The son and daughter of a poor family from the slums (led by Kang Song-ho as the father) inveigle their way into an affluent household as tutors to the owners children. As the newcomers scheme to turf out the chauffeur and a long serving housemaid (Jang Hye-jin) so their father and mother can replace them all seems to be going … Read the rest
Category: All
Kiku and Isamu (Tadashi Imai, Japan, 1959)
11 year old Kiku (Emiko Takahashi) and her younger brother Isamu (George Okunoyama) find themselves the object of curiosity and casual cruelty as their classmates taunt them with jibes of ‘Blackie’, ‘Gorilla’ and comments about bananas being their favourite food. Unknown to both their father was a black GI, now gone back to the US. With their Japanese mother dead … Read the rest
The Black Tavern (Teddy Yip Wing-Cho, Hong Kong, 1972)
Thieves and brigands converge on a remote inn to ambush a government official due to arrive with a treasure chest he’s transporting. The most lethal of the bad guys, the Whip Devil (Ku Feng), cuts down all his competitors except for a fellow thief named Kang (Li Tung) with whom he’s forced into an uneasy alliance. But when the official … Read the rest
Sweeney! (David Wickes, UK, 1977)
Detective Insp Regan and Sgt Carter of Scotland Yard’s Flying Squad investigate the death of prostitute Janice Wyatt (Lynda Bellingham) at the urging of her boyfriend Ronnie Brent (Joe Melia) and stumble across a conspiracy to blackmail British politician Baker (Ian Bannen) over an OPEC oil deal. When Brent is murdered by a pair of assassins run by Baker’s PR … Read the rest
Fabricated City (Park Kwang-Hyun, South Korea, 2017)
Unemployed gamer Kwon (Ji Chang-wook) is a shining star in the online gaming world. Nicknamed ‘Captain Kwon’ he leads his squad of fellow players to victory against seemingly insurmountable odds. But in the real world young Kwon finds himself framed for the rape and murder of an underage girl. Escaping from prison Kwon finds himself rescued by his old gaming … Read the rest
My Scary Girl (Son Jae-gon, South Korea, 2006)
When English teacher Hwang (Park Yong-Woo) who’s 30 years old and never had a girlfriend dates pretty neighbour Mina (Choi Gang-Hee) he’s instantly smitten. Why? Because Mina’s everything Hwang wants – cultured, well read and a talented artist planning to study abroad in Italy – or is she? Before long Mina’s violently abusive ex turns up, there’s a dead body … Read the rest
The Spy Gone North (Yoon Jong-bin, South Korea, 2018)
In 1993 South Korea discovers to its horror that the North has a functioning nuclear program so Director Choi (Cho Jin-woong) of the National Intelligence Service orders Major Park (Hwang Jung-min) to enter the hermit state posing as a businessman in order to find out more. To do this Park must win the trust of the North’s Economic Council – … Read the rest
North and South (Kim Kee-duk, South Korea, 1965)
During the Korean war Northern army officer Jang Il-gu (Shin Yeong-gyun) defects to the South to find the woman he was forced to leave behind when he was conscripted into the Japanese army six years earlier. Under questioning from Captain Lee (Choi Mu-ryong) and his superior, Colonel Kwon (Nam Kung-won), Jang agrees to trade information about enemy positions if the … Read the rest
Dreams For Sale (Miwa Nishikawa, Japan, 2012)
When the restaurant of husband Kanya (Sadao Abe) and wife Satoko (Takako Matsu) goes up in flames Satoko hits on the idea of using her husband to seduce his way into the affections of a string of lonely single women and then defraud them of their savings – savings the pair can then put toward buying their new restaurant. But … Read the rest
Archive TV Viewing: February 2018
Space 1999 ‘War Games’
The show at its best as Alpha is almost completely destroyed with half its crew lost, in a remarkable fusion of special effects mayhem (including a giant battleship sliding over the top of the camera a good three years before Star Wars did the same thing) and metaphysical ideas about man’s right simply to exist in … Read the rest
