Talaash (2003)

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Posted on November 25, 2005 by Eugene

Sitting here wondering what to write about this movie, I cannot help but make a comparison to a scene out of the not-as-good-but-still-amusing-sequel Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey. That scene is, of course, their descent into hell. Apart from the somewhat appropriate metaphor for the falling into endless degradation and infinite horror, the dialogue is somewhat appropriate. For those of you unfamiliar with the scene, let me transcribe it for you:

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRR
RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHH”

<Pause for breath>

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRR
RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHH”

Jokes … (read more)

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Two Champions of Shaolin (1978)

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Posted on November 25, 2005 by Justin

Chang Cheh’s films with the “Venoms” crew of actors and action choreographers are amongst his most famous. Justifiably so, too — these guys do their thing well, with some amazing fight sequences that show off a variety of styles and some complex choreography.

Two Champions of Shaolin is set at the beginning of the Qing dynasty and focuses on the two dominant schools of martial arts, Shaolin and Wu Tang. Wu Tang supports the Qing government, while the Shaolin school … (read more)

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Stereo Future (2001)

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Posted on November 25, 2005 by Deni

Hiroyuki Nakano’s Stereo Future can quite confidently be described by something that might have seemed a bit of paradox had it been applied to just about any other film.

Fresh and funky.

And it even manages beautiful and charming too, but maybe it’s all due to the fact that the film doesn’t try too hard, somehow speaking without saying all that much. Hiroyuki Nakano paints with a light hand, using the far greater weight of colour, music and the lush … (read more)

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Stray Dog (1949)

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Posted on November 25, 2005 by Ben Jennings

Considered by many to be the master’s first great work, Stray Dog is a superb film noir from the Kurosawa/Mifune team. An entry into that subgenre about an eccentric character on a single obsessive quest about something seemingly not so significant, the movie is pregnant with insight into male psychology, right and wrong, and of course the overarching churn of social change in post-war Japan. Just the very adoption of such an American genre as film noir speaks volumes about … (read more)

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Sorum (2001)

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Posted on November 25, 2005 by Jonathan

From reading the programme notes on Sorum, my understanding of what I was about to see was that it amounted to little more than a ghost pic. A highly unconventional ghost pic perhaps, but a ghost pic none the less. This rather unfortunate presupposition was further reinforced by the opening act of the film, as all the right pieces just fell into place — the derelict apartment building, the naïve newcomers, the unfriendly neighbours with their dark secrets.

Well, … (read more)

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Some (2005)

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Posted on November 25, 2005 by Alison

Take a tense plot with more wrinkles than Yoda, cast actors instead of stars, shoot it with an eye for beauty, ruthlessly edit out every bit of fat, and wrap the whole thing in a hypnotic soundtrack heavy on the drum and bass, and you’ve got Some. It’s a fine, tight, thriller, with high production values and an attention to detail that would make a train-spotter envious.

Director Chang Yoon-hyun, the man responsible for the gristly serial killer flick … (read more)

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Shaolin Mantis (1978)

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Posted on November 25, 2005 by Justin

Arguably the best film director for traditional style kung-fu action, Liu Chia-liang (a.k.a. Lau Kar-leung) was a pioneer in exploring authentic martial arts technique and training procedures in kung-fu films. So although David Chiang is a kung-fu veteran, it’s no wonder that in The Shaolin Mantis, where he plays a man who learns martial arts from a praying mantis then seeks revenge for his wife’s death, the movie features some of his best kung-fu fights to date. — (from … (read more)

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Shutter (2004)

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Posted on November 25, 2005 by Justin

Made in 2004, Shutter is another Thai entry into the popular Asian horror subgenre and comes replete with many of the genre conventions (clichés?) established in films like The Ring. The story is a little different, though, and this movie has a lot more depth than many of the more lacklustre Ring spinoffs we’ve been flooded with over the last couple of years.

Our tale begins with a group of friends at a table drinking, gathered together after a … (read more)

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