The Sword Of Doom (1966)

All I knew about the Japanese movie The Sword Of Doom (1966) was the iconic image of a samurai in the middle distance of a forest, submerged in fog and surrounded by bodies felled by his sword. I didn’t realise that the film’s main character was an embodiment of evil. Ryunosuke Tsukue (Tatsuya Nakadai) is […]

Mona Lisa (1986)

Bob Hoskins searching for a mystery woman through peep shows and seedy clubs to the sounds of Genesis’ ‘In Too Deep’ is such an iconic 1980s neo-noir moment. Mona Lisa (1986) is directed by Neil Jordan and earned accolades and awards for Hoskins’ performance as George, a small time crook released from prison after a […]

Hard Target (1993)

Retroactive Academy Award to Jan Alexander, credited Hair Stylist for Jean-Claude Van Damme on Hard Target (1993) and crafting one of the finest mullets to ever grace an action movie. Even though the theatrical release version of Hard Target, which I have watched countless times, is not John Woo’s director’s cut (apparently he was overruled […]

Hard Times (1975)

On a Walter Hill kick, I revisited his directorial debut, Hard Times (1975; aka The Streetfighter), which I remember as being very decent and on rewatch, remains very decent. Set in Depression-era New Orleans, Chainey (Charles Bronson) steps off the train looking for work. Coming across a bare-knuckled boxing match in a warehouse, Chainey throws […]

The Last Of Sheila (1973)

When Rian Johnson was doing the press rounds for Knives Out and discussing “Whodunnit” influences, one title he would offer, which I’d never even heard of before, was The Last Of Sheila (1973). It has the distinction of being written by actor Anthony Perkins and musical composer Stephen Sondheim, and apparently based on Sondheim’s love […]