As part of celebrating 100 years of Japanese animation, French distributor Kaze released a special edition of Perfect Blue, Satoshi Kon's debut film as a director. This happens to be one of my favorite anime. Satoshi Kon basically used the...
Japan Cuts: The Festival of New Japanese Film comes roaring back to life for another season of fresh flicks with the ninja-samurai action epic MUMON: The Land of Stealth kicking things off July 13 at the Japan Society in New...
As we pack our bags before the start of this year's Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival, ScreenAnarchy has come up with a few recommendations to watch out for at this year's edition, as well as some new films we're personally...
(...If you read or speak French, that is...) In France, anime got a foothold far earlier than in most English-speaking countries. Even today, the market for buying DVDs and Blu-rays of Japanese animation is roughly estimated to be thirty times...
As we hit the halfway point of the year, it is time to look back over the past six months, specifically the cinematic offerings from Asia. This year’s crop of new releases has been a mixed bunch, with precious few...
Lucky New Yorkers, it's that time again when the good folks at Subway Cinema bring us the New York Asian Film Festival, a superior alternative to bombastic multiplex fare, and a one-stop shop for the latest and greatest of the...
Blurbs are a strange thing. Always intended to get a certain hype going, they can easily help set up false expectations, intentionally or not. And so, while Roger Ebert was spot on when he placed My Neighbor Totoro in the...
The Tribeca Film Festival returns for its 16th edition, running at various venues through April 30. As usual, it doesn't lack for boldface names and big events, opening with Clive Davis: The Soundtrack of Our Lives, a documentary about the legendary...
Trivisa was a big winner at this year’s Hong Kong Film Awards but judging by the number of new talents whose films were nominated and awarded, the Hong Kong film industry was perhaps the biggest winner of all, as a...
When Scarlett Johansson was announced as the lead in Rupert Sanders' live action adaptation of Ghost in the Shell, people had issues with her suitability for the role. And now that the film has been released, opinions are divided. Whitewashing...
"Beyond Godzilla: Alternative Futures and Fantasies in Japanese Cinema," a film series screening at Japan Society from March 24 through April 8, looks at the long history of Japanese tokusatsu eiga, or special effects films. On the heels of Shin Godzilla, the latest...
The 46th edition of the Film Society of Lincoln Center and Museum of Modern Art's New Directors/New Films Festival screens from March 15 through 26. As always, it's an eclectic international showcase of interesting new talents and approaches to cinematic...
Last weekend, Zhang Yimou's fantasy epic The Great Wall premiered in North America, and while it's silly as hell, it is undeniably gorgeous-looking. While he did call it "nonsense", our J. Hurtado also said in his review that it's a...
Audition (Takashi Miike, 1999) is a film whose memory has been all but condensed into a single image: a young Asian woman, soft-featured but wearing an unmistakably sinister side-long glance, holding up a syringe. This image was used for the...
In celebration of iconic Japanese actress Meiko Kaji's upcoming 70th birthday and Valentine's Day, Japan Society is throwing a mini retro party of the inimitable actress. Best known for her role as Nami "Sasori (Scorpion)" Matsushima in the Female Prisoner series...
On the night of the "big game," my latest video takes a look at Oscar contenders (Jackie, The Red Turtle) and the Marx Brothers' 1932 classic Horse Feathers....
Happy Year of the Rooster! And if, among the fireworks, parades, and consumption of chicken, duck, dumplings and longevity noodles, you can squeeze in some time for moviegoing, there's plenty to choose from. Just in time for the Chinese New...
I wasn’t with it, but just that very minute, it occurred to me the suckers had authority … – Public Enemy, “Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos” Today is when it all goes down, figuratively and literally. Regardless of...
Touted as the festival "for filmmakers by filmmakers", the 23rd Annual Slamdance Film Festical kicks off Friday Jaunary 20th at the Treasure Mountain Inn in Park City, Utah. A stone's throw away from the hustle and bustle of Sundance, Slamdance...
This week, we feature an especially rewarding set of recommendations for viewings over the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday weekend. And I can't help but note the irony of celebrating the life of one of the greatest Americans who ever...
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