In March 2002, in order to combat the persistent and often violent persecution practitioners of Falun Gong endured in China, several members decided to break into the evening news to project one of their DVDs. The idea being that if… Read More ›
foreign film
Before “Part Two” releases in 2023, catch up with Choi Dong-hoon’s sci-fi action fantasy “Alienoid” on home video.
If there’s one complaint that American audiences are prone to have, it’s that there’s never anything original hitting theaters. It’s all superhero stories, remakes, reboots, or some kind of sequel. It’s incredibly risky for studios to make original stories, so… Read More ›
Open Dialogue with “BARDO, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths” actors Daniel Giménez Cacho and Ximena Lamadrid.
Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths is a creative exploration of finding humanity within sometimes inhumane conditions of the physical and mental states. Today on Open Dialogue our guests are Daniel Giménez Cacho and Ximena Lamadrid. These two… Read More ›
Late stage rom-com “Food and Romance” is cinematic comfort food with a few well-prepared surprises.
Just because you’ve been with someone a long time doesn’t mean that it’s either a good fit or meant to last forever. Good relationships are ones in which each participant invests in both themselves and their partner. Bad ones result… Read More ›
“Alienoid” Blu-ray Giveaway
There have been few first-part-of-a-series films released in 2022 that have made me want to dive straight into the follow-up as much as writer/director Choi Dong-hoon’s genre-hybrid Alienoid. This complex comedic fantasy actioner does a lot of wild things in Part… Read More ›
Suspense thriller “The Inevitable Death of the Crab (La Inevitable Muerte del Cangrejo)” is a strong first full-length outing by Ahcitz Azcona.
An observation about American cinema is made early into writer/actor/director Ahcitz Azcona’s The Inevitable Death of the Crab (La Inevitable Muerte del Cangrejo) that’s incredibly obvious yet startling once considered: whomever the latest “bad guy” is to the U.S., they… Read More ›
Johannes Grenzfurthner’s experimental supernatural horror “Razzennest” is a disquieting sensory experience that’ll leave you stunned.
Satire is a sticky wicket requiring expert balance to nail. Films like Paul Verhoven’s RoboCop (1987) and Starship Troopers (1997) are as frequently misunderstood for their analysis of corporate greed and nationalism as Fight Club is (film (1999) or novel)… Read More ›
Despite its weaknesses, there’s no part of “Saint Omer” which won’t linger after credits roll. [Film Fest 919]
As I type this intro, the verdict to the Darrell Brooks trial has just been read, ending a weeks-long shitshow of an abuse of a public system of representation for someone who was clearly guilty (I can say that now,… Read More ›
“Emergency Declaration” Blu-ray Giveaway
Released in theaters earlier this year, director Han Jae-rim’s Emergency Declaration, a story of terror in the air based on real events, now comes to home video. Thanks to the generosity of Well Go USA, EoM is giving away one (1)… Read More ›
Animator Masashi Ando’s directorial debut, “The Deer King,” is available on home video from Shout! Factory.
Adaptations, in live action or animation, are the lifeblood of storytelling. We, as audiences, like to think that the magic comes from original stories, but, more often than not, that thing you love is an adaptation of a story originating… Read More ›
Enjoy French comedy “Incredible but True (Incroyable Mais Vrai)” on physical or digital formats via Arrow Video now.
The French have such a knack for absurdist comedies and horror comedies (this film being the former), that it’s hard not to almost smile ear to ear and enjoy how far out there and how ridiculously things unfold on screen…. Read More ›
The world of “The Witch” explodes with the discovery of “The Other One.”
Writer/director Park Hoon-jung’s The Witch: Subversion is a remarkable sci-fi thriller, taking the coming-of-age tropes we know and blending them together with supernatural-like covert forces, culminating in an adventure that feels familiar and wholly unique. Just before the film ends,… Read More ›
Director Marie Kreutzer’s “Corsage” is hilariously over-the-top look at the life of Elisabeth of Austria. [Film Fest 919]
Costume dramas are far from rare, and because of that, there is a want from production companies to justify new costume dramas by taking a tried and true concept and twisting it on its head. This was made perhaps most… Read More ›
Illustrator-turned-director loundraw impresses with short film “Summer Ghost,” available from Shout! Factory and GKids Films.
One of the greater mysteries in life is whether or not there’s something after the living world. It’s a question that’s been explored through faith, philosophy, and art. Depending on the community or culture you come up within, the afterlife… Read More ›
“The Witch 2: The Other One” Blu-ray Giveaway
Ever since the April 2020 home release of Park Hoon-jung’s The Witch: Subversion, the anticipation for a continuing chapter has built-up month after month. Due to unforeseen circumstances, I was unable to check out The Witch 2: The Other One when it… Read More ›
Paolo Strippoli’s “Flowing (Piove)” explores what resentment can do if left unchecked. [Brooklyn Horror Film Festival]
“Hell is other people.” -Jean-Paul Sartre, No Exit In Sartre’s novel Huis Clos (No Exit), he tells a story of three people locked in a room together who share things about themselves, coming to a conclusion that in their inability… Read More ›
Boutique distributor Cult Epics provides a lovely restoration of writer/director Just Jaeckin’s romantic comedy “The Last Romantic Lover.”
By 1978, writer/director Just Jaeckin was known for his erotic films Emmanuelle (1974), The Story of O (1975), and Madame Claude (1977). Seeking a break from this, Jaeckin developed romantic comedy Le dernier amant romantique (The Last Romantic Lover) with… Read More ›
Writer/director Marie Alice Wolfszahn’s “Mother Superior (Mater Superior)” upends expectations in a tense cat-and-mouse chiller. [Brooklyn Horror Film Festival]
August 2017: A group of White Nationalists gathered at the University of Virginia, carrying torches and chanting “You Will Not Replace Us.” This slogan within White Nationalist beliefs that speaks to the fear of the White race being replaced. This… Read More ›
The best way to go into “Deep Fear” is with deep silence. [Fantastic Fest]
There is something special about glancing briefly at a synopsis of a movie and solely making a decision to jump in on the film based on what the PR team decides to compare the film to. Reading that a film… Read More ›
“Unidentified” offers a unique perspective on the concept of ‘us’ and ‘them.’ [Fantastic Fest]
During Fantastic Fest 2022, there is a segment of films the festival placed under a section titled “Burnt Ends.” To paraphrase the section description, it includes a selection of films that may have been made on a shoe-string budget, they… Read More ›