Just after season five of popular anime My Hero Academia ends its run in the U.S. and before the sadness of no new episodes can set in, fans of Class 1-A may rejoice in a new adventure featuring their favorite… Read More ›
foreign film
Writer/director’s Kaneto Shindo’s “Onibaba” joins the Criterion Collection in two different editions.
There are many proverbs or common phrases that have worked their way into the moral fabric of society. “It’s better to be safe than sorry.” “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” “Treat others the way you’d like to be… Read More ›
“Knocking” takes its time building suspense, but Cecilia Milocco’s steady performance will keep you hooked.
If you’ve spent any time living in an apartment building or a dorm, you’ve probably had a few run-ins with noisy neighbors. It takes guts to knock on a stranger’s door and ask them to keep it down. Depending on… Read More ›
Documentary “Satoshi Kon, The Illusionist” invites all to learn about the animation auteur and the legacy he left behind. [Nightstream]
Do you know what Requiem for a Dream (2000) and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018) have in common? It’s ok if you struggle to work this out. Directed by Darren Aronofsky, Requiem is an exploration of addiction that stares, unblinking,… Read More ›
We are all just “Bloody Oranges (Oranges sanguines)” and we’d be better served to remember it. [Nightstream]
Director Jean-Christophe Meurisse’s (Apnée) Bloody Oranges (Oranges sanguines) mixes truth with fiction to create a concoction that’s as eager to amuse as it is to profoundly unsettle. Its premise is of three interwoven stories involving a dance competition, a finance… Read More ›
Writer/director Carlos Conceição’s “Name Above Title (Um Fio de Baba Escarlate)” explores the symbiotic duality of celebrity through the lens of a serial killer. [Nightstream]
The spotlight isn’t for everyone. Some people thrive in it, while others freeze up. Others are a mixture of the two. You might not know which one you are until opportunity knocks. In an always-on world where anyone can post… Read More ›
The unique atmosphere of video game adaptation “Detention (返校)” evokes that helpless feeling of a good survival horror game.
When you think of a movie based on a video game, do pleasant thoughts come to mind? Despite some genuinely great films based on video games (Silent Hill’s 32% on Rotten Tomatoes is a homophobic microaggression; Silent Hill: Revelation’s 6%… Read More ›
Enigmatic fairytale “Lamb” contains a warning for how far you should allow grief to carry you.
Despite all intents and purposes, director Valdimar Jóhannsson’s Lamb is not a horror film. Not in any kind of traditional sense. On the surface, it’s barely unsettling and this is both a benefit and a detriment to its overall reception…. Read More ›
Strange and bittersweet, Alex Piperno’s “Window Boy Would Also Like to Have a Submarine” ponders humanity’s need for connection. [Nashville Film Festival]
Writer/director Alex Piperno’s first feature-length film, Window Boy Would Also Like to Have a Submarine, debuted in 2020 and is now screening during the 52nd Nashville Film Festival. Piperno’s tale is one of the most unique cinematic experiences I’ve had… Read More ›
“a-ha: The Movie” makes it clear that it’s no better to be safe than sorry. [Nashville Film Festival]
Music is absolutely a paradox when it comes to its tether to time. It’s at once a product of when it was made, but it can feel entirely free of that period, being discovered or rediscovered over and over again…. Read More ›
Writer/director Jean Luc Herbulot’s “Saloum” will make you believe in legends. [Fantastic Fest]
The premise is a simple one: three hired guns extract and protect a druglord but find themselves seeking shelter in a remote village in Saloum, Senegal, when their transport malfunctions, landing them in a situation they could never predict. With… Read More ›
“Baby Assassins” is a bubbly action crime comedy that’s not afraid to kick a lot of ass. [Fantastic Fest]
If you’ve ever sat absorbing something for the first time — a song, a book, a play, a movie — and thought to yourself, “I can’t wait to revisit this,” then you’ll have some sense of what will await you… Read More ›
If you can get on its frequency, Bertrand Mandico’s fantasy western “After Blue (Dirty Paradise)” is a surreal ride. [Fantastic Fest]
Thanks to the recent release of James Wan’s Malignant (2021), there’s been a lot of talk within certain circles about the desire to see big swings in cinema that create vigorous division over something good but safe. Having not seen… Read More ›
A riveting thriller from start to finish comes down to “The Execution.” [Fantastic Fest]
Between 1978 – 1990, a series of brutal murders were committed by Russian serial killer Andrei Chikatilo, totaling more than 50 women and children before he was captured, convicted, and executed via firing-squad. This absolute horror serves as the narrative… Read More ›
Beloved Hong Kong director Johnnie To joins The Criterion Collection with 2004 genre-hybrid “Throw Down.”
If you’re well-versed in Hong Kong cinema, then the name Johnnie To will carry a great deal of weight. Among those who know, his films like A Hero Never Dies (1998), PTU (2003), and Election (2005) exemplify the Kong Kong… Read More ›
Go on a swashbuckling animated macabre adventure in the adaptation of “Petite Vampire.”
There are many things about cinema that The Cine-Men co-host Darryl Mansel laments, but the one that he laments the most is the lack of swashbuckler films. Disney’s recent Jungle Cruise possesses traits of these films, though mostly due to… Read More ›
“Holidays At All Cost (Vacances á Tout Prix)” has enough unique flourishes to make a well-worn journey worth the travel. [Dances With Films Festival]
Vacations are meant to be an enjoyable time of rest, relaxation, and quality time with one’s family. Of course, when you get to a certain age, odds are that you will find yourself having gone through your fair share of… Read More ›
Arrow Video releases a fourth Yasuzô Masumura remaster, 1969’s “Blind Beast.”
As with previously reviewed films Giants and Toys (1958) and Irezumi (1966), Arrow Video is restoring and offering up to audiences outside of Japan another Yasuzô Masumura film: Blind Beast. Arrow Video provides an opportunity to expand what viewers may… Read More ›
Styled like a documentary, dramatic fiction “Dark Blood” feels like watching the spiritual obliteration of innocence.
Few films have shaken me quite like Harold Trompetero’s Dark Blood has. Uncut Gems (2019) left me vibrating from anxiety; If Anything Happens I Love You (2020) left me stunned, silently crying over the credits; Violet (2021) left me raw,… Read More ›
In the style of teen classics like “The Breakfast Club” and “Dead Poets Society,” Daigo Matsui’s “Remain in Twilight” appeals to our restless youthful spirits with wit and sincerity. [Fantasia International Film Festival]
It’s not every day we get the chance to chat with a loved one who has passed on. Skeptics would say that we never get that opportunity. If you’ve lost someone important to you, you’ve probably at least imagined having… Read More ›