A personal journal of film and documentary reviews, and reviews of anything else that intrigues me.
French and French-language Films
Vincent Paronnaud and Marjane Satrapi, “Persepolis” (2007) Adapted from the graphic novel, originally published in two volumes, of the same name, this is a coming-of-age fictional…
Roman Polanski, “Chinatown” (1974) Chinatown” was Roman Polanski’s foray into the private eye / film noir genre and his last major film for Hollywood. A few…
Ten Shimoyama, “Shinobi – Heart under Blade” (2005) Based on a novel “The Kouga Ninja Scrolls” written by Futaro Yamada in the late 1950’s, this movie will…
Joel Cohen, “No Country for Old Men” (2007) Is it possible for a movie to have all the “right stuff” – you know, good acting performances,…
Alex Proyas, “Dark City” (1998) An attractive film that combines elements of film noir, mystery, science fiction and (regrettably) action thriller, “Dark City” is a quest…
Keren Yedaya, “Or (My Treasure)” (2004) Source: www.allmovie.com Debut feature from director Keren Yedaya, this Israeli film is a study of a dysfunctional mother-daughter relationship dominated…
Stripped of the hype that has grown around it over the years, “Easy Rider” is a well-made if loose low-budget flick about two drug dealers Wyatt…
Bong Joonho, “Memories of Murder” (2003) A sober film based on actual events about a group of detectives in rural South Korea investigating a series of…
Takashi Miike, “One Missed Call” (2004) Coming from Takashi Miike (of “Ichi the Killer” fame), this contemporary update on the Japanese psychological horror ghost story in…
Australian and New Zealand Films
Adam Elliot, “Mary and Max” (2008) Source: www.artabase.net This is a poignant film about how friendships can be made between social misfits and how they thrive…