Sex and Zen & A Bullet in the Head : The Essential Guide to Hong Kong's Mind-bending Films

Rating:
Summary: A good enthusiastic intro to Hong Kong movies!
Review: This book is only helpful for those with little knowledge of Hong Kong films. It's more playful than artistic, yet there are some helpful film reviews included. Some of the information is outdated: Web sites, where to buy HK films, etc..., but if your new to HK films and are interested in the pop culture gems that come out of Hong Kong, then check this book out. For those interested in a more in-depth look at Hong Kong films, I recommend City on Fire, by Lisa Stokes and Micheal Hoover.

Rating:
Summary: A look at the cult side of HK films
Review: This book is only helpful for those with little knowledge of Hong Kong films. It's more playful than artistic, yet there are some helpful film reviews included. Some of the information is outdated: Web sites, where to buy HK films, etc..., but if your new to HK films and are interested in the pop culture gems that come out of Hong Kong, then check this book out. For those interested in a more in-depth look at Hong Kong films, I recommend City on Fire, by Lisa Stokes and Micheal Hoover.

Rating:
Summary: Useless guide
Review: This has got to be the most useless movie guide on the planet. Basically, all it is a bunch of plot synopses of HK movies. They are not reviews, just summaries of all the plots, BEGINNING TO END. Half of the them don't even tell you if they are good or not! What on earth could possibly be the use for this? If I haven't seen the movie, I don't want to know EVERY SINGLE THING that happens in it before I see it. And if I have seen it, just reading the plot over is pretty useless too. Basically, the authors watched a ton of HK movies and decided that they should get paid for it, so they whipped up a book as fast as they could, without any consideration for how useful it might be, and put it on the market. Make them earn their dough like everyone else. Don't buy this book.

Rating:
Summary: A good enthusiastic intro to Hong Kong movies!
Review: This is an excellent book for someone just getting into HK movies- it's populist and unpretentious, but it doesn't just dismiss the movies as 'fun trash.' It covers most of the classics, like Peking Opera Blues, The Bride with White Hair, Chungking Express, etc. and includes capsule reviews of slightly more obscure movies. There's also a good glossary explaining the durian (among other things) and compilations of choice bad subtitles. My main qualm about it is that it more or less neglects HK comedies- the authors even warn non-Cantonese speakers not to see them, because they won't understand 'em. This is NOT TRUE. But buy the book anyway and seek information about HK comedies elsewhere.^^