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Time and Tide

Time and Tide

List Price: $24.95
Your Price: $22.46
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: "Jerry Bruckheimer is a two-bit hack!"
Review: ...I roared at the tops of my lungs after seeing this movie. Holy Good Gravy, but this was the Platonic Ideal of Action Movies: insane stunts, funny and heartfelt characters, and bullets. Lots and lots of bullets. Tsui Hark is, as the kids today would call him, The Man.

The plot, like any good HK thriller, is only there to service the action, and, boy howdy, there's plenty. Hand-to-hand fights, chases through Kowloon's labyrinthine slums, backwards car chases, and gun fights in places that won't exactly spoil it if I tell you but you'll just have to rent it anyway. Yes, the dubbing and subbing is odd; things in English that may sound cool to someone speaking Cantonese will make no sense to any of the English-native speakers. I'm sure the Spanish is just as munged up. But you know what? Who cares? You see these flicks to get blown away, not to contemplate the existential crises. Rent and watch. And don't drink the entire bar. That's bad.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: 4-Get contempo american action cinema, & look HERE!!!!
Review: 1st off I cannot stand what is considered by Hollywood standards, the "typical summer action movie". Movies that believe themselves to be so cool and suave, but in reality are crap. 2 films come to mind, Tomb Raider and the Matrix. Both of those flix really try to be cool, with their dark glasses, crazy effects, and big guns. What did I see? Garbage. So you want to escape from those types of boredom? Seek out Tsui Harks films, like this one. Plenty of charisma, wonderful action, suspense, bits of comedy tossed in too filled this movie. The firefight/rapelling off the apartment complex was insane, as was the shootout in the mall. Cameras and bullets are all flying about, chaos insues, and I am laughing my butt off in the theatre with like 10 other people who knew we were on to something special. If this comes to your town, please skip everything else and enjoy this film, there is nothing like a strong Hong Kong action film. No filler, no Keanu, no Jolie. Straight up and simple. Easily worth my $7.75.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Classic HK action
Review: 21-year-old bartender, Tyler (Nicholas Tse), has a one-night stand with Hong Kong cop (Cathy Chui), and inadvertently gets her pregnant. There's just one problem - she's gay, and her girlfriend's is none to pleased!

In an attempt to get money to support his future child, Tyler gets involved with a shady bodyguard business to make ends meet. During the course of events, he meets and befriends a successful hitman Jack (Wu Bai). Tyler envies Jack's relationship with his beautiful wife, and dreams of a similar relationship with Chui, even though she rejects his advances.

When a routine job goes horribly wrong, Jack and Tyler end up on opposite sides of the law. Can Tyler prove his innocence and escape with his honor - and his friendship with Jack - in tact?

I liked Time and Tide, but at times the cinematography was choppy, especially where the character of Jack was introduced. It seemed the first thirty minutes are all about Tyler and his problems, and suddenly Jack enters the picture. Suddenly we are viewing Jack's world, from his perspective, and I'm like "Whoa, what happened, am I watching the same movie?" I also thought the stereotypical Columbian drug lord with the cockroach torturing fetish was WAY over the top. (But I guess that's the point).

What I did like: I DID like Tyler as a character, he was a really nice guy. (A rare thing indeed), and I liked the fact that he took responsibility for his son. I also thought the fact that he slipped money under Chui's door when he thought she wasn't looking, was rather sweet.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: All I have to say is, "Wow"
Review: Alright, this is not for movie goers that are big on plot and character. Still, for people that are looking for a great action movie, this is the place to look. It always amazes me when Hollywood imports directors and they make terrible movies here (see: John Woo, Tsui Hark, etc) and still manage to make excellent movies in their native countries. Time and Tide is an excellent example of this, it is stylish, well paced, and easy to watch. The plot surrounds a bartender who gets an undercover lesbian cop pregnant during a one night stand. Nine months later, she's expecting and he's become a bodyguard to try and raise money for her and his child, even though she wants nothing to do with him. Also in appearance is a mercenary friend of his and his pregnant girlfriend. The plot from here on out is sketchy at best, but you never care. The movie moves forward with such drive and intensity, that you never stop to think about the details. The DVD presentation is crisp and clear, with amazing sound and visuals which really do justice to the use of color. Tsui Hark's eye is flawless and old-school action fans will appreciate the spare use of camera tricks and CGI which really allow the action to be seen (and you have to wonder in awe at many of the stunts that these guys actually do instead of thinking, "wow, that's some great special effects). The DVD is sparse on extras, but it does include an interesting commentary by the director. Still, the movie is reason enough to purchase this flick. Definitely, HK action movie fans and US movie fans that are tired of the barrage of expensive special effects in place of real creativity will love this movie.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The Matrix of the East
Review: Following the wave of Hidden Tiger Crouching Dragon many Hong Kong action films have been flooding the US market but few have been as mindblowing as Time and Tide. It saw a limited run in theaters (one weekend)but it had a dramatic effect on those who watched it. I highly reconmend this film to vets of hongkong action and newbies alike this it truly one of the best fillms to come out of Hong Kong since Hard Boiled. Brian Mitchell The Peoples Champion

