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Translating a literary page-turner into a cinematic seat-warmer is a big ask. “It’s not as good as the book” will be the inevitable mutter. But a film must stand in its own right, and The Kite Runner certainly does that. Set against the backdrop of Afghanistan’s turbulent recent history, The Kite Runner tells the story of a friendship between two boys, Amir and Hassan, forged in 1970s Kabul. Read the rest of this entry »
The French aren’t particularly well known for their filmic comedy. Erudite intellectual thrillers, yes; sidesplitting humour, most definitely not. Unfortunately, the premise behind I Do does little to convince sceptics like myself otherwise, treading as it does the well-worn path of the clichéd ‘rom-com’. Read the rest of this entry »
Tales of Hong Kong’s criminal underworld provide rich pickings for Asian cinema, and at first glance Exiled seems to fit the tried and tested route of a gritty inter-Triad shoot ‘em up. But unlike its genre stable-mates, Exiled stands out by adding a splash of spaghetti Western to create a heavily stylised piece, with more than a nod to the classics of Sergio Leone — there’s even some harmonica action thrown in for good measure. Read the rest of this entry »
