Movie Review – The Shaolin Temple

The Shaolin Temple (Shao Lin si) China/Hong Kong (1982) Dir. Chang Hsin Yen You’d think that if someone asked you to make a vow never to kill, it would be an easy choice to make. In this day and age, it would be but in Ancient China where disputes were settled with fists, kicks, and …

Movie Review – Home Sweet Home

Home Sweet Home (Mi mi fang ke) China (2021) Dir. Leste Chen There is nothing like a harmonious family unit, and the clan we feature in this film are nothing like a harmonious family unit! Secrets, lies, and mental controlling abound and that is before we get to the strange guy living in the basement. …

Movie Review – Sunny Sisters

Sunny Sisters (Yang Guang Jie Mei Tao) China (2021) Dir. Bao Bei Er Friends are important in life - or so I’ve heard, I have none - and whilst many come and go, there are those who stay with you through thick or thin, allowing you to all grow old together. Unless that is purely …

Movie Review – Restart The Earth

Restart The Earth (Chong Qi Di Qiu) China (2021) Dir. Lin Zhenzhao Not a bad suggestion if you think about given the way things are going at the moment, with right wing leaders making a mess of everything, COVID, racism, and other issues making the world a pretty miserable place right now. This film however, …

Movie Review – Zombiology: Enjoy Yourself Tonight

Zombiology: Enjoy Yourself Tonight (Gam man da song si) China/Hong Kong (2017) Dir. Alan Lo Quite often one comes across a film where the response once it ends is “What the hell?”. This might be because it is a deeply thoughtful, impenetrably symbolic arthouse film, or it is so out there it makes little sense. …

Movie Review – My Best Friend’s Wedding

My Best Friend's Wedding (Wo zui hao peng you de hun li) China (2016) Dir. Chen Feihong We’re supposed to be happy for our friends, so if your very bestest friend in the whole world announces they are getting married, the last thing you do is try to sabotage the wedding out of jealousy. Gu …

Movie Review – Dying To Survive (Wo bu shi yao shen)

Dying To Survive (Wo bu shi yao shen) China (2018) Dir. Muye Wen Corporate greed is one of the biggest threats to society yet is allowed to operate legally and openly without recourse. It’s an anomaly that will never change because the law is usually on the side of the big corporations, allowing them to …

Movie Review – The Counterfeiter aka Project Gutenberg (Mou seung)

The Counterfeiter aka Project Gutenberg (Mou seung) China/Hong Kong (2018) Dir. Felix Chong If a picture paints a thousand words, films wouldn’t need to be two hours long. As much as an image can tell a story, there is always need for nuance, detail, and clarification as the eye can miss so much from looking …

Movie Review – The Eight Hundred (Ba bai)

The Eight Hundred (Ba bai) China (2020) Dir. Guan Hu “The nature of war is always politics.” I’ve always wondered what the phrase “Theatre of War” meant, assuming it was a poetic term for the drama that plays out on the battlefield. Instead, it refers to any area where warfare takes place. If we were …

Movie Review – Sheep Without A Shepherd

Sheep Without A Shepherd (Cert 15) Digital/VOD (Distributor: Cine Asia) Running Time: 112 minutes approx. “Why do my actions have consequences?” It won’t surprise you to learn this epigrammatic lament came from Homer Simpson, but for the people involved in this messy tale who should really know better, they learn this lesson for too late …