Chicken Run (2000)

Chicken Run is a 2000 British-American stop-motion animation family comedy film made by the Aardman Animations studios and directed by Peter Lord and Nick Park. It was the first feature-length film by Aardman and the first produced in partnership with DreamWorks, which co-financed and distributed the film. The film features the voices of Julia Sawalha, Mel Gibson, Timothy Spall, Phil Daniels, Tony Haygarth and Miranda Richardson. Chicken Run received very positive reviews, and was a box office hit.

The plot centres around a band of chickens who see a smooth-talking Rhode Island Red named Rocky as their only hope to escape from certain death when the owners of their farm decide to move from selling eggs to selling chicken pies.

The film was initially part of a five-picture deal between DreamWorks and Aardman Animations, which was never completed, due to the companies' splitting over 'creative differences'.

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Hancock (2008)

Hancock is a 2008 American superhero action comedy film directed by Peter Berg and starring Will Smith, Jason Bateman, and Charlize Theron. It tells the story of a vigilante superhero, John Hancock (Smith) from Los Angeles whose reckless actions routinely cost the city millions of dollars. Eventually one person he saves, Ray Embrey (Bateman), makes it his mission to change Hancock's public image for the better.

The story was originally written by Vincent Ngo in 1996. It languished in development hell for years and had various directors attached, including Tony Scott, Michael Mann, Jonathan Mostow, and Gabriele Muccino before going into production in 2007. Hancock was filmed in Los Angeles with a production budget of $150 million

In the United States, the film was rated PG-13 by the Motion Picture Association of America after changes were made at the organization's request in order to avoid a R rating, which it had received twice before. The film was presented and widely released on July 2, 2008 in the United States and the United Kingdom by Columbia Pictures. Hancock received mixed reviews from film critics and grossed more than $620 million in theaters worldwide.

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Rio (2011)

Rio, often promoted as Rio : The Movie, is a 2011 American 3D computer-animated musical comedy film produced by Blue Sky Studios and directed by Carlos Saldanha. The title refers to the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro, in which the film is set.

The film features the voices of Jesse Eisenberg, Anne Hathaway, George Lopez, Jemaine Clement and Jake T. Austin. It tells the story of Blu (Eisenberg), a male blue macaw who is taken to Rio de Janeiro to mate with a female.


He eventually falls in love with Jewel (Hathaway), a free-spirited macaw, and together they have to escape from being smuggled by Nigel (Clement), a cockatoo. The theme song, "Telling the World" was sung by Taio Cruz.

Saldanha developed his first story concept of Rio in 1995, in which a penguin is washed up in Rio. However, Saldanha learned of the production of the films Happy Feet and Surf's Up, and changed the concept to involve macaws and their environments in Rio.


He proposed his idea to Chris Wedge in 2006, and the project was set up at Blue Sky. The main voice actors were approached in 2009. During production, the crew visited Rio de Janeiro and also consulted with an expert on macaws at the Bronx Zoo to study their movements.

20th Century Fox released the film on March 22, 2011 in Brazil and April 15, 2011 in the United States. The film received generally positive reviews from film critics. Observers praised the visuals, voice acting, and music. The film was also a box office success, grossing over $484 million worldwide.


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Alvin And The Chipmunks (2007)

Alvin and the Chipmunks is a 2007 comedy film directed by Tim Hill. Based on the animated series of the same name, the film stars Jason Lee, David Cross, and Cameron Richardson with the voices of Justin Long, Matthew Gray Gubler, and Jesse McCartney.

It was distributed by 20th Century Fox and produced by Regency Enterprises and Bagdasarian Productions. The film was critically panned, but was a major financial success : on a budget of $60 million, it made $217 million in North America and $361 million at the box office worldwide, and was the seventh-best selling DVD of 2008, earning over $101 million.

Plot
The tree that the chipmunks Alvin (Justin Long), Simon (Matthew Gray Gubler), and Theodore (Jesse McCartney) live in is cut down and driven to Los Angeles.


