Browsing: movies

Starring actress Aoi Miyazaki and pop star Mika Nakashima, Kentaro Otani’s 2005 film adaption of Ai Yazawa’s manga ​‘Nana’ endures because it captured something rare and radical within Japanese pop culture: female friendship that is messy, intimate and life-changing. Shoujo manga (‘girl comics’) took my peers and I by storm in our formative years. Usually, these were sugary stories about high school girls falling for impossibly perfect men. But Nana was different. Yazawa’s series felt more mature, more honest, and far more emotionally raw than its counterparts.Yes, it had romance, but its core appeal – both then and now – lies in the bond…

Festivals: Think of England (2025) by Richard Hawkins: Cinema, Seduction and State Secrets top of pagebottom of page

James Cameron thinks the idea of generative AI replacing actors is “horrifying.”The Avatar: Fire and Ash director — who sits on the board of Stability AI — has previously been positive about the use of artificial intelligence in filmmaking but there are limits to how he feels it should be used.The Oscar-winning moviemaker hailed motion capture the “purest form” of performance and admitted he thinks it was a “mistake” that he was reluctant to “pull the curtain back” on the CGI-assisted technique when working on 2009’s Avatar in order to keep the “magic unblemished” for audiences.Cameron stressed how different motion capture…

Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for IT: Welcome to Derry, Episode 6Pennywise is the most unique villain in the Stephen King universe. The master of horror has created every kind of monster imaginable, from ghosts inhabiting a hotel, a woman who loves her favorite author just a little too much, and monsters from another dimension, but none of them have the hold on our collective psyche like that shapeshifting alien who often takes the form of a clown. In the 1986 novel IT, and to a lesser degree, in the 1990 miniseries and two Andy Muschietti-directed feature films, we…

While Netflix might not be known for its fantasy offerings, it does have a few key series. There are big series the streaming giant has sunk millions of dollars into, like The Witcher and Avatar The Last Airbender, but also more than a few smaller shows that appeal to more of a niche audience, such as anime like Frieren. Despite the variety of Fantasy available on Netflix, however, its best fantasy anime punches well above its weight and competes against the streamer’s biggest series. While it’s only been out for a little more than a year, Delicious in Dungeon stands…

It’s never easy to deliver a sequel to a successful whodunnit, much less a threequel. At this point, the amateur sleuths have begun to identify recurring patterns and misdirects, the characters have become archetypal, and the audience is waiting for the surprise twist on top of the twist. Writer/​director Rian Johnson shows a keen awareness of potential fatigue, and his Glass Onion follow-up, Wake Up Dead Man, charts a refreshing new course while proving that despite the increasing body count, this franchise is very much alive and kicking.In keeping with the traditions of the genre, we first meet the key players, who are all, of…

Summary of Movie: The Clever Con of a Romantic Bank HeistConclusion: Marmalade is a romantic crime caper with a strong thriller edge, focusing on Baron, a seemingly naive man in jail for a bank heist he pulled off with his mysterious, alluring lover, Marmalade. As he narrates the colorful tale to his cunning cellmate, Otis, to plot an escape, the audience is taken on a twist-filled journey that questions the true nature of love, innocence, and deception.Catchy Title: Marmalade (2024) by Keir O’Donnell: The Clever Con of a Romantic Bank HeistSummary of Content:Baron, a naive young man, is imprisoned after a romantic bank…

Home Alone is a classic for good reason. The 1990 Christmas movie is a staple during the holidays thanks to its cozy setting, hilarious hi-jinks and nostalgic atmosphere, as well as fantastic performances from a stacked cast including Joe Pesci, Daniel Stern, Catherine O’Hara, John Heard and, of course, Macaulay Culkin.The former child star even has an idea for a potential modern Home Alone sequel, and honestly, it’s not too bad.Variety reports that during a recent appearance on his A Nostalgic Night With Macaulay Culkin tour, the actor revealed his clever proposal for a sequel, sharing he “wouldn’t be completely allergic”…

Apple TV+’s Slow Horses follows a dysfunctional group of British intelligence officers who, as a result of their career-ending mistakes and failures, are housed at MI5’s “dumping ground” department called Slough House. It’s wonderful to immerse within the Slow Horses and Espionage universe, but for fans looking for more intriguing spy drama, there are several other series like it. The British spy genre is prevalent in the program, which is adored for its slow-moving action and morally gray characters. Thankfully, there are several excellent espionage shows like Slow Horses available that fans can binge that have a similar vibe to…

Naruto has some of the best villains in anime, and they’re a large part of just how massive the franchise has become. While other major shōnen series might have a decent villain or two, Naruto has several, with a myriad of antagonists bringing something interesting to the table. Naruto has unquestionably cemented itself as not only one of the greatest shōnen series ever made, but one of the best anime in general. It’s a thrill ride from the beginning of Naruto to the end of Naruto: Shippuden, and the villains of the series are a major reason why. There are…