A Chinese Ghost Story (2011)

Ching Siu-tung’s classic supernatural/comedy/romance re-imagined for a modern audience. It’s respectful to the original but throws in some new elements that don't feel out of place, and happily it keeps the CGI to a mostly support role; it could've been a lot worse.
With more money to play around with it’s no surprise that lighting is better, sets are larger and film stock superior, but it really can’t compare to the original in terms of emotion. The two leads (Yifei Liu and Shaoqun Yu) lack the chemistry of Joey Wong and the late, great Leslie Cheung.

2½ candy pieces out of 5

A Chinese Ghost Story: The Tsui Hark Animation (1997)

aka: Xiao Qian

Animated version of this. The basic plot is the same but the location has changed. It's now in a town very like Hayao Miyazaki's Spirited Away, which it predates by four years!
It’s full of inventive creatures that would have been impossible to do in live action. The live action is much better. Still, it has the honour of being the first ever Chinese animated feature from Hong Kong.

2 death liners and tree demons out of 5

A Chinese Ghost Story III (1991)

aka: Sien Lui Yau Wan III: Do Do Do

A new setting and new characters mean this is a sequel in name only; if they'd changed the title before release no one would've noticed. It’s still good and still worth watching. It has monks, tree demons, exploding people and all the cool shit we've come to expect from these kinds of films. It’s a good thing it ended here, though; there were bits of CGI creeping in and too much of that crap would've been a huge mistake.

3½ bitches and money are always trouble out of 5

A Chinese Ghost Story II (1990)

aka: Sien Nui Yau Wan II: Yan Gaan Do

If the first film made you grin then this, more of the same horror comedy kung fu nonsense with a travelling magical Buddhist monk added to the mix and the comedy level raised a little higher, will have the same effect.

It lacks the same level of emotional content as before, but when the swords start flying it's possible to forgive it for that.

3½ one thousand year old bugs out of 5

A Chinese Ghost Story (1987)

aka: Sien Nui Yau Wan 

If you like Tsui Hark films you’ll like ACGS. He's only producer, but it does everything he usually does and does it well. Night shoots, fire, low camera angles, wire work, swords, super jumps and general badassery. The finale is worth the price of admission alone. Add to that the wonderful Leslie Cheung and Joey Wong as the achingly beautiful ghost of the story and you've got a classic of the Wuxia comedy ghost story genre.

4 biggest damn tongue I ever did see out of 5