Once in L.A., the Chipmunks meet struggling songwriter David Seville (Jason Lee) who had his latest song rejected by JETT Records executive Ian Hawke (David Cross), his old college roommate. Dave also once had a relationship with his next door neighbor, Claire Wilson (Cameron Richardson).

After winding up at Dave's interview, the Chipmunks hop into his basket and follow him home. Once at home, Dave discovers the Chipmunks, and is accidentally knocked unconscious. Upon waking, he kicks them out until hearing them sing "Only You (And You Alone)". Dave then makes a deal with them; they sing the songs he writes, and in exchange he provides food and shelter for them. However, all does not go well, as Dave's job presentation is ruined by their coloring on it, and when Alvin tries to set the mood for his dinner with Claire, things become weird and she rejects him after he tells her, "My life is being sabotaged by talking chipmunks." To make it up to Dave, the boys go to Ian in an attempt to record a song and get a record deal.

Once the Chipmunks sing Dave's song to Ian, Ian signs them to the label and rehires Dave the next day. After a few singles, the Chipmunks become wildly popular. When Dave expresses concern for their well-being and insists that the Chipmunks are "kids" who don't need so much craziness in their lives, Ian convinces the Chipmunks that Dave is holding them back. Eventually, Dave tells the Chipmunks that if they like "Uncle Ian" so much, they should just go live with him. They become enchanted with Ian at first, but once they set off on a coast-to-coast tour, Ian takes advantage of their naivete, changing their image and working them constantly. Meanwhile, Dave misses the chipmunks and he wishes they would come back home. He calls Ian to see if he can talk to them but Ian refuses, and then conceals Dave's motives from the boys. Later, the Chipmunks are wearing out, and it is all over the news. Dave, infuriated by what Ian has done to the three, decides to take matters into his own hands by infiltrating their concert.

Just before the big concert, a doctor says that the Chipmunks are unable to sing due to their voices given out. Ian refuses to hand out refunds and orders the Chipmunks to lip sync. With Claire's help, Dave sneaks into the concert, but is grabbed by the security guards. When the Chipmunks see Dave being taken away, they decide that they have had enough of Ian, revealing that they were lip-syncing and ruin the concert. They are soon caught by Ian just when Dave is about to rescue them. He locks them up in a cage and prepares to take them to Paris. Dave tries to convince Ian to let the boys go but Ian refuses. Ian then leaves in his limo with the boys and Dave chases them but the boys have already escaped to Dave's car. Dave immediately pulls over and admits that he loves them like his own family. Meanwhile, Ian looks in the cage and is shocked to see the boys have replaced themselves with merchandising dolls.

Sometime later, when the boys are fully accepted as part of the family, they invite Claire over for dinner again. Alvin accidentally creates a short circuit while having difficulty opening a bottle of champagne. Dave is trying not to say it, but the short circuit causes a blackout in the kitchen. Dave can hold it in no longer and says it, letting out his trademark yell "ALLLLVINNN!!", to which Alvin responds with "Okay!".

In the film's epilogue, Ian (now unemployed) tries to make three squirrels sing, but fails.

Box Office
Alvin and the Chipmunks was released in North America on December 14, 2007. Despite negative reviews, the film grossed $44,307,417 in 3,475 theaters its opening weekend averaging to about $12,750 per venue, and placing second at the box office behind I Am Legend. According to Box Office Guru, the first weekend was twice as much as Fox originally expected. Its second weekend was $28,179,556, behind National Treasure: Book of Secrets and I Am Legend. On its third weekend, it surpassed I Am Legend for #2 at the box office, but still ranked behind National Treasure : Book of Secrets.

The film closed on Thursday June 5, 2008, making $217,326,974 domestically and $144,009,659 overseas for a total of $361,336,633 worldwide, making it a huge commercial success considering the film's modest $60 million budget. The sustained box-office success of the film surprised 20th Century Fox; Elizabeth Gabler of Fox 2000 told the Los Angeles Times "I look at the numbers every day, and we just laugh." Given its budget, Alvin was far more profitable than either I Am Legend or National Treasure: Book of Secrets. According to MTV, it also became the highest-grossing talking animal/live-action cartoon adaptation until its sequel. It is also 20th Century Fox's highest grossing film domestically to be released in 2007.

