We open with a steady tracking shot that moves through a room of women changing, until the camera settles on one of them. From this deliberate opening, director Sébastien Marnier maintains a careful delivery of information, guiding the viewer through a handsomely staged and often twisty thriller. These twists and reveals make […]
Reviews
Swordsman of all Swordsmen (1968) Essential Viewing for Fans of East Asian Action (Review)
It cannot be understated just how dominant the Shaw Brothers studio was in the late 60s and early 70s. If you wanted to have any traction in the Chinese market then you had to go through Run Run Shaw and his studio. They had a stranglehold on the theatres (due […]
Three films by Jerzy Skolimowski: Walkover, Barrier and Dialogue 20-40-60 (1965-68) (Blu-Ray Review)
Jerzy Skolimowski’s film Barrier, the second in this Blu-Ray set of three early features from Second Run, begins with a manifesto. A youthful man is complaining that the young are always expected to make sacrifices while the old simply accumulate wealth, and questions why it can’t be him in the […]
The Lavender Hill Mob (1951): Comedy Gold from Ealing Studios (Review)
Returning to cinemas on 29th March, ahead of its 4K UHD Collector’s Edition and digital download release from Studio Canal’s Vintage Classics label on 22nd April, is the Ealing Studios’ 1951 classic and one of British cinema’s most beloved comedies, The Lavender Hill Mob. Directed by Charles Crichton, from a […]
The Comedy Man (1964) The Kitchen Sink of an England Long Gone (Review)
There’s a famous idiom that, in simple terms, states that comedy is simply tragedy plus time, but is the reverse also true? Recently released on Blu-ray by Studio Canal, Alvin Rakoff’s The Comedy Man (1964), is a satirical take on the kitchen sink dramas that were popular during that period, […]
Happy End (1967): the kind of film that could spark a lifelong obsession with Czech comedy (Review)
A quote from Søren Kierkegaard – don’t worry, this gets funny soon – kept coming to mind as I watched Oldřich Lipský’s Happy End, now released on Blu-Ray for the first time by Second Run. The Danish philosopher said “It is really true what philosophy tells us, that life must […]
Tony Arzenta (1973): A Hitman’s Revenge (Review)
Radiance continues its reliable run of ’70s Italian cinema with the release this week of 1973’s Tony Arzenta (aka Big Guns, aka No Way Out) an action packed and dour crime thriller from director Duccio Tessari (A Pistol for Ringo, The Return of Ringo) and starring Alain Delon, who also […]
A Million Days (2023)Hard Sci-Fi or Hardly Sci-Fi?(Review)
Artificial Intelligence is a concept as old as science fiction itself, and for much of that history it wasn’t the practical (if weird and problematic) tool that we know today. It was instead manifested as something that threatened humanity, and you need look no further than some classic examples like […]
Late Night with the Devil (2023) Old Standard Freshened In Engaging and Thrilling Ways (Review)
It’s no secret that found-footage is an often-derided format for horror films, and aside from some very good exceptions (Blair Witch, Cloverfield, Chronicle, etc), the whole gimmick of a family member or friend recording every strange occurrence until they drop the camera out of terror is extremely played-out. Inevitably, eyes […]
Damsel (2024) – Millie Bobby Brown Showcase Only Delivers Some Of The Goods (SPOILER Review)
There is no denying that Millie Bobby Brown is one of the biggest stars of my entire generation. Hell, I’m less than a year younger than her and I’ve been seeing her face stamped on everything ever since the first series of Stranger Things blew up back in 2016. Stranger […]