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Last Update 4 January 2008

R-Zone Did you know there were South Korean troops involved in the Vietnam War?  Well, in a particularly tough fight an entire squad gets wiped out in an area known as the R-zone. The problem is, radio messages keep arriving from the zone asking for help. A hand picked group are selected from the syphilis ward and sent north to check it out. They set up camp in an old abandoned French colonial building and begin their search. Weird stuff starts happening and before long everyone is dying and it's obvious there are ghosts at work. Hey, that's the rule, all Korean films must be ghost stories, ultra violent or sappy love tales. This one has 2 out of the three. Guess which 2. Korean 2005  Rated IIb

Transamerica Bree Osbourne wants to finish the job and have sexual reassignment surgery and extinguish Stanley once and for all. Felicity Huffman attempts to play an almost there trans-gender man who suddenly discovers he has a teenage son (Kevin Zegers)  who is a New York street hustler. They are both pretty shocked when she shows up to bail him out of the Tombs, especially since he was expecting his long lost father. The big problem is Bree's shrink will not sign off on the surgery until this is all sorted out. So she and her clueless son set out in an old car on a cross country trip to LA, hence the bad pun.  After a while Bree's voice is a trifle trying and frankly it's not a very convincing performance. Be careful, they travel among us. Skip it, really. 2005

Broken Flowers This may be the best film Bill Murray is in since Stripes. For director Jim Jarmusch, this is a low key story, with a minimum of dialog, a little travel (almost exclusively in New Jersey) and 5 ex-girlfriends. Don Johnston (with a 't') has a dull bored suburban existence till he get's an anonymous letter informing him that he has a 19 year old son. His inquisitive Ethiopian neighbor, Winston/ Jeffrey Wright feels it is time for a quest, so he supplies Don with an itinerary and sends him on a quest. Don visits his old girlfriends, beginning with Sharon Stone and her aptly named daughter, Lolita. Next stop is Frances Conroy a childless real estate agent, Jessica Lange and Julie Delpy. Cool story enmeshed in a minimalist film without a suitable ending. Great stuff. 2005 rated R 2005 106 minutes

The Classic  Most Korean films are either astoundingly brutal or ridiculous schoolgirl ghost stories. So when we found this endless Korean romance, it seemed worth a mention. It tells the tale of a threesome Joon-ha, Tae-soo and their girlfriend Joo-hee who had a lengthy and tortuous romance that spanned two generations. The story is told through a series of flashbacks as their daughter reads old love letters and diaries from her parents courtship. Well told, well filmed, a bit long at 118 minutes but good fodder for hopeless romantics. Korean 2003 Zhao Cheng You.

A Bittersweet Life How far will you go for love? This is a true test of a young mobsters resolve, as he is asked to look after him masters girlfriend for a few days. When he catches her with another man, he does the wrong thing and is asked to pay with his life. There still another hour and a half left in the film, so needless to say, he doesn't die so quickly. This is a really funny, entertaining, violent and romantic Korean mobster film. The cinematography is superb and eventually some American studio will buy the rights to this story and screw it up. Directed by Kim Joo Woon  2005 Korean 2 hours

Kitchen Stories  Here's a rather odd premise for a movie. The Swedish Kitchen Research Institute set out in the 1950s to make daily chores more efficient for the average housewife and bachelor farmer. The group fielded a batch of observers to passively watch the daily activities of these selfsame bachelors. The film centers around one such researcher and the relationship that develops as he sits in his high chair making notes on his unmarried male subject.  Since any interaction might skew the study, the farmer chooses, at first, to ignore his minder. The humor is slow and decidedly dry. One gets the feeling that you are missing 90% of the inside jokes and stereotypes of the rare bird, and yet enough comes through to reward the patient viewer. Little substantive dialogue so don't count on this film to improve your Swedish vocabulary. Directed by Bent Hamer.  Rated PG, 95 minutes Swedish with Subtitles

Tom Yum Goong Do you like elephants and martial arts? Granted, it is a strange combination, but this film has an abundance of both. Kham grows up in the Thai forests helping his dad and their elephant. Por Yai,  collect wood. When their great bull elephant sires a baby, Kham gets to raise him and the two become inseparable. At least until some evil poachers steal the pair of pachyderms. Kham, played by the Muay Thai martial arts genius Tony Jaa. must retrieve the elephants and honor of his family. There's plenty of fighting against amazing odds and plenty of well placed kicks and jabs before the task can be accomplished. Lot's of cool scenery, plenty of stunts and too many chase scenes to count. The elephants are cool, too. If you want more of the same see Tony Jaa in Ong-Bak.  Thai 2003 Rated IIb

Ong-Bak The Thai Warrior Ong-bak is the name of the village's prize possession , an old stone image of the Buddha. When the head of the image is stolen by some Bangkok Antiquities thieves, they send young Ting (Tony Jaa) to the city to retrieve it. Trained in the religious martial art of Muay Thai, no one can mess with Ting but he is naive in the ways of the big city. He garners the help of a Bangkok tough who came from his village. There are some extraordinary fight scenes in which the pacifist Ting is called upon to flatten hulking Australian and American opponents. He dispatches them with ease but is no closer to finding the head of Ong-Bak. In the end, the two locate a criminal mastermind who tricks Ting  into a title bout, and then orders him killed. Our country boy proves more resilient that his adversary and good triumphs in the end. You won't want to see this for the story line, which is a little like a Bowery Boys movie,  but the stunts and fights are outrageous and worth a look. 2005 Thai Rated R 105 minutes

Sympathy For Lady Vengeance The long awaited third installment in Park Chan Wook's vengeance trilogy will surprise and perhaps entertain all you sick perverted bastards that loved "Sympathy For Mr. Vengeance" and "Old Boy". Lee Geum-ja confessed to abducting and killing a five year old boy when she was only 19. We meet her thirteen years later when she is finally released from prison. She has done what was needed to get out, a model inmate, shamming piety and remorse to gain her freedom, with only one thought in mind. Vengeance. Geum-ja has had plenty of time to plan how she'll get even with the guy who did this to her. It starts off slow but you'll eventually come to see the brilliance of her scheme. Her target is the kidnapping pederast who made her confess to his crime by kidnapping her illegitimate daughter. Lee Geum-ja slowly calls in all the favors she has accrued among her prison inmates. She begins by finding her daughter in Australia and taking a 19 year old lover. She finds her victim Mr. Baek, still teaching children and still up to his old ways. What a beautiful web she weaves. Of course Park Chan Wook does not disappoint his fans. There's plenty of his trademark ultra violence, when needed, but this film is more subtle and less gruesome than it's predecessors. The cinematic touches and excellent photography are even better than in Old Boy. As Park gets better budgets, he has honed his craft and perhaps tempered his shock factor to reach an audience greater than you handful of twisted souls who adored Mr. Vengeance. I have to say, I was a trifle disappointed when I first saw it, I mean it was great but the wince factor was only a 7 out of 10. On second viewing, I have to admit. it's excellent. If you are not already a fan, work your way backwards through the trilogy as it is perhaps more palatable that way. 2005  95 minutes Korean Rated III (18+)

Marebito Masuoka is a man obsessed with images, and he lives half in the real world and half through the viewfinder of a videocamera. He constantly replays his footage of a man who killed himself in a subway station. The man's look of terror fascinates Masuoka and he longs to experience that same emotion. While randomly wandering and filming around Tokyo, he discovers a maze of tunnels beneath the city. The first inhabitants he finds are homeless and afraid. Then he encounter Muriko the suicide victim from his video. Muriko explains the dangers of the Deros- short for detrimental Robots ( See Richard Shavers 1921 Sci Fi Classic) who are blood sucking inhabitants of this underground city. Further exploration brings him to an open canyon where he discovers a beautiful girl chained in a cavern. He brings her home, only to find that although she appears human , she is actually a Dero. Naming her "F" ,he taps his own blood supply  to keep her fed but before long he needs to supplement her diet. His ex wife comes around looking for their daughter and she becomes the first five liter donor. He enjoys the fear of his donors/victims and of course it all goes into his video collection. F is grateful for the baby bottles filled with blood and all in all it's a happy arrangement. But the plot, written and directed by Takashi Shimizu of Ju-On fame is far more twisted and visually disturbing than you'd anticipate. The director of Tetsuo-The Iron Man, Shinya Tsukamoto plays the lead part of the nerdy and perhaps insane cameraman. Just one more instance of sophisticated, adult scarey ass Japanese horror films that are often copied but never duplicated. The stiffs in Hollywood do not have the balls to make stuff this good, but don't get me started. 2005 Japanese 91 minutes Rated III (18 years+)

Water Falls on Burning Rocks / Tropfen Aui Heisse Steine / Gouttes D'eau Sur Pierres Brulantes Kind of an unusual tale of seduction. Leo, (Bernard Giraudeau) a fifty something homme d'affaire brings a young handsome red headed boy (Malik Zidi) home for the evening and he stays the night. In the next scene, six months later,  they are living together and bickering like an old married couple. Though both agree that their lovemaking is extraordinary there is little else they agree about. Leopold is really a grumpy old sod but cold, calculating and very manipulative.  Franz's ex-girlfriend Anna (Ludvine Sagnier) turns up and then Leo's ex (Anna Thomson) also joins the party. Before long Leo has them all waiting on him in the kitchen and the bedroom. Half sex farce and half Greek tragedy.Written by Werner Fassbinder, this is German story played with French actors that's gets a little culturally muddled in places and really comes across more as a play on film.  In French w/subtitles Francois Ozon directed

The Adventures of Iron Pussy  By day he is a humble cashier in a 7-11, but in the off hours she is Iron Pussy, the transvestite super hero Lamduan. With her faithful scooter driver Pew, IP is keeping Thailand safe from international bad guys and local toughs. Maybe this is a spoof on James Bond films or maybe it is serious, although the former is more probable. Filled with static musical interludes and lame ass fight scenes, this bitch can kick some ass. At the request of the government, Lamduan becomes a maid in a wealthy household where she can keep an eye on the suspicious foreign visitor, Mr. Henry. Tang, the son of the wealthy home owner soon falls for her and they sing a few coquettish duets. Iron Pussy is torn between love and duty when she discovers Tang and Mr. Henry are concocting new ecstasy inducing drugs. Between crime fighting and wardrobe changes Lamduan also treats everyone to some rockin musical performances. I doubt you'll find this too readily, but if you really want to see it, we can be persuaded to part with our copy. Unrated, Thai with English subtitles 2004

Kekexili This is the true story of a group of Tibetan volunteers led by a man named Rutai whose work saved the last remaining Tibetan antelopes from poachers. They travel the harsh 20,000 foot plateaus of northern Tibet in pursuit of poachers who kill the antelope for their fine wool. The story is told by a sympathetic reporter from Beijing who tagged along on their patrols. The countryside is every bit as harsh and deadly as it is beautiful. The film does a great job of portraying the sacrifices made by these men who put their lives at stake to help preserve Tibet and Tibetan culture from the Chinese incursion. The photography is magnificent, the story is unbelievable and this movie is impossible to describe. So, maybe you should watch it. Directed by Lu Chuan and starring Duo Bujie as Rutai. 2004 Chinese and Tibetan w/subtitles

Kung Fu Hustle It's the Axe Gang versus the residents of Pig Sty Alley in Steven Chow's hysterical spoof on Chinese kung fu gangster films. Wonderfully stylized with dancing gangsters and killer tailors there is something here for everyone. Set in the 1930s,the poor residents of this neighborhood are more than a match for these murderous gangs. The landlady proves to be the most formidable fighter of the lot and the special effects and over the top fights make full use of Chows martial arts choreographic skills (see Kill Bill). The film takes a mystical turn towards the end and the excellent special effects help carry it off. This was a huge hit in Asia but will undoubtedly fizzle after it's US release. Check out all the awful teeth. We loved it. 2004 Chinese w/subtitles.