Awards
* 2008 Kids' Choice Awards: Favorite Movie (winner)
* 2008 Young Artist Awards: Best Family Feature Film (Fantasy or Musical) (nominee)
* 2008 BMI Film & TV Awards: BMI Film Music Award (winner)


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Ratatouille (2007)

Ratatouille (French pronunciation: [ʁatatuj], English: /rætəˈtuːiː/) is a 2007 American computer-animated film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures.

The film was the eighth film produced by Pixar, and was directed by Brad Bird, who took over from Jan Pinkava in 2005.

The title refers to a French dish (Ratatouille) which is served in the film, and is also a play on words about the species of the main character.



The plot follows Remy, a rat who dreams of becoming a chef and tries to achieve his goal by forming an alliance with a Parisian restaurant's garbage boy. Ratatouille was released on June 29, 2007 in the United States, to both critical acclaim and box office success, and later won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, among other honors.


Ratatouille's world premiere was on June 22, 2007 at Los Angeles' Kodak Theater. The commercial release was one week later, with the Academy Award nominated short film Lifted preceding Ratatouille in theaters. A special pre-release of the film was shown at the Harkins Cine Capri Theater in Scottsdale, Arizona on June 16, 2007 at which a Pixar representative was present to collect viewer feedback.

In its opening weekend in North America, Ratatouille opened in 3,940 theaters and debuted at No.1 with $47 million, the lowest Pixar opening since A Bug's Life. However, in France, where the film is set, the film broke the record for the biggest debut for an animated film. In the UK, the film debuted at No.1 with sales over £4million. The film has grossed $206,445,654 in the United States and Canada and a total of $623,722,818 worldwide, making it the fifth highest grossing Disney·Pixar film now, just behind Toy Story 3, Finding Nemo, Up and The Incredibles.[


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Marley & Me (2008)

Marley & Me is a 2008 American comedy-drama film directed by David Frankel. The screenplay by Scott Frank and Don Roos is based on the memoir of the same name by John Grogan. The film was released in the United States and Canada on December 25, 2008, and set a record for the largest Christmas Day box office ever with $14.75 million in ticket sales.

Plot
Soon after their wedding, John and Jenny Grogan (Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston) escape the brutal Michigan winters and relocate to a cottage in southern Florida, where they are hired as reporters for competing newspapers. At The Palm Beach Post, Jenny immediately receives prominent front-page assignments, while at the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, John finds himself writing obituaries and two-paragraph articles about mundane news like a fire at the local garbage dump.


When John senses Jenny is contemplating motherhood, his friend and co-worker Sebastian Tunney (Eric Dane) suggests the couple adopt a dog to see if they're ready to raise a family. From a litter of newborn yellow labrador retrievers they select Marley (named after reggae singer Bob Marley), who immediately proves to be incorrigible. They take him to Ms. Kornblut (Kathleen Turner), who firmly believes any dog can be trained, but when Marley refuses to obey commands, she expels him from her class.

Editor Arnie Klein (Alan Arkin) offers John a twice-weekly column in which he can discuss the fun and foibles of everyday living. At first stumped for material, John realizes the misadventures of Marley might be the perfect topic for his first piece. Arnie agrees, and John settles into his new position.

Marley continues to wreak havoc on the household, providing John with a wealth of material for his column, which becomes a hit with readers and helps increase the newspaper's circulation. Jenny becomes pregnant, but loses the baby early in her first trimester.

She and John travel to Ireland for a belated honeymoon, leaving the rambunctious dog in the care of a young woman who finds him impossible to control, especially during the frequent thunderstorms that plague the area. Soon after returning from their vacation, Jenny discovers she is pregnant again, and this time she delivers a healthy boy, Patrick.

When she has a second son, Connor, she opts to give up her job and become a stay-at-home mom, prompting John to take on a daily column for a pay increase. Due to the crime rate, the couple decides to move to a larger house in the safer neighborhood of Boca Raton, where Marley delights in swimming in the backyard pool.

