Blog Archives

The Bird People in China (1998)

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Posted on June 3, 2007 by Deni

I’d like to be able to start this review off by saying that, on the surface at least, The Bird People in China is a bit like a road movie, Miike-style. Unfortunately that would be somewhat less than true because, actually, it’s a little more like a road movie Kitano-style. Takashi Miike – best known for films both creepy and extreme – turns his hand to a subject a little more intimate than blood and guts; heart and soul, … (read more)

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The Lizard (1972)

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Posted on May 12, 2007 by Justin

In a departure from the wuxia/swordplay films that he’s best known for, in The Lizard director Chor Yuen brings us a period action film set in 1930s Shanghai. In a city full of wealthy foreigners and corrupt officials, a mysterious figure in black known only as The Lizard flits among the rooftops, stealing from those who don’t deserve their wealth and giving to those in need. Though a hero to the common people, the Lizard is a thorn in … (read more)

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Tomie (1999)

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Posted on April 29, 2007 by Alison

Thought Japanese schoolgirls were cute? Think again. This one leaves a trail of corpses in her wake, although strictly speaking, it’s not her fault: boys get so enamoured of her that they fight over her. And die, of course. Thinning the competition, that’s the ticket.

This was a surprisingly enjoyable flick, given that it was made on a fairly low budget with bugger-all special effects. This is mainly due to the actress playing Tomie: the talented Miho Kanno, star of … (read more)

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Tetsuo (The Iron Man) (1989)

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Posted on April 29, 2007 by Alison

I have an absolute argument-winner: the next time someone tries to dispute that Japanese filmmakers are weird, I can show them Tetsuo. Then, after I’ve revived them and stopped them gibbering, they’ll have to admit that yes, I’m right, and yes, Japanese filmmakers come from another planet. The film damn near sucked out my brain like a whelk.

If you make it as far as the salaryman being pursued through the train station by a secretary who’s unnacountably turning … (read more)

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Shaolin Prince (1982)

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Posted on April 21, 2007 by Justin

Most fans of Shaw Brothers’ martial-arts and swordplay films know the names of director Chang Cheh and action director Lau Kar-leung, also a fine director in his own right. The Shaws studio had several other top action directors, though, chief among them Tong Gaai, who worked in partnership with Lau sifu on many of Chang Cheh’s films. While Lau is most associated with empty-handed martial arts, Tong Gaai was a weapons specialist, responsible for many of the Shaws films featuring … (read more)

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Burning Paradise (1994)

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Posted on April 15, 2007 by John Snadden

Burning Paradise is a collaboration between two of the greats of contemporary Cantonese cinema: director Ringo Lam (Prison on Fire, Full Contact) and producer Tsui Hark (Once Upon a Time in China series).

The opening action sequences of this martial arts feature quickly establishes the cinema landscape via a series of human and animal decapitations. The prologue describing the persecution of Shaolin monks by the Manchu government during the Qing dynasty, has been used in Shaw … (read more)

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An Amorous Woman of Tang Dynasty (1984)

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Posted on April 11, 2007 by Justin

An Amorous Woman of Tang Dynasty is another in the Shaw Brothers’ studio’s proud tradition of period-setting erotic dramas with dodgy English titles, following on from 1972’s Intimate Confessions of a Chinese Courtesan. Like the latter, though, it really is just a bit more complicated than you’d think: this movie has a number of attributes that set it apart from the rest of the pack.

Now, don’t get me wrong. It is what it says it is on the … (read more)

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The City of Lost Souls (2000)

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Posted on April 10, 2007 by Alan

The camera hovers beneath the water of a toilet in which two recently curled out hot ones are still floating. Through the, ahh, murk, we watch as a man is quickly dispatched by a Yakuza killer for hire.

Nice one. Welcome to the maniacal world of Miike, to whom the phrase ‘inventive camera angles’ barely does any kind of justice. And let’s not get started on weird plot twists and oddball scenarios.

OK, let’s. We get murderous games of ping … (read more)

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