Flixist • 10/13/2025

Review: Tron: Ares • Flixist

It’s still something of a shock that in 2025, Disney decided it would release another Tron movie. Titled Tron: Ares, the film had a long gestation period after the success of Tron: Legacy that saw it jump between multiple scripts, directors, and stars before landing upon the Jared Leto-starring vehicle we have now. One could read that as the project ultimately being doomed, but I guess Disney needs something for its streaming service amid years of controversy and dwindling profits.
See, Tron: Le...

Flixist • 07/29/2025

NYAFF 2025 Review: Deep in the Mountains • Flixist

When reviewing foreign films, I try not to be too harsh on certain comedic sensibilities as I’m whiter than Wonder Bread. It’s pretty obvious that I won’t know the full context behind certain gags or why foreign audiences are drawn to particular styles of humor. That’s one of the reasons I engage with foreign media so often: I would like to at least have a surface-level understanding of how cinema differs across language barriers and varying customs.
That said, a film like Deep in the Mountains...

Flixist • 07/29/2025

NYAFF 2025 Review: My Friend An Delie • Flixist

As I sit down to write this review for Dong Zijian’s My Friend An Delie, I’m left pondering how to approach my thoughts. Do I provide a recap of the events and potentially spoil the film’s biggest trick, or do I go for something more cerebral and leave people wondering what the overall movie is? As a critic, am I trying to sell a movie to readers, or do I simply provide my thoughts and let the reader decide for themselves? Does the score I attach undo any critique I may provide?
The thing is, My...

Flixist • 07/24/2025

NYAFF 2025 Review: Samurai Fury • Flixist

I sometimes forgot how ubiquitous a director Akira Kurosawa was. While you can feel his influence in Hollywood productions, he obviously wasn’t as big of a deal in the USA as he was in his home country. Over in Japan, Kurosawa basically defined the modern blockbuster and helped launch the careers of many famous actors. He wasn’t ever stuck on one genre, but his name became synonymous with the jidaigeki genre, or “period piece,” and often had a focus on samurai stories. The most famous of those f...

Flixist • 07/23/2025

NYAFF 2025 Review: Perang Kota - This City Is a Battlefield • Flixist

For most Americans, our understanding of World War 2 begins and ends with America fighting the Nazis and winning. My time in high school did go into some of the Japanese side of the conflict, but it mostly stuck to Pearl Harbor and when we dropped the bomb on Japan. It did not explain how evil Imperial Japan was and the many countries it disrupted in its attempt to rule the East.
That’s what makes a film like Perang Kota: This City Is a Battlefield interesting from a distance. Dealing with the f...

Flixist • 07/23/2025

NYAFF 2025 Review: The Hearing • Flixist

I suppose when I wound up selecting specific films to cover at this year’s New York Asian Film Festival, I had societal consciousness on my brain. Similar to both Montages of a Modern Motherhood and MA – Cry of Silence, The Hearing, from director Lawrence Fajardo, is a film with a particular axe to grind about systemic structures that fail to help those suffering. For once, the description on NYAFF’s website doesn’t spoil the overarching theme, which left me suitably shocked when it played out b...

Flixist • 07/19/2025

NYAFF 2025 Review: The Way We Talk • Flixist

As a quick aside before this review, I did not expect to watch two films about the struggles of deaf individuals at this year’s New York Asian Film Festival. That was kind of a happy accident when I was browsing through different pictures to watch. Really, the main reason I watched The Way We Talk is that I was recommended it by a director/writer that I know. I figured she would have a good understanding of where the Hong Kong film industry is at, so I gave it a shot. It’s truly amazing how huma...

Flixist • 07/19/2025

NYAFF 2025 Review: Transcending Dimensions • Flixist

When I rolled credits on Remedy Entertainment’s 2023 title Alan Wake 2, there was a lingering thought that crossed my mind: Is this really a video game? Now, I’m not going to spin this film review off into a discussion about how we quantify what a video game is. No, I bring that up because my playthrough left me with a different realization. Sometimes, mediums can transcend their very confines to become something else. Alan Wake 2 isn’t explicitly a “good” video game, but it’s an incredible inte...

Flixist • 07/18/2025

NYAFF 2025 Review: MA - Cry of Silence • Flixist

I know I’ve expressed this thought in other reviews, but one of the joys of covering the New York Asian Film Festival is that I get to experience films from other Asian countries besides the majorly known ones in the US. I can’t say I’ve ever seen a Burmese film before, though I am familiar with how the 2008 Rambo film actually inspired the Karen National Liberation Army to fight harder against their oppressors. It’s fascinating what the power of moving pictures can do.
That said, even knowing M...

Flixist • 07/18/2025

NYAFF 2025 Review: Flat Girls • Flixist

While I had a relatively normal suburban upbringing as a child, I did suffer from depression and constantly thought the world was against me. It was hard for me to fit in with my peers, and throughout my time in high school, I was bullied for being so quiet and enjoying things like video games, martial arts films, and computer science. I would routinely wish for death in those moments, and it eventually culminated in me seeking help early in my 20s, which would change my life. When I look back,...