The Bird People of China It is awfully hard to classify the work of Japanese director Takashi Miike. In this one, a young business man is commandeered to travel up to northern Hunan in search of a rumored jade mine. Enroute, he realizes there is a yakuza on his tail and perhaps there's more to this mine than his boss let on. As the trip becomes more arduous the two team up just to survive, until they eventually reach their destination. Along the way, they hear rumors of people who can fly and when they arrive, there is a great deal of evidence to support the stories. After slowing to the rural pace the two men become less concerned with the jade and more interested in the rich village life. When the time comes to return to civilization, they must face the dilemma of bringing modernization to the last unspoiled place in China. Japanese Rated 1

Colour Blossoms In the mood for a trans-sexual murder, S&M, tri-lingual triangular ghost love story? Madam Umeki Satoko is a fading Japanese film star who takes a liking to a beautiful young real estate agent, Miss Meili. The actress buys a ten million dollar home at the top of Hong Kong on the condition Meili can locate a tenant for her other apartments in Princess Terrace. Captivated by the elegance of her client, she soon discovers that finding the "right tenant" will not be a simple task. This could almost be a travelogue as the main character sashays up and down Hong Kong's streets always meeting the glance of a silent handsome policeman or the embrace of her Tokyo photographer/male model paramour, Kim. Toss in some S&M, a hint of homosexuality, a trace of trans-gender mysticism, an old murder and some rain and you have an undecipherable mess. Written and directed by Yonfan with production help from Fruit Chan. This must be some kind of fantasy romance film that is just neither bizarre nor erotic enough for our jaded tastes. Japanese, Cantonese and bad English poetry with a Hindi soundtrack. Starring Teresa Cheung, Matsuzaka Keiko and Harisu 2004

The Disappearance of Finbar Finbar Flynn is a housing project kid from Ireland. He gets his big break as a mascot for a pro football team. He's back at the housing project in short order and everybody is giving him a hard time about losing his big chance. His best friend Danny is pleased to have his mate home, at least until Finbar woos his girlfriend away. Tired of all the hassle, Finbar jumps off a highway bridge and totally disappears. A search fails to find his corpse and and a year later, there's still no trace of him, until Danny gets a call. By then, Flynn's story has been converted to a rock video and his story has gone international. Danny sets off to Sweden to link up with his missing friend. Well, that's one way to get out of a dead end life. This suffers a little from poor production, a weak story and perhaps from being a hybrid Irish Swedish graft,, but hey what do we know? Rated 1 Directed by Sue Clayton 100 minutes

Dumplings If you are looking for the fountain of youth, look no further than Madam Mei's kitchen. Her dumpling have a secret ingredient that's guarantees a return to your former physical glory. If you wonder why director Fruit Chan enjoys such a cult following, here is one of his films you can really sink your teeth into.  A fading TV star will do most anything to regain her husbands affection and her former beauty. Mei helps her with her tasty dumplings until she meets the husband. This film can be found as a 30 minute version on the Three-extremes compilation or better as the full length "Dumplings" Who was it that said,"Vanity makes fools of us all"? Perhaps they meant cannibals, too. Rated III for obvious reasons.Written by Lillian Lee and starring Miriam Yeung, Bai Ling and Tony Ka-Fai Leung 90 minutes Cantonese w/subtitles

Three extremes Like the earlier release "Three", this is just that, three short films by leading Asian directors. The first one, "Box" is by Takishe Miike is in his best disturbing style. A young circus acrobat works as a contortionist for a pederast magician. There are so many flashbacks and twisted sexual connotations that we defy you to sort this one out. The second film is a boiled down version of director Fruit Chan's full length film (see below) "Dumpling. The third short "Cut" is a Korean offering from Park Chan-Wook, the director of "Sympathy for Mr.Vengance" and ""Old Boy". If you are unfamiliar with his brutal style this is a good introduction. Rated III for good reason.

Azumi "Merely killing one hundred bandits will not save this nation" advises the master. Ten orphans, trained in secret have grown into ruthless assassins and set out with their master to change the course of Japanese history. First they are whittled down to a team of five. Their first mission is to put a cap in some warlords ass. Of course, as Samurai, they actually use swords, but you get the idea. Following the assassin's motto "There are many evil people in the world. Someone has to kill them" they then attack a second, more cunning, warlord. They only succeed in killing his double which allows him to plot his revenge. He releases Bijomaru the murderous drag queen, from prison, and s/he deftly dispatches one of the team. Another assassin falls victim to the nasty Ninja trick of poisoning their swords. Azumi, the only female member of the group  then gets turfed out by their master for being too soft. The remaining two killer orphans and their master storm the palace in a futile attempt to get their target, but immortality eludes them too, leaving only Azumi to finish the task. We won't spoil the ending, but this is a great tale of war & peace. At times,the stylized violence resembles a Nintendo game but overall the film should manage to hold your interest. Think of it as a Japanese version of " Showdown at the OK Corral". Very very bloody and kinda cool. Expect a sequel, soon.

Baise Moi  Two young and bored French women  Manu (Karen Bach) and Nadine ( Raffaela Anderson) simultaneously kill their roomate/lover over somewhat trivial arguments. Very soon, thereafter, the two women meet by chance at a train station, There are no trains so they take the dead boyfriends car and head for the city. They stop at the seashore and soon become fast friends. The pair decide to try a little armed robbery and kill their first victim, a woman at an ATM. They pick up two guys in a bar then go out for a little hit and run action. They rob a gun store for more fire power  and shoot the owner for kicks. Don't be lulled into thinking this is a French Thelma and Louise. The sex is gritty, the violence is, well, violent and the guys are all assholes. Their brutality starts gaining velocity when they stomp their next victim to death in a hotel room. I was still hoping for a happy ending but the ladies start drinking heavily and set out to pick up a few more guys/victims. They form a pattern of sex sandwiched between violent acts and thier next victims are two cops whom they waste at a traffic stop and they add a third woman to their party (Coralie Trinh Thi). She takes them home and she and her boyfriend take in the homicidal pair. Not to spoil the rest, let's just say it escalates. Directed & written by Virginie Despentes French w/subtitles 2002 Can someone please email us with a translation of the title?

Dog Days (Hundtage) If you thought suburban American life was banal and pointless, take a peek at the Austrian Biedermanner. There are five storylines cross hatched in this film with only the slimmest thread connecting them. In one a bulimic young woman endures the abuse of her hyper jealous boyfriend, In another a hefty old widower pays his aged putzfrau to put on his wife's clothes and do a striptease for him. You'll never look at your Granny the same after you see that scene. There is also a crazy woman who hitchhikes from scene to scene irritating her benefactors as a leitmotif. Then there's a couple who torment each other sexually since their daughter died in a car accident. She invites men home for the weekend while he throws a tennis ball around the house. In the fourth, a lonely middle aged woman has a flamboyant Polish lover who humiliates and abuses her. While in another story line, a security agent offers up a surrogate as the perpetrator in a crime he can't solve. Basically everybody gets laid but nobody is too thrilled about it. If Tod Solondz spoke German he could have made this film. Anyway, it is, at it's best, a wonderful collection of some truly normal and unglamorous folks having sex. There's no airbrushing in this one, just naked, nasty, old and fat but truly democratic coupling. There is no salvation in any of these tales, just a reminder that love conquers nothing and fancy lingerie is not wasted on older women.  Directed by Ulrich Seidel 1999 Austrian in German with subtitles Rated 18+ probably because of the orgy.

The Little Chinese Seamstress Two urban young men Ma and Luo, are sent upriver during the Cultural Revolution for a little re-education. Peasant life if not too their liking, but they manage to steal a suitcase full of forbidden European literature, which helps pass the time. They also become enamored with a local girl who has a little more spunk than her contemporaries, and they begin reading their forbidden books to her. The boys teach her to read and she is soon aware that her mountain village is too small for her ambitions. The scenery and the photography are awe inspiring and the frankness of the subject matter shows a new liberalness that adds dimension to the tale. Even the subtitles did a decent job of showing the complexities of the poor souls who were flattened by this so called revolution. Long but not endless and the director gets in a little dig about the social and environmental damage of the Three Gorges dam. 112 minute, Mandarin 2003

Zhou Yu's Train Zhou Yu is a porcelain artist who falls in love with a poet, Chen Ching. They have a commuter romance and she spends a great deal of time on the train to and from their trysts. Although this would pale  against an American or French love tale it is fairly erotic for a Mainland Chinese film. Yes, this is  a modern Chinese film that actually has sex in it. How weird is that?  During her commute, Zhou makes the acquaintance of a young veterinarian and adds him to her tag team of lovers. You realize, however it is not the men, but the train ride that really turns her on. God, Amtrack does nothing for me. Anyway, life is good until she decides to try out the bus. A little confusing, a little too much clothing, but hey this is genuine progress and bodes well for the future of Chinese cinema. 2003 90 minutes Mandarin w/subtitles

City of God (Cidade De Deus)  Rocket is a wannabe photojournalist who lives in a particularly rough favala in Rio. He moderates this amusing and violent story of a gang war in his neighborhood. It is well written, well filmed and especially horrific because it is based on a true story. These thugs can never win and most kids from this neighborhood are destined to die before they reach old age from a combination of ignorance, drugs and violence. Very very very good especially if you like gang stories.  Directed by Fernando Meirelles 2 hours Rated R Brazilian Portuguese w/subtitles

