“A worthy attempt to offer something fresh to the horror-table, but Shimizu struggles to blend the many pleasing parts into a whole that truly engages and pleases the spectator.”
May 5, 2022 • Subscribe
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Homunculus (ホムンクルス, Takashi Shimizu, 2021)
Is the world we see merely a self-created illusion, or do we each share a concrete, objective “reality”? It’s a question which seems to obsess the antagonist of…
Homunculus
A manga about a man who undergoes trepanation, a surgical procedure of drilling a hole in the skull, and becomes fascinated with the strange visions he begins to…
Homunculus Tears: Alchemy For the Brokenhearted
Stories from the perspective of “other” are not uncommon – and especially so in the context of queer literature. Indeed, much of what we have read from inori.-sensei…
Homunculus Tears: Alchemy for the Brokenhearted
By Inori and Aonoshimo. Released simultaneously in Japanese, English, Spanish and German by the author. Translated by Kevin Ishizaka. (I try not to spoil too much about this…
345 – Manga in Motion 50 – Homunculus
This week we take a quiz on foreign manga publishers and talk about book publisher Shueisha creating an app for independent game developers! Then we examine yet another…
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood (Episode 37) – The First Homunculus
Once Winry had updated Edward’s automail, he got to have a chat with Kimblee. Meanwhile, Hawkeye had a run-in with a sinister power from an unexpected source. Things…
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470 – Triple Dip 76 – #DRCL midnight children, Panorama of Hell, Homunculus
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Goto-san (2021) review [OAFF 2021]
“Gokan expertly reveals the position of the freeter as an attempt to escape the capitalistic machinery but also as a position that most easily falls prey to the…
Underdog (2021) review
“Take’s film powerfully shows that the heroism of the art of boxing lies in the very subjective meaning that power the jabs, the hooks, and the uppercuts.”
Frantic (2021) review
“Fuji delivers his best movie yet and, quite possibly, the cult-film of the year.”
February 2021 Review
Ah, February is here and thus another traditional post to be done-a review focused on character relationships and/or romance. Hard to believe I have done reviews of this…
Review: Synesthete (2021)
Synesthete 越界 China, 2021, colour, 2.35:1, 80 mins. Director: Liang Honghua 梁鸿华. Rating: 3/10. An interesting idea never comes to fruition in this messy, low-budget ghost movie with…
Review: 1921 (2021)
1921 1921 China, 2021, colour/b&w, 2.35:1, 135 mins. Director: Huang Jianxin 黄建新. Associate director: Zheng Dasheng 郑大圣. Rating: 5/10. Celebration of the centenary of the CPC’s founding is…
Review: Shallow (2021)
Shallow 出拳吧妈妈 China, 2021, colour, 2.35:1, 95 mins. Director: Tang Xiaobai 唐晓白. Rating: 6/10. Despite a few shortcomings in the script, under-rated Mainland actress Tan Zhuo throws herself…
Character (2021) review
It might not be a film that challenges or subverts the tropes and dynamic of the mystery and thriller genre, but it sure does deliver a satisfying and…
Review: Secret (2021)
Secret 秘不可言 China, 2021, colour, 2.35:1, 90 mins. Director: Cao Yong 曹涌 [Cao Yong 曹勇]. Rating: 5/10. Intriguing, well-mounted psychodrama-cum-mystery starts well but becomes scarcely credible later on.…
Review: Yanagawa (2021)
Yanagawa 漫长的告白 China, 2021, colour, 1.85:1, 112 mins. Director: Zhang Lv 张律. Rating: 3/10. More accessible than most of Zhang Lv’s features, this indie confection is still a…
Blue (2021) review
“A very emotional journey about the difficulties of dealing with loss and lack.”
March 2021 Review
You know, I have never been too keen on superheroes. Not much a comics guy, nothing against them, but just never struck my interest. Hell out of the…
2021 in Review
The world continues to go to hell in a handbasket. The pandemic continues to rage. The world supply chain is borked. Inflation is rampant. W...
Rain Boy, Yawara!, Bakumatsu no Spasibo, Super Cub, Horimiya
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Sweet Bitter Candy (2021) review [OAFF 2021]
“An amazing exploration of the clash between a sweet youthful romantic desire and the bitter urge of a wounded subject to defend his subjective wounds.”
Cube (2021) [Film Review]
Cube (2021); or, Running Scared I see a sin in your eyes. My first encounter with the Cube franchise was not a positive one. Back in…
Review: Farewell Beijing (2021)
Farewell Beijing 您好，北京 China, 2021, colour, 2.35:1, 107 mins. Director: Cao Xixi 曹茜茜. Rating: 5/10. Interwoven stories of three Big City wannabes jogs along okay but is unoriginal…
Make-Believers (2021) review
“Kenjo McCurtain mixes the right elements into a musical romantic cocktail that is both heartfelt and deeply satisfying.”
