Award. Just that Michelle Yeoh was not nominated for Best Actress. ROA was nominated in the following category
Best Movie
Best Director
Best Supporting Actor
Best Cinematography
Best Editing
Best Art Direction
Best Costume Design and Make-Up
Best Action Design
Best Original Film Score
Best Original Song
Best Visual Effects