Sideways If you have no patience with wine snobs, you ought to skip this. However if you like slow, uneventful films with good acting and a subtle snail's paced story, this may be just your cup of tea. Two ex-college room mates, now in their 40's head for northern California for a week of carousing and wine drinking. Sort of an oenophile's bachelor party. Miles is a mousey English teacher, wannabe author and real serious about his wine. His college buddy, Jack is a voice over actor, who's getting married at the end of the week. He is determined to play the field for the few days he has left. It all works out. Everybody gets drunk, everybody gets laid, some deception ensues and some lies are told. The end. 2004  Rated R 135 minutes

Oldboy Time and again we have warned you about Korean films being exceptionally violent. This one wins the Palm d'Or for unnecessary squirm in your seat and avert your eyes brutality in Technicolor. Somebody kidnaps Dae-su, an obnoxious businessman and locks him in a secured hotel room. Occasionally, his jailers gas him and cut his hair and straighten up the room while he's unconscious. At other times they drug him and infuse his brain with hypnotic suggestions. For no apparent reason, they dump him in a vacant lot after 15 years of imprisonment. He can't remember much, but a kind sushi waitress takes him home and cleans him up. He sets out to discover what he can about his captors. By methodically eating dumplings across the city, he eventually locates the food source used by his jailers. The delivery boy leads him to his place of entrapment and he wreaks havoc on the place. He gathers some clues but large sections of his memory have been erased, which hinders his search. Eventually, he finds his tormentor, Woo-jin, a kid whom he had crossed in high school. Revenge takes a far different route than you'd anticipate, or ever conceive. If you turned your head during Marathon Man or were uncomfortable with Clockwork Orange, this film will be too much to take. It's rated IIb which is equivalent to PG13. If I saw this at 14, I'd still be having nightmares. Otherwise it is an unbelievable tale that breaches more taboo subjects than a Todd Solondz film. 2004 Directed by PARK chan-wook who took the best directors prize at Canne for this gem. This is the second film in his gruesome revenge trilogy. If you can handle this, look for "Sympathy for Mr. Vengance", oooh wee.

Face A forensic anthropologist is being haunted by one of his facial reconstructions. As added stress he is a single parent raising a young daughter who has had a heart transplant. The girl is having recurring rejection problems due to something called a beta allergy. Well, it turns out the specialist who did the surgery had a murderous assistant who acquired hearts especially for beta allergic patients. It seems the little girl and her father are being haunted by the original owner of her heart. When dad finally solves the case the doctor is arrested and the ghost who was assisting him is laid to rest. Sort of a hybrid Asian ghost story with a little extra gore thrown in. Better than most; the photography is decent, it is not overly hokey and actually gets a little scary at times. Directed by YOO san-gon  Korean w/subtitles 2004 unrated

Who's Got The Tape? Dong moo runs off with  a couple of video tapes during a fight at his neighborhood video store. The problem was one of them was an evidence tape stolen by the mob, which leads to a rather predictable series of chases and some unpredictable comedy. The guys who are chasing him are some fairly lame thugs and they all end up as buddies and teach the kid a few things about being a criminal and a man.  For a Korean film it is surprisingly lighthearted and not overly brutal. Korean w/English subtitles including lots and lots of foul language. 2003 Directed by Cho Jin-gyu

The Man Without a Past This is an unforgettable amnesia movie by the acclaimed Finnish director Aki Kaurismaki. His sparse but funny dialogue is accentuated by grim scenery and grimmer characters that remind you of a Jim Jarmusch movie made in an indiscernible language. The main character is a nameless man Markku Peltola) who is beaten senseless as he exits the Helsinki train station. With assistance from other downtrodden Helsinkians, he takes up residence in a sea container and tries to build a present without his past. A similarly lost Irma who works for the Salvation Army takes pity on him and an awkward romance ensues. This is quickly squelched when the police discover his past and his wife. Irma ( Kati Outinen) won best actress for her part at the 2002 Cannes Festival where Kaurismaki was given the Grand Prix. We highly recommend his classic "The Leningrad Cowboys Go America" if you've never seen it. 97 minute Finish w/subtitles 2002 Rated PG13

Acacia Korean director Park kyi-hung steers this unsettled tale of a middle aged couple who adopt a young boy Jin-sung  who has a strong affinity for trees. There is a barren acacia tree in their yard that he speaks with and nurtures back to health all the while carrying a beetle around in his palm. Like many Korean films it starts off slowly but from the beginning there is a subtle trace of dread, that you know will escalate accompanied by eerie music. When he is not talking to the barren tree, the boy plays with Min-jee the hemophiliac little girl next door. Before the tree bears fruit, his adopted mother becomes miraculously pregnant which results in Jin-sung acting up. The birth of the baby and all the attention lead to some obvious problems with some unforeseen consequences. Korean w/subtitles 113 minutes 2003 Rated age 15+

Naked Weapon A very evil woman Madame M kidnaps forty athletic young girls from all over the world so she can train them to become assassins at her private island compound. It takes a few years but the striplings soon turn into efficient killing machines. She then turns them on each other to Darwinize her pack down to three remaining candidates. Two of the girls, Charlene (Maggie Q) and Katt (Anya) have been close friends since their arrival on the island and they make a particularly efficient hit squad. Meanwhile, FBI Agent Jack (Daniel Wu) has been working this case for a number of years and finally apprehends Charlene who is one of the infamous China Doll assassins. She escapes, but not before stealing his heart. Blah, blah. blah  Some very pretty people, some over-computerized Kung Fu and a lame tale that is a decent diversion for a rainy afternoon. A HongKong film  Directed by Tony Ching Siu Tung and it is in English. 2002

All Things Fair Stig is an attractive young man in high school in Sweden during the war. He catches the eye of all the girls who are no competition for his flirtatious teacher. She keeps him after class and his teenage infatuation increases with her attentions. It's apparent their attraction is eventually going to get them in trouble, so if that interests you, be sure and find a copy. Most men fantasize an adolescence like this one. Directed by Johan Widerberg. Rated R

Hero From the director of Flying Daggers, Zhang Yimou , this is a fantastic visual feast masquerading as a story of betrayal and imperial intrigue. Three sword fighting conspirators attempt to revenge the Qin invasion of Zhao.Their complex plan for regicide becomes their undoing as the triad loses its unanimity. Gorgeous, interesting and memorable. Rated IIb

Koma There's a scalpel wielding kidney thief preying on women in Shanghai. Ching accidentally stumbles across on of the unfortunate victims while attending a friends wedding. She incorrectly identifies a woman Suen Ling as the possible organ collector. Actually, Suen was at the hotel stalking Ching's boyfriend. Now, Ching is being stalked by the scalpel wielding ex girlfriend of her fiancé. Yet when Ching is drugged in a bar and kidnapped by a band of freelance organ thieves Suen comes to her rescue, perhaps so she an carve her up at a later date. The two women share more than a boyfriend  and after the rescue these two become friends, with some strange results. As it turns out, Ching is actually in need of a transplant, herself, and it looks likely that her boyfriend, the surgeon, may be behind the renal larceny. Huh? Nicely filmed but the poor subtitles only added to the confusion. 90 minutes Cantonese Rated IIb 2004

What Alice Found Alice sets out from New Hampshire on a drive to Miami. Her car breaks down and she has her cash stolen before she gets out of New Jersey. Fortunately and older couple, Bill and Sandra come along in their RV to rescue her. They offer her a ride to Miami and she learns a few things about the couple along the way. Ivey teaches her a few things about men, and Ivey knows cause she is hooking as they drive south. Meanwhile, Alice sheds some of her New Hampshire ways and Ivey, who is a retired go-go dancer, spiffs up Alice's appearance and her sensibilities. When Alice finally tried to do a little half price hooking of her own at a truck stop, Bill comes to her rescue. She decides to let him pimp for her. It all seems so easy and her first trick is a well mannered farm boy and it is more like a high school date. She is blown away by her first paycheck. They screw their way south and Alice reflects on her white trash life. A little slow at times, but it's an interesting subject and an unusual coming of age story. Emily Grace does a nice job  as Alice and Judith Ivey plays an excellent hard boiled southern mama as Sandra in this well written and somewhat unpredictable tale.  Written and directed by A Dean Bell 2003 Rated R 93 minutes English

Ju-On: The Grudge Japanese director Takashi Shimizu (who gave us Ringu) has perfected the haunting movie where an appearance of normalcy lures you in and deceives you into thinking there's nothing seriously wrong. But. there is an undefined weirdness that takes over so slowly that you can deny it's existence until you are starting to vibrate with fear. This subtle form of horror has been emulated but never equaled in American remakes and copies like The Ring or The Sixth Sense. Anyway, this film begins with a social worker visiting the home of a badly abused little boy. In the next scene new tenant have moved into the same house and they have a few minor technical glitches and some odd noises, but no Chucky dolls, just some eerie music and a black cat oh , and that thing in the attic. The third scene has a high school girl finding a cell phone when she sees a little kid run past the phone rings  and there is a cat on the other end. The little boy reappears and in the next scene she's stumbling up to her bedroom in the same house with only half a face. Obviously. the house is cursed but why are cats harbingers of horror? There are lengthy silent scenes punctuated by resonant string music and seemingly meaningless acts but it is all mounting in a steady and stealthy fear. Basically this film and a few like it will scare you senseless and you'd be hard pressed to explain why. Flashbacks to the social worker's visit slowly fill in the origin of the boy's vengeful ghost. This Japanese horror film makes you realize just how deep and scary this genre can get. Watch this film and you'll perhaps appreciate the possibilities of an adult horror film. Inexplicably good. The US remake is called the The Grudge. 2003  120 minutes Rated R

Le Battement D'ailes Du Pappilon Happenstance (The beating of the butterfly's wings) A film about coincidence and how a small action can ripple through many peoples lives. The whole thing is explained in detail by an old man in the park but basically Irene (Audrey Tautou of Amelie fame) learns of her horoscope while riding the Metro to work. She is a poor appliance salesperson whose life brushes an Algerian restaurant owner, a philandering husband, two long lost lovers, a pickpocket, a homeless man and a pathological liar. Written and direct by Laurent Firode it is amusing if not comic and has that smirking charm that Tautou brought to Amelie. 97 minutes French 2000 Rated R

