Film Reviews · Backpex

Title	Overview		Toggle columns Title Overview
10.5	An earthquake reaching a 10.5 magnitude on the Richter scale, strikes the west coast of the U.S. and Canada. A large portion of land falls into the ocean, and the situation is worsened by aftershocks and tsunami.
The Sandwich Man	Composed of three separate stories, the film vividly portrays Taiwan during the cold war period when the country developed its economy with help from the United States. It is regarded as a hallmark of Taiwanese New Cinema.
Page Eight	Page Eight is lovingly turned, with elegant writing, a flawless cast and a heartfelt message from writer/director David Hare about the danger zone where spies and politicians meet. The tension builds gently as we follow the fortunes of Johnny Worricker, a jazz-loving charmer who works high up at MI5 as an intelligence analyst. It’s a part made for Bill Nighy and he purrs out bon mots with a weary panache that women 20 years younger find irresistible. One such is his neighbour, Nancy Pierpan (Rachel Weisz), in a Battersea mansion block. The question for Johnny is whether her interest in him is genuine or hides something darker. As his boss (Michael Gambon) puts it: “Distrust is a terrible habit.” Questions of trust, honour and friendship rumble through the play. The characters exchange oblique repartee as a plot about a damning dossier unwinds. It’s not to be missed.
Last of the Mobile Hot Shots	A new bride gets caught between her decadent husband and his black half-brother.
B.A.P.S.	Can two clueless Georgia homegirls with big hearts -- and even bigger hair -- find happiness, fame and thrills in the swank hills of Beverly? Anything is possible when you are B.A.P.'s. They revive Blakemore's interest for life, and he teaches them to be "Black American Princesses" in return.
Stalker	When novelist Paula Martin retreats to the seclusion of her family home Crows Hall she hopes to clear her mind and focus on her new book. The arrival of an assistant, Linda, should take the pressure off... but as the bodies pile up, Paula finds herself trapped in a terrifying nightmare of murder and madness.
Electronic Labyrinth THX 1138 4EB	In an underground city in a dystopian future, the protagonist, whose name is "THX 1138 4EB", is shown running through passageways and enclosed spaces. It is soon discovered that THX is escaping his community. The government uses computers and cameras to track down THX and attempt to stop him; however, they fail. He escapes by breaking through a door and runs off into the sunset. The government sends their condolences to YYO 7117, THX's mate, claiming that THX has destroyed himself. Electronic Labyrinth: THX-1138 4EB is a 1967 science fiction short film written and directed by George Lucas[1] while he attended the University of Southern California's film school.
Stellar	This is a hand-painted film which has been photographically step-printed to achieve various effects of brief fades and fluidity-of-motion, and makes partial use of painted frames in repetition (for "close-up" of textures). The tone of the film is primarily dark blue, and the paint is composed (and rephotographed microscopically) to suggest galactic forms in a space of stars.
Out for a Kill	An unsuspecting university professor is an unwitting accomplice in a foiled Chinese cocaine deal. Wrongly imprisoned, he escapes to take his revenge and prove his innocence.
Gang Tapes	When a brutal carjacking yields a videocamera, a teenage boy decides to document his life and the lives of his fellow gangbangers.
Playing Beatie Bow	Abigail Kirk was an ordinary enough sixteen year old growing up in todays Sydney. An intriguing chain of events finds Abigail, through some eerie time shift, transported back one hundred years after watching some children playing a scary game called Beatie Bow.
More Wild Wild West	Robert Conrad and Ross Martin reprise their roles as Secret Service agents of the 1890s.
Nightfall	An innocent man turns fugitive as he reconstructs events that implicate him for a murder and robbery he did not commit.
Lies & Illusions	When a menacing smuggler coolly insists that best-selling author Wes Wilson take a chauffeured backseat ride with him, Wilson's charmed life explodes into a world of violence and espionage, and he learns shocking truths about two women in his life.
The Legend of Drunken Master	Returning home with his father after a shopping expedition, Wong Fei-Hong is unwittingly caught up in the battle between foreigners who wish to export ancient Chinese artifacts and loyalists who don't want the pieces to leave the country. Fei-Hong must fight against the foreigners using his Drunken Boxing style, and overcome his father's antagonism as well.

