All posts by Gopal »
Chunhyang (2000) Movie Review
Based on an 18th century folk song, the Korean period drama “Chunhyang” tells a familiar story even for non-Koreans: a forbidden love between two people separated by class, family and duty; a secret wedding;...
Read More »Jarhead (2005) Movie Review
War is hell, and it’s probably never looked and felt the part more than in the scorching deserts of the Middle East . This is the ultimate destination of Anthony Swofford (Jake Gyllenhaal, “Donnie...
Read More »Bomb the System (2002) Movie Review
Graffiti emerged in the 1970s in New York City and quickly made the transition from vandalism to street art, perhaps by sheer volume alone. It became semi-legitimized as an art form in the 1980s,...
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Cronicas (2004) Movie Review
In today’s world of around the clock global news coverage, one gets the sense that all too often the news media has been growing desperate for material to fill airtime, and that this has...
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Blood and Bones (2004) Movie Review
Takeshi Kitano is Japan ‘s true ‘King of All Media.’ A cultural icon in his home country as an actor, director, poet, comedian, painter and newspaper journalist, Kitano is best known to the rest...
Read More »A History of Violence (2005) Movie Review
David Cronenberg has been an iconic director in the horror genre for close to three decades now, and is generally considered to be one of the more intellectual directors in the genre. More often...
Read More »Beyond the Wall of Sleep (2004) Movie Review
Set at the turn of the 20th century in backwoods Appalachia, “Beyond The Wall Of Sleep” tells the story of the frightening happenings at a decrepit mental asylum. It’s here that under the less...
Read More »Red Eye (2005) Movie Review
Airport check-in. Perhaps the greatest horror of the modern transport age. Dealing with long lines, heavy luggage, rude travelers and incessant delays are just some of the exhausting trials contemporary America goes through to...
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Bang Rajan (2000) Movie Review
While originally made in 2000, the Thai war epic “Bang Rajan” didn’t get much exposure outside of Asia despite being the most successful film in Thai history at the time. That is, until maverick...
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The Echo (2004) Movie Review
Filipino director Yam Laranas’ new film “The Echo” is yet another entry into the ever expanding genre of Asian atmospheric horror films. It uses most of the standard visual and thematic cues of its...
Read More »Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005) Movie Review
Although comparisons are inevitable, Tim Burton’s “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” really shouldn’t be put up against the 1971 Gene Wilder children’s classic “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.” While based on the same...
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Hana to Hebi (aka Flower and Snake, 2004) Movie Review
Japan has always had a long running tradition of extreme cinema. Be it gangster films, period dramas, or horror, there has always been a renegade group of filmmakers that have relentlessly pushed the boundaries...
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Howl’s Moving Castle (2004) Movie Review
With Disney and Pixar firmly entrenched on the side of CGI for their animated efforts, it looks like Japan and the FOX Network are the last bastions of hand drawn animation. Perhaps the most...
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Unleashed (aka Danny the Dog, 2005) Movie Review
Generally speaking, Jet Li’s western films have been hampered by indecision on the part of the filmmakers as to how to handle his onscreen persona. Since English is not Li’s first language, he is...
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Unhuman (2004) Movie Review
Science fiction is a dangerous genre. It takes a degree of thought and subtlety to pull off a good film. However, the genre is so ripe with ideas that any Tom, Dick and Harry...
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Tears of the Black Tiger (2000) Movie Review
There has been a long established two-way street between Hollywood and Asian cinema. The venerable Akira Kurosawa took the inspiration for many of his films from the epic features of John Ford, and Hollywood...
Read More »Tiger on the Beat (1988) Movie Review
One of the staples of action cinema is the buddy cop films, and the Hong Kong film industry is as inundated with them as Hollywood. Whether it’s John Woo behind the camera or Jackie...
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Men Behind the Sun 4: Black Sun – The Nanking Massacre (1996) Movie Review
From the Crusades to the Nazis, the various atrocities committed during wars have been covered fairly well by most high school and college history classes. However, one event that rarely gets much international exposure...
Read More »Unstable (2005) Movie Review
Despite the strides made in America over the past 50 years towards acceptance and equality amongst the many different types of people that make up our population, prejudice and hate are still very real...
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