Although she denies she is experiencing postpartum depression, Jenny exhibits all the symptoms, including a growing impatience with Marley and John, who asks Sebastian to care for the dog when Jenny insists they give him away. She quickly comes to realize he has become an indispensable part of the family and agrees he can stay. Sebastian accepts a job for The New York Times and moves away. A few years later, John and Jenny welcome a daughter, Colleen, to their family.

John celebrates his 40th birthday. Increasingly disenchanted with his job, he decides to accept a position as a reporter with The Philadelphia Inquirer with Jenny's blessing, and the family moves to a farm in rural Pennsylvania. John soon realizes that he is a better columnist than reporter and pitches the column idea to his editor.

Life is idyllic until the aging Marley begins to show signs of arthritis and deafness. An attack of gastric dilatation volvulus almost kills him, but he recovers. When a second attack occurs, it becomes clear surgery will not help him, and Marley is euthanized with John at his side. The family pay their last respects to their beloved pet as they bury him beneath a tree in their front yard.


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Air Bud (1997)

Air Bud is a 1997 American family/Comedy film that sparked the franchise centered on the real-life dog, Buddy, a Golden Retriever. The film's title may be wordplay with "Air Jordan", a nickname of basketball superstar Michael Jordan.

The original film was financially successful, despite being defeated by Air Force One for the #1 spot on the film's opening weekend, grossing US$4 million in its opening weekend and totaling US$24 million for its final run, against an estimated $3 million budget. On Cartoon Craze's Top 50 Movies of All-Time, Air Bud came in at number two behind Toy Story.

Plot
The plot revolves around a 12-year-old boy, Josh Framm. After the death of his father, who has died in a plane crash, Josh moves with his family to Washington State and is too shy to try out for his middle school's basketball team and too shy to make any friends.


He meets Buddy, a Golden Retriever who had escaped from his cruel owner, an alcoholic clown named Norman Snively, who had locked Buddy in a kennel after causing trouble at a birthday party and was taking him to the dog pound when the kennel fell off the truck.

Josh soon learns that Buddy has the uncanny ability to play basketball. Josh's mom initially only agrees to let him keep the dog until Christmas and she plans to send him to the pound if the true owner isn't found. However, Josh's mother sees how much Josh loves Buddy. When Josh wakes up on Christmas Day and Buddy is not in his room, he goes downstairs and sees Buddy with a bow on his head. She gives Buddy to Josh as a Christmas present.

Josh wants to join the basketball team but chickens out at the last minute and becomes the water boy. After two slots are opened up and learning of Buddy's talent, Josh tries out despite basketball coach Joe Barker's reluctance and makes the team. At his first game Buddy shows up and disrupts the game and causes mayhem, but the audience loves him.

After the game Buddy finds coach Barker abusing Tom, one of Josh's fellow teammates and friend who gave him a lucky orange peel he got at a Seattle SuperSonics game, by trying to make him catch better by pelting him with basketballs. Barker is fired and replaced by the school's engineer, Arthur Chaney, who Josh discovers is a former New York Knicks player.

Buddy becomes the mascot of Josh's school's basketball team and begins appearing in their halftime shows. But just before the championship game, Buddy's former owner, Snively, tricks his mom and steals Buddy from Josh. Josh then infiltrates Snively's backyard where Buddy is chained up.

Snively initially can't see Josh due to a stack of cans on his windowsill until it falls and Josh is caught infiltrating Snively's backyard. Josh gets Buddy off, causing Snively to chase Josh in his clown truck. The chase rages on to a parking lot near a lake, during which the van begins to fall apart, causing Snively and his clown truck to fall into the water but he doesn't drown.

A few minutes after the chase, Josh then decides to set him free to find someone else. Initially, his team is losing at the championship until Buddy shows up. When it is discovered that there is no rule that a dog cannot play basketball, Buddy joins the roster to lead the team to a come from behind championship victory.

