Hollywood 90028 (1973)

I only watched Jaques Demy’s Model Shop when Quentin Tarantino programmed it as part of a retrospective that was shown on SBS, as it was a clear influence on Once Upon A Time In Hollywood as a ‘Driving around LA’ movie. In Once Upon A Time, it’s about a cool guy driving around L.A. while […]

The Big Combo (1955)

There are images in The Big Combo (1955) that are everything you want from a classic Film Noir. Opening with a woman stepping down a darkly lit corridor, backstage to a boxing match, pursued by suited figures. Later, a man in a suit wearing a hat emerges from the fog outside, stepping into a hangar to catch […]

Yokohama BJ Blues (1982)

Only after I finished watching Yokohama BJ Blues (1982) did I realise that the lead actor, Yusaku Matsuda, played the role of Sato the villain in the Michael Douglas action flick, Black Rain. I knew Matsuda was a Japanese movie star and was known for action films himself in the 1970s, and yet I just didn’t connect him […]

Halloween 4: The Return Of Michael Myers (1988)

The poster of Halloween 4: The Return Of Michael Myers (1988) makes me think of seeing it in video store magazines, or seeing it in VHS tape sales in the centre of a strip mall. Being a kid, scared of horror movies but kind of curious, and trying to understand the lore of “Michael Myers […]

Burial Ground (1981)

As an Italian zombie flick, Burial Ground (1981) spends a lot of time with decaying zombie faces in close-up, crud-strewn make-up with maggots wriggling around. I couldn’t help but wonder… did the make-up artist apply the maggots carefully with a tweezer, or did they just dump a bucket upside down the zombie’s head and see […]