Planet Hulk (2010)

An alien world in need of a saviour gets the Hulk. Worst luck.
It’s based on Greg Pak’s comic arc of the same name but has a lot of content missing. That changes how the story fares, as you’d expect, but also in an ironic way. The comic started good but ran out of steam in the second half. The animation starts out decidedly average and steadily climbs. Along the way it dared to do things that I’d not seen in any other lazy Marvel animation. That reward made the journey worth it.

2½ strengths out of 5

Shinjuku Incident (2008)

While far from home, searching for an old flame, Jackie becomes a victim of circumstance, but being a victim isn't in his nature.
It has a Chinese action star on the cover and a Chinese director behind the lens but it resembles a Japanese Yakuza movie 90% of the time.
It was odd seeing Jackie in this kind of film. With none of his trademark kung fu and no comedy the focus shifts to his acting ability. Happily, like the character he plays, he’s upped his game considerably. He proved that his move into serious drama might work. It’s a shame that the film in which he proved it is so forgettable. It drags on for too long and ends leaving a number of unresolved and half-forgotten elements.

3 bad decisions out of 5

At Five in the Afternoon (2003)

The first Iranian film made in Afghanistan after the defeat of the Taliban can’t help but be political, but there’s a woman’s story at the heart of it, so even though most Western viewers will lack the specific knowledge needed to appreciate it fully the universal language of film translates enough for it to be enjoyed by everyone.

Nogreh dreams of becoming President, but tradition dictates that women should not be educated for roles that are the preserve of men. If she wishes to attend school she must do so in secret.

The bickering and study of poverty border on vérité, but there's an almost magical quality, too, for despite the weight of tragedy that pervades, an echo of hope accompanies each of Nogreh’s high-heeled steps.

3 matching brollies out of 5

The Eye 2 (2004)

A desperate cry for help leaves a young woman with the ability to see ghosts. They’re terrifying, shadowy things that occupy empty spaces and invade the personal space of others when they feel like it.
The story is unconnected to The Eye (2002) but came from the same creative team. The addition of a secondary story running alongside the horror adds a new dimension to the scares. The two halves take a long time to find any kind of synergy, but when they do it gifts the narrative with more emotional depth than the first film had.
Some say it's not as chilling as before, but I disagree; there are moments that scared all seven shades of shit out of me.

4 passengers out of 5

Gardens with Red Roses (2009)

Debbie and Dominic are shacked up in Debbie’s grandfather’s cramped council house. Their dream of owning a home of their own drives them, so they do everything they can to realise that dream.
The film effectively highlights the different challenges that daily life presents those with youth and those who've moved into old age. There’s more edge to the story that I won’t reveal, and I fear that by doing so the film will miss its target audience, but that part of it shouldn't be ignored.
To date, it's Richard Oliver’s only entry on IMDB. Hopefully someone will give him lots of condition-free money to make more great works like it.

3½ values out of 5

Sex and Fury (1973)

A more apt title would be ‘Sex, Fury and Politics,’ because they're what the film is unevenly split between. The ‘Fury’ is by far the best of the three aspects but it’s the part that receives the least screen time, which is a great shame, because when the swordplay erupts the frame comes alive and the blood spurts are more than satisfying. When that same principle is taken to the card table, sparks replace the blood. If the conflict of interests that underpins the Meiji era politics had equalled the violence for drama the film would be even more deserving of the praise it currently receives.

3½ bloodstained flower cards out of 5

Bobbie Jo and the Outlaw (1976)

Lyle Wheeler, the ‘outlaw’ of the title, played by Marjoe Gortner, thinks of himself as a modern day Billy the Kid. He’s aware that his actions will have consequences, but he does them anyhow. He robs and cheats his way from State to State and picks up a few companions on the way.
The only notable aspect of the entire film is seeing Lynda Carter being deviant shortly before she became a TV role model for children as the costumed Wonder Woman. Without her it’d likely have slipped forgotten into the place where all films with crappy editing end up.

2½ differences out of 5

Sleeping Bride (2000)

Japanese director Hideo Nakata is best known for his Ringu horror movies, but SB is almost the polar opposite of Ringu. It's based on a manga by Osamu Tezuka and is perhaps best described as a modern fairytale about a sleeping girl and the male high school student who's besotted with her.
It's a sweet film that very occasionally resembles a live-action Ghibli, but unfortunately those moments are mere ballast. If they'd been used more effectively the story would've had more of an impact. As it is now, it's reliant primarily on Kenji Kawai's score to provide any kind of emotional punch beyond Nakata's simplistic sentimentality.

