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Stacchi's “The Monkey King” is a computer-animated and English language adaptation of the classic novel “Journey to the West” from the Ming Dynasty. It was elected as the closing film at the 22nd New York Asian Film Festival in July 2023 and later released worldwide on Netflix. Also credited as the executive producer, Hong Kong filmmaker and comedy superstar Stephen Chow who played the Monkey King in his two-part “A Chinese Odyssey” (1995) and directed “Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons” (2013) is certainly no stranger to the Monkey King film series.

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As the story goes, thousands of years ago, the Immortals in Heaven and the Kings from Hell watched over all the demons who walked among the humans while dragons lived under the seas. But everything is in balance because under the watchful Buddha who oversees the universe, everyone follows the rules.

Technically I’m cheating as this is a two part feature! “A Chinese Odyssey” for me defines everything I love about Hong Kong cinema. To describe it is to recall a wild fever dream as it just switches tone wildly from scene to scene. Yet it works in creating an emotional roller coaster that sucks you into its spell. When I watched it for the first time I had no idea what was going on but knew I was loving every second! One moment I was laughing at an absurd gag, the next bawling my eyes out. Stephen Chow’s regular screen persona fits the Monkey King’s evolvement to a tee. For me it remains the best adaptation of the “Journey to the West” stories even if at times bares no resemblance to them at all! Only in Hong Kong Cinema can you get such a combination of action,...

by Jay Lim Jun Yi

Growing up in a traditional Chinese (and predominantly Mandarin speaking) household and under a father who loved the comedy and action genres, references to Stephen Chow, Donnie Yen, Jet Li, Jackie Chan always spring up from time to time. Having inherited my father’s love for comedy, my family would never miss out on a chance to catch a Chinese comedy flick whenever one aired on television. As much as Rowan Atkinson (who has played the characters of Mr. Bean and Johnny English) is recognised as an irreplaceable icon of British comedy, I firmly believe that Stephen Chow is the same for Hong Kong cinema.

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Out of the numerous films that Stephen Chow has starred in, Jeffrey Lau’s “A Chinese Odyssey Part 1: Pandora’s Box” continues to be one of the most intriguing and timeless in both its plot and humour.

Ng Man-tat, the star Shaolin Soccer and frequent collaborator of Kung Fu Hustle filmmaker Stephen Chow, has died.

The iconic Hong Kong actor, accompanied by his wife and children, died peacefully on Saturday of liver cancer. He was 70.

Born in China’s Fujian province in 1951, Ng began his career with acting classes from Hong Kong’s Tvb at 19 years old. Just years later he appeared Tit Lee’s 1975 comedy Gu huo lao xun chun, marking the vet’s first screen credit.

Upon garnering experience in a number of film and television titles throughout the 70s and 80s, Ng landed a recurring role in the adventure series The Legend of the Condor Heroes. The series, adapted from Louis Cha’s novel of the same name, saw Ng play Elder Peng.

In 1989, Ng first acted alongside Stephen Chow, who would soon become a frequent collaborator for “mo lei tau” films, a popular...

Beijing is set to reopen cinemas again in its “low-risk areas” on Friday, July 24, officials said, but attendance will be capped at 30% and no concessions sold.

As of Tuesday afternoon, there had been no new local confirmed cases in the capital for 15 consecutive days, meaning that all parts of the capital are currently classified as low-risk, the official Xinhua news agency cited local health officials as saying.

Beijing is home to 262 cinemas, all of which have been shut due to Covid-19 since the Chinese new year holiday in late January. The announcement that they could resume business “in an orderly manner” was made at a press conference Tuesday afternoon by Wang Jiequn, deputy director of the municipal Propaganda Department and director of the municipal film bureau.

Those venues wishing to resume operations on Friday must report their intentions to the Beijing Film Bureau before noon on Thursday. “Each cinema can...