Samaritan If you missed this years Pusan film festival you have probably not encountered the director Kim Ki-duk. who made this unusual film about two young high school girls who pick up middle aged men in chat rooms and charge them for sex. They are saving for a trip to Europe. Jue Young sets up the liaisons and collects the cash while Jue Woo actually sleeps with their johns. She kind of feels sorry for them and takes notes on their professions and idiosyncrasies. Unfortunately, the police catch up with them and Jue Woo leaps out a motel window and dies. Her distraught friend decides to revisit all their tricks and refund their cash since she no longer needs it for their trip. She also sleeps with them just to relive her friends experiences. Her policeman father catches wind of her hobby and starts to tail her male escorts. At first he just harasses them, then he drives one to suicide and the next one he beats to death. So this is just as brutal as many Korean films but it is more challenging and as cerebral as it is visceral. Also look for Kim Ki-duk's recent film "3 Iron"  95 minutes Korean w/subtitles 2004

Silver City John Sayles pulls in all his friends in an attempt to expose the Bush dynasty. Essentially, Chris Cooper plays a George W. look and sound-alike gubnatorial candidate of a state similar to Texas. He is a moron who cannot string two sentences together but he is supported by a wealthy behind the scenes industrialist and political dad. The hero of the story is a reporter/investigator who discovers the media is beholding to big money and no one will listen to his tale of gross environmental misconduct. Lots of stars with excellent acting but it's a politically toothless story from such a diehard lefty like Sayles. Really disappointing. 2004

I ♥ (Love) Hukabees  Jason Schwartzman plays a young activist who runs a save-the-open-spaces organization. When his group is co opted by a department store publicist played by Jude Law he is lost.  His lack of focus leads him to an existential detective agency run by Lili Tomlin and Dustin Hoffman. They track their client everywhere and pair him up with another client, Mark Wahlberg. Wahlberg introduces him to Chloe Sevigny who is a competing detective that espouses an oppositional philosophy. A confusing and humorous debate ensues. Naomi Watts is very funny as  Jude's girlfriend. Recommended to all "Rushmore" fans. David O. Russel directed this 106 minute film. Great stuff. 

Uno Aksel Hennie is the writer, director, producer and star of this sorta depressing Norwegian tale of a lost soul who works in an Oslo gym. The owner's son is dealing steroids and when he gets popped, they expect the whole staff to keep quiet and share the blame. The problem for David is his dad is dying and his mom is home alone with her other son who has Downs syndrome. David decides to tell the cops who really owns the drugs and get out of jail to be with his family. That's fine but now he's a rat and is ostracized by his employer and friends. Very brutal and sometimes tender it is well acted and Hennie is to be congratulated for managing it all so well. David on the other hand has little control of his fate and ends up physically and mentally beaten to a pulp. So why is he smirking? 103 minutes Norwegian w/subtitles

Ferpect Crime The director of this Spanish comedy Alex de la Iglesia agrees that this is a stupid title for his rather silly film about a foppish department store salesman who unwittingly murders his boss. Rafael had it all, a stable of beatiful mistresses, good looks, stylish clothes and a shot at his dream job. Unfortunately it all goes awry when a rather awkward salesclerk helps him cover up his crime. She proceeds to black mail him into an awkward sexual liaison and then an unwanted marriage. His dream life becomes hell on earth. Well timed jokes and funny camera work make this farcical tale into a great laugh. Iglesia is able to project his wonderful Spanish sense of humor into his film with style and grace. Look for it. 105 minutes Spanish w/subtitles.

Creep This is a first film by the young and enthusiastic British director Christopher Smith. It is your basic horror film with a tall blond woman looking over her shoulder as she runs away from a homicidal freak. The setting is the London Underground, the running starlet is Franka Potente (Yeah from Osbourne Conspiracy) and the mutant is a leftover science experiment from some subterranean medical lab. Good location shots and lots of jump out of your seat moments. Save it for when you are in the mood for a good drive-in movie. 2004 English 85 minutes

Tropical Malady There's supposed to be some controversy surrounding this film, or more accurately this film and a half. The opening film is a love story set in rural Thailand about a forest ranger and his new boyfriend. This story peters out and a new film begins, complete with credits, about an army ranger hunting for a tiger that has been terrorizing villagers and eating livestock. The tiger however is also a shaman whom the soldier encounters cavorting naked in the jungle. The two have a grand old time stalking each other and it ends in some mystical mumbo jumbo. The photography, however, is beautiful and helps pass the time. I suspect the first piece was glued onto this film so the director could salvage a prior project that hit a dead end. Nice trick, but not worth your time. 2004 directed by Apichatpong Weerasethakul  2 hours. Thai w/subtitles

Crash Not to be confused with the Cronenburg film, this is a contemporary story of life in LA. It is a series of interwoven tales that portray the good, bad and indifferent aspects of American life. Loaded with stars, this is not typical Hollywood fare and it left me feeling a trifle depressed by the time the credits rolled. Look for Sandra Bullock, Don Cheadle, Matt Dillon, Jennifer Esposito, Brendan Fraser, Ludascris, Thandie Newton, Ryan Phillippe and Larenz Tate. Directed by Paul Haggis who does a good job of handling all this talent and keeping the story moving. Lots of surprises. 2004  100 minutes

House of Flying Daggers Director Zhang Yimou has created another beautifully filmed martial arts love story that takes place in the 8th century in China. The Flying Daggers are a radical group of martial arts experts that specialize in throwing knives and overthrowing the corrupt regime. They run a well organized guerilla campaign that seems destined to succeed. A police detective infiltrates the group through a blind dancer only to find himself in love with his quarry. The resulting love triangle ends in a fantastic battle between her two lovers with awesome cinematography and amazing graceful fight scenes. Cantonese w/subtitles 2003 129 minutes Unrated

Infernal Affairs A Hong Kong Cop movie about a young detective who has been undercover since his first day on the force. Implanted in a Triad gang his is well trusted by his boss Sam and his identity is know to only 1 person on the force. Meanwhile the police force also has a mole that reports to Sam in an equally timely fashion. Both moles are asked to discover their alternate selves and a great cat and mouse film ensues. You know somebody is gonna die, but which one? The DVD has alternate ending, but this may turn up in theaters before the DVD is released in North America. There are a few sequels right behind it. 97 minutes 2003 Cantonese w/subtitles

Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle This is the exception for your standard New Jersey drugged out idiotic road film. Sure, it is all those things but this movie is also a none too subtle parody of the whole genre. The two heroes are a Chinese (Harold) and an Indian (Kumar) who have a healthy take on their immigrant status. They are still official garden state stoners and most of the film centers around getting high and having the munchies. In this case they are on a quest for a few dozen White Castle grease burgers to assuage their hunger. They get lost along the way and the film follows them through a series of misadventures. Better than most and filled with lots of inside jersey jokes. From the team who gave us "Dude, who stole my car" 2004 90 minutes Rated PG13

Breaking News A rather cynical look at how the media has perverted police work. A group of detectives are filmed in a gun battle with some tough triad members. They get the short end of the stick and look bad on that nights news. To regain public trust, Inspector Rebecca orchestrates a media circus around the capture of the gang. The criminals are a wee bit smarter than their captors and although good triumphs over evil in the end it was a close race. Cantonese w/subtitles rated IIb 2004

Cross Fire Junko Aoiki has pyrokinetic powers. When her friend’s sister is killed by a bunch of rich punks, she decides to immolate them, single-handedly. This Japanese teen horror has so much moral baggage you’ll think you’re watching an American 50’s horror film. It’s refreshing to see a powerful, assertive female character in a Japanese production even if she is a homicidal bitch with flame throwing powers. The police are hot on her trail and you know she has to die but it’s done with aplomb. Japanese w/subtitles  116 min 2000 rated IIB 

Neo-Con The Age of Treason A noble attempt to poke fun at the hard right, this is a horror/spoof about a right wing talk show host and a bizarre conspiracy. The DVD also contains a funny short about a rather obscene mime. From Zone 5 pictures you can get a copy from www.zone5pictures.com 

Cellophane Marianne is asked to destroy some letters, but she is too much of a journalist to do it without reading them. Her curiosity reopens a 25 year old murder case in which her father was implicated. She returns to her small Swedish town of Skokland in an attempt to clear her dying father and perhaps solve the case.  Swedish w/subtitles 1997 OAT1 

Apocalypse Now Redux If you were impressed by the original release of this classic, set a few hours aside and rewatch it, intact. Awesome. 

Shiver A Taiwanese supernatural thriller about a policeman’s wife who has some odd side affects from a bullet in her brain, as her husband investigates a series of brutal killings, they realize his wife has precognition of the crimes. Just so-so. Mandarin w/subtitles 88 minute 2003  Rated IIb

The Ring   An American version of the of the oh so scary Japanese film Ringu. An odd video tape kills people seven days after they view it. If you can handle the cross cultural interpretation, go for the original or the Korean remake, otherwise this version is not bad either. Nicely set in the Pacific Northwest it stars Naomi Watts .

Far From Home Sang Woo is a spoiled little city kid who is unimpressed with his mute grandmother and her rustic ways. His mother has left him with grandma for the summer and he has a lot of adjusting to do before he sees the values in country living. He is shocked that you can’t get batteries for your gameboy out there and it is intriguing to see how this odd couple adapts. It is a really well made story about understanding between generations that, truly needs no sub-titles. Chinese 2000 90 min Rated I

Nobody Three young ad execs are enjoying a night out at a tokyo bar when they have an altercation with some guys at an adjacent table. A fight is narrowly avoided and the three friend decide to go elsewhere. When Konishi goes back to the bar for his umbrella he crosses paths with the other group and they drub him soundly. Vowing revengr the other two Taki and Nambi go looking for their adversaries, but fail to find them. realizing revenge is childish, the three friends decide to let it go. That is, until they bump into one nambis attackers in a subway. The pound him and leave him near dead. This starts a chain of events and counter attacks that spiral out of control. Lots of otherwise stalwart Tokyo citizens end up badly damaged. Violent by japanese standards, but a 12 year old American might find the whole thing a bit silly. Filmed in the dark and written and directed by Shundo Okawa in 1999 100 minutes unrated

Moho Han This one is a Japanese serial murder mystery with a New Age twist. Amikawa is a handsome TV personality that uses his charm to lure homicide assistants and victims. Mariko falls victim and her grandfather relentlessly dogs the killers. His love of his granddaughter overpowers their high tech digital approach to murder. Very stylish and a technically exciting film that falls back on the Japanese theme of family values conquer all.

