REVIEW: Prisoners of the Ghostland [2021]

Time for us all to be free. How can someone who just escaped still not be free? It’s a question Bernice (Sofia Boutella) must ask at the beginning of Sion Sono‘s English-language debut Prisoners of the Ghostland without knowing if she’ll ever discover an answer. She and two others fled Samurai Town the night before, shuffling off to the cheers of other abused and oppressed women once the men all turned in. Not knowing what to do next, they get in a car and drive off only for Sono to…

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REVIEW: ć‚¢ćƒ³ćƒćƒćƒ«ćƒŽ [Anchiporuno] [Antiporno] [2017]

Go on without me. Escape while you’re young because the longer you wait the more trapped you become. In this way we’re all lizards encased in glass bottlesā€”a motif that runs throughout Sion Sono‘sć‚¢ćƒ³ćƒćƒćƒ«ćƒŽ [Anchiporuno] [Antiporno], the director’s entry into Nikkatsu’s “Roman Porno” reboot forty years after giving birth to the genre. It’s during adolescence that we’re told how to act, cultural rulesā€”no matter how archaicā€”gradually ingrained until they become truths we cannot combat because we don’t realize we should. Eventually we reach a point where learning ceases and being…

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FANTASIA15 REVIEW: ćƒŖć‚¢ćƒ«é¬¼ć”ć£ć“ [Riaru onigokko] [Tag] [2015]

“Watch the ripple” If ćƒŖć‚¢ćƒ«é¬¼ć”ć£ć“ [Tag] were any indication of writer/director Sion Sono‘s warped mind, I’d almost believe he films without rhyme or reason besides excess. Based upon the Japanese novel Riaru onigokko by YĆ»suke Yamadaā€”coined by some as the Stephen King of Japanā€”this surreal tale of three girls in one traversing a nightmarish landscape of evil pursuers taking whatever form is most absurd lives on the edge of falling into complete randomness. You have to embrace the ride or else you’ll check out very early on because while watching…

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Posterized Propaganda November 2014: ā€˜Foxcatcher,ā€™ ā€˜Interstellar,ā€™ ā€˜The Imitation Game,ā€™ and More

ā€œDonā€™t Judge a Book by Its Coverā€ is a proverb whose simple existence proves the fact impressionable souls will do so without fail. This monthly column focuses on the film industryā€™s willingness to capitalize on this truth, releasing one-sheets to serve as not representations of what audiences are to expect, but as propaganda to fill seats. Oftentimes they fail miserably. I guess studios are gearing up for a huge December push because this month has a pretty sparse line-up. Thankfully, however, it appears quality has trumped quantity because most of…

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