Firecracker. 12.

• The tenth anniversary edition reconfirms the fest's position as "East Asia's pre-eminent movie event," writes Nick North.

• North on the retrospective that looks as if it may leave a lasting impact: "Audiences at the ten Lee Man-hee movies screened in Pusan as part of the retrospective which hailed a man describe as the 'Poet of the Night' were treated to an intriguing journey of rediscovery, or in the case of the mostly youthful crowds, just plain discovery."

• Erika Franklin on Cages, a film shot and produced in Singapore by American director, Graham Streeter.

• "24 year-old first-time director and writer Yoon Jong-bin scooped three main prizes at Pusan this year for his film, The Unforgiven." Franklin talks with him.

• Two reviews: North on Kiyoshi Kurosawa's Loft and Franklin on Ham Tran's Journey From the Fall.

Mike Atherton looks back on the Japanese films screened at the Raindance Festival in London: "To put it simply Midnight Eye is the resource on Japanese cinema on the Internet making Jasper [Sharp]'s selection some of the hottest tickets of the festival."

Dean Bowman reviews a touring program of films by Yasuzo Masumura, "marking the first chance for English cineastes to see the films of an intriguing and prolific director."

Reviews:

• North on Innocence: Ghost in the Shell 2, "as cumbersome as its title," and: "Like it’s more well-known predecessor, Born to Fight is all about the action."

• Franklin, briefly, on 3-Iron, "a slow-burning, atmospheric and involving tale," and on Tae Guk Gi: "It feels too much like Hollywood."

• Atherton on Azumi 2, which should be "a riot of fun and over the top heroics, but for some reason you're left feeling disappointed," on The Castle of Cagliostro, which "easily holds its own against any big budget action spectacular from recent years in spills and thrills," on The Cat Returns, "as delightful as it is exciting," on Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, "not only one of Miyazaki's best films but also one of the best animated and science fiction movies period," on Sky Blue, which "looks stunning... but ultimately it's a very vapid affair," on Whispering Corridors, "a good primer for the schoolgirl horror genre," and on Kung Fu Hustle, "the perfect Friday night movie."

• Ziad Semaan is disappointed in a collection of early Donnie Yen films.

Posted by dwhudson at November 4, 2005 7:29 AM