Even for the most ardent fans, martial arts cinema can get very samey. It’s not a criticism far from it; the same realisation happens with fans of other formally strict genres – like the western, slasher or fantasy movies. All-time classics are the DNA from which repetition and formulaic plotting […]
Movies & Documentaries
Onoda: 10,000 Nights in the Jungle (2021) (Cinema Review)
When is a World War II epic not a World War II epic? When it’s Onoda: 10,000 Nights in Jungle, a story that is all the more unbelievable when you consider it is 100% true. Or as close as possible, with creative embellishments to make it palatable as a big-screen […]
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (4K)(1994) De Niro & the Ego Monster (Blu-ray Review)
Who is Kenneth Brannagh? To look at him now, he is a multi-award-winning director adding his take to the canon of successful awards bait turned moustache receptacle. Earlier in 2022, he had two movies playing in cinemas – simultaneously. Go back a bit further, and he was involved in the […]
Henry Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986) A deeply unnerving character study (Review)
Disturbing films were in abundance throughout the late 70s and early 80s. With films such as Driller Killer, Cannibal Holocaust, The Last House on the Left and many more being branded “Video Nasties” and essentially blacklisted by the BBFC. Most of the shocking value of these films comes from grotesque […]
In the Family (2011) and The Grief of Others (2015): two films by Patrick Wang (Review)
It’s rare, to say the least, for a director to go from having no films released in the UK to having his entire back catalogue made available overnight. But this is what’s happened to Patrick Wang, whose four features to date were released by Bulldog Film Distribution at selected cinemas […]
You Are Not My Mother (2022) Folk Horror Terror in Working Class Ireland (VOD Review)
Irish eyes are certainly not smiling in this tale of domestic horror as ancient Irish folklore creeps its way into the twenty-first century. You are not My Mother’s first time director & writer Kate Dolan delivers a fantastically creepy story, aided by wonderfully strong leading women and a subtlety rarely […]
Coach to Vienna (1966) Defying the Perceived Wisdoms of WWII (Review)
Another day, another release from Second Run of a Czech film that fell foul of the authorities as the optimism of the Prague Spring gave way to the reassertion of Soviet control and the period of normalisation that took a hold of the country until the eventual collapse of the […]
To Sleep So As To Dream (1986): silent Japanese dream detectives! (Review)
The fictional detective is a rational creature. As soon as detective stories were invented, Edgar Allan Poe and Arthur Conan Doyle were using their sleuths to reveal the mundane truth behind apparently supernatural events; the latter’s maxim that when you have eliminated the impossible, what remains – however improbable – […]
Classic Film Kid: Modern Times (1936)(Review)
Hello everyone, welcome to another review from the Classic Film Kid! Today we are travelling back to the 1930s and covering Modern Times – one of the most iconic films written by, directed and starring the legendary Charlie Chaplin. This silent film explores his iconic Little Tramp character navigating his […]
Odd Couple (1979) Masterpiece of Action… there’s also some Comedy (Blu-ray Review)
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 […]