Snively sues the Framm family for custody of Buddy. Fortunately, at the suggestion of coach Chaney, who the judge was a fan of, it is decided that the dog will choose who will be his rightful owner. During the calling, Snively takes out his roll of newspaper, which he often used to beat Buddy, and snaps at him, causing Buddy to attack Snively, tearing up the weapon of abuse and run towards Josh.

The judge grants custody of Buddy to Josh while Snively, who runs at Buddy and Josh in a last-ditched effort to get the dog back, is dragged away by the police and arrested, while Josh and the rest of the citizens rejoice for the new home of Buddy.


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Kung Fu Panda (2008)

Kung Fu Panda is a 2008 American computer-animated action comedy film produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by Paramount Pictures. It was directed by John Wayne Stevenson and Mark Osborne and produced by Melissa Cobb, and stars the voice of Jack Black along with Dustin Hoffman, Jackie Chan, Angelina Jolie, Ian McShane, Seth Rogen, Lucy Liu, David Cross, Randall Duk Kim, James Hong, Dan Fogler and Michael Clarke Duncan.

Set in a version of ancient China populated by anthropomorphic animals, the plot revolves around a bumbling panda named Po who aspires to be a kung fu master. When an evil kung fu warrior is foretold to escape from prison, Po is unwittingly named the chosen one destined to bring peace to the land, much to the chagrin of the resident kung fu warriors.


Although the concept of a "kung fu panda" has been around since at least 1993, work on the film did not begin until 2004. The idea for the film was conceived by Michael Lachance, a DreamWorks Animation executive.

The film was originally intended to be a parody, but director Stevenson decided instead to shoot an action comedy Wuxia film that incorporates the hero's journey narrative archetype for the lead character. The computer animation in the film was more complex than anything DreamWorks had done before.

As with most DreamWorks animated films, Hans Zimmer (collaborating with John Powell this time) scored Kung Fu Panda. He visited China to absorb the culture and get to know the China National Symphony Orchestra as part of his preparation. A sequel, Kung Fu Panda 2, is in production and set for release on May 26, 2011.

Kung Fu Panda premiered in the United States on June 6, 2008, and has since received very favorable reviews from critics and most of the movie-going public, including Chinese audiences who were impressed with the film's faithfulness to their culture.

The film currently garners an 88% "Certified Fresh" approval rating from review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. Kung Fu Panda opened in 4,114 theaters, grossing $20.3 million on its opening day and $60.2 million on its opening weekend, resulting in the number one position at the box office.

The film became DreamWorks's biggest opening for a non-sequel film, highest grossing animated movie of the year, the fourth-largest weekend for a DreamWorks animated film at the American and Canadian box office, behind Shrek the Third, Shrek 2, and Shrek Forever After, and the 49th highest-grossing film of all time.

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A Chinese Ghost Story (1987)

A Chinese Ghost Story is a 1987 Hong Kong romantic comedy horror film starring Leslie Cheung, Joey Wong, and Wu Ma, directed by Ching Siu-tung, and produced by Tsui Hark. The plot was loosely based on a short story from Qing Dynasty writer Pu Songling's Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio (聊齋誌異). The film was popular in Hong Kong and several Asian countries, including South Korea and Japan when released. Most notably it boosted the stardom of Joey Wong, won Leslie Cheung popularity in Japan, and sparked a trend of folklore ghost films in the Hong Kong film industry.

Plot
Ning Choi-san is a timid tax collector whose job requires him to travel to rural areas. He arrives at a town but is forced to seek shelter in a deserted temple in the forest on the outskirts because he did not have money to afford lodging at the town. That night in the temple, Ning meets a beautiful and alluring young maiden called Nip Siu-sin and falls in love with her.


However, when he later recalls last night's events the next day, he becomes increasingly fearful and superstitious because a Taoist told him that the people he saw at the temple were ghosts. That night, he returns to the temple to spend his night there and confirms his theory that Nip is actually a spirit.

Nip tells him her story of how she became eternally bound to the servitude of a sinister Tree Demon. She explains that as long as her remains are buried at the foot of the tree, her spirit will be forever enslaved by Tree Demon. Ning attempts to free her from her suffering. He seeks the help of a powerful Taoist priest and master swordsman called Yin Chik-ha, whom he met earlier. Yin battles the Tree Demon and attempts to free Nip's soul but fails. Nip's soul is taken to the Underworld for betraying her master.

