The Bride with White Hair (1993)

TBwWH is a little different from the majority of Chinese fantasy martial arts movies because it spends more time developing the romance side of things than it does on showcasing the mind-blowing action scenes. The story of the two lovers with different backgrounds and their eventual struggle to be together is basically Romeo of Wu Tang meets Juliet of the Evil Cult.
It's only in the finale that it really lets loose with the flying and the fabric and the swords and the people getting torn in half, so don't be disappointed if the trailer made you think otherwise.

2½ bad hair days out of 5

Once a Thief (1991)

OaT is a lot more light-hearted and comedic than the kind of film Woo is better known for. It has Chow up front and the usual Woo action scenes are present and correct, but it’s hard to get deeply involved with the three main characters. Nor does it play to the strengths of anyone involved. It feels like it was made just to let the director take some time out from the seriousness of what came before (Bullet in the Head (1990)) and what came after; just one year later he made the classic Hard Boiled (1992). It’s easy to skip past this one if you’re only interested in the more explosive works.

2½ brush strokes 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