Blog Archives

Notorious C.H.O. (2003)

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Posted on January 25, 2006 by Ching Yee

Notorious C.H.O.? There’s no rapping or rhymin’ to be seen here and no P. Diddy stylistics either. This homegirl just jumps on stage and delivers comedy. But she will certainly be going down in American standup history as being notorious – notoriously funny, raunchy, honest, and of course watchable.

Filmed in Seattle 2001, Notorious C.H.O is a live recording of Cho’s show at the end of what seems like an incredibly long US tour. Opening shots of punters lining up … (read more)

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Balzac & The Little Chinese Seamstress (2002)

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Posted on January 25, 2006 by Eugene

So. Why watch films? For that matter, why read books? Why listen to music?

Why idolise heroes and heroines that never were; villains and monsters that can never be and tales that are not true?

After all, what is the point of art and culture? It feeds no hunger and shelters nothing from the cold. What practical purpose does it serve to us as the human race?

This is the kind of thinking that led to things like the Cultural … (read more)

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DOA & DOA2 (1999)

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Posted on January 25, 2006 by Ching Yee

After the quiet reflective tone of Sandy Lives, I was jolted into hyper reality by this Miike Takashi double trouble celluloid gross fest.

My only other dalliance with Miike is The Happiness of the Katakuris so in my well-informed and knowledgeable opinion, after viewing a mere three films by Miike-san, I have come to the conclusion that his films always open with a bang.

The first 10 min always kicks arse — in Happiness of the Katakuris, it … (read more)

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Ichi the Killer (2001)

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Posted on January 25, 2006 by Alison

Remember the old architect sketch from Monty Python? A group of Masons offer a tender for an apartment building, and one of the architects presents designs for a slaughterhouse, justifying it thus: “This is not just a slaughterhouse. There’s no blood caked on the walls and flesh flying out of the windows incommoding passers-by with this one!”

That is so, so, not Ichi The Killer. There is blood caked on the walls. And the only reason there’s no … (read more)

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Audition (1999)

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Posted on November 28, 2005 by Jonathan

“Ban this sick film!” has become a bit of a cliché, but it’s sure a hell a functional one. Advocating censorship is now almost as fashionable as whinging about it – the two obviously compliment each other, and as long as there are people going to see some of the more intense examples of film art that are on offer in this fine country of ours, then chances are there’ll be someone to complain about them.

How Audition slipped under … (read more)

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Dersu Uzala (1974)

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Posted on November 25, 2005 by Justin

This is an interesting film. Akira Kurosawa is one of cinema’s most impressive directors, and I’ve a tendency to dribble superlatives when writing about him — my apologies. In any case, you will (or should) know him as the director responsible for The Seven Samurai, Ran, Sanjuro, and many other well-known Japanese films. Most of the films he is famous for are shot in Japan and often set in feudal Japan, telling tales of the samurai and … (read more)

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