To call Nicolas Cage's performance in Vampire's Kiss "bad" is missing the point. Cage is not bad in this. He is uncorked with all his Cageness spewing all over the set. He's a total lunatic. Pulling wild faces, spinning into fits of unpredictable rage, pointing, screaming, running, jumping on desks, carrying around planks of wood, chattering fake vampire teeth in his ridiculous mouth. A mere description of Cage's performance could never do it justice. It is one of the greatest,…
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The Boxer's Omen 1983
The Boxer's Omen is pure madness on celluloid! I can't thank Chris Purdie enough for recommending this to me. This is everything I could ever want in a film. Here is a paragraph of some things you'll see in The Boxer's Omen because my brain can't construct proper sentences at the moment...
Violent kickboxing. Bolo Yeung's disproportioned body. Buddhist monks fighting demons. Spiders (that make the spiders from The Beyond look awesome) drinking liquid poison from tiny straws. Conversations with…
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Her Brother 2014
Relentless J-Horror Halloween 3
Here we go again. I can't believe this is my third year of watching nonstop J-Horror in October. I guess I can stop once I pass the N3...These Kaiki File shorts do a great job in adding intrigue and dread. Here, we get even more layers of disquieting mystery piled upon Kudo. Plus, we get to meet Miho's brother. I'm consistently impressed with Shiraishi's ability to create terror and tension out of almost nothing—this is a great example of that ability. I feel properly unsettled and VERY keen to watch the next film!
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Teke Teke 2009
Relentless J-Horror Halloween 3
Here we go again. I can't believe this is my third year of watching nonstop J-Horror in October. I guess I can stop once I pass the N3...It is very funny how Teke Teke is just Ringu without the VHS and without a ghost with legs. It follows the same narrative beats to a tee, right down to trying to fix up someone's grave and a final spook-em-up twist. This is not a great film…
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Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters 1985
Since moving to Japan, I've discovered that Yukio Mishima is still, to this day, a sore subject. In casual conversation about Japanese authors or in the classroom, the moment I mention Mishima an uncomfortable silence settles over the room. I've learnt not to mention my love of Spring Snow and The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea. I get the tension. Mishima was a brilliant writer, but an unbelievably problematic person. Politically, he stands against everything I believe…
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Beavis and Butt-Head Do America 1996
If I had to show someone the 1990s in movie form, it would be Beavis and Butt-Head Do America. It's all here: television addiction, guffawing teenage apathy, nonsensical toilet humour, grim satire, Jerry Springer-esque sleaze, a very MTV trip out sequence, and Chelsea Clinton. This is one of the few movies that — much like its titular characters — I laugh almost constantly throughout. I love that the film's protagonists have no idea about the actual plot of the movie…
