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CJ7

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CJ7 (2008)

45%
60%
62%
N/A
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45 %
Reviews Counted: 60 Fresh: 27  Rotten:33 Average Rating: 5.3/10
 
Consensus: Eccentric and sweet, Stephen Chow's latest is charming, but too strangely and slackly plotted to work as a whole.
 

How does the Tomatometer work?

The Tomatometer measures the percentage of positive reviews from Approved Tomatometer Critics for a certain movie.[-]

Runtime: 88 mins

Synopsis: Chinese writer-director-comedian Stephen Chow (SHAOLIN SOCCER, KUNG FU HUSTLE) takes a break from his usual action-comedy adventures for an E.T.: THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL-inspired tale of family bonds and personal integrity. Chow stars as Ti, a down-on-his luck widower who must funnel... Chinese writer-director-comedian Stephen Chow (SHAOLIN SOCCER, KUNG FU HUSTLE) takes a break from his usual action-comedy adventures for an E.T.: THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL-inspired tale of family bonds and personal integrity. Chow stars as Ti, a down-on-his luck widower who must funnel all of his wages into the private school education of his nine-year-old son, Dicky (Xu Jiao). The two are reduced to living in an abandoned building and scrounging for necessities, as well as playing nightly games of "clobber the cockroaches." Ti tries to appease Dicky's desire for a trendy new toy by bringing home a mysterious green orb found at a garbage dump. Dicky is soon shocked when the orb transforms into a perky doglike alien being, dubbed "CJ7." When Dicky witnesses CJ7's otherworldly powers he imagines CJ7 to be the answer to all of his school troubles: passing tests, excelling in gym class, and overcoming the school bully. But CJ7 is not as all-powerful as Dicky believes, and when tragedy strikes the family both Dicky and CJ7 must overcome doubt to reveal their true inner strength. Both CJ7's creature animation and a side order of Chow's kung fu kinetics provide plenty of laughs for kids. At the same the film's adult themes of social inequality, honesty, and self-sacrifice will give kids and parents plenty to discuss once the film is over. Frequently silly but genuinely heartfelt, CJ7 features enough of Chow's trademark twists to make for a unique family entertainment experience. [More]

Genre: Comedies

Starring: Stephen Chow, Xu Jiao, Kitty Zhang, Lam Tze Chung

Director: Stephen Chow
Screenwriter: Stephen Chow, Vincent Kok
Producer: Stephen Chow, Chui Po Chu, Han Sanping, Vincent Kok
Composer: Raymond Wong

Reviews

 
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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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3.5/4

This is a wildly inventive and funny film that is a breath of fresh air.

Full Review | comment Comment
06/18/08
Austin Kennedy
Sin Magazine
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N/A

Always intriguing but not always fully involving, CJ7 still features, as with its resurrecting dog, Chow's enlivening touch. Even when his film isn't completely absorbing, it seems he never met a dying genre cliché he can't reanimate.

Full Review | comment Comment
05/29/08
Brian Gibson
Vue Weekly (Edmonton, Canada)
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3.5/5

CJ7 is a deceptive little delight, a movie that wisely avoids the pitfalls of its obvious homage to set its own cinematic course

Full Review | comment Comment
05/16/08
Bill Gibron
PopMatters
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N/A

CJ7 acknowledges the clichés, sometimes embracing and sometimes satirizing the conventional depictions of kids and adults in family films.

Full Review | comment Comment
04/30/08
Cynthia Fuchs
PopMatters
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2.5/4

While to many audiences it might seem bizarre and out there, it's perversely watchable.

Full Review | comment Comment
04/24/08
Jeff Vice
Deseret News, Salt Lake City
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1/5

China has a lot to answer for these days -- unsafe food exports, unsafe toys, Tibet. And now CJ7.

Full Review | comment Comment
04/11/08
Roger Moore
Orlando Sentinel
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2/4

Even children, for whom it is intended, might just find it silly.

Full Review | comment Comment
04/11/08
Duane Dudek
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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1/4

Chow's loyal fans are sure to be disappointed by CJ7, and the film faces one other significant problem in traveling to these shores: Any kid who is the right age to appreciate this pap is going to be too young to read subtitles.

Full Review | comment Comment
04/11/08
Marjorie Baumgarten
Austin Chronicle
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f

Chow is so heavy-handed at erecting wish-fulfilling or sentimental setups that each slapstick reversal becomes easy to predict. He showers heroes and villains alike with sap.

Full Review | comment Comment
04/04/08
Michael Sragow
Baltimore Sun
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1.5/4

The result is never boring, but it's often inexplicable.

Full Review | comment Comment
03/28/08
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
St. Paul Pioneer Press
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3/4

A wonderfully ridiculous homage to E.T.

Full Review | comment Comment
03/28/08
Colin Covert
Minneapolis Star Tribune
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N/A

Even with its flaws this comedy is more interesting kids' fare than most sanitized studio releases.

Full Review | comment Comment
03/28/08
J. R. Jones
Chicago Reader
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3/4

This is a fable of forgiveness and regeneration, but it delves into a child's deepest, darkest fears. Fortunately, things turn out OK in the end.

Full Review | comment Comment
03/28/08
Jim Emerson
Chicago Sun-Times
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1.5/4

I don't doubt [Stephen Chow's] talent. With this one, though, I doubt his story sense and his borderline-insane mixture of tones.

Full Review | comment Comment
03/27/08
Michael Phillips
Chicago Tribune
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F+

It's awful. Awful. That's all. Keep walking. For the love of all that's holy. Keep. Walking.

Full Review | comment 2 Comments
03/21/08
Shawn Levy
Oregonian
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2.5/4

For all its mawkish plot turns and indecipherable trippiness, this is not a boring movie. It's just wiggy. And schmaltzy. And Spielbergian. And, uh ... wait. I think I've got a Jujube in my teeth.

Full Review | comment Comment
03/21/08
Amy Biancolli
Houston Chronicle
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3/4

CJ7 is precisely the 80-something minutes of delirium and cheesy special-effects you'd expect from the man responsible for the chaos of Shaolin Soccer and the lunacy of Kung Fu Hustle.

Full Review | comment Comment
03/21/08
Wesley Morris
Boston Globe
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F

Almost surrealistically bad...not only fails totally to delight but is even likely to creep you out.

Full Review | comment Comment
03/19/08
Frank Swietek
One Guy's Opinion
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C-

You always want to like a critter from space comedy but sometimes you just can't. CJ7 is one of those films.

Full Review | comment Comment
03/17/08
Robin Clifford
Reeling Reviews
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3/4

Significantly gentler than [Chow's] earlier films, but equally offbeat.

Full Review | comment Comment
03/14/08
Maitland McDonagh
TV Guide's Movie Guide
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