Igby Goes Down   Kieraan Caulkin plays the slightly perverse teenager Igby Slocumb, who has decided to get out while he can, from his never been functional family. Dad, Bill Pullman, was never right and has been institutionalized for quite some time. He has been displaced by DH (Jeff Goldblum) as his mom’s (Susan Sarandon) paramour. Mom is dieing of cancer and with the aid of his brother Oliver, they keep trying Kevorkian inspired suicides. So you can see why Igby wants out. In the interim he does some very un-Holden Caufield things with Suki (Claire Danes) and Amanda Peet. You find yourself rooting for the little tyke and when you see what he’s running from you’ll want to give him a boost over the wall. 90 min Written & Directed by Burr Stees 2002  about 90 min Rated R

Dark Water Unbeknownst to most of us, there is a well developed school of Asian horror films that rival or surpass Hollywood's recent crop of psycho thrillers. Dark Water is just one example. These modern day ghost stories are scary as hell, and they do it without assistance from Stephen King. This Japanese offering, directed by Nakata Hideo, has a tense style and close photography that bears little resemblance to it's American counterparts. Yoshimi, a recently divorced mother, is struggling to keep her daughter and herself on track. That rent a rundown apartment is a poorly maintained apartment building, where they try to set up house. A worrisome water stain on the bedroom ceiling is our first indication that this place was a poor choice. Your first reaction might be to attribute the heightening weirdness to Yoshimis' stress and active imagination. Before long, however, her adorable 5 year old daughter  begins having visions and is sent home from school when she passes out. The stain begins to grow and the fact that another little girl has gone missing from Ikiko's kindergarten only makes things worse. The foreboding never lets up, but it accelerates so slowly you can hardly perceive the change. It's not long before the dripping ceiling has you worried too and you're giving Ikuko advice about staying away from the tub. Ringu is perhaps the only film that has crossed over into American cinema (as The Ring) from this wealth of spooky Asian ghost stories, but it is just one of many excellent titles that are worth ferreting out. We'll keep listing them as we find copies. Japanese w/subtitles 102 minutes Rated IIb 

Kairo (Circuit) Even with the diversion of sub titles, this film is so visually disturbing, that it will undoubtedly screw itself into your dreams. The story begins as if this were a movie about nothing in particular, just a bunch of people who work together in a contemporary Japanese setting. One guy fails to show up for a few days, so a co-worker Michi, stops by to see how he's doing. Well, he's acting kind of odd, but he works with computers all day so that's excusable. He does however, hang himself, while she waiting in the next room. She carries off a disk from his house, and the next person to see the file also starts losing it. Kind of like the video tape thing in Ring 2, but not quite. Somehow, the spirit world is spilling into the real world via 56k baud modems. Spirits begin appearing on websites and out of the corner of everyone's vision. The result is severe loneliness and depression among those who come in contact with these shadowy spirits. Those who are susceptible, become entranced and eventually commit suicide or just disappear. The director, Kiyoshi Kurasawa, achieves a slow corrosive sort of horror, that left me as captivated by the film as the viewers were by the ghostly websites. Perhaps it's not for everyone, but this will give you a really thorough fright without resorting to blood, guts and shock to pull off the effect. Japanese w/subtitles 2000 90 minutes Rated IIb

Elling This excellent film was suggested by John Wells, who wrote the following:  Its a Norwegian film by Peter Naess. Starring Per Christian Ellefsen and Sven Nordin as Elling and Kjell Bjarne, the primary characters in the best selling novel by Ingvar Ambjornsen. Elling is a 40ish man who along with Kjell Bjarne lives in a mental institution. The police take Elling from his home after his mother dies, appears Elling lives quite a sheltered life. He tells tales of sexual escapades to the oafish Kjell Bjarne, who has never been with a woman and is obsessed with sex. After 2 years in the institution, the two have developed a friendship and the state decides they are ready to live on there own in an apartment. they are shipped out to the city where they are met by their case worker Frank. Elling would just as soon never leave the house but Frank insists they develop a normal life. Anyway, a good film indeed, attested by the fact that I sat through the whole film in Norwegian (with English subtitles, I'm not a masochist) and was compelled and entertained from start to finish. Thanks John. 89 minutes Rated R 2001
Uzumaki (Swirl) Another Japanese horror offering that sucks you into a whirlpool of fear and misunderstanding. There are tornadoes, swirling eyeballs, snail shells, helical pottery and a recurring inexplicable fear of things cyclic. The main characters friend has a father who goes around videotaping right handed whorls to the point of obsession. He eventually loses his grip and gets sucked up by a tornado. This drives his wife over the edge and she cuts off her fingertips with scissors so she can escape the spirals in her fingerprints. There are hundreds of examples throughout this film, and like other films of this type, the fear is hard to define, but it accumulates as the images compound. You are forewarned that if you start watching these films, they are addictive. Rated IIB 90 minutes Japanese w/subtitles

To Be Number One Ho (Ray Lui) and his buddies are a couple of tough Chinese peasants that sneak into Hong Kong looking for work. Starting as kitchen help they rapidly switch to burglary and heroin retailing. They link up with Master Kwan who is a drug lord that answers to Inspector Liu of the Hong Kong PD. These boys are ruthless and they rapidly move up the criminal ladder into the #2 spot just below Kwan. Ho sets him up for a drug bust so he can be top dog, but such hubris is always the hero's downfall. Directed by Poon Man Kit  Hong Kong 1993 140 minutes Rated II 

Face Ray (Robert Carlyle) is a 'Face" or an honourable man in British criminal parlance. He and his mates rob things, like an armored car service, to have a little spending money. Like all entertaining crime stories, something goes wrong. First the screw up the heist by taking all the small bills and leaving millions behind. With only 60,000 pounds each, there five member gang starts to turn on themselves. By morning, only 4 left and all 5 bags of money are missing. The money's gone somewhere and three more people turn up dead, so who's ripped them off. They band together and scour the city in search of clues and their cash, but it's far from simple. Much grittier than a Guy Ritchie film and rest assured there are no pretty boys in this cast. Better than most and directed by Antonia Bird who also gave us Ravenous. 107 minutes Rates R British w/o subtitles.

Going To School With My Father On My Back If you think the title is long, wait till you see the film. This is the tale of a precocious village boy, Shiwa, whose brains and good luck afford him a decent education. He excels in chemistry at the local High School and wins a regional prize to the delight of his father and members of their village. The father, a widower, has a stroke and requires constant attention. Since his daughter has recently married, the fathers care falls on Shiwa. He tries to balance his familial duties with his desire to go to college, but it all seems hopeless. It is a touching story hat gives some insight into the strength of familial obligation that still exists within rural Chinese culture. This film manages to convey a strong emotional story without resorting to saccharine and swelling music. Chinese w/subtitles 90 long minutes Unrated 

Interview This Korean Dogma 7 film is a cleverly woven story wrapped around the making of a documentary. The documentary's director, Eun Ha and his staff, wander around Seoul asking people to tell them their love stories. While interviewing a young hairdresser, Younghee, he is smitten by her and her simple tale. In fact, her real story is far more complex than the false story she has related for the camera. As the director tries to get closer to her, she artfully discourages him in an attempt to protect her lies. It all unwinds in an unlikely fashion, but it is the sequencing of the scenes and your changing perspective when some scenes are replayed that will hold your interest. It is really the editing and not the story or action that make this film so entertaining. Directed by Eun-Sok who plays himself in the film. Korean w/subtitles Rated IIA VCD*

The Village of Widows In a small fishing village off the coast of China, 3 sisters are entrapped by the bizarre marital practices of the town. Wives and husbands must remain celibate for their first three years of marriage, then they can sleep together on national holidays. They cannot live together, however, until a son has been born. If a woman breaks these vows and loses face, she voluntarily walks into the ocean and drowns. It.s hard to decipher, but the film supposedly takes place in 1949. It is a long dark, droll film that may of interest if you're an anthropologist. Cantonese w/subtitles Rated II VCD*

The Killer Jeff (Chow Yun Fat) is a hit man, and he's very accomplished even if he is an old softy. During a shooting spree he sets his gun off too close to a hostages face and burns her eyes. He tracks her down a few months later determined to help her. They fall in love, and because Jennie (Sally Yeh) is now blind, she doesn't realize he was her assailant. To raise money for her cornea transplant, he takes a high risk political assassination, where he is spotted by the police. They trace him to his girlfriend and use her as bait, but the two lovers escape and hide out at a fellow hit man's hideaway. The determined Inspector Li (Danny Lee) pursues him as well as a gang of thugs who want him silenced. When the thugs arrive Li and Jeff stand shoulder to shoulder, to fight them off. Against impossible odds, Jeff finally takes a bullet to save Jenie. As a final act of chivalry, Jeff he wills his corneas to Jennie. Nice touch.  It's about, love friendship, honor and guns, yeah mostly it's about guns. The final 15 minute gunfight is like the OK Corral with Uzis. It might not be to your taste, but it is over the top and a must for CYF fans. Cantonese w/subtitles 128 minutes Rated II 2000 VCD*

Brother  The Yakuza follow a Japanese hybrid of Mafiosi and Samurai traditions and have spawned their own sub-class of Japanese gangster cinema. Director Takeshi Kitano, breaks out of the yakuza film stereotype in this tale of a Tokyo mobster who is forced to flee to Los Angeles. After a few days in a seedy hotel, Yamamoto makes contact with his low rent brother and by the end of the week, they have wrestled control the local drug distribution from some bad boy Mexicans. By the end of the next week, they have eradicated the competition and control a chunk of the city. This boy is ruthless, even by American thug standards. With a little difficulty, they merge with the reigning Japan town crime lord to become a force to reckon with. Drawing attention from the Italians, they are asked for a 50% kick back to The Mob. That's a bit too much for Yamamoto and before long they "go to the mattresses" in an all out war. It is both a brutal and and stylish confrontation, but you sense that for Yamamoto, it is a form of ritual suicide. This is a very good film and recommended, especially if  you like gangster stuff. Japanese & English w/subtitles Rated III 90 min VCD*

Requiem For A Dream  After a hundred emails, we finally got off our asses and found a copy of this soon to be classic drug film. It seems Mrs. Goldfarb's boy, shoots a little heroin. Sometimes he sells his mom's TV to pay for his hobby. To raise a little cash, Harry and his friend Ti get into the retail drug business. They are very disciplined junkies and do not use a 100% of their own product, and soon they've got a nice trade going. Unfortunately, Harry's girlfriend becomes a good customer, which creates a few problems when the supply dries up. Meanwhile, Mrs. G (played incomparably by Ellen Burstyn) decides to lose a few pounds and she gets a roaring amphetamine habit going. Things start to slide and no one has anything to grip. You get to follow them down accompanied by an interlace of huckster evangelical TV vignettes and marvelous music. Set in my favorite part of Brooklyn, Coney Island. As always, find the unrated directors cut on DVD.

