The Last Days of Emma Blank
M
Netherlands, 2009
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Language: Dutch
Director: Alex van Warmerdam
Starring: Marlies Heuer, Gene Bervoets, Alex van Warmerdam
What's it about?
This dark Dutch comedy focuses on a bitter boss-from-hell, and the put-upon staff who are eagerly anticipating her death. It's weird and wacky, and provides an excellent opportunity to work through some tensions you might have with your own employer.
The Assassin
PG
Taiwan, 2015
Genre: Martial Arts
Language: Chinese, Mandarin
Director: Hou Hsiao-Hsien
Starring: Shu Qi, Chang Chen, Satoshi Tsumabuki
What's it about?Hsiao-Hsien Hou won the Best Director award at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival for this exquisite epic, in which a female assassin experiences divided loyalties when she has a personal connection to her next target (he's her ex-fiance). While it contains elegantly choreographed fighting scenes, The Assassin is not your usual action-packed martial arts fare: instead, immerse yourself in its contemplative mood, and enjoy each frame of this sumptuous film.
The Assassin review: Fleeting battles make way for exquisitely beautiful, lingering shots
The House under the Water
M
Iran, 2010
Genre: Drama
Language: Persian-Farsi
Director: Sepideh Farsi
Starring: Masoud Rayegany, Bijan Emkanian
What's it about?
An ex-con is trying to rebuild his life when he is implicated in the drowning death of a child. He is instantly assumed to be guilty until the police officer assigned to the case becomes obsessed with getting him off the hook.
X+Y
PG
UK, 2015
Genre: Drama
Language: English
Director: Morgan Matthews
Starring: Asa Butterfield, Rafe Spall, Sally Hawkins
What's it about?
Based on a true story, X+Y follows teenager Nathan, played by Asa Butterfield (Hugo), who is living on the Autism Spectrum. Nathan struggles to connect with people, but he finds comfort in numbers and mathematics, and lands a spot on the British squad at the International Mathematics Olympiad in Taiwan. Upon its release in the UK, X+Y was praised by disability advocates for its considered subversion of the usual movie clichés. Sally Hawkins, in particular, was singled out for her frank portrayal of the challenges associated with raising a child on the spectrum.
Jedda
PG
Australia, 1955
Genre: Drama, Adventure, Action
Language: English
Director: Charles Chauvel
Starring: Rosalie Kunoth-Monks, Robert Tudawali, Betty Suttor
What's it about?Don't miss this iconic classic by film pioneer Charles Chauvel, the first Australian movie shot in colour starring indigenous actors in the lead roles. Jedda is raised by a white family in the Australian outback in the '50s, and is caught between two cultures, confused about her heritage and her place in the world.
Beck Cole: Jedda is a lens into '50s white Australia
Australian film's first multihyphenate: Charles Chauvel
Kill Bill: Vol. 1
MA15+
USA, 2003
Genre: Action, Martial Arts, Thriller
Language: English
Director: Quentin Tarantino
Starring: Uma Thurman, Michael Madsen, David Carradine, Lucy Liu
What's it about?Ten years after her memorable performance in Pulp Fiction, Uma Thurman returns in Tarantino's Kill Bill, a spectacular two-part saga, jam-packed with martial arts, samurais and western action. She plays The Bride, once part of a group of world-class female assassins, until her employer and husband, Bill (David Carradine), has her shot. Five years later, she awakens from her coma vowing to take her revenge.
Watch the original Movie Show review
Watch interview with Quentin Tarantino
The Good, The Bad, The Weird
MA15+
South Korea, 2008
Genre: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Western
Language: Korean
Director: Kim Jee-woon
Starring: Song Kang-ho, Lee Byung-hun, Jung Woo-Sung
What's it about?
By the director of A Tale of Two Sisters and A Bittersweet Life comes this exhilarating story of two outlaws and a bounty hunter in 1930s Manchuria and their dealings with the Japanese army and Chinese and Russian bandits. Beautifully shot and packed with spectacular stunts, this Korean action flick is simply great fun.
Maiko Haaaan!!!
PG
Japan, 2007
Genre: Comedy
Language: Japanese
Director: Nobuo Mizuta
Starring: Sadao Abe, Kô Shibasaki, Shinichi Tsutsumi
What's it about?
Kimihiko Onizuka is obsessed with geishas, and he is finally able to indulge his passions when he gets transferred to his company's branch in Kyoto - the epicentre of geisha culture. A fun and silly comedy carried by the impressive performance by manic rubber-faced actor Sadao Abe.
Khumba
G
South Africa, 2013
Genre: Animation, Adventure, Family
Language: English
Director: Anthony Silverston
Starring: Jake T. Austin, Liam Neeson, Steve Buscemi
What's it about?
A beautiful coming-of-age animation voiced by a star-studded cast including Liam Neeson, Steve Buscemi, Richard E. Grant and Laurence Fishburne. It tells the story of a young zebra whose stripes only cover half of his body. Ostracised for being different, he leaves his herd in search of his missing stripes, and is joined on his quest by an overprotective wildebeest and a flamboyant ostrich.
