CJ7 (2008)

I watched another film as well, last night, called "CJ7" and it's a family fantasy film directed by Stephen Chow and starring Stephen Chow and the amazing, talented, and adorable Xu Jiao, a child actor. Unknown to me until now, Xu is actually a little girl but played a boy in the film. WOW! I did not even know that. It never even crossed my mind that that was a girl.

The film is about a poor man and his son. The poor man, played by Stephen Chow, works hard so his son can continue to go private school. His son gets picked on at school by students and teachers alike because he's poor and he has hand me down clothes and shoes. One night, the father finds a green orb in a garbage dump and gives it to his son and it turns into a creature. It's actually an alien creature from another planet. This is a very charming film, that I just adored and it had me smiling throughout. I really enjoyed the playfulness of this film and the energy of the young actor, or should I say, actress. Very sweet film and had a nice little wholesome message to it.

The performances in this film were solid and it's really hard not to love it. The sound was amazing in this one as well even though it's dialogue heavy. Everything about the film is trademark Stephen Chow and if you've seen "Kung Fu Hustle" you'll know what I'm talking about. This film proves that you can still make a good film without violence and language for the whole family to enjoy. Don't get me wrong, I love a good R rated film but sometimes it's good to watch something light like this to make you smile and forget about your own problems for awhile. I found myself laughing a lot because some parts are silly but not a bad silly. It shows the strong bond between a father and a son during tough times and how you can make your situation fun. There was even a scene where they played a game to see how many roaches they could kill. Which was cute and a game I would never play because I have a strong fear of roaches.

I highly recommend this film for any family or any fan of foreign film. Definitely a rental or if you're feeling adventurous, buy it!