Tagged with foreign films

Review: Attack the Block, 2011, dir. Joe Cornish

Review: Attack the Block, 2011, dir. Joe Cornish

You’ve seen movies like Attack the Block before– movies where an enemy-of-all emerges and threatens to destroy, devour, or dominate all life until being defeated by a thoroughly ordinary hero or group of heroes– yet Joe Cornish’ directorial debut stands out as one of the year’s most thoroughly original and memorable releases regardless. Largely, this … Continue reading

Review: I Saw the Devil, 2011, dir. Ji-woon Kim

Review: I Saw the Devil, 2011, dir. Ji-woon Kim

It’s hard to talk about the New Wave of South Korean cinema without at the very least touching on revenge pictures. Blame Chan-wook Park;  his vengeance trilogy represents three of the best-received South Korean pictures released during the movement’s surge in the early-to-mid 2000s, and Park himself stands out as arguably the most talked about … Continue reading

Movies That Matter: Ichi the Killer

Movies That Matter: Ichi the Killer

I never said that this series would be pretty, did I? I’m sure that someone out there is questioning what kind of person I must be for a movie like Ichi the Killer to be a defining and important part of my growth as a cineaste, which, I suppose, is fair enough to ask even … Continue reading

Review: Zatoichi, 2003, dir. Takeshi Kitano

Review: Zatoichi, 2003, dir. Takeshi Kitano

To describe Japan’s Takeshi Kitano (or Beat Takesi) as anything other than “versatile” is outright unthinkable. While frequently known and celebrated for his forays into crime dramas with a series of films involving cops and yakuza to his credit– Brother, Sonatine, Hana-bi, Violent Cop— Kitano has displayed an unwillingness to be pigeonholed as a participant … Continue reading

Review: Animal Kingdom, 2010, David Michôd

Review: Animal Kingdom, 2010, David Michôd

If there existed a “Best Debut” category at any of the self-aggrandizing awards shows which infect popular consciousness during the winter months of the year, then David Michôd would be a shoe-in. His very first feature, Animal Kingdom, isn’t ostentatious or glitzy; it’s far too self-assured to rely on gimmicks, adroitly made with the confidence … Continue reading