February (2004)

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Posted on November 25, 2005 by Jason

February is a film that one wouldn’t expect to come from Thai director Yuthlert Sippapak. In fact, I’m surprised this film even came from Thailand, as it’s rather unique in terms of typical Thai romantic-dramas. However in this case unique doesn’t particularly connote good.

February is a beautiful looking film, and aside from that, it’s not much more. You don’t tend to catch yourself thinking that the stylistic elements are bad, but you at times you have to stop yourself … (read more)

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Equinox Flower (1958)

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Posted on November 25, 2005 by Ben Jennings

The first colour piece by Japanese director Yasujiro Ozu, Equinox Flower is a flawless movie: funny, charming, and gently moving. It is built around one of the oldest stories in the book: “father disapproves of daughter’s fiancé”, and as trite as such a story may sound these days, this is probably the most deeply felt and well observed version of it ever made. At the centre of the film’s success is its uniformly wonderful cast, with every performance pitched perfectly … (read more)

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Escaflowne (2003)

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Posted on November 25, 2005 by James

On an evening when both her athletic skills and confused lovelorn feelings are put to the test, Hitomi is transported to a planet located behind the far side of the moon. What she encounters there reconfigures her coming-of-age problems; the imaginary subordinates reality, enabling her more time to experience, understand and judge herself. Through her eyes we encounter the world of Gaea, a place populated by feudalist human factions, furry half-breed creatures and ‘dragons’ of both classical and mechanical robot … (read more)

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Dragon Swamp (1969)

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Posted on November 25, 2005 by Justin

This film is a wuxia (heroic chivalry) film from when the genre was most popular, starring several A-list actors and with a number of scenes that will seem eerily familiar to people who’ve seen other wuxia films made at the time. It’s great fun though, and has a particularly strong performance from Cheng Pei-pei, in two different lead roles! As the rather frighteningly enthusiastic synopsis above says, this film has both Cheng Pei-pei (this reviewer’s favourite actress of the time) … (read more)

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Dry Wood, Fierce Fire (2003)

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Posted on November 25, 2005 by Ching Yee

This is a story set in a galaxy far, far away… just kidding but Dry Wood Fierce Fire does share certain similarities with the aforementioned epic. Thankfully just a small amount – there’s a love story arc in both.

In this case, it’s Alice, your typical small time journalist with chinese-herbalist and martial arts baggage (Miriam Yeung) pining for her editor Ryan (Louis Koo), the romantic comedy’s archetypal specimen of manhood. Tall, dark and handsome …with low blood pressure. (Those … (read more)

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Erotic Ghost Story (1987)

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Posted on November 25, 2005 by Jonathan

I’m not entirely sure which came first — Erotic Ghost Story’s  (relative) infamy or its constant repeat screenings on late night television, but in the end I don’t think it really matters.  The fact that it plays every six months on SBS (and now every six weeks on cable) would suggest that it continues to reach some kind of audience, right?  The are other, more famous examples (Sex and Zen) of the ‘genre’ that Erotic Ghost Story is … (read more)

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D.N.Angel (2003)

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Posted on November 25, 2005 by Deni

There’s something strange about D.N Angel, something that seems to defy its simple shoujo narrative the way a cute little puppy defies all logic. You know it’s just a dog, but it gives you that look, and it wags its tail eagerly and bounces excitedly on its oversized front paws and ohmygod that’s it; you’re smitten and let this be a lesson damn it — never underestimate the power of cute.

That’s what D.N Angel, based on … (read more)

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Doing Time (2002)

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Posted on November 25, 2005 by James

When we evoke the prison movie as a genre, most of us recall images of tough men, butch women and their helpless, puny victims in the washroom. Prisons are where social outcasts hatch remarkably intelligent and daring escapes and where frustrated wardens exemplify the injustices of power hierarchies. Prisons are low culture, high function institutions. In a prison, life is bleak.

Doing Time is a wonderfully gentle subversion of the despairing prison movie. How gentle? Replacing the starkness of the … (read more)

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