Fantaspoa — A–Z of films

It’s a decidedly quirky tale of the sort that will infuriate some viewers, who will feel they’ve been egregiously ripped off – but if you like that sort of thing, you’ll be in your element.

For fans of martial arts cinema, this is a must see.

Powered by strong acting performances ... The Black Hole surfs through various genres smoothly.

Burning is not just a film about getting to the truth – it’s a film about the construction of truth.

Although most viewers will find themselves flagging before the end, there is a lot to enjoy here.

Everything here looks grimy, as if the film itself had been lying around in poor conditions for years, and colours and patterns are artfully mismatched.

It’s a film with big ambitions and limited means.

Even Kafkaesque ideas are subject to chaos.

Packs in plenty of mischief and mayhem.

Any number of films try to sell themselves on inviting us to ogle outsiders like these. The difference with Fucktoys is that it’s made by people who actually get it.

Exploitation, abuse and neglect are only a part of the story. There is also a fearless pursuit of joy.

A wistful hippy daydream which goes on to become very dark indeed, Llansó’s fable unfolds gracefully thanks to his command of the different genres that make up its constituent parts.

Pereira and Cayo could probably carry a “two-hander” – which The Instinct is – with no trouble, but only if they had something real in their characters to work with

The plot is not the film’s strongest point, but it functions well enough as a device through which to explore a troubled relationship.

There’s no room here for the simple morality of the average horror film.

Though parts of the film are repetitive and others don’t quite knit together, there are some real gems hidden in there.

The pace is so manic, the action so intense, that it’s easy to be fully immersed in Jimmy’s experience.

This is probably [Tsutsumi's] strangest film to date, its full-on, rapid fire style combining with a wild and not always coherent plot to exhaust most viewers in the first 15 minutes.

Flitting from scene to scene with an increasing disregard for the constraints of logic, the film beguiles hesitant viewers with its gorgeous sets and costumes.

Ultimately. McClarnon’s biggest advantage lies in his cast.

Ezban does not let us look away.

There is certainly some pleasing schadenfreude, but it doesn’t have the nerve to go all out, and ultimately it’s not as clever as it thinks it is.

There is blistering anger in its melange of baubles and feathers and tulle.

Possibly the best musical ever written.

Two things elevate it. One is Yasuda’s commitment to looking in depth at the culture of the Edo period, rather than just cribbing from past jidaigeki and trying to distract us with swordplay. The other is seasoned jidaigeki actor Yamaguchi’s wonderfully sensitive and sincere performance.

This may present itself as a B-movie but it’s very well crafted, at every level from the dramatic to the cinematographic.

Right and wrong are blurry concepts here. What might mean justice for an individual could be devastating to the community.

The spectacular visual effects are less a product of slick new technology than of pure imagination, and they really are unforgettable.

Collinson shows that he can easily evoke the council estate drama look only to turn it on its head and shift genres in the process.

Ortiz, like many a filmmaker before him, acknowledges a debt to HP Lovecraft, but his work here is more in tune with that author’s style than most, in that it resists the temptation to reveal too much or to offer reasoned explanations.

A very effective piece of low budget storytelling.

It is at its most effective when honing in on the psychological and the social, looking at how easy it is for children – and adults – to find themselves in trouble.

The cinematography is deliberately downbeat. The narrative meanders as its hero does.