Charming and brutal

A lot of fun.

The movie is wonderful and true, an act of love in all its contradictions and complexity

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

This first film of Daniel Wu bites hard and is hysterical in the process. I hope he plans on directing more films--this was very well done. If you have ever wondered why so many pop stars sound OK recorded, but really bad on live TV or concert? Autotune is the answer! Great scene where the engineer shows how it all works. Actors were funny, especially Conroy Chan and Terrence Yin. Definitely worth more than one viewing. I saw it at the SF international Film festival and have rented it a couple more times. During the festival, the local SF Chronicle did a review of the film and a biographical piece on Daniel Wu. Since Daniel Wu is from the bay area, i think the piece added a lot of local interest--people not normally associated with Chinese films would really see how big Daniel Wu has become in the Hong Kong film scene. It would be interesting to see what he would do with an American script. After viewing his first film, I think Mr. Wu definitely has the skills.

This mockumentary is a very funny look at the music industry today and how anyone, even with little or no talent can become a star. The idea is that four friends and successful actors, only one of which can sing, will form a boy band and climb up the pop charts. "Actual footage" of the band's journey from creation to performance is inter-cut with interviews of real people from the industry. The result is a scathing attack on the music industry everywhere in the world. Clearly success has little to do with talent and much to do with promotion (they get noticed because they stage a downloading scandal). I haven't laughed like this in a long time. Its revelations make this movie required viewing for anyone who wants to go on American Idol or thinks people like Britney Spears and other packaged pop stars are "talented". It should make anyone with half a brain think twice about when they are offered the deal of their dreams.One of the real treats of this movie is the craft of this film, its not clear whats real and whats not, except in only one or two instances. Real or not the film feels very real, so real that even after viewing it I'm not sure whats made up and what isn't. Frankly I'm going to have to watch this a few more times to see if I can figure out whats what.Recommended, especially if you think that the Hong Kong film industry is simply turning out the same things over and over again.