Cut to the Chase

Splinter (2008), US

Fri, 10 May 2013 13:05:00 +0300

Entertaining lo budget indie horror with good enough performances and slightly stingy FX though overall liked the general spirit and aspirations. If they ever get a budget for a sequel I’ll be at the front of the queue.

3/5

IMDB

Toddla T Sound System - Worst Enemy

Thu, 09 May 2013 09:51:27 +0300

..and then there’s this track which is so delicious I just can’t stop listening to it.

Koreless - Sun

Thu, 09 May 2013 09:16:03 +0300

Haven’t been this blown a way by an electronic/ambient tune like this since Boards of Canada.

polarpair: Botanika label artists, Polar Pair are our first...

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 00:18:32 +0300

polarpair:

Botanika label artists, Polar Pair are our first guests in hour 2 and continue where we left off in the first hour with Universal Robot Band and into a couple of their own productions, the Sinden remix for Elizabeth Rose and L-Vis 1990. Then it’s an accapella from Zombie Zombie, Deft and Django Django, with a little help from Tim Maia.
Our second guest is Kidsuke, the collaboration of Kidkanevil and Daisuke Tanabe, stripping it down with Alva Noto and Ryuichi Sakamoto, through electronic delights from Yosi Korikawa, Balam Acab and an instrumental from the excellent SpaceGhostPurrp. We hear ‘Tiny Concrete Block’ from Kidsuke, plus DZA, Blue Daisy and the Shigeto remix for Sufjan Stevens and another Kidsuke track bringing proceedings to an end.

PART 3 - Polar Pair https://twitter.com/_NDV_ http://www.botanika.co.il/

Universal Robot Band _ Space Disco _ Panther
Polar Pair _ Star _ Botanika
Elizabeth Rose _ Ready (Sinden Remix) _ Grizzly
Polar Pair _ Six in the Morning _ Unreleased
L-Vis 1990 _ Tonight (KiNK Like It’s 1990 Dub) _ Island
Zombie Zombie _ Rocket Number 9 (A Cappella) _ Versatile
How to Dress Well _ & It Wa U (Polar Pair Dress Up remix) _ Promo
Deft _ The Traveller _ Skullcandy
Django Django _ Skies Over Cairo (Bullion Version) _ Because
Tim Maia _ You Don’t Know What I Know _ Luaka Bop

PART 4 - Kidsuke https://twitter.com/kidsuke

Alva Noto and Ryuichi Sakamoto _ Attack Transition _ Raster-Noton
Danny Elfman _ Dad’s Talk _ Walt Disney
kidkanevil _ Lantern 1 (Daisuke Tanabe Remix) _ First Word
Yosi Horikawa _ Wandering _ First Word
Balam Acab _ Ass Pop _ self-released
SpaceGhostPurrp _ Raider Prayer Inst _ 4AD
Crystal Somethings _ Spektrums _ unreleased
itsuitsuitsu _ unknown _ unknown
Kumisolo _ Cheap Pop Song _ flau
The Electronic Anthology Project of Dinosaur Jr _ Feel The Pain _ self-released
Chesslo Junior _ Cash Wave (NKC Remix) _ self-released
DZA _ Battle Beat 4 _ unreleased
Blue Daisy _ The Emperors Loss _ unreleased
Cokiyu _ Little Wave _ flau
Kidsuke _ Tiny Concrete Block _ Brownswood
Notuv _ Relation _ Bunkai-Kei
Sufjan Stevens _ Futile Devices (Shigeto Remix) _ self-released
Kidsuke ft Sonicbrat _ One Day We Thought Of Our Friends… _ Project Mooncircle

Election 2/Triad Election (2006), Hong Kong

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 00:13:00 +0300

The epic second installment in Johnny To’s masterpiece Triad Serial, is every bit as awesome as Election, but seen as a whole, provides a deeper, more thoughtful and more fulfilling viewing experience. Boom.

4.5/5

IMDB

Sheer awesomeness

Sun, 21 Apr 2013 15:55:00 +0300

Sheer awesomeness

Penumbra (2012), Argentina

Fri, 19 Apr 2013 00:21:32 +0300

The Bogliano brothers’ follow up to 2010’s Cold Sweat, is a much more rewarding affair. Despite heavy influences from the likes of classics such as Polansky’s Rosemary’s Baby and more recent fair such as Ti West’s The House of the Devil, this film stands on its own two feet and delivers the fun in body bags. Cristina Brondo delivers a fantastic performance in the main role as a highly strung, competitive, motor mouthed, cynical and bitchy lawyer from Spain, on a trip to Buenos Aires, to rent out the shitty family flat to a bunch of weirdos. I was slightly less impressed with the Boglianos’ decision to hit the lowest common denominator by inexplicably adding a scene where Brondo, a clearly very attractive actress by default, gets smothered in baby oil for no apparent reason, unless there was some super clever tongue in cheek comment there that flew above me. Despite some of the criticism I read, I found the jazzy soundtrack refreshing.

