My grandfather was a lifelong musician. In his younger days, his polka band would perform in swanky New York nightclubs such as the...

Well, they’ve finally designed a web game that appeals specifically to my interests—and I am thoroughly addicted. Cine2Nerdle  is...

The Tempest  epitomizes my favorite flavor of Shakespeare adaptation: lean, revisionist, and minimalistic (a musical number or two...

Disco Elysium  is a rare and precious gem indeed: a video game that utilizes the language of the medium to its full potential....

Ryuichi Sakamoto: Opus  is innovative in the elegant simplicity of its style and structure. It’s not a traditional documentary, lacking...

The Greasy Strangler . Aggressively weird. Mostly dug its vibe (kinda reminded me of Frank Henenlotter’s work). Never want to see or...

Sam Raimi’s greatest strength as a director has always been his sincerity. Although there is certainly a degree of humor in his...

[ The following review contains MAJOR SPOILERS; YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED! ] For an otherwise typical summer blockbuster, Alien: Romulus  has...

[ The following review contains MINOR SPOILERS; YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED! ] Never let the two lives touch. Trap  is a film about identity....

Batman: Caped Crusader  does not aspire to be the definitive interpretation of the eponymous superhero, nor is it a postmodern...

I should have my head examined for sleeping on Mikey and Nicky for so long; it’s the exact flavor of old school indie cinema that I...

Despite its title, Twisters isn’t really about tornadoes. Don’t get me wrong; they serve a vitally important narrative function. They are...

Conquest is dark even by the usual standards of the dark fantasy genre. Armies of savage beast-men roam the untamed wilderness,...

[The following review contains MINOR SPOILERS; YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!] Japan Cuts frequently programs movies about amateur filmmakers—a...

[The following review contains MAJOR SPOILERS; YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!] When introducing Japan Cuts’ recent screening of Toshiharu Ikeda’s...

[The following review contains MAJOR SPOILERS; YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!] Kubi is a film of deliciously compelling contradictions. A period...

Nezumikozo Jirokichi—recently screened as part of Japan Cuts’ Shorts Program 2–managed to hit three major categories on my annual...

[The following review contains MINOR SPOILERS; YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!] Look Back opens with a shot that seems simple at first glance, but...

[The following review contains frank descriptions of sexually explicit material (albeit in a tasteful, artistic context); YOU HAVE BEEN...

[The following review contains MINOR SPOILERS; YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.] The Box Man is based on a Kobo Abe novel that is—according to my...