my lucky stars movie reviews

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My Lucky Stars

The only-just-about sequel to brilliant action-comedy Winners and Sinners ups the ante on the former but lets the side down on the latter…

The magic of the Lucky Stars series lies in its mixture of skilful action, bawdy comedy and star power, pooling together the biggest names in Hong Kong cinema of the day and letting them loose on a mostly nonsensical plot. Here, the opening sees us catch-up with Muscles (Jackie Chan) and Ricky (Yuen Biao) on an undercover mission in Japan, performing some frankly ridiculous stunts on a fairground.

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The undercover mission goes awry, and then we’re (sort-of-re-)introduced to Eric (Sammo Hung), a prisoner given freedom to put together a gang to help the cops catch the bad guys. We’re reintroduced to the Lucky Stars gang from Winners and Sinners – Charlie Chin, Stanley Fung and Richard Ng, with Eric Tsang subbing for John Sham and Sibelle Hu taking over for Cherie Chung in the role of the group beauty whom the others desperately try to woo. Despite there being only two years removed from Winners and Sinners , the characters all have different names and even different roles within the group – the pace of the Hong Kong film world was such that Hung et al. did not believe audiences would remember nor care about continuity from one film to the next.

There’s a broad, slapstick mode to much of the humour here, with plenty of great chemistry between the Lucky Stars gang – pratfalls, goofiness and slapstick are ten-a-penny. Unfortunately, where Winners and Sinners had a streak of blokiness and misogyny that was dated if not severely intrusive, My Lucky Stars sees the gang spent a significant chunk of the middle of the movie trying to sexually harass Sibelle Hu (some of these scenes were even cut on the film’s initial UK release).

These segments leave more than a bad taste in the mouth, reducing her to a mocking figure, which feels even more turgid because elsewhere in the film Hu is given opportunities to showcase her skills. The blokiness of Winners and Sinners was at least juxtaposed with the fact that most of the humour saw the men humiliating themselves in the service of the audience; here it is Hu being humiliated by five men.

The episodic, set-pieces-on-a-clothesline nature of My Lucky Stars rescues matters somewhat. For every misstep, the following scene often recovers, be it with a high-flying action sequence or a fart joke. If the comedy was the priority in Winners and Sinners , My Lucky Stars gives the comedy and action a more even split, with Jackie Chan integrated more logically into the plot rather than just an addendum for marketing purposes. There’s a greater focus on variety and environment in the choreography in My Lucky Stars too, led by Yuen Biao – though given the collaborative nature of Hong Kong’s filmmaking, you can expect that there was plenty of input from Chan and Hung.

That about half of the action takes place in Japan also gives My Lucky Stars an excuse to include karate, with the film debut of Japanese powerlifter and bodybuilder Michiko Nishiwaki providing a great fight between her and Hu late on in the film. It’s a superb scene that at least gives both leading ladies a chance to show off their skills – but even here the film’s blokiness dampens things again. After defeating Hu, Nishiwaki confronts Hung…who finishes her with one punch. A disappointment – in Nishiwaki’s archival interview in the disc extras coming with Eureka’s reissue, she even takes the opportunity to fire a sly dig at Hung for not fighting with her.

For every scene that’s dated badly and fails to translate to today, there’s something holds up as a timeless document of exquisite athleticism and filmmaking ability. To wit, a funfair ghost house sequence, featuring upside-down rooms and ghost samurai gives the film a chance to play with moody, colourful lighting and theatrical sets – a highlight of imagination and brilliance. Ultimately, if you can find your way past the dated humour, My Lucky Stars is entertaining Hong Kong action.

My Lucky Stars   is available now on Blu-ray as part of Eureka’s The Lucky Stars 3-film Collection , with  Winners and Sinners and Twinkle Twinkle Lucky Stars .

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My Lucky Stars

Story: Muscles (Jackie Chan) is chasing after a secret organisation that has fled to Japan. However, something goes wrong during the chase and Muscles' partner (Yuen Biao) is kidnapped. Muscles turns to his captain and wants the help of his former friends who are all criminals these days. Thus, Fastbuck (Sammo Hung) is released from prison and starts working on finding his friends (Eric Tsang, Richard Ng, Charlie Ching, Stanley Fung). Finally being together again the five buddies are set up by the captain which is why they are wanted for robbing a bank. The only chance they have to get a clean slate again is taking down the crime syndicate in Japan. Female police officer Woo (Sibelle Hu) is assigned to the team as well, but her presence is such a distraction for the five friends that the actual mission is oftentimes falling by the wayside. Eventually arriving in Japan it turns out that Muscles and the five buddies have been at odds with each other for a long time already, but Fastbuck and his friends still won't leave Muscles hanging.

Review: "My Lucky Stars" is one of those Lunar New Year movies that aim at entertaining the audience with a lot of humor. Next to that there is a lot of action and some fantastic stunts, too. Strangely enough, the comedic scenes are less awkward - despite pubescent elements - than what you get to see from Hong Kong comedies nowadays. In fact, they are even amusing at times. Yet, the humor still is just some embellishment you rather would have done without. That you can easily live with it nonetheless just proves once more how much the bar has been lowered in Hong Kong comedies the last few years. Still, for the action and some nice kung fu fights alone you should give "My Lucky Stars" a chance. In the end, there is just the right kind of 80s feel to this movie.

