Category Archives: Reviews

[Film] My Beautiful Short Films (Volume 4) [South Korea]

Posted on January 6th, 2013

My Beautiful Short Films (Volume 4) Originally posted in 2010 on London Korean Links) Released by KOFIC (Korean Academy of Film Arts) this DVD was one I was very curious and keen to see. Consisting of 10 short films made by directors while studying at the Academy, the shorts range between 11 and 30 minutes [...]

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[Anime] Gyo: Tokyo Fish Attack [Hirao, Japan, 2012]

Posted on August 15th, 2012

Based on the manga of the same name by Junji Ito, this surreal apocalyptic horror is brought to the screen by Takayuki Hirao and is a fantastic, bizarre, grotesque anime about mutated fish that arrive on land complete with metallic pincer like legs and a deadly disease. Kaori on holiday with two friends in Okinawa [...]

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Terracotta Film Festival: Dancing Queen [Lee Suk-Hoon, S. Korea,2012]

Posted on April 21st, 2012

This second film of the Korean Breakfast Club double bill was a comedy with a little more social punch, dealing with gender roles in Korean society, politics and show business. The story focuses on Jung-Hwa (Uhm Jung Hwa) once known as the Madonna of Shinchon who once dreamed of being a singer before marrying her childhood [...]

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Terracotta Film festival: Couples [Jeong Yong-Ki, S. Korea, 2011]

Posted on April 21st, 2012

Couples is not an easy storyline to explain, but that is perhaps one of the reasons I enjoyed it so much. A remake of the film ‘Stranger of Mine‘ (Ken Uchida, Japan 2005), the main action takes place during one day as we follow the story of several couples and how their lives intertwine and [...]

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Terracotta Film Festival: Seediq Bale [Wei te-sheng, Taiwan, 2011]

Posted on April 15th, 2012

2012 seems to be the year of independant movies for Terracotta along with the debut directors and tales inspired and based on true events. Seediq Bale is no exception to this trend and, Twelve years in the making, it made a gripping two and a half hour viewing. Set in the early 20th centrury it [...]

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Terracotta Film Festival: The Woodsman and the Rain [Shuichi Okita, Japan, 2011]

Posted on April 15th, 2012

I make no secret of it as its good to know what the reviewer’s bias is, but the first reason this film was on my list was because Oguri Shun was one of the two main leads. Born into a theatrical family, he is actually a very good actor and I’ve enjoyed all the dramas [...]

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Terracotta Film Festival: From Up On Poppy Hill [Goro Miyazaki, Japan, 2011]

Posted on April 14th, 2012

Studio Ghibli has consistently produced animation that has appealed to a wide range of people across the globe. Hayao Miyazaki is well known for uplifting and adorable ‘Totoro’, the magical and often dark ‘Spirited Away’, ‘Princess Mononoke’ and ‘Naussica’ to name a few. (I’m actually very fond of Panda! Go Panda!’) but this is son [...]

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Terracotta Film Festival: Return to Burma [Midi Z, Burma/Taiwan, 2011]

Posted on April 13th, 2012

The first film ever shot in Burma and presented at film festivals internationally, this was a must on my list of films to see. I’d read a lot about Burma from various sources such as Pascal Khoo Thwe’s ‘From the land of Green Ghosts’; The Stone of Heaven: Unearthing the Secret History of Imperial Green [...]

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Terracotta Film Festival: “One Mile Above” [Du Jiayi, 2011, China]

Posted on April 13th, 2012

Winner of the Artistic Contribution Award at the Tokyo International Film Festival, this beautifully shot film, tells the story of a gruelling bike ride across the Tibetan Himalayas as a man tries to lay his brother’s spirit to rest by completing his dream. Along the way he meets a friend and mentor who joins him [...]

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Terracotta Film Festival: Opening Night “My Way” [Kang Je-Kyu, Korea, 2011]

Posted on April 13th, 2012

“My Way”, directed by Kang JeKyu (Taeguki)and with a pan Asian cast was the selected opening night film for the Festival and whilst the top class cast of Jang Dong-gun (Brotherhood: Taegukgi, Friend), Joe Odagiri (Azumi, Shinobi) and Fan Bingbing (Shaolin, Flashpoint) sounded very promising, I had heard from some of my Korean friends that [...]

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