Koch Media
Film Review: Sword of the Assassin
When the subject of Asian cinema arises, your thoughts will likely be drawn to the powerhouses of Japan, China, South Korea and Hong Kong. Maybe, even Thailand or Taiwan, but Vietnam is not a country with a rich history in terms of cinematic output. However, whilst most Vietnamese films do not get a release in …
DVD Review: Camp X-Ray
The War on Terror has thrown up many controversies, from the use of drone attacks to the killing of innocent civilians, but nothing has caused as much consternation as the Guantánamo Bay detention centre. Based on an American naval base in Cuba, the centre is considered to be outside of US law, allowing detainees to …
Film Review: The Dark Horse
The New Zealand film industry is hardly a powerhouse in world cinema. Every so often it throws up a gem, but the early work of Peter Jackson aside, it tends to be a rare event. Whale Rider is probably the country’s most well known success, but it’s the powerful Once Were Warriors which is probably …
DVD Review: Wish I Was Here
During the last decade, Scrubs became something of a TV phenomenon. The adventures of JD (Zach Braff) and Turk (Donald Faison) had a large following rapt to Channel 4 and their associated channels. It turned into a kind of a post work ritual in the house I was living in at the time. During the …
DVD Review: Obvious Child
There are very few opportunities in feature films for female actors to play lead roles. Last year, there were some great films who had an actress as the main protagonist. These included Ida, Violette, Two Days, One Night, Under the Skin and, of course, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay. Female comedians are also gradually beginning to …
DVD Review: All This Mayhem
There have been several excellent skateboarding documentaries: Dogtown and Z-Boyz, Waiting for Lightening, Stoked: The Rise and Fall of Gator and Bones Brigade: An Autobiography to name but a few. I’m not a particular fan of extreme sports but there’s something about the whole world of skateboarding which is fascinating. These documentaries generally seem to …