"My Lucky Stars" is the second part in the Lucky Star trilogy after "Winners und Sinners", although it actually is a movie standing on its own. Moreover, you shouldn't believe what marketing experts present you with at times. Jackie Chan has merely an extended cameo appearance in this movie. The protagonists are Fastbuck, played by Sammo Hung ( "SPL" ), and his four on-screen buddies. Sammo is also directing the movie and clearly enjoys making his desperate characters approach the police woman, played by Sibelle Hu, in numerous absurd and parodistic scenes. The vibrant rivality among the five friends is brought across quite well and at times you even have to smile about all the nonsense. Yet, those scenes also tear the movie apart, even to such a degree that you find yourself having no interest at all in what the film is actually about in the end.

Eric Tsang ( "Aberdeen" ), who also plays one of the five buddies, has written the screenplay and doesn't exactly cover himself with glory. What the movie is about is soon forgotten and one mindless scene follows the next. Between those scenes there is no cement that would bond things. But the introduction and ending are displaying a lot of action. The stunt featuring a jumping car is as awesome as Jackie Chan's breakneck climbing display at an amusement park. However, what's especially nice is that Sammo Hung attached importance to some sophisticated fight scenes. Yuen Biao was one of the fight choreographers and gives the fights a nice rhythm as well as fitting sound effects which make you think you are in a 70s kung fu flick. Towards the end you even believe to be in a Jackie Chan movie since he dishes out quite a lot of kicks and punches. But Sammo Hung is allowed to show some nice moves as well. The kung fu work is great to look at and is topped by hard stunts that will make you cringe in pain by merely watching. The sets are thought through well enough and the garish 80s flair adds a lot to the movie's high pacing. In other words, "My Lucky Stars" is fully convincing on an action level and surprises with a few extraordinary characters like Michiko Nishikawa, a Japanese femaly bodybuilder, who plays one of the villains. Apart from that the characters remain very shallow and replacable, of course. If the middle part had been cut out of the movie, this could have been a good movie, though.

But most of the time director Sammo Hung spends implementing half-witted humor into his film. The buddy feeling of the odd friends is coming across quite well and as already stated you will find yourself laughing every now and then, but it's a guilty pleasure, because seldomly the humor works on a level that you actually should be laughing. Accordingly, you will be conflicted at the end. The unnecessary comedic insertions, which sadly amount to the biggest part of the movie, tear the movie apart and are only mildly entertaining. But when "My Lucky Stars" goes into action mode and delivers kung fu and stunts it can be a fun ride. There is just something about those 80s kung fu comedies that's fascinating and if you like movies like "City Hunter" you will be able to appreciate this flick as well.

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My Lucky Stars Reviews

• 1 hr 36 mins
• Comedy, Action & Adventure
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Jackie Chan as a high-kicking Hong Kong cop in Japan to track down a criminal mastermind. When his partner is kidnapped, he must enlists the help of childhood friends, most of them petty criminals and misfits to help him mount the rescue.

A leering bedroom comedy-cum-action film featuring the acrobatic talents of Jackie Chan, MY LUCKY STARS follows the schizophrenic formula of Jackie's vehicle WINNERS AND SINNERS (1983), a huge hit in Japan under the title 5 LUCKY STARS. In Tokyo to arrest a renegade Hong Kong cop who stole $100 million in diamonds, HK policemen Muscles (Jackie Chan) and Ricky (Yuen Biao) pursue their quarry in a wild car chase to an amusement park in the shadow of Mount Fuji. There, Ricky is captured and spirited inside the Haunted House attraction. Knowing the criminals will recognize any other Hong Kong cops, Muscles has his old orphanage friends assembled to track down the gang. Consisting of a lunatic, an idiot, a con artist, a thief, and their nominal leader Fastbuck (Sammo Hung)--a prisoner released specifically for the assignment--they spend the middle third of the movie trying to press flesh with their warder, Barbara (Sibelle Hu), before hooking up with the gangsters in a gambling den. A meeting is arranged between Fastbuck and the criminals inside the Haunted House, but it's a set-up and Fastbuck finds the rest of his buddies already in a cell. They break loose and release Ricky, and with the help of Muscles, who has followed them in, round up all the criminals. The actors may not be playing the same characters as in WINNERS AND SINNERS, but they certainly have all the same juvenile, lecherous tendencies, with Eric Tsang the only newcomer, replacing John Shum. The Japanese locale is clearly a nod to the audience that helped make the series a success, as is the HK acting debut of Japanese body-builder Michiko Nishiwaki. In a favorite technique of director Hung, she seems unthreatening at first glance, only to shed her kimono, reveal her pumped-up body, and engage Sibelle Hu in a vicious catfight. The team of Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, and Yuen Biao was a box-office bonanza through the mid-to-late '80s, although here they only appear together onscreen in two brief shots at the very end of the movie, Yuen's character having gone missing after the stunt- and fight-filled beginning. Chan is slightly more prominent, appearing periodically throughout the draggy middle third, and battling his way through the clever gimmickry of the Haunted House at the end, where ghosts and demons leap out from every corner, white-clad ninja attack in an indoor snowscape, and kabuki warriors drop from above in an upside-down room where furniture hangs from the ceiling. The fights are of course the meat of the film, the tired comedy mere filler, the plot tissue-thin and essentially negligible. But by staffing the bad guys with some of Hong Kong's most skilled fighters, Hung sets us up a terrific climax where, in addition to Nishiwaki versus Hu, Sammo Hung takes on skilled actor-director Lau Kar Wing, Yuen Biao tackles the ubiquitous Lam Ching Ying, and Jackie Chan once again squares off against his perennial foe, powerhouse Dick Wei. (Violence, sexual situations)

