November 24, 2010

A Frozen Flower (Ha Yu, 2008)

I’ve heard good things about the Korean film, A Frozen Flower. Outside from the gorgeous production value and box-office success, it has also been heralded for its inclusion of homosexuality in a period setting. I was hoping I would get to see it at this year’s festival and was glad to see it on the schedule, even if for only […]
April 19, 2010

Man On Fire (Tony Scott, 2004)

Man on Fire is part of Scott's flip-out phase, where the director experimented with ultra fast-cutting editing, and video clip-like light transitions.
December 16, 2013

The Lady Assassin (Quang Dung Nguyen, 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 […]
November 28, 2010

Accident (Pou-soi Cheang, 2009)

Accident devolves into a too simplistic whodunit, where the director tries to dazzle us with his technical mastery and film knowledge.
November 28, 2010

Love in a Puff (Ho-cheung Pang, 2010)

Love in a Puff (Pang Ho-cheung, 2010), from one of Hong Kong most promising directors, stands out as a great example of how to do romantic comedies right.