EasternKicks

The ultimate destination for Asian cinema, featuring reviews, interviews, news, and a wealth of additional content.

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Japanese Avant-Garde Pioneers

1 week ago | easternkicks.com | Niina Doherty

Fascinating insight into the birth of the Japanese avant-garde movement…The horrors of the Second World War and the political turmoil of its aftermath gave birth to one of the most interesting art movements in the world: the Japanese avant-garde.
Upstream | easternkicks.com

2 weeks ago | easternkicks.com | Andrew Heskins

Xu Zheng tackles food delivery worker struggles—but turns hardship into hollow spectacle…People living in China rely heavily on food delivery services, particularly due to the popularity of platforms like Meituan. Whether ordering breakfast at the office or getting a drink during a haircut, these services have become an indispensable part of daily life; it is hard to imagine a day without them.
Movie review: The Loot

2 weeks ago | easternkicks.com | James Mudge

An all-star cast boost Eric Tsang’s 1980 kung fu comedy…Originally released back in 1980, The Loot (which also went by Bloody Tattoo in the west) was the sophomore directorial outing for Eric Tsang, who would go on to become one of the most prolific figures in the Hong Kong entertainment industry, perhaps best known to international audiences for his comic and Triad boss roles, most notably in the blockbuster Infernal Affairs.
Movie review: Teki Cometh

2 weeks ago | easternkicks.com | Andrew Heskins

Yoshiba Daihaici portrays the insecurities of an old man in Teki Cometh, but fails to give his film depth and nuance…Who’s the enemy in ‘Teki Cometh’? Yoshiba Daihaici misses the mark with his film adaptation of Teki Cometh leading to a both muddled and overtly explicit portrait of the insecurities of an old man. On a day like any other retired professor Watanabe (Nagatsuka Kyōzō) wakes up in his traditional Japanese home.
Dollhouse | easternkicks.com

2 weeks ago | easternkicks.com | Andrew Heskins

You’ve been warned about creepy dolls…Just what is it about creepy dolls that gets under our collective skin? It’s something filmmakers have tried to exploit, from the Brad Dourif-voiced Chucky of the Child’s Play films and TV show, to Annabelle from so-called ‘The Conjuring universe’—so popular she spawned a series of spin-offs. Surely, M3gan personifies the most demonic possession of all, AI.
Movie review: A Million

3 weeks ago | easternkicks.com | James Mudge

Contestants in a reality TV show realise their director has sinister intentions in this 2009 Korean thriller…Taking its inspiration from the reality television survival shows that continue to be popular across the world, A Million notches things up by putting its characters in real danger as they compete for the titular sum.
Love in the Big City

3 weeks ago | easternkicks.com | Andrew Heskins

A bright, offbeat portrait of friendship and survival, wrapped in the deceptive warmth of a romantic comedy…Love in the Big City by Sang Young Park (2019) is a well-researched work that, along with prestigious book awards, has garnered attention from both filmmakers and audiences across different media. The story has been adapted into a TV series, spanning eight episodes, as well as a movie of the same title.
Dollhouse | easternkicks.com

3 weeks ago | easternkicks.com | Andrew Heskins

After the tragic death of their child, a couple buy a doll to help them grieve. But the toy seems to have a mind of its own…When a life-sized child doll flings herself at an old lady, with a vigour more commonly associated with sumo wrestlers, should you laugh or scream? It’s a question that Japanese writer and director Shinobu Yaguchi, best known for feel-good comedies such as Waterboys and Swing Girls, struggles with in Dollhouse, his first attempt at horror.
Movie review: The Stone

4 weeks ago | easternkicks.com | Andrew Heskins

A dive into the secretive Thai amulet trade scene combines crime, action and unexpected drama in an entertaining debut…The Stone starts small, ends big. It all begins when young man Ake (Jaonaaz Jinjett Wattanasin) tries to sell a set of Buddhist amulets stowed away among his father’s possessions, in order to pay for his sick father’s medical bills. It turns out that what Ake has in hand is the real deal: a genuine Somdej amulet (‘The Stone’), among a market full of fakes.
Movie review: A Company Man

1 month ago | easternkicks.com | James Mudge

A hitman finds himself up against his employers after he falls in love in this violent but predictable 2012 Korean thriller…That ever-popular darling of Korean genre cinema, the strong, silent and stylishly dressed hitman returned again in 2012 in the thriller A Company Man, which marked the debut of writer director Lim Sang-yoon, and his only film since.