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My Lucky Stars (1985) Review

“My Lucky Stars” Japanese Theatrical Poster

Director: Sammo Hung Producer: Leonard Ho Cast: Sammo Hung, Yuen Biao, Sibelle Hu, Jackie Chan, Richard Ng, Eric Tsang, Andy Lau, Michiko Nishikawa, Charlie Ching, Stanley Fung, Lam Ching-Ying, Bolo Yeung, James Tien, Yuen Wah, Fruit Chan Gor Running Time: 84/99 min.

By Numskull

How many people, like myself, saw the Arena Home Video release of this movie in the martial arts section at Media Play and shelled out eight hundred and ninety-nine of their hard-earned cents (plus sales tax where applicable) for it, expecting to see a poorly-dubbed but still watchable ’80s Chan flick superior to Lo Wei’s excrement but second-rate compared to, say, Police Story? A show of hands, please? Ah…I thought so.

Well, as anyone with half the intellect of a furry little forest critter burrowing in its own feces knows, nine bucks isn’t a great deal to pay for a video such as this. However, it would have been nice and fair and decent and honest and ethical and TOTALLY unAmerican if this release had been packaged for what it is…a Samo Hung film which co-stars Jackie Chan…rather than what thousands of action-starved Johnny-come-lately peasants like me were looking for…a Jackie Chan movie that co-stars Samo Hung. There’s about 15 minutes of Jackie and 70 minutes of Samo here. Had I known that beforehand, I would have bought it anyway since Samo kicks ass, but still…15 minutes of Jackie is 15 minutes of Jackie.

Three action scenes in this movie…short one in beginning, short one in middle, long one at end. Most of the comedy scenes are just filler…some, like the Japanese restaurant bit, while not exactly being hysterical, at least work. Others, like the quasi-epic phony burglary scene, do NOT work and will make you want to track down the parties responsible for conceiving such a thing with six rabid bloodhounds and a meat cleaver in each hand (“I’m allergic to rope”?!?).

Remember, though…the longer you suffer, the greater your reward. Sit through the lame frat house humor and you’ll be treated to a really keen funhouse seqence where lots of people sustain grievous bodily injuries. If you didn’t laugh at the plight of five petty crooks torn between copping a feel off a “Daddy got me here, pretty face will get me the rest of the way” pseudo-actress at every opportunity and simply breaking down and gang-banging her, surely you won’t fail to see the humor in watching them administer concussions and spinal damage to a crew of underpaid stuntmen with families to support pretending to be bad guys.

You know, I bet some TV executive looking to capitalize on the popularity of Walker: Texas Ranger had a whipping boy round up all the Jackie Chan movies he could find in hopes of finding bits to steal and drop into a new martial arts based show…and when they saw this, they said: “Hot damn…I don’t have to look for this shit myself…I’ll just hire that guy! Smithers (pointing at TV screen)! Bring me the fat man!” Thus, Martial Law was born.

Oh yeah, Yuen Biao is in this movie too, but I find it kind of odd that he is supposed to be a brother to Jackie and Samo but he gets stuck with a weenie underdog role and has maybe seven minutes of screen time. Oh well…with eight key roles in this puppy, I guess SOMEONE had to be shafted.

Now, with all of that having been said, go to Media Play right now and buy the fucker unless A) you have done so already or B) you can’t afford the $8.99 because you’ve got two kids in college and your car insurance company is hitting you with a late fee since you only paid them ten days in advance and it takes them two weeks to process your check and register the payment. Believe me, I hear you…just like the political prisoner played by Samo Hung, who gets double-crossed and screwed over by the fuckin’ pigs (who else), you’re being hassled by the man (whatever the fuck that means).

Numskull’s Rating: 7/10

By Vic Nguyen

This film was pretty good. It had action, and plenty of good laughs. Jackie plays Muscles, a Hong Kong cop traveling to Japan to bust an ex cop. Along with his partner [Yuen Biao], they follow him to an amusement park, and after an excellant fight with ninjas, they kidnap Yuen Biao. Jackie then enlists the help of his former orphanage gang to help rescue his partner, because he says the kidnappers will recognize all Hong Kong cops. Jackies out of the picture and the camera turns focus to Sammo and crew. This is not a bad thing, because the sequences involving Sammo’s horny crew are hilarious. After that, Sammo and crew re-unite with Jackie for a final assault to rescue Yuen Biao and to catch all the bad guys. Even though Jackies part in this film is limited to an extended cameo, the orphanage brothers really steal the show. Sammo really proves he is capable of directing films in all sorts of genres. Highly Recommended.

