Director: Chang Cheh Cast: Chiang Sheng, Sun Chien, Kuo Chui, Lo Mang, Wei Pei, Lu Feng Story: A kung fu student must fulfill his master’s final instructions and face some of his evil seniors who are much skillful than him. Considered as the most prominent filmmaker from the Shaw Brothers’ stable of directors, which at one…
Maleficent: Mistress of Evil (2019) — A lackluster story saved by Jolie and CGI
Reviewed by Priyanka Minj Director: Joachim Rønning Cast: Angelina Jolie, Elle Fanning, Michelle Pfeiffer, Harris Dickinson Story: When Princess Aurora accepts the marriage proposal of Prince Phillip, she unknowingly opens the door for the dark forces that want to destroy the moors and its mystical inhabitants. Review: Maleficent: Mistress of Evil is a sequel to…
Ready Or Not (2019) — Review
This is a spoiler-free review. Director: Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillet Cast: Samara Weaving, Adam Brody, Mark O’Brien, Andie MacDowell, Henry Czerny Screenplay: Guy Busick, R. Christopher Murphy After Hobbs and Shaw (2019) confirmed that even spin-offs of mega franchises are not allowed to venture outside the tradition of upholding the sanctity of friendship and familial…
Revenger (2018) – Review
With the South Korean martial arts movie Revenger, Netflix adds to its growing catalog of hyper-violent action movies. But, is it able to match the standards (for better or worse) set by the other acclaimed movies – the two Raid films, the other two Iko Uwais starrer Headshot and The Night Comes For Us, and…
Padmaavat (2018) Review Published at Asian Movie Pulse
A lot has been made about Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s adaptation of Sufi poet Malik Muhammad Jayasi’s epic poem “Padmavat” (1540). Even before its release, the film had been mired in controversy due to rumors regarding tampering with Rajput (an Indian community historically known for their valor and honor) history and a prominent figure, Rani Padmini,…
Mukkabaaz Review – it takes a brawler to overcome odds
To start with the review, let me first address the most important aspect of the film or at least as the title suggests – boxing. The actors throwing punches at each other and ducking and blocking those really looked like boxing, both in the alleys of Bareily and in the ring. That is really something…
‘Wet Woman in the Wind’ – a raunchy tale of the battle of the sexes filled with visual wit
Wet Woman in the Wind is one of the five films released under the Roman Porno reboot project by Nikkatsu. To anyone aware of Japan’s oldest film studio Nikkatsu, the name Roman Porno is likely to ring a bell. Roman Porno, a film series devoted to the showcase of an abundance of sex and nudity in…
‘Picture of Light’ is a deep meditation on nature, lust for knowledge and media
Aurora Borealis might be the only thing that would, if ever, make me want to get off my ass and explore. I’ve harboured love for the northern lights ever since I read about them in Philip Pullman’s Northern Lights – of course it was mostly fantasy. Then I read more about them, saw videos and…
Theeran Adhigaram Ondru – Review
‘Theeran Adhigaaram Ondru’ is the best police procedural action thriller from India that I have seen, or maybe I have not been looking in the right places. Bollywood seems to have forgotten how to make one (I remember Sarfarosh). Although this movie wouldn’t give you a hardcore police procedural thriller like ‘Zodiac’, it squeezes in…
Sunday in Peking Review
Chris Marker’s 22-minute video essay on Peking (now Beijing) is as jovial as a tourist’s demeanour while visiting a foreign land – a locale so exoticized in the tourist’s interaction with popular culture that he / she may refuse to acknowledge any other impression of the land on his / her visit and may even…
