Hard Boiled (1992)

This film is said to be the precursor to the popular 2007 video game Stranglehold

Summary

-A tough as nails cop and undercover police officer team up to take down a mobster and his crew importing weapons into Hong Kong

Cast

-Chow Yun-fat: Inspector 'Tequila' Yuen

-Tony Leung Chiu-wai: Alan

-Teresa Mo: Teresa Chang

-Philip Chan: Superintendent Pang

-Phillip Chung-Fung Kwok: Mad Dog

-Anthony Chau-Sang Wong: Johnny Wong

-Hoi-San Kwan: Uncle Hoi

-Wei Tung: Foxy

-Bowie Lam: Benny Mak

Did You Know?

-In the scene where Tequila is running down the hall with the baby in his arms and the hall exploding in the hospital, director John Woo was not happy with the first take. He made sure the second take had the explosions far closer than Chow Yun-fat was expecting. Chow said "He really was running for his life". He was professional enough to ask how it looked after it was done, but he turned around and said a swear word

-The teahouse where the first scene was filmed was demolished five days after John Woo had filmed in it. When filming was in progress, neighbors called the police every night to complain about the noise, but since the police were fans of Woo, they allowed him to continue each night

-John Woo was known for making movies that glamorized gangsters. In this film, he turned it around and glamorized police

-Many of the characteristics Tequila shows in this film are based on a real police officer John Woo interviewed for the film, such as playing the clarinet in a jazz band. Tequila's love of jazz is taken from John Woo himself

-The more than 200 guns used in this film were real. Hong Kong has very strict laws regarding guns, and they had to be imported from England and inspected by the Hong Kong police prior to being used on set. The production crew also had to import a massive quantity of blank ammunition. It was said that over 100,000 rounds of blank ammunition were used in the film

-Philip Chan, who played Superintendent Pang, was, in real life, a Hong Kong police commander who actually did supervise undercover officers

-The scenes in the hospital took 40 days to shoot

-This was the final Hong Kong film that John Woo made before moving to Hollywood. He was being courted by people in Hollywood, and he wanted to make films that would be popular in his home country and a passport to Hollywood

-There was a sequel to this movie released in 2007. It was in the form of a video game called Stranglehold, with Chow Yun-fat and John Woo performing their roles

-Originally, John Woo wanted a jazz soundtrack for the 1989 film The Killer, but was overruled by producer Hark Tsui. He got his jazz soundtrack in this film

-While filming the warehouse scene, John Woo learned that the film's writer, Barry Wong, had passed away. "He was a true talent which I really admired." he said

-Despite John Woo telling the cast that the film would be grittier and less stylish than his previous films, it changed as filming proceeded

-The role of Inspector Tequila is based on "Dirty" Harry Callahan (Clint Eastwood) from the Dirty Harry series and Lt. Frank Bullitt (Steve McQueen) from the 1968 film Bullitt. Like Inspector Tequila, these men were "all guts, no glory" action heroes. Both of these fictional police officers were based on SFPD detective Dave Toschi, who was the lead investigator in the "Zodiac" case

-Script problems caused production to stop for one month. John Woo was having issues with Tony Leung Chiu-wai's character. He wanted to show how far Hong Kong society had fallen, with Leung's character being a psychotic villain who was based on a real life person who had poisoned baby formula. Despite Leung willing to do the role, Chow Yun-fat felt bad about this, as he felt it would be bad for Leung's career. He urged Woo to change the script. Woo agreed, and asked his friend Barry Wong to edit the script. He died prior to finishing the script, so Woo completed the script during filming

-The lead character was named Tequila as a nod to the Sam Peckinpah film The Wild Bunch. This film served as inspiration in many ways, including William Holden's character drinking an entire bottle of tequila

-The statue that Tequila and other officers do respectful prayers at is Guan Yu, known as the God of War. He was a military general in the Eastern Han Dynasty who made a deity as early as the Sui Dynasty. He is still worshipped among the Chinese people to this day. He is a deity that exemplifies bravery, leadership, righteousness, protection and triumph. He is commonly worshipped by Chinese law enforcement agencies so that Guan Yu's blessings will protect them in life and at work. In Hong Kong, every police station has a shrine to Guan Yu

-While researching the film, John Woo interviewed real police officers, including one detective who was known for being extremely rough on criminals. "But in the meantime, he's a drummer", John Woo said. Woo put that in the movie, making a cop who works in a jazz club

City on Fire (1987)

This is one of Chow Yun-fat's earlier movies and, not surprisingly, it's in Chinese. If you watch, be prepared to read subtitles in English. It's overall a good movie. Certainly was not prepared to see Chow Yun-fat's bare backside, though

Summary

-An undercover officer looking to retire is drawn into one final case - investigating a gang of jewel thieves planning to rob a jewelry store

Cast

-Chow Yun-fat: Ko Chow

-Yueh Sun: Inspector Lau

-Danny Lee: Fu

-Carrie Ng: Hung

-Roy Cheung: Inspector John Chan

-Lau Kong: Inspector Chow

Did You Know?