Vic Nguyen’s Rating: 8/10

My Lucky Stars has to be one of my favorite Samo Hung films. Yeah, it has rather grade school humour and some very stupid scenes, but so what? I think the crude humour was funny as hell. You gotta love a movie in which two of the heroes are a retarded guy and a guy who thinks he has ESP (the scene where he stares at a guy coming after him and says “Don’t hit me, don’t hit me” is priceless). Not to mention the fight scene with Jackie Chan inside of the evil funhouse. If you ask me, it is not only Jackie Chan’s best fight, it has to be my #2 favorite fight ever (I’m still undecided about #1). The fight is almost surreal and looks really cool.

If your still not convinced that this is a really kick ass movie, you gotta love the scene where the retarded guy shows a Japanese waiter his member in order to get a sausage, but instead is brought back a mushroom. Be sure to see the DVD though, the dubbed VHS suck! This is a very underated film and I can’t recommend it enough.

Yate’s Rating: 9.5/10

Here goes: Picture a 14 year old boy — with A.D.D. — and an unusual amount of hormones. Now age him about 15 more years, multiply by 5, and you have the pseudo-heroes of this movie. Samo Hung is the head of a gang of ex-orphans, turned con men, thieves, crazies, etc. They are asked to go undercover to help Jackie rescue Yuen Biao from bad guys. As far as I can figure, they are in the movie to slow it down. The scene where they dress up as Ninjas so they can terrorize the girl in the picture and take turns getting tied up to her is so painful, I wished I could have put Ambisol on it (or do I mean Preparation H?). When a guy is turned on, his brain shrinks to the size of a walnut (in direct disproportion to the part of him that’s growing) – and these rocket scientists still manage to put one over on this dimwitted female, who’s dumber than dumb. Who put her in charge of the mission? The Three Stooges? The only time the movie is at all good is the beginning, with Jackie and Yuen and the end fight (again with Jackie), this time in an amusement park Horror House. What a waste of Yuen Biao! I figure he got about 7 minutes of screen time, most of it in a car! I have to admit, I laughed out loud a few times and I love Samo, which is the only reason it got as many stars as it did.

Ro’s Rating: 4/10 (add 3 stars if you’re a 14 year old boy)

I am creating a new category called “Jackie Chan Charity Films.” That’s where this movie belongs. I haven’t seen a superstar in such a superfluous and tacked on role since Eddie Murphy sold his soul for “Best Defense.” It’s already known that JC did this film to keep visibility while working on other films, and to help Sammo. This film needed him. His contribution includes a great car chase at the beginning, an original piece in a fun house at the end, and a fight in the middle of the movie (which showcases the most overused JC cliche, the “duck in the nick of time as a sharp blade cuts off a lock of his hair.” OK comedy, but not an action film. Why does the little guy (who looks like he has Downs Syndrome) sound like Jerry Lewis.

Shazbot’s Rating: 5/10

Having seen this film all of once, I can’t say I’m impressed. Perhaps I would have liked it better if I’d seen any of the other “Lucky Star” films, but I had definitely been hoping for more of Jackie. The fights are pretty good & the humor is plenty ridiculous, but I’d have to be in a very particular mood to watch this one again. I give it an extra point just for the funhouse scene, though.

Marcia’s Rating: 6/10

By Jan-Michael

After analyzing this film, one know’s that Jackie was ready for Police Story. The opening draws the audience in with non-stop action as Jackie and his partner Yuen Biao chase a renegade HK cop out of a Japanese subway station. An excellent display of daring stuntwork and acrobatics, along with a great car chase precede. Then, Sammo and his buddies are introduced and slow the film down. Now, those who moan drawn out buddy-buddy gag sequences should be forewarned. Sammo and his friends give some comedic relief but it just drags on. Copping feels off of Sibelle Hu gets tired after a while, believe me, I’ve tried it, and she slapped me a couple of good ones as well. And the pantomime at the restaurant was just to much for me.

Finally, Jackie starts mixing it up a bit. Jackie disguises himself as a big-headed mascot (or something) and enters the amusement park’s funhouse, only to find out that the exhibits inside are trying to kill him. My Lucky Stars kicks into gear (finally) as Jackie fights his way through the surrealistic funhouse and into the Scarecrow Club’s headquarters. Jackie really shines in the entire finale; demonstrating his new style that would change cinematic history in Police Story. Chan plunders through his opponents with ease; releasing an explosion of energy that viewer’s really hadn’t seen to much of at this point in his career.

Yuen Biao has basically just a cameo in this three buddies film; and his talents really go to waste. Sammo displays his fast rhythmic bone-crunching style; but his kicks are just sloppy. Sammo’s side blade kicks are thrown practically from the ground, they need to be thrown from your knees for the full impact. Sammo’s crescent kicks are sloppy as well and he doesn’t extend to the fullest mark that a crescent kick needs to be reached; but its mainly because he can’t get his legs around his obese belly that easily. Sorry sammo, but Jackie put you to shame in this film. No wonder why you only allowed Jackie to make a presence of about 1/2 an hour. Overall, this film is pretty well done but its not on my top ten anywhere. I recommend any Chan fan to watch it for at least Jackie’s phenomonal skills.

Jan-Michael’s Rating: 7/10

This movie was different than any movie I’ve ever seen. One hand it has some great fight scenes and on the other it was filled with really corny humor. All the scenes with Jackie (there aren’t many) were fast moving fights with some cool moves. Some of the scenes with the orphans were funny (like the crazy guy driving the car), but too many were either too long or too stupid. The scene with the fake ninjas was funny at first but went on way to long. So in closing if you like a few fast moving fights with mixed corny humor and a little Jackie, this movie is for you. Other wise this one has a lot of dull moments.

