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"Spider" is probably Cronenberg's most low key film; out have gone the blood, guts and mutation, resulting in his common theme of "body" horror being translated into a completely psychological issue as the titular character's past, present and imagination all dangerously coincide in chilling fashion.

Everything is played to perfection here. Cronenberg's direction gives one of the bleakest depictions of London seen in many a year. The locations visited by Spider as a child and a man are so expertly filmed that the two realities also begin to merge in the viewers' mind to the same extent. It is also impossible to overstate Fienne's performance. He barely utters a word, and even in the initially corkscrew depiction of his mind he still manages to create sympathy for his strange plight. He is practically matched by Hall his child counterpart, and Byrne tackles a difficult role (and accent) effortlessly, but Richardson probably gives the most pivotal performance(s). The reason for her duel role may be hard to grasp until the film has been viewed and assessed; yet even on the surface she creates such heavily contrasting characters that it is difficult to comprehend that it is the same person beneath the make up.

It is without a doubt a "must watch twice" film, not for some cheap Shyamalan-ism, but because it is so difficult to decipher the first time. Yet, due to the skill of everyone involved, this doesn't hamper how effective it is the first time. The plot being unravelled is merely a bonus; this is pure cinematic art. Visually it is just as effective at showing the collapse and collision of two realities, and when you can get the full message watching the film with the sound off you know you are dealing with a true master of cinema.

Without a doubt one of Cronenberg's finest and most unmissable films.

"GI Samurai" sees Sonny Chiba and some other guys get transported back to civil war stricken feudal Japan for no particular reason, and much carnage ensues. It's a rather over the top essay of sword vs. machine gun that ultimately yields some interesting results.

The plot essentially runs along the rails that you might expect from the title; initial fish-out-the-water antics ("what is this flying metal box?" etc etc), "aren't we better off here" discussions and ultimately a huge battle. The latter is proof that the film doesn't take itself seriously at all, the carnage taking up most of the second half as samurai army battles Chiba's platoon; a face off one would fully expect from the title but it still manages to overwhelm with its inventiveness and extravagance. It's certainly one of the most unique battle sequences of its time and doesn't drag despite its extended length.

Chiba gives a gruff performance as Iba, initially a good leader but someone who finally finds himself questioning his own morals as the situation slowly has an effect on him. This is certainly one of his better vehicles from his terrific CV. By the final act the two worlds have had such an effect on each other you have to wonder if it was a bit of nihilism on the part of the writers, as they seem to be asking "weren't we better off back then?'. But this is maybe reading a bit much into was can generally be described as a hugely entertaining two hours of (almost) non stop action.