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A totally amazing film with a myriad of new things
Review: I had to watch this twice to follow the plot, but it is an amazing film. Most directors put in some one new thing in a film (the amazing car chasing an el train in The French Connection, the first going the wrong way on a freeway chase in To Live and Die in LA, and so on), but Tsui Hark puts in some half a dozen new things in this one film instead of parceling them out over several films. A really great film.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Overrated
Review: I have seen a ton of HK acioners and this one is only average. The story is hard to follow and the main protaganist is a wimp and carries a phony gun around the entire movie relying on his buddy to save him. There is some good gunplay but even that is hard to follow at times. If you want something better watch Hard-Boiled and see how its done. Tsui Hark has made better than this also.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: The worst
Review: I love the rampant genius of director Tsui Hark, but this movie was the abysmal pitts. Maybe fans of his other terrible "American" films will go for this one, but those that love his older works will scratch their head with disappointment.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: An Original Masterpiece!
Review: I love this movie! If you love CTHD, you will love this movie. It's John Wooish. It's Matrix like. It has the same type of stop action and amazing martial arts. The plot keeps you guessing as the fate of the charactors intertwine. Tyler and Jack's friendship is tested when they end up on opposite sides of the cockroach game. Keep a look out for flashing clues and symbles or keep rewinding the VCR. The Dialoge is in Mandarin, Cantonese and English, but the English subtitles read fast. Keep your finger on the rewind button. All the chararcters are beatiful to watch, have noteable strong personalities and have crazy insane behavior. Ladies don't be turned off by this "Guy flick." The women in this movie are smart and kick butt! I Can't wait to buy the DVD version!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Inscrutable but Cool
Review: I saw this movie about a year ago in Kuala Lumpur. I was with some Chinese friends and the cinema we went to didn't cater to Westerners. So no English subtitles. Actually I think the film was subtitled in Thai, Bahasa Malaysia, and English, but the film wasn't focused properly and the English was off the bottom of the screen. I tried to pool my rudimentary Cantonese and Malay, but I couldn't understand the plot one bit. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the film immensely. A few days ago I saw the movie at my local Blockbusters, of all places. Ok, English subtitles this time.
The plot was just as incomprehensible as the first time. I don't think even knowing what the characters were saying made much of a difference in my appreciation of this film. And appreciate it I did. The characters in this film are just so cool... you get the feeling that the reason you can't understand what they're doing is because they are just on a different plane of coolness than you. In the beginning of the movie, the main character (the guy on the right on the boxcover) hooks up with some female lesbian cop and gets her pregnant. I mean, I've been to Hong Kong, but I am just not cool enough to have that happen to me. If I tried what that guy did, I would probably just get beaten up and deported.

Some of this movie takes place in South America (where? I forget. who cares!) and the bad guys seem to be Spanish speakers. But the leader of the villains talks sort of like an African-American (so this little bit of the dialog is in English). They also dub the Chinese guys so it looks like they're speaking perfect Spanish. That's one of the funniest parts.
So if you're in the mood for an ultra-violent, ultra-entertaining Hong Kong "blood opera", you can't go wrong with Time and Tide. Don't try to understand the plot because you can't. I doubt my Chinese friends could either. I swear it's like 3 different movies all jumbled together. Just enjoy the characters and the action and you'll do fine.


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