The ramblings of a wannabe cineaste. Join me as I dissect the art of storytelling in films, comics, TV shows, and video games.
O'GRADY FILM

Review: A Tale of Sorrow and Sadness
Nearly a decade after being fired by Nikkatsu for his “incomprehensible” style, Seijun Suzuki returned to the studio system to direct A...
Review - Phantom of the Mall: Eric’s Revenge
[The following review contains SPOILERS; YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!] Gaston Leroux’s The Phantom of the Opera has been adapted to other media...
Skinamarink: Alone in the Dark
Under certain circumstances, even the most familiar of spaces can seem utterly terrifying. When you’re trapped in your own home for weeks...
Review: Broker
Like The Shape of Water and First Reformed, Broker is a cinematic Rosetta Stone, clarifying the central themes that pervade Hirokazu...
Review: Violent Streets
[The following review contains SPOILERS; YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!] Based solely on the list of Hideo Gosha titles available on the Criterion...
Review: April Story
[The following review contains MINOR SPOILERS; YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!] In the opening scene of Shunji Iwai’s April Story, a college-bound...
Review: All About Lily Chou-Chou
The protagonist of Shunji Iwai’s All About Lily Chou-Chou frequently claims that the eponymous (fictional) musician draws inspiration...
Review: Fireworks, Should We See It from the Side or the Bottom?
As I watched Japan Society’s recent screening of Fireworks, Should We See It from the Side or the Bottom?, I gradually realized that I...
Review: Plan 75
Plan 75 expands one of Ten Years Japan’s short segments—itself a modernized (albeit extremely loose) adaptation of The Ballad of...
Review: No Longer Human
[The following review contains MINOR SPOILERS; YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!] An early scene in No Longer Human—a biopic revolving around the...
Review: Dreaming of the Meridian Arc and She is me, I am her
Today, following an interminably long absence (thanks in large part to the cancellation of this year’s Japan Cuts, which absolutely...
Review: Frankenstein vs. Baragon
The story of Toho’s Frankenstein vs. Baragon begins towards the tail end of World War II. With the fall of the Third Reich on the...
Review: Decision to Leave
[The following review contains MINOR SPOILERS; YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!] In addition to being a dedicated police officer, the protagonist of...
Review: Three Thousand Years of Longing
[The following review contains MINOR SPOILERS; YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!] From the operatic, post-apocalyptic thrills of the Mad Max series...
Inu-Oh: Rebel Yell
From Lu Over the Wall to Ride Your Wave, animator Masaaki Yuasa’s films have always involved songs to some extent, but Inu-Oh is the...
Mamoru Hosoda's Belle: Form and Function in a Tale as Old as Time
Belle is Mamoru Hosoda’s most artistically accomplished work to date. As a longtime fan of The Girl Who Leapt Through Time and Summer...
Valentine’s Day Movie Recommendation: Words Bubble Up Like Soda Pop
I’m a skeptic by nature. When the blandly attractive heroes and heroines in romcoms talk about “love at first sight” and “true love,” I...
Review: Tange Sazen and the Pot Worth a Million Ryo
[The following review contains MINOR SPOILERS; YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!] Two swordsmen stare each other down. Wind howls through the empty...
Review: Talking the Pictures
Masayuki Suo’s Talking the Pictures ends with a quote attributed to director Hiroshi Inagaki: Movies were once silent. But in Japan, they...





















