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The Post-Colonial World of Bong Joon-Ho
Bong’s films are postcolonial in the sense that they often reflect the Korean context by depicting the United States as a neo-colonial empire; however, his postcolonial messages are largely dependent on a reversal of American genre expectations, and, as a result, his films still dialogue with the colonial power that shaped modern Korea.
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Watching Movies on a Small Screen Is a Better Experience. If You Care About Audio
One of the best movie experiences of my life was watching John Krasinski’s A Quiet Place on a 13.5” MacBook Pro screen with puffy $20 over-ear headphones. I was visiting my then-girlfriend (now wife)’s family in Maryland for a holiday. As most family holiday gatherings go, it was cramped with people, luggage, and anything but space. When…
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Influencer Does Something New
A film made by an ambivalent digital native, Influencer sees through the all-too-common and frankly dull Gen X critique of social media influencers as an occupation emblematic of social decline or capitalistic excess (which is true, but nonetheless a tired critique). That’s not to say director Kurtis David Harder, who has enjoyed a quite successful career so…
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Chang Cheh’s Five Shaolin Masters: A Favorite of None
It’s not one of Chang’s best, that’s for sure.
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Shirin Is a Painful Watch
Shirin is a painful watch. There’s no secret to that, and anyone who tells you otherwise is probably bullshitting you. The last film in the great Iranian director’s experimental phase, Abbas Kiarostami’s Shirin has no characters, no camera movement, no shot variety, and arguably no plot. Some might say it doesn’t even have a point. So, what is…
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Sponsored Euthanasia as Dystopia in Plan 75
I can’t imagine a scenario in which a dystopian film about government sponsored euthanasia of elderly citizens could be translated successfully to the North American context. Part of what makes the best dystopias work is a root in some truth, in some deep-seated cultural anxiety, and that dystopia is more or less unimaginable—especially with the…
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Shttl Is Unlike Anything You’ve Ever Seen
Shttl is unlike anything you have ever seen: a contemporary black-and-white Yiddish language artificial one-shot film made in Ukraine with a crew that, according to the folks at The National Center for Jewish Film’s Annual Film Festival, is now largely fighting in the war over their land. It’s a fascinating film worth checking out, and I…
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Joyland—Queer Pakistani Film is Transcendent
Saim Sadiq delivers a remarkable directorial debut in Joyland, the first Pakistani film to premiere at Cannes Film Festival. In addition to its Cannes acclaim, Sadiq’s film is the country’s first-ever Oscar-shortlisted film in the international category and, according to The Guardian, “the first major Pakistani motion picture to feature a trans actor in a lead…
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Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and Notes on the End of an Era
I fully anticipate that was the last time I’ll enjoy myself at a Marvel theatrical screening. I don’t know that for sure—I found a handful of Phase Four / Five movies somewhere between enjoyable and great (Spider-Man: Far From Home)—but there’s been something off-kilter post-Avengers: Endgame (2019) that the third and (if God is real) final Guardians…
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Don’t Go Breaking My Heart Is Sports Genre as a Love Triangle
Johnnie To is well known in the West for his action and crime films but, the populist that he is, he’s also a prolific director of romances and musicals. Entire books have been written on To’s filmmaking focusing on the likes of The Mission (1999), PTU (2003), and Election (2005) that don’t even mention his…
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The Transcendent Cinema 