“Only the pursuit of happiness is guaranteed. The rest is up to you.” – David Fagan While there are things that are specific to culture, community, or time, other things are universal, like the overwhelming dread experienced by the young… Read More ›
“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 ›
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 ›
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 ›
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 ›
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 ›
“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 ›
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 ›
Some things feel like inevitability due to hindsight. The human fascination with the unknown tends to spark real-world exploration, which is why the science-fiction adventure tale Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas by Jules Verne (published 1870), were it written… Read More ›
Life is not like a video game. Sure, you can improve your health through exercise and your wealth through education, work, and luck, and you shouldn’t smash some bad guys and collect their purse or take their clothes and/or belongings…. Read More ›
Can anybody tell me the way to make it? I guess no, I’m the only one. I never offered me a wrong future. No matter what happens, I won’t chill, I won’t stop. I’ll make you prouder step by step!… Read More ›
Art is chaos and chaos is life, therefore, art is a manifestation of the chaos of life. Our experiences, our views, everything that is “us” is transported into what we create. In some instances, what is absent from it is… Read More ›
In the world of martial arts action, there are few stunt directors like Kensuke Sonomura. Over the last 20 years, he’s worked on 12 prior projects as part of the stunt crew. Out of those, he was the editor for… Read More ›
Born Sadaho Maeda, Japanese actor and martial artist Shin’ichi “Sonny” Chiba would be one of the more prolific action stars of his era. From early work on tokusatsu programs to English-language performances in Kill Bill: Volume 1 (2003) and Fast… Read More ›
In the months since the winter release of The Boy and the Heron (2023), the following events have clarified the meaning and depth of this inscrutable film in my mind: The Megalopolis (2024) trailer, the Supreme Court’s sweeping theft of… Read More ›
Before American audiences met Franka Potente as Marie, the accidental ally to amnesiac assassin Jason Bourne (Matt Damon) in 2002, she portrayed a different type of “on-the-run” character: Lola. Absent intrigue of the spy sort, Potente’s Lola is a strong… Read More ›
In Japanese folklore, there exists what’s known as “kaibyō,” a cat that possesses supernatural properties. Of the three types within kaibyō — bakeneko, maneki-neko, and nekomata — manga creator Imashiro Takashi took inspiration from the bakeneko type for his series… Read More ›
Over the last few years, writer/director Yûgo Sakamoto’s (A Janitor) created a very specific cinematic world in which low-stakes slacker comedy meets high-stakes wet work via his Baby Assassins series. Returning for a third outing in Baby Assassins Nice Days,… Read More ›