November 26, 2010

Secret Reunion (Hun Jang, 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.
November 28, 2010

Symbol (Hitoshi Matsumoto, 2009)

Symbol never lives up to its potential, choosing rather to limit itself to slapstick gags, immature, dull and predictable.
October 17, 2013

Shield of Straw (Takashi Miike, 2013) | Lesson of the Evil (Takashi Miike, 2012)

Shield of Straw My first film at Fantasia in 2013 was Takashi Miike’s Shield of Straw, one of the director’s contribution to the festival. Miike is a known workhorse, directing sometimes three films per year, in a myriad of genres and styles. Yet, there seems to be a connecting thread through his films, which feels harder to ascertain for me […]
April 19, 2010

The Bourne Ultimatum (Paul Greengrass, 2007)

In the Bourne Ultimatum, Jason Bourne, a secret agent recovering from amnesia, decides to dismantle the spy agency responsible for his condition.
February 26, 2013

Mitsuko Delivers (Yuya Ishii, 2011)

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 […]