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CRAZY STONE (China)

 ABOUT THE MOVIE


Genre:
Drama/Comedy
Starring: Guo Tao, Liu Gang, Huang Bo, Lian Jin, Fan Bing Bing
Director: Ning Hao
Rating: PG
Year Made: 2006



TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Format: VCD (2 Discs)
Languages:
Chinese
Subtitles: English & Chinese
Running Time:
Distributor: Scorpio East

 

SYNOPSIS:  

What do you get when you have a precious jewel, a group of bumbling thieves intent on getting their hands on it, the mob wanting a piece of the action and a loyal but mischievous security guard all thrown in together? Crazy Stone is a fast-paced, wise-cracking caper comedy that will have you engaged and entertained from the beginning till the end.

MOVIE REVIEW

Crazy Stone was hailed by many (critics and casual viewers) as the best film from the Focus Films: First Cuts Series and after reviewing the Crazy Stone vcd, it’s not hard to see the reason for that.

The plot setup is simple and even formulaic. A factory owner who is facing eviction, found a precious jade and plans to sell it in order save the factory. In order to fetch a good price for the jade, the factor owner created an exhibition in a makeshift temple to create publicity.

Besides attracting the right attention, the publicity also attracted three small time crooks, one international professional thief, an unscrupulous land developer and even the factory owner’s own wastrel son’s attention.

The only defense that the factory owner has is one staff, Bao Shihong, who studied as a detective in the local police force previously, to head a makeshift security team to protect the jade during the exhibition.

It is a joy to follow Bao Shihong as he uses the bare minimum resources at hand, converting them into high security deterrence to the jade thieves. You won’t look at a urinal sensor the same way after watching this movie. The character’s ingenuity seems to reflect on the director, Ning Hao’s, ability to turn a low budget production into one with high entertainment value.

Another enjoyable part of the film lies in the execution of handling the multiple characters’ motivation and tying seemingly different events effectively together. It examines the cause and effect that each individual’s action has on the others and even the most minute actions can have the most unexpected effect on rest.

If Crazy Stone was to be compared to any recent classic films, Ning Hao’s quick editing and distinctive characters often echoes the same kinetic jives and plot twists that were presented in Guy Ritchie’s Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels

A newspaper article once mentioned that this is an excellent film for local filmmakers to study or refer to. This film demonstrates strong handling of characters and strong structure of story telling even when the director didn’t have famous actors to work with. The most wonderful highlight was that he pulled off an entertaining film with limited budget constrain that most (if not all) local filmmakers faces and complains about. Even casual viewers will discover the gem that hidden behind the veil of cheap production.

The VCD comes with English and Chinese subtitles which are useful even for local Chinese viewers who might have some difficulties in understanding some of the accent. A trailer for Dragon Tiger Gate is included before the film starts and a trailer for Crazy Stone at the end of the film credits.

 

MOVIE RATING:

Review by Richard Lim Jr

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Alternative Opinion:

The movie review by our columnist,

Other titles from Scorpio East:

. Unarmed Combat

. Election 2


. We Are Family

. I Not Stupid Too


. The Shoe Fairy

. 2 Becomes 1

. 49 Days

. REAL

. Dragon Eye Congee

. A Chinese Tall Story

. Perhaps Love

. SPL

. Election


. The Myth


. Wait 'Til You're Older


. The Maid

 

 


This review is made possible with the kind support from Scorpio East

 


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