A personal journal of film and documentary reviews, and reviews of anything else that intrigues me.
Chinese and Chinese-language Films, Spanish Films
Alejandro Suarez Lozano, “The Fisherman” (2015) A cleverly made and succinct little SF horror film set in Hong Kong, “The Fisherman” combines a character study that…
William Hellmuth, “Alone” (2020) A moving film about connection – and about how so strong humans’ need for connection can be that some individuals will travel…
Jesse Mittelstadt, “Flyby” (2019) In its own way this film can be considered a horror film, focusing as it does on how an alien force seems…
Magali Barbe, “This Time Away” (2019) A very heartwarming little film, succinct and taut in its telling, yet filled with tenderness and depth, this character study…
Australian and New Zealand Films
Luke Sparke, “Occupation: Rainfall” (2020) Here’s a brisk and flashy science fiction action film done on a small budget with plenty of Australian bravado and no…
Andrey Klimov, “Azarkant” (2013) Made as a proof-of-concept piece for a film, “Azarkant” understandably is short on plot and character to the extent that it plays…
Nour Wazzi, “Lab Rat” (2019) Initially the plot seems familiar to the point of banality: three scientists working for a robotics firm are suddenly trapped in…
Josh Bowman, “Eve” (2019) A character-driven sci-fi story with good acting and a strong visual look with a desert setting doesn’t need a fancy budget or…
Adam K Batchelor, “Satori [Awakening]” (2020) An original and ambitious idea of an Earth re-engineered by Artificial Intelligence to reverse environmental degradation, combined perhaps with genetic…
Christopher Todd, “End of Decay” (2017) A pulpy body-horror update on Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus” novel, this short film has the sketchy and…