A personal journal of film and documentary reviews, and reviews of anything else that intrigues me.
Multi-media Presentations, North American Films
Ray Younis, “On Meaning and Purpose: ‘Blade Runner’ Frame by Frame” (The University of Sydney / Centre for Continuing Education, Saturday 8 February 2014) Not often…
Ivan Ramadan, “Tolerantia” (2008) An animated 3D short made in Bosnia-Herzegovina in 2008, “Tolerantia” is a plea for religious tolerance. Set at the end of the…
Hiroyuki Yamaga, “Royal Space Force – the Wings of Honnêamise / Ôritsu uchûgun Oneamisu no tsubasa” (1987) A very visually handsome and often stunning film to…
Katsuhiro Otomo, “Steamboy / Suchimoboi” (2004) A decade in the making, Katsuhiro Otomo’s second full-length film is an epic cyberpunk fantasy that carries a message about…
Stanley Kubrick “2001: A Space Odyssey” (1968) One of the great crowning glories of 20th century cinema, Stanley Kubrick’s “2001: A Space Odyssey” deserves its reputation…
Hayao Miyazaki, “Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind / Kaze no tani no Naushika” (1984) Based on his own manga of the same name, Miyazaki’s…
Kazuchika Kise, “Ghost in the Shell: Arise – 1: Ghost Pain” (2013) First of a new four-part series in the Ghost in the Shell franchise, this…
Kinji Fukasaku, “Battle Royale (Director’s Cut)” (2000) For all its extreme violence and other liberties it takes, for me this film reads like a satire of…
Shane Carruth, “Upstream Color” (2012) Since making “Primer”, Shane Carruth’s career as film director and producer has definitely leapt ahead. There is still a rough-edged quality…
Stanley Kubrick, “A Clockwork Orange” (2013) Not a bad film but for what it is, “A Clockwork Orange” is fussy and relies too much on shock,…