“I Have The Power!” was the key to He-Man. He-Man empowered 5-year-old boys like me in the 1980s. You held the sword (which was quite expensive), and suddenly you had the power, not your parents or teacher. “Doing my research” (watching the Netflix documentary The Toys that Made Us), I was surprised that He-Man was […]
Written and Directed by Yoshiaki Kawajiri For anybody who grew up with an interest in anime, Ninja Scroll was a film whose reputation preceded it. Alongside the likes of Akira and Ghost in the Shell, these works showed those outside of Japan how far adult-oriented anime could go. In the case of Ninja Scroll, it […]
I recently re-watched and reviewed Hawk the Slayer, which was a fun, albeit utterly flawed piece of silly fantasy flim-flam. It had the sole intention of making money, which seems as likely as someone who goes out and spends all their money on lottery tickets. None of the building blocks were in place to make […]
I once punched a man, for saying that Hawk the Slayer is Rubbish. – Bilbo Bagshot, Spaced. Sometimes, old fantasy films had a brilliant idea, but they were just dragged down by lofty ambitions and meagre resources. Hawk the Slayer is not one of those films. Hawk the Slayer was a cynical, albeit failed, cash […]
I am 11 years late to this one, but watching True Detective: Season 1 has compelled me to try and squeeze some of these thoughts out of my brain. It is like trying to squeeze Pate through a plastic ketchup bottle hole. My thoughts are too meaty and chunky, and this is going to cause […]
Stars: Miriam Yeung Chin-Wah, Bai Ling, Lee Byung-hun, Kyōko Hasegawa | Directed by Fruit Chan, Park Chan-wook, Takashi Miike In 2002, the horror anthology film Three was released, consisting of three horror tales from East Asian countries. The film received accolades and a sequel, which was released two-years-later in the form of Three… Extremes. The […]
Since the first Vampire Hunter D novel was released in 1983, writer Hideyuki Kikuchi and illustrator Kevin Leahy have crafted over 40 novels in the series. The story follows the titular Dhampir – half-human and half-vampire – as he hunts vampires across a far-future after a nuclear war. Despite the series’ popularity, 2000’s Vampire Hunter […]
Stars: Louis Koo, Michelle Ye, Stanley Fung, Lam Suet | Written by Szeto Kam-Yuen, Nicholl Tang Nik-Kei | Directed by Soi Cheang Accident opens on a seemingly innocuous occurrence, as a short-tempered man worries that he will be late while stuck behind a car with a flat tyre. As the man takes drastic action to […]
The fourth film released under the Dragon Ball Z title (and the franchise’s eighth theatrically released film), Dragon Ball Z: Lord Slug was originally released in 1991 during the show’s Freiza saga. As such, this feature reflects the timeline by not containing vital inclusions such as Super Saiyan forms, and fan-favourite character Vegeta. The plot […]
Written by Reiko Yoshida | Directed by Naoko Yamada Is redemption possible when looming over you are past actions that you bitterly regret? That is a question at the heart of A Silent Voice, an animated feature adapted from a manga series written and illustrated by Yoshitoki Ōima. The story follows Shouya Ishida, who spent […]
Stars: Jessica Chastain, Idris Elba, Michael Cera, Kevin Costner, Graham Greene, Chris O’Dowd, Bill Camp | Written and Directed by Aaron Sorkin Known for his acclaimed screenplays with The Social Network, A Few Good Men, and TV’s The West Wing, Aaron Sorkin made his directorial debut in 2017 with Molly’s Game, an adaptation of Molly […]
Stars: Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu, Gene Bervoets, Johanna ter Steege, Gwen Eckhaus, Bernadette Le Saché, Tania Latarjet, Lucille Glenn, Roger Souza | Written and Directed by George Sluizer Adapting Tim Krabbé’s novel The Golden Egg, writer/director George Sluizer begins The Vanishing with Dutch couple Rex (Gene Bervoets) and Saskia (Johanna Ter Steege) enjoy a biking holiday in […]
Stars: Michelle Williams, Seth Rogen, Luke Kirby, Sarah Silverman, Jennifer Podemski, Diane D’Aquila, Vanessa Carter, Graham Abbey | Written and Directed by Sarah Polley Opening on a soft focus into a kitchen, Margot (Michelle Williams) is busy baking something. While the light shining through the window gives the scene a cosy feeling, this seemingly perfect […]
Stars: Thom Yorke, Dajana Roncione, Frida Dam Seidel, Joseba Yerro Izaguirre, Jean Michael Sinisterra Munoz, Takuya Fujisawa | Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson In between feature films Phantom Thread and Licorice Pizza, Paul Thomas Anderson directed a 15-minute musical film that was released on Netflix in June 2019. This accompaniment to Thom Yorke’s titular album […]
Stars: Tessa Thompson, Ruth Negga, Alexander Skarsgård, André Holland | Written by Rebecca Hall, Nella Larsen | Directed by Rebecca Hall After a career delivering tremendous performances, Rebecca Hall steps behind the camera for her feature debut as writer/director. Unfolding in black-and-white from the opening logos, the story begins with muffled voices and smudged visuals […]
Stars: Sandra Escacena, Bruna González, Claudia Placer, Iván Chavero, Ana Torrent, Consuelo Trujillo, Ángela Fabián, Carla Campra, Chema Adeva | Written by Paco Plaza, Fernando Navarro, Coral Cruz | Directed by Paco Plaza Opening the film on 15th June 1991, [REC] co-director Paco Plaza sets the scene with a distressing phone call where a panicked […]
Stars: Tomorô Taguchi, Shinya Tsukamoto, Nobu Kanaoka, Sujin Kim, Hideaki Tezuka, Tomoo Asada, Iwata, Keinosuke Tomioka | Written and Directed by Shinya Tsukamoto After kickstarting his career with 1989’s Tetsuo: The Iron Man, writer/director Shinya Tsukamoto returned to the Japanese body horror series 3 years later with Tetsuo II: Body Hammer – an unconnected sequel which […]
Stars: Ulrich Mühe, Susanne Lothar, Stefan Clapczynski, Arno Frisch, Frank Giering | Written and Directed by Michael Haneke An innocuous sight opens this feature from writer/director Michael Haneke, as a car travels while containing the Schober family – made up of husband Georg (Ulrich Mühe), wife Anna (Susanne Lothar), young son Georgie (Stefan Clapczynski), and […]
Stars: Tomorô Taguchi, Kei Fujiwara, Nobu Kanaoka, Shinya Tsukamoto, Renji Ishibashi, Naomasa Musaka | Written and Directed by Shinya Tsukamoto After spending his youth creating short films and entering experimental theatre, Shinya Tsukamoto made an indelible mark on Japanese horror cinema with his feature debut, Tetsuo: The Iron Man. The writer/director/producer/editor also appears on-screen as a […]
Stars: Rory Culkin, Emory Cohen, Jack Kilmer, Sky Ferreira, Valter Skarsgard, Anthony De La Torre, Jonathan Barnwell, Sam Coleman, Wilson Gonzalez, Lucian Charles Collier | Written by Jonas Akerlund, Dennis Magnusson | Directed by Jonas Akerlund Rory Culkin, starring in one of the most interesting and weird true stories of all time should be a […]
Stars: Louis Ashbourne Serkis, Denise Gough, Dean Chaumoo, Tom Taylor, Rhianna Dorris, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, Noma Dumezweni, Rebecca Ferguson, Mark Bonnar, Angus Imrie, Alexandra Roach, Patrick Stewart | Written and Directed by Joe Cornish As a wise man (or woman) once said, “Good intentions doth butter no Parsnips” Never have truer words been said, and nor […]
