“Steven Spielberg presents a Joe Dante film.” Six words of guaranteed Blockbuster magic if one has ever heard them. From the classic, influential 1984 Gremlins to the wacky, satirical 1990 sequel Gremlins 2: The New Batch, all the way to… Read More ›
When a storyteller — whether writer, director, actor, etc. — becomes known for something, they very often get pigeon-holed and face difficulty escaping that perception. People known for westerns do westerns, for action do action, for horror do horror, and… Read More ›
If you were to take The Shining (1980) and replace the psychosis with a completely different trip of mental anguish, then you’d get Eugeino Mira’s The Birthday (2004). It focuses on Norman (Corey Feldman) who’s hopelessly in love with his… Read More ›
Having *never* seen Tobe Hooper’s adaptation of Stephen King’s Salem’s Lot (1979) prior to the Arrow 4K UHD release, I was surprised to notice that disk 1 (disk A) featured the miniseries versus the movie itself, so I changed disks… Read More ›
Over the last few years, physical media boutique Cult Epics has released a series of restorations of filmmaker Tinto Brass’s catalogue, the latest of which is his 1983 erotic romance The Key. Courtesy of Cult Epics, EoM is giving away… Read More ›
Trigger Warning: Agitator contains sequences of graphic violence and sexual assault that may be difficult for sensitive viewers. It’s a rather tall order to not expect a yakuza film with title Agitator to not … well, agitate you. But such… Read More ›
Sadao Nakajima’s Japanese Godfather Trilogy is a collection of three yakuza films made between 1977 and 1978 based on the true story of Japan’s largest crime syndicate. Taking some inspiration (both thematically and visually) from Francis Ford Coppola’s 1972 gangster… Read More ›
Adapting a work properly requires a confluence of events. It’s more than just translating one media into another as you need someone who understands the context of the source, who gets what it means to be moved to a new… Read More ›
Last month, Cult Epics released another restoration from Japanese filmmaker Nobuhiko Ôbayashi’s catalogue of titles, the sci-fi romance The Girl Who Leapt Through Time. Courtesy of Cult Epics, we reviewed the standard edition of their new 4K UHD restoration and, now,… Read More ›
If you fell in love with the 2016 tv show Westworld and never saw the original movie that the show is based on, you’re definitely in for a wild wild west journey. Westworld (1973) is a mixed bag that mostly… Read More ›
By the time of his passing in 2020, filmmaker Nobuhiko Ôbayashi had directed nearly 80 films, features and shorts, with his most recent, Labyrinth of Cinema, released in 2019. It would be his feature debut, House (1977), that would make… Read More ›
Cinema borrowing from folktales is a natural fit given that folktales often elevate figures or events and cinema does this innately through projection. Who wouldn’t want to see the figures or events of lore cast upon a 40-foot screen or… Read More ›
There are movies you read the title for and think it’s something from Tropic Thunder (2008) (meaning a fake movie or a movie within another movie) and not something that could possibly exist. Then there are movies like Movie 43… Read More ›
The year was 2005, the summer was sweltering with sequels (Pirates of the Caribbean 3, X-Men 3, Mission: Impossible 3, Fast and Furious: Tokyo Drift), new superhero movies (Superman Returns), family fair (Over the Hedge, The Devil Wears Prada, Monster… Read More ›
The only feeling better for a cinephile in learning that a film you dig or never got the chance to see is getting a physical release is learning that said film that’s out of print or region locked is getting… Read More ›
When the name “Steven Seagal” is spoken in Tinseltown nowadays, it’s probably met with a few grunts and eyerolls. When the name is said among B-movie action fans, it’s probably met with a few chuckles and recanting of obscure lines… Read More ›
You don’t have to spend a lot of money to make an entertaining movie. This is especially true with the horror genre. There is no shortage of micro-budget indie horror gems out there, but you have to look for them…. Read More ›
In the beginning of Alex Braverman’s documentary Thank You Very Much, there is a clip of performance artist/comedian Andy Kaufman stating how we would make a film: he would start with the climax, show the title “The End,” show a… Read More ›
By the time 1986 arrived, Yuen Biao, one Hong Kong’s “Three Dragons,” had appeared in the Sammo Hung-co-directed Warrior’s Two (1978), lead Brandy Yuen Jan-Yeung’s The Champions (1983), and co-starred in Jackie Chan’s Project A (1983) and Sammo Hung’s My… Read More ›
When people say that art should be political, what they really mean is that they don’t want to ingest films that might challenge their political views. They want to be entertained, not preached to. This is a childish perspective because… Read More ›