Category Archives: Reviews

Review: Joe (USA 1970)

Posted on June 20, 2017 by David

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 →

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Review: Lost in Paris aka Paris pieds nus (France/Belgium 2016)

Posted on June 15, 2017 by David

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 →

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Review: Tatara Samurai (Japan 2017)

Posted on June 8, 2017 by David

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 →

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Review: The Neon Demon (France/Denmark/USA 2016)

Posted on June 6, 2017 by David

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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Review: Twin Dragons aka Brother vs. Brother (Hong Kong 1992)

Posted on June 4, 2017 by David

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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Review: Seoul Station aka 서울역 (South Korea 2016)

Posted on June 1, 2017 by David

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 →

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Review: Whiplash (USA 2014)

Posted on May 30, 2017 by David

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 →

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Review: The Mermaid (China 2016)

Posted on May 25, 2017 by David

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 →

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Review: Crocodile Fury (Hong Kong/Indonesia 1988)

Posted on May 16, 2017 by David

Easily the most entertaining Godfrey Ho movie I’ve ever seen, Crocodile Fury is an 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 →

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Review: The Treasure Hunters (Hong Kong 1981)

Posted on May 11, 2017 by David

Certainly not one of Shaw Brothers’ best, this wacky kung fu comedy stars Alexander Fu Sheng and his brother Chang Chen Peng as petty crooks out to steal a big treasure. Everybody does their usual schtick – Fu Sheng is … Continue reading →

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