HOLIDAY CHEERS

A sharp-eyed reader just informed me that according to Apple Daily one of the directors of Johnie To's PTU TV series is...wait for it...wait for it...Lawrence Lau. Did you not feel your heart just skip a beat? No? Then you may not be familiar with Lawrence who is, in my oh-so-humble, Variety-sanctioned, well-paid and tremendously well-considered opinion, one of the best directors in Hong Kong. If I had to organize a retro of great, realtively unsung Hong Kong directors he'd top the list (Po Chi-leung would run a close second).

He's made three movies - GANGS, QUEEN OF TEMPLE STREET and SPACKED OUT - that are classics in Hong Kong cinema. He gets amazing performances from amateurs and veterans alike, he's uniquely sensitive to actresses and he's got a fabulous eye for seemingly casual compositions. He's like Fruit Chan without the aspirations to high art. This is the best Christmas present I could receive.