There was a surprising turn in Scott Sanders’ blaxploitation parody Black Dynamite (2009) when the characters in the film suddenly turn to a discussion about Greek Mythology. It was a pleasant surprise, done with a hint of irony, of course. Now take that scene, stretch it to 80 minutes, reduce the irony, and what you get is…

Other than good filmmaking, what makes a film especially satisfying? A good ending. Tetsuya Mariko’s Miyamoto starts with a good ending: a couple getting married. But more than this good ending, Miyamoto actually presents a positive approach towards human life and violence, an attitude that is quite rare recently due to the prevalence of Hollywood cynicism. But what Mariko…

It is hard to believe that Roll is a debut feature by a young filmmaker. Daichi Murase has written and directed the film with such care that it actually exhibits a maturity that is lacking in recent independently produced works. This is not to say that it’s smoothly done, but however rough it is around the edges,…

Wang I-Fan’s debut feature Get the Hell Out opens explosively and stylishly, like the entrance of a pro wrestling star in the arena. It promises chaos, blood and fun. The film delivers a sharp line of social commentary mixed with technical and artistic consistency almost comparable with 2019’s Parasite. Where Parasite succeeded as a social commentary through metaphor, Get the Hell…

Troubled times require clarification, which often requires a troubled approach. Japanese cinema is not alien to attempts to make sense of trouble with trouble; of violence with violence. Written and directed by actor Joe Odagiri, They Say Nothing Stays the Same contributes to this growing strand of Japanese cinema with an observation of classical Japanese storytelling and…

Both writer-director Yeon Sang-ho and his latest film, Peninsula, bear the burden of heavy expectations. But this sequel to his worldwide blockbuster hit, Train to Busan (2016) and the third film in the franchise along with the animated feature, Seoul Station (2016) is not just confident, it really delivers. While it might not necessarily please those who are expecting something close…

The alarm was sounded around the middle of the last decade on disinformation campaigns deemed to threaten social institutions founded on managing free-flowing information. It’s an issue that would have been resolved promptly if only the suspected progenitors of such campaigns did not come from governments themselves, as happened in the developed countries of the…