celluloid consommé

Choi Dong-hoon has done it again. His sequel to 2022’s  Alienoid  properly kicks off the blockbuster season, providing a similar (if not identical) wide scope of his sci-fi magic epic. He aims for a natural zenith as well as subsequently closing up the unique can of worms he has left open for almost two years between films. But as the second film is built so airtight directly on top of the first, we must glance back at it for a moment. The problems that pop out of the first  Alienoid  film come mostly from its post-production cutting, somewhat jostling the viewer before things eventually settle into place. Since the second part was filmed within the same block of time as the first (within a 13-month period), the writing suffers as equally as the editing did previously. But this does not mark  Alienoid  unworthy of your commitment. There are so many components to Choi’s genre diptych, tipped in patchwork influences from science fiction and martial arts cinem...

Well Go USA releases 2022’s ‘ The Hidden Fox’ on physical media. Still courtesy of Well Go USA. Once in a while we’ll see a direct-to-streaming wuxia film attempt to do something different, and Qiao Lei’s  The Hidden Fox  aka  The Flying Swordsman  is no exception. It might try to do  too  much, but you can’t fault it for trying to a point. The film concerns a mysterious treasure once guarded by warrior Hu, challenged by Miao Renfeng to obtain it. When their battle ends in tragedy, the treasure disappears. When the map resurfaces in ten years, 8 villains resume the hunt for the wealth the map points to but not without a traitor in their midst. Video Press enter or click to view image in full size Still courtesy of Well Go USA. The Flying Swordsman  is presented in a 16:9 scope ratio and retains some good detail despite the format’s standard definition limitations. There are a number of visual effects shots that challenge these limitations to a degree, ...

  There’s something starkly simplistic about the Troisgros family’s cooking. Michel Troisgros and his two sons César and Léo run three restaurants in central France under the Troisgros name. Their specialty is simplicity, nothing more than a handful of a few ingredients yet prepared in a way that changes the way we think about those ingredients. By chance, filmmaker Frederick Wiseman visited the main restaurant that is featured in   Menus-Plaisirs Les Troisgros   and expressed interest in learning more about the culinary family. Wiseman’s approach to documentary film fits well within the strength of Troisgros’s simplicity or rather, they complement each other tastefully with a shared passion for knowledge. Wiseman makes his films to learn about the inner workings of certain places. His films,   Menus-Plaisir   chief among them within this example, become these semi-tangible maps tracing over what he’s learned with the aim that others observe as he has and fall i...