SOLDIER  
(1999)
Directed by Paul Anderson
Cast: Kurt Russell, Jason Scott Lee, Connie Nielsen, Sean Pertwee, Michael Chiklis, Gary Busey, Jason Isaacs, Jared Thorne, Taylor Thorne, Brenda Whele, Mark Bringleson, K.K. Dodds, Danny Turner, Max Daniels, Elizabeth Dennehy, Paul Dillon, Duffy Gaver

Jason Scott Lee's get's second bill on this vehicle where Kurt Russell plays the 'old-fashioned, obsolete' soldier whose squad got 'replaced' by a better team. And towards the end, he alone, single-handedly, down-ed the whole 'other' squad before setting course for refuge, at the Trinity Moons. Check out this film when it gets released in March 1999.

THE BIG HIT
(1999)
Directed by Che-Kirk Wong
Cast: China Chow, Mark Wahlberg, Lou Diamond Phillips, Christina Applegate, Avery Brooks, Bokeem Woodbine, Antonio Sabāto Jr., Lainie Kazan, Elliott Gould, Sab Shimono, Robin Dunne, Lela Rochon, Danny Smith, Joshua Peace, David Usher, Hardee T. Lineham, Gerry Mendicino, Robert Vernon Eaton, John Stoneham, Nicola Jones, Alexa Gilmour, John Stocker, Cotton Mather, Derrick J. Peels, Tig Fong, Danny Lima, Morgan Freeman, Giovahann White, Robert Hannah, John Stoneham Jr., Chi-Ho Lau, Chun Kang Wang, Cirroc Lofton, Jordan-Patrick Marcantonio

This project is a continuation of the recent wave of Asian influence in Hollywood. The late 1990's might be recognized as the years Hong Kong/Chinese invasion of Hollywood seen in stars such as Jackie Chan, Ang Lee's Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, Sammo Hung (star of the t.v. show "Martial Law"), Chow Yun Fat "Replacement Killer and the 1999 version of "Anna and the King" with Jodie Foster / remake of Anna and the King of Siam & The King and I, Jet Li (Lethal Weapon 4 and the recent "Romeo"), and Michelle Yeoh ("Tomorrow Never Dies). Major directors such as Ang Lee, John Woo, Ronny Yu, and Tsui Hark directed Face/Off, Bride of Chucky, and Knock Off, respectively.

The Big Hit, directed by Che-Kirk Wong (who also directed Jackie Chan in Crime Story), executive produced by John Woo, and produced by Wesley Snipes is the latest entry. It is included in this list because it features the influence of Asian / Asian Pacific Americans behind the camera where the most influence/change can occur. In this flick, Mark Walhberg leads this all-American cast in a played-for-laughs macho blowout. Rounding out this film basically for males are Lou Diamond Phillips, Bokeem Woodbine, Antonio Sabāto Jr., and Avery Brooks. Wahlberg plays nice-guy hit man with an ulcer and a severe insecurity problem. He needs money to meet his fiancée Pam's (Christina Applegate) habitsand his girlfriend-on-the-sly Chantel (Lela Rochon). He decides to do cook up a robbery to make some money and by kidnapping Keiko (China Chow), the daughter of a Japanese businessman whom they target for ransom. He doesn't know that her dad is broke and she's the goddaughter of their boss.

The Big Hit has plenty of action scenes (courtesy of past work on John Woo films) and the same wacky sense of humor as other films in the Hong Kong action genre. Slick pacing and over-the-top humor didn't go well with the critics, but it wasn't made with that intention. It's purpose is for a lot of fighting - not a lot of acting with pretty girls to fill the scenes when guys take their dates out.

SNOW FALLING IN CEDARS
(1999)
Directed by Scott Hicks
Cast: Youki Kudoh, Ako, Arija Bareikis, James Cromwell, Anthony Harrison, Ethan Hawke, Sam Shepard, Celia Weston, Rick Yune, Max von Sydow

This film, based on the book "Snow Falling in Cedars" (written by David Guterson). The plot is as follows: On a wintry Pacific Northwest island community in 1950, a quiet fisherman stands trial for murder. It looks like a straightforward case of cold-blooded homicide. But as the trial unfolds, the simple story of the man's death unravels into a deeply haunting mystery and an extraordinary tale about the persistence of hate and the power of love.

Academy Award-nominee Scott Hicks (Shine) brings David Guterson's best-selling novel Snow Falling On Cedars to the screen--at once a gripping courtroom thriller, a bittersweet love story and a resonant exploration of how history impacts upon the heart--the film stars Ethan Hawke (Great Expectations, Reality Bites), James Cromwell (Babe), Richard Jenkins (There's Something About Mary), Youki Kudoh (LA Confidential), James Rebhorn (The Game), Sam Shepard (Safe Passage), newcomer Rick Yune and Max Von Sydow (Hannah and Her Sisters).

The Producers of this picture that will be coming in the fall of 1999 are Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall, Harry J. Ufland and Ron Bass. Ron Bass and Scott Hicks wrote the screenplay. Please check out their website located HERE.

This film utilizes the Japanese Internment camp and other related events as a backdrop that provides a great opportunity for Asian / Asian Pacific American actors such as Youki Kukdoh (whose credits include films such as Heaven's Burning in 1997, Picture Bride in 1995, Senso to seishin in 1991, Mystery Train in 1989, Labyrinth of Flower Garden in 1987, Gyakufunsha kazoku in 1984, Taifu Club in 1984 - in addition to this film), Ako and Rick Yune to strut their stuff in a film based on a very good book! Check out the reviews of the film and by Patsy Sukama by clicking HERE to make up your own mind!

THREE SEASONS
(1999)
Directed by Tony Bui
Produced by Tony Bui, Jason Kliot & Joana Vicente
Executive Producer is Harvey Keitel
Story written by Tony Bui, Timothy Linh Bui
Cast: Don Duong, Nguyen Ngoc Hiep, Harvey Keitel, Tran Manh Cuong, Zoë Bui, Nguyen Huu Duoc

Acclaimed as one of the most accomplished feature debuts in contemporary American cinema, THREE SEASONS is a stunningly poetic tapestry of contemporary Vietnam, a groundbreaking work which introduces a unique Southeast Asian identity into the American independent scene. Created by 26-year-old Tony Bui (through October Films), a Bay Area native and former NAATA grant recipient who first earned recognition with his short YELLOW LOTUS (SFIAAFF 1995), THREE SEASONS was heralded by the 1999 Sundance Film Festival as "achieving a pinnacle of excellence that is rare in filmmaking today."

The first American film shot in Vietnam since the war, THREE SEASONS captures the chaotic beauty and brutality of a country caught between tradition and modernity, intricately weaving together the stories of four characters who must relearn their way through a land that changes daily: A young woman's mournful singing triggers both sorrow and inspiration for a poet secluded in a lotus-pond temple; a cyclo driver strives to earn enough money to please an ambitious prostitute; a tough street kid must find his stolen case of trinkets; and an American war veteran searches desperately for the daughter he has never seen.

Brought to life through the remarkable acting of the indomitable Harvey Keitel and a cast of Vietnamese professionals, cyclo drivers, street kids, and Vietnamese Americans, THREE SEASONS applies a melodramatic Southeast Asian elegance to enrich its metaphorical tales of hope, melancholy and chaos. Its sweeping, intensely visual beauty and uncommon sense of poetry point not only to the presence of a new Vietnam, but also to a possible future for American independent film, in which diverse cinematic traditions combine.

Review written by Jason Sanders. Another review from CNN is listed HERE.