San Francisco International Film Festival 57

Since the 1980s, Hong Kong has perfected the action melodrama. In Firestorm (Fung Bo), Andy Lau stars as a flawed hero cop whose alliances with underworld figures threaten to bring him down. A few years ago, Lau appeared at the festival and his young female fan base was out in force. He wasn’t here this year but there was still a sizable crowd for a late night screening. Written and directed by Alan Yuen, the plot has some complexity and the dialogue comes fast so I was never sure whose side everyone was on. It didn’t matter because the movie has some of the greatest action sequences ever recorded. Continue reading →