A personal journal of film and documentary reviews, and reviews of anything else that intrigues me.
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,…
Alex Cox, “Repo Man” (1984) Dare I say that with the passage of time, this little cult science fiction comedy thriller film will come to be…
Andrei Tarkovsky, “Solaris” (1972) The great Soviet director Andrei Tarkovsky was nothing if not consistent: he made beautiful, artistic, slow-burning films that are an immersive experience…
Richard Fleischer, “Fantastic Voyage” (1966) Set during the Cold War in the 1960s – or was it the 1990s? – “Fantastic Voyage” has a wonderful premise…