4
Japan Cuts 2020: FUKUSHIMA 50 Review
Fukushima 50 sees Japanese cinema address the Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear disaster in the most direct manner to date. It does not go well.
Posted by: Chris Luciantonio
4
7
Japan Cuts 2020: KINTA AND GINJI Review
A lo-fi, lackadaisical, existential odyssey through the forest that embraces its weirdness with an absurd edge.
Posted by: Chris Luciantonio
9
Japan Cuts 2020: LABYRINTH OF CINEMA Review
Nobuhiko Obayashi rounds out his career of wonderfully inventive filmmaking with an anti-war epic worthy of his legacy.
Posted by: Chris Luciantonio
9
Japan Cuts 2020: ON-GAKU: OUR SOUND Review
Three guys, making music, just vibing in the summer — On-Gaku: Our Sound is a whole mood of a movie that is quite unforgettable.
Posted by: Chris Luciantonio
8
Japan Cuts 2020: I -DOCUMENTARY OF THE JOURNALIST- Review
“The latest from controversial documentarian Tatusya Mori tackles freedom of the Japanese press in a dense, challenging manner.”
Isoko Mochizuki has been on the fast track to becoming akin to a “celebrity journalist” in the past few years. Her 2017 memoir The
Posted by: Chris Luciantonio
6
Japan Cuts 2020: LIFE: UNTITLED Review
Taking a frank look at the state of sex work in Japan today, Life: Untitled is a virulent screed against exploitation too bitter for its own good.
Posted by: Chris Luciantonio
8
Japan Cuts 2020: SPECIAL ACTORS Review
Like a heist comedy from the 1980s, Special Actors shows director Ueda’s manically meta genre filmmaking still bears fruit.
Posted by: Chris Luciantonio
6
THE PAINTED BIRD Review
The Painted Bird is an unflinching, excessive tour de misery that is more numbing than poignant.
Posted by: Chris Luciantonio
7.5
Japan Cuts 2020: EXTRO Review
A love letter to the little guys on the movie set, Extro thinks the world of the lowly extra.
Posted by: Chris Luciantonio
9.5
WE ARE LITTLE ZOMBIES Review
Packing excessive visual inventiveness and striking style into a tight, two-hour runtime, We Are Little Zombies is a joyously manic tragicomedy that needs to be seen to be believed.
Posted by: Chris Luciantonio
4
PARALLAX Review
Parallax is a mind-bending, science-fiction film that is relegated to the shallow end of the pool.
Posted by: Chris Luciantonio
9
BABYTEETH Review
A sharp and honest confrontation of teenage mortality, Babyteeth is a heartbreaking delight.
Posted by: Chris Luciantonio
4
BECKY Review
Like a haphazard mix of Home Alone and Straw Dogs, Becky is a hollow revenge thriller that can rarely be taken seriously.
Posted by: Chris Luciantonio
6.5
A GOOD WOMAN IS HARD TO FIND Review
A Good Woman is Hard to Find is an uncompromising neo-noir exercise levelled by a powerful central performance.
Posted by: Chris Luciantonio
7.5
BUTT BOY Review
Butt Boy is the type of utterly singular film that is so adamantly committed to its premise that it completely cuts through its initial absurdity. A presumptive hit at Fantastic Fest; where films are always lauded for their quirks above all else,
Posted by: Chris Luciantonio
3
THE PERISHED Review
Whether or not writer-director Paddy Murphy intended it, his feature length debut never really shakes the uncomfortable framing of pro-life propaganda disguised as middle-of-the-road horror allegory. The unfathomable attempt by The Perished to weigh in on the unending abortion debate and to
Posted by: Chris Luciantonio
