Sharky’s Machine (1981)

Sharky’s Machine (1981) has a great opening sequence of Burt Reynolds looking gruff, striding through fog on a train track to the sounds of Randy Crawford’s ‘Street Life’ (later used on the soundtrack to Quentin Tarantino’s Jackie Brown). Directed by Reynolds himself, this is adapted from a William Diehl novel and works as a 1980s […]

Fallen Angels (1995)

I hadn’t seen Wong Kar-Wai’s Fallen Angels (1995), I don’t think, since seeing it on SBS as a teenager. I loved it then, but only seemed to remember the opening section with the cool hitman (Leon Lai) wielding two hand guns, like an arty version of a Hong Kong action movie, and his handler (Michelle […]

Long Day’s Journey Into Night (2018)

All I knew about the Chinese film, Long Day’s Journey Into Night (2018; the title is appropriated from Eugene O’Neill’s play but has nothing to do with it) was that it had an unbroken shot that went for like an hour (59 minutes to be precise; basically the second half of the movie) and that […]

Cat Chaser (1989)

Cat Chaser (1989) is an adaptation of an Elmore Leonard novel and is directed by Abel Ferrara. However, it is a film that he disowns and sits low in critical reflections of his filmography. From interviews I’ve read (the Hidden Films article about it is insightful), it was a troubled production with stars Peter Weller […]

Underworld USA (1961)

I was in the mood for a classic black-and-white film noir that I hadn’t seen and selected Underworld USA (1961) because it was a Samuel Fuller film (of Pickup On South Street and Shock Corridor), which he directed, wrote and produced. On a New Year’s Eve in the back alleys of a city, a young […]