Casshern (2004)

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Posted on November 25, 2005 by Alan

Well that was a frivolous synopsis for a film that is anything but. Casshern in that form, and, indeed, from the look of the trailer, appears to be nothing more than a pretty, CGI filled actioner.

But although those elements are part and parcel of the flick, Casshern is primarily a long, bleak and bittersweet analysis of the futility of war and the eternal capacity of human beings for intolerance. No, really.

It’s a theme played out in a number … (read more)

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Cat and Mouse (2003)

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Posted on November 25, 2005 by Ching Yee

The literal translation of the title of this flick is “Mouse falls in love with Cat” and the opposing Andy vs pouty Cecilia poster gave the impression in my gullible little mind that it would deliver a romantic story struggling against the odds or conquering the impossible… something along those lines. Perhaps some action thrown in for good measure or something amusing for 1.5 hours? I didn’t think I had very high expectations [sigh]

I haven’t heard much about the … (read more)

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The Cat Returns (2002)

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Posted on November 25, 2005 by Andy

Let me just say up front that The Cat Returns is a delight. I don’t mean that in some hippy, old growth forest way. I mean I was so filled with such pure joy on leaving the cinema that I thought my chest would burst. How many films can you say that about?

The Cat Returns is everything Disney animation used to be. While the Disney corporate vulture picks at the bones of its former greatness producing corpses that imitate … (read more)

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Buppha Ratree (2003)

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Posted on November 25, 2005 by Jason

Buppha Ratree has to be one of the most unconstrained films I have seen from Thailand. It’s no wonder they screened it for the Midnight Madness program at the Toronto Film Festival this year. The story is over the top, the characters are bizarre and the style that Sippapak chooses to shoot the film is uncontrollable. Nonetheless amongst this fluttering chaos great fun can be found!

At first glance Buppha Ratree is seemingly just another ghost story out of Thailand … (read more)

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Born To Fight (2004)

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Posted on November 25, 2005 by Mat

From the production team that brought you the film Ong Bak, comes Born To Fight, a tale of athletes, terrorists, guns, Muay Thai, and a small nuclear threat. Whilst not a sequel, Born To Fight does have much the same feel as Ong Bak, making it instantly recognisable to fans. The stunts are similar in that neither wire-work or computer graphics are used, and many of the more impressive stunts are played in slow motion to allow … (read more)

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Bungee Jumping of Their Own (2001)

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Posted on November 25, 2005 by James

Featuring an inventive endless-love story that transgresses time and death in order to explore various individual resistances and social restrictions that affect gay relationships, this is either a successfully emotive queer movie with unusually straight overtones, or a somewhat fleeting and dissatisfying attempt to capture gestures and images of homosexual love, or both these coded types at once.

Maybe I’m a sucker for surface narration in this particular film, because the moments near the end struck a literal chord as … (read more)

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Bondi Tsunami (2003)

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Posted on November 25, 2005 by Angus

Billed as “the first Japanese surfing road movie in Australia”, it’s obvious this film is trying very hard to be cool. Maybe I just didn’t get it, or I’ve become old and boring before my time, but this film didn’t grab me at all, frankly I found it boring.

How can it fail, it’s a hybrid genre movie, a good first step on the way to cult classic status (just think of the recent yakuza, zombie, samurai movie Versus). … (read more)

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Bruce Lee – The Lost Interview (1972)

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Posted on November 25, 2005 by Justin

I’m willing to bet that no matter who you are, you know who Bruce Lee was. The very fact that a single half-hour interview with him warrants the release of a DVD on its own is testament to his popularity. Just in case, though, I’ll give a brief rundown of his career. Born in 1940, Bruce Lee grew up in Hong Kong (and acted in several films as a child) before moving to the USA at age eighteen. In 1971, … (read more)

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