Year: 1988
Rating: 4.5 / 10
Content Warnings: Sex, Nudity, Sexual assault, Death/Murder, Blood, Beastiality (fake, with a rubber snake)
Summary: A girl interested in pirate radio starts broadcasting crimes and sexual things she sees occurring over Tokyo.
Honestly, if this wasn’t primarily a porno, it’d be a lot more enjoyable. I didn’t really realize it’d be mainly porn going in, but it’s also whatever, I’m an adult. It’s about 60% sex, 30% thin plot.
I think this movie could’ve all been a lot more interesting if the plot was fleshed out (I think of A Snake In June, which has similar voyeuristic sexual themes but still manages to get a coherent plot.). In fact, while watching, a lot of the film kind of reminded me of Muscle– a film I later realized was by the same director. That film is something to discuss itself, but it also feels more fleshed out despite the wandering tone in it.
The bit of actual plot we do get in this movie is interesting and could’ve been done a lot better, which involves the main girl broadcasting killings and eventually colluding with the serial killer to broadcast them as they happen. I think that plot alone could’ve been a lot more entertaining. I do think there is something interesting about the movie, sort of in the same way Videodrome is interesting. In the last scene where the reporter dies, the main girl goes around interviewing people and there’s a cold, callousness that’s amongst the crowd she runs around trying to interview– I would’ve loved to see more scenes like that to flesh out the film.
The acting and cinematography are fine and I think capturing late 80s Tokyo is cool in it of itself. The script that is there is interesting but not very well executed. I thought it’d play more with the idea of what’s truth and reality– given how the main girl was called out by lying to her friend– and maybe that was the point... But it didn’t really feel like it did a great job of that either.
I think the reason I give it a 4.5 is thinking about what could’ve been. I think the concept and ideas were good, filming was lovely, acting was fine, didn’t care for the type of erotica... But man, I’d love to see a concept of something like this done better.
Year: 1991
Rating: 10.0 / 10
Summary: The photography club goes on a journey to different train stations knowing that if they collect every station’s stamp, the ride is free. However, this is all a set up by their rival, Marii, to bring them down.
I love R-kun and this OVA was my first intro to the series. It actually states at the beginning of the movie that you should read volumes 1-9 first, but I dove in and had a great time when I first watched it. Now, this is my third time watching it after having read a good part of the manga and I can definitely say I enjoy it more now and with every watch.
Just on a technical level, this is great. The voice actor casting is so perfect for it and everyone fits perfectly. The animation is absolutely gorgeous and compliments and captures the manga style beautifully. The look is lush and fun and visually just really a joy. The plot of it is light and silly, but it captures the mood of the manga so well it’s perfect. I think it does a good job of pacing everything, including gags.
I love this OVA so much. It’s fun, it’s lighthearted, it’s just a really nice, chill watch. The only downside to it is it makes me wish so badly we got more than 1 OVA... It translates so brilliantly to animation and they got the perfect casting for it. It’s honestly a shame there wasn’t another made. It’s definitely a top re-watch movie for me, especially because of it’s fun nature and lovely animation.
Year: 1989
Rating: 7.0 / 10
Summary: Two twin brothers who live in New York City and one(?) of them is an actor. Man, I don’t know, spend 20 minutes and watch it.
Genuinely this is a hard to describe OVA. I knew that going in after seeing it in a video, but let's be honest: you hear from a Youtuber that something is strange and hard to describe and your first thought is, “is it really though?”... In this case, yes…!
Most of this OVA is pretty much a series of AMVs over original animation. There are some splices of interviews with the characters, specifically as it relates to Shiva’s (the main guy) acting career. Genuinely I think this is an incredibly cool concept how they did it! However, it is confusing as fuck from an outside observer POV. I think this would be a lot more enjoyed by someone who read the manga, and definitely this would be cool as fuck to be the mangaka with this (more than a normal OVA…? Maybe not... Especially with that last scene of Shiva(?) being woken up by his twin, Cipher).
However, I think the second part of the video, where the making of process of the actual creation of this OVA is detailed by “Shiva” is also really unique and interesting (there’s also staff interviews, but as my Japanese isn’t very good, I can’t fully make out what’s being said). Also a bit insane to see the twin towers being such a big part of this. I understand in terms of “oh, they’re twins, so the twin towers” but it’s really surprising. It really does show how much work went into things and it does seem like it was a fun production process.
