Films that trade in the retro have become a commodity post-2010, with a countless barrage either slavishly replicating or parodying bygone ages – especially the 1980s. Such films have escaped the cult domain and penetrated the mainstream, truly the mark that something has had its day in the sun. It […]
Rob Simpson
Chief Editor
Host of the Uncut Network. With a love of movies kicked off by Hong Kong Action and Claymation Monsters, Rob has forever been cradled in the bosom of Cinema. Rob has his hands in many a pie, including no budget film making. Filthy
Tokyo Tribe (2014) Part Manga Movie Part Inspired, One-of-a-Kind Hip-Hopera (Review)
Nobody has quite the same grasp on the enfant terrible director as Japan: the 1960s and 70s had Seijun Suzuki, Kinji Fukusaku, Terou Ishii and countless others; the modern-day has Takashi Miike and the ever-unpredictable Sion Sono, to name just two. Japanese cinema has never had to try hard to […]
Han Gong-Ju (2013) Here’s to the Next Generation of Korean Cinema! (Review)
The Korean New Wave was defined by 3 directors, Kim Jee-Woon, Park Chan-Wook, and Bong Joon-Ho. With them being courted to foreign climes the international stature has seen Korean cinema relegated from the status as the “cool new thing” it used to be. As sad as that it is, it […]
Wooden Crosses (1932) Important, practical, anti-war film (Review)
Raymond Bernard’s 1932 film, Wooden Crosses is a key title in the history of the war film. From a personal perspective, its classification as such is a source of debate; historically, important films can have legendary status by being very modern in their construct, visual potency as well as by […]
Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter (2015) Sobering portrait of Japanese loneliness (Review)
Takako Konishi was an office worker from Tokyo who was found dead in Minnesota and became the muse behind the urban legend that the Coen Brothers Fargo is the key to a lost bounty of cash. That same Urban Legend is the key inspiration behind David Zellner’s third film Kumiko […]
Back to 1942 (2012) Come and See China in this gruelling war drama (Review)
The BFI has had many seasons dedicated to many national cinemas, directors, epochs or movements, with their status they have also brought many old science fiction programmes, documentaries or, as is currently the case, Chinese films into a focus they couldn’t enjoy otherwise. Today they have released two home video […]
The Other (1972) Subsequent scary kid horror movies have stolen all its best tricks (Review)
Horror is an incredibly cyclical beast; the current cycle is a mix between the perpetual zombie and haunted house films. One of the more pre-eminent historical cycles is the bad seed, or to give it a more common name – scary kids. The 1960s and 70s saw the zenith with […]
Shanghai 13 (1984): Lesser late-era from the master filmmaker, Chang Cheh (Review)
For UK home video aficionado’s two labels exemplified martial arts and Asian cinema, Tartan and Hong Kong Legends, both of whom now cease to be. Third Window and a band of small independents have taken some of the slack for Tartan’s demise, but for martial arts cinema, the only outlet […]
Greatful Dead (2013): Twisted Amelie turned Gallows Battle Royale (Review)
Emotional neglect is a significant problem in Asia, proven how suicide has inflated to epidemic levels on more than one occasion. With cinema reflecting the world we live it, emotional neglect, isolation and despair have gone on to become prevalent subtexts and thematic discourse within much of Asian cinema. So […]
I’m All Right Jack (1959): The cinema beginnings of a comedy titan (Review)
2014’s box office saw the Lego Movie gain the most money, jumping back, with Studio Canal’s latest release, to 1959 and it shows just how much the cinema landscape has changed. The biggest hit of 1959 in I’m all right Jack has concerns that are just as prevalent today as […]