Five of the greatest detectives in the world -- Dick Charleston (David Niven), Milo Perrier (James Coco), Sidney Wang (Peter Sellers), Jessica Marbles (Elsa Lanchester) and Sam Diamond (Peter Falk), respectively parodying of The Thin Man, Poirot, Charlie Chan, Miss Marple and any number of Bogart characters -- gather in the home of Lionel Twain (Truman Capote) for dinner and a murder.
I've never seen a Neil Simon script I liked, but this one comes close. The interaction of the characters is marvellous, and Alec Guinness's blind butler provides a number of excellent routines. (You are? Benson, ma'am. Thank you Benson. No, no, no. Bensonmum. My name is Bensonmum. Bensonmum? Yes sir, Jamesir Bensonmum. Jamesir? Yes sir.)
Altogether less enjoyable are Truman Capote, who cannot act and does not fit, and the absurd five-twists-in-a-row ending. Still, great fun for mystery fans.
Once a Gangster (2010)
You can't make a triad film starring Jordan Chan and Ekin Cheng without thinking of Young and Dangerous. Felix Chong's Once a Gangster wears that heritage proudly, but make no mistake: this isn't a story valorising the life of crime; it's a story making fun of it.
Roast Pork (Chan) opens a chain of restaurants with the help of his gang boss Kerosene (Alex Fong); years later, a successful businessman, Kerosene tries to force him to accept the Dragon Head Baton and take over. But this is no Election: Pork doesn't want the job. Nor does his rival, Sparrow (Ekin Cheng), who discovered economics during his 20-year murder stretch and wants to study at HKU.
The only candidate who does want the job is Scissor (Conroy Chan Chi-Chung). His chief lieutenant, however, is (in a nod to Infernal Affairs) an extraordinarily incompetent undercover cop. The others all know and deliberately feed him bad information; Scissor is oblivious.
All up, a very entertaining triad farce that pokes fun at many of the genre's conventions.