Category Archives: Review

Review: Painting Giant Robots and Monsters

Posted on Sunday, July 17, 2011 by Robert Hood

Godaizer (Singapore-2011; short [18:43 min.]; dir. Hillary Yeo) Reviewed by Robert Hood Mecha is one of the most popular sub-categories of anime and has produced some of the best and longest-running animated sci-fi series ever. Though quintessentially Japanese when considered … Continue reading →

Posted in Animation, Daikaiju, Giant Monsters, Independent film, Mecha, Pictorial art, Review, Robots | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Laputa: Castle in the Sky

Posted on Sunday, June 19, 2011 by Robert Hood

Laputa: Castle in the Sky [original title: Tenkû no shiro Rapyuta] (Japan-1986; dir. Hayao Miyazaki Reviewed by Robert Hood There is a distinctly steampunk — or perhaps more accurately retro, post-Industrial — aesthetic  to Hayao Miyazaki’s typically luminous fantasy anime, … Continue reading →

Posted in Animation, Fantasy, Film, Review, Robots, Science Fiction | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Review: Sex and Insects

Posted on Friday, June 3, 2011 by Robert Hood

The Midge (UK-2010; short [11:22 min.]; dir. Rory Lowe) To quote Wikipedia: “Midges comprise many kinds of very small two-winged flies found world-wide. The term does not encapsulate a well-defined taxonomic group, but includes animals in several families of Nematoceran … Continue reading →

Posted in Competition, Film, Horror, Independent film, Review, Weekend Fright Flick | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Review: Monsters

Posted on Monday, April 18, 2011 by Robert Hood

Monsters (US-2010; dir. Gareth Edwards) Reviewed by Robert Hood To some extent, the title tells the story. Monsters is indeed a movie with monsters in it. They’re big, very alien and of daikaiju proportions. But is Monsters a Monster Movie? … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Giant Monsters, Independent film, Review | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

Review: Ghost in the Shell 2.0 Redux

Posted on Sunday, April 10, 2011 by Robert Hood

Ghost in the Shell 2.0 Redux (orig. Kôkaku kidôtai; Japan-1995; dir. Mamoru Oshii) Reviewed by Robert Hood Anyone who knows anything about anime knows Ghost in the Shell. Based on the classic manga of Masamune Shirow, Ghost in the Shell … Continue reading →

Posted in Animation, Review, Robots | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Review: Evangelion 1.11 You Are (Not) Alone

Posted on Tuesday, March 1, 2011 by Robert Hood

Evangelion 1.11: You Are (Not) Alone (Japan-2007; dir. Masayuki Yamaguchi, Kazuya Tsurumaki and Hideaki Anno) Blu-ray edition reviewed by Robert Hood Giant robots (known as mecha) and giant monsters (known as daikaiju): two of the most iconic elements of Japanese … Continue reading →

Posted in Animation, Apocalypse, Daikaiju, Giant Monsters, Japanese, Mecha, Review | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Review: Bringing the Zombies Home

Posted on Sunday, January 23, 2011 by Robert Hood

Home (Australia-2010; short [approx. 11 min.]; dir. Cameron McCulloch) Aussie filmmaker Cameron McCulloch has produced a damn fine short zombie film in Home. Made for AUS$2,000, it is, as it were, but a moment in the Romeroesque, post-Night of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Review, Zombies | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

The Muckman Cometh

Posted on Friday, January 14, 2011 by Robert Hood

Muckman (US-2010; dir. Brett Piper) Low-budget independent B-film maven, Brett Piper’s new cryptozoological comedy-thriller, Muckman, is a satirical excursion into a backwater wilderness inhabited by more than mosquitoes and alligators. Featuring a plotline churning with deception, false identities and self-serving … Continue reading →

Posted in Cryptozoology, Horror, Humour, Independent film, Review | 3 Comments

King vs the Vampires

Posted on Friday, December 17, 2010 by Robert Hood

The sardonic, somewhat bad-tempered ex-wrestler, now grumpy monster fighter, King! is back in issue 2 of writer Thomas Hall and artist Daniel Bradford’s new comic series, King!, created for Blacklist Studios. It is, I’m happy to say, even better than … Continue reading →

Posted in Comics, Review, Zombies | 1 Comment

Waking Up Again, Still in Fright

Posted on Sunday, November 28, 2010 by Robert Hood

Wake in Fright (Australia/US-1971; dir. Ted Kotcheff) Reviewed by Robert Hood A movie that is generally considered by film historians to be a classic of Australian cinema, but which has only existed in poor-quality later-generation prints for many decades and … Continue reading →

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