November 26, 2010
in its new restoration, Kuroneko (Kaneto Shindo, 1968) is one of those gems, a ‘60s Japanese horror film with a sharp aesthetic.
November 26, 2010
A federal agent meets a spy, Ji-won, who had escaped from North Korea, they play a game of cat-and-mouse, keeping an eye on one another.
February 26, 2013
Mitsuko Delivers is a great beginning to the festival for me, starting with what could be the best acting performance of the year. Riisa Naka plays the eponymous Mitsuko, an energetic and pregnant young woman who travels back to her old stomping grounds and quickly befriends a cast of quirky local characters, forcing them to seek happiness, whether they’re open […]
December 16, 2013
The Lady Assassin, a martial arts blockbuster, is my first Vietnamese film. A light Sunday night screening at this year’s Fantasia Festival, it was attended by a notable number of people from Montreal’s Vietnamese community. Billed as a Vietnamese wu xia, in the film, a princess sold in marriage is taken in by a team of high-flying, ass—kicking, thieving assassins […]
June 9, 2013
Graceland is a dark and dirty moral tale of desperation and revenge, denouncing corruption. Yet, it isn’t sophisticated enough to deal with the subject.