Udine 2013 Review: Despite Lame Title, HOW TO USE GUYS WITH SECRET TIPS Is a Minor Revelation

Being one of the more tired genres to litter the multiplexes, every so often romantic comedies need a little boost to remind us that they can be worthwhile. Out of all of the national industries that regularly churn them out,... More »

By Pierce Conran

Udine 2013 Review: TOUCH OF THE LIGHT Offers A Polite Reminder Not To Abandon Your Dreams

"Presented" by Wong Kar Wai and directed by Chang Jung-chi, Touch of the Light isn't an incredibly deep or adventurous movie, but I dare you to watch it and not reflect at least once, "maybe I should give some of... More »

By Brian Clark

Udine 2013 Review: MARUYAMA, THE MIDDLE SCHOOLER Is A Surprisingly Endearing Comedy About Self-Fellatio

Before seeing Maruyama, The Middle Schooler, I would have said that making a two-hour comedy about a fourteen-year-old boy who's primary ambition throughout the film is to, as the omniscient narrator puts it, "to touch his own weeny with his... More »

By Brian Clark

FANTASIA: GACHI BOY Review

That Japanese college students donning wrestling masks and tights to try their hand at flamboyant professional style wrestling would prove entertaining came as no surprise. That it could be as touching, heartfelt and emotionally satisfying as it is in Gachi... More »

By Todd Brown

FANTASIA: OUR TOWN Review

[Once again pulling forward an earlier review for a film that played here in Udine yesterday. Having the chance to see Our Town on the big screen only reinforced my opinions below ... this is one very good film... More »

By Todd Brown

FANTASIA: MUAY THAI CHAIYA Review

[The Udine Far East Film Festival celebrates its tenth edition this year. The lady friend and I rolled in to town last night and while we missed yesterday's screenings one of the late pictures was Muay Thai Chaiya, a... More »

By Todd Brown

FANTASIA: THE ASSEMBLY Review

Perhaps the highest compliment that can be paid to Feng Xiaogang’s The Assembly, a film built around Communist Chinese military campaigns of the forties and fifties, is that he has created a film that completely and utterly transcends politics.... More »

By Todd Brown

FANTASIA: MAD DETECTIVE Review

And the hot streak continues for Johnnie To. While the latest from the prolific action auteur lacks the blistering intensity of the Election films and the extreme high style of Exiled it reunites him with a pair of favored collaborators... More »

By Todd Brown

NYAFF Report: THE REBEL (Dòng Máu Anh Hùng) Review

Stories about stunt men writing, producing and starring in their own movies -- movies directed by their own brothers, no less -- do not exactly inspire confidence. What do muscle heads know about writing scripts? Telling stories? Making films?... More »

By Todd Brown

Udine 2008 Wrap Up!

All good things must come to an end, unfortunately, and after a fantastic time at the Udine Far East Film Festival the lady-friend and I have made our way back home to Toronto. Let me say this: if you're at... More »

By Todd Brown

Udine Report: YOUR FRIENDS Review

In some ways Your Friends, the latest film from pink film director turned arthouse favorite Ryuichi Hiroki, represents a major change for the director. After all it includes none of the sexual content or domestic violence that have attracted attention... More »

By Todd Brown

Udine Report: THE BLACK HOUSE Review

The Korean adaptation of a famous Japanese novel, word is that The Black House plays a little bit fast and loose with its source material. It’s a situation that might upset fans of the original work but as someone... More »

By Todd Brown

Udine Report: THE BODY Review

Let me be clear right from the beginning. The Body is not a good film. It’s big and messy and hugely over reliant on CGI, showing all signs of a young director being a bad match to the script,... More »

By Todd Brown

Udine Report: THE GUARD POST (GP506) Review

One of the most anticipated Korean genre films in recent days, R-Point director Kong Su-Chang’s sophomore effort is blessed with a strong premise – soldiers manning an isolated guard post along the Korean DMZ infected with a strange virus... More »

By Todd Brown

Udine Report: CROWS 0 Review

[Another review pulled forward from the archive to coincide with the film's screening at this year's Udine Far East Film Festival, this one my review of Takashi Miike's Crows 0, originall reviewed when it screened at the American Film... More »

By Todd Brown

Udine Report: THE GLORIOUS TEAM BATISTA Review

Coming as it does from the production arm of major Japanese broadcaster TBS it should probably not be quite so surprising that medical thriller The Glorious Team Batista plays like little more than an over blown television movie but somehow... More »

By Todd Brown

Udine Report: FUNUKE SHOW SOME LOVE YOU LOSERS Review

Slightly uneven in tone, slightly baffling in the way it builds comedy out of realistic family violence, Yoshida Daihachi’s Funuke: Show Some Love You Losers boasts impressive performances and enough stylistic zing to mark Yoshida as a film maker to... More »

By Todd Brown

Udine Report: IN THE POOL Review

What will audiences find In The Pool? A surprisingly confident feature debut from TV veteran Satoshi Miki – the subject of a retrospective here at the Udine Far East Film Festival – for one thing, a pleasingly loopy and... More »

By Todd Brown

ZOMBI KG PISANG And KALA MALAM BULAN MENGAMBANG Go To Udine

Malaysian director Mamat Khalid will have two films premiering in Europe at this year's Udine Far East Film Festival in Italy. They are the horror spoof Zombi Kg Pisang and noir thriller-comedy Kala Malam Bulan Mengambang. The director will be... More »

By The Visitor

Leading Voices in Global Cinema

Todd Brown, Founder & Editor Toronto
Peter Martin, Managing Editor Dallas
Ryland Aldrich, Festivals Editor Los Angeles
James Marsh, Asian Editor Hong Kong
Brian Clark, European Editor Paris

FEAR & LOATHING AT CANNES, PART 3: EVERYTHING IS WONDERFUL AND I'M TRIPPING BALLS

CHAPTER 6: THERE'S NOTHING MORE BEAUTIFUL THAN A PURPLE BEACH SMOTHERED IN MELTING TROMMETTES DURING A CRIMSON TINGED SUNSET ON THE FRENCH RIVERIA, HOLY SHIT I'M TRIPPING MY FUCKING FACE OFF.It's night. When the fuck did it become night? I'm naked. Where the fuck did my clothes go? I'm on... More »

Destroy All Monsters: I Think We've Been This Way Before, Mr. Spock

They can remember it for you wholesale, and they do. At some point, we licensed our pop cultural nostalgia to a handful of multinational conglomerates (well, to be fair, they always owned the licenses) and now they're selling them back to us - though, I guess, not at wholesale, but... More »

Interview: Twitch Talks to HANGOVER III's Ken Jeong

Ken Jeong may often play a lunatic on both big and small screen, but in person it's quite disarming to see just how calm and considerate he comes across. While he got his big screen start in Judd Apatow's Knocked Up, Jeong's real breakthrough was taking a small-on-paper role... More »

Hollywood Beat: Notes On Cutting The Cord And NBC's Genre Programs

I cut the cable cord last year, but I'm not always happy about it. I had to wait a year before seeing Season 2 of Game of Thrones, for example, and will have to wait to see Season 3 until next year. I only have to wait to see Mad... More »

Twitchvision: Talking STAR TREK: INTO DARKNESS, MUD and THE ICEMAN

Another Twitchvision chat with Scott Laurie, this time me gushing about J.J.'s latest Star Trek film, which I unabashedly loved.Also talked about he fabbo Mud, and the less fabbo The Iceman, both with Michael Shannon doing his thing.Video embedded below.Update: Was asked to come in today and pick a few... More »