nix (at) beyondhollywood.com : Editor, Webmaster, and Contributing Writer at BH. Likes: Movie news, opinions, suggestions. Dislikes: Emails about how much I suck for making fun of your favoritest movie/comic book/actor/director in the whole wide world. Thank you, have a nice day.

Peppermint Candy (2000) Movie Review

First off, let me assure you that I am not spoiling anything by telling you that Yongho, the main character, commits suicide. This takes place in the movie’s first sequence, about 5 minutes into the movie. The film is told in reverse order, akin to the masterful “Memento”, only the...

August 11th, 2003 | Read More

Our Twisted Hero (1992) Movie Review

“Our Twisted Hero” is a terrific movie with perhaps the worst subtitles of all modern cinema. It’s perplexing why the producers/distributors did such a shoddy job with the translation, as such a ridiculously poor effort would seem to indicate an attempt at self-sabotage. We’re...

August 11th, 2003 | Read More

Sanjuro (1962) Movie Review

Sanjuro is the sequel to Akira Kurosawa’s Yojimbo, and returns star Toshiro Mifune as the title character. In this installment, sword-for-hire Sanjuro stumbles into more trouble — or rather, trouble comes to the shack he’s currently crashing for the night. As always, Toshiro Mifune...

August 11th, 2003 | Read More

Birth Rite (2006) Movie Review

About 40 minutes into “Birth Rite”, a school counselor mentions to a student that he knows what she’s going through. The student replies that he has no idea, to which the counselor responds: “I know it’s not the same, but it’s similar.” Say what now? By the hour...

August 8th, 2003 | Read More

Head Over Heels (2001) Movie Review

I dislike movies like “Head Over Heels” not for reasons you might expect. I dislike it because it takes what could have been an interesting premise for a movie and turns it into crap. Pure, unadulterated, and nonsensical crap. In the hands of someone else, “Heels” could have been...

August 7th, 2003 | Read More

Batman: Dead End (2003) Movie Review

A reader sent me a copy of “Batman: Dead End”, which has been making the rounds of comic book conventions and the online fanboy community for the last month or so. Harry Knowles at Ain’t It Cool News even reported on it, giving it quite a glowing review. But if you think “Dead...

August 7th, 2003 | Read More

Heroic Duo (2003) Movie Review

I’ve never been a big fan of Ekin Cheng. Whatever it is that the Hong Kong film industry sees that makes them give the guy 10 movies per year is a mystery to me. Leon Lai elicits about the same response; the pop singer could rival Cheng for having the same level of ability to project passion —...

August 5th, 2003 | Read More

Shaolin Soccer (2001) Movie Review

Computer effects have become a bane for many filmmakers. So many movies are so CGI-reliant these days that the movie themselves have lost any sense of personality. One effects-laden movie has begun to look like the next, with story serving only as an excuse to move onto the next sfx sequence. Recent...

August 4th, 2003 | Read More

Who is Cletis Tout? (2001) Movie Review

“Who is Cletis Tout?” is a breezy, fast-paced 85-minutes of comedy and mild action, and all of it is harmless. It stars Christian Slater as Finch, a career criminal in prison for fraud, who decides to come along after helping to arrange the escape of aging jewel thief Donnelly (Richard Dreyfuss)....

August 4th, 2003 | Read More

Legend of Zu (2001) Movie Review

I will first admit to not having followed the career of Tsui Hark, the writer/director of “Legend of Zu”, besides what I have seen of his work in such American fare as “Knock Off” and “Double Team”. Both American films having the unenviable distinction of starring...

August 4th, 2003 | Read More

Clockstoppers (2002) Movie Review

I guess it’s no surprise that “Clockstoppers”, a movie produced by the fine folks over at Nickelodeon — a TV network that caters exclusively to kids — is filled with gaping plot holes and enough continuity errors to make your head spin. That is, this would be the case if...

August 3rd, 2003 | Read More

Alone (2001) Movie Review

I am reasonably certain there was a good movie in the British Serial Killer film “Alone”, but the final product is, alas, not so good. Even if you could survive first-time director Philip Claydon’s extreme A.D.D.-inspired directing style, you’d still have to deal with a cast of...

August 2nd, 2003 | Read More

Absolon (2003) Movie Review

Movies like “Absolon” really try my patience. Like another Direct-to-Video victim about Corporate Conspiracy called “Power Play”, “Absolon” has it in its head that it’s important — or, at the very least, substantial. Of course the problem with this notion...

August 1st, 2003 | Read More

Forbidden City Cop (1996) Movie Review

Stephen Chow is, I am told, a pretty big star over in his native Hong Kong, although I’ve only seen him in “Shaolin Soccer” — and if he was in other movies I’ve seen, then I don’t recall them. Having seen “Soccer”, I can safely say that 1996’s “Forbidden...

July 31st, 2003 | Read More

Hellraiser 6: Hellseeker (2002) Movie Review

I think “Hellraiser 6: Hellseeker” might have been a better movie had I not seen the previous sequel, but I doubt it. The fact is, “Hellseeker” is a duplicate of “Inferno”, employing the same Head Trip scenario that made the previous installment such a drastic departure...

July 31st, 2003 | Read More

Charly (2003) Movie Review

It’s no secret that the vast majority of filmmakers have a morbid and even twisted outlook on life. The same holds true for many film critics whose job it is to declare a movie worthwhile or not. I’ve never felt the need to immediately brand a movie seething in nihilism and brimming with...

July 30th, 2003 | Read More

Peacemakers: Pilot (2003) TV Review

With the mammoth (and I think unexpected) success of TV Tech Cop show “C.S.I.” and its 20 other imitators spread across the 4 networks, it was inevitable that some clever writer would pitch this idea: “It’s C.S.I. but in the Wild West!” That, in a nutshell, is the premise...

July 30th, 2003 | Read More

Contract Killer (aka Hitman, 1998) Movie Review

This review of “Hitman” is based on the American version, which is dubbed in English and was re-released under the title “Contract Killer”, with an all-new poster (that is also a bit misleading) and, if I’m correct, a completely new “Americanized” soundtrack,...

July 30th, 2003 | Read More

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003) Movie Review

The biggest problem with “The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen” (or “LXG” as the promos call it) is that it doesn’t offer anything new. Oh sure, the story takes place in 1899, and all of the gadgets on display are “antique” versions of what we’re used...

July 24th, 2003 | Read More

Fortress (1993) Movie Review

If you can ignore the first 6 minutes or so of 1993’s “Fortress”, then the rest is relatively entertaining. In a nutshell: in the near future, the U.S. is a fascist country that limits one child per couple. Our leads, played by Christopher Lambert (”The Point Men”) and Loryn...

July 23rd, 2003 | Read More