Tomu Uchida isn’t a name that immediately jumps out to western audiences when discussing the greats of Japanese cinema. A director that had been around since the silent era but lacking a distinctive style like Mizoguchi or Ozu, and whilst he would show a flair for many a genre and […]
Reviews
The Guest (2014) Aged like Fine Synth (Blu-Ray Review)
Things move at such a fast pace in the movie world. Rewind 10 years ago, horror was not in the healthy position it is now – some things did cut through the noise, but mostly it was a very middle-of-the-road era. A few directors had some degree of cultural cache. […]
The Last Thing Mary Saw (2021) Teenage Kicks Get Puritanical (DVD Review)
Teenage kicks get puritanical in this slow-burn American gothic tale. The titular Mary (Stefanie Scott) stands on trial, blindfolded with blood running down her face, as she describes to a curious judge the last thing, or rather things, that she saw that landed her in the dock. Her tale introduces […]
Love (Szerelem) (1971) Fragmented Visions and Fabrications (Blu-Ray Review)
Released to Blu-ray this week by Second Run is the 1971 Cannes Jury Prize-winning Hungarian film Love (or Szerelem, to give it its title in its native tongue) Directed by acclaimed Hungarian filmmaker Károly Makk and based on two short stories by his fellow countryman, the renowned author Tibor Déry, Love […]
Identification of a Woman (1982): Antonioni enters the ’80s, as provocative as ever (Review)
If there’s anyone out there who still doubts that Michelangelo Antonioni was a genius, consider this: he made the British overcome their prurience. On its 1966 release, his classic Blow-Up was a substantial hit in the UK among audiences who were not primarily interested in watching the latest film from […]
Monster (2003) Brutal and Beautifully Performed Serial Killer Psychodrama (Blu-Ray Review)
Hello everyone, it’s Alex here, and this is the first non-Classic Film Kid piece I’ve ever done, so I now have free reign to talk about whatever I want. So of course I begin with innocence and purity by reviewing a film about serial killer Aileen Wuornos in a life […]
Hellbender (2022): Feel the Chaos of a Teenage Witch (Blu-Ray Review)
Hellbender is the sixth feature film from the Adams family (made up of Toby Poser, John Adams and Zelda Adams) and their third in the horror genre. Following its release on Shudder in February, it arrives on DVD and digital through Acorn Media International making it their most readily available […]
The Big Chill (1983): nostalgic, reflective, snarky and full of love – a warm hug of a film (Blu-Ray Review)
College days, or university days as they are known in the UK, can be among the most memorable and formative that people experience. The friendships made, the ambitions held, the ideals believed in. Sometimes these days help shape our lives, other times we wonder what happened to the days and […]
Vengeance is Mine, All Others Pay Cash (2021) Entertainingly Rustic Genre Mashup… with Caveats (VOD review)
I do love a good mashup of genres in a movie. From Horror Musicals to Sci-Fi Actioners, a blending of ideas and rules often hits my cinematic sweet spot and probably explains my penchant for Korean cinema. So when I heard of Edwin’s 2021 Indonesian film Vengeance is Mine, All […]
Her Way (2022) Sentimental and melancholic but truthful (Cinema & VOD Review)
Quite an earnest film about sex work – I imagine – is more an unflinching look at working simply to survive. Marie is a single mother, trying to make enough money to send her son to college in the hopes that he can become a chef. Her current income cannot […]