I saw The Middle Man pitched as the Coen brothers meet David Lynch, which certainly piqued my interest, yet after watching the film it turned out to be much more Coen brothers than Lynch. In fact, I feel that the comparison to the latter is only loosely based on the […]
Movies & Documentaries
Welcome To The Dollhouse (1996) A Nightmarish Descent Into Adolescence (Review)
The biggest lie we are told is that childhood and adolescence are innocent. Whether through bullying or the inevitable exploration of our bodies on a more intimate level, the innocence of our childish ignorance quickly becomes lost once high school begins. Welcome To The Dollhouse is a dark comedy about […]
Fill er Up With Super (1976) – A charming road trip on the highway of friendship(Review)
As a revving engine opens Fill er up with Super, co-writer/director Alain Cavalier highlights the vehicular linchpin to the unfolding story. Car salesman Klouk (Bernard Crombey) is initially seen dealing with a prospective seller, combating every query which attempts to lower the asking price for a desired car. After a […]
The House that Screamed (1969)Messy Spanish Proto-slasher almost saved by a ghoulish, genius finale (Review)
If Spanish horror was a man, his name would be Narciso Ibáñez Serrador. Known as “Chicho” by fans, Serrador brought stories of the thrilling and chilling to Spain’s television screens for almost three decades with his popular anthology series Tales to Keep You Awake – though, to international viewers, he’s […]
Electric Dragon 80000v (2001) A ‘Saturday Morning Avant-garde, Punk Rock Fever Dream’ Cartoon (Review)
There was a moment in the early 2000s when, here in the West, Tadanobu Asano was the new Japanese king of cool. From his portrayal of the crazed Ichi in Takashi Miike’s Ichi The Killer, or the prime antagonist Hattori Genosuke in Takeshi Kitano’s reimagining of the classic tale of […]
Walking the Edge (1985)Exploitation, Scuzz and Robert Forster’s Masterclass (Review)
New Label Radiance Films has kicked off with considerable intent; as well as their releases, they are also working with Mawu Films, Altered Innocence and Fun City Editions (UK) – the latter of which 1985’s Walking the Edge belongs. Norbert Meisel directs his wife, Nancy Kwan, and committed character actor […]
Bad City (2022) The Fine Art Forms of Stunt Work and Fight Choreography (Review)
Kensuke Sonomura wastes no time in plunging us straight into the action with Bad City. On the surface, we’re introduced to Kaiko City, a town that seems to be past its glory days. It now withers away under the corruption of the financial corporations around it. The prosecutors bring it a […]
Jane (2023) When Teen Drama morphs into Psychological Teen Horror (Review)
Teenage suicide and cyber-bullying. Handle these tough subjects in a way that is crass or exploitative, and your film will leave a bad taste in the mouth. Handle it with delicacy and nuance and you might produce something impressive. Sabrina Jaglom’s Jane falls into the latter category, approaching these topics […]
The Sisters Brothers (2018) A Great Characterful Western for Fans New & Old (Review
Westerns are a genre that has so far eluded me. I have virtually no experience with the genre as a whole, apart from the odd clip from Clint Eastwood films. On TV, however, I have a little more knowledge. Two examples spring to mind, the Red Dwarf episode Gunmen of the […]
Imitation of Life (1934) Thematically poignant pre-code romance succumbs to padding (Review)
America’s cinematic landscape drastically changed in 1934 with the introduction of the oppressive and controlling Hays Code, a set of strict censorship rules that dictated what studio films could show on-screen. The code enforced traditional catholic family values, reduced sexually explicit content and, amongst many other things, always ensured the […]