Kyo Kara Maou! (2004)

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Posted on March 11, 2007 by Deni

I can be shallow and I’ll admit it freely. I like my dramas, the serious, thoughtful works exemplified by Kon or Abe or Ooshi. I also like my action, titles like Fullmetal Alchemist or Gungrave or Yukikaze. But occasionally I like a little brainless entertainment – entertainment that at least doesn’t involve a lot of explosions or bloody deaths or deep-seated angst – which is a large part of the reason why I started watching Kyou Kara Maou!. … (read more)

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Kung Fu Hustle (2004)

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Posted on March 11, 2007 by Ching Yee

Hai-yah!!! If I was 10 and watched this film I would have high-kicked my way out of the cinema. But as a, *ahem*, mature and none-too-lithe adult… I just made do with imagining I was high-kicking.

Although I didn’t kick and punch my way out of the cinema, I can understand how Stephen Chow felt when he saw his first Bruce Lee film. If this was the feeling he was trying to recreate for his audience, his effort is not … (read more)

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Kama Sutra (1997)

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Posted on March 11, 2007 by Alison

The word that springs to mind when talking about this film is “lush”. Sets, costumes, cast, locations, all are opulent and beautiful. I could wax lyrical in much more detail, but I’m afraid I’d use up my store of adjectives, and be reduced to reviews of two sentences for the rest of the year.

The film is set in 16th century India, and tells the story of two friends, Maya and Tara. Tara is the daughter of a prince, while … (read more)

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Pulse (2001)

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Posted on March 11, 2007 by Alan

I’m gonna start this review with a little literary diversion. Sometime fantasist John Crowley wrote a book a few years back entitled Aegypt. The title was a deliberate displacement, taking an archaic spelling of Egypt and infusing that name with a mythic, alternate reality. By the same token the film Pulse is also known as Kairo.

Now this is not a deliberate thing, of course, Kairo being Japanese for ‘circuit’ — bear with me here — but it … (read more)

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The Isle (2000)

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Posted on March 11, 2007 by Ben Jennings

Phew, this is a nasty piece of work. Before Kim Ki-duk took to making lovely and serene movies like Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter… and Spring and 3-Iron, he was better known for lovely, serene and sometimes downright bloody ghastly efforts such as this one. In its mercifully brief 86 minutes, The Isle runs you through the wringer like few other movies. The fact that it’s also so sad and beautiful for much of that time makes it a uniquely … (read more)

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Intimate Confessions of a Chinese Courtesan (1972)

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Posted on March 11, 2007 by Justin

Intimate Confessions of a Chinese Courtesan is one of Shaw Brothers’ more infamous and influential films, one that shocked audiences when it was released in 1972. It’s since been remade by the same director (as 1984’s Lust for Love of a Chinese Courtesan) and was apparently the inspiration for Clarence Fok’s Naked Killer. It’s garnered its reputation for its marriage of the kung-fu genre with eroticism, usually a recipe for thoroughly B-grade cinema. Intimate Confessions’ acting, production … (read more)

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Inner Senses (2002)

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Posted on March 11, 2007 by Alison

Hong Kong produced a rash of “I see ghosts” films over the space of a couple of years, and this is one of the better ones. This is probably largely because of the cast: it’s really a two-person film, with several supporting actors popping up briefly just to show that the city’s not completely uninhabited.

It’s not just that they’re good, although that’s definitely true. Leslie Cheung Kwok Wing was one of the finest actors around, and particularly good at … (read more)

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Initial D – The Movie (2005)

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Posted on March 11, 2007 by John Snadden

In the opening minutes of Initial D, we watch as a street legal sports car “drifts” down a narrow mountain road – the driver accelerating into the tight corners, then gliding around the glasslike hairpin bends. All shot under moonlight, this short sequence captures the sublime and surreal beauty of pure auto power.

Initial D was originally slated for Tsui Hark to direct, but early in the production he left the project and was replaced by Infernal Affairs directing … (read more)

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