Captain America: Civil War

Captain America: Civil War US (2016) Dirs. Anthony Russo & Joe Russo In the Battle of the Comic Book Blockbusters, DC threw the first punch with the messy and incoherent Batman vs. Superman: Dawn Of Justice, leaving Marvel to respond with the third film under the Captain America banner Civil War. Essentially this is their …

Uzumasu Limelight

Uzumasu Limelight (Cert 15) 1 Disc (Distributor: Third Window Films) Running Time: 104 minutes approx. Time. It catches up with us all eventually and when it does we are forced to face our own mortality and accept our halcyon days are over. In show business this can mean much more, as modernity replaces tradition and …

Golden Time Collection 2

Golden Time Collection 2 (Episodes 13-24)(Cert 15) 2 Discs DVD/2 Discs Blu-ray (Distributor: Animatsu Entertainment) Running time: 293 minutes approx. The antidote to all of those “will they, won’t they?” romantic comedies continues with our loved up couple, nice guy amnesiac Banri Tada and hard-to-handle hottie Kouko Kana actually getting along and enjoying life together …

Bed And Sofa (Tretya meshchanskaya)

Bed And Sofa (Tretya meshchanskaya) Russia (1927) Dir. Abram Room They say “Two’s company and three’s a crowd” and this is has been never so true especially when the company being intruded on is a marriage. Of course, sometimes this happens voluntarily while one-half of the wedded partnership remains in the dark. But what if …

The Lady Vanishes

The Lady Vanishes UK (1938) Dir. Alfred Hitchcock The “Master Of Suspense” became a globally revered name once he moved to Hollywood in 1939 but before he left Old Blighty, Hitchcock’s parting gift to his homeland was this celebrated comedy-thriller, based on the 1936 novel The Wheel Spins by Ethel Lina White. In the small …

Blade Dance Of The Elementalers

Blade Dance Of The Elementalers (Cert 15) 2 Discs Blu-ray/3 Discs DVD (Distributor: Animatsu Entertainment) Running time: 296 minutes approx. The theme of this review is “familiarity” - familiarity of the story, the developments, the character designs, and of my comments. And it is with some irony than one of the shows Blade Dance Of …

X-Cross (XX (ekusu kurosu): makyô densetsu)

X-Cross (XX (ekusu kurosu): makyô densetsu) Japan (2007) Dir. Kenta Fukasaku It can’t be easy following in the footsteps of a famous and successful parent, not in the least the weight of expectation on you. Just ask Kenta Fukasaka, son of the late Kinji Fukasaku, (Battle Royale). Kenta has plied his trade with low budget …

High And Low (Tengoku to jigoku)

High And Low (Tengoku to jigoku) Japan (1963) Dir. Akira Kurosawa With this reputation for samurai flicks and historical epics it is easy to forget that Akira Kurosawa also made some top notch modern day set dramas too. High And Low is a taut crime thriller, a rare genre in Kurosawa’s canon, based on the …

Alice In Earnestland (Seong-sil-han na-la-ui Ael-li-seu)

Alice In Earnestland (Seong-sil-han na-la-ui Ael-li-seu) Korea (2015) Dir. Ahn Gooc-Jin All our lives we are told that if we work hard and play by the rules we can reap the rewards at the end of the day. Unfortunately we know that isn’t always true and those who take the short cuts get ahead and …

Fate/Stay Night Unlimited Bladeworks Part 1

Fate/Stay Night Unlimited Bladeworks Part 1 (Episode 0-12) (Cert 15) 3 Discs DVD/4 Discs Blu-ray (Distributor: MVM) Running time: 377 minutes approx. One has to wonder if Type Moon had any idea their visual novel Fate/Stay Night would go on to rival Neon Genesis Evangelion in the anime remake/reboot stakes? Adapted as a series by …