This is Not What I Expected (2017)

Director: Derek Hui
Notable Cast: Takeshi Kaneshiro, Zhou Dongyu, Ming Xi, Tony Yang

Food lovers are transported to the best interpretation of 'food heaven' yet as This is Not What I Expected takes the potential erotics of food (visually speaking) and cranks them up to be the most eye-pleasing series of close-ups and slow-motion preparation shots of all time, in cinematic history, period. Now that may be up for debate, and is perhaps a strong opinion to throw out into the wild upfront, but it is what I stand by, just like the confidence of Kaneshiro's masterful critique of said cuisine.

Brimstone (2017)

Director: Martin Koolhoven

Notable Cast: Dakota Fanning, Guy Pearce, Kit Harington, Carice van Houten, Emilia Jones, Jack Roth, Jack Hollington, Paul Anderson, Carla Juri, Vera Vitali, William Houston, Bill Tangradi

It’s almost unfair to call Brimstone a horror or western simply because this is a film that refuses to succumb to the tropes of any one genre. On the surface, yes, it’s about a vicious reverend that seemingly tortures a young woman throughout her life, appearing in increasingly violent and malevolent ways to continue her torment… which certainly sounds like a horror movie set up with a western setting. However, Brimstone uses western motifs, dramatic pacing, horror themed elements of tension and dread, and an approach to its narrative that lifts it above being ‘just another horror movie’ or ‘just another western.’ This is a film that’s meant to be an intense and still often subtle roller coaster of commentary, character study, and cinematic craftsmanship. It succeeds at doing it all and is going to be one of the underdog best films of the year.

Three Brothers (1981)

Director: Francesco Rosi

Notable Cast: Phillipe Noiret, Michele Placido, Vittorio Mezzogiorno, Andrea Ferreol, Maddalena Crippa, Rosaria Tafuri, Marta Zoffoli, Tino Schirinzi, Simonetta Stefanelli, Pietro Biondi, Charles Vanel, Accursio Di Leo, Luici Infantino, Girolamo Marzano, Gina Pontrelli

The more artsy avenues of cinema have not necessarily been ones that we transverse here at Blood Brothers, but the recent American releases for Arrow Academy have certainly opened some of those gates. Just in the last few months, we have started to explore the realms of high end Italian cinema after spending years digging through the trenches of their exploitation and genre work. Reviews for films like Cinema Paradiso or a couple new releases from director Elio Petri have kick started this move and the next step is into the works Francesco Rosi. While the director has a few iconic titles under his belt that many cinephiles will recognize, the focus of this review is on the newly released Blu Ray edition of his political and familial drama Three Brothers. Layering a simple plot around the reunion of three very different brothers who return home when their mother passes, Three Brothers is far more than just another family centered drama where the characters have to work out their intricacies. This is a film that works on a variety of layers of character focus and various commentaries. It’s easy to see why it was nominated for an Oscar the year it came out.

Django, Prepare a Coffin (1968)

Director: Ferdinando Baldi

Notable Cast: Terence Hill, Horst Frank, George Eastman, Jose Torres, Bruna Simionato, Pinuccio Ardia, Guido Lollobrigida

The explosion of Django films in the 1960s is almost laughable. Everyone and their grandmother was trying to capitalize on the success of the original Django and the amount of poor and mediocre Django films can be daunting for someone diving in for the first time. I know because I just recently started my journey into Django-sploitation. Fortunately, there are a handful of guides and people out there to help and it was from these handy chaperons that the film Django, Prepare a Coffin first came to my attention. As if on queue, it wasn’t long after that Arrow Video announced the US release of Django, Prepare a Coffin for a Blu Ray release. While not an official sequel, I’m glad that this one got a nice release because it’s one of the few Django films I’ve seen deserving to be placed next to the original on my shelf. It’s cohesive in its approach, adamantly trying its best to feel and continue on the story of the hero it’s based on, and it’s a solid blend of entertaining spaghetti western and thoughtful storytelling. Prepare a Coffin is definitely one of my favorites to feature this character.  

Love and Other Cults (2017)

Director: Eiji Uchida

Notable Cast: Sairi Itoh, Kenta Suga, Kaito Yoshimura, Hanae Kan, Ami Tomite, Antony, Hana Matsumoto, Nanami Kawakami, Katsuya Maiguma, Matthew Chozick, Taro Yabe, Yoshimasa Kando, Denden


Eiji Uchida has become a household name with indie distributor Third Window Films, leading the company to jump into the production world 100% on their own with Lowlife Love. With the surprise success of said project, Adam (TWF) and Eiji have teamed up once again for another crazy and wonderful production... Love and Other Cults.

Ai is a girl who is budding into a young woman, but the world she inhabits seems to vehemently reject her existence, and she finds herself hopping about various groups of living, seemingly absorbing herself in blend as a chameleon, only to shortly thereafter continue that hop. Along the way she meets some interesting characters, all nasty in a certain sense, but as the story unfolds, so do the reasons behind these characters brokenness.

