Anime Blog Tracker

Amalock (2024) review [OAFF 2024]

A narrative that fluidly combines comedy and tragedy to deliver an experience of smiles and tears.

psycho-cinematography

Mar 17, 2024 • Subscribe

Suton (2024) review [OAFF 2024]

Rikako Watanabe’s narrative succeeds to echo the unvocalized ‘pandemic’ truth of many.

psycho-cinematography

Mar 2, 2024 • Subscribe

Snowdrop (2024) review [OAFF 2024]

A complex character portrait that touchingly illustrates how easy it is to misrecognize the logic of the subject-supposed-to-be-in-need.

psycho-cinematography

Mar 29, 2024 • Subscribe

Belonging (2024) review [Japannual 2024]

Higashi delivers a touching exploration of love after death.

psycho-cinematography

Nov 3, 2024 • Subscribe

Wash Away (2024) review [OAFF 2024]

A pleasant narrative that offers a fresh but familiar exploration of the subject’s fundamental desire for recognition/love and the problematic yet medicative function of consumption.

psycho-cinematography

Mar 23, 2024 • Subscribe

Sumiko 22 (2024) review [OAFF 2024]

A subtle but playful narrative about a subject who slowly tries to crawl out the hole of emptiness and diminished self-worth.

psycho-cinematography

Mar 14, 2024 • Subscribe

Sumiko

Blue Imagine (2024) review [OAFF 2024]

A powerful reminder of the sexual transgressions that structurally plague the Japanese film industry

psycho-cinematography

Apr 1, 2024 • Subscribe

Review: Upstream (2024)

Upstream 逆行人生 China, 2024, colour, 2.35:1, 120 mins. Director: Xu Zheng 徐峥. Rating: 6/10. A black but ultimately warm comedy, set among Shanghai’s community of food deliverers, shows…

Sino-Cinema 《神州电影》

Nov 1, 2024 • Subscribe

Jinsei - Life Consulting

Review: Successor (2024)

Successor 抓娃娃 China, 2024, colour, 2.35:1, 133 mins. Directors: Yan Fei 闫非, Peng Damo 彭大魔. Rating: 7/10. Comedian Shen Teng and the Ma Hua FunAge gang come up…

Sino-Cinema 《神州电影》

Feb 6, 2026 • Subscribe

Review: Yuanyanglou (2024)

Yuanyanglou 鸳鸯楼•惊魂 China, 2024, colour, 2.35:1, 94 mins. Director: Wang Shenghe 王晟赫. Rating: 6/10. Surprisingly effective horror film, anchored by undervalued actress Li Meng, simmers for an hour…

Sino-Cinema 《神州电影》

Mar 5, 2025 • Subscribe

Review: Decoded (2024)

Decoded 解密 China, 2024, colour, 2.35:1, 155 mins. Director: Chen Sicheng 陈思诚. Rating: 8/10. Belated return to form by film-maker Chen Sicheng is a strongly written, subtly played…

Sino-Cinema 《神州电影》

Oct 13, 2024 • Subscribe

Review: Untouchable (2024)

Untouchable 逆鳞 China, 2024, colour/b&w, 2.35:1, 111 mins. Director: Da Qing 大庆 [Wang Daqing 王大庆]. Rating: 8/10. Cat-and-mouse gangster drama, set in 1990s pre-handover Macau, is stylishly written…

Sino-Cinema 《神州电影》

Dec 21, 2024 • Subscribe

2024 in Review

A year of retreads and repeats, none of them good: War in Ukraine. War in the Middle East. Famine in Sudan. Famine in Gaza. Covid and…

Collectr's Blog

Jan 1, 2025 • Subscribe

Blue Flames, Chalk-iro no People, Gakkou no Yuurei, The Apothecary Diaries, Dance Till Tomorrow

Penalty Loop (2024) review [Nippon Connection 2024]

The way Araki resolves the narrative’s thematical questions concerning vengeance and the working-through of trauma will divide spectators

psycho-cinematography

Jun 17, 2024 • Subscribe

Desert of Namibia (2024) review [Japannual 2024]

Yoko Yamanaka delivers a cinematic masterpiece of subjectivity.

psycho-cinematography

Nov 14, 2024 • Subscribe

Sin And Evil (2024) review [Japannual 2024]

Saito shows that the Other always bears some responsibility for the subjective outcomes of dysfunctional familial dynamics and the criminal excesses that plague its mendacious image of peaceful…

psycho-cinematography

Dec 10, 2024 • Subscribe

Review: Life Hotel (2024)

Life Hotel 来福大酒店 China, 2024, colour, 1.85:1, 118 mins. Director: Liu Bowen 刘博文. Rating: 7/10. A strong, characterful cast, led by Huang Xuan and Liu Yan, make this…

Sino-Cinema 《神州电影》

Sep 20, 2024 • Subscribe

2024 Year in Review

At this point I just can’t be bothered to rank things and I honestly don’t know if I could, at least with movies, so here are a bunch…

Adventures in (Post) Gradland

Dec 31, 2024 • Subscribe

Movie Review: Abigail (2024)

