Falling in with fellow 1980s fantasy adventure movies like The Princess Bride, Labyrinth, The Goonies, Dark Crystal and The NeverEnding Story – Time Bandits is an icon from a time when kids’ movies meant films for all the family. Fast forward a few decades, and studios have adopted a ‘them […]
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.
Space Battleship Yamato (2010): Sci-Fi Throwback that rarely steps out of the shadow of fandom
This most illustrious of anime intellectual properties has a legacy stretching back to 1974, through various series and OVA spells. The Space Battleship Yamato is as influential in Japan as Star Trek is throughout the world. Now receiving its first run on UK shores through the Manga label, the live-action […]
Deranged (1974): proto-slasher with a commitment to weird American History (Review)
The true story of the Wisconsin killer, Ed Gein, influenced some of the most important films in horror cinema. He was the muse of Hitchcock’s Psycho and Tobe Hooper’s Texas Chainsaw Massacre. There are also films that tackle his disturbing crimes head-on with the gory 2000 film of the same […]
Runaway Train (1985): tough prison escape thriller undone by broad strokes (Review)
Not to be confused with the late Tony Scott’s Unstoppable, Runaway Train is based on a potential début colour film by Akira Kurosawa, later redrafted by Djordje Milicevic, Paul Zindel and Edward Bunker. In this 1985 film, Jon Voight stars as Oscar “Manny” Manheim, a controversial inmate even at the Stonehaven maximum security prison. A deal of that controversy and idolization from his fellow prisoners comes from […]
The Car (1977): Christine in the Desert with a Moustache (Review)
Die Hard, Jaws and Towering Inferno are all of a school of prototypical Hollywood genre films that gave birth to copycats far and wide. Many confined actions films have been referred to as ‘Die hard in a…’ Many disaster films borrow Towering Inferno motifs and pacing. As far as these […]
Spider Baby & Foxy Brown: Iconic Jack Hill Double Bill (Review)
Jack Hill is the greatest… I think that Hill is a really terrific director. He was the Howard Hawks of exploitation filmmaking. Quentin Tarantino Even if that box quote does cut Jack Hill as a vital figure in the exploitation film world, what’s even more worthy of note is Arrow Film’s commitment to […]
For Love’s Sake: Takashi Miike’s Ultimate High School Musical (Review)
As a director, Takashi Miike is impossible to define beyond his boundless productivity. Yakuza, musicals, superheroes, children friendly, gore, taboo baiting, samurai, horror, video game adaptations, these are well within Miike’s wheelhouse, there are few people in the world as outright eccentric. His latest to see release in the UK […]
Vulgaria: A Vulgar sweetheart with a heart of gold (Review)
As a rule of thumb, comedy in Chinese and Hong Kong cinema tends to have a light touch. Instead of anything akin to the more raunchy Western stylings, Chinese territories typically favour slapstick and mischievous puns, a playful sense of humour at large. To that end, Sam Voutas’ 2010 film […]
The Woodsman & The Rain: Enter Shuichi Okita, the new king of Gentle Japan (Review)
The Japanese film industry is in a state of instability now, many of the old masters have passed on and the more fashionable names are proving to be inconsistent at best. There a few new names emerging in your Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Sion Sono or Yoshihiro Nakamura’s who have only come […]
The Foreign Duck, The Native Duck and God in a Coin Locker (Review)
Director Yoshihiro Nakamura came to prominence with his 2009 with Fish Story, since then the prolific director has gone on to direct a further 4 features, with 3 more projects in the post-production phase. Back in 2007, the director adapted Kotaro Isaka’s novel, the unwieldy piece entitled [the] foreign duck, […]