EZwalk’s Rating: 5/10

Not a bad flick overall. This is a B movie from the 80’s with a healthy dose of Jackie Chan action towards the end and one REALLY COOL CAR STUNT in the beginning. This really belongs in a collection of Sammo Hung films (unless you don’t have one) though, the film features the “lucky stars” a group of old orphan buddies who reunite for adventure. They are really only so-so. Granted, they get their chance to shine, but sometimes they are pretty dumb. I’ll go see the other lucky star films, but now I know what to expect…

Andrew’s Rating: 5/10

This movie is better than “Winners and Sinners”, but not as great as “Twinkle Twinkle”. Sammo does a better job with his editing in this one, but it still is pretty bad. Jackie actually has some decent fighting in this one. There’s the fight in the beginning when JC and Yuen Biao are chasing the crooked cop. Then the fight where Samo accompanies JC in some ass kicking in Jackie’s house. And the finale is actually quite nice. There’s a cool chick fight. The comedy builds up on you until you start to feel a little bit like blurting out a laugh or to, but none of the comedy scenes really stick out as particularly funny. This is good as long as you don’t mind seeing JC in a small role.

Clint’s Rating: 6/10

This was and is one of the best Jackie/Samo films. I’d have to say Jackie and Samo Hung are the best movie duo ever. Forget Mel and Danny. Forget Bill and Ted. It’s them. This movie features Samo at his best, including a trick the horny guys play on the girl in the apartment (which got a little long). No, Jackie is not the main character in this movie. But if your read the title, it clearly describes the “Lucky Stars” as the stars of the film. Jackie shines in his part, although he plays sort of the straight man. Good movie throughout except a little slow in the middle.

Dusty’s Rating: 8/10

By Sean Johnson

This film is hella funny! the crazy orphanage guys keep the picture moving and the laughs coming. The only problem though is that Jackie isn’t in enough of this movie. He only really shows up at the end for a well executed action scene in a Theme Park Ghost house where he fights ninjas and Samurais. The problem with the American video is that about six minutes of the film are cut out, and it is released on an EP format brought out by Arena Video which is a company that consists of a bunch of con artists. Get the original version and have a good time.

Sean Johnson’s Rating: 7/10

By The Great Hendu

My Lucky Stars was a really funny movie. The five members of the “orphanage gang” were constantly pulling practical jokes and joking with each other. They were really the heart of the story. Jackie wasn’t the star of the movie, but the fight scenes he was in were phenomenal. If only he had been more prominent in this one it would have been a great flick. The Good: Jackie’s walk through the haunted house… The Bad: Not enough Jackie… The End: Good fight scene with the body builder woman!

The Great Hendu’s Rating: 7/10

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My Lucky Stars

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Movie details, lucky stars collection.

Lucky Stars (or Five Lucky Stars; (Chinese: 福星系列、五福星) was a Hong Kong action comedy film series in the 1980s and 1990s, blending Chinese martial arts with bawdy comedy. The films featured an ensemble cast, with many of the actors appearing in successive films. The characters of the Five Lucky Stars were originally petty criminals recently out of prison, who started their own cleaning company. By the second film, the cleaning company idea was discarded, and the bumbling gang were instead employed to assist the police.

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My Lucky Stars (1985)

Original title: 福星高照.

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My Lucky Stars streaming: where to watch online?

Currently you are able to watch "My Lucky Stars" streaming on Criterion Channel. It is also possible to buy "My Lucky Stars" on Amazon Video, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Vudu as download or rent it on Amazon Video, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Vudu online.

Two Hong Kong cops are sent to Tokyo to catch an ex-cop who stole a large amount of money in diamonds. After one is captured by the Ninja-gang protecting the rogue cop, the other one gets his old Orphanage gang, dubbed the "Five Lucky Stars," to help him. They don't like this much, but they do it.

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My Lucky Stars

Fuk sing go jiu.

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My Lucky Stars

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My Lucky Star Reviews

(A) candy-floss concoction that is never particularly gripping but certainly delivers slick visuals and an engaging bunch of performances from a committed cast.

Full Review | Oct 3, 2013

Director Gordon keeps the story flowing smoothly and the photography, by cinematographer Armando Salas, is picture perfect.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Sep 26, 2013

My Lucky Star is wholesome, effortless entertainment that runs smoothly enough but seldom takes one's breath away in the romance department.

Full Review | Sep 20, 2013

The result is the blandest of both worlds. My Lucky Star is neither a particularly thrilling spy movie nor a very original romance.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/4 | Sep 20, 2013

Ziyi Zhang as heroine in 'Scott Pilgrim vs. the World' rom-com? Yes.

Full Review | Original Score: B | Sep 20, 2013

If this dreck is what the Chinese market thinks we like, you have to wonder what kind of impression our movies make on them.

Full Review | Original Score: 1/5 | Sep 19, 2013

After watching it, you may need a few moments to remember which decade this is, because the film has the tone and silliness of a "Pink Panther" movie or an episode of the 1960s sitcom "Get Smart."

