The Hunted (2003)

“I never had to kill anyone myself… just taught people how.” I felt like The Hunted (2003) received a muted reaction upon its release, because it looked too much like US Marshals, or Tommy Lee Jones in “catch ‘em” Fugitive mode. Also, that he and Benicio Del Toro – their Academy Award Winning status touted […]

Breaking News (2004)

Director Johnnie To and his Milky Way production company set themselves a challenge with Breaking News (2004): How to restage the street shoot-out from Heat but introduce it with an unbroken seven minute shot? Opening with a showdown conveyed in that one-shot take between a heist crew (led by Richie Jen) and a squad of […]

Tokyo Sonata (2008)

I watched Tokyo Sonata (2008) after Perfect Days, which made for a nice Koji Yakusho double bill (though he only plays a supporting role in Tokyo Sonata). There was also another moment of connection. While I found the upscale public toilets that Yakusho’s character cleans in Perfect Days almost too pristine, one of the main […]

Claire’s Camera (2017)

I think it was Gene Siskel who determined a movie’s quality by the following dictum: Is this film more interesting than a documentary of the same actors having lunch? The films of Hong Sang-soo sometimes feel like you’re just watching a documentary actors sitting around and eating, though a key difference in the Sang-soo world […]

White Material (2009)

The workers have reluctantly agreed to help. Five days at a coffee plantation as violent conflict happens. An unnamed African country. Rebel soldiers and the military fighting. The French colonialists have withdrawn, only Isabelle Huppert’s character stubbornly staying behind for a business that she married into. One more yield before they pack up and leave. […]