A personal journal of film and documentary reviews, and reviews of anything else that intrigues me.
David Fincher, “Se7en” (1995) “Se7en” is a well-made film with some excellent acting performances and an ingenious if implausible premise of a literate serial killer who…
Aki Kaurismäki, “The Man without a Past” (2002) A heart-warming comedy about a man who is beaten up and left for dead but survives only to…
Song Ilgon, “Spider Forest” (2004) Amusing if eccentric film that straddles a grey zone between art-house drama and psychological horror thriller, “Spider Forest” carries themes about…
Josh Fox, “Gasland” (2010) Written, filmed, narrated and directed by Josh Fox, this documentary is a personal journey investigating the nature and environmental impact of the…
Australian and New Zealand Films
Robert Connolly, “Balibo” (2009) Imaginatively constructed as three stories that initially fit into one another like Russian matryoshka dolls, of which two more or less spread…
Alfred Hitchcock, “Strangers on a Train” (1951) As with many other films made by English-American director Alfred Hitchcock, “Strangers on a Train” plumbs the theme of…
German and German-language Films
Oliver Hirschbiegel, “Downfall” (2004) This is an incredible and masterly fictional dramatisation of the last 14 days in the life of Adolf Hitler over April –…
Baek Seungbin, “Members of the Funeral” (2008) An interesting little gem from South Korea that’s flown under the radar of many movie websites, this film probes…
Hayao Miyazaki, “Princess Mononoke” (1997) When I first saw this movie about a decade ago, like everyone else I was bowled over by the stunning animated…
Alfred Hitchcock, “The 39 Steps” (1935) Very loosely based on John Buchan’s novel “The Thirty-Nine Steps” – it’s best if you don’t read the novel first…