'Manhunt': Action maestro John Woo drops the baton
"Manhunt" has got the white doves, gratuitous slo-mo and operatic gunplay that fans of Woo's earlier films would expect, but the whole thing is as slackly executed as an "Expendables" movie.
Jun Kunimura has long been one of the most active Japanese actors overseas, starting with the Ridley Scott thriller "Black Rain" in 1989 and continuing with the South Korean horror hit "The Wailing" last year. Able to shift gears effortlessly from comedy to drama ...
Alice is a woman who has it all: a beautiful house in a Paris suburb, a loving husband and two teenage children who can be difficult at times but would surely panic if their maman were to suddenly make herself unavailable. Still, Alice (Isabelle ...
To be or not to be ... so it seems
John Caird is widely known as the co-director with fellow Englishman Trevor Nunn of "Les Miserables," which opened in the West End 1985 and is still playing there in the longest-ever London run for a musical. However, Caird's illustrious career as a writer and director ...
'The Wailing': Spine-chilling in every possible way
When village cop Jong-gu (Kwak Do-won) gets woken before dawn and summoned to the scene of a suspected murder, his wife persuades him to stay at home and have a proper breakfast first. This paunchy put-upon sergeant clearly isn't cut out for serious police ...
'Hamon: Yakuza Boogie': Dancing around the gangster issue
Over the years, acquaintances of mine have boasted of their brushes with local gangsters. But few, I would wager, have become pals with one. Yakuza and katagi (straight citizens) tend to move in separate circles, with the former often viewing the latter as sheep ...
Review: The Soldier's Tale at Tokyo Bunka Kaikan Recital Hall
Igor Stravinsky's "The Soldier's Tale" remains as thought-provoking a piece today as it was in 1918, when it was created just after World War I. As the third part of a Stravinsky-focused series by the Spring Festival in Tokyo (following "The Firebird" and "Petrushka" in ...
