We all know how Robert Altman spent the 1970s, right? M*A*S*H, Nashville, The Long Goodbye, McCabe and Mrs Miller. Freewheeling satirical ensemble pieces, playing fast and loose with genre, inventing the adjective Altmanesque for their naturalistic sprawl. Except there’s another face of Altman’s ’70s work. He was so prolific that […]
Movies & Documentaries
Slum-Polis (2015) Intriguing Japanese Apocalypse Drama from Raindance (Review)
In the wake of the Tsunami that hit Japan in 2011, there has been a movement of directors – both high and low profile – who have used that catastrophe to open up a cinematic discourse; one of the more successful examples is Sono’s Land of Hope. Sono formed one […]
Hard to be a God (2015) A difficult, dirty, violent epic of a swansong (Review)
The world feels like a brutal, unsentimental place after watching Aleksei German’s final film, not least when I had the following realisation: Hard to be a God’s ceaseless, grotesque phantasmagoria of cruelty makes German the only director who could possibly adapt Cormac McCarthy’s classic novel Blood Meridian. But now he’s […]
Mona Lisa (1986) Heartbreaking Tragedy, Chemistry and the British Gangster Film (Review)
A breakthrough hit for director Neil Jordan, the neo-noir classic Mona Lisa has been given a new lease on life thanks to Arrow Video’s remastered Blu-ray release. Mona Lisa stars Bob Hoskins as George, a man just released from prison into a world that has moved on without him. Turning to […]
Horse Money (2014) Difficult, obtuse, but an open mind will see you through (Review)
After a decade of bringing undervalued and overlooked films to light on DVD, Second Run’s career as a big-screen distributor begins, in a winningly perverse fashion, with an elegy. Pedro Costa’s Horse Money adds the fourth instalment to what most people assumed would be a trilogy of films set in […]
Zombie Fight Club (2014): high trash, complete trash or somewhere in-between? (Review)
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery; take any Zeitgeist movie and the wave of films that come in its wake is incredible. Take Gareth Evans’ The Raid as a classic example; the hyper-violent multi-story siege film has since enjoyed a massive rise in currency since its shocking, out-of-the-blue success. […]
Eyes Without a Face (1960) An all-timer & one of horrors true one-of-a-kind movies (Review)
The longer cinema has existed as a collaborative medium the more competition there is and the more movies are being made. To stand out from the masses you have to strive to be ahead of the curve – good directors can beat the crowd by a few years; the legendary […]
Dragon’s Return (1968) A Jaw-Dropping Masterpiece of the Slovak Style (Review)
All generalisations are false, up to and including this one. But it does feel as if, even before Czechoslovakia divided into two nations, there were already two parallel cinemas existing in it. You have the Czech films of Jan Švankmajer and Věra Chytilová; witty, urban, fast-cut, colourful, likely to appeal […]
Exit (2014) A subtle showcase for Shiang-chyi Chen (Review)
The appearance of new film distributors in the UK is a significant occasion, especially when they are dealing exclusively with Asian cinema. The birth of Facet Films brings with it new possibilities, one of which is Chienn Hsiang’s directorial début – Exit. With this film, he follows the rich tradition […]
The Wolfpack (2015): One of the most uplifting horror stories you’ll see (Review)
During a customary stroll around New York City, Avid Filmmaker and Director Crystal Moselle gazed at a group of identical, slick, long-haired boys, swerving through the crowded streets. Her inquisitive nature led to her approaching individuals found to be brothers with a passion for film. With this, a friendship was […]