Battle Royale Think Japanese "Lord of The Flies" with lethal weapons. This is the final film of recently departed director Kinju Fukasaku. It met with a frosty reception in Japan where it was deemed too critical of the current political/social situation in the country. Perhaps it's also a bit too violent as it garnered a III rating (18 and over) which is usually reserved for porn films. Anyway, compulsory education is eradicated in Japan and a few adults feel the kids are out of control. As part of a social experiment, a whole high school class is flown to a deserted island and given three days to kill one another. There can only be one survivor or everyone dies. Get it, kind of a deadly reality show. The kids soon turn feral and after day one the 42 students are whittled down to 30. Each kid has a different weapon, from a pot lid to an M16 and you get to accrue weapons as you murder your classmates. Sound like fun, maybe Fox will pick up the rights for next season. Rated III, Japanese w/subtitles, 2001 90 min approx. VCD*

Me,You,Them - Eu,Tu,El Darlene (Regina Case) is pregnant and she leaves her small Brazilian town to have her child elsewhere. She returns 3 years later with her toddler to find her mother has just died. With limited resources, Darlene arranges a marriage with a local man, Osias, 20 years her senior in exchange for a house. They have a son, but Osias is a lazy bum  and when his cousin Zezinho, comes to stay, Darlene has another son with him. Next Ciro comes along, a homeless handsome drifter and Darlene adds a fourth son to her brood with his assistance. All three men love her and they decide to share her affections rather than risk losing her. Osias adopts all the boys so they are legitimate and they live happily ever after. The scenery is bleak, life is poor but it is an incredible and unorthodox love story. PG13 107 minutes 2000 Brazilian Portugese w/English Subtitles VHS*

Sick You know it's a bad sign when you find three copies of the same obscure video in the used DVD rack. This is a documentary about Super-Masochistic-Bob-with-Cystic- Fibrosis. It won a lot of awards and we'd like to nominate it for the 2003 NOT FOR THE SQUEAMISH AWARD as it is way way too gross for the non S&M viewing public.  A brief synopsis: Bob is dying and he convinced a couple of assholes to follow him around with a camera and film him nailing his penis to a 2 by 4. The End. 1998 Unrated 92 minutes DVD*

My Son The Fanatic Parvez (Om Puri) is Pakistan immigrant who drives a cab in the UK. After 20 years in the country, he's having a little trouble sorting out his allegiances. When he begins a love affair with a local hooker, Madeline (Rachel Griffiths) he really starts to lose his Asian ways, which includes his wife, best friend, coworkers and most of all his son. To makes things worse his son Farid, who is his pride and joy, takes up with a band of Orthodox Muslims and begins to criticize his father's sinful ways. Written by Hanif Kureishi   87 Minutes English 1998 Rated R

Kiss or Kill Nikki (Frances O'Connor) and Al (Matt Day) have this con going where she seduces businessmen, drugs them and then they rob them. It's working pretty well until they one of their victims turns up on the 11 o'clock news, as a corpse. Uh oh. To complicate matters they've stolen a blackmailers video off the guy and are stupid enough to try and cash it in. Now they have the cops and the blackmail victim, Zipper Doyle, on their tails and corpses are piling up in the outback. Australian Written and directed by Bill Bennett Rated R 1997 97 minutes VHS*

Greenfish Mak Dong has just been released from the army and is on his way home, when he helps out a woman on the train. A couple of guys are hassling her, and he steps in  gets his butt kicked and gets booted off the train. She calls him, because she collected his luggage and they agree to meet. It turns out she is a mobster's girlfriend and she gets him a job with the gang. Meanwhile his real family consists of 3 brothers, one is a wife beating detective, the second is severely handicapped and happy while the third sells eggs. He is still getting his ass kicked on a regular basis but the mob boss Bae Tse-Yong, takes him into the family and allows his to call him "Big  Brother". Apparently this is a big thing among Korean mobsters. Now he's got two families and can't seem to handle either of them but one of them is going to be the death of him. Written & directed by Lee Chang-dong 1997 Korean w/subtitles Rated OAT II  VCD*

Circus Leo has lots of problems and he could use some cash to solve them. His bookie (Eddie Izzard) wants to get paid, A killer is stalking his wife, and a hit man finds out Leo killed his girlfriend. Leo is on the run from a variety of British thugs while trying to run the biggest scam of his career. Pretty high paced but not quite a Guy Ritchie film. British 2000 Rated R 95 minutes VHS*

The Quiet Family Dad loses his job in the city so he buys an out of the way inn and employs his wife and kids as his staff. Their first customer commits suicide which is not a good omen. Rather than spoil their reputation, they clean up, bury him out back and go on about their business. Their next guests, a pair of young lovers, overdose, so they also get relegated to a spot in the garden. As you may have guessed, they get few repeat customers. Kind of a malevolent Korean version of Fawlty Towers, it is equally as funny. Excellent soundtrack. Written & directed by Kim Ji-Woon. 1996 93 minutes Rated IIb Korean w/subtitles.

Metroland Marion and Chris have been married for a few years, living out in Metroland, a London suburb that was schemed up after the war. They have a kid and a Volvo and are pretty settled in until Chris's old mate Toni turns up. Chris starts partying and he has some serious doubts about his bourgeois life. Toni eggs him on and it ends up in a serious row with Marion (Emily Watson) proving to be the toughest of the three. Directed by Philip Seville and taken from the novel by Julian Barnes.102 minutes, British 1999  Rated R VHS*

St. John's Wort A Japanese haunted house tale that is a technically updated version of the traditional High School thriller. Naomi inherits a house and she goes to visit it with her ex boyfriend, only to find out her real father was a famous painter. They get trapped in the house during a storm which blocks the road. Sound familiar? They discover his hidden secret, that he kidnapped and painted children and their mummified corpses fill the basement. Rated OAT II Japanese w/subtitles 2001 VCD*

Days of Being Wild This stylish Hong Kong Film is about a rather smooth young man who lives with his wealthy aunt. He delicately balances two distinctively different girlfriends and his aunt as he pisses his life away. Eventually, his legs get kicked out from under him.  Directed by Wong Kar Wei, this won the Hong Kong Best Directors award . The translation is a little rough at times but the tale is sound, torrid and very slickly done. Cantonese w/subtitles Rated II 94 minutes

Awara Paagal Deewana Loosely translated as "Honey Crazy Love" this is a rather non traditional Masala film with a Kung Fu plot, complete with monster trucks, flamenco dancers, murder, subterfuge, diamonds, wife swapping, blonde belly dancers and lots of gunfire. When Babu, the criminal underworld boss dies he leaves 10 billion rupees worth of diamonds to split between his son, daughter and her husband. Whoever gets to New York, alive can claim title to them. Vikrant is the evil son who plots to kill his brother-in-law Guru Gulab Khatri. They fight on both sides of the Atlantic and comic relief is provided by two hen-pecked dentists from New Jersey. Hindi w/subtitles 150 minutes+ unrated

Barking Dogs Never Bite Yoon Ju hates dogs, or at least he hates barking dogs. To help preserve his calm, he kidnaps dogs in his building and dispatches them in various ways. A cute little chow eaten by the superintendent while another he flings off the roof. A woman in the management office, is wise to him and sets out to thwart his dognapping. There is a disclaimer at the end which says "No puppies were hurt in making this film" but you may question that statement after you've seen this film. Oh, yeah, it's a comedy. This was a runaway hit in Korea, honest. Directed by Bong Joon-Ho. Korean w/subtitles 2002 rated IIA 110 minutes

The Luzhin Defense Based on a Vladamir Nabakov novel, this is the tale of a child chess prodigy who is lost. John Turturro is the hapless Alexander Luzhin and Emily Watson is the young socialite who tries to coax him into the real world. Set between the wars in an elegant European spa, director Marleen Gorris does a great job at pointing Turturro in the right direction. Torn between his old chess mentor and his new found love, Luzin is further stressed by the championship he must play for the world title. The book translates well and the acting is sublime, so watch it, to see how it ends. 2000 PG13 106 minutes

Spider Baby This black and white film is a campy 1960's drive in horror story directed by Jack Hill and starring Lon Chaney, Jr. The reclusive Merry family suffers from a genetic defect that causes some family members to regress to infancy as they grow older. Lon plays Bruno, the faithful family retainer who watches over this strange brood in the proverbial mansion on the hill. As the Merrys get older, he keeps them in a pit in the basement and feeds them raw meat as a sop to their cannibalistic cravings. Well , poor Mantan Moreland has to deliver a package to the family, and , guess what, he's never seen again. This begins a chain of circumstances that degrades into a murderous cannibal frenzy as the teddy clad Merry sisters (Carol Ohmart and Beverly Washburn)  dispatch their visitors. So if you are fond of homicidal teenage girls in night gowns, this may be your cup of tea. Brother Ralph  (Sid Haig) is cool. Almost a cult classic, but not quite.   100 min, B&W 1964 unrated

Midnight Fly Michele embarks on a trip through France only to find her husband will not be accompanying her. A fellow tour member, a young Japanese woman, Miki, endears herself to Michele by vomiting in her lap at the start of the journey. They eventually become fast friends and continue on to Morocco, when the tour has concluded. They spend a lot of time discussing their relationships; Michele's eroding marriage and Miki's married boyfriend. After some time they both realize, independently, that they're in love with the same man back in Hong Kong.  Meanwhile, Miki, gets kidnapped and sold into prostitution, which almost seems plausible, if it were not such a Kasbah cliché. Michele stops her life to look for her new friend, and eventually her husband arrives to take her home. She sends him packing and continues to search relentlessly for her husbands mistress. A sad but touching story with excellent performances by Junna Risa as Miki and Anita Mui as Michele.  Cantonese & English w/subtitles Rated IIA  2 hours

101 Reykjavik Undoubtedly the best Icelandic film of the year, this is the tale of Hylrun and his rudderless life. Thirty something Hylnur (Hilmir Snaer Gudnason) is unemployed, lives at his mom's house and spends his time wisely, watching porn films and drinking beer. He has a semi- girlfriend, Hofy, played by Thrudur Vilhjalmsdottir, who eventually just gives up on him. Things start to get interesting when his mom brings home a girlfriend, Lola, a hot Flamenco dance instructor. Well, on New Years eve, mom is away and things tend to get a little rowdy in Reykjavik, and the drunken Lola (Victoria Abril) and Hylnur connect. A child ensues, and his mom and Lola decide to raise the kid as their son. That makes Hylnur the father of his brother or some such thing and he short circuits and actually moves out. This is the directorial debut of Baltasar Kormakur and tastefully laced throughout by various renditions of the Kinks' song "Lola".  90 minutes, Rated III, in Icelandic and some English w/subtitles

