A few short years ago, if you were a fan of Hong Kong Action or Martial arts cinema – the blu-ray market that has been in such a boom era for the small but avid base of collectors elsewhere, saw you overlooked. Hong Kong action hasn’t improved much, but Martial […]
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.
Pale Flower (1964) Humble, Contrarian Anti-Yakuza Classic (Review)
In the solitary extra of Criterion’s new Blu-ray of 1964’s Pale Flower, Masahiro Shinoda says that his writers wanted to make something fresh, something Shochiku studio wasn’t doing. In the 1960s, Yakuza cinema was full of rough boys driven by anger and anachronistic musical numbers. The leading men were manly […]
Midnight (2021) Who said the wheel needed reinventing? (Review)
Between Gangnam Style, BTS, Parasite, and Squid Game, we have some monumentally successful Korean exports, each one putting the small peninsula on the cultural map to an entirely different audience than the last. Squid Game is especially relevant to Montage Pictures’ release of Midnight – the casting of Wi Ha-jun […]
Skinny Tiger Fatty Dragon (1990) Stunning Action, Tone Deaf Comedy (Review)
Parroting a previous review of the action masterpiece [the] Prodigal Son (and Warriors Two), Sammo Hung is one of the best directors of action there has ever been. Nobody has his ability to choreograph, shoot and perform an action scene to its highest level, as he can, not even friend […]
Lies and Deceit – Cop Au Vin (1985) & Inspector Lavardin (1986)(Review)
Of all the names that came to prominence during the French New Wave, Claude Chabrol is one that didn’t receive the same level of acclaim or legacy as his illustrious peers. Arrow Video are doing their part to help with his broader perception by releasing two thematically tied boxsets in […]
The Wanting Mare (2020) Existential, Experimental Sci-Fi with looks to kill for (VOD Review)
The Green Knight was a divisive movie, a personal favourite from last year, for sure, but its often evasive and hallucinatory storytelling alienated much of its potential audience. One key aspect that cut through this tension was the visual effects work. One of the key names behind these visual effects […]
The Prodigal Son (1981) & Warriors Two (1978) Sammo Hung, Grand Master Action Director (Review)
I’m not one for dropping hot takes in reviews, but here is a case where I cannot help myself. I have no objection in claiming that Sammo Hung is one of the best action directors who have ever been. When Sammo is firing on all cylinders, he is up there […]
Red Angel (1966) Bloody And Fearless Japanese Anti-War Satire (Review)
For some, War movies are something to avoid, what with their rampant machismo and gleeful jingoism. It doesn’t matter where in the world said movies originate; this is unquestionably true. With history being unkind to the acts and crimes carried out in the heat of war, a wave of critical, […]
Shock (1977) Italian Horror without the gorgeous flamboyance (Review)
Final films of legendary directors is a fascinating topic. For every Kenji Mizoguchi who bowed out with a genuine masterwork like 1956’s Street of Shame, there are stories of directors who couldn’t finish their final works or an untimely passing that required someone else to pick up the baton. Looking […]
Stage Fright (1987) Slasher turned Silent Liminal Chiller once the lights go out (Review)
For a young horror director to the protege of a more seasoned hand, few could have better fortune than Michele Soavi, who sat under the learning tree of Dario Argento. Not only that, he had his directorial debut produced by another substantial Italian genre legend, Joe D’Amato. Soavi exploded out […]