The Seven Samurai (1954)

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Posted on November 25, 2005 by Jonathan

Seven Samurai is quite possibly the most overrated film ever. That’s a shame, because it’s a fine film — one of the finest, in fact — but there is a tendency among certain groups of people (who should know better) to refer to it as THE GREATEST ACTION FILM EVER MADE. Now, this really is stupidity, not only because everybody knows that The Killer is the greatest action film ever made, but also because, frankly, Seven Samurai isn’t an action … (read more)

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3-Iron (2004)

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Posted on November 25, 2005 by Russell

While 2004 seemed an obvious indicator that the artistic output of Kim Ki-Duk was gathering momentum, it cannot be claimed that he is moving in a straight line. It is well-known that The Coast Guard was rushed into production (apparently because of the film-maker’s own restlessness and perhaps a desire to meet the 2002 Pusan International Film Festival’s opening night deadline) when weather conditions forced a rescheduling of the shoot of Spring summer, Autumn, Winter …and Spring. So anyone … (read more)

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6IXTYNIN9 (1999)

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Posted on November 25, 2005 by Jason

Certainly an interesting film to come from Thailand’s leading director Pen-ek Ratanaruang, however in saying that, a film like this is not uncommon for him. In fact, 6ixtynin9’s story is a precursor of things to come later in Pen-ek’s career, particular in terms of genre and story.

6ixtynin9 makes amusing use of genre; this film seems to sit somewhere between a dark comedy, a drama and a gangster flick. With influences coming from each genre, I find it praiseworthy … (read more)

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2LDK (2002)

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Posted on November 25, 2005 by Alison

If you’ve been waiting all your life to see two Japanese actresses locked in an apartment trying to kill each other, then wait no longer. 2LDK, so named because of the rather luxurious apartment (2 bedrooms, lounge, dining, kitchen), provides just that, and with great enthusiasm.

This, the other half of the “Duel” competition with director Kitamura’s Aragami, takes an entirely different tack. Where Kitamura’s film follows a storyteller convention, with clever narrative interspersed with bouts of sword-flailing … (read more)

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The Twelve Gold Medallions (1970)

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Posted on November 25, 2005 by Justin

Yueh Hua was a stalwart of Shaw Brothers swordplay films for many years, after two quite prominent roles in his first two films; The Monkey King in Monkey Goes West (a story familiar to Aussie fans of the Japanese Monkey TV show) and Drunken Cat in Come Drink with Me, King Hu’s classic wuxia film. In The Twelve Gold Medallions, he plays the lone swordsman Miao Lung, fighting to prevent a traitorous minister’s plot to stop a general’s … (read more)

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Yaji and Kita: the Midnight Pilgrims (2005)

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Posted on November 20, 2005 by Justin

I haven’t seen any of Kudo Kankuro’s work before, but I’m very tempted now. Yaji and Kita: the Midnight Pilgrims is one of the weirdest things I’ve seen for a long time; it sucks you in to Yaji and Kita’s world, and then systematically hits you over the head with a cinematic rubber chicken for two hours.

The plot (which comes from a classic novel, by way of a manga adaptation — it’s been filmed before as Yajikita dochu sugoroku… (read more)

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The Twilight Samurai (2002)

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Posted on November 20, 2005 by Jonathan

Twilight Samurai is a small, understated film that will likely confound the (generic) expectations of most of its audience, so unless you get a kick out of paying ten bucks to sit in a dark room and feel alienated for two hours, listen up: this film’s primary strengths are dramatic, and it is, in fact, a melodrama.

This is a great thing, as it allows Twilight Samurai to address an imbalance that typifies just about every popular representation of samurai … (read more)

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Ah! My Goddess (2000)

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Posted on November 20, 2005 by Ching Yee

It’s so hard to dislike this movie even though there are a few things I’m not particularly overjoyed with. But let’s not start there…

Let’s start with Keiichi and Belldandy, the two central characters in this movie. We are looking at Keiichi and Belldandy after their first meeting — 3 years ago he dials for fast food and gets the Goddess hotline, and ends up with a goddess for life instead — how lucky is he? Very lucky. The goddess … (read more)

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