Tag: Films
-
Captain America: Brave New World—A Superhero Film with Political Weight
I typically don’t start posts with a spoiler warning, but since Captain America: Brave New World (2025; Dir. Onah) is still new, I’ll note that while I’ll keep spoilers to a minimum, some are unavoidable. Brave New World arrives at a time of peak superhero fatigue, with critics eager to dismiss it. Yet, while the film isn’t groundbreaking,…
-
The Name of the Rose: Libraries, Censorship, and the Fear of Laughter
The Name of the Rose (1986; dir. Annaud) is a multinational production starring Sean Connery. The film is an adaptation of Umberto Eco’s debut novel of the same name. Eco was a professor of semiotics, a medievalist, and a philosopher who held academic positions at several American and Italian universities throughout his prolific career. I…
-
What World War Z Teaches Us About Global Responsibility
When World War Z (2013; dir. Forster) hit theaters, I was expecting a typical zombie movie that would quickly fade from memory. Instead, it’s a film I’ve found myself returning to several times over the last decade. The movie also inspired me to listen to the audiobook by Max Brooks, which features a fantastic voice cast. Though…
-
Godzilla Minus One: Theory, Strategy, and the Philosophy of Uncertainty
When Godzilla Minus One (2023; dir. Takashi Yamazaki) dropped, it rejuvenated the most venerated kaiju after he had been brought to a new low by several schlocky American Godzilla stories like Godzilla vs. Kong. Minus One did this through its unique styling, bringing the story back to post-WWII Japan, and, most importantly, by putting forth a heartfelt story revolving…
-
Horror Double Feature—The Cure and The Wailing
Japanese and Korean cinema have delivered some of the most haunting and thought-provoking horror films in global cinema. Two standout examples, The Cure (1997; dir. Kiyoshi Kurosawa) from Japan and The Wailing (2016; dir. Na Hong-jin) from South Korea, represent the pinnacle of their respective traditions. Both films explore violence, belief, and the unknown, but their narrative structure, style,…
-
Gattaca: The Enduring Rejection of Reductionism and the Triumph of the Hegemonikon
When Gattaca (1997; dir. Niccol) premiered, it offered a vision of the future that was uncomfortably plausible. Its central philosophical message—one that champions human potential and rejects reductionism—still resonates over two decades later. Today, the film feels even more relevant in a world grappling with genetic engineering, artificial intelligence, and cultural engineering that seems designed to leave…
-
Despair, Morality, Redemption, and Forgiveness: A Comparison of Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans and Bicycle Thieves
At first glance, the feverish Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans (2009; dir. Herzog) and the neorealist masterpiece Bicycle Thieves (1948; dir. De Sica) couldn’t seem more different. One is a wild, chaotic exploration of a cop’s descent into corruption and madness; the other, a restrained and heartbreaking portrait of a father and husband…
-
Comparing Ran (1985; dir. Akira Kurosawa) with Throne of Blood (1957; dir. Akira Kurosawa)
Ran has always been on my radar but I never got motivated enough to watch it before this week. The reasons I would want to watch it are straightforward and of obvious appeal to me, it’s a Jidaegeki (i.e., Japanese period piece) featuring samurai, directed by Akira Kurosawa and typically considered one of his best…
The Curated Life Worth Reading 