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Sep 19, 2013

It's hardly original, but as the plot bounces from Singapore to Hong Kong and the lavishly gaudy Venetian Resort in Macao, "My Lucky Star" plays out like a sparkling, brightly lit travelogue with Zhang as a bubbly tour guide.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/4 | Sep 19, 2013

While Zhang is one of China's greatest international stars, "My Lucky Star" is utterly provincial.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/4 | Sep 19, 2013

While the film does not lack production values and panache, Gordon's direction often seems thoughtless.

Full Review | Sep 19, 2013

In spite of its drawbacks, My Lucky Star is always fun to watch and better than, say, a Jennifer Aniston/Gerard Butler vehicle.

Zhang's character is so idiotically naive and her adventures so flairlessly executed that it's the thing to escape from.

Full Review | Original Score: 1.5/4 | Sep 19, 2013

The movie displays a fair amount of visual invention in its sight gags, stunt choreography, and bright color schemes.

Appropriating American rom-com tropes with such gusto...My Lucky Star is a cutesy Chinese caper cooked up with nothing but old scraps.

Full Review | Original Score: 1.5/5 | Sep 19, 2013

Being successful involves knowing that light doesn't equal stupid, and discerning between formula and formulaic. Neither director Dennie Gordon nor the four credited screenwriters of My Lucky Star seem able to make those distinctions.

Full Review | Sep 17, 2013

Yet another limp spy spoof that fails to make any interesting critiques about the genre, let alone construct a humorous gag.

Full Review | Original Score: .5/4 | Sep 16, 2013

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Stream It Or Skip It: ‘We Were The Lucky Ones’ On Hulu, About A Jewish Family Trying To Reunite After World War II

Where to stream:.

• We Were the Lucky Ones

When Does ‘We Were The Lucky Ones’ Episode 4 Come Out on Hulu?

New shows & movies to watch this weekend: ‘a gentleman in moscow’ on paramount+ with showtime + more, where was ‘we were the lucky ones’ filmed.

It seems that World War II dramas are all the rage over the past few years, especially ones that explore the experiences in Europe during the war’s early years. They explore the fear of what’s to come as the Germans march their way across the continent, as well as the idea that Jews across the territory the Germans conquered had no idea what horrors were in store for them. A new drama on Hulu incorporates many of these themes, but it also explores how some families managed to get reunited after the war was over.

WE WERE THE LUCKY ONES : STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

Opening Shot: “Red Cross Office, Lodz, Poland. 1945.” A woman stands in a crowd of people waiting to hear from loved ones. Someone calls her to the front, and hands her a note telling her that they’ve located one or more of her family members.

The Gist: Seven years earlier, in Radom, Poland, that same woman, Halina Kurc (Joey King) is delivering a package to the lab where she works for her brother-in-law Selim (Michael Aloni) as a lab assistant. Her pregnant sister Mila (Hadas Yaron) complains that she doesn’t treat her job seriously enough. But Halina doesn’t want to hear it; she’s off to the train station to pick up their brother Addy (Logan Lerman), who has come in from Paris for Passover.

Halina is starting to see the antisemitism that has started to permeate Europe, giving an example of a regular customer of her family’s dress shop that no longer comes because she’s “a snob who hates Jews.” Their parents Sol (Lior Ashkenazi) and Nechuma (Robin Weigert) are happy to see Addy, whose music career in Paris has started to take off. More Kurc offspring — Mila and Selim, Genec (Henry Lloyd-Hughes) ,and Jakub (Amit Rahav) and his girlfriend Bella (Eva Feiler) — plus Adam (Sam Woolf), who is renting a room at the apartment and has caught Halina’s eye, come over for the seder.

A year later in Paris, Addy is down over being told by his mother not to come to Radom for Passover; it’s too dangerous with the Germans ready to invade and antisemitism running rampant. He’s determined to go, but he’s told at the Polish consulate that, as a Jew, “travel for you is a death sentence.” Back in Radom, Genec finds out that he’s being demoted at work; he tells his new wife Herta (Moran Rosenblatt) that he’s decided to quit. Mila is overwhelmed by motherhood and doesn’t feel connected to her infant daughter. And Halina and Sam are dating.

By September, the Germans start their push into Poland; all of the men in the Kurc family join the military to fight off the advancement. After German soldiers march through town, the Kurcs find that their business, along with other Jewish businesses, are being taken over by the Germans. Halina, along with the rest of the family, are sent to work camps; Halina finds herself pulling beets on a farm, and witnessing a woman being beaten by soldiers after she hides one to bring home. She begs her parents to leave, but they refuse, saying they will not leave their hometown.

However, since half of Poland is under Russian control, some of the clan starts to make plans to escape to Lvov, which is in the region controlled by the Soviets and where most of the men are stationed — they all seem to be accounted for, except for Selim. Herta has already decided to leave, and soon Bella and Halina start making plans to go, as well.

What Shows Will It Remind You Of? Based on a novel by Georgia Hunter, We Were The Lucky Ones reminds us of the myriad series we’ve seen lately that take place at the beginning of World War II: World On Fire , The New Look , All The Light We Cannot See , and others.

Our Take: Erica Lipez ( The Morning Show ) adapted We Were The Lucky Ones for TV, and the first episode is directed by Thomas Kail ( Hamilton ). It certainly is trying to tell a harrowing story with what we imagine is something of a positive ending, where most of the Kurc family is reunited after the war. There are fantastic performances all over the first episode, highlighted by Joey King as the loyal but independent Halina.

