Illustration
Cinema · 4 min read
Alice in Borderland S3
Season one made me admire Arisu's wits and kindness; this season his devotion moved me — and his goodness quietly seeds a cycle of good.
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— District —
The Screening Room
Films
25 essays in this district
Illustration
Cinema · 3 min read
Wednesday S2
Two seasons in and the Addams family's merciless lines still crack me up — sharp, cutting, sardonic, macabre.
Illustration
Cinema · 3 min read
KPop Demon Hunters
I went in for the soundtrack and stayed for the animation. A film that's a pure pleasure to both watch and listen to.
Illustration
Cinema · 5 min read
Tokyo Swindlers
If people were truly good by nature, some people's evil has already outgrown what little good they have left. Don't pity the criminal just because you weren't the one he pushed into hell.
Illustration
Cinema · 5 min read
Burn the House Down
Don't watch it with a mystery-drama's logic and you'll feel much better. A story about how obsessing over your social-media image can turn you into someone else's idea of you.
Illustration
Cinema · 5 min read
Let's Get Divorced
You choose marriage to step into happiness — and you choose divorce for the same reason. A question even a divorce lawyer has to ask himself: what is marriage, really?
Illustration
Cinema · 5 min read
Black Mirror S6
The familiar Black Mirror is back. Virtual worlds, no privacy, phones eavesdropping — have you ever actually read the terms of service?
Illustration
Cinema · 4 min read
Bullet Train
The back half suddenly threads all the earlier nonsense together — pure popcorn with a tiny pinch of chicken soup for the soul.
Illustration
Cinema · 4 min read
Unlocked
As a heavy phone user who's always dropping mine, this one pressed on my chest — I had to watch it in two sittings.
Illustration
Cinema · 4 min read
You
Rare for a series to stay this gripping into season four. It leaves the bookstore behind but keeps its edge — stepping out of its comfort zone.
Illustration
Cinema · 7 min read
Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities
Eight episodes, each a different director and a different story. Not amazing, but the frames, the settings, and the little allegories in each are a treat.
Illustration
Cinema · 5 min read
Wednesday
More than the mystery, I loved watching her heart get pried open. Wednesday's whole essence is those cutting, spot-on remarks.
Illustration
Cinema · 5 min read
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
A film entirely in memory of T'Challa. It was tearing at my eyes before the movie even began — Black Panther is my favorite Marvel character.
Illustration
Cinema · 5 min read
Ya Boy Kongming!
Kongming reborn in modern Japan, using his Three Kingdoms schemes to help an aspiring singer make it. Pure fun — and you can't help admiring his genius all over again.
Illustration
Cinema · 4 min read
He's Expecting
Some things you only truly empathize with — and change over — after living them yourself. That was my biggest takeaway.
Illustration
Cinema · 4 min read
Lighting Up the Stars
I walked in knowing nothing and got ambushed by a death in the opening scene — then a life story branched out from there.
Illustration
Cinema · 4 min read
Tokyo Girl
What she truly wanted, it turns out, wasn't others' envious eyes — but the small happiness she'd held from the very start, and let go because it came too easily.
Illustration
Cinema · 5 min read
Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story
Less indifference, less discrimination, and have kids only when you're ready. What he wanted, in the end, was just company.
Illustration
Cinema · 6 min read
Let the Bullets Fly
Every line is a gem — funny and thought-provoking at once. A film packed with historical allegory that I could chew on again and again.
Illustration
Cinema · 5 min read
Erased
A time-loop mystery that keeps yanking your heart between warmth and dread — and a last line that took a night to sink in.
Illustration
Cinema · 5 min read
The Sandman
A DC dark-fantasy series about the King of Dreams — perfect for anyone who dreams a lot.
Illustration
Cinema · 6 min read
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
Magic, choices, forgiveness, losing your way and waking up — and a beauty tinged with regret. 'I love you. I love you in every universe.'
Illustration
Cinema · 4 min read
My Dress-Up Darling
A light, fun anime — 20 minutes an episode, perfect to watch over a meal. But underneath: no one's passion should ever be labeled.
Illustration
Cinema · 4 min read
Turning Red
People have many sides — some complicated. The point isn't to hide the bad ones, but to give them enough room, and accept them.
Illustration
Cinema · 4 min read
Love, Death & Robots: Jibaro
Under 20 minutes, no dialogue, every frame a feast for the senses — I couldn't stop screenshotting. The kind that gives you goosebumps.