While browsing Peacock’s catalog for something to watch, Abigail (2024) caught my eye. I wasn’t searching for anything specific, but the film’s horror and comedy labels and the…

Dragonas Talk

Jul 26, 2024 • Subscribe

Review: The Victims (2024)

The Victims 黄雀在后！ China, 2024, colour, 2.35:1, 98 mins. Directors: Xu Wei 徐伟, He Wenchao 何文超. Rating: 7/10. Richly cast, this well-mounted whodunit is 100% plot and procedure…

Sino-Cinema 《神州电影》

Jun 3, 2024 • Subscribe

Review: Pegasus 2 (2024)

Pegasus 2 飞驰人生2 China, 2024, colour, 2.35:1, 120 mins. Director: Han Han 韩寒. Rating: 6/10. More of the same and with knobs on, plus another effortless lead by…

Sino-Cinema 《神州电影》

May 20, 2024 • Subscribe

Jinsei - Life Consulting

Review: Keep Rolling (2024)

Keep Rolling 大场面 China, 2024, colour, 2.35:1, 99 mins. Director: Li Ji 李季. Rating: 7/10. Modestly produced black comedy on the film industry and human selfishness doesn’t run…

Sino-Cinema 《神州电影》

Apr 7, 2025 • Subscribe

Review: Cesium Fallout (2024)

Cesium Fallout 焚城 Hong Kong/China, 2024, colour, 2.35:1, 135 mins. Director: Pan Yaoming 潘耀明 [Anthony Pun]. Rating: 6/10. Technically polished disaster movie doesn’t reach down very far in…

Sino-Cinema 《神州电影》

Feb 9, 2025 • Subscribe

Review: Reversed Destiny (2024)

Reversed Destiny 沙漏 China, 2024, colour, 1.85:1, 109 mins. Director: Wen Jing 温婧. Rating: 7/10. Good-looking, well-played story of two high-school BFFs would have been even better with…

Sino-Cinema 《神州电影》

Aug 15, 2024 • Subscribe

City Hunter (2024) review

A fun but very forgettable experience.

psycho-cinematography

Jun 30, 2024 • Subscribe

City Hunter

Review: Article 20 (2024)

Article 20 第二十条 China, 2024, colour, 2.35:1, 139 mins. Director: Zhang Yimou 张艺谋. Rating: 6/10. Comedy-drama, set among a city’s public prosecutors, is entertaining enough due to its…

Sino-Cinema 《神州电影》

May 12, 2024 • Subscribe

Review: All Suspects (2024)

All Suspects 全员嫌疑人 China, 2024, colour, 2.35:1, 95 mins. Director: Fu Dong 傅鸫. Rating: 5/10. An okay period whodunit with two good leads but let down by a…

Sino-Cinema 《神州电影》

Jan 13, 2025 • Subscribe

Review: Crisis Negotiators (2024)

Crisis Negotiators 谈判专家 China, 2024, colour, 2.35:1, 119 mins. Director: Qiu Litao 邱礼涛 [Herman Yau]. Rating: 8/10. A cracking, Hong Kong-set re-make of US drama-thriller The Negotiator  that’s…

Sino-Cinema 《神州电影》

Aug 4, 2024 • Subscribe

Review: Enjoy Yourself (2024)

Enjoy Yourself 祝你幸福 China, 2024, colour, 2.35:1, 111 mins. Director: Kang Bo 康博. Rating: 6/10. Relationship-cum-legal drama sports some good performances but is hampered by a messily constructed…

Sino-Cinema 《神州电影》

Nov 17, 2024 • Subscribe

Review: Black Dog (2024)

Black Dog 狗阵 China, 2024, colour, 2.35:1, 115 mins. Director: Guan Hu 管虎. Rating: 8/10. Elemental story of re-birth and renewal in a run-down town in northwest China…

Sino-Cinema 《神州电影》

Aug 31, 2024 • Subscribe

Review: Big World (2024)

Big World 小小的我 China, 2024, colour, 2.35:1, 130 mins. Director: Yang Li’na 杨荔钠. Rating: 5/10. Over-long drama centred on a son with cerebral palsy is a great opportunity…

Sino-Cinema 《神州电影》

Mar 17, 2025 • Subscribe

Review: Remember Me (2024)

Remember Me 灿烂的她 China, 2024, colour, 2.35:1, 115 mins. Director: Xu Wei 徐伟. Rating: 5/10. Light drama between a selfless fisherwoman and her grand-daughter who went missing has…

Sino-Cinema 《神州电影》

Jun 6, 2024 • Subscribe

Review: The Wig (2024)

The Wig 戴假发的人 China/Hong Kong, 2024, colour, 2.35:1, 119 mins. Director: Dong Yue 董越. Rating: 6/10. Huang Xiaoming gives a strong, atypical performance as a lawyer-with-a-secret, but his…

Sino-Cinema 《神州电影》

Jan 4, 2025 • Subscribe

Review: Panda Plan (2024)

