Godzilla Minus One (2023)

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Posted on December 29, 2023 by Andrew

It’s been a big final month of 2023 for overseas fans of Asian cinema, with some all-stars bringing their game to cinemas. John Woo returns to American movies again with Silent Night. Hayao Miyazaki simply returns, with The Boy and the Heron. And with a name even more well known than those cinema legends, the kaiju king, the monarch of monsters, returns yet again. Godzilla is back.

For context, this reviewer dipped into the Godzilla back catalogue for … (read more)

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Midnight (2021)

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Posted on August 15, 2023 by Andrew

A serial killer thriller, Midnight poses the premise “What if A Quiet Place, but the stalking monster was a man?” The two movies are quite different in setting and plot, but tonally very similar and hinge on the actions of a character with no sense of hearing trying to survive and save others from a scary and relentless threat.

Protagonist Kim Kyung-mi (Jin Ki-joo) is deaf and can only speak with great difficulty. We’re quickly encouraged to like this … (read more)

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Magnificent Warriors (1987)

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Posted on May 1, 2023 by Andrew

Equally excellent in the fields of action, comedy and drama, and after dozens of major roles in Hong Kong, Chinese and American productions, Michelle Yeoh can seemingly do, well, everything. Everywhere. Maybe, even, all at once. Having recently been awarded an Oscar for her performance in Everything Everywhere All at Once, many folks will be looking to catch up on her back catalogue and Magnificent Warriors is an early career highlight.

After her breakout buddy cop role with Cynthia … (read more)

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Odd Couple (1979)

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Posted on March 16, 2023 by Andrew

Odd Couple is one of the quintessential kung fu films focused on the use of weapons, rather than unarmed forms of combat. Other weapon-centric flicks include Heroes of the East and Legendary Weapons of China, both directed by Lau Kar Leung for Shaw Brothers studios. Odd Couple is directed by Lau Kar Wing — brother of Lau Kar Leung — for the independent film company Gar Bo Films which he led along with Sammo Hung and Karl Maka. It’s … (read more)

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Three (2016)

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Posted on February 16, 2023 by Andrew

OK then. It’s my turn to offer some thoughts on a movie from Johnnie To, someone whose long and varied output I largely relish, and a much-loved director here on HC.

Three is alright. Gulp.

A single location thriller set in a hospital, Three maintains the quirky humour that is a big part of the Milkyway Image house style, although there’s a dark edge to most of the comedy this time around. Chance has a big influence on the outcome, … (read more)

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Dreadnaught (1981)

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Posted on January 14, 2023 by Andrew

Dreadnaught is a lot of things. A cracker of a fun movie for a start. It’s also a Wong Fei-Hung story, a slasher movie, a star turn for Yuen Biao, the inspiration for a scene in Batman Forever and still remains a unique film in its own right, approaching genre conventions with an unconventional spin. Blending generous helpings of action, comedy, and horror into one madcap mixture only 95 minutes long, some scenes incredibly still manage to drag a little!… (read more)

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Decision to Leave (2022)

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Posted on October 23, 2022 by Andrew

It’s been a while since Park Chan-wook’s last feature length film. Since The Handmaiden in 2016, he’s done some television and short film work, so the industry was well and truly ready for another big screen event from one of South Korea’s hardest hitting directors. KOFFIA hosted screenings of Decision to Leave in some Australian cities back in September, but Madman has engineered a wider release for the film so now more folks have a chance to see what images … (read more)

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Once Upon a Time in China & America (1997)

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Posted on October 16, 2022 by Andrew

Wong Fei Hung goes west. OK, technically he goes east to get to the American West, but it’s very much Wong Fei Hung in a western genre film. The Once Upon a Time in China film series has always had a historical fiction slant, so the premise of this entry, while more fanciful than those that came before it, is different in degree rather than kind. Once Upon a Time in China & America (OUATICAA) slides into self-parody … (read more)

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