Category Archives: Movies

Review: Mr. Moonlight

Posted on January 27, 2023 by philipbrasor

If, like me, you come to this Japanese documentary about the Beatles’ historic 1966 concerts at Budokan in the hopes of seeing the rare footage of the shows taken by the police for security reasons but sanctioned for more than … Continue reading →

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Review: The Banshees of Inisherin

Posted on January 26, 2023 by philipbrasor

As with Parasite, the overwhelming critical success of Irish playwright Martin McDonagh’s third feature film is remarkable for its unlikelihood of even being noticed by a general international viewership. In Parasite‘s case, this unlikelihood was a function of its provenance. … Continue reading →

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Review: The Shadow Play

Posted on January 21, 2023 by philipbrasor

Lou Ye was once touted as one of the most significant new mainland China directors of the millennium after the overseas success of the atmospheric Suzhou River, a reputation that was further bolstered by his 2006 Tiananmen epic Summer Palace, … Continue reading →

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Yun Jeong-hee

Posted on January 20, 2023 by philipbrasor

I am saddened to read of the death of Yun Jeong-hee, who gave the best film performance of the 21st century in my favorite film of the 21st century, Lee Chang-dong’s Poetry. Yun reportedly died in Paris with Alzheimer’s, the … Continue reading →

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Review: La Civil

Posted on January 20, 2023 by philipbrasor

One of the salient features of the ongoing drug wars in Mexico is how opaque the issue is to outsiders. Though we know who is doing the killing and who is being killed, it’s often difficult to get much further, … Continue reading →

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Review: The Northman

Posted on January 19, 2023 by philipbrasor

Though not trailblazing in any significant way, Robert Eggers’ first two features successfully perverted forms that tend to be thought of as inviolable. The Witch was a horror movie that implied a deep distrust of the devices that characterize the … Continue reading →

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Review: She Said

Posted on January 13, 2023 by philipbrasor

The PR campaign for screenwriter Rebecca Lenkiewicz’s movie adaptation of New York Times reporters Megan Twohey and Jodi Kantor’s Pulitzer Prize-winning journalism foregrounds their story as a seminal instance in the progress of the #MeToo movement, which it is. Nevertheless, … Continue reading →

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Review: Kung Fu Stuntmen

Posted on January 7, 2023 by philipbrasor

Perhaps because it was produced by a guild of Hong Kong-based stuntmen, this documentary about the evolution of their craft since the 1950s is both exhaustive (quite a feat at 92 minutes) and wonkish. Every legend you can think of … Continue reading →

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Review: Emergency Declaration

Posted on January 6, 2023 by philipbrasor

Given its star power and large cinematic canvas, this disaster film would qualify as a blockbuster had it been made by Hollywood in the 70s or 80s. Nowadays it would just seem anachronistic, but since it was made in South … Continue reading →

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Review: Dream Horse

Posted on January 5, 2023 by philipbrasor

The British working class underdog movie is a proven box office winner, and much more convincing, if not more sentimental, than its American cognate, which is usually centered on sports. This almost apologetically formulaic fictionalization of a true story that … Continue reading →

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