A most satisfying martial arts adventure as likeable Etsuko Shihomi is raised to become the instrument of her father’s vengeance after evil karate expert Nikaido (Bin Amatsu) and his three colourful thugs leave Dad (Sonny Chiba) badly crippled following a power struggle in New York. When Nikaido returns to Japan and announces a karate tournament Shihomi turns up to challenge … Read the rest
Month: May 2017
Midwinter Camellia (Yasuo Furuhata, Japan, 1992)
Japan, 1932; Brothel bodyguard Tomita (Toshiyuki Nishida) takes the innocent Botan (Yoko Minamino) under his wing when the girl is sold into the business. She quickly becomes the star attraction but falls deeply in love with Tomita while he only has eyes for his estranged wife Kiwa. But when a good-hearted Yakuza goon named Nioyama (Masahiro Takashima) falls for Botan, … Read the rest
A Stranger of Mine (Kenji Uchida, Japan, 2005)
Meeting by chance, office worker Miyata (Yasuhi Nakamura) and homeless Maki (Reika Kirishima) may have found in each other the perfect partner. But whether they can make a go of it depends on Miyata’s manipulative former girlfriend Ayumi (Yuka Itaya), a private detective and former schoolmate of Miyata’s named Kando (So Yamanaka), who’s been doing some checking into Ayumi’s past, … Read the rest
The Bow (Kim Ki-duk, South Korea, 2005)
The elderly captain (Jeon Seong-hwang) of a fishing vessel plots his marriage to the beautiful teenage virgin (Seo Min-Jeong) he’s raised on the boat since she was a child. Renting his vessel out to fishing parties the captain proves a nifty shot with a bow and arrow when it comes to dissuading any contact between randy male visitors and his … Read the rest
Confession of Murder (Jeong Byeong-gil, South Korea, 2012)
15 years after the expiration of South Korea’s Statute of Limitations, after which a criminal can no longer be legally charged with his crime, the handsomely boyish Lee Du-seok publishes his autobiography in which he confesses to the murder of 10 teenage girls in such detail his guilt appears unarguable. Watching with impotent rage is Detective Choi (Jeong Jae-yeong), the … Read the rest
Young, Violent, Dangerous (Romolo Guerrieri, Italy, 1976)
Three young men – Blondie (Stefano Patrizi), Luigi (Max Delys) and Joe (Benjamin Lev) – pull a petrol station robbery for kicks but events rapidly get out of control when the lads gun down the cops sent to arrest them. In quick succession the boys rob a bank then team up with friends to raid a supermarket. But the robbery … Read the rest
Le Serpent (Henri Verneuil, France/Italy, 1973)
A Russian Colonel named Vlassov (Yul Brynner) defects with a list of high ranking double agents working in the West he’s willing to turn over to CIA head Davies (Henry Fonda). As word of the traitors trickles back to the countries concerned the suspects begin turning up dead by suicide and it looks as though Vlassov’s been telling the truth. … Read the rest
Temptation (Kozaburo Yoshimura, Japan, 1948)
Yajima (Shin Saburi) the middle-aged friend of a deceased former schoolteacher offers to take the dead man’s orphaned daughter Takako (Setsuko Hara) into his household. But even as Takako settles in with Yajima’s young children she and her benefactor soon develop romantic feelings for each other as Yajima’s wife lies seriously ill in hospital.
A pleasant and well crafted melodrama … Read the rest
Too Many Ways To Be No 1 (Wai Ka-Fai, Hong Kong, 1997)
A hilarious, violent and sweetly touching tribute to the solidarity of Hongkies everywhere, this crime comedy from Johnnie To’s production outfit Milky Way is directed by Wai Ka-Fai with such gonzo energy courtesy of Wong Wing-Hang’s virtuoso hand-held camerawork that it leaves you breathless. Watching it one can understand just why Quentin Tarantino rates this film as one of his … Read the rest
Overheard (Felix Chong/Alan Mak, Hong Kong, 2009)
A trio of police surveillance experts are ordered to bug a financial corporation suspected of insider trading. But personal problems lead the three men (Lau Ching-Wan, Daniel Wu and Louis Koo) to use the information they’ve obtained for their own financial benefit. So when events inevitably escalate out of control the three men find themselves hunted both by their own … Read the rest
