Sentaro (Nagase Matasoshi) runs a small bakery that serves dorayakis, Japanese pastries filled with sweet red bean paste called “an”. When an old lady, Tokue (Kiki Kirin), offers to help in the kitchen he reluctantly accepts. But Tokue proves to be quite skilled at making “an." Thanks to a recipe she's taken half a century to perfect, the dorayaki counter takes off. But not everything is coming up roses. Tokue's past slowly comes into view, an old affliction that will have a serious impact on their newfound success.

DAY 1 got off to a strong start with two films that are hopefully a harbinger of things to come in this 68th edition of the Cannes Festival. I just finished watching the Matteo Garrone THE TELLER OF TALES, which was screened before the press at 7pm. I will talk about that film in a later post. French filmmaker Emmanuelle Bercot's LA TETE HAUTE is an uncensored and deftly-lensed look at youth in perdition. Her portrait of Malony

This year’s last Tribeca Film Festival featured some great offerings in the entertaining-yet-underrated short film category, films by female filmmakers particularly. Filmmaker Heather Jack presented her directorial debut LET’S NOT PANIC, an apocalyptic comedy about love and neuroses in fest's NY: Double Expresso program. Jack, a recent N.Y.U. graduate who also wrote the script, tells the story of a woman

Chaos, wrath and bucketfuls of drumming. The movie score that Dutch-born musical artist Junkie XL composed for MAD MAX: FURY ROAD punches up the film’s post-apocalyptic scenery like nobody’s business. The Grammy-nominated producer and composer was approached by Warner Bros. Pictures and Village Roadshow Pictures to stamp his sonic signature unto the George Miller-directed action-thriller that stars Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron

Every year, thousands of gamers, programmers, and journalists converge at the Penny Arcade eXpo (PAX) to celebrate video game culture. As one of the world’s premier gaming conventions, the booths and hallways are choked with endless screens of pixelated carnage and mayhem. All except for one, that is. At this booth, a quiet middle-aged man guides players towards a video game that isn’t about killing and destruction but survival and life.

When you have a film that boasts the comedic talents of Lake Bell and Simon Pegg nothing can go wrong. In MAN UP, Lake Bell is Nancy, a woman who is a master of words but less skillful in love. When Nancy is accidentally mistaken by Jack (played by Simon Pegg) to be his blind date, she decides to be impulsive for once and just go along with it. What follows is a hilarious, rollicking romp of schemes, sparring, and slapstick humor.

Pakistani cleric Maulana Aziz has perfected the art of creating [...]