Perhaps my favorite movie-going story is how right after graduating college I went on a long-awaited trip to Europe with my mother and, at the same time, Ari Aster’s debut film, Hereditary (2018) was released into theaters. My Twitter timeline… Read More ›
In Buddhism, the word Śakra refers to a specific individual, a ruler of the Trāyastriṃśa Heaven who analyzes issues of morality with Buddha. Considering the depiction of the character Qiao Feng (Donnie Yen) in the Yen and Kam Ka Wai-directed… Read More ›
The New Gods series from Light Chaser is a refreshing approach to cultural stories. Each one of their films, even if not listed with the New Gods label (White Snake and Green Snake) allows the audience to engage with the… Read More ›
Over the course of writer/director Terry Gilliam’s career, whether it’s been Monty Python-related or not, each of his films have shared a fairly standard commonality: he’s written or adapted them. In the beginning of his career, his intention was to… Read More ›
Writer/director Makoto Shinkai’s been telling stories since the late-1990s, but didn’t become as widely well-known in the United States until his 2016 release Your Name. (君の名は。) which combined science fiction/fantasy elements through a natural disaster with young love, creating one… Read More ›
No less than 13 years after James Cameron introduced the world to the land of Pandora in Avatar (2009), the long-awaited sequel Avatar: The Way of Water finally saw a theatrical release in December 2022. Now, on the heels of… Read More ›
Let me paint you a picture: It’s May 1993 and Walt Disney, via distributor Buena Vista Pictures, is about to release a film co-written by Ed Solomon (Men in Black/Bill & Ted franchise), starring Bob Hoskins (Who Framed Roger Rabbit?),… Read More ›
The concept of “punk” is a rebellion against the mainstream. As it relates to music, the term was used to describe rock bands of the late-‘60s to early ‘70s that played rock tunes fast, hard, and, often, in brief. For… Read More ›
Who are you? This is a simple question that precedes an overly complex answer. You are not merely your thoughts, your feelings, your experiences, the sum total of everything you have encountered up until this moment, you are also everything… Read More ›
For those not in the know, the video game subgenre “rhythm” is of a music-oriented or music-centric design, the intent being to get the player to engage with music in some way. This could be by using one’s feet to… Read More ›
In the surreal and quirky With Love and a Major Organ, director Kim Albright deftly examines the difficulty of finding love and connection inside a world ruled by the algorithm. Based on a play by Julia Lederer, who also wrote… Read More ›
How do you know if you’ve lived a good life? That’s a hard question to answer objectively because of the various cultural and social rules that come to define what “good” is. Do intentions really matter if someone gets hurt… Read More ›
Black Mask (1996) and Dragon Blade (2015) director Daniel Lee Yan-Kong released wuxia action drama Code of the Assassins (青面修罗) in 2022, with it landing on streamer Hi-YAH! at the start of March and on home video via Well GO USA toward… Read More ›
Content Warning: The Angry Black Girl and Her Monster feature several scenes involving flashing lights. Photosensitive audiences should take precautions before viewing. Those who proclaim that America isn’t racist or isn’t built upon racist structures is either profiting from it… Read More ›
Award-winning children’s author Kate DiCamillo is the creator of such works as Because of Winn-Dixie, The Tale of Despereaux, Flora & Ulysses, and The Tiger Rising. While she’s also written several others, these four are particularly notable as they’ve each… Read More ›
Between Puss in Boots films there was an 11-year gap. 11 years where original voice actor Antonio Banderas (Desperado; Official Competition) played several supporting roles in other Shrek-related projects big and small, but not where the fearsome fighting feline took… Read More ›
In February of 2021, it was announced that LAIKA Studios and boutique home media distributor Shout! Factory made a deal to bring LAIKA’s incredible stop-motion films to U.S. audiences’ homes. Toward the end of 2021, Shout! Factory released Blu-ray/DVD combo… Read More ›
In February of 2021, it was announced that LAIKA Studios and boutique home media distributor Shout! Factory made a deal to bring LAIKA’s incredible stop-motion films to U.S. audiences’ homes. Toward the end of 2021, Shout! Factory released Blu-ray/DVD combo… Read More ›
After an 11 year hiatus between solo outings, the tailored tabby Puss in Boots (voiced by Antonio Banderas) returned to theaters in DreamWorks Animation’s Puss in Boots: The Last Wish with a brand-new look and an unexpected adventure. Enjoyed by general… Read More ›
Content Warning: Photosensitive viewers may have trouble enjoying Quantumania as there are many sequences involving flashing lights. There are far more than I expected and, though I did leave the theater without a migraine, I did wake to one the… Read More ›