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Locked-Down Cinema
Film reviews of all the films I should have seen but didn't...
What do you do if you receive a Christmas present that is a membership to the British Film Institute when there's a pandemic on...?
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"Porco Rosso", Dir: Hayao Miyazaki, 1992
Although I've been aware of Hayao Miyazaki's 1992 film "Porco Rosso" (Trans: "The Crimson Pig") since the early 90's..
Ravi Swami
Apr 12, 20214 min read
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"Gushing Prayer-A 15 Year Old Prostitute", Dir Masao Adachi, 1971
I had doubts about posting a review of a film that is, on the face of it, a piece of soft-core pornography in the Japanese "Pink Film" genre
Ravi Swami
Apr 12, 20213 min read
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"Godzilla V Kong", Dir: Adam Wingard, 2021
Giant monster films...you either love 'em or hate 'em, there doesn't appear to be a middle ground for them in terms of taste in cinema.
Ravi Swami
Apr 2, 20215 min read
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"The Black Test Car", Dir: Yasuzo Masumura, 1962
Japanese cinema of the 60's offers a vast selection of titles and subjects beyond the more familiar works known in the West
Ravi Swami
Dec 22, 20204 min read
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"Warning From Space", Dir: Koji Shima, 1956
The plot combines elements of all these films with the added ingredient of fears about the nuclear age...
Ravi Swami
Dec 2, 20204 min read
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"Gamera 2- Attack of Legion", Dir: Shusuke Kaneko, 1996
30-odd years on from the original 'Gamera" film that introduced Japanese and later, world, audiences, to the giant jet-propelled amphibian..
Ravi Swami
Nov 12, 20203 min read
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"Shozo, A Cat & Two Women", Dir: Shiro Toyoda, 1956
Based on a novel, Toyoda's film is, on the face of it, a domestic drama that could almost be dismissed as a soap opera
Ravi Swami
Oct 28, 20203 min read
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"War of The Gargantuas", Dir:Ishiro Honda, 1966
The success of Japanese "Kaiju", or giant monsters-on-the-loose films of the 1960's led to the emergence of two giants of the genre, Toho...
Ravi Swami
Oct 11, 20204 min read
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Go To Hell Bastards!!...Dir: Seijun Suzuki, 1963
"Go to Hell Bastards!" or to give it its full title "Detective Bureau 2-3, Go To Hell Bastards!"..
Ravi Swami
Oct 2, 20203 min read
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"Gamera Super Monster" - Dir: Noriaki Yuasa, 1980
A big, actually giant, monster film about a giant turtle, and a jet-propelled turtle at that, requires a suitably big poster image, right ..
Ravi Swami
Sep 20, 20204 min read
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"Inflatable Sex Doll of The Wastelands", Dir: Atsushi Yamatoya, 1967
And if the plot suddenly sounds vaguely familiar, you would be forgiven if the Mike Hodge film "Get Carter", made half a decade later..
Ravi Swami
Aug 21, 20202 min read
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You've Been Matango'd !..."Matango", dir: Ishiro Honda, 1963
One of the strong points of the film is that it aims for a more serious approach and honours the atmosphere of dread..
Ravi Swami
Aug 12, 20202 min read
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"Kwaidan" - Dir: Masaki Kobayashi, 1965
"Kwaidan" - literally "Ghost Stories", is exactly what it is - a portmanteau collection of creepy tales set in Medieval Japan.
Ravi Swami
Aug 7, 20202 min read
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"Onibaba" - Dir: Kaneto Shindo - 1964
I had seen "Onibaba" ("Trans: "Demon Hag") only once before in the mid 80's (U,K Channel 4) and thanks once again to BFI Player.
Ravi Swami
Aug 3, 20203 min read
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"My Neighbours The Yamadas" - Dir: Hayao Miyazaki - 1999
In amongst the more familiar films of Hayao Miyazaki's prolific output is "My Neighbours The Yamadas" - this would qualify as "Late-Miyazaki
Ravi Swami
Jul 8, 20202 min read
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Spirited Away - Dir: Hayao Miyazaki - 3rd March 2020
This was to be my second or third viewing of "Spirited Away" - I have it on BluRay - and it never fails to hold your attention throughout.
Ravi Swami
Jul 8, 20203 min read
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Thanks for your interest in Lockdown Cinema. For more information, feel free to get in touch and I will get back to you soon! - Ravi
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