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Fullmetal Alchemist – The Conqueror of Shamballa (2005)

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Posted on April 8, 2007 by Andy

It’s always a tough gig spinning off a movie from a loved TV series. Sure your production values are up and those action sequences suddenly get the necessary frames to make them look really sweet. But there’s a trade-off. Immediately you have lost the episodic slow burn of the series that built to a carefully crafted conclusion. The cast you have developed over 50 odd episodes must be prioritized with some members allowed to wave in a ‘where are they … (read more)

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Strange Circus (2005)

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Posted on March 25, 2007 by Christian

Since the advent of Ring in 1998, Japanese horror has been largely engulfed by the sub-genre popularly labelled as “J-horror” — with its eerie girls in white, faces hidden in black matted hair. These days the flag is still being vehemently waved by directors such as Takeshi Shimizu and Norio Tsuruta, but other sub-genres of horror are beginning to rise to the surface. It would be true to say that a blend of psycho-sexual horror has been gaining momentum in … (read more)

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Hard Luck Hero (2003)

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Posted on March 25, 2007 by Alison

The synopsis basically describes the whole movie, apart from the fact that this film was apparently intended as a short, music video-style, offering. Well, like Topsy, it grew.

Not much can be said about it. If you like V6, as did the screaming hordes of girly-fans at the premiere I attended, then you’ll find it rivetting. If you like lots of fast car action, you might like it as well. It’s not the best of Sabu’s work: there’s a near-repetition … (read more)

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Premonition (2004)

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Posted on March 25, 2007 by Alison

The back cover of this DVD proudly proclaims “From the director of Ring 0: Birthday“. Well, given that Mark gave Ring 0: Birthday a hearty zero out of ten, that’s not much of a recommendation.

Nonetheless, I persevered, albeit with lowered expectations. And for the first 10 or so minutes, my expectations were met: the ‘happy family on holidays’ setup was cloyingly sweet and stiffly unconvincing. I wanted to smack the cheerfully inane smile off the mother, and throw … (read more)

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Tokyo Story (1953)

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Posted on March 25, 2007 by Ben Jennings

“These are your grandparents”, Fumiko tells her sons, Isamu and Minoru. Minoru looks about ten years old, and we gather that if he’s ever met his grandparents before, it was so long ago that nobody expects him to remember. Isamu, the younger brother, just runs away from the unfamiliar old couple. This is part of an early scene in Yasujiro Ozu’s Tokyo Story. And where better to begin reviewing one of the greatest movies ever made than with a … (read more)

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Throne of Blood (1957)

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Posted on March 25, 2007 by Justin

Fans of Japanese cinema and excellent cinema in general should be no strangers to the works of Akira Kurosawa. Regular readers will have seen me (and others here, too!) swoon and spout hyperbole over many of his films. With good reason, mind you — many of them have become fixtures in critics’ lists of top films: action masterpiece The Seven Samurai, lone samurai classics Yojimbo and Sanjuro, study in truth Rashomon and the colour-drenched epic Ran in particular.

Shamelessly, … (read more)

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Three… Extremes (2004)

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Posted on March 25, 2007 by Deni

Three… Extremes is both an obscure and a completely appropriate title for this cross-cultural horror film anthology. Obscure because, as titles go, usually you can kind of work out what you’ll be watching or at least the genre it’s going to be presented in, just from the title. This title, however, doesn’t give away a lot up front. I mean, what’s with the ellipsis? Three dot dot dot Extremes. Yeah okay. Clever way to label it a sequel to Three… (read more)

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The Professional: Golgo 13 (1983)

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Posted on March 25, 2007 by James

“I don’t believe it – a man with balls as big as his, and he’s spooked.”

Such is the danger of the Very Bad Place that professional assassin Golgo 13 finds himself after contract-killing the son of a billionaire oil tycoon. Sort of an amalgam of James Bond, 1970s exploitation flicks, Eurotrash/Heavy Metal, and the coolest abstract storytelling imaginable in the early-1980s, Golgo 13 is a welcome antidote for those wishing to get away from politically correct or aesthetically laborious … (read more)

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