With Project Wolf Hunting, writer and director Kim Hong-sun ensures that the audience is taken on a journey that will test the limits of their toleration for extreme violence and bloodshed. This film is not for the faint of heart,… Read More ›
foreign film
Macarena Gómez and Sofía García make every moment of “Everyone Will Burn (Y Todos Arderán)” scorching. [Fantastic Fest]
Before we dive right into our review of the incredible Spanish horror film, Everyone Will Burn (Y Todos Arderán), we must first talk briefly about an HBO Spain show called 30 Coins. 30 Coins is a semi-religiously involved horroresque show… Read More ›
Action drama “Preman: Silent Fury” hits harder with the pathos than violence.
Murder, mayhem, sorrow, grief, pain, redemption: these are universal aspects of storytelling that transcend time and place. For stories that combine these to the point where pulpy isn’t just a way to describe the story but the viscera that remains… Read More ›
“Preman: Silent Fury” Blu-ray Giveaway
If someone were to mention Indonesian action cinema, films like The Night Came For Us (2018), The Raid: Redemption (2011) and it’s amazing follow-up The Raid 2: Berandal (2014), as well as Merantu (2009) and newly released Vengeance is Mine, All Others Pay Cash (2021)… Read More ›
“Goodbye, Don Glees!” Hello, innumerable possibilities.
As long as there are children who grow into adulthood via adolescence, there will always be coming-of-age stories. They may not be indicative of your experience, but they will speak to the universal ideas of growing up, shifting from an… Read More ›
Grab a seat, heist dramedy “The Umbrella Men” is primed to play. [Toronto International Film Festival]
Heist films come in all shapes, sizes, and flavors. There’s the family comedy (The Bad Guys (2022)), the musical drama (Baby Driver (2017)), the superhero action comedy (Ant-Man (2015)), the save-yourself drama (Widows (2018)), the zombie survival action drama (Peninsula… Read More ›
When on the course of life, the best way to get through is to remain “Open.”
Writer/director/actor Jack Eve’s last project was the Agatha Christie-like Bees Make Honey, a film which demonstrated the artist’s ambition as a storyteller. It’s big in terms of cast, costumes, and sets, not the mention the murder mystery script. In July… Read More ›
“Sniper: The White Raven” Blu-ray Giveaway
Back in July, Well GO USA released director Marian Bushan’s Sniper: The White Raven, an adaptation of the true story of Ukraine’s most famous sniper. Whether you’re a fan of war films or just enjoyed this one specifically, EoM is giving… Read More ›
Get the full experience of Mamoru Hosoda’s “BELLE” through the 4K UHD collector’s edition from Shout! Factory and GKids Films.
After hitting the festival circuit in 2021, writer/director Mamoru Hosoda’s musical drama BELLE landed in select U.S. theaters in January of 2022 and then shelves the following April. Both times, my reviews of the film lauded the look and sound… Read More ›
Arrow Video presents director Johnnie To’s “Running Out of Time” collection in a lovely 2K restoration.
There was a time when the transition away from physical media to digital seemed like a gift as largely hard-to-find media became accessible. Without getting into the larger economic issues within their respective areas, the shift toward digital acquisition with… Read More ›
Choi Dong-hoon’s “Alienoid” is a nearly seamless anarchistic sci-fi action comedy that’ll have you impatient for “Part Two.”
Whether it lands with the general public or not, there’s nothing like a big swing in art, something that extends itself perhaps farther than it should go, never quite breaking its own rules as it bites off more than it… Read More ›
Darkly comic thriller “Wild Men” examines the tolls of toxic masculinity.
Being a man sucks and this is why the patriarchy needs to go. Society, at least in America, subscribes to the idea that being a man requires a certain toughness, a rigidity, an emotional distance from things happening around them…. Read More ›
Documentary “Howl of the Underdogs” explores the music and struggles of Norwegian metal band Madder Mortem.
Community is the first place an individual gains their identity and sense of self. Community can come from the country you live in, the state, the city, or your home. Community is what starts to shape what you value or,… Read More ›
Pierre Pinaud’s “The Rose Maker” blooms fully thanks to bonus features included on home video.
Working in a trade is a lot like parenting. Not the tantrums or conflict portions, necessarily, but the guidance and cultivation that comes from helping to develop something into its best self. In director/co-writer Pierre Pinaud’s (On Air) new film… Read More ›
Experimental action thriller “Carter” combines a myriad of technical techniques to diminishing effects.
One of the more unmentioned action thrillers by wider audiences is director/co-writer Jung Byung-gil’s The Villainess (2017). It’s a story about a female assassin, how she got to where she is, and how she attempts to extricate herself from the… Read More ›
“The Killer” slays. [Fantasia International Film Festival]
There’s a subgenre in film that features a very simple and comfortable setup: retired/reclusive individual meets a young individual, forms a bond (often reluctantly), young individual gets into trouble (usually kidnapped) causing the retired/reclusive individual to jump back into action…. Read More ›
Well Go USA unleashes action/comedy “Baby Assassins” upon a grateful home release audience.
Since its international premiere at Fantastic Fest 2021, writer/director Yûgo Sakamoto’s Baby Assassins hasn’t been far from mind. I discussed it on two Cine-Men episodes, gave it a highlight mention in the 2021 Sticky List, and made sure to include… Read More ›
Horror/thriller “Missing” lacks the suspense it needs to pack a punch. [Fantasia International Film Festival]
After a release in 2021, first-time feature director Shinzô Katayama’s (Mother, third assistant director) horror/thriller Missing (さがす) is having its North American premiere during Fantasia International Film Festival 2021. The concept of the film seeks to join the likes of… Read More ›
Det. Ma and the rest of the Major Crimes Unit return to catch criminals in the action comedy thriller “The Roundup.” [Fantasia International Film Festival]
Actor/writer/producer Don Lee, also known as Ma Dong-seok, has been making movies since 2005. He’s had roles in The Good the Bad the Weird (2008), Mother Vengeance (2012), a scene-stealing role in Train to Busan (2016), and, of course, the… Read More ›
Anachronistic musical fusion “Inu-Oh” adapts an old story to tell a very modern tale of artistic freedom and personal identity. [Fantasia International Film Festival]
One of the oldest storytelling conveyances is the oral tradition. Before we could write or read, we spoke and the sounds we made transfixed audiences, transporting them to times before their present. With the advent of the written-word, one might… Read More ›