Double Xposure (2012) @ 二次曝光

William Feng 馮紹峰 and Fan Bing Bing 范冰冰 have zero chemistry together.

When will Fan Bing Bing go Hollywood?

At a glance:

Li Yu's heavily promoted Double Xposure (2012) a.k.a. 二次曝光 is a particularly mouth-waterin project for me because her previous Lost In Beijing (2007) a.k.a. 苹果 was such a delight to watch and here she gets to direct the mesmerisin Fan Bing Bing (范冰冰) again in yet another seedy Mainland dish. When these two get together, Fan almost always gets a sex scene or two and the poster invariably cashes in on her star appeal by depictin her in the throes of wet romance. We're introduced to a confident Fan as a plastic surgery consultant and her plastic surgeon boyfriend William Feng Shao Feng (馮紹峰) who is in fact two-timin her with her hedonistic bestie Huo Si Yan (霍思燕). The affair is soon uncovered to murderous ends but that ain't even what the movie is about, would you believe it.

Bad news on the doorstep:

Oh dear. Where's the script gonna go from here?

Yep, this quickly turned into an over-elaborate exercise in stylish futility, as the story implodes into almost a separate movie by the second half of its 105min run, upsettin genre expectations by rainin us down with too much information and iffy plot twists. There's no satisfaction to be drawn from the bizarre connections, leavin us with a lot of wasted cool CG work and soundmix to admire.

Yummy prospect. Undone by too much story.

Perennial wonderment:

When will Fan Bing Bing go Hollywood? I think she has one English-speakin role comin up, no?

Reminds me of:

Well, the initial frustration evokes Switchblade Romance (2003), that's for sure.

Watch out for:

Joan Chen (陳沖) as the clinic proprietor. She's unremarkable but reliable as always. Nice to see her get a run-out here.

Amacam joker, berapa bintang lu mau kasi?

If this movie ended after the first plot twist, it would've at least been a competent mood piece. Unfortunately, the final product is a messy psychodrama that simply tried to do too much. I'm goin backwards now to check out Buddha Mountain (2010) a.k.a. 观音山, the last Fan-Li collaboration.★★
Bonus material:

Fairly watchable Chinese seductress Huo Si Yan 霍思燕

The Shinjuku Incident (2009) @ 新宿事件

"Hi mum. Check out my new girlfriend."

At a glance:
Big Bro Jackie Chan is reluctant hero Steelhead, immigrant Chinese fella who goes to Shinjuku in search for better life and also one-time lover Xiu Xiu (Xu Jing Lei). Sloggin through Jap dirt, he finds friends among those in same boat (quite literally) and works his way into yakuza favour via a few lucky moves, even meetin a mamasan chick along the way (Fan Bing Bing). Daniel Wu plays his repressed sidekick who eventually goes Joker/Two Face on the whole lot.
Bad news on the doorstep:
Jackie Chan fans might be a bit disappointed this crime drama isn't a newer police story or a Shinjuku version of Rumble In The Bronx but you still get to see a few stunts here and there. By and large, picture is Blood Brothers starrin Fan Bing Bing (pic) instead of Shu Qi, with messier editin and scorin, though violence is intact.
Watch out for:
Wonderful smaller parts from Masaya Kato (slick prettyboy yakuza), Jack Kao (Taiwanese head honcho) and Naoto Takenaka (likeable police detective).
Amacam joker, berapa bintang lu mau kasi?
Three and a half. Could do better if there were a Fan Bing Bing sex scene with Jack Kao.

Lost In Beijing (2007) @ 苹果

At a glance:
Accessible, coherent & somewhat commercial social commentary at its regional finest, thanks to risin (and rise-inducin) talent Fan Bing Bing (pic) & the uglier of the two Tony Leungs - the better actor! Ménage-a-quatre plot oddly hilarious & sheepishly amusin. Bannin this movie only heightens the glare of China's insecurity. I still can't forget that Olympics farce with the little girl singin. End credits wonderfully reinforces themes of greed, globalisation & societal decay. Time to migrate to Sweden, folks.
Watch out for:
All of Fan Bing Bing's sex scenes, especially the one where she gets 'accidentally' done by Tony Leung. Give it!
Reminds me of:
Lukas Moodysson's Lilya-4-Ever, though I can't think why.
Amacam joker, berapa bintang lu mau kasi?
I'd say is about right. Plus I watched this on an original disc, given as a token by Teddy Robins to a speaker at the HK Filmart. Needless to say, the disc is now mine. Ngek ngek ngek.