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DVD Review: Black Society Trilogy
Takashi Miike is a name which became synonymous with Asian Extreme film-making at the turn of the century. He made his name on the international stage with cult films such as Audition, Ichi the Killer and the Dead or Alive trilogy. Starting-out in the often-murky world of Japanese V-Cinema, his work is often punctuated with …
Blu-Ray Review: Donnie Darko
Donnie Darko was one of the first films to ride the power of the internet wave to go from a limited opening to becoming one of the most iconic of the decade. Richard Kelly’s 2001 film caught the imagination of a generation and propelled its star into the ‘A’ list of Hollywood celebrities. It’s a …
DVD Review: The Neighbour
It’s fair to say that, in the modern world, knowing your neighbours is becoming an increasingly rare phenomenon. Looking at the bigger picture, it highlights the erosion of local communities and suggests a breakdown of society. The practical implications resolve around the inability to borrow a cup of sugar or a stepladder. In Marcus Dunstan’s …
Blu-Ray Review: Dark Water
Hideo Nakata arguably revolutionised the horror genre around the turn of the century. With the release of Ringu, Ringu 2 and Dark Water he brought Asian horror cinema to the rest of the world. He pathed the way for many other directors to get their work known and inspired a raft of American remakes (even …
Blu-Ray Review: Burnt Offerings
Haunted houses have proven to be a staple of the horror genre ever since House on Haunted Hill was released back in 1959. Classics such as The Haunting and The Innocents soon followed. The most fruitful period was around the beginning of the ‘80s with The Amityville Horror, The Shining, Hansu and The Changeling, amongst …
Blu-Ray Review: The Blue Dahlia
When it comes to the business of hard-boiled crime dramas and film noir in the 1930s to 1950s, Hollywood had some iconic leading men. When you think of the genre, the spectres of Humphrey Bogart and James Cagney loom large. Whilst Alan Ladd is best remembered for his performances in westerns such as Shane and …
DVD Review: The Glass Key
Dashiell Hammett was a prolific writer of hard-boiled crime fiction in the 1920s and ’30s. His most famous creation was undoubtedly Sam Spade, famously portrayed by Humphrey Bogart in The Maltese Falcon. However, many of his works were adapted for film and television. Stuart Heisler brought Hammett’s favourite of his own works, The Glass Key, …
DVD Review: Matinee
Joe Dante has had a long and varied career behind the camera despite not exactly being prolific when it comes to feature films. Whilst he’ll always be best known for the Gremlins films, it’s unfortunate that the rest of his back catalogue are often overlooked. With The Howling, Hollywood Boulevard, Piranha and The Explorers in …
DVD Review: The Bloodstained Butterfly
Giallo, as a genre, doesn’t have the best reputation for producing films that are either coherent or make a great amount of sense. Much of the dialogue would normally make Jordan’s publisher blush, and whilst there’s usually a strong seam of style running through them, the plots are often largely nonsensical. Duccio Tessari’s The Bloodstained …
DVD Review: Suture
Film noir was one of the most iconic and stylish film genres of the twentieth century. In the 1990s there was a resurgence of interest with a spate of neo-noir movies being released. These built on the original aesthetic but employed contemporary visual styles and themes. The most notable are LA Confidential, King of New …