Peking Opera Blues (1986)

Peking Opera Blues (1986) is a rollicking action-adventure comedy-drama, critically regarded as one of the best Hong Kong movies from the 1980s. In the first ten to fifteen minutes, the film might feel overwhelming with all of the characters who are introduced and establishing the 1910s socio-political atmosphere in China. As Peking Opera Blues proceeds, […]

Habit (1995)

First time I heard about Larry Fessenden’s Habit (1995) was through a glowing Roger Ebert review I remember reading. As a low budget indie with zero stars, it never received an Australian cinema release, or even a video release, or possibly I just missed out since I was in high school. There’s an indie movie […]

Matador (1986)

Pedro Almodovar’s film, Matador, has a provocative opening salvo, with the character of Diego Montes (Nacho Martinez) sitting alone at home, masturbating in a chair to clips of murder and death scenes from slashers and giallo thrillers (I was delighted to recognise the Jess Franco film, Bloody Moon, in the mix). Shifting from this conflation of auto-erotic […]

The Punisher (1989)

The Producers wish to thank THE NEW SOUTH WALES FILM & TELEVISION OFFICEandTHE KENDO CLUB OF WILLOUGHBY For their assistance and co-operation I love Tubi as a streaming service because it is a great repository for remastered versions of cult classics and older films, no doubt ported over from recent physical media releases from Arrow Video, Shout Factory, Vinegar […]

A Hero Never Dies (1998)

Wine being poured into a glass while blood drops onto a table; the bartender doing the pouring, having been smashed in the face by demanding triad bosses ordering him around. One lingering image from the very stylish A Hero Never Dies (1998), which uses a bottle of wine as a symbolic bond between two criminal […]