A personal journal of film and documentary reviews, and reviews of anything else that intrigues me.
British Films, Chinese and Chinese-language Films
Ian Bremner, “Secret History (Season 14, Episode 4: The Great Wall of China – Hidden Story)” (2014) The famous Great Wall of China is rightly one…
Tim Wilkime, “Adam Ruins Everything (Season 2, Episode 3: Adam Ruins the Hospital)” (2017) Hosted by eponymous comedian and writer Adam Conover, “Adam Ruins Everything” is…
Chinese and Chinese-language Films
Zhang Yimou, “Hong gao liang / Red Sorghum” (1987) “Red Sorghum” marks the debut of Zhang Yimou as an important director in Chinese film and of…
Elliott Kew “Treasures Decoded (Season 4, Episode 1:The Real Tower of Babel)” (2017) The Bible story of the construction of the Tower of Babel as a…
David Leitch, “Atomic Blonde” (2017) I confess I had very low expectations of this spy action thriller film. I was pleasantly surprised that the acting was…
Tom Cebula, “Treasures Decoded (Season 4, Episode 8: Garden of Eden)” (2017) Many if not most people in Western society know of the Biblical story of…
French and French-language Films
Louis Malle, “Le Voleur / The Thief of Paris” (1967) A crime comedy caper starring then popular French actor Jean-Paul Belmondo and directed by Louis Malle,…
Peter Crystal, “Treasures Decoded (Season 4, Episode 6: Shrunken Heads)” (2017) Shrunken human heads are the kind of macabre curio objects, beloved of museums and oddball…
French and French-language Films, Northern European Films
Carl Theodor Dreyer, “The Passion of Joan of Arc” (1928) In itself, this silent film is remarkable for its lead actor Maria Falconetti’s acting from the…
Chinese and Chinese-language Films, Korean Films
Yoichi Shimatsu, “US Missile Base Upsets the Morning Calm (Lens.tv Report: THAAD Deployment in South Korea)” (2017) Structured as a news report rather than as a…