It’s overall a hard piece of media to rate, but genuinely it is really interesting. I will say despite being jarring in terms of the music hitting you like a truck and the lack of plot, the art and animation is really nice to look at and worth a viewing for that alone. I don’t think the second part is actually necessary to view the rest, but it does give an interesting insight.
Year: 1988
Rating: 9.0 / 10
Content Warnings: Death, murder, blood, incestuous themes, brief rape mention, sex/nudity, a really fucked up looking anatomical doll
Summary: A doctor uses an anatomical doll to teach his children Leon and Ursula. However, this has unforeseen consequences on Leon's psyche...
Pin is a great movie. Incredible plot, good acting, good sets, good cinematography. The plot has its issues, don't get me wrong... But honestly it's such a fun movie if you're willing to look past the minor flaws in it. The plot alone is insane from the second you see that freaky anatomical model. Absolutely ghastly and creepy, even for a normal skinless anatomical model.
I just think the plot beats are really fun and interesting. Sure you can guess a few, but God I loved how it all played out. I really do like the twist ending of both Ursula running in with an axe, framed by beautiful slow-mo, combined with Ursulas boyfriend being alive. I think the whole last 10 or so are perfect, I was not expecting it but genuinely happy.
I'd say my only detractions are the following: 1. The outdated view of mental illness, specifically schizophrenia, is cringe 2. I don't think it needed the weird incest themes? Like they kept toying with that idea but I genuinely do not think it was needed at all. Honestly though, because I think the movie is such a gem, I’m willing to look past it and enjoy it as the strange little masterpiece it is.
Year: 2014
Rating: 2.0 / 10
Content Warnings: Animal abandonment, death
Summary: A depressed Japanese woman finds something new to cling onto as she mistakes Fargo as a real film, launching her on a treasure hunt.
I really do think this movie felt like a slog to get through. It's less than 2 hours but felt more than that. I think the cinematography worked nicely but everything else I was like, “Okay... slow burn, it'll pick up…”. But it never really picked up.
I think the thing that sets it apart from just being a mediocre film is the distaste left by the fact it’s based on an urban legend (as Wikipedia refers to it) about someone’s death– Takako Konishi. Takako was a real woman who it seems committed suicide and due to the language barrier, police seemed to mistakenly think she was searching for the money (“treasure”) in the film. I think knowing this puts a damper on the movie, especially as this woman not only is strongly misremembered by that, but also her death happened only in 2001, 13 years prior to the film.
I’m not going to say this is as bad as Maggie Moore(s), a film I previously wrote about that attempted to turn a real life homicide case into a comedy… But I can’t say it’s much better ethically to me. In a way, I think the fact it was boring but not outright offensive saved it some points… But in the same breath, if I was the family of the woman this story took “inspiration” from... I’d honestly be pissed.
There’s a few scenes in the movie that I think were supposed to be slightly comedic about how (specifically white) Americans have culture clashes with people and can accidentally come off as offensive (whatever, doesn’t bother me, there’s certainly truth in that). However, I can’t help but find this a bit ironic given how tone-death the writers, also white Americans, portrayed the misrepresentation of a real foreign woman’s death.
To put it shortly: It’s nicely shot and acted... But that’s where any interest begins and ends.
Year: 2024
Rating: 3.0 / 10
Content Warnings: Death/Blood, Suicide, Homophobic/Transphobic remarks
Summary: A "romance" film inside of a film inside of a film inside of a film, all discussing the making of the film.
Quentin Dupieux is a filmmaker I’ve seen quite a lot of his films by now... And I can’t say I was particularly feeling this one. It’s a bit of a mess to figure out– it’s a film[1] about actors[2] who are playing actors[3] in a film[4]. It has some social commentary here and there, which is fine enough... But I don’t really feel like any of this fits neatly together. I guess in part, I don’t really have a lot to say about the film. It felt more rambly– which yes, Dupieux’s films tend to have long, rambly parts... But I don’t think it really went anywhere with it. I mean, I do appreciate the anti-AI messaging in art, but that’s probably the only thing that’ll stick with me is, “cool, nice to see a director say fuck AI so blatantly”. I think probably the most interesting part of the film comes with a rambling towards the end about what’s reality and what’s fiction– and while the ramble itself kind of lost me at times and perhaps that’s my own skill issue, it was interesting to see that and then the scene of the extra pulling into his driveway and like he does in the “film”, take out a gun and go to commit suicide. On the flip side... I really do not get the last shot being a long shot of track with nothing else. It doesn’t add anything to the film itself and I don’t really understand it’s significance to it at all. While not the worst film I’ve seen, it’s definitely not one I’d really be chomping at the bit to see again either.
