Reviews of films
Would you like to see Donnie Yen make a horse disappear? Available in Australia, Canada, France, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, the United States, and perhaps a few other countries. Approximately 139 minutes. Class is out, but Professor Yang is still talking to enraptured students. He is … Continue reading WTF ASIA 241: Bodyguards and Assassins (2009)
Ethan Clade, a gay biracial teen, is tongue tied when he meets his handsome crush. His supportive father, Searcher, plays wing man by talking up his son’s good qualities. Ethan is mortified. I braced myself for angry families to storm … Continue reading Movie Review: Strange World (2022)
Spielberg’s autobiographical coming-of-age film soars and stumbles Perhaps no director has more of a monopoly on childhood than Steven Spielberg, whose family-focused output in the 80s and early 90s is wallpapered on the interior of every Millennial brain. Now the … Continue reading ‘The Fabelmans’ Review: Impersistence of Vision
This week is a time for families to come together and try to avoid excessive conflicts. So, here is a movie about organized crime. Available in Australia, Canada, France, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, the United States, and perhaps a few other countries. Approximately 136 minutes. … Continue reading WTF ASIA 240: A Family (2021)
This petulant and mean-spirited foodie satire is undercooked The setup for The Menu is pulled straight from an Agatha Christie whodunnit, but there is little mystery in this undercooked and mean-spirited satirical horror from producer Adam McKay. A group of … Continue reading ‘The Menu’ Review: Reservations are Required
Last week’s movie was about events that led to the toppling of an oppressive regime. This week’s movie takes place during a less successful attempt to topple an oppressive regime. Available on Einthusan. I have seen that this movie is … Continue reading WTF ASIA 239: Junoon (1979)
The studio behind Wolfwalkers returns with another gentle, beautifully-animated gem I’ve been re-watching classic Disney animated features, and all of the early films begin with the opening of a storybook, as if what you are about to see is a … Continue reading Review: Enter a Storybook World in ‘My Father’s Dragon’
In a time of tyranny, in a land of lies, one man has the courage to stand up and say you know what, fuck you. Available in Australia, Canada, the United States, and perhaps a few other countries. Approximately 129 minutes. … Continue reading WTF ASIA 238: 1987 – When the Day Comes (2017)
James Gray’s turgid coming-of-age drama is well-meaning but self-indulgent There’s only one true moment of greatness in James Gray’s turgid coming-of-age drama Armageddon Time, and it’s carried off by who else but Anthony Hopkins. Hopkins plays the grandfather of protagonist … Continue reading Review: In ‘Armageddon Time’, All of This Has Happened Before
Yes, this movie is mostly told in flashbacks, just like last week’s movie. But this one is about copying, so it is fine. Available in Canada, the United Kingdom, the United States, and perhaps a few other countries. Approximately 126 minutes. Lee Man … Continue reading WTF ASIA 237: Project Gutenberg (2018)
2004’s Hellbent was called the “first gay slasher.” Let’s say it’s the first openly gay slasher. Four queer friends are stalked by a masked killer at a Halloween Carnival. The men are likeable and it’s sad to watch their fates. … Continue reading LGBT Movies: Hellbent (2004)
Cate Blanchett gives her all in Todd Field’s unflinching character portrait The first time we see Lydia Tár (Cate Blanchett) in the film that bears her name she is psyching herself up for a live Q&A. When she arrives on … Continue reading Review: Separating the ‘Tár’ From the Artist
Sometimes, there is nothing scarier than family. Available in Canada, the United States, and perhaps a few other countries. Approximately 123 minutes. The movie starts out as if there were a scene missing, but don’t worry, there will be plenty of backstory provided … Continue reading WTF ASIA 236: The Ceremony (1971)
A school teacher and a museum curator fall madly in love with a handsome policeman. Flash forwards tell us that it will end in tears. Why do we revisit stories of queer trauma? The back-alley hook ups. The brutal beatings. … Continue reading LGBT Movies: My Policeman (2022)
The Korean auteur trades his signature maximalism for Hitchcockian smolder The latest from master maximalist Park Chan-wook may surprise fans weaned on the explosive violence and graphic sex of The Handmaiden and Oldboy. While those films tapped into the exploitative … Continue reading Review: Park Chan-wook Reaches New Heights with ‘Decision to Leave’
Love. Death. The Show Must Go On. Available in Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, the United States, and perhaps a few other countries. Approximately 120 minutes. It’s test time at the high school. Tan, the proctor, manages to wake up the kid who … Continue reading WTF ASIA 235: Talentime (2009)
Michael York plays a villainous twink in the black comedy Something for Everyone. He sleeps and murders his way into Angela Lansbury’s aristocratic family. The promising premise is undone by Hugh Wheeler’s flabby screenplay and Hal Prince’s timid direction. It’s … Continue reading LGBT Movies: Something for Everyone (1970)
The 2002 “zombie” movie that revitalised the genre – does it hold up after 20 years? Continue reading Late to the Party: 28 Days Later
The final film in David Gordon Green’s lopsided trilogy desperately wants to be anything but a Halloween movie Halloween Ends is the middle finger on the monkey’s paw that is success in modern Hollywood. In 2018 David Gordon Green and … Continue reading Review: Michael Myers Gets Jokerfied in ‘Halloween Ends’
No time for love, DH Joy Available in Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, the United States, and perhaps a few other countries. Approximately 117 minutes. The movie starts with a voice-over accompanying a bunch of disjointed images that become slightly less disjointed … Continue reading WTF ASIA 234: Hello, Love, Goodbye (2019)
Dan Futterman plays an insomniac who wanders through Manhattan. He collects urban legends from the strangers he meets. Urbania is a strange film with an interesting cast. The episodic nature keeps it from building momentum. The protagonists’ motivation is unclear … Continue reading LGBT Movies: Urbania (2000)
