Reviewed by: mrblue Date: 02/16/2010 Despite the problems present with its' somewhat weak wrap-up, Crazy N' The City still ends up being an entertaining picture. Carried largely on the shoulders of the actors, especially Francis Ng, this is a prime representation of a movie that ends up definitely being more than the sum of its' parts. Reviewer Score: 7

Reviewed by: dandan Date: 11/20/2007 Summary: it's mildewed... chris chan (eason chan) is a cop in the wanchai district of hong kong; he spends his time on the beat, mainly giving out parking tickets, keeping the peace and undertaking other mundane activities. like he says, being a cop isn't really like it is in the movies. when chris gets a new partner, manly (joey yung), he begins to start re-evaluating his role and, if anything, finds himself revitalised by her presence... parts of this film are great: the refreshingly mundane portrayal of police life, mixed with some well written characters, produce enough comedy and drama to engage the audience. my only problems with the film are when the narrative begins to mirror the action which it initially mocks. still, even if that is the case, the first hour of the film is easily strong enough to forgive this and it is still entertaining, even if there's a bit of cheese added to proceedings. eason chan is wholly likeable as a cop who's resigned himself to just being a cop and joey yung is great as the perky rookie. then, there's francis ng, who plays shing; a man who has slipped into a mild depression / schizophrenic condition and has become a character who mooches around wanchai, annoying people rather than causing bother. not his best work, but pretty good. a host of little cameos and familiar faces in minor roles fill out the cast nicely; lam suet, sam lee, waise le, alex fong, kara hui and crystal tin, are all nice to see. not great, but there's enough greatness to make it, at least, good...

Reviewed by: Chinoco Date: 09/04/2006 Crazy in the City is a movie about three different people and their daily lives in the city. One event, a serial killer on the loose crosses the paths of all three. Eason Chan is a cop more interested in Soccer than his daily job. Joey Yung is a rookie on the force determined to make an immediate impact with her superiors. Finally, Francis Ng portrays a mentally-unstable quirky man who due to personally tragedies is loosing a grip on reality. As the movie goes along, we are treated to a lot of character development and background of these three. Finally all of them are affected in different ways by a mysterious killer who only comes out in the rain and continues to haunt the city. As many of the past reviews have mentioned; not much happens in this movie until the end. It simply doesn’t matter though! The character development is fantastic, and when the action finally does arrive it is much more rewarding because of all the earlier build-up. I am not familiar with much of Eason Chan’s work, but I found his performance here to be very good. Francis was great as usual, playing another unique character. Joey Yung’s story was the weakest of the three, but it wasn’t bad enough to take away from the feel of the movie. Hui Siu-Hung, Sam Lee, and Lam Suet all add key roles to the film in there brief time on screen. To sum it up, Crazy in the City is a very good drama about the daily lives of three people, with gripping suspense building up towards a great ending! The writing, directing and cinematography are all excellent, and as usual Francis Ng steals the show. Highly Recommended! Reviewer Score: 8

Reviewed by: Sydneyguy Date: 07/11/2006 Summary: Best movie of 2005 OH i wish this was made into a mini series so it wouldnt stop!! I havent been entertained by a hong kong movie in such a long time ITs a simple movie about characters and how the grow and change, while always trying to bring a positive message. I am not a fan of EAson Chan but i have to say his acting has improved as well as his choice of movies. Francis Ng is always underrated as a actor. Joey Yung brings a great amount of energy to her character Also look out for the various cameo's!! The other reviewers have said a lot, all you need to know is to watch this movie!! Reviewer Score: 9

Reviewed by: j.crawford Date: 02/23/2006 Summary: a poignant film Writer-director James Yuen Sai-Sang scores high marks with a poignant film starring Francis Ng Chun-Yu and Eason Chan Yik Shun. Funky melodrama captures slice of life and love in the center of Hong Kong, itself cast in an important supporting role. The screenplay written by the director, Law Yiu Fai, and Jessica Fong Ching is outstanding. It was nominated for Best Screenplay at the 25th Annual Hong Kong Film Awards. Cast in a role that probably was written especially for him, Francis Ng Chun-Yu gives a neat performance as a mentally troubled man who lives his life walking a thin line between madness and sanity triggered by traumatic past events. Considered a nut by most of the people he meets in the streets of Hong Kong, he crosses paths with a couple of police officers who are struggling with their own troubles while trying to earn a living in the busiest city in world. Joey Yung Tso-Yi plays the overzealous female rookie partnered with Eason Chan Yik Shun playing the disillusioned veteran in charge of her field training. These two actors give solid performances and manage to hold their own in scenes with Ng. Keep your eyes open for a couple of cute cameo appearances by some big Hong Kong movie stars. Reviewer Score: 8

Reviewed by: MrBooth Date: 12/31/2005 CRAZY N' THE CITY is an odd little film that's difficult to summarise. One can note that Joey Yung is the enthusiastic rookie who is partnered with cynical cop Eason Chan, and that Francis Ng is a crazy guy, but that really doesn't capture what the film is "about". It's essentially a whimsical tour of Hong Kong life as seen through the eyes of the cops patrolling the streets of Wan Chai, meeting various characters whose stories make up the film more so than the spurious serial killer thread that's introduced late and given little development. The main characters are those played by Joey, Eason, Francis and whoever it is that plays the masseuse (non-erotic) who moves in above Francis. Numerous other faces come and go throughout the course of the film, with Kara Hui, Lam Suet and Chin Kar Lok being particularly welcome. Not a lot happens for the most part, it's just people living their lives... some of them only just so and a couple not at all by the end. The film tries to bring a message of hope, but not in a naive way - it acknowledges that life can deal some serious blows to a person, but suggests that we should try to remain positive and not let it defeat us (until it's killed us). Something like that, anyway. The story manages to remain on the right side of cliche and schmaltz despite delivering what could easily have been an asinine message. Mildly recommended. Reviewer Score: 7

