DVD/Blu-Ray Review
DVD Review: The Smuggler (aka The Mule)
Some of the greatest thrillers have involved cat and mouse chases and nail-biting suspense. Speed set the bar in terms of jeopardy but you don’t need to have a bus and a bomb in your movie in order to play for high stakes. In Tony Mahony and Angus Sampson’s debut film, The Mule, Ray has seven …
DVD Review: Taxi Tehran
The survivor spirit is alive and well and living in Tehran. Despite being banned from making films by the Iranian regime, Jafar Pahani has responded by becoming more prolific. Celebrated for the spellbinding Offside and The Circle before the restrictions, he’s now releasing his third film, Taxi Tehran, since the interdiction came into place. Hot …
DVD Review: Arrowhead
The quintessential Australian science-fiction films are undeniably the original Mad Max trilogy. The first film remains a classic and launched Mel Gibson’s career. George Miller’s reboot was arguably the best action films of last year. It’s easier to overlook some of the smaller sci-fi films which the nation has produced such as Predestination, Dark City …
DVD Review: Peggy Guggenheim: Art Addict
Throughout history, the role of the wealthy benefactor has been vital in giving artists the time and finances necessary to complete their masterpieces. However, society and the art world has changed significantly over the past century. Whilst those creating art no longer rely on rich patrons they do need collectors to buy their work and …
Film Review: Nina Forever
Largely driven by the popularity of The Walking Dead, zombies have become big business. There’s been a strong take on the genre in cinemas as well. Whilst Shaun of the Dead, 28 Days Later and Dawn of the Dead (remake) provided popular crowd-pleasers, there’s also been great original twists such as Pride and Prejudice and …
DVD Review: Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead
“All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players; They have their exits and their entrances…” Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are assuredly players but they’re pretty stumped as to which production they’re meant to be in. Not entirely sure if in fact a play exists or whether they are indeed figments of …
DVD Review: The House on Pine Street
Haunted house movies have been a staple of the horror genre for decades now. There have been three great periods so far, beginning with the classics of The Haunting, House on Haunted Hill and The Innocents. The 1980s saw a renaissance (or 1979 when it comes to The Amityville Horror) including The Shining, The Changeling …
Blu-ray Review: Essential Godard
Jean-Luc Godard was arguably the greatest film director of the 1960s. He was also the driving force behind the French New Wave (La Nouvelle Vague) movement and one of the most influential film-makers of all time. Essential Godard brings five of his best films together, two available on Blu-ray for the first time. All made …
Blu-ray Review: Deep Red
One of my favourite horror films of all time is Dario Argento’s Suspiria. It’s fair to say that nothing else he’s done quite lived up to it, but with Opera and The Bird with the Crystal Plumage he came prety close. Deep Red was originally referred to as Suspiria 2, and whilst that’s in many …
DVD Review: A Touch of Zen (Masters of Cinema)
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was a huge global success and sparked a huge interest in epic Asian fantasy and martial arts films. Primarily, it introduced the world to the wuxia genre, often characterised by gravity-defying action. However, this is not a new phenomena, with films dating back before WWII. The most notable came in the …