10.5

An earthquake reaching a 10.5 magnitude on the Richter scale, strikes the west coast of the U.S. and Canada. A large portion of land falls into the ocean, and the situation is worsened by aftershocks and tsunami.

The Sandwich Man

Composed of three separate stories, the film vividly portrays Taiwan during the cold war period when the country developed its economy with help from the United States. It is regarded as a hallmark of Taiwanese New Cinema.

Page Eight

Page Eight is lovingly turned, with elegant writing, a flawless cast and a heartfelt message from writer/director David Hare about the danger zone where spies and politicians meet. The tension builds gently as we follow the fortunes of Johnny Worricker, a jazz-loving charmer who works high up at MI5 as an intelligence analyst. It’s a part made for Bill Nighy and he purrs out bon mots with a weary panache that women 20 years younger find irresistible. One such is his neighbour, Nancy Pierpan (Rachel Weisz), in a Battersea mansion block. The question for Johnny is whether her interest in him is genuine or hides something darker. As his boss (Michael Gambon) puts it: “Distrust is a terrible habit.” Questions of trust, honour and friendship rumble through the play. The characters exchange oblique repartee as a plot about a damning dossier unwinds. It’s not to be missed.

Last of the Mobile Hot Shots

A new bride gets caught between her decadent husband and his black half-brother.

B.A.P.S.

Can two clueless Georgia homegirls with big hearts -- and even bigger hair -- find happiness, fame and thrills in the swank hills of Beverly? Anything is possible when you are B.A.P.'s. They revive Blakemore's interest for life, and he teaches them to be "Black American Princesses" in return.

Stalker

When novelist Paula Martin retreats to the seclusion of her family home Crows Hall she hopes to clear her mind and focus on her new book. The arrival of an assistant, Linda, should take the pressure off... but as the bodies pile up, Paula finds herself trapped in a terrifying nightmare of murder and madness.

Electronic Labyrinth THX 1138 4EB

In an underground city in a dystopian future, the protagonist, whose name is "THX 1138 4EB", is shown running through passageways and enclosed spaces. It is soon discovered that THX is escaping his community. The government uses computers and cameras to track down THX and attempt to stop him; however, they fail. He escapes by breaking through a door and runs off into the sunset. The government sends their condolences to YYO 7117, THX's mate, claiming that THX has destroyed himself. Electronic Labyrinth: THX-1138 4EB is a 1967 science fiction short film written and directed by George Lucas[1] while he attended the University of Southern California's film school.

Stellar

This is a hand-painted film which has been photographically step-printed to achieve various effects of brief fades and fluidity-of-motion, and makes partial use of painted frames in repetition (for "close-up" of textures). The tone of the film is primarily dark blue, and the paint is composed (and rephotographed microscopically) to suggest galactic forms in a space of stars.

Out for a Kill

An unsuspecting university professor is an unwitting accomplice in a foiled Chinese cocaine deal. Wrongly imprisoned, he escapes to take his revenge and prove his innocence.

Gang Tapes

When a brutal carjacking yields a videocamera, a teenage boy decides to document his life and the lives of his fellow gangbangers.

Playing Beatie Bow

Abigail Kirk was an ordinary enough sixteen year old growing up in todays Sydney. An intriguing chain of events finds Abigail, through some eerie time shift, transported back one hundred years after watching some children playing a scary game called Beatie Bow.

More Wild Wild West

Robert Conrad and Ross Martin reprise their roles as Secret Service agents of the 1890s.

Nightfall

An innocent man turns fugitive as he reconstructs events that implicate him for a murder and robbery he did not commit.

Lies & Illusions

When a menacing smuggler coolly insists that best-selling author Wes Wilson take a chauffeured backseat ride with him, Wilson's charmed life explodes into a world of violence and espionage, and he learns shocking truths about two women in his life.

The Legend of Drunken Master

Returning home with his father after a shopping expedition, Wong Fei-Hong is unwittingly caught up in the battle between foreigners who wish to export ancient Chinese artifacts and loyalists who don't want the pieces to leave the country. Fei-Hong must fight against the foreigners using his Drunken Boxing style, and overcome his father's antagonism as well.