While first-time documentarian Kate Shenton clearly has the best interests of her subjects at heart, this documentary into the underground world of human suspension shows plenty of piercings, torn flesh and large hooks penetrating soft tissue. A number of characters on-screen are seen passing out at various moments, and I was certainly teetering on the […] Read more »
Intriguing Korean thriller about the pressures of studying at an elite boarding school and the lengths the top students will go to in order to maintain their grades and get into the best universities. This reminded me a little of Donna Tartt’s novel, The Secret History, which trod similar ground in the US school system, […] Read more »
For this month’s Full Disclosure over at Twitch, my July entry on the list of shame was Kurosawa Akira’s 1965 drama, Red Beard – his last collaboration with actor Mifune Toshiro. You can check out what I thought of the film by following the link below: Click here to read my thoughts on Red Beard Read more »
A film that hugely rewards revisiting, particularly in the wake of the hugely successful TV series (and film) The Trip, in which Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon took their onscreen versions of themselves on the road for a travel/restaurant tour of Britain. Here is where it all began, however, in Michael Winterbottom’s insanely meta, post-modern […] Read more »
A long-term passion project for Refn and star Mads Mikkelsen, this utterly bizarre but powerful and beautiful viking movie confounded most audiences, most of whom were drawn to it through a thoroughly misleading marketing campaign. I get a strong Aguirre – Wrath of God vibe from the exploits of One-Eye as he escapes capture, fends […] Read more »
Far and away the bleakest of Refn’s trilogy, the film follows drug dealer Milo (Zlatko Buric), who has been present in all three episodes, on the day of his daughter’s wedding. He is attending NA meetings and also getting up to his ears in gang violence. Before the night is over he will have been […] Read more »
Refn returns home and revisits the world of his hugely successful debut, this time focusing on Mads Mikkelsen’s side-kick, Tonny. Fresh out of jail, he looks to get back in the game, but must first contend with his own oppressive father and the shocking news that he may well have sired a child of his […] Read more »
My Full Disclosure entry for June was this early Wong Kar Wai classic, starring a host of big Hong Kong stars including Leslie Cheung, Maggie Cheung and Andy Lau. Check out my thoughts on the film here Read more »
An intriguing little oddity from the Criterion Collection that rarely seems to get talked about much. Shot low budget on the streets of New York at Christmas, it’s the story of a solitary hit man who comes to the Big Apple for a job, and was written, directed by and starred Allen Baron. The film […] Read more »
I can probably count the number of Vietnamese films I’ve seen on one hand, but this 3D martial arts romance had proved a huge success at the domestic box office earlier in the year that had warranted it a limited release in North America. As a result I was given the opportunity to review it. […] Read more »
In preparation for an interview with Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn I decided to go back over his entire back catalogue, as it pained me to admit that I’d never seen any of Refn’s early out. First on that list is his ultra low budget 1996 debut, Pusher. The story of low-level drug dealer, Frank […] Read more »
Pretty much epitomises what Abbas Kiarostami does so well – taking the mundane and making it profound. Homayoun Ershadi stars as a seemingly ordinary man driving around the hillsides on the outskirts of Tehran. He stops and engages with almost every individual he encounters – is he lost? is he in need of help? Slowly […] Read more »
I’ve had a copy of this film sitting in a boxset entitled The Exorcist Complete Anthology for many years now, and never felt especially compelled to give it a watch before now. Famously this is the version of Morgan Creek’s prequel to William Friedkin’s classic that was shelved without release, only for Renny Harlin to […] Read more »
Strange yet intoxicating musical documentary that explores a variety of traditional and alternative forms of Japanese music. A turntable-spinning priest and eccentric lady who attempts to harness all the sounds of nature into the musical spectrum are standouts, but there is plenty to explore and to delight in this singular piece of work from Neil […] Read more »
A welcome change of pace for Japanese writer-director Yamaguchi Yudai sees the Sushi Typhoon alumnus eschew the splatter effects and goofball humour in favour of a stripped down chamber piece, set completely within the confines of a shipping container. Read more »
I really struggled with this film. I am familiar with Mizoguchi Kenji’s work, and have enjoyed the films of his I have seen, but nothing could prepare me for the unrelenting bleakness of this film. The cinematography is immaculate and the score eerie and unsettling. The story, about an aristocratic family torn apart by the […] Read more »
Kim’s output reaches a stunning climax here in a film that marries strong characterization with glossy production values in a story that could only come from this singular filmmaker. A silent young man (Jae Hee) breaks into people’s houses, eats their food, wears their clothes, does their laundry and then leaves. But when he is […] Read more »
In Kim’s most extreme portrayal of “tough love”, a low-level pimp (Jo Jae-hyeon) targets a respectable college student (Seo Won), forcing her into a life of prostitution, only to become fiercely protective of her. A brutal examination of a modern society still burdened by archaic sexism and a gaping class divide, the film is also […] Read more »
At a remote fishing resort, the beautiful yet mute Hee-jin (Suh Jung) services her guests with tackle, alcohol and even sex, for the right price. When she intervenes to stop reclusive fugitive Hyun-shik (Kim Yoo-suk) from killing himself, a passionate yet deeply dysfunctional relationship begins between them, that in time leads to jealousy, murder and […] Read more »
Every now and then I like to treat my girlfriend to a bit of no-nonsense onscreen action, and these days “The Stathe” is often a good bet – especially when he’s stripping off, oiling up and kicking ten bells out of a bunch of Euro trash who are looking to do harm to the lovely […] Read more »