But we spent a lot of the first episode just trying to sort out just who is related to who and who is married to who, which took us right out of the impending dread that the family experienced as the looming danger of German occupation became closer to a reality. The Kurcs are a big family, and the way we’re introduced to them is jumbled at best. We especially got confused when we see Genec with Herta; for some reason, we thought it was Mila and Selim. It took a second viewing to just sort out which one of the look-alike male Kurc offspring was actually in a particular scene.

Once the family is spread out, trying to survive the way in whatever way they can in the face of German persecution of Jews, that confusion might dissipate. But then another problem arises: How does everyone get enough story and screen time to develop their characters and not just become flat stereotypes?

By the end of the first episode, we have an idea about the personalities of some the Kurcs and their associated married relatives, but the rest get so little screen time we don’t even get a chance to root for them to escape the Germans. For instance, when Herta tells Mila that she’s going to go to Lvov, we had only seen her in the one scene with Genec; it barely registered with us just who she actually was. Will it register with us again when we encounter her in later episodes? We’re not sure. We Were The Lucky Ones is one of those kinds of shows that have the “quality” label all over it, from the settings to the costumes to the performances and the historic significance of the story. But it may just be too sprawling a narrative to keep the story cohesive enough in an eight-episode limited series.

Sex and Skin: Nothing more than scenes like Herta and Genec rolling around in bed with their clothes on.

Parting Shot: Lying in a bed next to Belle, Halina reluctantly agrees to go to Lvov with her. Sleeper Star: In a scene where Mila hands her baby daughter to her mother and talks about how overwhelmed she is, the baby seemingly touches her mother’s arm on cue. So either that was CGI, or a wonderful coincidence that Kail happened to capture. Either way, kudos to the baby for such great acting. Most Pilot-y Line: Genec tells a coworker that the Germans will be stopped at the border. “I’m certain of it,” he says. Nice foreshadowing, huh?

Our Call: STREAM IT. While the first episode of We Were The Lucky Ones is a bit confusing and the show has too many characters to keep track of, King’s and Lerman’s performances anchor the series and make it worth watching, even if the rest of the characters won’t get as well-explored.

Joel Keller ( @joelkeller ) writes about food, entertainment, parenting and tech, but he doesn’t kid himself: he’s a TV junkie. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Slate, Salon, RollingStone.com , VanityFair.com , Fast Company and elsewhere.

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My Lucky Star

The son (Romero) of a department store owner enrolls the store's sports clerk (Henie) at a university to use her as an advertisement for their fashion department. She falls for a teacher (Gr... Read all The son (Romero) of a department store owner enrolls the store's sports clerk (Henie) at a university to use her as an advertisement for their fashion department. She falls for a teacher (Greene) and gets expelled. The son (Romero) of a department store owner enrolls the store's sports clerk (Henie) at a university to use her as an advertisement for their fashion department. She falls for a teacher (Greene) and gets expelled.

• Roy Del Ruth
• Karl Tunberg
• Don Ettlinger
• Harry Tugend
• Sonja Henie
• Richard Greene
• 14 User reviews
• 2 Critic reviews

• Kristina Nielsen

• Larry Taylor

• Mary Dwight

• George Cabot Jr

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• Connections Featured in Biography: Cesar Romero: In a Class by Himself (2000)
• Soundtracks Marching Along (uncredited) Music by Harry Revel Lyrics by Mack Gordon Sung and reprised frequently by Plymouth University Mixed Chorus

User reviews 14

• Nov 22, 2003
• November 30, 1938 (France)
• United States
• They Met in College
• 20th Century Fox Studios - 10201 Pico Blvd., Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA (Studio)
• Twentieth Century Fox
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‘We Were the Lucky Ones’ Review: Joey King & Logan Lerman Defy the Odds in Scattered Drama Series

Despite narrative issues, the Hulu series crafts a heartbreaking—and heartwarming—story worth tuning in for.

The Big Picture

• Joey King and Logan Lerman are standout presences in Hulu's We Were the Lucky Ones .
• The ensemble is impressive and well-cast, though there are too many characters to keep track of.
• The series tells a heartfelt story despite rushed plotlines, although its low stakes conflict with the harrowing WWII setting.

Hulu is the latest streamer to delve into the horrors of the Holocaust with We Were the Lucky Ones ' debut this week. Based on Georgia Hunter ’s award-winning novel by the same name, the series joins the ranks of Apple TV+’s The New Look and Masters of the Air , National Geographic’s A Small Light , and Netflix’s All the Light We Cannot See as it delves into the lives of a family directly impacted by the rhetoric and violence of Nazi Germany.

The series begins in 1938, a mere six months before Germany invades Poland. While tensions and antisemitism are on the rise, it seems that nothing will stop the Kurc family from descending upon their family home for the start of Passover. It’s a fairly unremarkable night, filled with laughter and camaraderie, that is framed as a common occurrence. They are a tight-knit family held together by their stalwart mother, Nechuma ( Robin Weigert ), and father, Sol ( Lior Ashkenazi ).

We Were the Lucky Ones

A Jewish family is determined to survive and reunite after being separated in World War II.