Sonatine This is a Japanese mobster movie of the Yakuza genre directed by Kitano Takeshi. It might be more aptly titled "Yakuza On Holiday" as the story is about a Tokyo posse that go to Okinawa to help out a related clan involved in a gang war. They travel up to Okinawa and decide to hide out at the seashore as their in town hideaway was recently bombed. These hard core gang member frolic in the sand, take showers in the rain, have fireworks fights, play Russian Roulette and just have a grand vacation. Occasionally, they meet up with rival gang members and they face one another and blast away. It's so weird, that nobody runs for cover or ducks behind anything during the gunfights.   Eventually, these skirmishes take their toll and the boss Mr Murakawa has to machine gun the whole other gang to even the score. Then he commits suicide. I can't figure out why, it must be some Samurai warrior thing , not at all like the Sopranos. Rated IIb 94 minutes 1993 Japanese w/subtitles

6ixtynin9  Tom was sitting home, bemoaning her lost job when someone leaves a box of money on her doorstep. A bit of a moral dilemma, but, she decides to keep it. It isn't long before two thugs turn up and ask for it back. Well, somehow they end up dead, and she stuffs them into the closet and goes about her business. Deciding it is in her best interest, Tom methodically arranges to get out of town, buying a black market passport to speed her departure. Thing do not go smoothly or , hell, why would you watch it to the end. It smacks a little of a Thai version of True Romance, but it is quite good. 1999 Rated IIb 90 minutes Thai w/subtitles

The Isle You probably don't get too many Korean films at you local theater, so you'll have to hunt for this one. The story has a lot to do with fishhooks, both figuratively and literally. A nameless mute woman, runs a fishing colony out on a lonely lake. The cabins are small houses on floating docks spread out over the lake. She supplies the mostly male occupants with bait, food and sex as their needs require. She saves the life of a suicidal fisherman who appears to be on the lam. A rather tempestuous affairs erupts between them with some real torrid and unexpected results. Rather gruesome in parts but an excellent film if you have a strong constitution. Written and Directed by Ki-Duk Kim, and starring Jung Shu and Yoo-Seok-Kim. Rated III, 2000,  Korean w/subtitles

Momento Mori  Min Ah finds a diary on her way to the all girls high school she attends. After reading it , she discovers it was written by two of her classmates who are lovers. She watches them clandestinely fascinated by them until one of the pair jumps off the school roof. The dead girl begins to haunt the school until a teacher Mr. Goh, also commits suicide. It's not clear if this is a tragic lesbian love story or a High School horror film, perhaps it's neither. Not nearly as racy as the cover would lead you to believe. Directed by Kim Tae-Yong  Korean w/English subtitles. Rated IIb 90 minutes

The Record Another Korean high school horror story, that begins with a practical joke played on the class dufus. They take him on vacation and stage a fake murder only to discover they've killed him. The kids all swear to secrecy and set his body on fire. It might have worked but he wakes up while he's burning and runs off a cliff. The kids dummy up about their crime but there are psychic dues to pay. Pretty poor. Rated III but we don't know why. Korean w/subtitles 90 min approx  DVD*

Visible Secrets II The unusual thing about Japanese sequels is they bear little or no resemblance to the original. Like Visible Secrets I, this is a ghost story of sorts. Jack and Ching Kwok are newlyweds who stumble upon a suspiciously inexpensive apartment in Hong Kong. The place must be bad luck, because on the first night, Jack gets run over when he goes out to buy condoms. It's nip and tuck and he eventually pulls through but he has to use a crutch for the rest of the film. WHen he gets home, Chris calls on an old girlfriend for advice  with his marriage and Ching's increasing weirdness. It appears that Ching is possessed by a 1920's style spirit and at the same time someone is bugging their apartment. It all breaks down right about here, and the rest of the film is filled with rational explanations for everyone's odd behavior. Perhaps if they threw in a little pointless sex and nudity they could hold you till the end, but I'd say don't bother. 2002 Rated IIb Cantonese w/subtitles 90 minutes *VCD

Pyaasa-Thirst Vijay is an under appreciated poet. Cast out by his family, they sell his poems as scrap paper. The are bought by Gulub, a whore with a heart of gold and she sets his poems to song.  She then finds the author and nurtures him back to health.He's doing prety well till he hears his mother is dead. He starts drinking, has an accident, gets amnesia and is given up for dead. Gulub sees that his poems get published and he is posthumously famous. While languishing in a hospital, he hears one of his poems and regains his memory. There's plenty more, but I'd hate to give it all away. Get the old B&W version of this story with Guru Dutt and Mala Sinha. 2 hours+ Unrated Hindi w/subtitles VHS*

Tetsou: The Iron Man This short freaky Japanese film is a blend of Eraserhead. Le Chien Andalou, and Robot Wars. The hero of this unusual film has a serious metal fetish. He goes to abandoned factories and collects chunks of scrap metal that he surgically inserts into his flesh. This guy makes all you body piercing fans look like wimps.  After getting hit by a car, he mutates and chunks of metal start popping out all over his face. His girlfriend gets into it at first, but it soon proves fatal to her.  This is extremely brutal and quickly degrades into incomprehensible robo-mush, but if you enjoy shocking black and white footage, go for it. You know there may be a small contingent of you body alteration freaks that might actually draw some inspiration from this one. Hey, don't overlook the sequel, Tetsuo II: Body Hammer. 1989 Rated III, 67 Minute,B&W Japanese, with useless English Subtitles. VCD*

Tetsuo II: Body Hammer More of an adaptation than a sequel to The Iron Man, this is far slicker and slightly more comprehensible. If we got it right Tomoo Tanaguchi and his brother were made into robo-human weapons as a kids. They killed their creator/father and grew up weird. When Tomoo gets pissed off, guns sprout from his chest and he  makes the Terminator look tame. This is really too frigging strange for 98% of us, me included. 1992 82 minutes Rated III Japanese w/subtitles VCD*

Mughal_E-Azam (King of the World) This is a Hindi classic love story of a Mughal prince's wish  to marry a beautiful commoner over his father's objections. Prince Salim is so smitten by the consort Anakarlai that his incites a civil war to overcome his father's refusal to permit their marriage . She undergoes prison and repeated death threats, but she will not give up her love . Very long, very romantic and the war scenes are productions worthy of Cecil B. DeMille. The crucial scenes are in an early form of color film in this otherwise B&W extravaganza. VHS*

The Truth About Jane and Sam Sam is a Hong Kong yuppie working on his fledgling journalism career when he spies Jane who's wearing sunglasses in a movie theater. Intrigued, he follows for awhile and catches up with her in a dance club. He works her into his current assignment on disenfranchised youth and pays her to let him trail her for a few days. Shocked by her drug dealing street survivalist life, he tries to add a note of gentility to her roughshod approach to. This film is a bit of a poke in the eye for Hong Kong's bourgeoisie and exposes layers of prejudice you would not have suspected. It's really a 20 something's quirky love story, but if it's raining out, it'll help pass the time. Cantonese w/subtitles 90 minutes Rated IIA

Plastic Utopia Written and directed by David Zellner with help from his brother Nathan, this is a dystrophic vision of suburban Texas living. The two brothers also co-star in this off kilter tale of two roommates who come from opposite social poles.  Frank Feldspar (Nathan Z)  is a red neck Elvis look-alike beat poet who mugs people for his livelihood . The room mate James Mirthstein  (David Z) is a hopeless mime that gives happy speechless mimes a bad name. James supports himself by making seashell handicrafts with his hot glue gun. When James gets called before a mime tribunal for infractions to their code, he decides to emulate Frank, and becomes a full fledged mime delinquent. Sure the joke wears thin, but there is enough originality, talent and stupidity to hold you till the end. There are other great characters like Corduroy Boy, Rancid Ruth and Industrial White Boy, not unlike an early John Waters film. It was okay, really. 90 minutes 1997 color VHS*

The God of Cookery Stephen Chow wrote, directs and stars as the God of Cookery, who may be the meanest food critic of all times. He meets his downfall when he is challenged by an understudy chef and it is apparent he cannot cook. He then loses his 20 restaurants for serving British beef in this Hong Kong gastronomic comedy. He gets picked up from the gutter by Sister Turkey ( Karen Mok) who runs a noodle stand in the Temple Street market and has a crush on him. They invent a dish called" Explosive Pissing Beef Balls" which rockets them to success. In a series of scenes that skewer Kung Fu films Stephen tries to regain his crown in a master cooking contest. It's all very tongue in cheek and quite clever. Cantonese with English subtitles. VCD & DVD

Half Japanese For the first half of this rockumentary , we figured it was a spoof. Especially since they have Penn Gillette vouch for the artistic talents of this garage band entitled Half Japanese. By the second half,  it became apparent that there really is a band called Half Japanese and we just have been out of the loop for the past 15 years. Apparently, Jad Fair and his brother, David, decided they could make music in their bedroom and get themselves heard. The fact that they were incapable of playing musical instruments was no deterrent to these guys and they gathered a sizable cult of fans over the years. Jad has continued the band ( David became an accountant or something) and he even learned to play the guitar after a while.  Lack of financial and popular success have never mattered and tenacity matched with sheer artistry drowned out their lack of musical skills. You can find some of their stuff floating around on MP3 sites and it might be worth your while to check them out. You can skip this movie, however, unless of course you already are a "Half Japanese" fan. 90 min

Hindi Films Page

Visible Secrets We have recently discovered that there's a lot more to Hong Kong films than Jackie Chan and Jet Li . This one is a hip gothic offering that begins with a headless corpse walking around. The man in question was just beheaded when he fell under a trolley. A little girl peeks under the trolley and sees the head staring back at her. In the next scene, this girl, June, has grown into a stunning young woman who haunts the discos.  She selects Peter for the evening and he gets a glimpse at her psychic abilities. June wears an eye patch and a protective amulet to keep her ghosts at bay. They follow her everywhere and frequently possess the folks around her. Poor Peter, he's put off by all her weirdness, but too in love to make a run for it. There is a lame explanation for it all, but watch this for the style and photography and I'll bet you can overlook the weak story.  We found another headless corpse movie entitled "Tomie", in Japanese but it is not as good.  There is a cool website that goes with this www.visiblesecret.com which is in Chinese. There are hundreds of these films available on VCD for just a few dollars each. You can find them in Chinatown in Toronto, Vancouver, New York and possibly San Francisco and of course Hong Kong.  Send us recommendations and we'll make up a page for them. 90 Minutes Cantonese w/subtitles Rated IIb VCD*

