John Woo’s return to China has been heavily hyped. For years, fans have been begging him to walk away from unrepentant rubbish that he was making in Hollywood. And eventually, he did. After the release of Paycheck, John Woo has not shot another feature film in the past five years. Thank God, many would say. … Continue reading
In the midst of Devin’s post today delivering the good news about the recently uncovered footage from the original cut of Metropolis, he mentioned briefly the Marx Brothers picture Humor Risk. This short film is a great source of speculation and interest for hardcore Marx fans. You may have noticed that when I did my series … Continue reading
I’m always still a little bit excited when a new James Bond film is coming out. I know many of them are terrible, I’ve seen them all over the years, but I can’t shake the feeling. I’m not sure if it’s because I spent so much time as a child watching them (when there seemed … Continue reading
The 1970 film Machibuse (Ambush but often known as Ambush at Blood Pass) is notable for three reasons. One, it features Toshiro Mifune in a character that may have been intended to a reapperance of his Sanjuro character from the Kurosawa film Yojimbo and it’s sequel. Two, its a star studded production, almost the whole cast were … Continue reading
Despite what it may seem, I don’t only watch films from the 1940s. This evening I caught The Incredible Hulk, though probably a good bit later than most of you did, and thought I’d post a few impressions. I did watch the TV show as a child when it was being repeated in the UK. … Continue reading
I’d be a liar if I didn’t say I had a huge soft spot for Dark City. To me it was one of the best science fiction films of recent years. I remember seeing it when it came out on video and thinking how original and interesting it was. Thinking about what a world it … Continue reading
As I mentioned last week, I plan, from time to time, to talk here about some of the lesser known films of Akira Kurosawa, especially his war-time and post-war work. Last time, we looked at his fourth film, They Who Step On The Tiger’s Tail. Today, I’ll be talking about his second picture, The Most Beautiful. … Continue reading
I’d like to write a little about Monsieur Verdoux, not a review, but the film entered my head again recently after writing about Shadow of a Doubt. It’s certainly not the best known Charlie Chaplin film but its one I like the story behind. Chaplin only made three speaking films in Hollywood. The first was … Continue reading
Another trailer today, but from a completely different country and genre. Korean director Kim Ji-woon first caught my attention with The Foul King, the hilarious Korean wrestling comedy he made about 8 years ago. I never saw his first picture The Quiet Family, only the manic Takashi Miike remake/rip off Happiness of the Katakuris. A Tale … Continue reading
Takeshi Kitano is probably best known Japanese director working today, and one of the most famous Japanese filmmakers in the history of cinema. Kitano has a large following, especially in Europe, and has been receiving art house praise since the very early 90s. Thanks to films such as the poor, clip-show-like Brother and his very successful revision … Continue reading