2½ better days out of 5

Sky High (2003)

After seeing potential in the genre-bending Versus (2000) about a decade ago, I hoped that Ryûhei Kitamura would someday get the opportunity to put his talents to better use and make a great film, but this isn't it. It’s a prequel to a TV Series that's based on a manga. If everyone (except Hiromasa Taguchi) had been replaced with cast members who could act and not just look good on a magazine cover, and if Kitamura had taken more risks, the film could've been worth the time invested in it. Perhaps then I wouldn't have spent almost two hours wondering when it was going to get good and why it was even called Sky High. If I'd seen the series I may have felt differently about the story, but a lot of that would still apply.

2 destinations out of 5

BAD WORDS [2014]

Actor Jason Bateman makes his directorial debut with the twisted comedy, Bad Words.
Filled with some hilariously mean-spirited one-liners, the film is sure to offend and disturb anyone who's a bit too light-hearted to indulge in this sort of nasty sarcasm.  Bateman is superb as the vulgar and unlikable lead adult character who pushes his way into a child's national spelling bee contest.  As funny as the film can be, it falls short of anything memorable or a lack of topical conversation afterwards.
To put it simply, Bad Words is just alright.

3 girls without nipples out of 5

Female Prisoner Scorpion #701: Grudge Song (1973)

A new director helmed this fourth entry's return to the WIP camp. It strays awkwardly into theatrical territory on a few occasions, but mostly it stays on a straight path. Matsu gets to share the film with someone else for a time, which is beneficial in giving her character purpose.
Meiko Kaji’s presence means it’s still better than a lot of other exploitation flicks of the era, but the first two films in the series are so good that everything that followed was cast in their shadow, and the addition of some not-quite-Nazi female guards felt like it was pulling the original intent in a different direction.
Grudge Song was the last of the Meiko era films. The series was continued but with a different actress in the Sasori role.

3 lengths of rope out of 5

Female Prisoner #701 Scorpion: Beast Stable (1973)

The third Female Prisoner Scorpion film was Shunya Itō’s last. Again he brought something completely new to the table; none of the entries so far are a simple rehash. The use of sound is as exciting as before, but by taking fewer avant-garde risks visually it lost its edge a little. It more closely resembles a straightforward escaped convict/detective drama, albeit one with incest, scalpel murders and a violent prostitution ring.
There’s a deep melancholy infused in both the environment and the Sasori character; she seems lost when she has no one to outwardly hate.

3 useful prison skills out of 5

Female Prisoner #701 Scorpion: Jailhouse 41 (1972)

In most cases a sequel capitalises on whatever it was that specifically made the original stand out by turning it up to suffocating proportions, but not so with the second Sasori film. Shunya Itō relocates it and then throws in a hefty dollop of ghostly theatrics and experimentalism. The result is a film that’s as surreal as it is violent. Matsu doesn't say very much throughout but her steely gaze reveals more than words could.
The camera doesn't just capture the action, it narrates and participates. Itō proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that in the right hands exploitation cinema can be a genuine art form.

4 bus rides out of 5

Female Prisoner #701 Scorpion (1972)

Shunya Itō's début as director was the first in a series of Sasori (Scorpion) films. It has all the elements you’d expect to see in a pinku eiga WIP (Women in Prison) feature, nudity, bondage, sadism, etc, but it has much more to offer than just that: Itō's stylistic framing, symbolism, inventiveness, transitions and sheer disregard for convention is highly entertaining. The brutality of the women toward each other is sometimes hard to watch, but the strength and determination of the Scorpion (Meiko Kaji) needs that kind of struggle in order to be fully explored.

4 grudge melodies out of 5

Zatoichi and the Chess Expert (1965)

In the blind swordsman’s 12th film Ichi’s usual gambling antics get him into real trouble, which incidentally puts more than his own life in danger. The arrival of the titular Chess expert (it’s really Shogi) adds an extra level of danger to an already difficult, heartbreaking situation.
The film rewards fans that have been with the series from the beginning. It can still be enjoyed as a standalone adventure like most of the others, but if you've travelled with the masseur and shared his pain in the early days then the emotional aspect of the story will take on extra weight.

3½ tactical parallels out of 5