“This is the nature of war: By protecting others, you save yourselves. If you only think of yourself, you’ll only destroy yourself.” – Seven Samurai (1954) One never knows what their introduction to a filmmaker’s filmography will be. Someone could… Read More ›
Actor, writer, director Lau Kar-Leung is a staple of the Shaw Brothers Studio as evidenced by projects like The 36th Chamber of Shaolin (1978), The Shadow Boxing (1979), The 8 Diagram Pole Fighter (1984), and Disciples of the 36th Chamber… Read More ›
A staple of cinema is the horror story: possession, corruption, soul-trading. You name it and horror is going to give it to you. For his first feature film, writer/director Hyun Moon-seop utilizes the well-worn path of demon possession in his… Read More ›
Trigger Warning: Be advised that The Ugly Stepsister includes significant elements of body torture and body-related horror. Emilie Blichfeldt’s The Ugly Stepsister, having its east coast premiere during the Boston Underground Film Festival 2025, is the most graphically disturbing version… Read More ›
In Keishi Kondo’s 2022 directorial debut New Religion, communal memory and grief intertwine in photographs to illustrate a haunted post-COVID world. The surrealist Japanese art house thriller follows Kaho Seto (My Identity; Beyond the Blue) as Miyabi, a prostitute trying… Read More ›
Whether you’ve been a fan of the kaiju-destroying Godzilla from its initial creation in 1954 from Toho, or your first introduction to the gigantic destructive beast was Legendary’s Godzilla from 2014 or 2023’s spectacular Godzilla Minus One, there is one… Read More ›
“Men are so quick to blame the gods: they say that we devise their misery. But they themselves- in their depravity- design grief greater than the griefs that fate assigns.” ― Homer, The Odyssey Pulling ones’ self up by bootstraps… Read More ›
Published from 2006 – 2007, manga creator Imashiro Takashi’s series Bakeneko Anzu-chan followed a ghost cat, a bakeneko type of kaibyō (a cat with supernatural properties), and its relationship with the people who lived in the town surrounding the temple… Read More ›
“I don’t understand you. But I love you.” These are key words said towards the climax of Mike Leigh’s Hard Truths, a somber slice-of-life film about two disparate sisters in a Black British family. Mike Leigh, a veteran indie darling… Read More ›
There is an all-time great story of betrayal, recklessness, and tragedy told about the events that took place among the yakuza of Japan’s snowy north coast, and it’s told through around 50 minutes of interviews included as special features on… Read More ›
If anyone knows me, then you know I champion Criterion and their releases. They’re usually some of the best of the best, bar none to any other release in terms of quality of release (and quality control) and features. While… Read More ›
Content Warning: This film contains sexual violence and semi-explicit sex acts that may be unnerving for sensitive viewers. Mermaid Legend (1984) is the prize film in Third Window Film’s newest wave of their Blu-ray releases of The Directors Company movies…. Read More ›
Trigger Warning: There are several sequences involving protracted strobing or flashing lights, so photosensitive viewers should take precautions before queuing up the film. According to Kenta Fukasaku, son of Kinji Fukasaku, the filmmaker’s 1983 action fantasy Legend of the Eight… Read More ›
As a child of the ‘90s, fantasy tales of romance have always felt like the coziest of blankets. Could it be that true love always won in the end? Or, having existed in a world filled with divorce, addiction, and… Read More ›
Oscar hopeful I’m Still Here (2024) opens with where, when, who, and what’s it like. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. 1970. Eunice Paiva, the wife of a retired left-wing senator is on a beach as armored personnel carriers drive down the… Read More ›
Content Warning for descriptions, images, and reporting on violent scenes of oppression, police brutality, and genocide. There are special movies, and then there are films that you’ll never forget. No Other Land, an on-the-ground account of a Palestinian West Bank… Read More ›
“There is no honor among thieves.” This idea is often at the center of confidence or crime tales within any genre or medium. The people who you trust to pull a job just might be the same people who will… Read More ›
“You can’t take anything with you when you die, except your deeds.” – Lee Fun Yee (Cecilla Cheung) in Running on Karma Established in 1996 by director Johnnie To and frequent collaborator Wai Ka-Fai, production house Milkyway Image Ltd. would… Read More ›
As painful as it can be for everyone involved, death is inevitable. You might be able to delay its arrival, but ultimately, death comes for all of us, and we will all leave someone behind to grieve our passing. Grieving… Read More ›
God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference. – The Serenity Prayer There’s a frequently quoted adage “youth is wasted on the young.”… Read More ›