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Lorelei: The Witch of the Pacific Ocean (2005) Movie Review
The filmmakers behind “Lorelei” should give out Japanese flags with each copy of the DVD for all the subtlety the film manages. As strictly a movie, and not the jingoistic propaganda it obviously is,
Read More »Fort Doom (2004) Movie Review
One does hope that director Christian Ingvordsen has already looked back at his horror-western opus “Fort Doom” and, in hindsight, realize that he should have shot the thing on film instead of digital video.
Read More »The Hillside Strangler (2004) Movie Review
“The Hillside Strangler” is another in the recent series of grimy true crime films focusing on infamous serial killers, this one by the team of director Chuck Parello (responsible for the rather dull “Ed
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The Return (2003) Movie Review
“The Return” marks the debut of Andrei Zvyaginstev, a Russian film maker who has already been compared by many to his legendary countryman, Andrei Tarkovsky (“Solaris”). It is easy to see why, as Zvyaginestv’s
Read More »Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers (1989) Movie Review
Giddy over the surprise success of “Halloween 4″, the producers wasted no time getting a follow up into production. Their haste is evident, since the fifth installment in the “Halloween” franchise is an amalgam
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16 Years of Alcohol (2003) Movie Review
Since Scotland’s film industry can be politely described as ‘non-existent’, the wide release of any local product should be cause for celebration, especially when it is as initially intriguing as long time critic turned
Read More »The Magic of Ordinary Days (2005) Movie Review
It’s just as well that the movie version of Ann Howard Creel’s novel, “The Magic of Ordinary Days” was made for, and showed on, the Hallmark channel. A calm, reassuring film with deliberate pacing
Read More »The Aggressives (2005) Movie Review
There’s a great scene in “The Aggressives” when Soyo (Jeong-myeong Cheon), a young teen whose parents have just abandoned him to fend for himself with a handful of cash, asks Moggy (Kang-woo Kim), an
Read More »El Intermedio (2005) Movie Review
In actor Andrew Lauer’s directorial debut, the teen (or in this case, 20-something) horror movie “El Intermedio”, four friends (two childhood friends and their respective significant others) decide to take a trip to the
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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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Ichi the Killer (2002) Movie Review #2
On the commentary track for one of his films, director Robert Rodriguez (“Sin City”) relates a story that I’ll paraphrase here: While taking questions about his low-budget debut “El Mariachi,” a critic asked about
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Avatar (aka Cyber Wars, 2004) Movie Review
Despite better than expected special effects, there’s one thing the Singapore sci-fi flick “Avatar” can’t quite overcome — well, okay, there’s a lot of things, including stilted acting, awful dialogue, and most of all,
Read More »Ted Bundy (2002) Movie Review
Films about true life serial killers, the modern day bogeymen who have become etched onto the public consciousness like slices of psychotic folklore, tend to walk a very fine line between genuine attempts to
Read More »Blood Rain (2005) Movie Review
For its first hour and 50-something minutes, Dae-seung Kim’s “Blood Rain” actually works well enough as a period crime/mystery to warrant a recommendation. There are some things about the film that deserves to be
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Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story (2005) Movie Review
Is it laugh out loud funny? That depends. Do you like “The Family Guy’s” brand of over-the-top and sometimes over-the-line sense of humor? If the answer is Yes, then Yes, you’ll find the direct-to-video
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The Suicide Manual (2003) Movie Review
The origins of director Osamu Fukutani’s “The Suicide Manual” may be more compelling than the feature itself. It was derived from Wataru Tsurumui’s non-fiction book “The Complete Manual of Suicide,” a bestseller that’s moved
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The Descent (2005) Movie Review
“The Descent” is director Neil Marshall’s follow to his cult hit “Dog Soldiers” and sees him return once more to the genre in an attempt to maintain the current British revival. Whilst “Soldiers” was
Read More »A Bittersweet Life (2005) Movie Review
In many respects, Kim Ji-woon’s “A Bittersweet Life” is the anti-thesis of a traditional Asian gangster film, and the script seems to take most of its hints from American revenge movies like Tony Scott’s
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Kamikaze Girls (2004) Movie Review
Sometimes animated, sometimes strange, but always entertaining, “Kamikaze Girls” belong with recent Japanese fare such as “Swing Girls”, “Waterboys”, and “Ping Pong”, and considering the international success of those three films, it’s not bad
Read More »The Young Unknowns (2000) Movie Review
(Movie Review by Oshram ) If there’s one thing Hollywood loves, it’s when young filmmakers bitch on-screen about how horrible it is to work in Hollywood. My friend Steve had a phrase for this
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