Originally released as The Assassin, writer/director Kwak Jeong-deok sees their Korean action/adventure project released in the states under the name Night of the Assassin, first put on digital (streamer Hi-YAH!) and then coming available on physical formats in August. Thanks to U.S…. Read More ›
foreign film
Russian satire “Ампир V (Empire V)” sinks its teeth into the metaphor of control. [Fantasia International Film Festival]
No matter how hard we try, we are always bound to a system. At birth, we’re in the hands of our caregivers. In adolescence, we’re in the hands of those who guide us. In adulthood, we’re in the hands of… Read More ›
It’s Pros vs. Amateurs in “Baby Assassins: 2 Babies.” [Fantasia International Film Festival]
There are some films whose descriptions pique your interest and under-deliver, some which meet expectations, and some which blow your mind (the diamonds in the rough). The 2021 crime comedy Baby Assassins, written and directed by Yûgo Sakamoto, is the… Read More ›
“Stay Online” pulls the audience into a personal battle set during a current war and pins you down. [Fantasia International Film Festival]
Trigger Warning: A newsreel montage near the beginning includes footage of wartime incidents, including the dead and wounded. We are a world on the brink of a third global war all because of pride and greed. For nearly 10 years,… Read More ›
From “The First Slam Dunk” to the last, this manga adaptation will have you on the edge of your seat. [Fantasia International Film Festival]
Born first as a manga series that ran from 1990 – 1996 under the title Slam Dunk, the creation of Takehiko Inoue has been adapted for television, film, and video games since its debut. The series ran in Shueisha’s Weekly… Read More ›
Cauldron Films offers a 2K restoration of Mario Caiano’s “Shanghai Joe.”
“Hey kid, it ain’t that kind of movie. If people are looking at your hair, we’re all in big trouble.” – Harrison Ford to Mark Hamill on the set of Star Wars (1977), as recalled by Hamill Released in 1973,… Read More ›
Third Window Films invites you to take a peep at Katsuhito Ishii.
*Disclaimer: Elements of Madness received check-discs of this product, and as such this review will not cover any box art, packaging, or included literary materials that are included with the product.* Katsuhito Ishii, Japan’s Robert Rodriquez, rebel V-Cinema wave filmmaker,… Read More ›
“The Iron Prefect” finally gets the spotlight thanks to Radiance Films.
“Filmmaking is also nation making.” – Pasquale Squitieri, via Domenico Monetti The Iron Prefect (1977) is a nearly perfect limited edition out from Radiance Films. Previously screened in the United States and released on DVD as I am the Law,… Read More ›
“Final Cut” stumbles in attempting to recapture the magic of the original.
When a movie comes out that somehow brings something new and different to the genre and gets hailed as something interesting and innovative, of course there are going to be copycats and remakes and the like. That is exactly what… Read More ›
Heavyweight cast delivers a satisfying story in “The Miracle Club.”
When there is a cast of heavyweight actors, you know, at minimum, the movie is going to be incredibly acted, and if that satisfies the craving you have for a film, then so be it. However, if you’re looking for… Read More ›
Cult Epics’s 2K restoration of Marleen Gorris’s 1982 dramatic thriller “A Question of Silence” is still horrifically on-target with its exploration of gender equity.
There are far too many people today who think misogyny is a manufactured concept. That, somehow, the way things used to be is somehow better than they are now, what with women having voting rights, the ability to own property,… Read More ›
The third film in the Hideaki Anno “Shin” series arrives on VOD and home video in July with director Shinji Higuchi’s “Shin Ultraman” via Cleopatra Entertainment.
Trigger Warning: Shin Ultraman features multiple sequences featuring flashing lights that might impact those with photosensitivity. In 2016, Shin Godzilla hit theaters and rocked audiences with a version of the kaiju story that hadn’t been presented in such a way…. Read More ›
Benedetta Porcaroli exudes main-character energy as the leading lady in Carolina Cavalli’s “Amanda.”
Carolina Cavalli’s Amanda couldn’t be titled anything else. The protagonist and titular character, 24-year-old Amanda, is the gravitational force that holds this quirky, quietly humorous, and, at times, meandering film together. Portrayed with delightful nuance by Benedetta Porcaroli (The Shadow… Read More ›
“Day Zero” Blu-ray Giveaway
Director Joey De Guzman’s Toronto After Dark Film Festival 2022 selection Day Zero was released on digital back in May and now comes home in physical format on July 11th. If you’re interested in checking out recently retired MMA fighter Brandon… Read More ›
Criterion resurrects “The Rules of the Game” in a beautiful 4K UHD presentation.
There is something to be noted about Criterion and Janus films; while some of their slate of films and releases can be defined as questionable, they certainly release undeniably important films and always have. Especially as someone who went to… Read More ›
Writer/director Diana Galimzyanova hits the festival circuit with idiosyncratic “Plan 9 from Aliexpress.”
“You Won’t Understand A Single Thing.” There is not a more on-target tag in all of cinema history, I think, than this one attached to the new Diana Galimzyanova (The Lightest Darkness) project, Plan 9 from Aliexpress, currently on the… Read More ›
“I Am T-Rex” Blu-ray Giveaway
Available for your family’s home viewing enjoyment is directing duo Cai Shangming and Chen Silin’s animated adventure I Am T-Rex, out on shelves as of June 20th. If you’re the sort that gets down with animated dinosaur tales, then rejoice in… Read More ›
Radiance Films adds Rudolf Thome’s “Red Sun” to their collection in a first-time U.S. edition.
In its quest for cinema preservation, boutique distributor Radiance Films has released onto Blu-ray such films as Kōsaku Yamashita’s Big Time Gambling Boss (1968), Luigi Comencini’s The Sunday Woman (1975), Todd Solondz’s Welcome to the Doll House (1995), and Amy… Read More ›
While we await the upcoming sequel, enjoy Donnie Yen’s “Śakra” at home via Well Go USA.
Donnie Yen has been a staple of martial arts cinema for decades now. He’s battled drug dealers in In the Line of Duty IV (1989), immortals in Highlander: Endgame (2000), reluctantly alongside the daywalker in Blade II (2002), and just… Read More ›
Noam Kaplan’s “The Future” challenges its audience to reconsider how it sees the world. [Tribeca Film Festival]
Fighting for peace is like screwing for virginity. ― George Carlin At some point in a colonizer’s life, they look back on the choices they’ve made. For many, they’ll see the civilizations they’ve liberated, the cultures they’ve enlightened, and the… Read More ›