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Asian cinema: Hong Kong film
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(From left) Lam Ka-tung, Aaron Kwok and Richie Jen in a still from Rob N Roll.
LifestyleEntertainment

Lunar New Year 2024 Hong Kong films: reviews of Table for Six 2, Rob N Roll and The Moon Thieves

  • Aaron Kwok, Lam Ka-tung and Richie Jen ham it up as an emotionally unstable criminal and two hapless would-be armed robbers in Rob N Roll
  • Stephy Tang comes into her own in a sequel to box office sensation Table for Six, while three members of boy band Mirror star in heist thriller The Moon Thieves
Asian cinema: Hong Kong film
Edmund Lee
Edmund Lee
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Every Lunar New Year in Hong Kong sees films released to please holiday audiences.

Comedies are often in the mix – who can forget 1992’s All’s Well, Ends Well starring Leslie Cheung Kwok-wing, Maggie Cheung Man-yuk, Stephen Chow Sing-chi, Sandra Ng Kwan-yue and Teresa Mo Shun-kwan. Then there was 1999’s King of Comedy, a great example of Stephen Chow’s brand of mo lei tau (nonsensical) comedy, while 2002’s Fat Choi Spirit revolves around the mahjong table.

This year is no exception, with comedies to the fore in the shape of Table for Six 2 and Rob N Roll. Post film editor Edmund Lee reviewed those two, and Moon Thieves – a heist thriller starring Mirror boy band idols. Read on to see what he made of them.

Table for Six 2

Dayo Wong Tze-wah may be missing from this sequel to 2022 box office sensation Table for Six, but his absence is barely felt amid the mayhem surrounding the returning quintet.

Gone is the meticulous scripting of the original, however, as director Sunny Chan Wing-sun embraces chaos in a plot about a wedding planning business.

Stephy Tang effortlessly anchors a festive ensemble comedy that is otherwise notable for its colourful supporting cast. Read the full review

Rob N Roll

A character-driven crime drama, Rob N Roll stars Lam Ka-tung as Robby, a downtrodden taxi driver who is being driven over the edge by the constant discord at home, and Richie Jen Hsien-chi as Fai, a widower with a young daughter to provide for who is heavily in debt and enlists Robby to commit a robbery.

Before they can put their plan into action, they become involved in the fallout from an armed robbery led by Mui (Aaron Kwok Fu-shing), whose alternately polite and unhinged temperament hides a traumatic past. an offbeat tragicomedy populated with believably human characters, Rob N Roll has echoes of Johnnie To Kei-fung’s twisty crime capers. Read the full review

The Moon Thieves

Three of the most popular members of the Cantopop boy band Mirror star in this by-the-numbers heist thriller which nevertheless engages with its playful storytelling, slick visuals and some casually charismatic performances.

However, one of the three is woefully miscast in what is otherwise a fun tale of a watch theft and its aftermath. Read the full review
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