- Directed By: Robert Samuels
- Co-Director: James Lew
- Produced By: Mark V. Wiley, Gine Lui, Shing Ka
- Cast: Tony Darrow, Vincent Pastore, Lo Meng, Jay Kwon, Raywond J.Barry, Chris Caldovino, Shuya Chang
- Running Time: 1:27:29
“Made In Chinatown will be a big HIT”
Made In Chinatown is the latest offering from upcoming Director Robert Samuels (Don't Give A Damn, Beast), featuring an all star cast which includes Tony Darrow, Vincent Pastore, Lo Meng, Jay Kwon, Raymond J. Barry, Shing Ka, Geoff Lee, Shuya Chang and Chi Ling Chiu.
Co-Directed by James Lew, “Made In Chinatown” centers around Vinnie Chow (Jay Kwon), who will try anything to become part of one of the local crime families; only one problem, he isn't Italian. Canal Street is the only divide between Little Italy and Chinatown in New York, each crime family wanting more power and more money, which will only bring one thing, a war on the streets. Vinnie doesn't seem to mind and heads forward with his plan to try and get into the mob, reading books “7 Habits Of Made Guys“, to study how they operate. But after failing with an Italian girl and a bad meeting with Al Capella (Tony Darrow), it's clear Vinnie isn't going to get into the Italian Mob.
In the opening sequence, we get to see the conflicting crime families sat around a table discussing business going forward in New York. This sets a nice tone for what's to come with the actors delivering a tough guy performance but mixed nicely with some comedy. This also has a great added bonus for Kung Fu movies fans when Lo Meng (Head of the Chinese Crime family) takes on Chi Ling Chiu (Snake In The Eagles Shadow).
SYNOPSIS: In New York City, Canal Street divides Little Italy and Chinatown, and a bridge separates Manhattan from Brooklyn. But this doesn't stop a turf war from erupting among Italian and Chinese organized crime syndicates. Mob bosses Al Capella (Tony Darrow: Goodfellas, Analyze This), Amadore Condimento (Vincent Pastore: The Sopranos, Mickey Blue Eyes), and Hung Phat (Lo Meng: Ip Man 3, Five DeadlyVenoms), control the herbs and spices in Little Italy and Chinatown. It's the oldest crime syndicate, begun centuries ago by Marco Polo. Despite being Chinese, Vincent “Vinnie” Chow (Jay Kwon: The Punisher, Iron Fist) embarks on a personal quest to join the Italian Mafia to attract the Italian girl of his dreams.
In his hilarious attempts to prove himself mob-worthy, Vinny Chow is drawn into a series of double-crosses instigated by New York's dirty crime commissioner Sean O'Greedy (Raymond J. Barry: Walk Hard, Year of the Dragon), who is playing all the mob bosses against one another. Along with his Italian friend Joey Risotto and gay black friend Lawrence, Vinny is recruited by “The Two Johnsons” to impersonate the Italian Don to infiltrate the Mafia and gather evidence to take down New York's Crime Syndicate. With a little help from two unlikely sages, “Wisdom” (Shing Ka: The Manchurian Candidate, Revenge of the Green Dragons) and “Knowledge” (Geoff Lee: The Black List, Year of theDragon), “Vinny” Chow finally finds himself, his Chinese culture and his true love (Shuya Chang: Sneakhead, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon 2).
Made In Chinatown is a breath of fresh air when it comes to Crime Movies. Yes, crime families will be violent as they fight for territory, but Made In Chinatown also shows the funny side of the mob families, which comes across really well on screen. Vincent Pastore (Sopranos) gives a great performance playing “Amadore Condimento”, along with Tony Darrow, Raymond J. Barry and others such as Shing Ka, Jay Kwon and many more.
It was great to see Lo Meng back on the screen and performing in an American production. He looked great on screen… calm, funny, serious and even showcasing his Kung Fu skills with some awesome hand to hand combat and weapon work. Kung Fu fans around the world who Love Lo Meng, will not be disappointed. He also delivers a great old school “Kung Fu Villain” laugh and when over doing it, makes him cough, which was hilarious to watch. But remember, this isn't a Martial Arts Movie, so don't expect fights every few minutes.
Robert Samuels – Lead Director
I have been a fan of Robert Samuels since the 1990's. First seeing him in the Sammo Hung movies (Don't Give A Damn), and (Gambling Ghost), i was very happy to see him succeed in the Hong Kong movie industry. Over the last 8 years, I have had the privilege to review a number of Robert's projects, such as Beast (2016), Last Days The Saga (2013), Yes Auntie (2019) and Final Contact (2018-2019). I have to say, Made In Chinatown is the best work to date and everyone involved should be very proud. Robert Samuels is looking for other projects to work on as Director and I am sure it wont be long until we see him working on many movies over the coming years.
Written by Mark V. Wiley, Made In Chinatown has a good story, great characters and a nice blend from drama to comedy. I feel Mark has done a very good job delivering the back story of lead actor Jay Kwon to the audience and I look forward to watching more from him as writer in the future. I also want to give props to Co-Director James Lew, I feel James and Robert worked very well together (Some great camera work throughout).
The casting for this movie was perfect, to bring together talents like Vincent Pastore, Tony Darow, Lo Meng and others and create something which delivers in terms of action, drama and comedy, Caroline Sinclair did a great job.
Final Verdict
Made In Chinatown is a great movie. If you love Mob/Crime Movies with some Martial Arts and Comedy, then Made In Chinatown is for you. The finale will have everyone on the edge of their seats with some great action from Lo Meng, Jay Kwon and the rest of the team involved.
I predict Made In Chinatown will do very well around the world, everyone involved should be very proud of themselves and I hope to see more collaborations like this in the future.
Made In Chinatown will be coming very soon to US pay per view networks across the country in September 2020. European and South America to be announced soon.
Festivals & Awards: Newark International Film Festival – September 07, 2019**Closing Film & Panel Discussion**Awards: “Best Actor” – Vincent Pastore | “Best Stunts” – Jay KwonHell's Kitchen Film Festival – **Award: “Lifetime Achievement” – Tony DarrowPhiladelphia Independent Film Festival**Official Selection (canceled due to Covid-19)
