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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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Dumplings (2004)

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Posted on March 4, 2007 by Alison

Okay, everyone knows that the surprise is that there’s no surprise: the age-defying dumplings are filled with foetuses. Chan shoves that fact in our face right up front, with no coy pretence, so we know this is not a mystery with a horrifying secret to be revealed in the final scene. So, given that the whole plot is given away in the first few minutes, what keeps us watching?

Well, gentle readers, what keeps us watching is that Chan is … (read more)

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The Longest Summer (1998)

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Posted on November 25, 2005 by John Snadden

As with Cantonese director Fruit Chan’s previous film Made in Hong Kong, this is again set on the mean streets of Hong Kong. It’s a fascinating, Altmanesque view of the pivotal months surrounding the HK hand over to China during 1997.

The Longest Summer follows the plight of a recently disbanded Chinese unit of the British Army, whose members find life in civvy street to be a demeaning and frustrating existence. Their unusual talents soon ensnare them in a … (read more)

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