Gamera 3: Revenge Of Iris Review

Gamera 3: Revenge Of Iris

Year: 1999

Director: Shusuke Kaneko

Writer: Kazunori Ito, Shusuke Kaneko,

Starring: Shinobu Nakayama, Ai Maeda, Yukijiro Jotaru, Auako Fujitani, Senri Yamazaki, Toru Tezuka, Yuu Koyama, Nozomi Ando, Kei Horie,

This is what it all came down to. After reinventing Gamera, Shusuke kaneko gave us what is one of the best monster movies of all time. In fact, it may be the only film which could debatably be even better than the original Gojira. It has absolutely everything you could ever want from the genre, as well as throwing in some stuff you didn’t even realise you needed. The first two films in this trilogy were just a year apart, whereas here a whole 3 years seemed to have been expertly utilised to perfect the story, effects, horror and drama. Much more than just a monster smash ‘em up, Gamera 3: Revenge Of Iris takes the formula and raises it to a level of perfection only attainable by the dedication of a team confident in their craft.

Nowhere To Hide Review

Nowhere To Hide

Year: 1999

Director: Lee Myung Se

Writer: Lee Myung Se

Starring: Park Joong Hoon, Ahn Sung Ki, Jang Dong Kun, Choi Ji Woo,

Nowhere To Hide may very well be the first Korean film I ever saw. For that alone it deserves my undying gratitude. Back in the day when Asian films all passed through the Tartan banner, Nowhere To Hide had one of the most striking trailers I have ever seen, and as it turned out, that trailer was mostly just a scene from the film itself which remains in the top half of greatest cinematic sequences of all time. As the years have passed and Lee Myung Se has given us more films, it is clear he is far more interested in visuals and experimentation than developing characters and telling unique stories. Although I’ve seen it many times, Nowhere To Hide always makes me nervous, as I am always worried I’ll return to the film one day and see nothing but needless editing techniques and fancy flourishes that only take enjoyment so far. Fortunately this is yet to happen.