A personal journal of film and documentary reviews, and reviews of anything else that intrigues me.
Australian and New Zealand Films
Peter Weir, “The Cars that Ate Paris” (1974) Acclaimed Australian director Peter Weir’s directorial full-length debut is an oddball comedy horror flick that riffs on a…
John Frankenheimer, “The Manchurian Candidate” (1962) At some point during the Korean War in 1952, a platoon of American soldiers is betrayed by their Korean interpreter who…
Elísabet Ýr Atladóttir, “Memoria” (2013) A creepy psychological character study, “Memoria” is very depressing to watch. The single protagonist, Vincent, is a young alcoholic and drug…
Bo Mathorne, “The Backwater Gospel” (2011) In a total running time of just over nine minutes, this raw and stark animation is a superb comment on…
Masaki Kobayashi, “Kwaidan” (1964) Often billed as a horror film, “Kwaidan” is in fact a quartet of fantasy stories of which three were based on traditional…
Sion Sono, “Suicide Club / Jisatsu Sakuru” (2002) Famous for its controversial premise, full-on gory presentation and an arresting opening sequence of 54 school-girls jumping off…
Pablo Berger, “Blancanieves” (2012) In the style of old 1920s expressionist silent films, Berger’s “Blancanieves” is a witty, layered and lavish Gothic retelling of the fairy-tale…
Italian and Italian-language Films
Giuliano Carnimeo, “The Case of the Bloody Iris” (1971) Known also as “What are those Strange Drops of Blood on Jennifer’s Body?”, this flick is representative…
Alfred Hitchcock, “Shadow of a Doubt” (1942) A dark film that explores the potential for violence beneath the patina of an apparently happy family, “Shadow of…
Park Chanwook, “Stoker” (2013) Appropriately Chanwook Park’s Hollywood directing debut is a psychological thriller featuring an oddball protagonist who has lived a life of isolation for…