New science fiction film Settlers is earnestly made, but struggles with both an overly-familiar story and a particularly grim tone throughout. It will likely find an appreciative niche audience, but mainstream success was honestly never an option. It is currently available … Continue reading REVIEW: Settlers (2021)
Another year, another Gamera movie. 1969 saw the Daiei studio continuing to haemorrhage funds as Japanese audiences abandoned the cinemas for television and imported American product. Were it not for their lucrative Gamera and Zatoichi franchises, the company would have already been insolvent. As it was, … Continue reading REVIEW: Gamera vs Guiron (1969)
Mention cyberpunk and 1982 and most fans of science fiction cinema will immediately think of Ridley Scott’s iconic film Blade Runner. In Japan, however, you might just think of Sogo Ishii’s Burst City. Released the same year, it is represents a pivotal … Continue reading REVIEW: Burst City (1982)
You know the drill: after all, it has been done so many times in recent years. A film comes out, based on a young adult novel, about a child protagonist living in the poor part of a totalitarian future state. … Continue reading REVIEW: The White King (2016)
There is a general perception that Warner Bros’ recent superhero films – all based on DC Comics characters – have been vastly inferior to those produced by Disney’s Marvel Studios. Inferior? Perhaps on average. Vastly so? It’s there that I … Continue reading REVIEW: The Suicide Squad (2021)
The Marvel Cinematic Universe has been knocking around for some thirteen years now, and this week sees the release of its 26th theatrical film. It is an enormous element in pop culture, not just in the USA where the films … Continue reading REVIEW: Eternals (2021)
In 1968 Daiei produced their fourth annual Gamera feature. While the third film, Gamera vs Gyaos, had been a commercial success, other films released by Daiei had not been so lucky. While the studio was keen to profit from a fourth Gamera – … Continue reading REVIEW: Gamera vs Viras (1968)
Ren (Jessica De Gouw) is the designer of OtherLife, a liquid substance that can be dropped onto the eyeball and re-program the human brain. As the release date for its recreational use fast approaches, Ren spends an increasing amount of … Continue reading REVIEW: OtherLife (2017)
An ambitious war hero (Gunnar Tolnæs) leads a mission to the red planet in Danish filmmaker Holger-Madsen’s ambitious silent feature A Trip to Mars (1918). A Trip to Mars was released just 16 years after George Méliès’ iconic A Trip to … Continue reading REVIEW: A Trip to Mars (1918)
When 1965’s Gamera the Giant Monster was an unexpected hit, the Daiei Studio commissioned a sequel, upped the budget and appointed a more prestigious director. When that follow-up, Gamera vs Barugon, was not the popular success the studio had imagined, they dropped the budget … Continue reading REVIEW: Gamera vs Gyaos (1967)
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