No Gods Left Exclusives

Original criticism of motion pictures available here and nowhere else. Frequently writing on non-English film (Baltic, Chinese, & Korean, etc), slow and digital cinemas, and more.

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Reviews

Deaf Lovers

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Essays

Zack Snyder’s Rebel Moon - Chapter One: Chalice Of Blood and Chapter Two: Curse of Forgiveness

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Reviews

Ruminations on A Taxi Driver

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Essays

The Musicality of The Beast

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No Gods Left Exclusives

VIFF 2024: Hoard (2023) dir. Luna Carmoon

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Reviews

VIFF 2024: Excursion (2023) dir. Una Gunjak

No Gods Left Exclusives

The Post-Colonial World of Bong Joon-Ho

Bong's films are postcolonial in the sense that they often reflect the Korean context by depicting the United States as a neo-colonial empire; however, his postcolonial messages are largely dependent on a reversal of American genre expectations, and, as a result, his films still dialogue with the co

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No Gods Left Exclusives

Watching Movies on a Small Screen Is a Better Experience. If You Care About Audio

Reviews

Don't Go Breaking My Heart Is Sports Genre as a Love Triangle

Johnnie To is well known in the West for his action and crime films but, the populist that he is, he’s also a prolific director of romances and musicals. Entire books have been written on To’s filmmaking focusing on the likes of The Mission (1999), PTU (2003), and

No Gods Left Exclusives

Love Under Capitalism in Comrades, Almost a Love Story

“It was winter and cold and we were two lonely people keeping each other warm.”

Reviews

Economical and Apolitical: Boy From Nowhere is a Film Worth Your Time

This a film worth seeing.

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Reviews

“Glorious” and “Gloomy”: The Drug King and President Park Chung-hee

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Essays

Give Me More: 2022 Releases in Review So Far

No Gods Left Exclusives

A Stellar New Perspective on Modern Chinese Cinema

In his article “Why ‘The Chinese Cinema’?”, film critic Sean Gilman provides a thoughtful explanation for why he uses “cinema” as singular and not plural. For his purposes, it’s a reference to Andrew Sarris’s famous work “The American Cinema” and is not meant as a film critic'

Reviews

The Stylistic Achievements and Limitations of “Happy Christmas”

The Christmas movie genre as a sum is entirely pointless to the effect it destroys joviality; “Happy Christmas” gives that pointlessness a style to partner with.

Reviews

Platonic Transcendence and "Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara"

If The Wolf on Wall Street can be labeled “indulgence cinema,” Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara is the cinema of transcendence.

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Game of Thrones

"Game of Thrones" Season Seven Might be its Best

Game of Thrones

The Tonal Change-up of "Game of Thrones" Season Six

Game of Thrones’s sixth season is the show’s bravest tonal departure since director Alan Taylor’s episodes in season two.

Game of Thrones

An Eco-critical Approach to "Game of Thrones"

The very opening scene of HBO’s “Game of Thrones” ... sets the stage for an ecocritical reading.

Game of Thrones

Religion, Catholicism, and More in the Fifth Season of "Game of Thrones"

Religion has played an increasingly important role in each consecutive season of Game of Thrones—and in the show’s fifth season, it’s the glue that holds it all together.

Game of Thrones

What makes "Game of Thrones" Work Best: Season 4

This season was at its best when the technical aspects complement the actual game for the iron throne.

Game of Thrones

The Cinematic Appeal of "GOT" S3

Cinematically, it’s probably the most innovative moment in the first three seasons of GOT.

Game of Thrones

The Consistency of "GOT" S2

Between S1 and S2, it feels as if Westeros has aged two centuries.

Game of Thrones

The Best and Worst of "Game of Thrones" S1

The final image of the season, a Daenerys Targaryen being shouldered by three—assumed extinct—dragons perfectly encapsulates the balancing of these themes.

Essays

National Iconography in the Films of Two Chinese Directors

Two Chinas rest between Zhang and Jia.