Autumn In New York 2000   PG-13, 103 min.
Genre: Drama / Romance
Director: Joan Chen
Cast: Richard Gere, Winona Ryder, Anthony LaPaglia, Elaine Stritch, Vera Farmiga, Sherry Stringfield, Jill Hennessy, J.K. Simmons, Sam Trammell, Mary Beth Hurt, Kali Rocha, Steven Randazzo, Toby Poser, George Spielvogel III, Ranjit Chowdhry
Will Keane (Richard Gere) has spent his life as a playboy enjoying life as a series of women enter and leave his domain. Now, he meets and falls for the beautiful, but terminally ill, Charlotte (Winona Ryder). Will is 48, and Charlotte is 22, but they enter into an affair. However, the affair appears doomed because of Will's unfaithfulness–unless Charlotte can convince Will to change his ways and help her through her illness.
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The Blood of Heroes 1989  R, 100 min.
Genre: Sci-Fi
aka: Salute to the Jugger
Director: David Webb Peoples
Cast: Rutger Hauer, Joan Chen, Vincent D'Onofrio, Delroy Lindo, Anna Katerina, Gandhi MacIntyre, Justin Monjo, Max Fairchild, Aaron Martin, Hugh Keays-Byrne
Earth is barren in the post-apocalyptic future, and Sallow (Rutger Hauer) heads a team of a brutal sport from town to town taking on locals. Now a banished champion "jugger," he seeks to regain his title.
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Heaven & Earth 1993 R, 140 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Oliver Stone
Cast: Hiep Thi Le, Joan Chen, Tommy Lee Jones, Haing S. Ngor, Debbie Reynolds, Robert John Burke, Tim Guinee, Timothy Carhart, Dale Dye, Conchata Ferrell
Here we go again! Oliver Stone presents the third of his Vietnam stories following "Platoon" and "Born on the Fourth of July." This time the story is about an Asian woman who falls in love with an American and tries to adjust to life in America.
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Judge Dredd 1995 R, 101 min.
Genre: Sci-Fi
Director: Danny Cannon
Cast: Sylvester Stallone, Diane Lane, Rob Schneider, Armand Assante, Joan Chen, Jurgen Prochnow, Max von Sydow, James Earl Jones, Joanna Miles, Mitch Ryan
The popular British comic strip comes to life with Sylvester Stallone in the title role. Spectacular sets contribute to the glitz as Judge Dredd fights his evil brother, Rico (Armand Assante). In this futuristic fantasy, Earth's populations in Mega City I and Mega City II fight denizens of "Cursed Earth" in a desperate attempt at survival of civilization.
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The Last Emperor 1987  PG-13, 164 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Bernardo Bertolucci
Cast: John Lone, Joan Chen, Peter O'Toole, Ruocheng Ying, Dennis Dun, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Victor Wong, Maggie Han, Lisa Lu, Ric Young, Vivian Wu, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Jade Go, Fumihiko Ikeda, Tsou Tijger
The last imperial ruler of China, Pu Yi (John Lone), led the most unusual of lives. At three-years old, he was named Emperor and was not allowed to leave Peking. After World War II, the Communists put him in prison for 10 years until his release at which time he became an ordinary citizen serving under Mao Tse Tung. This film won an impressive nine Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Director.
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On Deadly Ground 1994  R, 101 min.
Genre: Action
Director: Steven Seagal
Cast: Steven Seagal, Michael Caine, Joan Chen, John C. McGinley, R. Lee Ermey, Shari Shattuck, Billy Bob Thornton, Richard Hamilton, Chief Irvin Brink, Mike Starr
Steven Seagal makes his directorial debut in this film and stars as Forrest Taft–a man determined to prevent an oil company from infringing on sacred land of the Eskimos. Poor.
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Saving Face 2004  R, 96 min.
Genre: Comedy / Drama
Director: Alice Wu
Cast: Joan Chen, Michelle Krusiec, Lynn Chen, Jin Wang, Guang Lan Koh, Ato Essandoh, Mao Zhao, Brian Yang, Jessica Hecht, David Shih, Richard Chang
Chinese-American lesbian Wil (Michelle Krusiec) listens to her mother Ma's (Joan Chen) advice on how to meet a man, but she is, in fact, beginning a romance with Vivian (Lynn Chen). One day, pregnant 48-year-old Ma shows up at Wil's doorstep, moves in, and the situation heats up when the truth is learned.