Ning is unwilling to give up on Nip and insists that Yin helps him. Yin manages to open a temporary portal to the Underworld. Ning and Yin enter the Underworld and attempt to free Nip's soul from suffering once more. They are unable to find her in the midst of thousands of other spirits. Eventually, Ning and Nip are able to see each other briefly near dawn when sunlight shines on the urn containing Nip's cremated remains. Nip tells Ning that the only way to save her soul is to place her remains to rest at another more auspicious burial site before she returns to the darkness. Ning follows her instructions and with Yin's advice, Ning buries Nip's remains near the crest of a hill. He burns a joss stick for her and prays for her soul while Yin watches solemnly behind him.

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Chasing Liberty (2004)

Chasing Liberty is a 2004 romantic comedy film about the American President's daughter. It was directed by Andy Cadiff and stars Mandy Moore and Matthew Goode.

Anna Foster (Mandy Moore) is the daughter of the President of the United States, James (Mark Harmon) and First Lady Michelle Foster (Caroline Goodall).

When a hassle of Secret Service agents ruins a first date, Anna demands some freedom. Her dad agrees to send only two agents with Anna and Gabrielle La Clare (Beatrice Rosen) to a concert when Anna goes to Prague with her parents. A sexy new look for Anna causes her father to renege.

When Anna discovers the concert is filled with agents and that her father has broken his promise, Gabrielle helps Anna elude her protectors. Outside the concert, Anna meets Ben Calder (Matthew Goode), and asks him to drive her to escape the agents. Anna goes to a bar with Ben and proceeds to get drunk.

Unbeknownst to Anna, Ben is with the Secret Service, and tells agents Alan Weiss (Jeremy Piven) and Cynthia Morales (Annabella Sciorra) where Anna is. The President orders the three agents to have Ben guard Anna without telling her who he really is, to give her an illusion of freedom with a guarantee of safety.

Believing herself free of her guards for the first time in years, Anna jumps into the Vltava River naked, mistaking it for the Danube, and Ben has to fish her out (he stays clothed). Weiss and Morales buy the camera from someone taking pictures of the skinny-dipping Anna. Anna and Ben climb a rooftop to watch an opera being shown in a plaza, where Anna eventually falls asleep with Ben guarding her, and Weiss and Morales watching from another roof.

...

The scenes involving the White House were in fact filmed at Hylands House in Chelmsford, Essex, England, which resembles the White House. Blueprints of the White House were also used to create a digital replica, which helped make it seem real. These blueprints caused the director some trouble when traveling to Washington DC, as his suitcase also contained source material about the Oval Office, among other things.

The storyline was directly inspired by Chelsea Clinton, who was photographed trying to blend in with other students at a Stanford basketball game.[1] The film received a lukewarm response from critics, but won three Teen Choice Awards.


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CJ7 (2008)

CJ7 (Traditional Chinese: 長江七號; Simplified Chinese: 长江七号; Pinyin: Cháng Jiāng Qī Hào; Cantonese Yale: Cheung Gong Chat Hou) is a 2008 Hong Kong science fiction/comedy film co-written, co-produced and directed by Stephen Chow, who also stars in the film. It was released on 31 January 2008 in Hong Kong. It was also released on 14 March 2008 in the United States.

In August 2007 the film was given the title CJ7, a play on China's successful Shenzhou manned space missions—Shenzhou 5 and Shenzhou 6. It was previously been known by a series of working titles—Alien, Yangtze River VII, Long River 7 and most notably, A Hope.

CJ7 was filmed in Ningbo, in the Zhejiang province of China.

As with the title CJ7, the earlier working titles, A Hope,Yangtze River VII and Long River 7, referred to the Chinese manned space program. The mission of Shenzhou 6 was completed in 2006 and the real Shenzhou 7 successfully launched in September 2008. The film had a budget of US$20 million, and heavily uses CG effects. Xu Jiao, the child who plays Dicky Chow, is in fact female. She had to cross-dress to be in the movie.