Women's Private Parts Writer and director Wong Chun Chun filmed this quirky documentary that is a collection of intimate discussions with women in Hong Kong. She interviews single women, aging female porn stars, gigolos, lesbian couples, divorcees, housewives, teenage girls, prostitutes,  mistresses and the woman who holds the Guiness Book record for the most sex partners in 24 hours (251). She distills hundreds of hours of drunken rambling down into a hundred minutes of surprising, raunchy and witty dialogue. Filmed with an all female cast and staff. . This would make a good 1 hour HBO special. Rated III , 100 min Cantonese with English and Mandarin Subtitles. DVD*

Mullholland Drive Okay, let's have an open forum on just what this film is about. Here is our interpretation: Director David Lynch starts out with a captivating and coherent story of a woman who wanders away from a car wreck . She is disoriented and sneaks into someone's apartment and falls asleep. She is discovered by Betty who just arrived in LA and is house-sitting for her movie star aunt. Betty finds the amnesiac crash victim, Rita, in the shower and instead of chucking her out, Betty decides to help her. They snoop around, discover the rotting corpse of Diane Selwyn and visit an unusual nightclub that Rita recalls from her past. This is where the story loses traction. Rita had a blue key in her purse, and they put it into a mysterious aluminum cube. There is a bit of a Scooby Doo scene and everyone switches characters and histories. The result is a film that is like half "Lost Highway" grafted on to "Blue Velvet ".  Like "Lost Highway", the sex scenes are very erotic, and should be especially appealing to the gay female and straight male viewing public. Remember Ann Miller? Well she is super as Betty's landlady, Coco. Help us out here, send us your thoughts on this one. 2001 Rated R 2 hours 

Disco Dancer We are beholding to Adam Dugas for bringing this gem to our attention.  This must be the Bombay equivalent of Saturday Night Fever complete with disco dance extravaganzas that will make your  head spin and leave you hysterical. Johnny is a natural performer, a musician and a dancer. The reigning disco king of India, Sammy, is a drug addict and his manager ( Om Puri)  decides to replace him with Johnny.  A grudge ensues and Sammy tries to electrocute his rival by running wall current through his electric guitar. Things get nuts and Johnny gets his legs broken by some goons just before the world disco championships. What tension. If your a fan of  Indian odd films, this is your cup of tea. Thanks Adam  2 hours+ 1982 Hindi- it needs no subtitles  

Welcome to Woop Woop Director Stephen Elliot, who made "Priscilla Queen of the Desert" put together an unusual cast for this Outback odd film. Teddy, (Johnathon Scheach) is on the lam after his girlfriend shot two mob enforcers. He goes to Australia, because he likes cockatoos and is soon mixed up with the randy young Angie. They enjoy each other immensely until she pumps him full of Thorazine and marries his drugged shell.  He wakes up in a pig sty and finds he is stuck in a truly unusual outback town. Kind of an Australian hybrid of John Waters and the Twilight Zone. Angie's Father is played by Rod Taylor ( his bio says he was in "The Birds") who seems inordinately interested in his daughters sex life. You may never visit Australia if you believe 10% of what goes on here. Stephen Elliot claims he had a hard time getting funding after this one came out. 1997 Rated R 97 minutes Australian VHS*

The Man Who Wasn't There Billy Bob Thorton stars in this  Coen brothers offering set in the fifties about a simple man whose life makes a left turn  He toils daily in his brother in laws barbershop, but yearns for a little something better. He decides his way out is to go into the dry cleaning business but he is a little short of capital. To raise the cash he blackmails his wife's boss played by James Gandolfini (who's getting lots of work these days). The photography is beyond great. It would make Orsen Welles jealous. The whole thing is a wee bit too long, but otherwise this is a film lover's wet dream. 2001 Rated R  

Love and Death on Long Island An aging widower author (John Hurt) steps into the wrong theatre. Instead of a stuffy art film he is treated to an American T&A college film that stars the voluptuous Ronnie Barstock (Jason Priestly) . Giles De'ath is so smitten by the young actor, that he returns the next day to re-view the film. Before long, he is buying teen fanzines and renting Ronnie's other atrocious movies. This otherwise staid British gentleman, begins adopting Americanisms eating pizza and perplexing his associates. When he can stand it no longer, Giles travels to Long Island to stalk his prey.  He meets with mixed success, but you'll have to watch it to really appreciate the subtle humor that pervades this simple plot. Ronnie's girlfriend, Audrey, as played by Fiona Leowi is every bit as good as Hurt. Rated PG 93 minutes 1996 British  VHS*

Mr. Vincent Perhaps the last of the First Rites series, this is another tale of love and obsession. John Vincent is a poor song writer with a failed marriage. To make things worse, he lives in Yonkers.  John meets up with Lisa, an old high school acquaintance and they begin dating. Both on the rebound, they keep it at arms length for awhile and John seems to be doing okay. Lisa's friends and family, don't take too well to him. When she begins to cool off, he starts loosing traction. Director Robert Celestino does an excellent job of slowly exposing the depth of  John Vincent's  desperation. Before long, he is climbing through her window, reading her mail and listening to her phone messages. It gets worse, much worse and neither of them can stop the train. Frank John Hughes is Mr. Vincent and Lisa Lo Cicero plays the victimized Lisa. This gets a little scary because it's too real for fiction. Very well done. B&W 2000 Unrated 90 minutes VHS*

Julien Donkey-Boy It is readily apparent that Julien ( Ewen Brenent) has a few serious problems, but he may not be the strangest character in his addled family. His dad ( Werner Herzog) drinks cough syrup from a slipper and tries to get his wrestler brother to wear a dress for ten bucks. His sister ( Chloe Sevigny)  is a very pregnant ballerina who spends her time shopping for used baby clothes. Harmony Korine has surpassed his excellent film "Gummo" with this Dogma certified epic. We follow Julien as he mutters on street corners, takes out his false teeth and raps with his handicapped friends. Aside from using Herzog in his cast, Korine has also taken a few directing cues from this master of absurd cinema. We think this one is fucking brilliant, but would not be surprised if you disagree. Korine's real grandmother plays Herzog's mom and if we are not mistaken, this film was shot in Queens, NY.  1999 Rated R 94 minutes

The Royal Tenenbaums If you loved Rushmore and/or Bottle Rocket than you've probably already seen this new offering from Wes Andersen. Gene Hackman is the ne'er do well Royal Tenenbauam who fathered but did not raise three extraordinary children. Mrs. T (Anjelica Houston) kept her growing children in the limelight. They are now successful if slightly neurotic adults. Chas (Ben Stiller)  has become a real estate mogul, Margot is a playwright ( Gwenyth Paltrow) and the third (Luke Wilson) is a tennis pro. His brother, Owen Wilson, who co wrote the script is their childhood friend and is now a pop historian. This terrific cast is rounded out with Bill Murray as Margot's confused husband and Danny Glover as Mrs. Tenenbaum's fiancé. Royal is feeling a bit paternal in his old age and decides that now might be a good time to have the love and affection of his family. This is a trifle inconvenient as they all have careers and Mrs. T is about to get remarried. He decides to fake a fatal illness and manages to gather his nutty clan around his bedside for at least a few brief days. It's a great story and every bit as entertaining as "Rushmore" only with an ensemble cast that Andersen  balances perfectly. Mr. Andersen went from independent director to mainstream director with just three excellent films and it appears he brought his talent with him.   2 hours rated R  

Ghost World If this art film passed your neighborhood by, it is already available at your local warehouse store so go buy it.. Enid (Thora Birch) is a loser who has no big plans after High School. For some summer entertainment, She and her girlfriend Rebecca (Scarlett Johansan) decide to contact someone pathetic from the personal ads. Lo and behold they stumble upon Steve Buscemi, a even bigger loser than either of them . They follow him home and make a hobby of stalking him . Before long Enid takes a liking to him, when she realizes you can actually be an outcast right through middle age. He fills her in on geek success strategies and helps her past the last vestiges of her adolescence. It is directed by Terry Zwigoff, who gave us "Crumb" and in keeping with his cartoon theme this film is based on the Daniel Clowe's comic book with the same title. A lot of you gave this film an "Eh, it was okay" review but we collectively feel it is a brilliant piece of work.  Look for clips and music from the Hindi classic " Gumnaam" in the opening scene. Rated PG 13 90 min 2001

Sexybeast This might have been just another British thug movie but this one has Ben Kingsley playing his most un-Ghandian role to date as a gangster, Don Logan. Don has been sent to Spain to take Gal Dove (Ray Winstone-"Nil By Mouth) out of retirement to do one last job for boss Teddy Bass. Ray and his ex-porn star wife Dirty Dee Dee (Amanda Redman) really enjoy their debauched sun tanned existence an they are remiss to give it up. Don threatens Gal into agreeing but mysteriously disappears enroute back to London. Teddy is not happy but the heist goes off as planned and the end twists in a direction that will suck you in. There is so much palpable tension throughout this film, your jaw may ache by the time the credits roll. Directed by Jonathan Glazer. Rated R94 minutes English and Cockney 2001  

Memento Leonard has lost his short term memory. He compensates with Polaroid photos, lots of notes and tattooing the important stuff on hi chest and limbs. He can remember his wife and he recalls that someone named Sammy Jenks has killed her. By accumulating clues, he hopes to avenge her death. Not any easy task, when the clues dissolve before you can write them down. Natalie is trying to help him, or is she just setting him up to avenge her boyfriend's murder. There's a lot of questions here and a random time frame feeds you the answers in a disorderly sequence. If you pay close attention you may be able to solve Leonard's riddle. Directed by Christopher Nolan  adapted from the book "Memento Mori" 2000  Thanks to Jeff Giddens who insisted we bring this film to your attention.

Fishing With Gandhi If your head is clogged from too many slick formulaic Hollywood films, watch this movie, it is brain Drano. Gil and Roy are a none too bright set of hillbilly twins ( played by James & Rick Reichmuth)  that pick up Danno (Dan Klein) a pathetic stoner who is hitch hiking home from his mother's wedding. She married his Uncle Roy (which puts this solidly in our avuncular film category). Anyway these two "human speed bumps" make frequent stops to let their overheated pick up truck cool down. The dialogs that ensue are inane and priceless. Both a comedy and a safety film as director Gabe Weisert clearly spells out the dangers of human inbreeding. Keep an eye out for Weisert's next film "Cow Monkey" in which the twins set out to find Bigfoot. 73 minutes unrated 1999  This film is part of the First Rites series that valiantly distributes the work of new directors. Most of their stuff was on the shelves at Hollywood video stores, but appears to be disappearing

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