Here is my take on Chinese music and movies. My tastes only, no apologies. If you're onto something that I've missed, please let me know.
CHINESE MUSIC In alphabetic order.
A4 (electronic) not too bad, but I haven't heard enough to really say.
A-do (ok Mandopop)
Alilang 'arirang' (modern meets traditional from the outskirts of China)
Ami luoluo (Mongolian tradition meet modern music)
Chen Lin (woman, big Mandopop star)
Chyi Chin (kind of Mandopopish rock)
* CNCB (hiphop, quite good)
The compass (alternative)
Cui Jian (the original rock and roll star, wears well)
* Dao Lang (from the NW of China, brilliant mix of modern and traditional)
* Dou Wei (some heavy rock, some trance, the good stuff is very hypnotic)
The Flowers (like the old English pop/punk bands)
Ha gou bang (slighty crazed mix of hip hop, Nirvana, and disco. The good stuff is worth suffering through the bad.)
Hei Bao 'black panther' (before last year's flavour, rock and roll)
Hu Chenbin (doesn't really know what he is yet, but some tunes not so bad)
IPIS (alternative look, not really)
Tony Leung (he's a great actor, so I get into his singing, but you've got to like him or like Mandopop)
Li Shaolong (hiphop, fun)
Ling dian (rock and roll)
Luo Shiqun (hiphop, pretty catchy)
Mu Ma (heavy rock)
Qingwa 'frogs' (kind of dated rock, with some good rifs)
Shaun ( I got this because it looked like a woman with attitude. He is a guy.)
S.H.E. (please save me from women's disco groups, but this one grows on you)
Shuimu nianhua (alternative wannabe, but not bad)
Tang Chao (rock and roll)
Teng Ge're (Mongolian meets pop, very good)
Tian Zhen (a woman with a good voice, too bad she hasn't found a good vehicle for it yet)
Thin Man (Beijing rock with attitude)
Alex To (pure sweet Mandopop, a guilty pleasure. NOT the early stuff, but later is quite good)
Tomahawk (heavy metal)
Tong An'ge (Mandopop, depends on your mood, some are good)
* Wu Bai and China Blue (funky blues. Catch the movie "Time and Tide" to see Wu Bai act and hear some cool music)
Wu Sikai (soft, but thinks he isn't)
Xiao Gang (has his moments)
Nicholas Xie (Mandopop, one of the better pop stars who has gone into acting)
Xue Cun (live show, kind of humorous)
Ya Dong (Tibetan mix of modern hiphop with traditional rifs, and some bad disco)
Chris Yu (this guy is all about heartbreak, can wear a little thin)
Yu & Quan (kind of progressive rock verging on Mandopop)
Zhang Chu (some good, some lame)
Zhang Zhenyue (has a refreshing attitude, but can get a bit annoying)
Zheng Jun (uses some traditional riffs)
** Jay Zhou (very popular, has a wide range, considers himself hiphop, very good) His website is www.jaychou.com.
Zhou Chuan (has some very good tunes, a bit uneven, but at least different)
Zhou Huajian (have to be in the mood for Mandopop)
Zhou Zhiping (the ultimate in Madopop, very smooth)
KUNGFU AND CHINESE FILMS (with some Korean and Japanese films thrown in)
Basic starters:
*Ong Bak and Tom-Yum Goong (ok, not Chinese, but far and away the most amazing choreography. Tony Jaa is the latest and greatest martial arts star.)
Jet Li's series of Shaolin films, series of Wang Feihong films, series of Fong Saiyuk films, Fist of Legend, The One, The Tai Chi Master, Hitman, Master, High Risk, Hero, Fearless, and the new one with Jackie Chan. (not War or Danny the Dog)
The Shaw brothers' digital re-release in Mandarin with English subtitiles of the classics with Ti Long, Fu Sheng, Chen Kuan-tai, David Chiang, Gordon Liu and others, such as *The 36th Chamber of Shaolin, *Return to the 36th Chamber, The Blood Brothers, *Shaolin Temple, Heroes Two, Clans of Intrigue, Na Cha the Great, Have Sword Will Travel, The Heroic Ones, Killer Clans, The Magic Blade, The Teahouse, Big Brother Cheng, Executioners from Shaolin, Eight Diagrams Pole Fighter, Water Margin, One Armed Swordsman. These are in their original Mandarin, so are much more classy than before.
Any Donnie Yen film. such as *Sha Po Lang (SPL), Flashpoint, Hero, Wang Feihong II, Iron Monkey, Ballistic Kiss, The Kung Fu Master, Dragon Tiger Gate, (need not watch Revenge of the Kung Fu Master).
Any Kurosawa samurai film.
More sword or fighting movies:
* Wu Jing's movies (SPL, Invisible Target. He really enjoys being evil.)
* The Warrior (Musa in Korean), Korean and Chinese mix.
* Hero, Fearless
* Versus, a Japanese samurai zombie comedy gun film. An absolute must see.
Mismatched Couples, break dancing with Donnie Yen and Kenny Perez. No, really.
Shaolin soccer
Iron Monkey
Taboo (Japanese)
The Skyhawk, classic series of films
Swordsmen in Double Flag Town. A classic.
The Blade (Tsui Hark's remake of One Armed Swordsman)
Tripping (has swords and zombies, but is basically a chick flick)
Stylish gun, action, or cop/triad movies:
* Johnny To films: PTU, Election, Throw Down, Breaking News, Exiled, Triangle.