References to Chow's other films are made during some scenes, particularly during Dicky's dream sequence. These references include Dicky using his super sneakers to kick a soccer ball into the goal, which subsequently collapses (referencing Shaolin Soccer) and Dicky flying into the sky with his sneakers, jumping from the head of an eagle, seeing CJ7's shape as a cloud and using the Buddha's Palm, (referencing Kung Fu Hustle). The scene where Dicky tosses away his glasses while they self-destruct is a reference to John Woo's Mission Impossible II.

Awards and Nominations
28th Hong Kong Film Awards
* Best Film
* Best Supporting Actor (Stephen Chow)
* Best New Performer (Xu Jiao)
* Best Visual Effects (Eddy Wong, Victor Wong & Ken Law)

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Needing You...(2000)

Needing You... (AKA: Orphaned Male Widow ; Traditional Chinese: 孤男寡女 ; Cantonese : Goo Naam Gwa Neui ; Mandarin : Gu Nan Gua Nü ) is a 2000 Hong Kong romantic comedy film, produced and directed by Johnnie To and Wai Ka-Fai and starring Andy Lau and Sammi Cheng.

Needing You's most extended—and winning—joke could be lost on many new fans of HK Cinema. The film possesses many references to the 1990 romantic drama A Moment of Romance, which starred Andy Lau and was produced by Johnnie To. In that film, Lau played a going-nowhere gangster named Wah Dee, and many of Needing You's more subtle joys are derived from the constant lampooning of Lau's role in that film, as well as his own established screen persona. As a result, those who know Lau as just "the guy who appeared in Infernal Affairs" might not get what other people find so funny.

Plot Summary
Needing You... is a comedic love story about Kinki Kwok (Sammi Cheng), a dysfunctional office worker at an electronics firm down on her luck with love. She's just as her name describes, a little out of order, with her refusal to cry when she's upset and preferring to do something more useful like clean the office's washroom or the interior of a car. And it just so happens she's secretly seen her boyfriend with another woman. All she has is her lucky charm inscribed with the words she wants her true love to say, but even that winds up missing.

Enter Andy (Wah-Siu) Cheung (Andy Lau), the manager in her department full of gossipy co-workers. Things seem to only to be getting worse for Kinki with Andy around, as she is constantly receiving the blame for the office's misfortunes. However, when Kinki manages to get Andy out of a sticky situation, he discovers some newfound respect for her loyalty and willingness to help, while Kinki thinks she may have deeper feelings for him. Together, they plot to get back at Kinki's double-crossing boyfriend and Andy's feelings for Kinki reciprocate. To further complicate things, Fiona (Fiona Leung), an old flame of Andy's reappears and tries to hook Kinki up with young .com billionaire Roger (Raymond Wong), while Andy has been accused of wasting company money on a failed project.

Box Office
During the slump in the Hong Kong film industry of the late 1990s, Needing You... raked in HKD 6.5 million during its 1st 3 days of opening in Hong Kong, and amassed a total of HKD 35 million in Hong Kong alone, rivaling John Woo's American film Mission: Impossible II which screened during the same period in Hong Kong and triumphing all other Hong Kong films screened for the past few years. In the same year, Summer Holiday earned HKD 21 million, which was ranked 2nd best-selling local film after Needing You... in Hong Kong.

Awards :
20th Annual Hong Kong Film Awards
• Nomination - Best Picture
• Nomination - Best Director (Johnnie To Kei-Fung, Wai Ka-Fai)
• Nomination - Best Actress (Sammi Cheng Sau-Man)
• Nomination - Best Screenplay (Wai Ka-Fai, Yau Nai-Hoi)
• Nomination - Best Song ("On the Love Line", performed by Sammi Cheng Sau-Man)

7th Annual Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards
• Recommended Film

37th Annual Golden Horse Awards
• Nomination - Best Actress (Sammi Cheng Sau-Man)

Source : Wikipedia & LoveHKFilm.com

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