With families coming together to celebrate the Year of the Water Rabbit, what better time than now to gather around the telly for a good movie.
And thankfully, like all the other festive seasons in Malaysia, Chinese New Year has its fair share of flicks to keep everyone entertained.
This year, FMT has picked a list of films worth watching with family and friends. Which is your personal favourite?
All’s Well, Ends Well (1992)
This film is truly a classic. The first of a long series of films, this one comes with a star-studded cast.
The ensemble of Stephen Chow, Leslie Cheung, Maggie Cheung, Raymond Wong and Sandra Ng star in this family comedy centred around a sibling trio.
Chow plays a womanising DJ, Cheung a soft-hearted flower arranger and Wong a successful businessman; all of them united by their chaotic love lives.
Dealing with relatable themes of love and wealth, there are no shortage of jokes here that will leave viewers in stitches.
2. King of Comedy (1999)
Featuring Stephen Chow, this film is semi-autobiographical, being loosely based on the comedy actor’s rise to stardom.
Chow plays Wan Tin-sau, an aspiring actor who finds more success at training people to be actors rather than being one himself.
This is how he meets Lau Piu-piu, a club hostess who takes lessons from him and ends up falling in love with him.
But if think this is a run-of-the-mill romcom, think again. “King of Comedy” is far more than that, with gags parodying John Woo films and an endorsement of Pringles of all things!
3. Fat Choi Spirit (2002)
Director Johnnie To might be known for his gritty gangster films, so this light-hearted offering may surprise many.
It stars Andy Lau as a mah-jong player with immaculate skills, whose gambling habits end up costing him his relationship with his family.
Determined to make amends with them, he uses the game to seek redemption. Quite the apt film for a holiday focusing on love and family.
4. Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022)
Possibly the most recent entry on this list, this film is an emotional rollercoaster with stunning action scenes and brilliant performances.
Starring Malaysian darling Michelle Yeoh, the film tells the tale of a Chinese-American immigrant who ends up travelling through multiple universes to save the world.
Set before Chinese New Year, the film, at its core, is the story of a dysfunctional family coming to realise the love they have for each other.
Visuals, comedy and action aside, the message of finding your own meaning in a meaningless world by loving and caring for others is a powerful one.
5. It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad World (1987)
What would you do if you struck the lottery? Of course, you’d run home to tell your family all about it, but what then?
In this film starring the late Lydia Sum and Bill Tung, the impoverished Pui family strikes gold when their lottery numbers turn out lucky.
Problems start emerging though as this highly dysfunctional family start misusing their money. Warning about the consequences of greed, the film poses the question of whether the Pui family’s luck was a blessing or a curse.
6. Ip Man (2008)
Does the film which shot Donnie Yen to international stardom really need any introduction? Oh, well.
This film is the first of a long series of films loosely based on the life of Yip Man, a famed martial arts instructor who would later train Bruce Lee himself.
In the film, Yip Man is a soft-spoken but formidable martial artist who ends up in hot water during the Japanese occupation of his hometown.
Action-packed scenes are plentiful, with the most famous being when Ip Man takes down 10 karate practitioners, with brutal and bloody results.
7. Enter the Dragon (1973)
Speaking of Bruce Lee, why not catch a film starring the greatest martial artist ever – like “Enter the Dragon”.
Considered to be among the best martial arts films out there, the plot follows Lee, played by… Lee, a Hong Kong cop assigned to take down a drug lord.
To do this, he infiltrates the crime boss’ island hideout by participating in a martial arts tournament being held there.
Needless to say, bloody punch-ups and brawls follow suit, with Lee showing his enemies why he is not to be trifled with!