-Quentin Tarantino used this film as the inspiration for his film Reservoir Dogs

-In the scene where Ko Chow escaped from the police by jumping from the second floor to the eave on the first floor of the building and then down to the ground, that was not done by a stuntman; it was actually done by Chow Yun-fat himself. A stuntman had done a practice of this before shooting while the director had set up tatami mats and safety boxes for protection to keep things safe. These safety measures were hidden using specific angles

-Chow Yun-fat and Danny Lee appeared in another movie together. John Woo's 1989 film The Killer. Chow Yun-fat plays a hitman while Danny Lee plays a police officer

-In the scene where Ko Chow (Chow Yun-fat) is running along Nathan Road to escape the police, the scene was filmed when director Ringo Lam put the camera in a van and suggested Chow Yun-fat to follow the van driving along the road

The Corruptor (1999)

This is one of my favorite films

Summary

-An Asian NYPD detective is trying to stop drug trafficking and corruption by immigrant Chinese Triads with the help of his partner, but things get difficult when the Triads attempt to bribe the policemen off the case

Cast

-Chow Yun-fat: Nick Chen

-Mark Wahlberg: Danny Wallace

-Ric Young: Henry Lee

-Paul Ben-Victor: Schabaker

-Jon Kit Lee: Jack

-Andrew Pang: Willy Ung

-Elizabeth Lindsey: Louise Deng

-Brian Cox: Sean Wallace

-Byron Mann: Bobby Vu

-Kim Chan: Benny Wong

-Marie Matiko: May

Did You Know?

-Kim Chan plays a character named "Uncle" Benny Wong in two films: this film and Lethal Weapon 4 (1998)

-Originally, in the scene where Det. Nick Chen (Chow Yun-fat) walked in on Henry Lee being fed grapes by May, the scene called for May to be performing oral sex on him. Chow Yun-fat stated he would not continue his relationship with May after seeing this. The scene was changed to a more friendly scene of grape feeding instead

-Originally Ethan Hawke was supposed to play the role of Danny Wallace, played by Mark Wahlberg. Unfortunately, production had ended to accommodate Chow Yun-fat's production schedule

-Initially, in the scene where Det. Nick Chen finds out Danny Wallace is working with Internal Affairs investigating him, the scene called for Chen to go into the bathroom and knock a hand dryer off the wall and smash a mirror. It was changed to Chen doing a sort of deep breathing instead because the previous idea was deemed an American response and, since Chinese culture is so heavily present in the film, deep breathing was more appropriate

13 Going on 30 (2004)

This is one of my favorite movies

Summary

-Geeky, unpopular girl Jenna Rink makes an unusual wish on her 13th birthday. It comes true when she wakes up to be a 30 year old woman working for a successful fashion magazine

Cast

-Jennifer Garner: Jenna Rink

-Mark Ruffalo: Marty Flamhaff

-Judy Greer: Lucy Wyman

-Andy Serkis: Richard Kneeland

-Kathy Baker: Bev Rink

-Phil Reeves: Wayne

-Sam Ball: Alex Carlson

-Joe Grifasi: Mr. Flamhaff

-Mary Pat Gleason: Mrs. Flamhaff

-Lynn Collins: Wendy

Did You Know?

-The first scene Mark Ruffalo did was the "Thriller" dance. He was terrified of doing the dance, but Jennifer Garner had "infectious" enthusiasm, so he went through with it. Andy Serkis was in London at the time and had to do the scene separately

-Christa B. Allen was chosen to play the 13 year old Jenna Rink. Jennifer Garner was happy because she felt that Allen really symbolized Garner at that age. Later on, Allen would appear in the 2009 film Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, playing a younger version of Jennifer Garner's character

-When Jenna Rink, at 13 goes into the closet for "seven minutes of heaven", there are actual photos of Jennifer Garner in her younger years on the back of the door

