Experimental filmmaker Nobuhiko Ōbayashi was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer in 2016. His team of doctors feared the director had only three months to live.

Ōbayashi defied the odds (although he was very ill) and made two more films before his death (three years after his diagnosis), 2017’s “Hanagatami” and this year’s “Labyrinth of Cinema” which was completed in 2019.

The actress Selma Blair had a promising career in Hollywood going at the turn of the millennium, appearing in major roles in “Cruel Intentions” and “Hellboy,” among many others. She seemed to be on an upward trajectory, appearing in dozens of other films and television shows. However, in recent years the actress was cruelly struck with a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis, making it difficult for her to walk or, many times, even to speak.

Alienation is unhealthy, it is not good for the psyche. Fading into the background with no friends or acquaintances, people who go unnoticed would do almost anything to have their voice heard and for someone to see them. Loneliness and an uncaring world can drive some people to madness.

In Aneil Karia’s “Surge,” we meet one such person, a man at the breaking point.

The slasher film has always been one of the most popular genres in horror films. It can be argued that slasher horror was born of “Psycho.” If that film was the grandfather of the slasher genre, the spark was lit fourteen years later with Bob Clark’s 1974 treasure “Black Christmas” and became a full-blown inferno of popularity when filmmaker John Carpenter made “Halloween” in 1978. After the phenomenal success

There is no comprehensive government data on the topic of police brutality, no real accountability.

According to the Lancet more than half of all police killings since 1980 do not appear in official government data. The undercounted police killings of Black Americans, particularly, is odious.

There are some especially strong documentaries out there to see [...]

A painter, Damien (Damien Bonnard, who appeared in “Les Misérables”), leads a comfortable existence with his wife, Leïla (Leïla Bekhti), who restores antiques, and their young boy. While on vacation, Damien acts oddly, he’s spastic, hungry, sleepless, ready for anything and everything without seeming completely delusional.