Parasyte Part 2

Parasyte Part 2 (Cert 15) 1 Disc (Distributor: Animatsu Entertainment) Running Time: 118 minutes approx. This two-part live action adaptation of the popular anime and manga continues, picking up from where the first film ended following a very brief recap to set the scene for those of us with short memories. We rejoin the story …

The Silenced (Gyeongseonghakyoo: Sarajin Sonyeodeul)

The Silenced (Gyeongseonghakyoo: Sarajin Sonyeodeul) Korea (2015) Dir. Lee Hae-Young If I am to be thankful to cinema for anything, it is making me grateful that I didn’t go to boarding school! Whether it is Lindsay Anderson’s seminal satire if… or this supernatural period thriller from Korea - despite its predominantly female cast - nothing …

Kamisama Kiss Series 2 Collection

Kamisama Kiss Series 2 Collection (Cert 12) 2 Discs (Distributor: MVM) Running time: 287 minutes approx. You’ll have to cast your mind back some two years to when the first series of Kamisama Kiss hit our shores, telling the tale of down on her luck 17 year-old high school student Nanami Momozono who becomes the …

Mustang

Mustang Turkey (2015) Dir. Deniz Gamze Ergüven In other reviews of this French/Turkish co-production you’ll see comparisons made to Sofia Coppola’s 1999 directorial debut The Virgin Suicides, a film I believe I have seen but remember very little, if anything, about. Therefore you will be spared such cross examination in this review and all commentary …

Her Name Is Sabine (Elle s’appelle Sabine)

Her Name Is Sabine (Elle s'appelle Sabine) France (2008) Dir. Sandrine Bonnaire Fictional films designed to hold a mirror up to society are often hard to watch because what they are depicting is rooted in a reality we refuse to acknowledge. Documentaries can be hard to watch because they ARE showing that reality. Where fictionalised …

Los Debutantes

Los Debutantes Chile (2003) Dir. Andrés Waissbluth The multi-perspective narrative is a difficult one to pull off even for a skilled filmmaker. For every Rashomon - arguably the granddaddy of this technique - plenty collapse under the weight of the keeping the multiple strands alive. To try this in your debut film is bold but …

WWE Wrestlemania 32

WWE Wrestlemania 32 (Cert 15) 3 Discs DVD/ 2 Discs Blu-ray (Distributor: Fremantle Media) Running Time:  291 minutes approx. Sometimes dogged determination pays off while other times it is futile, especially when it ends up spiting your audience. After two years of acquiescing to the fickle whims of his fanbase, Vince McMahon decided that Wrestlemania …

Yearning (Midareru)

Yearning (Midareru) Japan (1964) Dir. Mikio Naruse In 1960’s Japanese cinema Godzilla was regularly levelling Tokyo, Kurosawa was redefining the Samurai movie and Seijun Suzuki was unleashing esoteric gangster films onto the world, yet old masters such as Yasujiro Ozu and Mikio Naruse were still delighting audiences with their gentle social dramas. The prolific Naruse’s …

Address Unknown (Suchwiin bulmyeong)

Address Unknown (Suchwiin bulmyeong) Korea (2001) Dir. Kim Ki-Duk If you were to think about the scariest places in the world, ranking high among them must be inside the mind of Korean provocateur Kim Ki-Duk - one of the very few filmmakers to commit such bleak, hopeless and unconscionably upsetting images to film as he …

Five Pillars

Five Pillars (Cert 15) 1 Disc DVD/Amazon VOD (Distributor: Eye Films) Running Time: 86 minutes approx. The phrase “low budget indie film” tends to conjure up thoughts of something quirky, possibly experimental but very much outside of the mainstream in terms of subject matter and presentation. Rarely do you find a film that fits into …