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: Phantom of the Paradise
[The following review contains SPOILERS; YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!] Like many of its contemporaries (including Tommy and The Rocky Horror...
A Typical Example of a YouTube Apology Video, as Delivered by the Saw Series' John Kramer
[A creepy cackle is audible over static. Gradually, the image FADES IN on Billy the Puppet.] Hello, YouTube. It's me, Jigsaw. But for...
Review: The Quiet Girl
“She says as much as she needs to say.” Within the context of the overarching narrative, this line of dialogue exists to describe the...
Review: A Haunting in Venice
[The following review contains SPOILERS; YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!] A Haunting in Venice is the best entry in Kenneth Branagh’s Hercule...
Review: The Equalizer 3
[The following review contains SPOILERS; YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!] For the majority of its running time, The Equalizer 3—the (allegedly)...
Review: The Case of Hana & Alice
[The following review contains MAJOR SPOILERS; YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!] There’s an old Japanese proverb that goes, “The nail that sticks...
Review: Violence Voyager
[The following review contains SPOILERS; YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!] After finally seeing Violence Voyager for myself (having learned of its...
Review: Angel’s Egg
In the 1980s and 1990s, a lot of anime was produced exclusively for the booming home video market. Freed from the more stringent...
Review: Hell of the Living Dead
Well, I suppose I have nobody to blame but myself. I knew what I was getting into when I decided to watch Hell of the Living Dead. After...
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...



















