The Visitor

Edmund Yeo's KINGYO Goes To Venice

We've been following the progress of up-and-coming Malaysian filmmaker Edmund Yeo, and seen him grow from strength to strength. We highlighted his very first Japanese short film, Kingyo, sometime back, a film shot in Tokyo with a largely Japanese... More »

By The Visitor

Yasmin Ahmad Has Passed Away

Just got the very sad and tragic news. Renowned Malaysian director Yasmin Ahmad has passed on. She collapsed during a meeting at a TV station on Thursday due to a stroke, and was rushed to the hospital for an emergency... More »

By The Visitor

Yasmin Ahmad Hospitalised After Collapse

There are some here at Twitch who are admirers of Yasmin Ahmad's work. She has even contributed a film review for us here before. So it came as quite a shock for us when we heard the news yesterday that... More »

By The Visitor

The Ten Megaton ToM: Twitch-O-Meter turns 10,000,000 part 0,011 (or "3")

When our Twitch-O-Meter column reached number fifty we did something cool: ten writers gave a list with five of their favorite directors, creating one huge Twitch-O-Meter which we lovingly called the MEGA-ToM. However, the next big round number is already... More »

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Paranoia And Fear in Perantauan Pictures' 5:13

Arivind Abraham, a Malaysian filmmaker based in London, has given us a glimpse of his upcoming sophomore feature, 5:13, produced by his company Perantauan Pictures. And it looks like quite an exercise in claustrophobia and paranoia, well utilising shadows and... More »

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SELL OUT! Malaysia's First English Language Musical Comedy (Spelled With An Exclamation Mark)

Here's an exclusive first look at the official trailer for Malaysian musical comedy, Sell Out!. I'll admit, I haven't seen this film, but from the trailer, the crazy synopsis and the reaction it's been getting, AND the fact that it's... More »

By The Visitor

Ip Man 2 Is A Go

I'm not sure if this is a good idea at all, but it seems the sequel to Ip Man, Donnie Yen's new superb martial arts biopic, has been greenlighted. Ip Man is one of the best martial arts films to... More »

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2008 Films People Hated But Which I Like

Since everyone's done lists of their favourite movies of this year, I decided to do something a little different. I think the title of this post is self-explanatory. I will try to give a short explanation about why I like... More »

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Review of James Lee's Histeria

First things first. You have to understand a few things in the Malaysian context before delving further into this review. "Histeria" is the Malay word for "hysteria," and in Malaysia, the word describes more than what is usually associated with... More »

By The Visitor

Review of Ip Man

If no one's going to do it, I might as well be the one. Here goes: I confirm that Ip Man is one of the best martial arts films of all time, and among the (very, very few) best Chinese... More »

By The Visitor

Review of KINTA

Many had high hopes for this film, formerly titled "Kinta 1881," touted as the first Malaysian martial arts actioner. Unfortunately the end result doesn't live up to the hype nor the impressive trailers. The movie is an uneasy and... More »

By The Visitor

Ho Wi Ding's SUMMER AFTERNOON ... A Shocking Road Trip. Catch It In Palm Springs.

**UPDATE** Here's how you can purchase the Summer Afternoon DVD, which is only available in Taiwan. Just send an email to: huchihhsin@gmail.com. Two girls and a guy on a road trip through the countryside. Two are lovers and one is... More »

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Woo Ming Jin, Director Of THE ELEPHANT AND THE SEA, Talks About El Mariachi, Dead Pigs And Pachyderm

To Malaysian eyes, it would seem like Woo Ming Jin never stops working. When he's not shooting short films or digital features, he's busy making a TV movie. Apart from that, you can usually find him in some film festival.... More »

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KALA MALAM BULAN MENGAMBANG is Best Film at Festival Filem Malaysia

The winners were announced at the awards ceremony last night, and Mamat Khalid's Kala Malam Bulan Mengambang walked away as Best Film. Mamat himself picked up the Best Director award. Best Actor went to Rosyam Nor for his lead performance... More »

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Festival Filem Malaysia: ANAK HALAL leads the noms

Why are most mainstream film awards crap? I don't know; don't ask me. The Festival Filem Malaysia (Malaysian film awards) continues to be a baffling, mind-boggling affair year after year. They once snubbed one of the most important Malaysian filmmakers,... More »

By The Visitor

Review of THE MIDNIGHT MEAT TRAIN

First things first: I've never really been a fan of Clive Barker, not his books, not his movies. Hellraiser was quite interesting during its time, Nightbreed was much more palatable as a piece of fantasy/horror. Books Of Blood is... More »

By The Visitor

Review: SPARROW Is A Masterpiece

I knew from the initial reviews that Sparrow (Man Jeuk) would be quite something. But nothing prepared me for the incredible masterpiece that it really is. Sparrow is simply one of the most beautiful and delightful films anyone's ever made.... More »

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John Woo Talks RED CLIFF And More ...

The Star Malaysia has an exclusive interview with director John Woo, who was in Kuala Lumpur last week to promote historical actioner Red Cliff. In the interview, Woo talks about not just Red Cliff, but also how Romance Of The... More »

By The Visitor

RED CLIFF: Another Review

There's something about the Hong Kong action films of yore. That certain something has never been captured in any other action films from any other countries. For one thing, HK action displays a special kind of reckless spirit and vigour,... More »

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RED CLIFF Final Promo Stop in Malaysia

After an extensive promo tour of Asia, John Woo and his cast of Red Cliff (Chi Bi) made a final stop yesterday in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. They had a meet-the-fans session in the spanking new cinema complex in the spanking... More »

By The Visitor

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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

Jason Gorber's Cineruminations: On MAN OF STEEL, SuperJesus, and THIS IS THE END's Jewpocalypse

Back in 1933, while Hitler was ascending into power in Germany and diasporic Jews throughout the world looked on with concern, two high school students created one of the most indelible mythical heroes of the last century. Borrowing from the Nietzschean concept of the Übermensch, Joe Shuster and Jerry... More »

Twitchvision: Talking MAN OF STEEL and THIS IS THE END

This is the big week of Superman's return, with Zack Snyder's take on the caped saviour hitting our screens. While my opinion's kind of mixed on the film, there's still plenty to admire about it. I also discuss the overt Jesus imagery throughout, as expanded in a full cineruminations column... More »

70s Rewind: Bridges, Barbra, Bogdanovich, Brynner

Amazon's Prime Instant streaming service is not as well-established as Netflix and has far more modest offerings in off-beat and strange cinema. Still, since I temporarily dropped Netflix, I've been diving deeper into Amazon's catalog, and discovered a good number of films from my favorite movie decade. Here's a selection... More »

LA Film Fest 2013: Twitch Picks 12 Must-See Films

It's LA Film Fest time with LA's downtown fest kicking off tonight with Pedro Almodovar's I'm So Excited. Twitch will be on hand with a small crew to bring you news and reviews from around the fest. You can follow us on twitter at @TwitchFilm | @BenUmstead | @AlexKoehne... More »

Jason Gorber's Cineruminations: On Shyamalan, SHE'S ALL THAT and a Preponderance for Pigeonholing

Part of the (heated) discussion about my take on After Earth surrounded the dicey proposition, popularized by the "Cahiers du Cinema" crowd in the 50s, that a director's work is to be considered part of a continuous process of development, an oeuvre with authorial consistency.Frank Zappa called it "conceptual continuity",... More »