Original Source Matthewrozsa.com

A word on Japanese director Takashi Shimizu, who directed the classic 2004 American horror movie "The Grudge." I have seen five of Shimizu's movies and loved every one of them. Four of those films are from his "Ju-On" franchise, including "Ju-On: The Grudge" in 2002,...

"The Grudge," a 2004 American film directed by Takashi Shimizu as an adaptation of his own 2002 masterpiece "Ju-On: The Grudge" (which is Japanese), is a very good horror movie. It has scary and iconic villains, a genuinely disturbing backstory, fine performances and...

I had an hour-and-a-half to kill before New Year's Day 2021 officially came to a close. That was just enough time to watch "The Grudge 3," a movie I once described as the worst in the American version of "The Grudge" series, and see if my initial impression was wrong....

I've written before that Steven Seagal the action film icon is quite different from Steven Seagal the real-life man. The actual Seagal has been accused of sexual misconduct and of being egomaniacal. He has, without question, cozied up with tyrants like Russian...

As I write this review, Sir Ian McKellen is making headlines for being one of the first celebrities to publicly get a COVID-19 vaccine. Clearly he realizes that we must inoculate ourselves against deadly diseases and is using his celebrity status to set a good...

Earlier this month I wrote an essay about the aesthetics of fascism, and at first glance "Coriolanus" seems like an easy story to turn to fascistic purposes. Indeed, many actual fascists have embraced William Shakespeare's early 17th century play as their own, and...

I loved Roger Ebert, and he hated "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead," which poses quite a conundrum for me. The legendary film critic didn't just pan the movie, which was directed by Tom Stoppard (based on his 1966 play of the same name) and starred Gary Oldman...

Forget for a moment that "Chimes at Midnight" is based on the works of William Shakespeare, widely considered one of the greatest writers in the English language. Forget that it was directed by Orson Welles, widely considered one of the greatest directors in American...

"He may be a jerk, but he's a great man. He's brilliant. I mean, you'll never be great or brilliant. You're dependable." Some movies can be summed up in one quote, and this is the one that captures the essence of "The Beach Bum." Harmony Korine's 2019 stoner comedy...

Three years before Harmony Korine released "Spring Breakers," he made a microbudget social horror film called "Trash Humpers." That movie, despite having the word "trash" in its title, is actually pretty good. By contrast "Spring Breakers," despite having the...