Blog Archives

The 33D Invader (2011)

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Posted on December 28, 2012 by Rhys

As Michael Douglas approaches 70 and we wave goodbye to the golden-era of Hollywood’s erotic-thrillers, the recent local release of The 33D Invader reminds us that Hong Kong’s Category III films still exceed typical fringe exploitation budgets, and live on in the realm of mainstream Cantonese film. Cash Chin’s latest, distributed by Madman, contributes to his legacy as one of the premier filmmakers of the genre. Whilst it’s unlikely that Chin’s films will be retrospectively revered like those of more … (read more)

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Battle Royale – Director’s Cut (2000)

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Posted on October 25, 2012 by Kit

If the popularity of The Hunger Games (2012) has sparked thousands of socially-networked Gen-X grumblings about the film just being a sappy version of Kinji Fukasaku’s Battle Royale (as in the “do you know what they call Hunger Games in France/Japan” meme or just superficial nit-picking), there’s at least the consolation that a new fascination with teenage death games has led to Battle Royale re-entering the cultural consciousness, even if only as a point of comparison. This isn’t such … (read more)

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Quick (2011)

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Posted on September 24, 2012 by Justin

Han Gi-su (Lee Min-ki), a street racer in a biker gang in his (relatively recent, judging by his looks!) youth, is a courier who’s good at his job and very, very fast on a motorcycle. One day, he picks up an unusual job: he’s couriering a young lady across the city to a K-pop concert that she’s supposed to be on stage for. As she gets on to the bike and puts on his helmet, though, there’s an ominous beep, … (read more)

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The King of Pigs (2011)

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Posted on September 7, 2012 by Justin

Unflinchingly brutal and visually arresting, Yuen Sang-ho’s animated film The King of Pigs — the director’s first feature — definitely made an impression. It scooped up three awards at Busan in 2011, was invited to screen in the Directors’ Fortnight in Cannes in 2012, and this year’s Sydney Film Festival programmed it as the first Korean film ever in competition. Where I missed out on it.… (read more)

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The Taste of Money (2012)

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Posted on August 26, 2012 by Justin

The Taste of Money is Im Sang-soo’s seventh film, and a successor of sorts (if not a direct sequel) to 2010’s The Housemaid. I haven’t seen the latter, so I can’t write much about it here, but it seems clear from this trailer that it’s a thriller/melodrama set in the rarefied world of South Korea’s super-rich.

The Taste of Money inhabits the same universe. … (read more)

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War of the Arrows (2011)

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Posted on August 20, 2012 by Eugene

War of the Arrows opens with a chase.  Armed men bear down upon a teenager dragging a little girl who stumbles and falls.  Before they are brought down, their pursuers are taken down by their father.  Given that moment of relief, they are ordered to flee before seeing their father cut down by the attacking forces.  Now orphans, they find themselves at a friend of their father’s where they are fostered.

Such a tragic opening lends itself to a revenge … (read more)

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Revenge: A Love Story (2010)

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Posted on July 29, 2012 by Justin

Revenge: A Love Story from director Wong Ching Po (Jiang Hu, Mob Sister) reaches back into the past to Hong Kong’s grisly Cat-III action pics, where buckets of blood and more than a touch of sadism were de rigueur. Wong adds a modern sensibility to the mix, though, bringing good production values and some technical sophistication to the picture… but is that enough to elevate it beyond exploitation territory?… (read more)

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Motorway (2012)

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Posted on July 15, 2012 by Justin

Car movies are hot right now. We’ve had more Fast and the Furious films than really ought to exist (believe it or not, the sixth is in production) and Nicolas Winding Refn’s Drive won over last year’s Cannes audiences and critics; there’s an undeniable appeal to these stories, whether they’re about gangs of thrill-seeking speedsters or the archetypal getaway driver on a job gone wrong.

The latter in particular is a great fit for the Milkyway Image house style, actually. … (read more)

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