Film: Tokyo Drifter Year: 1966 Director: Seijun Suzuki Well this project is kicking off with a literal bang! The lucky winner of the grand randomization is the slick, Japanese New Wave gem, Tokyo Drifter. This was a pleasing experience to wade into this project. I remember watching Seijun Suzuki's Tokyo Drifter back around the time … Continue reading Criterion Project #1: TOKYO DRIFTER (1966)
Wes Craven's A Nightmare on Elm Street came about at a serendipitous time in the horror genre. The slasher boom of the late '70s and early '80s was in the ebbing phase of its lifespan, devolving into a sea of pale imitations and diluted formulas that stripped the genre of its visceral power. Gore, guts, … Continue reading Slasher Mom: The Birth of Freddy Krueger in A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET (1984)
One of the beautiful things about re-watching movies is the opportunity for new discovery. Re-evaluation is integral to cinema because art should be an ongoing discussion. You could be watching a film you've seen a thousand times and suddenly the lightbulb pops on - there's a new element you caught that you never thought about … Continue reading On Second Thought: Reassessing Jason in FRIDAY THE 13th PART III (1982)
*Author's note: I started writing this days before the country went up in flames. Domestic affairs have reached unthinkable lows this week and we can only have hope for our country going forward, so please know that I'm aware of how inconsequential and trivial discussing movies is when we're witnessing the literal downfall of our … Continue reading The Holiday Round-Up: Boutique Labels, Going 4K and Region Free
It's spooky season, so it's time to dust off the keyboard, crack the knuckles, and limber up my brain to talk about a little dandy for you. Shudder has served up a delicious little treat to keep you clutching your blanket on a dark, gloomy night with the horror anthology film, The Mortuary Collection. But … Continue reading Review: THE MORTUARY COLLECTION (2019) is Good Halloween Fun
In every film there are little moments that can serve the story in a multitude of positive or negative ways, from fusing together themes, scenes, and/or characters, etc, to subterfuge or flat-out self-sabotage. Personally, I love when a bridging moment or scene can nourish the transitive nature of Hollywood film structure in the Eisenstein-ian way. … Continue reading Anatomy of a Scene: 10 THINGS I HATE ABOUT YOU (1999)
Abel Ferrara's searing crime drama, King of New York, eschews many conventions of the gangster genre as we know it to visualize the dangers of both confronting his archetypal gangster, Frank White (Christopher Walken), as well as the hazardous nature of embodying this characterization. I say "characterization" because of Ferrara's proclivity for active roles within … Continue reading Talk is Cheap: The Lean Violence of Abel Ferrara’s KING OF NEW YORK (1990)
Zhangke Jia's Ash is the Purest White is a visually and emotionally chilling film that superficially is about a crumbling romance, but at its core covers themes of identity and the progression of self-worth and congruence with Chinese society. Jia uses evolving color patterns to establish the two worlds and the digression of two people … Continue reading A Story of Color: The Evolving Palette of Zhangke Jia’s Exquisite ASH IS THE PUREST WHITE (2018)
This is it....the moment we've all been waiting for! The cream of the scream! The (dream) master of disaster! The baron of burn! My 100th post on this blog and the culmination of a months long project all coincide for one momentous occasion. I hope you're all wearing your fedoras, razor gloves, and Christmas sweaters, … Continue reading The Best Horror Movie Kills of All-Time: #1 – A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET (1984)
On Monday I promised you two kills for my penultimate post on this list and, dammit, you're getting two kills! But first, I have to admit something: this is becoming increasingly bittersweet. On the one hand I'm thrilled and excited to write about these entries at the top of the list; scenes that have awed … Continue reading The Best Horror Movie Kills of All-Time: #2 – THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE (1974) – Plus a bonus kill!
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