What Is 'We Were the Lucky Ones' About?

We Were the Lucky Ones centers around the five Kurc siblings and their spouses; the eldest Genek ( Henry Lloyd-Hughes ) and his wife Herta ( Moran Rosenblatt ), who is expecting their first child; Mila ( Hadas Yaron ) and her husband Selim ( Michael Aloni ), and their daughter Felicia; Addy ( Logan Lerman ), who has been living abroad in France writing jazz music; Jakub ( Amit Rahav ); and their youngest child, Halina ( Joey King ) As the opening scene lays out, each of the Kurc siblings have hopes and dreams for the future. They’re largely unphased by the impending war or the rising hostility. Little do they know that this is one of the last truly happy nights they will share as a family before the five siblings and their parents are scattered across the continent like seeds in the wind, as the war rips apart their homeland and lives.

The series states that it is based on a true story, but that might be too broad of a claim. While it details, in excruciating detail, the real-life horrors that Jewish people, and those deemed undesirable by the Nazis, faced during World War II, We Were the Lucky Ones is more inspired by true events, than based on a wholly true story . As the author has explained over the years , Addy is a fictionalized version of her grandfather and his family during the Holocaust. Hunter never knew that her grandfather was Jewish until she interviewed her grandmother shortly after his passing, and she relayed to her what she knew about his time before immigrating to America. Erica Lipez , the showrunner and screenwriter for We Were the Lucky Ones , has expertly taken Hunter’s lovingly crafted tapestry of fact and fiction and transformed it into a harrowing and brutal look at the Kurc family’s fight for survival.

Joey King Finally Finds Her Spotlight in ‘We Were the Lucky Ones’

King and Lerman, like the author Hunter, have spoken about their own familial connections to the Holocaust, which adds a layer of realness to their performances. Perhaps that personal association helped pave the way for both lead actors to have notable performances in the series . With We Were the Lucky Ones , Joey King may have, at last, found a role that will prove to audiences that she is an actress who should be taken seriously. While she has flourished in tween flicks like Ramona and Beezus and The Kissing Booth trilogy, she has had a series of poorly received films as of late, including The Princess , and her miscast role in Bullet Train , which Lerman also appeared in.

Lerman is another clear standout in the series, though his performance is more subtle —mirroring Addy's more subdued personality when compared to his little sister. As an artist, a free spirit, and a hopeless romantic, these quiet yearnings carry Addy through the worst of the horrors he faces, and it’s quite compelling to watch his love story blossom with Eliska ( Lihi Kornowski ) amid such a tumultuous time. Addy and Eliska aren’t the only romance in the series, as Halina has her own interlude with Adam Eichenwald ( Sam Woolf ), which serves as a diversion from the war—for both of them. While King and Lerman are at the forefront of the conversation, We Were the Lucky Ones is very much an ensemble cast. Lloyd-Hughes delivers another memorable performance as Genek, particularly as he’s forced to tread the careful line of fighting for his family’s future and keeping his head down in order to survive.

‘We Were the Lucky Ones’ Has Too Many Characters to Keep Track Of

Clocking in at a little over eight hours of screentime across the 8-episode series, We Were the Lucky Ones occasionally feels more like a series of vignettes instead of one cohesive story . Halina and Addy are clearly set up as the main characters, as their plotlines receive the most focus, but the rest of the Kurc family are just as vital to the overarching plot. From the very first—and last—Passover supper, We Were the Lucky Ones wants its audience to form an emotional attachment to each sibling, but it often spends too much time away from the individual characters to ensure that the emotion carries through from episode to episode.

In part, this is because We Were the Lucky Ones is tasked with telling a story that spans the entirety of World War II, spread out across different continents, and threaded through multiple intricate storylines. While this won’t detract from the first trio of episodes dropping together, this may pose a challenge for the five remaining episodes , which are dropping weekly after the premiere.

As the series reminds audiences in the very first episode, nearly 90% of Poland’s Jewish population was murdered by the Nazis , which makes the writing surrounding the Kurc siblings' remarkable story of survival oftentimes feel implausible. That’s not to say that We Were the Lucky Ones should show more of the unfathomable, stomach-turning horrors of the time. Narratively speaking, however, the continued good luck of the Kurc family might play into the title, but it lowers the stakes at every turn. Where else have we seen a Jewish man shout at and belittle a Nazi officer and walk away with nothing more than a few bruises?

Nevertheless, We Were the Lucky Ones is a worthwhile watch this spring . Amid the dirty, grim, and impoverished conditions, the series crafts a sumptuous scene with its costuming and scene design. Ultimately, despite its narrative issues and expeditious storytelling, it still manages to pull off a heartbreaking—and heartwarming—storyline that will leave you anxious to discover what comes next.

Despite storytelling issues, Hulu's We Were the Lucky Ones tells a heartbreaking and heartwarming story that will leave viewers anxiously awaiting each new episode.

• Joey King and Logan Lerman are standouts in We Were the Lucky Ones.
• The entire ensemble gives impressive performances and is expertly cast.
• There are too many characters to keep track of, which leads to rushed plot lines and scattered storytelling.
• By design, the series features low stakes, which is in direct odds with the dangerous period it is set in.

We Were the Lucky Ones premieres March 28 on Hulu.

Watch on Hulu