CNY movies of 2014!

Writer: Casey Chong

With the 2014 Chinese New Year arriving this 30 January to usher the year of Horse, we have compiled a list of eleven Chinese movies, to be shown both locally and internationally, to look forward to this January and February.
Take your pick below:

Tired of watching Donnie Yen kicking ass? How about watching Philip Ng for a change? In his first highly-anticipated lead role, he plays the famous character Ma Yongzhen (who was once popularized by Chen Kuan-Tai in 1972's "Boxer From Shantung" and Takeshi Kaneshiro in 1997's "Hero") in "Once Upon A Time In Shanghai". Choreographed by the legendary action director, Yuen Woo-Ping, "Once Upon A Time In Shanghai" also featured some of Asia's prominent martial arts actors including Andy On, Sammo Hung, Fung Hak-On, Chen Kuan-Tai and Yuen Cheung-Yan.

Once promoted as the 'wuxia' version of "X-Men" and "Fantastic Four", Gordon Chan's "The Four" was heavily bashed by critics, but the movie managed to score a sizable box office hit in Mainland China back in 2012. In this sequel, Gordon Chan and his cast (Deng Chao, Crystal Liu, Ronald Cheng, Collin Chou and Anthony Wong) returns for the second round in this planned trilogy with more action and more special effects galore.

Last year, it was Eric Tsang's "I Love Hong Kong 2013" vs. Raymond Wong's "Hotel Deluxe". This year, both rivals choose to collaborate together for their latest star-studded Chinese New Year movie starring – hold your breath – Raymond Wong, Sandra Ng, Ronald Cheng, Eric Tsang, Fiona Sit, Lynn Xiong, Karena Ng, Raymond Lam, Louis Koo and Chapman To.

We sure miss the good old days when the legendary Chow Yun-Fat used to rule the Hong Kong movie box office with his string of successful comedies back in the '80s and '90s. One of his most popular comedies was of course, the "God of Gamblers" series. This year, he made a highly-anticipated comeback to a comedy role in a new gambling-themed action comedy, "From Vegas To Macau"! It's not the long-awaited "God of Gamblers" sequel that many might have led to believe, but nevertheless, what matters the most is that we get to watch Chow Yun-Fat let himself loose once in a while after playing too many serious characters in the past.

The biggest Chinese New Year production of the year is none other than Soi Cheang's long-awaited martial arts fantasy epic, "The Monkey King". Not only that, "The Monkey King" also boasts with elaborate special effects and lavish production values, plus a trio of big-name cast including Donnie Yen (playing the title role, of course), Chow Yun-Fat and Aaron Kwok in the mix.

The second local Chinese New Year movie of the year is Tan Boon Huat's comedy "Huat Ah! Huat Ah! Huat!" ("Huat" is a Hokkien dialect that literally means 'prosper' in English), which stars veteran singer Ah Niu ("Ice Kacang Puppy Love", "The Wedding Diary", "The Wedding Diary II") and Hong Kong actress Joyce Cheng (daughter of the late Lydia Sum), who made her first acting debut in Malaysia.

The first two "Golden Chicken" pieces were popular comedies in Hong Kong. Fans of the franchise will be delighted to know that the long-awaited third installment is back with "Golden Chickensss", which again sees Sandra Ng reprised her famous role as Kam. This movie is also notable for Nick Cheung Ka-Fai returning to his comedy roots for the first time since 2011's "Treasure Inn".

An anticipated action film by the one and only Jack Neo, "The Lion Men" is the made to please restless hearts in Chinese New Year for when you feel like going into the cinema. Starring Wang Wei Liang, Tosh Zhang, Noah Yap, Charlie Goh, and Maxi Lim, the main plot revolves around three lion dance groups pitting themselves against each other. The irresistible "Bring It On" type film is hailed as a 'breakthrough action movie', so you know it's going to be good.