SYNOPSIS:
Rock
(Derek Tsang), the director of a poor rating TV program, bumps
into a female ghost, Tincy (Tong Ling), and helps deliver her
baby from her dead body. In return, the ghost helps him create
a new reality show "Life or Death", where participants
try different ways to commit suicide. The show becomes a spectacular
hit, but little does he know there's more to Tincy than meets
the eye...
MOVIE REVIEW:
Showbiz - an illusion of glitz and glamour in front
of the camera? Behind the camera, are the darker shades of
human nature waiting to be exposed? Jealousy, suspicions,
distrust and resentment – are these the uglier sides
of showbiz that viewers do not get to see? These are some
of the interesting themes and setups this seemingly B grade
Hong Kong flick wishes to explore. But alas, the potentially
thought provoking issue gets lost in its own mess.
Xavier
Lee directs Derek Tsang (Single Blog, Simply Actors) in this
supernatural crime drama where the actor plays a TV station
director who hasn’t been smiled on by Lady Luck recently.
His productions are suffering from poor ratings and his crew
is leaving his program. One night, he delivers a baby (yes,
this is where the unbelievable part sets in, but we forgive
that in the name of art) from a dying woman’s womb and
her ghost helps him with a reality show where participants
win large cash amounts by escaping death on “live”
television. And along the way, we get lessons on the dangers
of mass communications, the seedy truths behind the glamour
of showbiz and that nothing comes free if you want to success.
But
seriously, are we trying to hard to read this otherwise unmemorable
movie? While we have to admit that the 87 minute flick does
have its merits (the cast deliver quite decent performances),
but the unremarkable production does remind you of one of
those late night pictures you encounter when you channel surf.
Tong
Ling, a relatively unknown TV actress does look pretty as
the unfortunate ghost, but haven’t we seen this portrayal
in other movies before? Terence Yin (Rob B Hood) does look
dashing as a TV host, but haven’t we seen this Casanova
creep role in other movies before? Wong Ho Yin (Hooked on
You) and Jolene Kuk (he Detective) also play their roles effectively
without much impact.
We
can go on trying to justify the presence of a well meaning
message behind this movie, but it continues to boggle us why
would anyone pick up this DVD with its unattractive cover
design? And when the finale comes on, it goes into full fledge
TV movie mode, where unimpressive computer generated effects
take over to convince you that this is indeed another so-so
movie that you will not remember a month down the road.
SPECIAL FEATURES :
Other than a trailer for the movie itself, this Code
3 DVD also includes a trailer for Kelvin Tong’s Rule
#1.
AUDIO/VISUAL:
There is nothing to complain about the disc’s visual
transfer, while there are Mandarin and Cantonese audio tracks
to choose from.
MOVIE RATING:
 
DVD
RATING :
Review
by John Li
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