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Sailor Moon (1992)
My brother, bless his cynical little heart, has a word which he likes to apply liberally in instances just like this. This word is ‘twee’.
And yes, it actually is a word. Apparently the 4th Edition of The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language lists the definition as:
adj. Chiefly British
Overly precious or nice.
This is pretty much Sailor Moon down to its cute little red-trimmed mini-skirts.
However, there is something to be said for resisting the urge … (read more)
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Running Wild (2005)
This is one film that takes after its name, and a little over two hours of this intense police drama by director screenwriter Kim Seong-soo and I kind of felt like someone had run wild all over me.
Not that it isn’t a well crafted piece of cinema, with the set-up of both character and narrative really paying off in the second half of the film, the pace almost never letting up, and the main cast meeting like a … (read more)
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Ring: The Spiral (2000)
Of all the sequels and remakes to the first Ring film, Ring: The Spiral is the most successfully different. Filmed and released at the same time as the first film, it presents a kind of counter-story to the one dominated by Sadako in the rest of the franchise. Which isn’t to say the unfortunate supernatural wretch doesn’t make an appearance via the VHS fantastic and cause relentless, impossible strife. It’s just that this is really a film about a man’s … (read more)
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Ring 0 (2000)
Poor Ring Zero. It never should have been born.
It’s the bastard progeny of the mega-successful Ring series. With the deliriously creepy Ring and the telekinetically explosive Ring 2 already out in circulation, the investors were crawling out of the television with sackfulls of cash wanting another in the series. But Ring 2 pretty much wraps up the plot. The solution? Crank out a prequel. Oh no, the Ring cycle just caught the George Lucas virus. We’ll have to … (read more)
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Re-Cycle (2006)
Just as a certain satirical spy film reminded us to ‘remember the henchmen’, the Pang Brothers return and asks of us to think of ideas otherwise discarded. If a writer can breathe life and soul into a character and a world, what happens when they throw an idea away? Can an author be haunted by creations otherwise left undeveloped and what responsibility does a creator have to their creations?
Will I stop asking these questions and get on with whether … (read more)
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Raise the Red Lantern (1991)
Zhang Yimou has emerged in recent times as one of Mainland China’s best known directors, having directed the recent international successes Hero (remember, it’s Quentin Tarantino Presents Jet Li’s Hero for us!) and House of Flying Daggers. His films have been very successful on the film festival and arthouse circuit for a long time, however, and I’ve managed somehow to never see any of them.
So, when World Movies presented this as one of their 25 Films You Should … (read more)
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R.O.D. TV (2003)
Years ago Raymond Chandler recalibrated librarians in my adolescent psyche. Gone were the motherly figures of primary school replaced with formidable intellectuals with a simmering sexuality. The first R.O.D. (Read Or Die) in many ways was just the logical anime action extension of this. Librarian, Yomiko ‘The Paper’ Readman, whose paper manipulation powers put my feeble attempts to make an origami swan to shame, is called on by the British Library to battle super-powered historical figures and save the world. … (read more)
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Rainy Dog (1997)
Undeniably serious, Rainy Dog has a lot going for it, least of all it’s slightly Kitano-like approach made recognizably Takashi by the distinct absence of quirkiness that Kitano manages so well in favor of a darker, more realistic humor. Not that it’s a funny film, and indeed could even be thought of as difficult to watch at times, but ultimately it is a somewhat direct, touching take on the heroic bloodshed film yakuza style.
Rather than cool and successful, hitman … (read more)
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