Ballad of a Small Player - Colin Farrell (2025) - Wynn Palace, Macau

I'm usually a bit behind the time with my featured films, I don't have my finger on the pulse of what is being filmed here sadly. However, one of the most recent international movies shot here (although mainly in Macau) is Ballad of a Small Player and it was recently released on Netflix.

I haven't read the original book but have been told the film departs from the book in terms of the locales used - changing the more traditional older hotels and casinos in the book for the monstrosities that now sit on the Cotai Strip.

That said, I enjoyed this film. It revolves around a shady character, Lord Doyle (Colin Farrell), who has exhausted his money and racked up quite a bit of credit in the pursuit of a big win at the Baccarat tables. He befriends a money lendor, Dao-ming (Fala Chen), who has her own issues dealing with the morality of her work.

The visuals in the film are quite striking with lots of colour throughout as well as some decent locations. The first of which is Doyle's hotel, the Wynn Palace. It looks like he starts off in one of the upper floor rooms, but by the end of the film he has moved to one of the huge suites - each one with a garden and narrow pool (see lower images). This is also the same hotel where he is later confronted by a Macau casino executive played by Anthony Wong Chau-sang.

The ever awesome Anthony Wong

Chinese Box - Jeremy Irons (1997) - 155 Waterloo Road, Kowloon Tong

The property where Chang (Michael Hui) and Vivian (Gong Li) go to have their pretend wedding photos done is located at 155 Waterloo Road. This area was popular for wedding boutiques (alongside kindergartens, private temples and Love Hotels) at one time and 155 was one of those businesses for a while.

I'm not sure if it still operates as such (#157 does) but the property still has the curved ground floor extension that can be see on the screencaps below.

Chinese Box - Jeremy Irons (1997) - The China Club, Bank of China Building

Someone once told me that the New Years Eve party scenes at the beginning of Chinese Box were filmed at The China Club - Sir David Tang's members-only restaurant/bar club located in the top three floors of the old Bank of China building in Central. I've never been to the club myself but it looks as though this particular nugget of information is true. I was able to compare the staircase John (Jeremy Irons) walks up during the beginning of the scene with some footage from inside the club and noted the matching ornate wrought iron railings.

Magnolia Road - Now and Then

Another comparison post from A Cause to Kill seeing as I was in the area anyway. The first view is looking from the top of the stairs (more or less) back towards the Yau Yat Chuen School. By pure luck there was a car parked at the same place (again, more or less) when I visited a few weeks ago. The school remains unchanged for the most part but the old building with the circular balcony behind the car has since been replaced by a newer (and less attractive) version - "Marigold Court". The Yau Yat Tsuen estate was built in the 1950s when Hong Kong was undergoing an art-deco boom and many of the original properties have art-deco/streamline moderne styling. Sadly, only a few are left.

The next images show the view looking north up Magnolia Road. Again, most of the original properties here have been redeveloped. Along the whole road there are only two original houses (numbers 6 & 7), the rest replaced circa the 1980s.

Steps to Magnolia Road - Now and Then

Here are the steps that connect Tai Hang Tung Road with Magnolia Road in Yau Yat Tsuen. It's right next to this place. The balustrades at the side remains the same but many things have changed including the adjacent property - "Royal Magnolia" - which replaced the earlier building in 1988. The steps also have a dividing rail in the middle now to split the up/down parts for when the school kids are streaming down it at the end of school. The recreation ground is still in the background as is the petrol station (although now there is two).

The view up the steps is pretty much unchanged, even the school balustrade is the same one.

Golden Needles - Joe Don Baker (1974) - Jervois Street, Central

Another pandemic find that was forgotten about. This is from the very last sequence in Golden Needles as the two protagonists (played by Joe Don Baker and Elizabeth Ashley) are taken away in an ambulance staffed by Chaplin Chang. The camera looks to be on top of a building as it zooms out and the ambulance can be seen driving away, west, along Jervois Street.

The white building with the tapered upper section (see lowest image) was the Tin Fook Hong Building (later renamed to Tin Cheung Hong) located on the corner of Jervois Street and Cleverly Street. The site now has the Holiday Inn Express HK Soho located there.

East Kowloon Polyclinic, Diamond Hill - Now and Then

Welcome to the New Year 2026 and before I get onto the next film I thought it might be a good idea to chuck out a few random posts that have been neglected up until now.

I paid a visit to the old Golden Harvest Studios site a few weeks back (as part of one of my
Bruce Lee Self-guided walks) and there is a pathway that leads around the back of the old studio site (now a residential development) and then down onto Ping Ting Road. It wasn't a planned trip but while I was there I took some impromptu shots to try and match some screencaps from Just Heroes. This is the East Kowloon Polyclinic.

Expired - Ryan Kwanten (2021) - View across Victoria Harbour

And just like the name of the film, 2025 is about to be "Expired", so I will leave this film, and this year, with an example of how the film makers achieved their "futuristic" vision on a low budget. The view looks to be kosher in terms of landmarks, with the 2IFC front and centre and then "The Masterpiece" on the left and "Victoria Dockside" on the right and the Harbourfront Landmark in the far distance on the far right. I imagine the smog could've been real - before Covid hit and all the Mainland Chinese factories shut down it could get quite gross here. These days it seems to have improved a little bit. Anyway, on that note I bid you farewell and best wishes for the coming year. Back in 2026 (i.e. tomorrow) with more posts and a new film.

Expired - Ryan Kwanten (2021) - Kam Lam Street, Mongkok

Jack appears to live on Kam Lam Street, because at the end of the film he leaves his apartment and is immediately followed by what turn out to be a couple of androids. He is approached by the brother of one of his victims, intent on revenge, and manages to avoid all projectiles as the androids engage the brother in what has to be the lamest gunfight in the history of cinema. This was all filmed at the junction with Soy Street. I believe the tree mural is still there.

Expired - Ryan Kwanten (2021) - China Cafe, Mongkok

More confirmation that this film was shot circa 2019 by the fact that the famous China Cafe serves as one of the locations. This is where Dr Bergman meets Jack to tell him what he has found out about his background and why he is ill. This place was a very popular filming location and sadly closed on the very last day of 2019. Sean Tierney visited the location when it was still operating. If you're reading this Sean, how about restarting your channel?