Naked is probably the least typical of Mike Leigh’s films, but at the same time it's undeniably the work of Leigh. It’s considerably darker in tone and has a look bordering on film noir, but it is still very much a snapshot of the East London where the vast majority of his films are set. It’s … Continue reading Naked – Blu-Ray Review →

Brave New World is the latest attempt to bring Aldous Huxley's dystopian novel to the screen. This is the third time for an official adaptation, and also the third version on television. There was a long-mooted feature film adaptation with Leonardo DiCaprio and Ridley Scott attached, but that version went by the wayside around a decade … Continue reading Brave New World (2020) – Blu-Ray Review →

Stylish, cool, and calm, Le Samouraï is a film that casts a spell, one that transports you to a world of crime that is both glamorous and mysterious. It is very procedural and technical, filled with the minutiae of police investigation. There's a lot of walking and stalking. The lead is a wounded wolf, trying … Continue reading Le Samouraï – Blu-Ray Review →

Devi is only the fourth Satyajit Ray film I’ve seen beyond the much-celebrated The Apu Trilogy, which is what made his name outside his native India. Devi seems to have been a turning point in his career where he started experimenting a little more with his storytelling and style, instead of showing mainly just a … Continue reading Devi – Blu-Ray Review →

Full Alert was made after Ringo Lam dipped his toes into Hollywood filmmaking with the Jean-Claude Van Damme vehicle Maximum Risk. American financers seemed to think that Hong Kong directors couldn’t work with “real actors” and always at least initially teamed them up with the Muscles from Brussels—although to Van Damme’s credit, he has more … Continue reading Full Alert – Blu-Ray Review →