Peking Opera Blues (1986)

Peking Opera Blues (1986) is a rollicking action-adventure comedy-drama, critically regarded as one of the best Hong Kong movies from the 1980s. In the first ten to fifteen minutes, the film might feel overwhelming with all of the characters who are introduced and establishing the 1910s socio-political atmosphere in China. As Peking Opera Blues proceeds, […]

Broken Mirrors (1984)

Broken Mirrors (1984) is a bleak and powerful drama with two narrative strands, the inner workings of a brothel called Club Happy House, and a man whose face we don’t see kidnapping and murdering women off the street. Part of the viewing experience is the tension around when these two strands might intersect, but more than […]

Matador (1986)

Pedro Almodovar’s film, Matador, has a provocative opening salvo, with the character of Diego Montes (Nacho Martinez) sitting alone at home, masturbating in a chair to clips of murder and death scenes from slashers and giallo thrillers (I was delighted to recognise the Jess Franco film, Bloody Moon, in the mix). Shifting from this conflation of auto-erotic […]

The Punisher (1989)

The Producers wish to thank THE NEW SOUTH WALES FILM & TELEVISION OFFICEandTHE KENDO CLUB OF WILLOUGHBY For their assistance and co-operation I love Tubi as a streaming service because it is a great repository for remastered versions of cult classics and older films, no doubt ported over from recent physical media releases from Arrow Video, Shout Factory, Vinegar […]

The Plot Against Harry (1971)

I love a movie where an operator makes the rounds. Our protagonist moves around their world, connecting with other characters and settings, each a mini-world of their own. Each stop along their circuit is another insight, another layer into our main character. The Plot Against Harry (1971) is about a Jewish low-level criminal named Harry […]