13 Beloved: clever comedy horror movie with surprisingly deep ideas
Chukiat Sakveerakul, “13 Beloved” aka “13: Game of Death” (2006) Your name is Phuchit and you labour rather unenthusiastically as a sales rep in a company…
Pusher: highly recommended viewing about small-time heroin dealer
Nicolas Winding Refn, “Pusher” (1996) Just managed to catch this film last night after seeing a video copy for loan in a video rent shop earlier in…
Chinese and Chinese-language Films
Ye Yan aka Legend of the Black Scorpion aka The Banquet: Chinese adaptation of “Hamlet” is Much Ado About Nothing
Feng Xiaogang, “Ye Yan” aka “Legend of the Black Scorpion” aka “The Banquet” (2006) Source: www.chinese-embassy.org.uk An adaptation of William Shakespeare’s famous revenge play “Hamlet”, this…
Love and Other Crimes: romantic comedy deals with love and change in a society caught between Communism and corporatism
Stefan Arsenijevic, “Love and other Crimes” (2008) For a romantic comedy, this film sure looks bleak with a bleary run-down urban setting of endless grey residential…
German and German-language Films
Metropolis (directed by Fritz Lang): trite plot and mawkish ending let down an impressive and stylish film
Fritz Lang, “Metropolis” (1927) Picture source: www.tobatheinfilmicwaters.com The version of “Metropolis” I saw recently is the restored and digitally remastered one done under the supervision of…
Citizen Kane: interesting film but it privileges style over substance
Orson Welles, “Citizen Kane” (1941) Notwithstanding its tag as America’s greatest film or the world’s greatest film – usually bestowed by American film critics, of course!…
Sympathy for Lady Vengeance: disturbing film about vengeance and how it distorts humanity in a warped society
Park Chanwook, “Sympathy for Lady Vengeance” (2005) “… Lady Vengeance” is the third of South Korean director Park Chanwook’s revenge-themed movie trilogy that began with “Sympathy…
Citizen Dog: comedy with one-dimensional heroes and disappointing plot
Wisit Sasanatieng, “Citizen Dog” (2004) Living in Australia with its huge Hollywood fixation, even though Hollywood’s output of films has declined a lot since the Global…
To Catch A Thief: there’s fluff and then there’s fluff, Hitchcock-style
Alfred Hitchcock, “To Catch A Thief” (1955) A clever light-hearted comedy crime caper set in southern France, this was one of Grace Kelly’s last films before…
Superego and Id meet slapstick in Oristrell’s breathless “Unconscious”
Joaquin Oristrell, “Unconscious” (2004) An amusing and vivacious romance comedy set in Barcelona, 1913, “Unconscious” starts off as a search, possibly whodunnit, mystery and winds up…