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: The Town That Dreaded Sundown
[The following review contains MINOR SPOILERS; YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!] The Town That Dreaded Sundown is essentially two different movies...
Review: One Armed Boxer
[The following review contains SPOILERS; YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!] When I first watched Master of the Flying Guillotine back in college, I...
Review - Meg 2: The Trench
[The following review contains MINOR SPOILERS; YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!] The opening teaser of Meg 2: The Trench is a delightfully creative...
Review: The Housemaid (1960)
The Criterion Channel’s synopsis describes The Housemaid as a “venomous melodrama,” and it certainly earns that label; director Kim...
Review: Samurai Wolf
In Samurai Wolf, director Hideo Gosha shaves his already minimalistic chanbara formula all the way down to the bone. Although...
Review - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem
When I was but a lad, I owned a huge collection of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles action figures. I’d blow my allowance on every plastic...
Review – Mondays: See You “This” Week!
[The following review contains MINOR SPOILERS; YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!] Back in 2020, Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes—Junta Yamaguchi’s...
Review: From the End of the World
[The following review contains MINOR SPOILERS; YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!] The opening scene of Kaz I Kiriya’s From the End of the World—an...
Review: When Morning Comes, I Feel Empty
In her brief introductory speech preceding Japan Society’s screening of When Morning Comes, I Feel Empty, director Yuho Ishibashi claimed...
Review: The Legend & Butterfly
[The following review contains MAJOR SPOILERS; YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!] Near the end of The Legend & Butterfly—a lavish period epic...
Review: Single8
I went into Single8 hoping that it would recapture the magic of It’s a Summer Film!—which remains one of the best movies I’ve ever seen...
Review: The First Slam Dunk
This one was kind of a cheat. The Japan Cuts screening of The First Slam Dunk sold out almost immediately after tickets became available...
Review: I Am What I Am
I Am What I Am is the exact sort of pleasant surprise that defines Japan Cuts for me. The synopsis on the festival website led me to...
Review: Short Cuts Program 1 (Japan Cuts 2023)
After taking last year off due to COVID-related concerns, Japan Cuts has finally returned to NYC! Since I’m feeling a bit out of...
Review: Barbie
[The following review contains SPOILERS; YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!] Greta Gerwig’s Barbie opens with an extended montage depicting an average...
Review: Oppenheimer
[The following review contains MINOR SPOILERS; YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!] How should a director approach depicting the concept of “genius?”...
Review: Past Lives
[The following review contains MAJOR SPOILERS; YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!] When childhood sweethearts Na Young and Hae Sung first part ways at...
Review - Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One
[The following review contains SPOILERS; YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!] Objective. Obstacle. Solution. Complication. Rinse and repeat until the...
Review: The Last of Sheila
[The following review contains MAJOR SPOILERS; YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!] A great mystery requires a certain degree of misdirection. The Last...





















