Category Archives: Reviews

Review: Shin Ultraman (Japan 2022)

New York Asian Film Festival 2022 A total throwback to the oldest iterations of the TV series, this latest Higuchi/Anno “Shin” reinterpretation captures the goofy magic of old school Ultraman perfectly. Episodic, tongue-in-cheek but always played straight, the plot moves so … Continue reading

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Review: Thrilling Bloody Sword (Taiwan 1981)

More gobsmackingly insane phantasmagoria out of Taiwan in the vein of The Ginseng King, Thrilling Bloody Sword is a wild mash-up of Snow White, Aladdin, The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter, and other fairy tale material, filtered through a DIY wu xia … Continue reading

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Review: Benedetta (France 2021)

Paul Verhoeven’s new nuns gone wild true story is a fascinating study in wrong-footing an audience. Just when you think you have the movie, and the titular character figured out, Verhoeven shifts the narrative and point of view. Sometimes a … Continue reading

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Review: Sawdust and Tinsel (Sweden 1953)

“You smell of stables, cheap perfume and sweat. But I’ll lick you clean like a dog.” Maybe earlier Bergman is just more my style, I prefer this more wry, humanist material (and his delightful Smiles of a Summer Night) to … Continue reading

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Review: Wife of a Spy (Japan 2020)

Watching Kiyoshi Kurosawa experiment with new genres over this past decade or so has been fascinating. The man knows how to make an incredibly spooky supernatural chiller – his Kairo/Pulse is probably the pinnacle of J-horror for me – but … Continue reading

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Review: Yakuza Princess (Brazil 2021)

Brazil has a large Japanese population, and the social conflicts between returning Japanese ex-pats and more traditional Japanese citizens have been the subject of a lot of great Japanese cinema, like Takashi Miike’s wild City of Lost Souls and Masato … Continue reading

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Review: Behemoth (USA 2021)

Horror is traditionally one of those genres where you can do a lot on a wing and prayer, and where you can show off your chops despite a low budget. Here, director Peter Szewczyk (coming out of major shops like … Continue reading

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Review: Wonderful Paradise (Japan 2020)

Japan Cuts 2021 Looking to scratch that “weird Japan” itch but with some more substantive meat under the oddity? This has a bit of an After Hours energy, as a small goodbye party thrown by a depressed family losing their home … Continue reading

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Review: Go Seppuku Yourselves (Japan 2021)

Japan Cuts 2021 You want a master class in how to make a monologue absolutely riveting? Look no further than this intensely angry short film that maps Toyoda’s anger about government failings during the pandemic onto the story of a samurai … Continue reading

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Review: Free Guy (USA 2021)

A pinch of Matrix, a healthy smatter of Lego Movie, two tablespoons of They Live, and a dusting of Truman Show, stir in some Ready Player One. Let sit for one year and serve slightly cold.

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