Harakiri is about Tsugumo Hanshiro (Tatsuya Nakadai), a ronin who wishes to commit harakiri (ritual suicide by disembowelment) at the estate of the Ii clan. It is assumed by Saito (Rentaro Mikuni), the clanmaster's senior counselor, that Hanshiro is faking his intent of committing harakiri by telling him a story about Motome (Akira Ishihama), who was forced by the clan's three master samurais to fulfill his commitment to his ritual suicide. Hanshiro remains firm on his wish, and when the…

One of the reasons I wanted to have an Asian Cinema theme month here on Letterboxd was that I wanted to delve deeper into the filmographies of many Asian directors I admire. Next stop on that train is Akira Kurosawa, and I can already promise you now that there will be more Kurosawa reviews this month. This is my first time watching Ikiru, and I am absolutely floored. This is a film that has left a deeper emotional impact on…

It's June now, which means there's a new theme month for me here on Letterboxd. This month's theme is female directors, as it had dawned on me when I planned these months that I haven't watched that many films directed by women. I decided to kick this theme month off on a light note with Cathy Yan's Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn). While I'm not going all YASSS QUEEN about this as a lot…

"Poverty's a political problem they say. But what has politics ever done for the poor? Has a law been passed to get rid of poverty and ignorance?"

That line hits just as hard today as it did back then.

Red Beard marks the final collaboration between Akira Kurosawa and Toshiro Mifune. It is about the young trainee doctor Noburo Yasumoto (Yuzo Kayama), who is assigned to a medical clinic in the Koishikiwa District of Edo (the former name of Tokyo)…

My Top 100 Favorite Films - #1

More than a year and a half on Letterboxd, and now with my 200th review. This shouldn't be something to celebrate, as others might have written an amount of reviews that dwarfs mine in that same time span, but I just can't resist honoring my own ego. Maybe I just like being an asshole ;)

Is The Graduate the most technically impressive film ever made? Is it the film with the deepest subject…

My Top 100 Favorite Films - #28

After his brother Joe's (Kyle Chandler) death, Lee Chandler (Casey Affleck), a janitor living in Boston, becomes the legal guardian of Joe's son Patrick, which forces Lee to temporarily move from Boston to Manchester-by-the-Sea, a town that still carries haunting memories of a tragic past for Lee. Written and directed by Kenneth Lonergan, Manchester by the Sea is a film that deals with grief, the isolation it can cause, and the absurdities of…