Caltiki, the Immortal Monster (1959)

Directors: Riccardo Freda, Mario Bava (uncredited)

Notable Cast: John Merivale, Didi Sullivan, Gerard Haerter, GR Stuart, Victor Andree, Daniel Vargas, Arthur Dominick, Black Bernard, Rex Wood

Outside of the name Mario Bava being included on the front artwork, my knowledge of Caltiki, the Immortal Monster was pretty limited. The name has popped up a few times during my work on some other Mario Bava reviews, however, there wasn’t any indication that it was a film that would eventually be getting the pristine Arrow Video treatment. Now that it has, it’s easy to see why there would be a cult fan base for this film. For one, it’s co-directed (uncredited and from various sources described as fully directed) by the prestigious Mario Bava and his fan base seems to only grow larger and more ferocious with each passing year. The film certainly shows a lot of his trademarks and Gothic tones he would use in his solo work in a handful of years. Secondly, Caltiki is the Italian version of the classic 1950s monster movie and could easily fall right into the same categories as many of the Hollywood or Japanese films from the same period. Thus, fans of Bava or the 50s monster flicks are going to want to seek out Caltiki no matter how effective the film is as being either.

Dead or Alive 2: Birds (2000)

Director: Takashi Miike

Notable Cast: Show Aikawa, Riki Takeuchi, Noriko Aota, Edison Chen, Kenichi Endo

If a person were to judge the direction of Dead or Alive 2: Birds by the finale of Dead or Alive, then you wouldn’t be too much off the mark in the outrageous tone that it uses. However, the mistake in that line of thinking comes from believing that Dead or Alive 2 is a sequel to Dead or Alive at all. Outside of the title, being directed by Takashi Miike, and starring the same two leads, there is no actual story element or character that connects the two films. There are a few thematic elements that could be seen as carrying over, but they are some of the same elements that one sees in a lot of Miike films. Even with no connection, Dead or Alive 2 might just have the edge on its predecessor by embracing a lot of the quirky elements of its story and characters and delivering a phenomenal third act worthy of the Miike brand. It’s a strange film that doesn’t always feel cohesive, but that doesn’t stop it from hitting a lot of amazing moments with pizzazz.

Assassin, The (1961)

Director: Elio Petri

Notable Cast: Marcello Mastroianni, Micheline Presle, Cristina Gajoni, Salvo Randone, Marco Mariani, Franco Ressel, Giovanna Gagliardo, Paolo Panelli, Toni Ucci

As the second film from director Elio Petri that we are reviewing this month, The Assassin is also his debut and it’s a doozy. Playing out like a kind of murder mystery with noir elements, the film is not nearly as upfront with its layered commentary as the other film we just reviewed (the very awesome Property Is No Longer a Theft), but the effective way that it unravels its story in a leaping structure and the crisp manner that the film builds into its third act makes it one that we cannot recommend enough. It may not be the most original film out there, but the execution is immaculate and this Arrow Academy release belongs in any self-respecting cinephile’s collection.

The Mayor (2017)

Director: Park In-je
Notable Cast: Choi Min-sik, Kwak Do-won, Sim Eun-kyeong, Ra Mi-ran, Moon So-ri

Choi Min-sik is an actor whom I can always follow no matter the choices he makes as whether the film he is in is good or not and he always delivers. In The Mayor, Choi not only lives up to his wonderful reputation, but he gives one of the finest performances of his career yet.

The Mayor is a political thriller loaded with twists and turns at every corner. Choi Min-sik plays Byun Jong-go, the mayor of Seoul, who is running for a third term, and if elected he will be the first in the history of South Korea to do so. In his opposition is Yang Jin-joo, played effectively by Ra Mi-ran, a rough contender in the race to the top in what folds out in a total war.

Property Is No Longer a Theft (1973)

Director: Elio Petri

Notable Cast: Ugo Tognazzi, Flavio Bucci, Daria Nicolodi, Salvo Randone, Mario Scaccia

Property Is No Longer a Theft is the kind of film that I had to chew on for quite some time before putting a single word down about it. Part of this is because the film defies the limits of the genres that it fringes on, never settling on one to be the focus and instead existing in the blurred spectrum of definition. The other part is that the film is odd in its execution. It’s a film where themes and focuses between characters and plot seemingly float in and out leaving far more questions about what the intent of the film was and its commentary than anything else. It’s a lot to chew on. It’s no wonder that Arrow Academy decided to give the film a nice robust home video release. Property Is No Longer a Theft is the kind of artistic film that rests just below the mainstream appeal of a loud cult audience that will stand up for it as years go by, yet it deserves some kind of attention because of its artistic merit. While my initial feelings on the film are mixed, there is mad respect for Arrow Academy to give this film some love and dedicated cinephiles should most certainly experience it for themselves to see how they feel about the entire thing.