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...
Nothing, Forever: The Automatization of “Content”
[The following essay exaggerates my opinions for comedic effect; please don’t take it too seriously.] Back in high school, I wrote a...
Review: The Whale
[The following review contains MAJOR SPOILERS; YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!] Like we discussed yesterday, I really want you all to focus on...
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...
Andor: The Terrible Mundanity of Evil
[The following essay contains MAJOR SPOILERS; YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!] How does a totalitarian regime solidify its reign? Through fear and...
My Five Favorite Movie Villain Deaths of 2022
[The following list contains MAJOR SPOILERS; YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!] Way back in 2020, I wrote: I firmly believe that a villain is only...
My Five Favorite Movie Villains of 2022
[The following list contains MAJOR SPOILERS; YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!] De Guiche (Cyrano): A pompous, foppish aristocrat that wields his...
Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio: Jackbooted Jackasses
[The following essay contains MAJOR SPOILERS; YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!] Traditionally, adaptations of Pinocchio revolve around naughty...
Informal Pitch: A Subversive Twist on A Christmas Story
Whether you like it or not, you’re intimately familiar with the various episodes of A Christmas Story’s plot. The shattered leg lamp. The...
Review: Violent Night
Violent Night shouldn’t be nearly as good as it is. How can a film best summarized as “Die Hard, but starring the real Santa Claus” be...
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...
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever - Silent Gods, Unfathomable Grief
[The following essay contains MAJOR SPOILERS; YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.] Early on in Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Angela...
Review - Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery
[The following review contains MINOR SPOILERS; YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!] How does one approach writing a sequel to Knives Out? After all,...
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...



















