An obnoxious phone in DJ named Shinjo (Ryuta Sato) broadcasts his late-night chat show – in which listeners are invited to reveal on air the meanest thing that’s ever been said to them – from a supposedly haunted studio. But what should be a night of easy listening ends up persistently undermined by an unknown voice on the line accusing … Read the rest
Month: June 2017
Stray Bullet (Yoo Hyun-Mok, South Korea, 1961)
A powerhouse drama built about human suffering that never succumbs to nihilism and built around a philosophical conundrum. Namely, is it possible to live a life of conscience trapped inside a cage? Our characters here are a group of wounded ex-army men seeking work and the cage their truly dire circumstances. Unremittingly bleak – including a horrendous moment in which … Read the rest
Beyond Hypothermia (Patrick Leung, Hong Kong, 1996)
In South Korea assassin Shu (Chien-lien-lu) makes a successful hit on a gangland boss but leaves the dead man’s bodyguard Yichin (Han Sang-woo) vowing vengeance. Back in Hong Kong Shu takes a shine to neighborhood noodle vendor Long (Lau Ching-wan) but her bloody past means she has no idea how to express herself emotionally. Ignoring the warnings of her employer … Read the rest
A Chinese Ghost Story (Ching Siu-Tung, China, 1987)
A struggling tax collector (Leslie Cheung) spends the night in a haunted temple only to be seduced and almost killed by a beautiful woman (Joey Wang) whose change of heart toward her victim is only possible because she’s a good spirit under the spell of an evil tree demon. So, teaming up with a martial arts warrior (Wu Ma) to … Read the rest
Big Bullet (Benny Chan, Hong Kong, 1996)
Courageous but hot-tempered officer Bill Chu (Lau Ching-wan) finds himself demoted after assaulting a superior officer responsible for a raid gone disastrously wrong. After being reassigned as a patrol officer with the Emergency Unit Bill’s old boss is killed in a restaurant shootout and Bill’s determination to catch the men responsible drags his inexperienced EU comrades into a full on … Read the rest
Fox Hunter (Wei Tung, Hong Kong, 1995)
Bored of traffic duty eager young policewoman Yeung Ling (Jade Leung) volunteers for a dangerous undercover assignment to capture a cunning and extremely violent criminal named Tung (Ching Fung). But the assignment backfires spectacularly and when Tung attacks Yeung in her apartment he leaves the bruised and bloodied policewoman swearing vengeance. With Tung having fled to mainland China Yeung enlists … Read the rest
Coolie Killer (Terry Tong, Hong Kong, 1982)
Ko Da-fu (Charlie Chin) the leader of a five-strong Hong Kong hit squad finds his team wiped out and himself injured and on the run from a group of blade-wielding, roller-skating assassins. Ko’s investigations lead him to the Wa-hing triad and as a former member Ko suspects he’s being set up as the fall guy in a spot of inter-gang … Read the rest
Intruder (Tsang Kan-Cheung, Hong Kong, 1997)
Strangling a Hong Kong prostitute for her passport Chinese mainlander Yan (Wu Chien-Lien) tricks her way into the territory, seduces and traps a taxi driver (Lai Yiu-Cheung) in his home and settles down to await the arrival of her sinister criminal husband (Moses Chan Yo). But when the taxi driver’s mother arrives with the man’s daughter, Yan kills again. Meanwhile … Read the rest
Metro Manila (Sean Ellis, UK/Philippines, 2013)
Oscar (Jake Macapagal), his pretty wife Mai (Althea Vega), their nine year old daughter Angel (Erin Panlilio) and baby boy (Iasha Aceio) arrive in Metro Manila in the hope of a better life. When Oscar lucks into a job as security guard in an armoured van and Mai lands a job as hostess in a bar things begin to look … Read the rest
Maborosi (Hirokazu Kore-eda, Japan, 1995)
Yumiko (Makiko Esumi), a happily married 20-year old woman with a 3-month old baby boy suddenly loses her husband when he is struck by a train one night while walking home along the tracks. Was it an accident or suicide? Nobody knows but after eventually remarrying and relocating with her young son from Osaka to a small fishing port in … Read the rest