Year: 2024
Rating: 6.0 / 10
Content Warnings: Fatphobia, Sexual references, Stalking
Summary: June, an influncer who works at a local pharmacy, is heartbroken over her ex-boyfriend. However, after the pharmacy gets robbed, she aims to find out who committed the crime.
Drugstore June is a fine movie. It’s an instance again of I don’t have a lot to say about it. It was funny at times, then other times the joking just didn’t land (fatphobia comments early on especially). It wasn’t egregiously bad or really good; It was at least overall entertaining and the plot kept me engaged. I don’t regret watching it but for me, it wasn’t the kind of movie I’d look back on and say, “Oh yeah, that movie, it stuck with me”.
Year: 2024
Rating: 4.5 / 10
Content Warnings: Death, euthanasia, discussions of climate change, attempted murder, murder by cop
Summary: A world-wide environmental crisis leads governments across the world to have a quota for death to slow this down. This leads to euthanasia being voluntary or drafted. A rich news broadcaster calls upon his children to discuss his plans to sign off on voluntary euthanasia, which causes a stir amongst the already fractured family, which only descends into chaos.
I don’t have a lot to say about this movie either. It was just kind of boring... Like the premise wasn’t bad, but it felt a lot longer than it’s 1h30 runtime... I think there were sequences they lingered way too long on, especially the parts of the one brother skulking through the house. I also don’t know how I feel about the ending... Kind of just wish the one brother got killed off because he was an asshole; I understand why they did it, but still.
Year: 2025
Rating: 2.0 / 10
Content Warnings: Home invasion, blood, guns, domestic violence
Summary: A widowed mother decides to go on a date at an upscale resturaunt. However, her date turns sour as she begins recieving distressing air drops.
This movie was so bad I literally got up to do chores at the final part because I could not take it anymore. In fact, it was actually so bad that I, someone who is naturally very quiet, put my head in my hands and went “UGH” as loud as I could muster.
It’s a shame; The actors did a really good job but nothing can make up for such a shit plot with such stupid choices. The film is so absurd it’s like a higher budget Lifetime movie without the unintentional comedy that makes Lifetime enjoyable on occasion. The whole set up you have to suspend disbelief... And carry it so far throughout the whole film you might as well try and conjure up your own version of how normal people operate in this world because it’s so unintelligent and annoying that it just left me feeling pissed off and barely even paying attention to the last 10 minutes of it.
Also, this isn’t just limited to this film, but particularly irked me due to its reliance on text messages: for the love of god, if I cannot read text messages on a wide screen less than 10 feet away, change your composition or do something so the audience can see it too. There’s obviously a reason they show so much of the text message exchanges... Why the hell do you not let the audience get a good glimpse of them? You can zoom in, it’s okay... We know who's holding the phone!!!!
I feel like 2 stars is a compliment to it even; Usually I don’t give exact reasons for my score, but I’ll say this: The acting was good (for the absolute shit script they got) and it wasn’t offensive enough and/or time wasting enough to warrant it being a 1.
Year: 2025
Rating: 7.5 / 10
Content Warnings: [Fake] animal-beast violence, Homophobia
Summary: Boyfriends Josh and Rohan go on a weekend getaway to introduce their families to each other. However, they soon discover their rental home is the playground of a dark force.
This was a really cute movie! It married together two concepts– a couple meeting each other’s parents and also haunting/demonic possession– really well together! I think it was just really well done and charming all throughout. I really like the twists and turns it took while all feeling very natural. I also really like how they did character development for the main guys, especially Ro (going from being too afraid to save his husband-to-be to willing to sacrifice himself for everyone). I really think they did a good job of fleshing out all the characters in such a short time too.
Very cute and worthwhile watch!
Year: 2010
Rating: 9.0 / 10
Content Warnings: Mentions of sexual assault, a forced kiss, death, blood/gore
Summary: Two friends have bought a vacation home in the Appalachian mountains. As they go to enjoy a trip up there, they run into college students who mistakenly believe they're murderous killers.
