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: Mona Lisa
[The following review contains MAJOR SPOILERS; YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!] It’s remarkable how changing a single ingredient can significantly...
The Long Good Friday: Trapped by Time
[The following essay contains MAJOR SPOILERS; YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!] Things change, Harold. Don't get nostalgic. Look to the future....
Review: The Long Good Friday
The Long Good Friday is the perfect anti-mystery story. The plot revolves around Harold Shand (played by Bob Hoskins at his brutish...
Review: Confessions
Imagine Kinji Fukasaku’s Battle Royale. Now, replace most of the physical bloodshed with psychological warfare—a tense game of mental...
Review: Sakuran
Mika Ninagawa began her career as a photographer, and that background is clearly evident in Sakuran, her directorial debut. Every frame...
Review: Air Doll
On paper, the premise of Air Doll (an inflatable sex doll somehow develops sentience and proceeds to wander the streets of Tokyo) sounds...
Review: Red Post on Escher Street
For his latest mind-bending cinematic acid trip, Sion Sono couldn’t have chosen a more appropriate title than Red Post on Escher Street....
Review: Bright Future
Despite his recent efforts to distance himself from the label, Kiyoshi Kurosawa is still best known as a “J-horror” director. Unlike his...
Review: The Great Yokai War and The Twilight Samurai
Japan Society is currently hosting an online retrospective celebrating the past twenty years of Japanese cinema, spotlighting a wide...
Review: The Masque of the Red Death
Apparently, American International Pictures’ The Masque of the Red Death has been available on the Criterion Channel for quite some time,...
Review: The Ladykillers
In some movies, the setting can be as much of a protagonist as any human character. The Ladykillers, produced by Ealing Studios in 1955,...
Review: Goodbye, Dragon Inn
One of the first images in Tsai Ming-Liang’s Goodbye, Dragon Inn is an establishing shot of the Fu-Ho, an old-school cinema in Taiwan....
Review - Mansai Nomura’s Kyogen: Kagami-kaja (A Mirror Servant) + Shimizu (Spring Water)
I tend to focus on Japan Society’s film program, but it’s far more than just a cinema; it’s a full-on cultural enrichment center,...
Review: Raining in the Mountain
I wouldn’t call Raining in the Mountain King Hu’s most spiritual work, but it is the film in which his Buddhist philosophy is most...
Review: Zappa
Watched Zappa via Angelika Film Center’s online streaming platform. I’d characterize most of Alex Winter’s previous directorial efforts...
Review: Paranoia Agent
How can I possibly describe Paranoia Agent? Like much of creator Satoshi Kon’s critically-acclaimed work (Perfect Blue, Paprika,...
Review: Edo Avant Garde
Watched Edo Avant Garde, a fascinating documentary about the innovative byobu (folding screen) art produced during Japan's period of...
Review: In & of Itself
What is In & of Itself? Well, in the literal sense, it’s the latest film from director and occasional Muppeteer Frank Oz. Before that, it...
Review - Tiny Tim: King for a Day
Took advantage of my day off from work to check out this year’s online edition of DOC NYC. As expected, the festival is offering a wide...





















