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 ›
foreign film
Explore every nook of “299 Queen Street West” with Sean Menard’s new documentary. [SXSW]
If you grew up in Canada, specifically Toronto, the address 299 Queen Street West most likely held a special place in your heart as more likely than not you either fought your way through the pandemonium of crowds OR you… Read More ›
The lesser-known aftermath of World War II is brought into the light thanks to director Mizuho Nishikubo’s “Giovanni’s Island,” now available from GKids Films and Shout! Factory.
Acts of aggression always come with unintended consequences. On the smaller scale, as when my children fight, it could be that the toy they’re fighting over takes a break for a bit and neither gets to use it. On the… Read More ›
With a giggle and a wink, Tomas Gomez Bustillo’s “Chronicles of a Wandering Saint” asks audiences whether we notice that heaven is a place on earth. [SXSW]
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 ›
“Code of the Assassins” Blu-ray Giveaway
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 ›
Prequel “Furies” rages harder and asks tougher questions than its predecessor.
Content Warning: Sexual assault and violence against women are heavy visual and narrative themes throughout the film. Actor Ngô Thanh Vân has been working for nearly two decades across genres and countries. She’s known more widely in the U.S. by… Read More ›
Ally Pankiw’s “I Used to Be Funny” first feature is a provocative, intense, and deeply unsettling gut-punch. [SXSW]
In 2020, during the height of this pandemic were still finding ourselves in, I was sitting on my couch with my partner wondering what to do on the first night of TIFF (Toronto International Film Festival) and Twitter was recommending… Read More ›
The waiting room from immigration hell awaits “Upon Entry.” [SXSW]
Nobody enjoys a waiting room. In a world accustomed to instant gratification, the experience feels intolerable, even if you have an appointment or assurances that your stay in that space is only temporary. Co-directors Alejandro Rojas and Juan Sebastián Vásquez… Read More ›
Sundance 2022 Special Jury Prize Winner “Leonor Will Never Die” comes home, thanks to Music Box Films.
I love the movies. Gosh, I love movies. I love watching them and I love making them. – Keanu Reeves, May 14th, 2019. We should all be so lucky to be able to do what brings us joy, what fulfills… Read More ›
Tünde Skovrán’s pseudo-narrative documentary may not inform who you are, but it will strongly convey “Who I Am Not.” [SXSW]
So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God He created them; male and female He created them. – Genesis 1:27 – New International Version There are many versions of Genesis 1:27. They each carry the… Read More ›
Documentary “Another Body” explores the impacts of deepfake revenge porn. [SXSW]
There are a lot of things on the internet that are gross, and I don’t mean those weird videos of people popping pimples or anything like that. In the last 10 years or so, “revenge porn” became a thing, and… Read More ›
Writer/director Caroline Fioratti’s “Meu Casulo de Drywall (My Drywall Cocoon)” explores the conflicting ideas between security and safety. [SXSW]
What does security look like? Is it the absence of threat or the protection from them? Does security form from an abundance of safety or a dearth of individuality? Can one be secure and therefore free to share their concerns,… Read More ›
“Legend of Gatotkaca” Blu-ray Giveaway
Well Go USA champions Asian cinema, bringing some form of action, adventure, drama, horror, and intrigue with each release. The latest feature is director Hanung Bramantyo’s Legend of Gatotkaca, an Indonesian martial arts superhero story that’s streaming on Hi-YAH! beginning February… Read More ›
Go further into the casefile of “Decision to Leave” with the Blu-ray release.
When I first heard that Park Chan-wook was releasing a new movie, my anticipation skyrocketed through the roof! It quickly became one of my most anticipated movies of 2022. Then, when I had a chance to see it (later than… Read More ›
“Everybody Wants to be Loved (Alle wollen geliebt warden)” explores different types of love, the good and the bad/toxic. [Santa Barbara International Film Festival]
“Love is a many splendid thing. Love lifts us up where we belong. All you need is love.” – Christian, Moulin Rouge! Generally speaking, there are four types of love: Eros (erotic), Philia (friends/family), Storge (parents for children), and Agape… Read More ›
Sinéad O’Loughlin’s short film “Lamb” is a calling card of homegrown terror in a single chamber. [Santa Barbara International Film Festival]
The only right length to tell a story is the length required to tell it completely. This is why a story can be constructed with as few as three words or as much as a 90-minute or more screenplay. It… Read More ›
If you vibe with drama “The Young Arsonists,” you’re in for a powerful exploration of feminine adolescent independence. [Santa Barbara International Film Festival]
Memories are a strange thing. They are flickers of the past, like embers of a long burnt out flame riding the strands of neuropathways until they can be inflamed once more, waiting to come billowing into the present. The problem… Read More ›
Director Kei Ishikawa’s dramatic thriller “A Man (ある男)” explores the value of self and identity. [Santa Barbara International Film Festival]
Who are you? Stop for a moment. Read not a line further, and think on that. Are you one thing or are you many? Are you your thoughts and fears? Your anxieties or successes? Your actions? Are you your present… Read More ›
Restoration of extreme film “Calvaire” offers little more than access to the film.
Fabrice du Welz’s Calvaire (titled The Ordeal in some English-speaking regions, but not here), premiering at Cannes in 2004, is a strange, but valid entry into the canon of “New French Extremity” that gripped French-language horror/thrillers from the mid-‘90s to… Read More ›
Social thriller “The Sixth Child (Le sixième enfant)” will challenge you to reconsider the complex notion of conception. [Santa Barbara International Film Festival]
In modern society there are a number of presumptions that enable and empower those who have to look down upon those who have not. Aspects of health, wealth, occupation, and hobbies are all treated as aspects of one’s morality. Don’t… Read More ›