Blog Archives

The Raid 2: Berandal (2014)

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Posted on April 7, 2014 by Justin

Three years ago, director Gareth Evans’ second film, The Raid arrived in Aussie cinemas with a bang. It’s the first Indonesian film I can remember ever getting a wide release here (and in North America, where it was first retitled The Raid: Redemption and given a soundtrack workover), and it won a great deal of attention from critics and dyed-in-the-wool action cinema fans. Evans had managed to craft a taut, focused genre film fusing well-trodden Hollywood tropes with the harder … (read more)

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The Summit: A Chronicle of Stones (2009)

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Posted on October 25, 2010 by Samson

Movies about mountain climbing are usually epic tales of human survival, and The Summit: A Chronicle of Stones is another fine example of this genre. We live in an era when every peak of every mountain has been conquered, but it is not uncommon for even today’s mountain climbers to run into trouble during their expeditions, despite having available to them sophisticated equipment, greater understanding about the human body’s functioning at high altitudes, and knowledge passed on by previous generations … (read more)

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Love Collage aka Collage of Our Lives (2003)

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Posted on September 29, 2009 by Deni

Love Collage, otherwise known as Collage of Our Lives, is a surprising film in a lot of ways. Maybe it’s the title. One would expect something exceedingly sappy and romantic from a movie called Love Collage, where attractive, full-of-potential boy meets attractive, out-of reach girl, moons over her for a while until she finally realises how wonderful he really is, and they live happily ever after.

But actually, that’s what Love Collage isn’t; a love story. Rather … (read more)

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Izo (2004)

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Posted on May 20, 2006 by Ben Jennings

I like pointless carnage as much as the next person, which is why my reaction to this movie surprises me so much. I would not have thought it possible that such a relentlessly gory movie could be so dull. This is not a moral objection at all, you must understand. It’s just… well, it’s so boring even Takeshi Kitano can’t revive it. Izo gives gratuitous violence a bad name.

A change of pace for prolific weirdo maestro Takashi Miike, Izo… (read more)

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Taboo (Gohatto) (1999)

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Posted on September 11, 2003 by Alison

There are two main reasons you might want to watch Taboo:

  • You enjoy watching some sword-wielding samurai action;
  • You like looking at beautiful young Japanese men.

    • On both those counts, Taboo is bound to satisfy. The samurai swordplay has the plenitude of droopy pants, flashing blades, and stern-faced shouting that one requires of a samurai flick, while the two young leads are, and I shall put it mildly in order not to be confined to quarters for a week, … (read more)

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