Eyes Of The Spider (1998)

1997 was a busy year for Kiyoshi Kurosawa. Serpent’s Path and Eyes Of The Spider (1998) were two movies united by the same theme – revenge – and the same star – Sho Aikawa. They were low budget movies for the straight-to-video market and each apparently only had a two week shoot. In between, Kurosawa […]

L.A. Bounty (1989)

I had to rewind Sybil Danning’s introduction scene in L.A. Bounty (1989) to enjoy it all over again. Rocking up to the middle of a nighttime kidnapping at a mansion – in a blue turtleneck, leather jacket and Mum-jeans – to cut some goons in half with a bulky super-shotgun. If you check out the […]

Breaking News (2004)

Director Johnnie To and his Milky Way production company set themselves a challenge with Breaking News (2004): How to restage the street shoot-out from Heat but introduce it with an unbroken seven minute shot? Opening with a showdown conveyed in that one-shot take between a heist crew (led by Richie Jen) and a squad of […]

Serpent’s Path (1998)

The point of view shot of a car driving down inner city roads; there’s an emptiness to the streets. In the car, two men are on a mission of revenge, Nijima (Sho Aikawa) and Miyashita (Teruyuki Kagawa). Miyadhita’s child has been molested and murdered. They know the culprit. They have a soundproofed warehouse. Revenge will […]

Place Vendôme (1998)

Place Vendôme (1998) fits the bill for French neo-noir in that the key female characters are glamorous blondes while the men are all weathered looking mutts. The cinematography feels very 1990s “movie for adults” in the dark hues of the interiors, and its overall polished feeling, reminiscent of a Grisham or Le Carre adaption from […]