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Reviews
The 44th Chamber of Shaolin (2023)
Stunning in every respect
I saw this movie in the context of the major Horror-Fantasy-Sci-Fi festival FilmQuest in Provo, Utah. It is so brilliant that it literally stunned me. It's almost flawless in every respect, acting, directing, writing, choreography... The actors are great performers but also actually have Kung Fu skills. The balance between comedy and more serious aspects is excellent: many jokes eventually prove to be connected to meaningful underlying topics, which makes the movie both fun and inspirational. To an extent I had the impression to watch a short modernized version of the legendary trilogy of the 36th Chamber of Shaolin by the Shaw brothers. Afterwards I learned that it took several years to put together, which makes sense. I hope it will lead to a feature-length film, which would undoubtedly become a classic of the genre and be much appreciated by a large audience.
Sapio (2023)
Great new opus by Deborah Twiss
This new opus by Deborah Twiss, icon of the independent New York film scene since her directorial debut "A Gun for Jennifer" in 1997, is fascinating by many aspects. As usual, she wrote, directed and acted in it. Among the most impressive aspects is the way the movie combines entertainment and deep reflexions about various overall topics, which is a consistent creative brand of her work. It perfectly fulfills the expectations as an "Erotic Thriller", both in terms of eroticism and crime plot, but also explores important topics like aging, voyeurism, erotic fantasies, double dealing, unethical behavior... all at the same time. Interestingly, the movie has some "European" undertones in the way it deals freely with nudity while always remaining focused on its core topics. It's also a perfect example of how to achieve a successful independent production, by writing for a limited amount of characters and locations and relying on an excellent cast.