Blog Archives

Tetsuo: Iron Man and Body Hammer (1989)

(from , dir: )
Posted on June 3, 2007 by Alison

Follow these links for our reviews of Tetsuo: Iron Man and Tetsuo II: Body Hammer.… (read more)

Comments Off on Tetsuo: Iron Man and Body Hammer (1989)

The Bird People in China (1998)

(from , dir: )
Posted on June 3, 2007 by Deni

I’d like to be able to start this review off by saying that, on the surface at least, The Bird People in China is a bit like a road movie, Miike-style. Unfortunately that would be somewhat less than true because, actually, it’s a little more like a road movie Kitano-style. Takashi Miike – best known for films both creepy and extreme – turns his hand to a subject a little more intimate than blood and guts; heart and soul, … (read more)

Comments Off on The Bird People in China (1998)

Battle of Wits (2006)

(from , dir: )
Posted on May 27, 2007 by Alan

About half way through Battle of Wits I put the movie on pause, tottered over to the kitchen, put on the kettle and idly set my thoughts to punning on the title. (For the record, I came up with Rattle of Zits, Cattle of Nits, and Tattle of Gits. Nervously Noel Coward brilliance, I do not think …) Cup of tea in hand, I sat outside on the balcony and read for a while.

You get the gist, dear reader: … (read more)

Comments Off on Battle of Wits (2006)

Three Extremes 2 (2002)

(from , dir: /)
Posted on May 13, 2007 by Alan

Back in my wayward youth – not all that dissimilar to my wayward adulthood – I recall watching numerous horror anthology films on late night Saturday TV. Those were the days. Corkers like the original Tales from the Crypt with Peter Cushing and, um, Joan Collins, and Trilogy of Terror, the well known trio of films all starring Karen Black, one of which featured a particularly nasty African Zuni fetish doll that comes to life and wreaks merry havoc.… (read more)

Comments Off on Three Extremes 2 (2002)

The Lizard (1972)

(from , dir: )
Posted on May 12, 2007 by Justin

In a departure from the wuxia/swordplay films that he’s best known for, in The Lizard director Chor Yuen brings us a period action film set in 1930s Shanghai. In a city full of wealthy foreigners and corrupt officials, a mysterious figure in black known only as The Lizard flits among the rooftops, stealing from those who don’t deserve their wealth and giving to those in need. Though a hero to the common people, the Lizard is a thorn in … (read more)

Comments Off on The Lizard (1972)

The Red Shoes (2005)

(from , dir: )
Posted on May 10, 2007 by Alan

Well, let’s get this straight for starters. The shoes are pink. That’s a flaw right there and up front. Could the makers of this film not locate a pair of red shoes? Were they in some way colour blind? Or did the title ‘The Pink Shoes’ just not carry the same the same weight?

Obviously this movie lifts from the Hans Christian Anderson tale, loosely adapted in 1948 into a ballet-related film that still gets the occasional late night showing. … (read more)

Comments Off on The Red Shoes (2005)

Godzilla: Mothra vs Godzilla (1992)

(from , dir: )
Posted on May 9, 2007 by Eugene

Disaster movies are rarely the stuff of inspiration, and the visual effects they use to portray their particular apocalypse hold little attraction beyond that niggling voice in the back of your head telling you to ‘burn it all’.

Despite the anthropormorphised aspect of it, the giant monster films of Japan are essentially disaster films where the hubris of man brings upon its own destruction as atomic fire rains down upon the fleeing populace of Tokyo. The natural conclusion one reaches … (read more)

Comments Off on Godzilla: Mothra vs Godzilla (1992)

Godzilla vs Ebirah – Horror of the Deep (1966)

(from , dir: )
Posted on May 9, 2007 by Mat

With such a large number of Godzilla sequels being released, we’re truly spoilt for choice. However, it seems that it doesn’t really matter which Godzilla film you watch: they all have a very similar feel, and not just because they all contain the titular giant monster. It’s more that each film shares the same themes and basic plot lines that make them feel so very ‘samey’. There are the recurring themes that nuclear anything is bad, the fact that Godzilla … (read more)

Comments Off on Godzilla vs Ebirah – Horror of the Deep (1966)