I really, really loved this movie. I went in thinking positively because I've always heard good reviews around it and it really delivered. I was worried that since it was a movie from 2010 it wouldn’t age well... But honestly that wasn’t an issue at all!
First off, I really love how they paid homage to other horror greats but didn’t use it as “Hey, we’re cool! Look at all this stuff we’re referencing!”. I think this movie straddles the line perfectly of poking a bit of fun at the genre while still standing alone as it’s own piece. Obviously there’s the Evil Dead references but it didn’t go beyond some quick surface level parts. The majority of the script subverted expectations and really was interesting and fun all the way through.
I think this type of movie would be so easy to mess up, but they did a really good job of fleshing out the characters and making it really enjoyable. I really think everything was done well– from the acting to the shots (Something about the gas station scene specifically reminded me of Texas Chainsaw Massacre– which is kind of ironic because this is definitely the inverse of that movie.)
Year: 2012
Rating: 3.5 / 10
Content Warnings: Dead animal [fake]
Summary: A member of an OCD support group relocates from D.C. to a more rural area and begins experiencing strange things in the nearby woods.
I think this movie is just kind of... Plain? Like it’s not ungodly bad by any means, it just is kind of... boring? In a weird way, I think this has some ARG feelings to it. The main guy fits the type of what they’re going for, and eventually becomes more or less annoying. I do have to say I was expecting cheap jumpscares and whatever, and I’m glad they never resorted to that. However, the bits of horror we did get felt very underwhelming. I just felt like this movie kind of meandered the whole way through without a lot of payoff.
Found-footage horror is hard to immerse yourself in when there are holes in the narrative from the jump, i.e, why do we have access to these recordings? It makes sense in this story up until a point: He’s in a OCD support group and he’s making vlogs to send to that group after he moves. Okay, whatever, that works. Where that narrative falls apart is when we get introduced to the only other seen character: Claire. Claire is a member of the support group who our main guy Mike has a one-sided crush on and she stays for a night but gets scared off from hearing noises. Mike records videos to send to her specifically and says he won’t ever inbox her again at a point. So it kind of leaves... Were we viewing Claire’s messages? It must not have been the group if we’re getting private messages. That’s a bit annoying, but a plothole I can look past. Now, the last part is where you can’t really ignore it: We hear him leave the house and a gunshot, and then the camera gets moved and flicks off... Okay, who sent that one? Who turned off the camera? It wasn’t him given context clues.
I don’t know; It wasn’t the worst thing ever but I also don’t feel satisfied watching it either.
I will say: This was a very, VERY limited budget and crew film and I really do think some grace needs to be given. The director played the main character and seemingly did every technical role (sound, editing, director, writing, videography, ect)-- and honestly, he did a really good job especially for someone only credited to 1 film before this (His acting did fit the role! I do think he captured a certain type of awkwardness in this role). I really do think love went into it and I don’t want to discount that.
Year: 1991
Rating: 5.0 / 10
Content Warnings: Video of nukes/missles, Incest
Summary: A man who works for the government gets a "TV" implanted in his mind by bees.
WAX is a really weird movie and it’s one I’m not even too sure how I feel about. On one hand, it’s definitely artistic to its core and it’s own unique beast, which I respect. Visually you don’t tend to linger on one scene for more than a few seconds and some of its effects are very early technology (reminds me of WMM in some ways, but this is a film from 1991!). It’s almost like a rambling documentary, as we only ever get an omnipresent narration from our main character as we go through these visuals.
Story-wise... It’s even harder to explain. There’s a lot to do with bees, anti-war sentiment, reincarnation, religious themes and spiritualism. I guess the confusion of what was going on is kind of it’s downfall, because it just feels like a jumble. I do think this is a movie that would be interesting to rewatch and re-rate in the future knowing the whole scope of it though.
Year: 2011
Rating: 6.5 / 10
Content Warnings: Depictions of self-harm, death, suicide, homophobia, racism (specifically towards Black people)
Summary: A rich teenager who feels shunned by society retreats into a virtual world and spends his time socializing with a woman who wants to commit suicide.
Suicide Room is a movie I heard about YEARS ago– like 2014 on Tumblr because people liked reposting the gay scenes. What jogged my memory of it existing was being recommended a YouTube video about it and I decided, okay, fuck it, I’ll watch it.
