Django (1966)

The original Django (1966) is a spaghetti western that obviously Tarantino paid tribute in Django Unchained taking the name, the theme song and even having original Django Franco Nero pop up in a cameo. The original Django film is itself a riff (or cash-in copycat) on A Fistful Of Dollars in that it’s based on […]

Switchblade Sisters (1975)

Switchblade Sisters (1975) is directed by Jack Hill, and is a title that has come up a lot as an exploitation drive in classic (Tarantino re-released it on his Rolling Thunder label in the late 90s, I think). A teen gang of girls led by the intense Lace (Robbie Lee, delightfully gnashing at the scenery) […]

Sanjuro (1962)

I didn’t realise there was a sequel to Yojimbo, which reunites director Akira Kurosawa with actor Toshiro Mifune as the wandering hero. So I was in the mood for the 90 minute samurai movie, Sanjuro (1962; Tsubaki Sanjūrō) where Mifune’s character gets mixed up with helping nine younger samurai trying to release their uncle from […]

The Villainess (2017)

The South Korean action film The Villainess (2017; Ak Nyeo) starts out high octane with a POV action sequence that’s like a video game (POV action doesn’t really do it for me, I think for action to be gripping you need to see the protagonist in the action) but once the camera whips around to […]

Youth Of The Beast (1963)

Always great when a film from an older decade feels contemporary in its energy. Youth Of The Beast (1963; Yajū no seishun) is very snappy and vibrant, a Yazuka gangster movie about a mysterious stranger Joe (Joe Shishido – who I only discovered now had cheek implants to help his career and thus his very […]