In February 1983 Tsui Hark’s Hong Kong fantasy Zu Warriors from the Magic Mountain brought Hollywood visual effects to Hong Kong fantasy cinema, revolutionising the form and invigorating the genre. Yuen Woo-ping’s comedic fantasy The Miracle Fighters was released seven months earlier, … Continue reading REVIEW: The Miracle Fighters (1982)
Back in 1992 one of the most pivotal talents in the history of American cinema received a glowing tribute in Richard Attenborough’s earnest biographical picture Chaplin. The biopic has always been a popular genre of film, but it is often a … Continue reading REVIEW: Chaplin (1992)
They say imitation is the most sincere form of flattery, but it is also a handy method of testing cultural footprints. It has been five years since Netflix debuted its nostalgia supernatural series Stranger Things, and there is now a steady … Continue reading REVIEW: They Reach (2020)
Let us jump back a decade. Of the four superheroes launched in Marvel Studio’s initial production schedule, Thor stood out as the most challenging to adapt. Iron Man and the Incredible Hulk were effectively no-brainers, and Captain America was easily … Continue reading REVIEW: Thor (2011)
The high density apartment living experienced by many Japanese people makes it difficult for most people to own and care for pets. This has led to the popularity of cat cafes – venues where customers can visit and play with … Continue reading REVIEW: Cat Cafe (2018)
Gatao, a series of Taiwanese crime dramas, are shaping up to be one of the world’s more promising ongoing screen franchises. Gatao: The Last Stray (2021) is the third film to date and easily the strongest of the set. Gatao is … Continue reading REVIEW: Gatao: The Last Stray (2021)
The mid-to-late 1990s witnessed a revival of slasher films, spearheaded and largely inspired by Wes Craven’s post-modernist feature Scream. Urban Legend was one of the also-rans of the period: while it scored two direct-to-video sequels, it never really captured the audience’s enthusiasm and … Continue reading REVIEW: Urban Legend (1998)
John Krasinski’s exceptional horror film A Quiet Place (2018) finally gets its well-deserved sequel in this beautifully effective follow-up. Extending the original’s storyline in a smooth and efficient manner, it also does an admirable job of adding depth and character development to … Continue reading REVIEW: A Quiet Place Part II (2021)
Ahn Gooc-jin makes one hell of an impression with Alice in Earnestland (2015), a pitch-black South Korean comedy. At times the film feels a more more pitch-black than it does a laugh-out-loud comedy, but it uneven tone aside this is not a … Continue reading REVIEW: Alice in Earnestland (2015)
Found footage films represent a particularly divisive form of cinema. Usually exploited for horror purposes more than anything else, they are typified by a deliberately amateurish quality and a first-person perspective in which the viewer’s visibility of the action is … Continue reading REVIEW: Phoenix Forgotten (2017)
