One or two festivals ago, who can remember which — this time of year they all blend together — this critic wrote about Nomad,…
The latest in Anno Hideaki’s reimagining of classic Japanese tokusatsu stories, following Shin Godzilla, Shin Ultraman, and — depending on how you look at…
One of the finest films of the Hong Kong New Wave, Patrick Tam’s Nomad (1982), plays at this year’s NYAFF in a new restoration,…
Cheuk Wan-chi is an accomplished director, screenwriter, and stand-up comedian in Hong Kong. She co-wrote Sylvia Chang’s excellent 2004 film 20 30 40 and…
Ma Dong-seok has found his niche. Last summer brought us The Roundup, the sequel to Ma’s hit 2017 vehicle, The Outlaws, and here we…
One of the more delightful, long-running series in contemporary cinema is Tsai Ming-liang’s Walker films, wherein actor Lee Kang-sheng — dressed in flowing red…
Japan is once again on the brink of picturesque collapse in the latest film from anime director Shinkai Makoto. Natural disasters, of course, have…
Some action movies are best watched in the afternoon, the way they used to be shown on American television in the days before infomercials…
Real heads know that the truly exciting martial arts movie sequel coming out this week is not Keanu Reeves vehicle John Wick 4, but…
A young woman from Tokyo finds herself in a strange town. In the beginning, she is looking for a tourist site, the ruins of…
The first feature from Chinese filmmaker Wu Lang, Absence shares a title and cast with the director’s second short film, which played at Cannes…
On the occasion of him winning the Palme d’Or at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival for his film Shoplifters, I called Hirokazu Kore-eda “the…
Decision to Leave piles on the plot twists, but never loses its essential noir romance vibe. Tang Wei remains one of the great actresses of…
The Night is another minutiae-oriented short from Tsai, meaning found in the details of its mini symphony of Hong Kong. Following up, as it…
Festival omnibus films are always a dicey proposition. Collections of films from various directors are inevitably going to be uneven in quality, tone, and…
Like The Outlaws before it, The Roundup is a pretty basic cop movie, but director Ma Dong-seok spins it all into irresistible entertainment. In 2017, Ma Dong-seok, fresh…
Fifty years ago, Chen Kuan-tai stepped out from the background as an extra and stuntman in Chang Cheh’s stock company to take the lead…
A wealthy man is deemed the prime suspect in the murder of a young woman after he is found in a hotel room with…