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

Jim Jarmusch and the Poetry of the Mundane
A film’s setting shouldn’t simply lie flat on the screen; it is, after all, a character in and of itself, and must therefore be imbued...
Review - Sahdowrun: Hong Kong
[ The following observations were originally posted to Twitter on May 13, 2020. The text has been reproduced here with minor revisions...
Revisiting Rugrats in Paris: The Movie
Tonight, I revisited Rugrats in Paris: The Movie for the first time in… oh, probably decades. Here are a few random, disconnected...
Informal Pitch: A Serious Cop Drama Starring Adam Sandler
Synopsis: A sadistic serial killer stalks the sleepy suburbs of South Florida, targeting young children. The homicide detective assigned...
Informal Pitch: An RPG Based on the Teen Titans Animated Series
Premise: Nearly ten years have passed since the Teen Titans disbanded. The tragic circumstances surrounding the team’s dissolution have...
Review: Shutter
Recently, browsing Netflix has become a torturous exercise; I don’t know whether I should blame the limited selection of films or my own...
Informal Pitch: A Disney/Pixar Animated Feature
Plot Synopsis: Finn (David Harbour) is a salmon that refuses to swim upstream. Clawdia (Zendaya) is a young grizzly bear that refuses to...
Review: Leningrad Cowboys Go America
How does one approach describing a cinematic experience as singularly unique as Leningrad Cowboys Go America? Watching it is like...
The Magnificent Seven (2016): Missing the Target
[ The following observations were originally posted to my Twitter account. The text is reproduced here with minor edits for clarity. ] I...
Currently Playing: Ghost of Tsushima
Synopsis: After Mongol invaders wipe out his entire clan, samurai Jin Sakai is forced to confront the fact that his rigid “code of honor”...
American Boy: A Profile of Steven Prince - Subjective Reality
[The following analysis contains MAJOR SPOILERS; you have been warned!] Contrary to their ostensible purpose—i.e., to depict an accurate...
Review: See You on the Other Side and Tokyo Girl (Japan Cuts Shorts)
Decided to cap off Japan Cuts 2020 with yet another short film double feature: See You on the Other Side: Director Yoko Yamanaka...
Review: Tora-san, My Uncle
In Tora-san, My Uncle, the forty-second episode of Yoji Yamada’s long-running Tora-san series, the eponymous peddler surrenders the role...
Review: Tora-san Meets the Songstress Again
Tora-san Meets the Songstress Again, the fifteenth entry in Shochiku’s sprawling Tora-san saga, begins with the eponymous peddler...
Review: Mrs. Noisy
Continued to make the most out of Japan Cuts’ online edition with a screening of Mrs. Noisy, a thoroughly engrossing film that spins a...
Review: Seijo Story - 60 Years of Making Films
A huge portion of this year’s Japan Cuts lineup is dedicated to honoring the legacy of the late Nobuhiko Obayashi—painter, pianist,...
Review: Shell and Joint
I watched Shell and Joint on the Japan Cuts website and, well... uh... Look, sometimes I’ll pretend to be confused by a movie for comedic...
Review: The Day of Destruction
Japan Cuts added a surprise screening to this year’s lineup: The Day of Destruction, directed by Toshiaki Toyoda (who also submitted...
Review: Fukushima 50
Watched Fukushima 50 on the Japan Cuts website. The trailer for this dramatization of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster makes it...



