Review: End Game (2021)
End Game 人潮汹涌 China/Hong Kong, 2021, colour, 2.35:1, 119 mins. Director: Rao Xiaozhi 饶晓志. Rating: 6/10. A remake of the Japanese Key of Life, this swapped-identities crime comedy…
Review: Manchurian Tiger (2021)
Manchurian Tiger 东北虎 China, 2021, colour, 2.35:1, 117 mins. Director: Geng Jun 耿军. Rating: 6/10. Phlegmatic, black character comedy, set in wintry northeast China, overstays its initial welcome.…
Review: Island Keeper (2021)
Island Keeper 守岛人 China, 2021, colour, 2.35:1, 124 mins. Director: Chen Li 陈力. Rating: 6/10. Well-played drama, based on a real-life story, of a couple on a lonely…
Review: Manchurian Tiger (2021)
Manchurian Tiger 东北虎 China, 2021, colour, 2.35:1, 117 mins. Director: Geng Jun 耿军. Rating: 6/10. Phlegmatic, black character comedy, set in wintry northeast China, overstays its initial welcome.…
Review: Island Keeper (2021)
Island Keeper 守岛人 China, 2021, colour, 2.35:1, 124 mins. Director: Chen Li 陈力. Rating: 6/10. Well-played drama, based on a real-life story, of a couple on a lonely…
Grenadier Review (July 2021)
So, as we near the 10 year anniversary of me writing about anime on the web, we hit upon another tradition, that of exploring guilty pleasures of anime,…
Review: Railway Heroes (2021)
Railway Heroes 铁道英雄 China, 2021, colour, 2.35:1, 122 mins. Director: Yang Feng 杨枫. Rating: 8/10. Crackerjack wartime resistance movie is a cut above the rest, made with a…
Review: Embrace Again (2021)
Embrace Again 穿过寒冬拥抱你 China, 2021, colour, 2.35:1, 123 mins. Director: Xue Xiaolu 薛晓路. Rating: 5/10. “Inspirational” light drama, about volunteers in Wuhan during the Covid lockdown, is rescued…
Review: Lie Detector (2021)
Lie Detector 测谎人 China, 2021, colour, 2.35:1, 91 mins. Director: Yang Yuanhan 杨沅翰. Late-stage director: Qian Guowei 钱国伟. Rating: 5/10. Wry, well-cast comedy about two opposites disappointingly fails…
Moonlight Shadow (2021) review
“One of the most touching explorations of the inability to mourn and what can enable the subject to embark on the journey of saying goodbye.”
Review: Daily Fantasy (2021)
Daily Fantasy 日常幻想指南 China, 2021, colour, 2.35:1, 97 mins. Director: Liang Dong 梁栋. Rating: 4/10. Ambling, pointless fantasy about a professional thief who suddenly has the ability to…
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Review: Never Stop (2021)
Never Stop 超越 China, 2021, colour, 2.35:1, 96 mins. Director: Han Bowen 韩博文. Rating: 6/10. Mainland actor Zheng Kai is impressive as a onetime sports star, though the…
Skeleton Flowers (2021) review
A serene narrative that touchingly explores the possibility of reaching each other as subject despite the misrecognition that structures speech.
Review: Chinese Doctors (2021)
Chinese Doctors 中国医生 China, 2021, colour, 2.35:1, 127 mins. Director: Liu Weiqiang 刘伟强 [Andrew Lau]. Rating: 6/10. Wuhan-set Covid drama has a propulsive, convincing first half but slacker,…
Review: Cloudy Mountain (2021)
Cloudy Mountain 峰爆 China, 2021, colour, 2.35:1, 113 mins. Director: Li Jun 李骏. Rating: 6/10. By-the-book disaster movie starts gangbusters but then becomes more cartoony and unbelievable. STORY…
Spring 2021 in Review
This past anime season, counting holdovers from the Winter 2021 season, I watched 26 anime. Of those, I completed 22. Normally, we at the Backloggers would do an…
The Family (2021) review
“A highly original yakuza narrative that beautifully touches upon the importance that the (idealized) figure of the father can have for a subject’s lifepath.”
Review: Water Boys (2021)
Water Boys 五个扑水的少年 China, 2021, colour, 2.35:1, 110 mins. Director: Song Haolin 宋灏霖. Rating: 7/10. Very free re-make of the 2001 Japanese hit comedy about a male synchro…
Zokki (2021) [Film Review]
Zokki; or, Too Many Secrets Lately, I've been thinking. If a living creature loses what it keeps secret, maybe it can't go on living. O...
Baby Assassins (2021) review
“One of the most satisfying Japanese action films of this year.”
Masquerade Night (2021) review
A pleasant and entertaining narrative that is ultimately victim of the demand to be consumable for as many spectators as possible.
Review: Between Us (2021)
Between Us 我没谈完的那场恋爱 China, 2021, colour, 16:9/2.35:1, 95 mins. Director: Zhao Yu 赵宇. Rating: 6/10. Yoyo-ing between the present day and the Cultural Revolution, this light drama is…
Year in review 2021
As I sit at my desk typing up this long overdue post, I’m reflecting on all that has changed over these last 6 months. Normally this post would…
Food Luck (2021) review
“An unbalanced one that cannot truly touch or engage the spectator.”
Halloween 2021 Review (Yamishibai)
As we turn to October, and the leaves fall and shadows creep in, we tend to seek out stuff to give us thrills and chills. As such, I…