-As Jenna Rink softened and came closer to her true self, her clothing colors became warmer thanks to production adjusting her wardrobe. While Lucy Wyman (Judy Greer) gets more ruthless, her fashion style becomes more aggressive

-A lot of the child-like observations Jenna Rink had were completely improvised by Jennifer Garner. For example, when Alex Carlson (Sam Bell) wanted to play sexual games with Jenna, she suggests Battleship instead

-There is a photo of Madonna on Jenna's vanity table on the day of her 13th birthday. When she is 30 years old, she has that same photo, only now it's signed in her work office

-When Jenna Rink's secretary answers the phone, there is a man on the other end saying "Put that little b---- on the phone. Tell her to call Todd." This is director Gary Winick's voice

-Sean Marquette, who played young Matt, wore a fat suit for the movie

-At the time of filming, Jennifer Garner was 31 years old. She spent time with teenagers to remember how to behave as one

-The celebrities on Poise's Wall of Shame are real celebrities

Javier Bardem

This Spanish-born actor can seemingly do any role perfectly

Birth Name: Javier Angel Encinas Bardem

DOB: 3/1/1969

Where: Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, Spain

Trademark

-His deep voice

Trivia

-He brought his mother Pilar to the Oscars and dedicated his Oscar, which he won for the film No Country for Old Men, to her

-He married actress Penelope Cruz in a private ceremony at a friend's house with just family present

-His original interest was in painting. He studied at the Escuela de Artes y Oficios in Madrid. When he decided he would never be a talented painter, he worked a number of odd jobs, including bouncer, writer, construction worker and even a stripper

-He and Penelope Cruz became a couple while working on the 2008 film Vicky Christina Barcelona

-He is sometimes confused for actor Jeffrey Dean Morgan because they both so closely resemble each other

Filmography

Numbered Days (1994)

-Lisardo

Ecstasy (1996)

-Rober

Second Skin (1999)

-Diego

The Dancer Upstairs (2002)

-Rejas

Collateral (2004)

Felix

Goya's Ghosts (2006)

-Lorenzo

No Country for Old Men (2007)

-Anton Chigurh

Love in the Time of Cholera (2007)

-Florentino Ariza

Vicky Christina Barcelona (2008)

-Juan Antonio

Eat Pray Love (2010)

-Felipe

Skyfall (2012)

-Silva

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017)

-Captain Salazar

Thy Kingdom Come (2018)

-Father Quintana

Dune: Part One (2021)

-Stilgar

Being the Ricardos (2021)

-Desi Arnaz

The Little Mermaid (2023)

-King Triton

Dune: Part Two (2024)

-Stilgar

F1: The Movie (2025)

-Ruben Cervantes

Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again (2018)

This is the sequel to the highly successful film

Summary

-Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) learns more about her mother's past while in the process of opening the Hotel Bella Donna

Cast

-Amanda Seyfried: Sophie

-Andy Garcia: Fernando Cienfuegos

-Celie Imrie: Vice Chancellor

-Lily James: Young Donna

-Alexa Davies: Young Rosie

-Jessica Keenan Wynn: Young Tanya

-Dominic Cooper: Sky

-Julie Walters: Rosie

-Christine Baranski: Tanya

-Pierce Brosnan: Sam Carmichael

-Omid Djalili: Greek Official

-Colin Firth: Harry Bright

-Stellan Skarsgard: Bill Anderson

-Cher: Ruby Sheridan

Did You Know?

-Cher chose Andy Garcia to play the role of Fernando over other selected actors

-During filming in November 2017, Dame Julie Walters was given a day off to attend Buckingham Palace for an investiture ceremony, where she would receive her Commander of the Order of the British Empire honor from Queen Elizabeth II. The cast and crew gathered together to welcome her back by singing "There is Nothing Like a Dame" from the musical South Pacific

-On the day she came home from the hospital, after giving birth to her daughter, Amanda Seyfried's agent informed her that this movie was successfully greenlit and would begin production. She thought it was a practical joke

-After appearing in this film, Cher released an entire album of ABBA covers called Dancing Queen

-Despite them playing mother and daughter, Cher is only three years older than Meryl Streep

-This is the film debut of Nina Sadoski, who is Amanda Seyfried's daughter

-Early in the film, when Sophie is addressing invitations to people for a party she is planning, one is to c/o Epstein Martin. This is a reference to The Beatles, specifically of the surnames of Beatles manager Brian Epstein and their record producer George Martin

-The movie does not state whether Sophie and Sky ever got married between the 2008 film Mamma Mia! and this film or whether they are partners for life. Since they are both not wearing wedding rings, it implies they are not husband and wife

