Vengeance

Vengeance is a Hong Kong action flick with Triad members chasing each other and crazy shooting scenes.
The movie stars Johnny Hallyday, who is perfect for the role. That steely glare and hardened face made him so believable as a father seeking vengeance for his daughter whose family was brutally attacked by the Triad. Hallyday's character journeys from Paris (I enjoyed having the chance to keep my French skills sharp) out to HK where he is surrounded by a foreign world. Seeking out the help of a group of Triad members, we watch the story of Vengeance unfold. You should probably read TIFF's write-up here.
I've never seen any movies by director, Johnnie To, so I have nothing to compare it to, but I really liked this movie. Some of the fighting scenes were overly graphic, but I thought it really worked with the movie. And the fight scenes weren't just about guns and guts, they were quite artistic and like a well choreographed dance.
Not only Hallyday was cast well. The group of Triad members that he hired were great. I've seen a couple HK movies back in the day, and they always included a funny, fat guy. This movie was no exception.
The Q&A with To was great, and not just because To had great answers. Moderator, Colin Geddes did an outstanding job at adding in great anecdotes about the HK film industry, To and his crew and getting everyone in the theatre in the spirit of the movie. I'm told that he's the guru of Midnight Madness movies, which I've never attended (because I'd probably fall asleep during one), but I'm re-thinking it, because I've never been so pumped to see a movie from the intro. Also, every time I've seen a movie at the Ryerson theatre, I always get a good vibe. This is probably because they tend to screen movies with buzz here.
Anyway, I liked this movie a lot. Two thumbs up!

- picture courtesy of www.tiff09.ca