Ian Hamilton has crafted a series of novels about a forensic accountant, Ava Lee, who is Chinese-Canadian, and each one has been a fantastic ride, as well expanding on her character, and the world she lives in they’ve also introduced us to a variety of characters, some of whom have gone on to be fan…
Tag: hong kong
Niagara Filmalicious – Little Big Master (2015) – Adrian Kwan
My Filmalicious screening at the Niagara Integrated Film Festival, which took place at the gorgeous Peller Estates Winery (and allowed me to sample their smooth and delicious 2013 Baco Noir (which may in fact be my new favorite red)), was this entertaining film from Hong Kong. Based on a true story, the movie follows…
Niagara Integrated Film Festival 2015
Against the backdrop of wine country with the dull thrum of the falls imaginable at the farthest edge of earshot, members of the film and wine industry gather to make connections, share experiences and celebrate the finer things in life – film and a good vino. And I was fortunate enough to be invited…
The Red Pole of Macau (2012) – Ian Hamilton
Things get personal for Ava Lee in this, the next installment in Ian Hamilton’s highly addictive series. Following, once again, on seeds planted in the previous novel, or novels in this case, Ava finds herself in a brutal hunt for her family’s money, as she travels to Hong Kong and Macau to help her…
The Wild Beasts of Wuhan (2012) – Ian Hamilton
The Wild Beasts of Wuhan is the next novel in the Ava Lee series by Ian Hamilton, and once again, I am flying through this entire series. Very shortly I imagine I will be emailing everyone I can to beg and plead for the next book, after I’m during those that are currently published….
The Water Rat of Wanchai (2011) – Ian Hamilton
I don’t remember the last time I read a book so voraciously as I did this first in a series of novels from Canadian author Ian Hamilton. The Water Rat of Wanchai, preceded in this edition by the novella The Dragon Head of Hong King, we are introduced to Ava Lee, a forensic accountant….
Face/Off (1997) – John Woo
Hong Kong action meets big budget Hollywood in this entry on the 101 Action Movies list as John Woo fills the screens with stand-offs, explosions, and his signature balletic gunplay. John Travolta and Nicolas Cage play interchangeable roles as FBI agent Sean Archer and terrorist Castor Troy. Travolta as Archer is desperate, and obsessed…
The Killer (1989) – John Woo
An assassin with a conscience, a cop who doesn’t care about collateral damage and a lounge singer suffering from blindness due to being caught in a crossfire. These three characters are the center of this entry on the 101 Action Movies list, and John Woo’s first appearance on it. Chow Yun-Fat plays Ah Jong, an…
Bloodsport (1988) – Newt Arnold
Jean-Claude Van Damme makes an appearance on the 101 Action Movies list with this martial arts classic. The film, based LOOSELY on a true story follows Frank Dux (JCVD), a military officer, who trained with Senzo Tanaka (Roy Chiao) after his own son died to pass on his martial arts style and philosophy. Going on…
Pacific Rim (2013) – Guillermo del Toro
I’m still grinning. It’s not very often that so-called ‘Event’ blockbuster movies can completely take me in, and fewer still can lay claim to being an actual event. Del Toro’s new film, Pacific Rim, does just that. It geeked out the little kid in me, and totally pleased the grown-up film buff as well….
The Mind Reels 