Enter The Phoenix (Hong Kong)
It has some bright spots, but lacks real action and drama. Sure, it's a comedy... but more intensity can only add to the overall effect. In his film concerning a mistaken Triad Boss -- who may or may not be gay -- Steven Fung and his team smartly realize that its not the "gayness" that's funny, but the schemes and reactions of those trying to deal with it. Refusing to play to stereotype, Daniel Wu doesn't embarrass himself. Eason Chan does relatively well here, but the real comic sparks come from Law Kar Ying and Chapman To -- a team that steals the entire film. If Hollywood insists on remaking all of Asian Cinema, this one would retool nicely.
**1/2

Crimson Rivers 2: Angels Of The Apocalypse (France)
This one's a rare misstep for the great Jean Reno who does what he can in this story of a strange case of religiously influenced murders. The big troubles are the lacking direction of Oliver Dahan, the nausea inducing cinematography, the poor screenplay by Luc Besson and the relatively uninteresting performance of Benoit Magimel. Vincent Cassell is sorely missed here and he only things of any real interest are the "Ninja Priests" who show up just long enough to act freaky and then disappear. The original Crimson Rivers may have been ridiculous, but at least it was well made and entertaining.
*

A Tale of Two Sisters (Korea)
For those Asian movie fans who are a wee bit bored by dark wells and meowing children, Korea has a horror mindbender by KIM Jee-Woon that can stand proudly along those of David Lynch and Takashi Miike. Subdued realities meet ghostly dread in this unnerving combo of thrill movie sensibilities. The less mentioned about plot, the better -- it's more fun to discover it for yourself. Happily, it's a film of more than mere shocks and scares. This one also has a mind and a soul... or two.
***1/2