-Out of all of the cast members, Cher is the oldest one, having been born on May 20, 1946. She is three years older than Meryl Streep, born June 22, 1949, who plays her daughter, and ten years older than Andy Garcia, who was born April 12, 1956, who plays a long lost love

-Sophie names the hotel Bella Donna. This term has two meanings. In Italian, it means "Beautiful Woman". It's also the name, in Latin, for deadly nightshade, one of the most dangerous plants in the Eastern Hemisphere that contains atropine and scopolamine

Mamma Mia (2008)

This popular film uses the music of Swedish band ABBA

Summary

-Donna is a hotel owner preparing for her daughter's wedding with help from two old friends. While bride to be Sophie invites three men from her mother's past to her wedding to determine which one is her biological father

Cast

-Amanda Seyfried: Sophie

-Stellan Skaarsgard: Bill Anderson

-Pierce Brosnan: Sam Carmichael

-Colin Firth: Harry Bright

-Meryl Streep: Donna

-Julie Walters: Rosie

-Christine Baranski: Tanya

-Ricardo Montez: Stavros

-Norma Atallah: Irini

-Dominic Cooper: Sky

Did You Know?

-Stellan Skarsgard said about this movie "It was absurd to ask me to be in a musical. I can't sing, I can't dance. And I saw it was also Pierce Brosnan and Colin Firth, and they can't sing and dance either, so I felt a little safer there."

-Meryl Streep saw the musical in October 2001 with her daugter Louisa. She wrote letters to the producers, praising them for bringing a bit of happiness and light into New York City after the recent 9/11 terrorist attacks

-On an episode of Inside the Actor's Studio, Colin Firth was asked the question "If Heaven exists, what would you like God to say when you arrive at the pearly gates?" He responded with "I personally thought you were very good in Mamma Mia"

-All of the cast members did their own singing

-Stellan Skarsgard explained why he flashed his bare backside. "We decided that I should be cooking on the boat. I thought I should have an apron on. The director (Phyllida Llody) did not know that I would be naked under there, and have those butt tattoos. So when the camera rolled, I turned around right in front of it. The cameraman jumped and screamed, while Phyllida keeled over laughing."

-The boat Bill Anderson captains features the flag of Sweden, the native country of both Stellan Skarsgard and ABBA

-Three of the members of ABBA are from Sweden, just like actor Stellan Skarsgard, who plays Bill Anderson. The other member of ABBA is Anni-Frida Lyngstad, who is Norwegian

-Initially Cher was offered a role in this film, to play Tanya Wilkinson. Because of commitments to concerts, she couldn't do it. She did appear in the 2018 sequel Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, playing Ruby Sheridan

-Colin Firth poked fun at the James Bond series by saying "I'm Bright, Harry Bright" when he was standing next to Pierce Brosnan. Pierce had played the role of James Bond in at least four films of the series. Meanwhile Firth starred in his own series of spy films, Kingsman: The Secret Service in 2014 and Kingsman: The Golden Circle in 2017

-In the original musical on stage, Bill Austin was an Australian character. This was a tribute to ABBA's popularity in Australia. For this movie, Bill's last name was changed to Anderson, to make it Swedish, like Stellan Skarsgard, who plays that character and like the group ABBA

-Actor Bill Nighy was considered for one of the roles of the fathers

-Colin Firth (Harry Bright) actually used to play guitar in a band

-This was the first movie shot on the new 007 Stage at Pinewood Studios after a fire that happened when the 2006 film Casino Royale finished up. The stage was used for the song and dance numbers that could not be filmed in sunny Greece

-The song at the wedding scene, "Knowing Me, Knowing You" was considered inappropriate for a wedding because it's about divorce. "Knowing me, knowing you, there is nothing we can do. Knowing me, knowing you, we just have to face it this time we're through. Breaking up is never easy, I know but I have to go."

-In the film, using the real ages of the actors, when Sophie Sheridan (Amanda Seyfried) was born, Donna Sheridan (Meryl Streep) was 36, Bill Anderson (Stellan Skarsgard) was 34, Sam Carmichael (Pierce Brosnan) was 32 and Harry Bright (Colin Firth) was 25

-Donny Osmond was considered for the role of Sam Carmichael. This role went to Pierce Brosnan

-This film surpassed the 1993 film Mrs. Doubtfire as Pierce Brosnan's highest-grossing film in the world. But, domestically, Mrs. Doubtfire is still highly successful