Blog Archives

The Berlin File (2013)

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Posted on August 13, 2013 by Eugene

Who knew?  North Korea, despite being the diplomatic Bogeyman of the western world still maintains an embassy in Berlin.  Admittedly, now that I’ve looked it up on Wikipedia, it does seem less impressive to have a Korean spy thriller set specifically in Berlin (which I was led to believe was somewhat unique).  Nonetheless the city still retains a residual cloak and dagger ambiance from years of the Cold War and films about the subterfuge that once went on in … (read more)

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Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack (2001)

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Posted on August 1, 2013 by Justin

It’s all coming up kaiju this year!

Inspired by Guillermo del Toro’s epic monsterpiece Pacific Rim and the upcoming 2014 Hollywood Godzilla reboot, I decided to set aside a few evenings and run through the Godzilla “Millennium Era” films and see what it’s all about really. Prior to these, I had only ever seen the classic 1954 film that started it all, and Madman have just released (and kindly sent us a review copy of) a box set, covering the … (read more)

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Studio Ghibli films on Blu-ray

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Posted on June 24, 2013 by Samson

For years to come, Studio Ghibli fans will no doubt remember 2013 fondly as a year that has brought two new releases from the great animation studio: Hayao Miyazaki’s The Wind Rises and Isao Takahata’s The Tale of Princess Kaguya. The last time this happened was 25 years ago when Miyazaki’s My Neighbour Totoro and Takahata’s Graves of the Fireflies were simultaneously released in Japanese theaters. So there is really no better time than now to revisit some of … (read more)

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Monsoon Shootout (2013)

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Posted on June 17, 2013 by Justin

Monsoon Shootout, which screened in competition at this year’s Sydney Film Festival, is the first feature film from Indian director Amit Kumar. A dark, introspective crime thriller, it takes as its subject the moral dilemma faced by a young policeman working in Mumbai’s slums, where gangland thugs face off against cops who don’t like doing paperwork.… (read more)

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Outrage Beyond (2012)

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Posted on June 10, 2013 by Justin

My first film at this year’s Sydney Film Festival was Outrage Beyond, the great Japanese director Takeshi Kitano’s follow-up to 2010’s yakuza film Outrage. Set in the same universe of gangsters in pinstripes, black sedans and sudden violence, it picks up the story some years after the events of the first film.… (read more)

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The Front Line (2011)

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Posted on June 3, 2013 by Justin

South Korean director Jang Hoon followed up his 2010 hit Secret Reunion (a fun spy-vs-spy thriller that sold 5.5 million tickets, coming in second for that year’s box office) with this, his third feature: a gigantic war film set during the 1953 ceasefire at the end of the Korean War.

Kang Eun-pyo (Shin Ha-kyun, who’s donned warpaint before in JSA and Welcome to Dongmakgol) and Kim Soo-hyeok (Go Soo) were soldiers together early in the war. Outgunned, they found … (read more)

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Ace Attorney (2012)

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Posted on May 25, 2013 by Samson

Regular visitors to our website would know that we just love Takashi Miike. And why wouldn’t you? From his early crazy films like Ichi the Killer and Gozu, to commercial films like Crows Zero and Ninja Kids!!!, to the more recent critically acclaimed films like 13 Assassins and Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai, he has just proven himself to be one of the most prolific, imaginative and skillful directors working in the world today. Just how many … (read more)

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Drug War (2012)

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Posted on May 10, 2013 by John Snadden

In just under twelve months, I’ve had the good fortune to have watched three superb new release Asian crime movies. In my opinion, they mark a turning point in their respective film cultures. The films are: from India, Gangs of Wasseypur, a very un-Bollywood-like crime saga which chronicles a century long blood feud; the Chinese feature Lethal Hostage from wannabe auteur Cheng Er; and Johnnie To’s first mainland produced and financed cop drama, Drug War. More on the … (read more)

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