Flixist • 07/18/2025

NYAFF 2025 Review: Behind the Shadows • Flixist

Acclaimed Hong Kong star Louis Koo has had a long and prosperous career. Beginning in 1994, he’s consistently been featured in some of the biggest Hong Kong films over the last 30 years, including multiple projects with Johnnie To, a couple with Wilson Yip and Donnie Yen, and new box-office king Soi Cheang. Not every film is a must-see or even a classic, but you can rarely miss when checking out a Koo movie.
The same goes for his latest starring role, the mysteriously titled Behind the Shadows....

Flixist • 07/18/2025

NYAFF 2025 Review: Montages of a Modern Motherhood • Flixist

As someone approaching 40 who has yet to find a partner or father a child, I have some conflicting feelings about the prospect of parenthood. While I fully understand that I do not need to fulfill some societal checklist to be considered an adult, I also feel as if I’ve failed some kind of basic requirement for being human. Isn’t it natural to want a wife and kids? Isn’t having a child supposed to be the very goal of human existence? After watching Montages of a Modern Motherhood, I have to wond...

Flixist • 07/16/2025

NYAFF 2025 Review: I, The Song • Flixist

Bhutan is one of the most fascinating countries in the world. With a culture defined by its two neighboring countries and a focus on public happiness over gross profit, it’s become this mystical haven that feels steeped in historical reverence while also being on the edge of modernity. What adds to that mysticism is that Bhutan’s borders weren’t open to the public until 1974, meaning it had existed for centuries with no Western influences at all. Bhutan has rightfully earned its nickname of “The...

Flixist • 07/16/2025

NYAFF 2025 Review: Smashing Frank • Flixist

Social media has fundamentally changed the way in which people look at the world. While nothing was ever sunshine and roses, it seems that the rise of social media networks has seen an equal rise in people doing stupid things to garner fame. Be that imbeciles like Mr. Beast running what could charitably be called a Squid Game, or jackasses like Logan and Jake Paul flying to foreign countries and desecrating local monuments, there’s always some idiot that will do literally anything on camera just...

Flixist • 05/31/2025

Review: Tornado • Flixist

There’s been a growing trend in modern films to have stories spread out either across multiple installments or to make a single film the longest possible film it could be. Some of that is because of the success Marvel has had with the MCU, with almost every studio trying to launch its own version of that serialized franchise. Another bit is because of streaming services, which typically pay out by minutes watched, regardless of quality, which has led to storytelling becoming bloated. Even previo...

Flixist • 05/26/2025

Review: Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning • Flixist

It’s honestly been something of a rollercoaster ride when it comes to the state of films since Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One released nearly two years ago. The original plan for this eighth film, originally titled Part Two before shifting to The Final Reckoning, was to be shot back-to-back with the seventh and deliver a one-two punch to the summer box office a year apart. Instead, COVID-19 disrupted the production of the first part, and then the SAG-AFTRA strike temporarily halte...

Flixist • 02/18/2025

Review: Captain America: Brave New World • Flixist

I know on this very website; I’ve stated my overall disappointment and displeasure with the trajectory of the Marvel Cinematic Universe multiple times. It probably seems like some cruel joke that I would wind up reviewing Captain America: Brave New World for Flixist, but here’s the thing: I did legitimately want to see this movie. There was one good reason for that, too. Red Hulk.
While Hulk was never my favorite superhero as a kid, through conversations with my best friend, I’ve come to underst...

Flixist • 11/07/2024

Review: 100 Yards • Flixist

Throughout the history of Chinese cinema, there have been an overwhelming number of films that has dispelled the myths surrounding martial artists. While old-school wuxia movies depicted heroes as stoic and unwavering, there were always a few movies that would portray their protagonists as flawed beings who couldn’t let a minor squabble go. 100 Yards is the latter, a story of a man too proud to step away from his martial arts life once he suffers a defeat.
In the proud tradition of Shaw Brothers...

Flixist • 10/29/2024

Review: Chasing Chasing Amy • Flixist

It should be no surprise to anyone who has grown up that things you used to say 20-30 years ago aren’t acceptable anymore. As we continue to move forward in the evolution of the human race, we as a society continually redefine what words can and should be used when discussing certain topics, including but not limited to mental illness, ethnicity, and sexuality. When many millennials were young, it was pretty common to hear adults and even your friends use slurs when referring to marginalized gro...

Flixist • 09/17/2024

Review: My Old Ass • Flixist

As a nearly middle-aged man that has a ton of regrets when it comes to past decisions and actions, My Old Ass seemed tailor-made for me. The very concept of the story, which involves a young girl tripping on drugs and getting to speak with an older version of herself, is an idea pretty much everyone has had at one point or another (maybe minus the drugs). Who wouldn’t want to talk directly to their younger self and warn them of certain actions that led down a dark path?
My Old Ass isn’t quite ab...