The Fifth Element (1997) has been both loved and bashed by critics for the past 20 years; some have even ruled it the best summer blockbuster ever made. However, not many people know that Luc Besson’s creation was partially inspired by a series of French space opera comic books called Valérian and Laureline; the connection…
Dunkirk Review
The topic of the Second World War has been depicted mainly in two ways so far, which can be represented by Steven Spielberg’s exactness and the poetic parlance of Terrence Malick; other films flicker in between these two directors’ styles. Christopher Nolan, meanwhile, with his new production – Dunkirk – took a different approach to the…
Project Itoh’s Genocidal Organ
A word, a whisper in a general’s ear, and just like that a nation will descend into chaos. Neighbour against neighbour, brother against brother, indiscriminate violence to the point where even the leaders forget exactly how it all began. How can something like this happen? And can it really be the work of one man?…
Pablo Larraín’s Neruda
The 2016 feature Neruda brings together two creators of the same (first) name – the character of the legendary Nobel prize winner and celebrated poet and political activist Pablo Neruda, whose original name was Ricardo Eliécer Neftalí Reyes Basoalto, serves as the center, the source material and the inspiration to Pablo Larraín, the barely 40-year-old…
Okja Review
There is no doubt that Bong Joon-ho is a visionary filmmaker. And with six features under his belt (Snowpiercer, Mother, The Host, Memory of Murder, Barking Dogs Never Bite), including his newest production, the Netflix original Okja, there is no sign of him slowing down. Okja premiered at this year’s Cannes Film Festival; it connects drama, family…
In Conversation with Mori Yoshitaka and Matsuyama Kenichi
This year’s Udine Far East Film Festival offered a great selection of truly excellent films, and among those, some packed an especially powerful emotional charge; in this grouping, there is no doubt that Satoshi: A Move for Tomorrow was among the very best. The film’s screening was accompanied by director Mori Yoshitaka, known best for his Space…
Destination Unknown Review
No one will ever give a truer account of the fight and life during the Second World War – or any war – like the people who survived it. Even 72 years after the WWII ended, we still get to hear reports of what happened from the handful of people who live to tell what…
Satoshi: A Move for Tomorrow Review
In the Western cinematic scopes, we can find a number of chess-themed sports films and biopics, but there is a mere handful of productions that feature the Japanese cousin of the popular board game: shogi, known also as ‘Japanese chess’; a sport that has, since its 16th century beginnings, evolved into one of the most…
Wonder Woman Review
When it comes to feminism and the power of the female, the world of superheroes is much too starved for comfort, especially so when it comes to the film renditions of the popular comic book material. But in 1941, William Moulton Marston introduced a completely different character to the budding world of comics – Wonder…
King Arthur: Legend of the Sword Review
The legend of King Arthur has been sparking the imagination of Britons for years; he is one of the biggest folklore ‘heroes’ of the British literature and, consequently, cinema. Historically, we do not know much about the existence of King Arthur; that said, the most important creator of Arthurian legends was the English historian Geoffrey…
Ridley Scott’s Alien: Covenant
The Alien saga is among the most engaging and well-remembered films of horror genre, largely because every feature, at least until recently, has been in the hands of various directors. There were several hits and misses, but it was the work of Ridley Scott that began the career of the entire film series. How did Alien: Covenant,…
In Conversation with Feng Xiaogang, the director of ‘I Am Not Madame Bovary’
Where to event start with Feng Xiaogang? He is a Chinese director, producer, screenwriter and actor, whose career has spanned for over 30 years. While bravely battling censorship, he has created a number of commercially immensely successful films, such as Be There or Be Square (Bújiàn búsàn, 1998), Cell Phone (Shŏujī, 2003), A World Without…
I Am Not Madame Bovary Review
David vs. Goliath seems to be the theme shrouding Feng Xiaogang’s newest feature, I Am Not Madame Bovary – there had been a lot of talk on what seemed to had been more than just a spat between the film director and the largest Chinese cinema chain, Wanda Cinema Line, who, at least according to…
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2 Review
The first production of The Guardians of the Galaxy was a pleasant breeze of fresh air in Marvel’s cinematic universe. The film charmed the audience with unusual conventions, very expressive characters and phenomenal humour. It was also obvious that the film’s producers were planning another The Guardians of the Galaxy feature. Soon after, James Gunn found himself…
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