Lady Snowblood (1973)

Double edged sword to be a cult movie reference used by Quentin Tarantino; there’ll be fans that will seek out the original texts, though they’ll now always have to be in conversation with them. Particularly a text like Lady Snowblood (1973) that serves as an inspiration for Kill Bill, well, to the degree that an […]

Kaili Blues (2015)

When it comes to slow cinema, there can sometimes be a split inside myself during the experience. Like in Kaili Blues (2015), there’s a beautiful long take of the camera watching Chen Shen (Yongzhong Chen) on the back of a motorbike as it winds around mountain roads, greenery and mist in the landscape behind them. […]

Fascination (1979)

There’s something prototypical about a Jean Rollin film, in that it can be classified as what people would think of when it comes to ‘Euro-horror’ (nude women, vampires, castles). And yet, there’s something distinct, which probably helps when you’ve seen a few other 1970s exploitation movies. That there’s something slow and atmospheric, which feels very […]

Golden Queen’s Commando (1983)

As a Taiwanese action film, Golden Queen’s Commando (1983) aka Seven Black Heroines is an explosion at the cliche factory, producing a very entertaining smash-up of World War II mission movies and spaghetti westerns. This was such a fun time, that I could forgive the pan and scan VHS rip version available on Tubi (I think there’s […]

Dudes (1987)

Memories of the Dudes (1987) VHS cover in the Comedy aisle of a video store, Jon Cryer and Daniel Roebuck with their hands up next to a cactus, promising fish-out-of-water laughs with two punkers in a western, radiating Bill and Ted comparisons, or even Wayne’s World (not knowing as a kid that they were from the same director, Penelope […]