An Inspector Calls (2015)

It's been awhile since I had watched a Hong Kong movie or anything as of that. So I thought to myself, why not watch this? After all, they have veteran actors like Eric Tsang, Louis Koo and Gordon Lam. As well as a great cameo supporting cast (which I had no idea so many of them were in the movie after checking the cast section)

When I began the movie, I didn't have high expectations thinking, "oh my god, this is going to be the best movie with beautifully written scripts and acting!". The reason why is that this is a comedy movie and with actors that are known for acting in silly comedy movies, I knew what I was expecting.

I read that it's based on a UK show with the same title I believe. I have not watched it so I can't say if they're similar in filming. The movie gave off that Sherlock Holmes vibe with the inspector coming into the house for sure though.

This movie definitely funny with the dry humor and slapstick comedy. I'm not sure about others, but I do enjoy those jokes that might be overdone in some movies. This movie didn't do that which I'm glad. I think I laughed louder in the credits because of the NGs.

The plot was great to watch, but at some parts I found myself expecting what was happening and some parts I was confused, but over all I had no trouble following.

*the music didn't give a big impression because i was focused in the acting

If you're looking for an easy casual movie to watch, I recommend choosing this!

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Sherry Baby!

I have seen one other version of this 'film' before & it was a serious drama... this film is most definitely not a serious drama in any shape, way or form. It is a fairly short, absurdly funny, silly film (it has a dark undertone but I definitely view this as a comedy) & perhaps surprisingly I enjoyed it. I say surprisingly because the setting & genre was so different from the original work. It is very highly stylized which I really like; it put me in mind of some work by Sion Sono. It actually gets a bit slow towards the end but the gag reel alongside the credits makes up for that.

Bonus - Donnie Yen being all Four Seasons singing Sherry was A-MA-ZING - I think I'll watch it again just for that!

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Watched for the cast, not for the play

As an adaptation of An Inspector Calls, it lacks the seriousness of their misdoings and critique of elite society where the concluding question for debate should probably be "who is responsible?"

But the question I was left with was "what on earth did I just watch? Was that deep fake Donnie Yen??"

It's been a while since I watched a goofy HK comedy, and this successfully made me laugh. I enjoyed the OTT performances of Louis Koo and Lam Ka Tung. The aesthetics and editing had a Wes Anderson vibe. All the cameos you would expect of a spring festival movie and play the game of spot Director Wong. I loved Teresa Mo's hair.

It wouldn't be out of place as part of a variety show or a school drama club performance, where nobody is taking it deadly seriously and probably neither should the audience. Get a social critique and literary fix from a different source. The message at the end be like "You've had your fun, now go study". Busted.

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This is what JB Priestley must have envisioned when he wrote an inspector calls

For those of us who have studied the text for our GCSEs I'm sure we can all agree just how accurate this movie is, and how true to the original text.

I did some research after watching this film and found out that in some of Priestley's notes he had written about Yvonne Kwon, but had decided that she was too much for the 1940's audience he was producing it for. So I'm glad that this version included her.

Anyone who has read the play would know just how comedic it is, which a lot of adaptations tend to miss out, so again I'm happy this film kept to the original plot.

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Quick background- I've seen the movie 1982 and 2015 BBC films and listened to the radio recording of the play. It is an extremely serious story that has high relevance on social issues, human responsibility, and common decency; not to mention the selfishness that lives in all people based on jealousy despite wealth, greed, rape, and abuse. Therefore, for me it was an extremely uncomfortable feeling to watch a film that holds such gravitas turn into a comedy; it's awkward.

There was nothing comedic about the original story and the way the story was depicted here, even if it was trying to be comedic, seemed forced, trite, OTT, slap-stick, and just childish. It's a pathetic film that's a slap in the face to the intentional message of the original story. It's lost in this nonsense.

The acting---I can't say anything about the acting. I mean, it's on point. If we're looking at being slap-stick and stupid, yeah they had it down pat. Donnie Yen was great at it...ridiculous and CGI'd. Han Zhang was a surprise. Everyone else was OTT as they should be. No one was on too serious. They were as a ridiculous comedy should be.

Donnie Yen's song was great but out of place--maybe that was the point. It was creepy and kind of gave me a feeling of Twin Peaks there. I just didn't get it's purpose; I figure again it's for comedic effect. I gave it a 1 just for that.

I would never rewatch this film nor recommend it.

Overall, averaging all of the above components (they made me add a 1, but it's still counted as a zero) this adds up to a pathetic 3, just a waste of time. I'd watch the BBC originals in English over and over and over again. The two television versions and the radio version. They're just great film; short and breathtaking. I cried.

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