Wonderful character development!

Terrible acting, screenplay and direction.

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

For those who don't know much about the movie regulation system in China,just imagine you are a child from a very old-fashioned Christian family,if you don't listen,the chance you get grounded or abused is sky high.That's why the first time I saw this movie,confusion stroke me very,very hard,I mean,how could you expect someone lives in touchable fear all his life can make a piece of art like this?This movie,rarely,portrays Chinese social environment right on points and humor comes out of it very smoothly,you started feel a part of this movie at the beginning,and that explains why every single time the funny plot surfaces,nothing could stop you from uncontrolled laugh,of course you'll laugh,you know the characters,it's your father,your brother and the chick you saw in the movie theater,when things happen to people you feel familiar with,your emotion react much stronger than you think.The story lines,too,are one of the best I've seen in years,plots are puzzled but totally make sense to you,whenever lines crashes with each other,you know you are gonna laugh.I give this movie 10 points for the surprise it gives me,the thoughts expressed in the movie,and the respect to normal Chinese people the director showed.

Due to many reasons such as censorship, financial problems etc. Chinese movie industry has been at the bottom of food chain for decades. Only few people can make money from movie industry without the help of government. Later, many directors such as Zhang Yimou, Chen kaige turn to make all those blockbuster movies with high volume of investment. However, it does not seems to be a good way to keep Chinese movies alive. Empty plots, awkward performance of good-looking actors and actresses could not save movies. They are rip off money from people once, twice but never thrice.Crazy Stone was born under the circumstance that Chinese people are so disappointed by those movies made by zhang Yimou and Chen kaige that they only spend few us dollars buying illegal DVD copies on streets rather than going to movie cinemas. The enriched plot, excellent performances of unknown actors and hilarious story save the last hope of this country's movies. The movie is produced by famous Hongkong actor Andy Lau's company with very little investment, however, it does not bother the quality at all. In fact, the quality is I believe as one of the best in Chinese movie history.All those black humors in the movies deserve to be mentioned. However, people who have not lived in China for years could not understand why it's funny, or even worse, it kills interests of people who get used to the vision effects of Hollywood productions or the romance and depressions of European movies.In a conclusion, this movie is highly recommended for people who are living in China and would like to learn about this country. Hopefully, you will enjoy and understand it.

So far, the FOCUS: First Cuts series of movies have been rather mediocre. Taiwan's The Shoe Fairy was rather plain, Hong Kong's I'll Call You was concentrated too much on its effects, and Singapore's Love Story was just awful. The three aforementioned movies lacked a compelling story to tell, and I was holding my breath on how a movie titled Crazy Stone will present itself.I bought into it, hook line and sinker, within the first ten minutes. The opening scenes were a class act in editing, presentation, with a mixture of humour, and wastes no time in introducing the ensemble characters of the movie - an ex-cop turned Chief Security Officer, his Toto-fanatical sidekick, the arrogant crony of an unscrupulous real estate developer, a skirt-chasing photographer, a trio of bumbling crooks, and a professional thief who just has no luck.Directed by China's Ning Hao, Crazy Stone is one heck of a heist movie with deft touches in presentation. Never too flashy with its special effects, or repeating its non-linear narrative technique too often, it just about presents itself almost perfectly, keeping the audience constantly engaged throughout the movie. I can't finger a dull moment in any scene actually, and the real reward is when you pay attention to the little details, as these will be used at some point to deliver that awaited punctuation to the story. There're plenty of irony infused, which somewhat brings about certain pleasure in recognizing them. The sets are beautifully urban, and at times just plain ugly - the toilets just have to be seen.The casts are a joy to watch, and although relative unknowns, they bring out just about the best in the story, which is something like a Spy Vs Spy, cat and mouse, cloak and dagger game between the protectors of a piece of valuable jade, and the crooks who want to steal it for the various motivations they have. The story's akin to the guessing game of correctly selecting which cup amongst three, is a coin hidden under, once the cups are shuffled randomly with sleigh of hand, and to the characters, presents itself like a huge maze, set to an eclectic soundtrack.I don't get the opportunity to watch that many Chinese films (and here I mean those made in China), and I'd say that if this is how a heist movie can beat, in my opinion, some of the fare that Hollywood churns out in the same genre (not that they were fantastic, but I enjoyed them nonetheless), then I would be eagerly waiting for another Chinese movie from another genre proving itself to be amongst the best. This movie doesn't look expensive, and it's an apt reminder that it almost always boils down to the quality of the story, to make it a hit with a viewer.As with the other First Cut movies, a touch of Andy Lau is included, and though he did not star in a cameo here, his song "Wang Qing Shui" was featured in part (I believe twice) in the movie, though only in passing, but enough to ID it.Looks like his venture with these 6 films has uncovered a gem, and I'm secretly hoping the remaining films in this series - Malaysia's Rain Dogs (Yasmin Ahmad in a role you know?) and Hong Kong's Parental Guidance, will also prove to be as entertaining, and refreshing. Crazy Stone will go into my list as a contender for one of my favourite movies of this year. It's a pity it's only screening at ONE theatre in Singapore, so make every effort to watch it, soon!

With Memento style film structure, Pulp Fiction style story telling, and Snatch style plot and action, the first Chinese dark comedy, The Crazy Stone sets a milestone for Chinese films. The film title says all. It is a crazily hilarious film about three groups of people trying to steal a piece of emerald. The language is in Chinese local dialect from Sichuan. Even you don't understand the dialect, Chinese subtitle is available. All performers did a great job in their roles. The story is simple but very close to nowadays people's life, which brings proximity to different audiences. The film is currently a big hit in China, outruns all other foreign films. If you like to have a good laugh, or to know a little bit about nowadays Chinese plebeian life, you shouldn't miss this film.