3.5/5

IMDB

Snabba Cash 2 (2012), Sweden

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 14:01:57 +0300

More of the same in Babak Najafi’s second installment in the franchise yet still, highly entertaining stuff.

3.5/5

Election (2005), Hong Kong

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 13:50:00 +0300

First installment in Johnny To’s epic Election serial, this is a masterful piece of crime drama. Excellent performances, engaging and well paced plot and perfectly executed action scenes (not enough though..).

4/5

All The Boys Love Mandy Lane (2006), US

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 13:23:09 +0300

Mostly entertaining if ultimately mind numbing indie teen slasher with a last minute twist you can guess a mile off. I’m not sure I buy all of the boys’ obsession with Amber Heard’s Mandy Lane though.

3/5

IMDB

Matthew E. White - Big Love What a tune..

Sun, 14 Apr 2013 12:51:53 +0300

Matthew E. White - Big Love

What a tune..

Amer (2009), France/Belgium

Sun, 17 Mar 2013 10:59:44 +0200

More of an intellectual exercise in aesthetics, this tribute to the giallo films of the 60s and 70s can nevertheless be at times, beautiful, with artsy fartsy music video style effects, attractive actors, sumptuous music, sensual atmosphere and breathtaking views. Otherwise, very little in the way of dialogue or plot.

3/5

IMDB

Antiviral (2012), Canada

Thu, 14 Mar 2013 19:02:12 +0200

Obvious comparisons to his celebrated father, David, Brandon Cronenberg embarks on a pretentious mission but fumbles and ultimately fails. Nevertheless, his vision is astonishing and mostly original. With a tighter and more focused script he will definitely get there. The anti celebrity culture message was a little thick edged for my taste.

2.5/5

IMDB

I'll Never Die Alone (2008), Argentina

Thu, 14 Mar 2013 18:55:07 +0200

A nasty and cruel little exploitation flick in true I Spit on your Grave (circa ‘78) spirit. Grueling but fun if you like that kind of thing.

3/5

IMDB

[REC]3 Genesis (2012), Spain

Sun, 10 Mar 2013 09:57:00 +0200

The third installment in the [REC] franchise takes a new twist. This time directed exclusively by Paco Plaza, this film adopts a humorous vibe with genre nods/jokes and post modern gags a plenty. But more surprisingly, it ditches the handheld amateur camcorder style 20 minutes in, in what could only be interpreted as the director’s frustration with the over abundance of derivative films whose sole raison d’etre is the handheld camcorder. Leticia Dolera deserves a special mention as the beautiful bride whose most special day gets ruined when zombies attack the wedding and decides to get back at them with an electric chainsaw.

3/5

IMDB

[REC]2 (2009), Spain

Tue, 05 Mar 2013 00:00:20 +0200

Loads of fun to be had in this second instalment in the [Rec] franchise. While the first [Rec] was deeply scary, built great tension and surprised with some vicious outbursts of zombie nastiness, [Rec]2 is more action packed no nonsense chase scene after chase scene. There are a few plot twists and nice POV games but ultimately, not a patch on the first.

3/5

IMDB

I, Anna (2012) UK

Sun, 03 Mar 2013 22:37:44 +0200

Average noir with excellent performances from the two leads, Charlotte Rampling and Gabriel Byrne. First time helmer and son of Rampling, Barnaby Southcombe, shows potential though story is pretty weak and climax, a bit of a let down.

2.5/5

IMDB

Livid (2011), France

Sat, 23 Feb 2013 23:57:08 +0200

Directors Alexandre Bustillo and Julian Maury’s difficult second film challenge ends in noble failure. The acclaimed directors of the French horror masterpiece, Inside, try to tackle a different sub-genre this time round but they try so hard and put so much effort into the set pieces, design, music and atmosphere that they almost ignore the paper thin plot. Disappointing.

2/5

IMDB

James Blake - Retrograde

Mon, 18 Feb 2013 22:21:22 +0200

lovely stuff..

A Company Man (2012), S.Korea

Mon, 18 Feb 2013 22:19:00 +0200

I love my Korean thrillers. They do em like almost no one can. Unfortunately this title is so busy admiring its star, Ji Hyeong-do, it loses the pacing and the plot with it. Not to mention the strenuous lessons to be learnt about the point of living. Yes, that crude..

1.5/5

IMDB