I’d liken this movie to Twilight in a way. Perhaps it's the very specific late 00s, early 2010s emo-alt aesthetic and muted color filming that runs rampant in the film. I can’t say it’s nearly as enjoyable as Twilight because while it’s not a good movie and honestly kind of accidentally funny at times... You can tell they really were trying to make a serious drama and when the actual dark parts come into play you can’t help but feel bad at the whole affair.
I think the messiness of this film coupled with the serious and sad subject matter kind of makes it hard to rate it higher. I don’t think it’s all bad– the acting is decent (... Though sometimes the main guy who played Dominik is just... over the top in a way that feels very of its time.) The last scene kind of makes everything feel... bad for finding it funny at times.
I don’t even think it’s necessarily a bad plot but it does feel very goofy at times. Dominik isn’t really... Likeable as a main character, neither are his parents. I think that's part of what makes it funny– like seeing Dominik get beat up after going up to someone on a bus and complaining is really funny... Sorry... And the last scene where the mother tells the Sywia and co. that Dominik is dead is really funny especially because the camera work of the scene is so... Messy and janky, it's really funny. Also the whole plotline with the guy Dominik kissed... felt so weird and messy. Like Dominik cums in his pants after this guy is grinding on him in karate and it’s somehow Dominik’s fault. Like... Make it make sense…
I also will say: the soundtrack is really good and fits it. Some of the songs I was like “yeah I’d relisten to that” too because they were... very stereotypical emo-sounding songs but nothing I could exactly identify LOL.
Later on, I saw this being described as the Polish CyberBully in how it was shown in schools and quite obviously the themes and I can’t help but find that kind of funny... Sorry... (I also saw CyberBully in school LOL). I guess some things are universal experiences and I think it’s beautiful this is one of them–
Year: 2025
Rating: 8.0 / 10
Content Warnings: Death, blood, attempted murder, Plane crashing
Summary: A buisness man who's prone to assasination attempts appoints his estranged only daughter as the sole heir to his estate and begins embarking on a new and risky buisness venture with her.
I always tend to like Wes Anderson movies and this one was no different. Like every other one of his movies, it was bathed in beautiful visuals and great performances which more so mimic a play to me than a standard movie experience.
I liked the journey the movie took me on and not exactly knowing what was coming next was fun. The humor in it was really charming and while this is a trend in his movies I love the larger-than-life feeling of the movie. A really fun watch and I really think the landing worked nicely in the context of the film.
Some additional reading on the film only heightened how sweet this film was, paying homage to Wes Anderson’s father-in-law who had passed.
Year: 1964
Rating: 7.0 / 10
Content Warnings: Stigmatization of mental illness, murder, upset animals, infidelity
Summary: A woman who murdered her husband and his lover is released from prison and goes to live with her daughter who is courting a wealthy man.
Strait-Jacket was another fun movie. I think the first part of it became a little slow at times, but because the payoff was really interesting, I don’t mind that at all. I thought it was really interesting and the plot-twist was not only well-done and made sense to me, I really didn’t see it coming. Originally, I kind of thought the plot twist was going to be that the daughter, Carol, also killed her father– but I really enjoyed the fact it wasn’t that and the end point was unpredictable. Even the fact the mother, Lucy, ended up chasing after her daughter was an interesting part to leave it off at. Solid watch!!
Year: 1988
Rating: 7.0 / 10
Content Warnings: Death, Missing persons, Sexual assault, Blood, distressed animal noises, nudity, lots of flashing
Summary: An archeology student in England unearths a strange skull in a small town and investigates the connection between it and the local legend of a mythical worm-like creature.
Honestly... This movie was just a fun experience. It’s just fun and ridiculous but the plot is also interesting enough to keep you invested. There are some really good dream sequences and shots that are just strange but engaging to witness. The music really works well with the movie as well, and really lends a lot to it. There's also a worm-puppet-creature that is just a joy to look at due to how strange it is.
I really think a big joy of the movie is you can tell despite the effort into all the technical aspects, it doesn’t take itself too seriously. There are many scenes that are so ridiculous, especially in the later two-thirds of the movie (specifically I’m thinking of the giant speakers on top of the Lord’s house and when the archeologist plays the bagpipes to try and keep at bay the now human-snake police officer).
The last few scenes with the archeologist finding out he didn’t even get the right antidote was also really fun. I think it was a really good way to wrap up the film.
7:48pm .. .. // 05.31.2025