Our movie man Kelan branches out to far east

Having established himself as the go to guy for all things cinema-related in Lurgan, Kelan has now been taken on as a movie reviewer for a website dedicated to the film output of Asia.

Kelan told the ‘MAIL’: “I got started in film criticism back in 2007, when as a Media student, I first learned how to analyse a film, critically. Additionally, the shows and articles of the late Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert helped this interest blossom from a hobby into an impromptu career path.”

Since September 2012, he has been the film critic for The Lurgan Mail.

In his Film Talk column, I tackle the newest cinema releases and pen the occasional opinion piece.

Explaining his love for Asian cinema he said: “It was a viewing of Enter The Dragon at six years old, and my subsequent idolising of Bruce Lee, which got me hooked on Hong Kong action films and Asian cinema at large. “Back in those pre-internet days of the early to mid 1990′s, the only way of seeing martial arts films were at the local video shop and you’d be lucky to catch a showing on television. Bruce’s Way of The Dragon, shown at a ridiculously late time on Channel Four, was the first foreign film I ever saw.

“Over the next decade plus – through word of mouth, filmmaker recommendations and Jonathan Ross led documentaries – I’d discover other great films from all over Asia; the films of Takeshi Kitano, various Chanbara swordplay films, Studio Ghibli and other Anime classics – while my love of the Hong Kong film industry grew to include Jackie Chan, Chow-Yun Fat, John Woo, Tsui Hark, Jet Li, Tony Leung, Donnie Yen and a miscellany of others, too numerous to compile.

“I’ve spent the majority of my life as a fan of some of the best talents the East has on offer and yet I feel I’ve only scratched the surface. The journey is always ongoing and will be aided greatly by contributing to easternKicks and regular reader interaction. I look forward to shamelessly indulging in my fandom and being exposed to some classics that have yet gone unseen.”