Sonomura Kensuke Ghost Killer (Sonomura Kensuke, 2024) Ever since I learned of the existence of Ghost Killer, about a year ago now, it has been my most anticipated film. Now it’s opening here in the US (on digital first and then on 4k and bluray), thanks to the fine people at WellGo USA, and I simply
Devils on the Doorstep Japan Cuts 2025 - Part Two Reviews of She Taught Me Serendipity, See You Tomorrow, So Beautiful Wonderful and Lovely, and The Gesuidouz
Devils on the Doorstep Japan Cuts 2025: Part One Wherein I review Three Kurosawas, Two Serpent's Paths, and One Iwai which stars One Nakayama Miho who plays Two Different Characters
Paid-members only Tsui Hark An Introduction to the Tsui Hark Retrospective at The Cinematheque in Vancouver, BC
Paid-members only Strange Tales The Best Non-Chinese Language Films of the 21st Century (Thus Far)- Part Two (1-50)
Paid-members only Strange Tales The Best Non-Chinese Language Films of the 21st Century (Thus Far)- Part One 110-51
Zhou Jinghao Girl on Edge (Zhou Jinghao, 2025) A slightly different version of this was originally published at InReview Online as part of their coverage of the 2025 Cannes Film Festival series. There are two kinds of cinephile: those who hear a movie described as “Black Swan on ice” and sneer, noses upturned, their one line one-and-a-half star
Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke A Useful Ghost (Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke, 2025) A slightly different version of this was originally published at InReview Online as part of their coverage of the 2025 Cannes Film Festival series. One day, noticing an influx of dust into their apartment due to some construction outside, a person known only as an “academic ladyboy” (as they call
Min Kyudong The Old Woman with the Knife (Min Kyudong, 2025) Look, I’m only human. You tell me there’s a movie where a woman plays a professional killer, and I’m in. I love Girls with Guns movies, from the certified classics starring the classy stars like Michelle Yeoh and Cynthia Rothrock to the early 90s underground of Moon
Shi Shujun Girl Students' Dormitory (Shi Shujun, 1983) Just concluded at the BAM in New York was a very cool series of films that were set and filmed in Wuhan. Programmed by CineCina’s Frank Yan, the series explored different aspects of the city that’s become notable in recent years as the epicenter of the COVID pandemic.
Paid-members only Strange Tales The Best Chinese Language Films of the 21st Century (Thus Far) - Part Three: 1-39
Paid-members only Strange Tales The Best Chinese Language Films of the 21st Century (Thus Far) - Part Two: 79-40
Paid-members only Strange Tales The Best Chinese Language Films of the 21st Century (Thus Far) - Part One: 110-80
Yamanaka Yoko Desert of Namibia (Yamanaka Yoko, 2024) A slightly different version of this was originally published at InReview Online as part of their coverage of the Museum of the Moving Image's 2025 First Look series. At first, Yamanaka Yoko’s Desert of Namibia seems to be just another entry in what I’m calling Millennium
Paid-members only Contemporary Chinese (Streaming) Cinema The MIYA Memo: Shell Girl (Wang Xia, 2024) and Female Special Police Officer (Zhang Zhen, 2022)
Rithy Panh Rendez-vous avec Pol Pot (Rithy Panh, 2024) A slightly different version of this was originally published at InReview Online as part of their coverage of the 2025 Rendez-vous with French Cinema series. It’s been over a decade now since I caught Rithy Panh’s The Missing Picture at the Vancouver Film Festival. His chronicle of his
Paid-members only Contemporary Chinese (Streaming) Cinema More Condors, More Heroes: The Dragon Tamer (Diao Yu and Zhu Lingfeng, 2021) and What is love (Lin Zhenzhao, 2025)