The first hour of this is basically perfect, contrasting the calm meditative equilibrium of the small Japanese village of Harasawa with the encroaching poisonous presence of a proposed "glamping" (glamorous tourist camping site) that will bring quick profits but at an obvious ecological cost. Hamaguchi is so patient in establishing the local routines (collecting spring water, chopping wood, making udon) and natural beauty (of trees, snow, birds, and water) that when he eventually shifts into mundane town councils with lengthy…

In a letter to fellow writer Morton Fullerton circa. 1900, Henry James famously wrote about the “essential loneliness” of his life, an overwhelming and powerful solitude that he felt more deeply about than even his artistic discipline. Three years later in 1903, he published a novella called The Beast in the Jungle, a work of overwhelmingly tragic, romantic fatalism about a man who lets his life (and romantic interests) him by in a petrified state of fear over an…

A genuinely astonishing snowy Midwest epic of silent-era/golden age cartoon humor and wit, retro video game design logic, and ingenious low-budget fur-trapper survivalist horror-action-comedy mayhem. A true testament to what you can do with a DSLR, After Effects, a handful of animal mascot costumes, a commitment to storyboarding, and a true gut understanding that 100 years ago a man falling over or getting hit really, really hard was the peak of comedy for a reason.

Just when you think its…

A24/Aster's name being on this I think tells you most of what you'll need to know about the look and tone of this comic-horror drama and whatever satirical point is actually trying to be made about fame, punishment and "cancel culture" is a bit unclear to me but as far as an intensely meme-ready premise like this is concerned—Nic Cage as a neurotic, pathetic Charlie Kaufman professor who suddenly gains the abilities of Freddy Krueger and gets Milkshake Duck'd for…