Reviewed by: White Dragon Date: 11/18/2005 Summary: Middling police procedural draws unexpected praise Chris (Eason Chan) is a seven year veteran beat cop who's pretty much followed in his former partner, Richie's (Liu Kai Chi) footsteps in that his career has never really amounted to much. Basically, his role has boiled down to collecting a paycheck and not exceeding his duty on the beat in Hong Kong's Wan Chai district. Therefore, it seems ironic post Richie's retirement that he's paired up with rookie recruit Man Liu (Joey Yung), a brash young thing who joined the force with dreams of changing the world. However, the pair's day to day duties plumb the banal, be it cleaning up dead cats found in alleyways, dealing with petty thieves, or entertaining the eccentricities of resident Wan Chai "madman" Shing (Francis Ng), a thirty something drifter whose life, and psyche, fell apart when his wife left him post miscarriage of their twin daughters. The suicide of a destitute single father brings home the reality of the job to Man Liu, and Chris' adulation by a pair of teenage schoolgirls whom he saved from a pervert on a public bus turns sour when one of them is slain by a serial rapist known in the media as the "Rainy Murderer" (due to his committing his crimes during seasonal downpours). Erstwhile, Shing sees a mirror of his past in fellow housing estate resident Phoebe, a private masseuse who lives a floor above him. Though praised in some quarters as a strong start to the 2005 New Year for HK cinema, James Yuen's latest effort is realistically anything but and at best passes as a moderately entertaining, if not largely frivolous cinematic affair. Yuen is one of HK's more accomplished screenwriters, and over the years has been behind the pen of such diverse works as A MOMENT OF ROMANCE (1990), CURRY & PEPPER (1990), the exceptional TWENTY SOMETHING (1994) (as well as numerous UFO productions), and the recently grande moments in the region's filmmaking canon, LOST IN TIME (2003) and GOLDEN CHICKEN 2 (2003). As a director, his output has been less notable -- engaging lighter fare like YOUR PLACE OR MINE! (1998), CLEAN MY NAME, MR CORONER (2000), MY WIFE IS 18 (2002) and most recently DRIVING MISS WEALTHY (2004). CRAZY N' THE CITY is an eclectic potpourri of the two sides of Yuen's cinematic career, travelling between well written drama with just a dash of comedy and the lighter, fluffier affairs he's been responsible for as a director. And much akin to its main character, the film rests on its saccharine laurels and never really extends itself beyond formula nor tries to achieve much above its station. In retrospect, the same could be said of some of his mid-period works for UFO (United Filmmakers Organisation) in the nineties. Fans of HK cinema will delight in the numerous cameos by former and present stars of the industry, encompassing Kara Hui as Ng's beleaguered sister, producer Henry Fong as a loan shark, genre stalwart Alex Fong as a motorcycle cop, the lovably cute Harashima Daichi as a precocious tyke, a passing Chin Kar Lok as a mobile phone stall operator and Waise Lee as Chan's superior...but part of the fun of a film should be being immersed in the silver screen worlds of the central characters and their plights, not playing spot the cameoing star. Inevitably, Yuen's latest opus is just a little too lightweight for its own good; even the appearance of the "Rainy Murderer" (based upon a famous true crime case in the region), with its darker aspects of injecting a serial rapist/killer subplot into proceedings is left in the shadows almost as much as its antagonist. The film does retain the colour and flavour that differentiates HK cinema from its western cousins through its parochial replication of street level ambience and societal traits indicative of Chinese culture, but the overall execution (most particularly the sugar-coated, and clichéd, wrap-up and epilogue) is formulaic at best. As with much of Yuen's recent directorial work, the production itself is colourful, well-shot, and eminently polished, aided with an efficient score by Raymond Wong (SHAOLIN SOCCER) and some well-placed syrupy Canto-pop ballads. It just comes as something of a disappointment for me personally, that this time around Yuen has turned out a piece a little less engaging than his last, DRIVING MISS WEALTHY, itself an enjoyably brisk "riches to rags" romantic comedy that focussed on the developing attraction between a spoilt entrepreneur's daughter cast into poverty by way of life lesson, and the security guard disguised as a Filipino servant whose watchful eye she has been placed under. Where that feature wore its heart on its sleeve, herein Yuen trots out an easy serving of police drama clichés and wraps them up with an underlying message of "exceeding expectations to achieve satisfaction in one's life and work". With the year past, 2004, proving in hindsight to be an exemplary year in HK cinema, Yuen's latest work kicks the year off in low-key fashion. With luck, Yuen's next project will be a return to form for him. Reviewer Score: 6

Reviewed by: evirei Date: 07/25/2005 Cop stories has surely been a popular choice by directors in Hong Kong. And this time around director, James is here to tell that being a police is still a big hit. The story starts about when a new police, Joey join in. As idealistic and eager as she can be to be a good police, she is constantly looking forward to big crimes. However she was being partnered with Eason, a police that once have a nature like Joey but now a very laidback person who just wants to be safe. Eason really did pull off a good job in his performance. Even he is a little laidback, he is still stand strong on his belives and moral value. Francis Ng performance is at a so-so level only. Nothing to be sad about, he however manage to be a funny yet cranky guy. I loved how the movie was filmed in busy streets of hong kong that give it an additional local flavour. What's more than that is the high emotional yet rational level of life. Rating 8 out of 10 Reviewer Score: 6