MY LEFT EYE SEES GHOSTS (2002-HK)
review by Neo


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A GOOD ROM COM!!!
Johnny To is one hell of a brilliant director. Why? As simple as this, his unique ability to make a simple plotted movie into a more seemingly complex one, yet at the same time - absolutely enjoyable to watch. Sure, he is the master of the crime genre, but he is just as good at romantic comedies. Just as Needing You, started the ROM COM genre HK, To adds that unique favour to cliché storylines, and makes it an touching yet feel good ride. For My Left Eye Sees Ghosts, To's twist, which is often employed in his trademark endings in crime movies, is used here to create a shock and in turn bringing in a swing of emotional feelings within the viewers. Good one Johnny...

The movie goes like this: An eye operation of a rich but stingy widow Sammi (starring Sammi Cheng) makes her left eye seeing something "uncommon," and also brings her troubles for encountering a bothersome ghost (Sean Lau). The two then leap into an intimate relationship after Sammi starting to help other ghosts. However, one day Sammi begs him to do something extraordinary for her...

Sammi Cheng has always been a favourite of Neo, while not having the sex appeal of Athena Chu or Kelly Lin, or the height of Gigi Leung or even the acting abilities of Cecilia Cheung, there is something about Sammi that actually works. Whatever it is, Sammi has come a long way to become a real Box Office Queen, just when HK cinema is almost dead. Here, she plays her role so well, and plays the first 70 minutes of the movie with such flair and humor that she has shown in various ROM COM, the twists in her acting shows Sammi as a more than capable actress - it is almost ashamed to say that Sammi to date has never been given a real challenging role, despite being so capable. Lau Ching Wan is a comic genius, a action hero, ROM COM leading man and almost any role - he can play it all. Probably one of the most versatile actor around the industry and probably the most underrated actor around.

My Left Eye Sees Ghosts is not the most brilliant movie, that Johnny To has ever made, nor is Sammi's best movie, but there is something about this cliché filled that works, whether it is the surprising twists near the end or the "feel" good comedy that appeals to a wide audience, this is definitely not a crap movie. While the cover is cheesy and the title is a big turn off, it is also perhaps, the reason that the movie actually works. As simple as the title is, the movie is exactly about that and once again, Johnny To do nothing more than explore one territory and as a result does not overloads the audience with unnecessary details and hits all the right emotional buttons as the movie reaches to its finale. As far as HK ROM COM goes this is not a bad effort and a very pleasing and watch-able movie.

I rate it 8/10

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Genre: Romantic Comedy
Director: Johnny To
Cast: Sammi Cheng, Lau Ching Wan, Cherri Yin, Kelly Lin
Reviewed by Andrew (Neo), August 2005