Branded To Kill (1967)

Every hip movie about a hitman must have taken something from the Japanese cult classic Branded To Kill (1967; Koroshi no rakuin); for example, Jim Jarmusch lifted a drain-pipe kill from it for Ghost Dog: Way Of The Samurai. Directed by Seijun Suzuki and starring Joe Shishido, Branded To Kill is a dazzling, dark, funny […]

Shin Godzilla (2016)

Seeing this pop up on a few friends’ Best of 2010s list promoted me to finally watch Shin Godzilla (2016; Shin Gōjira), which is available to stream on SBS OnDemand. Though I haven’t seen many of the Japanese made Godzilla films, I always think that the American versions have a big flaw to overcome: how do […]

The Guest (2014)

There’s a knowingness that propels The Guest (2014) into a delightful combination of humour and tension. Director Adam Wingard and writer Simon Barrett (the team behind You’re Next) establish patience with their set-up: a soldier, David (Dan Stevens), turns up on the doorstep of a grieving family whose dead son he served with in the military. Straight […]

Prime Cut (1972)

At under 90 minutes running time, Prime Cut (1972) is efficient and taut like its mob enforcer protagonist Nick (Lee Marvin, another great role as a measured tough). Yet there’s also an original streak of perverse humour throughout, more than likely helped by director Michael Ritchie (who’d go on to specialise further in comedy with classics like The […]

VFW (2019)

One Friday night, I went to a 9:15pm screening of VFW (2019) as part of MonsterFest, but it felt more like a midnight movie. Completely in the spirit of John Carpenter’s Assault On Precinct 13 right from the opening credits, particularly with the ominous synth of Steve Moore’s excellent score, it’s a splatter siege movie […]