House Of Wax (2005)

House Of Wax (2005) is a remake in name only, from what I gather of the Vincent Price original (which I have not seen), and seems more inspired by another horror film (that I have seen), Tourist Trap, with a similar plot about a group of teenagers finding themselves in a deserted town off the […]

Frownland (2007)

I’d always been curious about Frownland (2007) ever since reading Roger Ebert’s review upon its release – it sounded uncompromising and aggravating, a punishing American indie “comedy”, the type of thing that would never get a cinema release (well, in Australia) and you would have to wait until an import DVD might be available at […]

Goodbye, Dragon Inn (2003)

In Goodbye, Dragon Inn (2003), there’s an obvious contrast between the 1960s wuxia film being screened, Dragon Inn, and the dilapidated cinema where its being shown; the faded film stock of adventure and action compared to the mundane stillness of empty cinema seats and rain dripping from the ceiling. Within Taiwanese director Tsai Ming-liang’s slow […]

Dead Or Alive 2: Birds (2000)

Yakuza assassinations cross-cut with world vision footage of starving children in Africa. CGI birds representing the childhood spirits of our two protagonists. Digital graphics illustrating the geometry of three bullets entering a head at 60 degree angles. A powerful comet sighted against the night sky. The title card “Where are you?” repeated, white text against […]

Ghost Of Mars (2001)

John Carpenter is one of my all time favourite directors. When I first saw John Carpenter’s Ghosts Of Mars (2001) on DVD when it came out, I was pretty disappointed. Then, later, when I found out it was originally intended as another Escape movie that was rewritten after Escape From LA’s lack of success, it […]