Memoirs of a Geisha (2005)

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Posted on February 11, 2006 by Ben Jennings

“…an unalterable and unquestioned law of the musical world required that the German text of French operas sung by Swedish artists should be translated into Italian for the clearer understanding of English-speaking audiences.”

— The Age of Innocence

I couldn’t help but think of Edith Wharton’s witty summary of 19th century opera society as I watched Memoirs of a Geisha. Hollywood’s oriental-chic movie of the year is based on a novel narrated by a Japanese geisha, but written by … (read more)

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Lone Wolf And Cub Vol 5: Baby Cart In The Land Of Demons (1973)

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Posted on February 6, 2006 by Alison

For my money, this is the best of the Lone Wolf and Cub series. Or maybe it’s just that I get more enthusiastic with each new film I see. Whatever the case, I’m very enthusiastic about this one.

It’s impossible to talk about the Lone Wolf and Cub series without talking lot about swordplay. After all, that’s what the series is all about: indeed, it’s reputed to be the best swordplay series ever made. Having not seen the entire … (read more)

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Welcome To Dongmakgol (2005)

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Posted on January 29, 2006 by Alison

Welcome To Dongmakgol is a nice film. An extremely nice film. It couldn’t possibly be nicer even if you put the whole crew on morphine for the duration. And unlike so many of its genre colleagues, it’s a very well-made nice movie.

The odd thing is, though, that it’s a nice movie about the insanity of war. Let me clarify what I mean here. It’s not a movie about the pain and suffering of war, and how it traumatises people, … (read more)

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Clans of Intrigue (1977)

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Posted on January 29, 2006 by Justin

Clans of Intrigue is a later (1977) wuxia/swordplay film from a specialist in this genre, Chu Yuan. And he was a specialist — according to the documentary on the disc, he was generally making seven or eight films at once at any given time for Shaw Brothers, and I can count at least thirty wuxia/swordplay films in his filmography from the mid-seventies to mid-eighties. A large number of these were adaptations from the work of novelist Ku Lung, and this … (read more)

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Skinny Tiger, Fatty Dragon (1990)

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Posted on January 28, 2006 by Justin

Skinny Tiger, Fatty Dragon is one of the later films from the kung fu comedy triumvirate of Sammo Hung, Karl Maka and Lau Kar Wing. They’d worked together a decade earlier, producing a string of excellent period kung fu films, like The Odd Couple, Knockabout and Dirty Tiger, Crazy Frog. In 1990, though, they reteamed to make this film, a contemporary action movie chronicling the (possibly even madcap, or zany) exploits of two cops, Skinny Tiger (Karl Maka) … (read more)

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Samurai 7 (2004)

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Posted on January 28, 2006 by Deni

It would be hard to argue that any other film in Japanese film history has had more influence and impact than Akira Kurosawa’s epic 1954 film, Seven Samurai. Even if it could be argued that the director made better films in his half a century career, Seven Samurai stands as a unique and uniquely positioned landmark work, held dear in the heart of an entire country, and highly respected by not a few people outside of it, for reasons … (read more)

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.Hack//sign (2003)

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Posted on January 25, 2006 by Ian

I must admit that I did feel a little flashback to TRON while watching .Hack//sign. Well, the “sucked into a computer game and cannot get out till a quest is performed” part anyway.

I am a bit of a Massive Multiplayer Online Game junkie, and have played pretty much all of the current ones that are out here (even some that are not). .Hack encapsulates all the things that people (well, me at least) want out of a MMOG, … (read more)

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Amon Saga (2003)

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Posted on January 25, 2006 by Alison

Amon Saga has all the elements common to much anime: buxom women, mighty-thewed heroes, fearsome villains, and a band of sidekicks to support the hero and provide comic relief in the slow spots. Indeed, the hero here has thews so mighty that this is clearly the reason why he wears a skimpy loincloth: those thighs would rub holes in trousers in no time, and lead to much chafing. I suspect his saddlebags contain jars of manly unguent to soothe the … (read more)

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