* Infernal Affairs, Infernal Affairs II, Infernal Affairs III
* Invisible Target (Wu Jing, Nicholas Tse, the rest all good, really good film)
Time and Tide,
Ballistic Kiss,
Older John Woo gun films such as: The Killer, Hardboiled, A Better Tomorrow 1, 2, and 3, (Bullet in the Head, but only if you're a fan).
Tokyo Raiders. Japan and China, fun.
Running out of time. Hong Kong, buddy film with a bit of a twist. #2 is ok, but not as good.
Expect the Unexpected (also a cop buddy film with a twist)
The Returner, Japan, science fiction and guns with a heart
House of Flying Daggers (I can't list this way high, but the cinematography is beautiful)
More Asian films, loosely defining guns or action:
The Ring and Ring 2. Japan, spooky films (quote from my little brother: AAAAAGHHGHGHGGHGNGNGNGHGHH)
any Tony Leung film, Hong Kong (Chinese Midnight Express, Infernal Affairs, Confession of Pain)
*Fireworks, *Sonatine, Zatoichi, Brother, Battle Royale. Japan. Beat Takeshi is brilliant. Twisted, but brilliant.
Star Runner, HK. Very cheesy but I think worth it for the last fight scene.
TV series available in DVD format
*Jingwumen. Donnie Yen, very young and very good. Hours of viewing pleasure. WARNING: addictive.
Shuihuchuan. Knows as 'The Heroes of the Marshes," "Water Margin," "The 108 Heroes". Hours and hours of wicked fighting interspersed with high drama (but don't doze off in the drama). Very high production values. I heard it is available in dubbed in English, but I've never seen that.
Ghengis Khan. Horses, wide sky, what more could you want? The costumes are fabulous, the acting is good, and although it is confusing with a huge cast and long names, it is really good. I don't know how authentic it all is.
So totally 'B' that they are worth watching:
The Holy Virgin Versus the Evil Dead. Donnie Yen had to start somewhere...
Story of Ricky
The Streetfighter, there are 3 that I know of, so bad you have to watch all three.
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Don't go out of your way to find, but not too bad:
A Man called Hero, interesting anime look.
Gen X Cops, light, ok if you're into young guys with interesting hair.
Fulltime Killer, lacks a certain something, but alright.
Warriors of Heaven and Earth.
Seven Swords (not quite up to the hype).
Don't need to bother with:
Kungfu in Japan,
Born to Defense,
Dr. Wai and the Scriptures with No Words. After a great start in the business Jet Li had to go down before going up.
Roaring Tiger Bluffing Dragon, boring
Gen Y Cops, slightly different mix of young guys with interesting hair just doesn't cut it this time out
Running on Karma, I just can't get past the costume.
Let Li's Unleashed.
Bulletproof Monk
War
Must avoid:
Black Mask 1 and 2. Sorry, I just don't get it,
Cradle 2 the Grave,
Matrix Reloaded (its not Asian or kungfu, but is so bad I think a warning is needed)
Kung Fu Master is My Grandma!
Korean movies. They're just not like Chinese movies, so I've started a separate list. These are all excellent films.
The Warrior (Musa in Korean), Korean and Chinese mix.
Attack the Gas Station!
Friend
Guns and Talks
The Violent City
A Dirty Carnival
Public Enemy
Champion
Maljik High School, 1978
Crying Fist
Spin Kick (how they can make martial arts films into chick flicks is amazing)
Dalma
Volcano High
My Sassy Girl (ok, this isn't an action movie, but it is really funny)
Phone (same really scary feel as Ring, but not a copy. Really creeped my out)
Typhoon. very intense
Welcome to Dongmakgol
No Mercy for the Rude
Big Bang
Soo (pretty intense, but is so much of a blood bath that you end up just laughing)
Good non-action films, Chinese society (a far from comprehensive list)
* Missing Gun
* On the Beat
* Beijing Bicycle
* Postman in the mountain
* In the Heart of the Sun
Secret
Days of Being Little Kings
Little Red Flowers
The Little Chinese Seamstress
Lan Yu
Comrades Almost a Love Story
East Palace, West Palace
Shower
Public Toilet
Green Tea
Cala, My Dog
Not One Less
Pretty Big Feet
the Blue Kite
To Live!
Devils on the doorstep
Artisan Pickpocket (Xiao Wu), Platform, The World (director Jia Zhangke is an acquired taste)
Yellow River (quite old, but still relevant)
Crazy Stone
Wang Kar Wai films, you'll be intrigued or you'll hate them, but you won't be bored - Chung King Express, Fallen Angels, Ashes of Time, Happy Together, In the Mood for Love, 2046. These can be confusing at times since he makes up his films on the spot. Hong Kong, not China.
A couple of Vietnamese movies that are really good are Scent of Green Papaya, and Cyclo.
Websites
dragons4ever is a new site that has cool info and clips of Jet Li, Donnie Yen, Sammo Hung, Jackie Chan, and Yuen Biao, and the Beijing Wushu Team. I am definitely going to check out Yuen Biao's movies, I am quite unaware of him.
Hong Kong Movie Data Base is a fun not-for-profit site all about Asian movies. It is a data base with all kinds of information and commentaries supplied by the readership.
a site with a lot of links to Donnie Yen fansites. In Japanese but with enough English for you to find fun things.
some stories about Donnie Yen when he was young in Beijing. some nostalgic photos of the old Beijing Sports College.
Cinespot is a website about Hong Kong cinema, so you don't have to take my word for it on any of these films.
updated February 22nd, 2008