Panda Plan 熊猫计划 China, 2024, colour, 2.35:1, 98 mins. Director: Zhang Luan 张栾. Rating: 3/10. A lazy, throwaway attempt at a comic action movie, with an aged-looking Cheng…

Sino-Cinema 《神州电影》

Jan 27, 2025 • Subscribe

Review: Bureau 749 (2024)

Bureau 749 749局 China, 2024, colour, 2.35:1, 123 mins. Director: Lu Chuan 陆川. Rating: 4/10. Sci-fi monster movie is a wannabe blockbuster holed by a shapeless script, colourless…

Sino-Cinema 《神州电影》

Dec 11, 2024 • Subscribe

Review: Super Villain (2024)

Super Villain 大“反”派 China, 2024, colour, 2.35/1.85/1.33:1, 97 mins. Director: Bao Bei’er 包贝尔. Associate director: Zhang Zuofeng 张作峰. Rating: 4/10. Painfully unfunny comedy about an ambitious actor who…

Sino-Cinema 《神州电影》

Jun 14, 2024 • Subscribe

Review: Burning Stars (2024)

Burning Stars 孤星计划 China, 2024, colour/b&w, 2.35:1, 104 mins. Director: Xu Zhanxiong 徐展雄. Rating: 7/10. Smoothly assembled, suitably twisty package centred on CPC/KMT shenanigans in 1920s Shanghai. STORY…

Sino-Cinema 《神州电影》

Mar 26, 2025 • Subscribe

Memories of this Scent (2024) review [OAFF 2024]

An endearing and fragrance rich tale of subjective change.

psycho-cinematography

Mar 8, 2024 • Subscribe

Short Movie Time: Perfect・Nervous (2024) review [OAFF 2024]

An exquisitely crafted narrative that touchingly shows that a simple encounter, a simple exchange of signifiers, can turn a wish to die into a desire to life.

psycho-cinematography

Mar 26, 2024 • Subscribe

Kizumonogatari – Koyomi Vamp – (2024) review [Fantasia Film Festival 2024]

An evocative experience that succeeds in giving the vampire and the well-explored themes a fresh coat of drama and sexiness.  

psycho-cinematography

Jul 29, 2024 • Subscribe

Girl from Phantasia

Yin Yang Master Zero (2024) review [Nippon Connection 2024]

A fantastical visual experience like no other.

psycho-cinematography

Jun 8, 2024 • Subscribe

Secret: A Hidden Score (2024) review [Nippon connection 2024]

Spectators who like piano and pianists might find something to enjoy in this emotionally impotent narrative.

psycho-cinematography

Jun 19, 2024 • Subscribe

All The Long Nights (2024) review [Japan Cuts 2024]

A splendid drama that shows how symptoms can disturb a subject’s life and how the social field attains its cruel complexity due to the riddle of desire.

psycho-cinematography

Jul 20, 2024 • Subscribe

Review: Go for Broke (2024)

Go for Broke 重生 China/Hong Kong, 2024, colour, 2.35:1, 113 mins. Director: Ma Yuke 马浴柯. Rating: 7/10. Another tough, twisty crime drama by Mainland actor-turned-director Ma Yuke, with…

Sino-Cinema 《神州电影》

Oct 19, 2024 • Subscribe

A Seasonal Review — Spring 2024

Didn’t Watch: See Seasonal Impressions 29. The Irregular at Magical High School S3 — F- Took all the worst parts of the previous seasons and repeated them. I…

Draggle's Anime Blog

Jul 7, 2024 • Subscribe

A Condition Called Love

Review: The Hutong Cowboy (2024)

The Hutong Cowboy 爆款好人 China, 2024, colour, 1.85:1, 112 mins. Directors: Ning Hao 宁浩, Xu Lei 徐磊. Rating: 8/10. A well-structured screenplay and top cast led by veteran…

Sino-Cinema 《神州电影》

Nov 25, 2024 • Subscribe

Gon

Review: Formed Police Unit (2024)

Formed Police Unit 维和防暴队 China, 2024, colour/b&w, 2.35:1, 100 mins. Director: Li Dachao 李达超. Rating: 6/10. Mainland flag-waver, with Chinese Blue Helmets keeping the peace in Africa, is…

Sino-Cinema 《神州电影》

Jun 29, 2024 • Subscribe

A Seasonal Review — Summer 2024

Didn’t Watch: See Seasonal Impressions Didn’t Watch Because It Never Happened: Our Last Crusade or the Rise of a New World S2 22. Failure Frame: I Became the…

Draggle's Anime Blog

Oct 9, 2024 • Subscribe

Our Last Crusade or the Rise of a New World, Failure Frame: I Became the Strongest and Annihilated Everything with Low-Level Spells

Review: The Midsummer’s Voice (2024)

The Midsummer’s Voice 倒仓 China, 2024, colour, 1.85:1, 100 mins. Director: Zhang Yudi 张裕笛. Rating: 6/10. A coming-of-age-one-summer movie, set among teenagers in a provincial opera school, is…

Sino-Cinema 《神州电影》

Apr 15, 2025 • Subscribe