Virtuosity (1995)

The wackiest aspect about Virtuosity (1995) is that SID 6.0 (Russell Crowe), a deadly computer program for virtual police training, is a composite of 183 serial killers. Only 183? It’s a bit like the number of multi-verses in The One – it could be a round number like 200, but that’s too neat. 183 sounds […]

Virtual Assassin (1995)

Jacking into any sci-fi thriller with a cyberpunk vibe takes me further down the direct-to-video wormhole with Virtual Assassin (1995) aka Cyberjack, which would have a fixture on video shelves and in DVD bargain bins, and now thanks to YouTube and Tubi, it lives on to watch for free. Basically it’s a Die Hard knock-off […]

Outland (1981)

Peter Hyams wanted to make a western and so he set it in space with Outland (1981). From the title credits to the interiors, the aesthetic is clearly following the path of Ridley Scott’s Alien to the point where it feels like it takes place in the same galaxy and settles into a grimy, lived-in […]

First Love (2019)

First Love (2019; Hatsukoi) combines a couple of my favourite sub-genres: One Wild Night and Multiple Parties Want One Thing. Directed by the prolific Japanese filmmaker Takashi Miike (13 Assassins, Blade Of The Immortal), we follow a young boxer Leo (Masataka Kubota) who goes from shiftless to despondent when he receives some bad news after […]

A Scanner Darkly (2006)

Sad Keanu before the meme. Robert Downey Jnr in prime bursque rant mode pre-MCU. Woody Harrelson as hippy-dippy paranoid (naturally). Winona Ryder as subtle and caring from afar. Rory Cochrane taking his Slater character from Dazed And Confused to another deeper, darker, depressing level of Too Far Gone. A Scanner Darkly (2006), an adaptation of […]