Issue #247a         HOME          E-mail: mail@dighkmovies.com        BACK ISSUES           January 17th, 2005

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Chung Chun: Game Over
(Year Unknown)

Cantonese: Chung Chun: Kui juet joi woon
Mandarin: Zhong Zhen: Ju jue zai wan
English: Chung Chun (Zhong Zhen): Refuse To Play Again

 

RATING: 3/10

REVIEW:

When Shu Qi decided to switch over to mainstream movies, Wong Jing recruited another Taiwanese beauty for his Category III productions. Chung Chun (credited variously with the English names Jane Chung and Jessica Chung) did not achieve the same level of notoriety and experienced personal problems that reportedly led to a suicide attempt. This is a shame on both counts, but THE FRUIT IS SWELLING is a beloved C-III classic and SEX AND ZEN III has been widely seen.

  

As one might expect, Chung also did a video pictorial. GAME OVER follows her around on vacation in Australia, visiting various spots in Brisbane and the Solothurn Rural Resort. Intermittent bits of peek-a-boo nudity ensue as she goes shopping (and then tries her purchases on back at the hotel), visits a video gambling parlor, gets tips on pinball from a local Billy Zane-lookalike named Andy, drinks herself sick (perfectly understandable with Australian beer), and wanders the streets in an apparent fit of loneliness (while video pictorials are not known for their multiple language options, this HK DVD inexplicably has no Cantonese version and no subtitles – if you don’t speak Mandarin, you are out of luck when it comes to understanding Chung’s frequent voiceovers). Eventually, she perks up and visits the beach, checks out some koala bears and hitchhikes to visit the Pinball Wizard (she could afford to stay at a 5-star hotel but risks riding with some grubby truckers?). After pulling a Faye Wang and tidying his place up, she rolls around in bed, discovers how awful Australian TV is, goes grocery shopping, and gives up waiting for Andy (who just takes off when Chung shows up at his place and practically throws herself at him). Having had her fill of Down Under, Chung returns to Taipei and goes to church, apparently deriving more comfort from The Lord than Andy the twit. The End.

  

As visual muzak, this Taiwanese production is adequate, but not nearly as dynamic or sexy as one might hope. For the most part, Chung looked more enticing in her features and was certainly employed to better advantage in them. The lack of translation muddies the context, but given how pretentious a few scenes are, that may be for the better. Some B & W behind-the-scenes footage appears after the end crawl.


PRESENTATION:

As usual with pictorials, the videography mixes different styles of lighting. The picture is suitably attractive, though low-light sequences tend to be extremely grainy. The stereo mix is basic, but perfectly workable. There are no supplementary features.

This DVD is available at:

Images in this review courtesy of Visual Arts Studio.


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Copyright © John Charles 2000 - 2005. All Rights Reserved.
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DVD Specifications

  • Hong Kong Release
  • NTSC – Region 0
  • Visual Arts Studio Limited #VAD-1006
  • Dolby Digital 5.1
  • Post-synced Mandarin Language
  • No Subtitles
  • 6 Chapters
  • 4:3 Letterbox (1.85:1)
  • 50 Minutes

Ratings & Consumer Information

  • Hong Kong: III
  • Contains nudity

FILM REVIEW RATINGS KEY:

  • 10 A Masterpiece
  • 9 Excellent
  • 8 Highly Recommended
  • 7 Very Good
  • 6 Recommended
  • 5 Marginal Recommendation
  • 4 Not Recommended
  • 3 Poor
  • 2 Definitely Not Recommended
  • 1 Dreadful