Category Archives: Reviews
Review: Belladonna of Sadness (Japan 1973)
Wow, that was one hell of an acid trip of a movie. A remaster and re-release of an early animated film produced by Osamu Tezuka, this film is completely unique, the closest comparison being the more outré works of Ralph … Continue reading
Review: Joe (USA 1970)
Joe has a weird, outsized reputation that contrasts with its relative obscurity – it is a film more talked about than watched. And Joe is a truly odd duck, a Cannon-produced hippie-sploitation movie that points an accusing finger at the … Continue reading
Review: Lost in Paris aka Paris pieds nus (France/Belgium 2016)
God, I love when a movie really knows how to use color. Most films nowadays experiment with monochrome or tints, but Lost in Paris is full of old school technicolor, Jacques Demy-flavor colors – luminescent greens, candy reds, blues and … Continue reading
Review: Tatara Samurai (Japan 2017)
Tatara Samurai is a modern, big budgeted jidaigeki (period film) following a peasant blacksmith who attempts to reject his traditional role and small town life in order to become a samurai, set against the backdrop of Oda Nobunaga’s rise to … Continue reading
Review: The Neon Demon (France/Denmark/USA 2016)
Nicholas Winding Refn’s fable-like dissection of the feminine beauty standard is a truly odd duck. Visually gorgeous, and cold as ice, this story of a young model’s attempts to make it in Los Angeles often zags when you expect it … Continue reading
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Tagged 2016, Christina Hendricks, Elle Fanning, Jena Malone, Keanu Reeves, Nicholas Winding Refn, USA
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Review: Twin Dragons aka Brother vs. Brother (Hong Kong 1992)
Twin Dragons is simultaneously very stupid and very fun. The tale of two brothers, separated at birth and both played by Jackie Chan, is both a cross-cultural fish-out-of-water tale and a rollicking action flick. It’s not one of the better … Continue reading
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Tagged 1992, Chu Yuan, Hong Kong, Jackie Chan, John Woo, Lau Kar Leung, Maggie Cheung, martial arts, Ringo Lam, Tsui Hark
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Review: Seoul Station aka 서울역 (South Korea 2016)
Seoul Station is an animated prequel to one of my favorite genre films of last year, the chaotic zombie thriller Train to Busan (reviewed here). I say prequel, but as a practical matter, Seoul Station is less a prequel than another … Continue reading
Review: Whiplash (USA 2014)
Whiplash is a perfect example of a mediocre narrative redeemed by an outstanding finale. J.K. Simmons is great – he has always been great since making his first splash on Oz – but this film doesn’t ask him to stretch beyond his … Continue reading
Review: The Mermaid (China 2016)
It may have been a colossal moneymaker, but The Mermaid is pretty far from Stephen Chow’s finest. Still, this bizarre take on The Little Mermaid is damn funny, with all the slapdash CGI and manic hijinks that have come to … Continue reading
Review: Crocodile Fury (Hong Kong/Indonesia 1988)
Easily the most entertaining Godfrey Ho movie I’ve ever seen, Crocodile Fury is a almost non-stop parade of ludicrous reptilian carnage, interrupted only for nonsensical interludes with hopping vampires. The crocodile special effects in particular are mind-blowing. The crocs on display … Continue reading