Author: VHS Tracking

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  Opening Night (1977)

  January 13, 2020

  1970s, Arthouse Cinema, Drama, Independent Film

  I remember watching Opening Night (1977) a long time ago when I borrowed the Criterion Collection Cassavetes boxset from the uni library. I enjoyed it though I felt like I was missing something, maybe. You hear so much about John Cassavetes and then you watch one of his movies, and it’s such a singular experience.… Read.

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  Branded To Kill (1967)

  January 13, 2020

  1960s, Action, Crime, Japanese Cinema

  Every hip movie about a hitman must have taken something from the Japanese cult classic Branded To Kill (1967; Koroshi no rakuin); for example, Jim Jarmusch lifted a drain-pipe kill from it for Ghost Dog: Way Of The Samurai. Directed by Seijun Suzuki and starring Joe Shishido, Branded To Kill is a dazzling, dark, funny… Read.

• Crawl (2019)

  January 2, 2020

  2010s, Horror, Thriller

  Look, I enjoyed the Blake Lively versus a shark flick, The Shallows, so when Crawl (2019) came out this year, released quietly without any critic screenings, I was hoping for more of the same – just a different critter. Thrillers like this are a succession of obstacles for the beleaguered protagonist, and are not for… Read.

• Shin Godzilla (2016)

  January 2, 2020

  2010s, Action, Drama, Japanese Cinema, Political, Satire, Sci Fi, Thriller

  Seeing this pop up on a few friends’ Best of 2010s list promoted me to finally watch Shin Godzilla (2016; Shin Gōjira), which is available to stream on SBS OnDemand. Though I haven’t seen many of the Japanese made Godzilla films, I always think that the American versions have a big flaw to overcome: how do… Read.

• Sleuth (1972)

  January 2, 2020

  1970s, British Cinema, Comedy, Crime, Drama, Mystery

  Listening to several interviews with Knives Out director-writer Rian Johnson, he mentioned several influences on his take on the “Whodunnit?” genre (including some very obscure ones like The Last Of Shelia). I’d heard of Sleuth (1972) ever since an old movie book I once read spoiled the ending with its chapter on ‘Classic Movie Deaths’.… Read.