Blog Archives

Bystanders (2005)

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Posted on September 30, 2007 by Alison

There must be something in the air in Korea that enables them to churn out so many tight cop thrillers. Whatever it is, they’ve got plenty of it, and they’re clearly making good use. Maybe it’s the fact that they’ve got so much rain, and know how dramatic well-photographed rain can look.

Bystanders leaps right into it during the opening credits, introducing the plot (a serial killer stalking schoolchildren) and the two cops, Ja-young (Shin) and her junior Dong-wook (Mun). … (read more)

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Wild Zero (2000)

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Posted on September 30, 2007 by Alison

I confess that I’m at a loss how to begin talking about this one: I mean, what can one say about a movie that features aliens, rock ‘n’ roll, zombies, combs, tight shorts, and true love? But I’ll give it a go, and try to make some sort of sense about a movie that makes no sense, but is buttloads of fun.

First up, this is a road movie. Not a road movie like Thelma and Louise, or Easy … (read more)

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Wings of Honneamise (1987)

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Posted on September 30, 2007 by Andy

Studio Gainax’s most visible pre-Evangelion project in the West was a meditation on spirituality, technology and man’s future in space.

The Royal Space Force is an embarrassment to the military, a funding black hole to the public, and its dress uniform an affront to fashion. The unit exists on a whim of the royal house, and is filled with misfits and dreamers. It is only during a war that the government sees a use for the Space Force: initially … (read more)

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Dynamite Warrior (2006)

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Posted on September 30, 2007 by Justin

I can count the number of Thai films I’ve seen on one hand, unfortunately — but I’ve hugely enjoyed everything I’ve seen, from action blockbuster Ong Bak to the wonderfully lurid western Tears of the Black Tiger. Much like Ong Bak, Chalerm Wonpim’s Dynamite Warrior takes the basic “One Man Bent On Revenge” storyline; however, Dynamite Warrior quickly veers off into the bizarre, adding so many unexpected plot elements that the simplicity of the story is all but … (read more)

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Don (2006)

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Posted on September 30, 2007 by Ching Yee

Don… If your first thoughts were of Don salami, then allow me to introduce you to the other non-cured meat variety — a suave criminal, a stylish James Bond-like figure ruling the underworld with vicious tenacity. A seminal film of 70s Bollywood, with a big star cast (Amitabh Bachchan, Zeenat Aman), it was a blockbuster that spawned several hit tunes, notably “Khaike Paan Banaraswala”. It was a slice of 70s action movie, in the vein of Bond and Dirty Harry … (read more)

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The King and the Clown (2005)

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Posted on September 30, 2007 by Deni

It’s no coincidence that in the IMDB entry for this film you will probably see, in the list of recommendations for similar titles you might enjoy, a copy of Branagh’s Hamlet. With a great deal of reference to the political machinations of the noble classes, to madness and to the idea that both circumstance and fate conspire hand in hand, The King and the Clown reads a lot like a Shakespearean tragedy.

It also reads a little like Thelma … (read more)

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Exiled (2006)

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Posted on September 25, 2007 by James

After following reckless and ruthless triad bosses across Hong Kong and China in Election and its sequel, Johnnie To returns to the perspective of the heroic underling as well as to the celebrated story dimension of 1999’s The Mission, one of the major highlights of his prolific career.

Exiled is neither a direct sequel or prequel to The Mission, but rather an interplay of similarities and divergences from the earlier film’s plot, themes, characters and stylistic approach. … (read more)

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Daredevil in the Castle (1961)

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Posted on September 25, 2007 by Justin

In his prolific and much-lauded career, Toshiro Mifune worked with director Hiroshi Inagaki even more often than he did with his more celebrated collaborator Akira Kurosawa — the best-known product of these collaborations is the Miyamoto Musashi trilogy, with Mifune playing the title character. Working for the Toho studio, Inagaki was a very well-respected writer/director during the 1950s and 60s with a bit of a specialisation in period action films: his Musashi films and his version of The 47 Ronin… (read more)

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