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Tai-Pan 1986 R, 127 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Daryl Duke
Cast: Bryan Brown, Joan Chen, John Stanton, Tim Guinee, Bill Leadbitter, Russell Wong, Kyra Sedgwick, Bert Remsen, Janine Turner, Katy Behean
This film could be in the running for "worst movie ever made." The jumbled plot involves a wealthy British trader (Bryan Brown) who does business in Hong Kong. Oh yes, there is also a romance, which is really just a chance to show off women's bodies. Watch for the scene where you can spot the hanging microphone. All in all, this flick is one big loser.
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Wedlock 1991 R, 100 min.
Genre: Action
aka: Deadlock
Director: Lewis Teague
Cast: Rutger Hauer, Mimi Rogers, Joan Chen, James Remar, Stephen Tobolowsky, Basil Wallace, Grand L. Bush, Denis Forest, Glenn Plummer, Belle Avery
Set in the near future, Frank (Rutger Hauer) is in prison for stealing millions in diamonds, which have not been recovered. He is in a unisex prison where each convict is linked to an unknown partner, and if they are separated by more than 100 yards, explosive collars on each will detonate. Frank finds out that his partner is Tracy (Mimi Rogers), and the two plan an escape. The escape is successful, and they head for the diamonds. But members of his gang, including his fiancee, are on their trail.
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What's Cooking? 2000 PG-13, 106 min.
Genre: Comedy / Drama
Director: Gurinder Chadha
Cast: Alfre Woodard, Joan Chen, Dennis Haysbert, Mercedes Ruehl, Maria Carmen, Victor Rivers, Douglas Spain, A Martinez, Lainie Kazan, Maury Chaykin, Isidra Vega, Elena Lopez, Adrian Armas
Thanksgiving celebrations in four different families–Jewish, Latino, Vietnamese, and African-American–are featured showing humor and drama that appear to be inherent in family gatherings, no matter what the cultural heritage.
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Where Sleeping Dogs Lie 1992 R, 92 min.
Genre: Horror / Thriller
Director: Charles Finch
Cast: Dylan McDermott, Charles Finch, Sharon Stone, Tom Sizemore, Ron Karabatsos, Mary Woronov, Joan Chen, Kristen Hocking, Brett Cullen, David Q. Combs
Bruce (Dylan McDermott) fails as a writer and as a real estate agent. When he is evicted from his apartment, he takes up residence in a creepy old mansion that he is to sell and takes in boarders to make ends meet. He discovers that the mansion was the scene of a series of unsolved murders several years previously, which gives him an idea: chronicle the history of the murders in a first-hand account for a book, "Diary of a Murderer." The installments become a sensation, but when one boarder desires to provide input, and the input is very precise on the murders, Bruce becomes suspicious.
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Wild Side 1995 R, 96 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Donald Cammell
Cast: Christopher Walken, Joan Chen, Steven Bauer, Anne Heche, Allen Garfield, Adam Novack, Zion, Richard Palmer, Randy Crowder, Marcus Aurelius
This violent, imaginative thriller covers one day in the life of four people: Bruno (Christopher Walken)–rich crook in the money laundering business; Alex (Anne Heche)–corporate banker who is a prostitute on the side with Bruno as her first customer, but falls in love with Bruno's wife; Tony (Steven Bauer)–Bruno's chauffer, an undercover FBI agent who rapes Alex and then blackmails her to get the goods on Bruno; and Virginia (Joan Chen)–Bruno's wife who falls in love with Alex. The production company re-cut this film without Director Cammell's knowledge, and Cammell committed suicide shortly thereafter. Most current prints have the restored (to the extent possible) director's version.
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Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl 1998  R, 99 min.
Genre: Foreign / Drama
Director: Joan Chen
Cast: Lu Lu, Lopsang, Gao Jie, Li Qianqian, Lu Yue, Qiao Qian
Xiu Xiu (Lu Lu) is a country girl sent to Tibet during China's Cultural Revolution. After serving for the agreed-upon six months, she wants to return home but soon realizes that her country has abandoned her.
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| 1. Autumn In New York (2000)
2. The Blood of Heroes (1989)
aka: Salute to the Jugger
3. Heaven & Earth (1993)
4. Judge Dredd (1995)
5. The Last Emperor (1987)
6. On Deadly Ground (1994)
7. Saving Face (2004)
8. Tai-Pan (1986)
9. Wedlock (1991)
aka: Deadlock
10. What's Cooking? (2000)
11. Where Sleeping Dogs Lie (1992)
12. Wild Side (1995)
13. Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl (1998)
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