Rating: 
Summary: No Pretenses Here...
Review: From the first few words of the introduction, it's clear what the purpose of this work is: "...over-intellectualizing film denies the primary purpose of moviegoing: entertainment." This book reads more like a high quality trade magazine published by true fanboys, rather than a traditional movie-review book spun up by professional critics. This is a GOOD thing! It's the very reason I awarded it 5 stars; if your cup of tea is highbrow social critique, check out Stokes' and Hoover's City on Fire.Sex and Zen & A Bullet in the Head is instead an unapologetic, unabashed celebration of Hong Kong cinema that waggles its tongue at the conventions of political correctness. The authors have also packed in fun trivia and interesting tidbits all fans ought to appreciate. (The sections on poorly translated subtitles floored me with laughter!) This is the book you want to purchase if you want a guided tour into the amazing world of Hong Kong cinema. And to address the criticism of a previous reviewer, yes, this work does contain plot breakdowns and spoilers, but if you use a bit of discretion, this ceases to be a problem. In fact, in many cases this isn't a problem to begin with. The Jackie Chan-type films in particular aren't known for plot; you're riveted by the action, definitely not the melodrama. As any HK film fanatic can tell you, descriptions utterly fail to convey the overwhelming cinematic wonders these films possess.
Rating:
Summary: No Pretenses Here...
Review: From the first few words of the introduction, it's clear what the purpose of this work is: "...over-intellectualizing film denies the primary purpose of moviegoing: entertainment." This book reads more like a high quality trade magazine published by true fanboys, rather than a traditional movie-review book spun up by professional critics. This is a GOOD thing! It's the very reason I awarded it 5 stars; if your cup of tea is highbrow social critique, check out Stokes' and Hoover's City on Fire. Sex and Zen & A Bullet in the Head is instead an unapologetic, unabashed celebration of Hong Kong cinema that waggles its tongue at the conventions of political correctness. The authors have also packed in fun trivia and interesting tidbits all fans ought to appreciate. (The sections on poorly translated subtitles floored me with laughter!) This is the book you want to purchase if you want a guided tour into the amazing world of Hong Kong cinema. And to address the criticism of a previous reviewer, yes, this work does contain plot breakdowns and spoilers, but if you use a bit of discretion, this ceases to be a problem. In fact, in many cases this isn't a problem to begin with. The Jackie Chan-type films in particular aren't known for plot; you're riveted by the action, definitely not the melodrama. As any HK film fanatic can tell you, descriptions utterly fail to convey the overwhelming cinematic wonders these films possess.
Rating:
Summary: Blisters on my Eyeballs!
Review: Got baptized under fire with A Better Tomorrow, Part 2... but then what? Especially now that Tower is starting to keep up a "Hong Kong" section, how in blue blazes do you seperated the phat from the fodder? This is a funny book; informative and hip without being slick. Hollywood, look out!
Rating:
Summary: Funny, informative and lots of pictures!!!
Review: I have been a Hong Kong cinema fan for years, and there was lots stuff in here I didn't know. The review style is short and to the point, plus there's a 10 Best section, as well as sections on Jackie Chan and John Woo. My favorite section is all of the hilarious quotes from bad subtitles. A definte must for anyone who has seen a few HK films and wants more, but doesn't know where to start.
Rating: 
Summary: Buy the book - No Need To See The Movies1
Review: I just dont get the appeal of this book, I'm sorry. For the most part, all it contains is a bunch of detailed plot information (yes Virginia, including key plot twists and endings) and very little information as to if the movies were any good! Yes, he has some special lists ("movies that rip"), but just not enough. I wanted this book as a reference to all of the HK movies out there, so I could see what was good before plunking down my cash on them - after reading about a few movies, I felt I no longer needed to buy them because I had already seen them. There are much better options.
Rating: 
Summary: Good reference, but gives away waaaaay too much...
Review: I recently got really interested in HK movies again (after not really watching or buying any for about a year), and, after ordering a bunch of movies, dug out my copy of S&Z&ABitH. And then I remembered why I didn't love the book when I had originally flipped through it: instead of reviewing movies and recommending the good ones, the book offers complete synopsis of every movie it mentions. Yes, including details on the endings. It's very possible to spoil yourself with the book, which is odd given I'd think it would be aimed at the newbie to HK cinema -- at least, that seems to be its purpose. Still worth it for the fractured subtitle listings, good pictures, bios, and other fun stuff scattered throughout.
Rating: 
Summary: a fun introduction of Hong Kong cinema
Review: Memo to the reader from Denver: did you read the same book I did? Yeah, I'll admit that I wish the authors hadn't gone into quite so much detail about the plots, but how can you say they didn't review any of the films? The authors' enthusiasm for this exhilarating subsection of filmdom permeates every sentence herein; everything they write is filtered through their opinions, which are mostly positive, because, as they explain in the intro, they put the spotlight on the films they loved the most. With the exception of the informative sidebars, there's nothing BUT reviews here. I love this book. It's not meant to be an HK film encyclopedia, just a feet-wetting introduction to an unjustly overlooked body of work. As that, it's nearly perfect.
Rating:
Summary: a fun introduction of Hong Kong cinema
Review: Memo to the reader from Denver: did you read the same book I did? Yeah, I'll admit that I wish the authors hadn't gone into quite so much detail about the plots, but how can you say they didn't review any of the films? The authors' enthusiasm for this exhilarating subsection of filmdom permeates every sentence herein; everything they write is filtered through their opinions, which are mostly positive, because, as they explain in the intro, they put the spotlight on the films they loved the most. With the exception of the informative sidebars, there's nothing BUT reviews here. I love this book. It's not meant to be an HK film encyclopedia, just a feet-wetting introduction to an unjustly overlooked body of work. As that, it's nearly perfect.
Rating:
Summary: Buy the book - No Need To See The Movies1
Review: This book describes the attractions and texture of Hong Kong Cinema probably better than any other . Witty and wise, it touches on the many different kinds of Hong Kong films and some of it's most important influences like John Woo, Tsui Hark, Jackie Chan, and Sammo Hung. My only complaint about it is that it almost completely ignores Jet Li. Still, if you like Hong Kong Cinema, this book is one you'll enjoy.
Rating:
Summary: The Right Stuff
Review: This book describes the attractions and texture of Hong Kong Cinema probably better than any other . Witty and wise, it touches on the many different kinds of Hong Kong films and some of it's most important influences like John Woo, Tsui Hark, Jackie Chan, and Sammo Hung. My only complaint about it is that it almost completely ignores Jet Li. Still, if you like Hong Kong Cinema, this book is one you'll enjoy.
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