Gimura, Zenji, Ryuhei, Kakuzaimo, and Bonzo form a punk band called The Armortellus, and they're about to get their chance to debut in the big city. One day, Gimura's sister-in-law, Yuki, moves to Tokyo. She starts living with Gimura's girlfriend, Kyoko, rent free, but she seems to be hiding something. Meanwhile, The Armortellus start recording under the supervision of the director of Sunny Records, Shiro Okida. Shiro speaks highly of Gimura's talent, but Gimura is planning to drop the band and start a solo career one day. Shiro tells Gimura, "If you want The Armortellus to get a major label debut, you have to win a battle of the bands competition and sell out every seat for a performance at Zepp." This was a film collected on a special DVD for Japanese pop-rock band, Beat Crusaders, who all play original characters.
It's not love. It's Obsession. The hook of this movie is the tension between wanting to be loved and the fear of being all-encompassed by that love. It plays on men’s typical (though certainly not universal) inner-conflict
'Wolf Like Me' works if you want a show to shut off your brain while watching. If you think too much, you'll hurt yourself.
Netflix’s Shadow and Bone has a complicated relationship with race. It has a diverse cast, but not without its problems. Based on Leigh Bardugo’s two book series, the show features characters from the Shadow and Bone trilogy, which is very straight and white, and the Six of Crows duology, which is much more diverse. When bringing together a cast and writing about these characters, the team behind the show expanded upon some of the representation missing from the first trilogy, then seemed to take away representation from the duology. Shadow and Bone seems to play a bit of a push and pull game when it comes to portraying diversity onscreen.
Dashing in December follows the tried and true outline of a traditional holiday romance, with a less traditional middle-aged gay couple as the film's romantic focus.
Nick Rowland’s She Rides Shotgun is a blistering, blood-soaked road thriller that doubles as a bruised love story between a haunted ex-con (a career-best Taron Egerton) and the daughter he barely knows (astonishing newcomer Ana Sophia Heger). Fueled by white-knuckle chases, razor-tense shootouts, and quiet moments of aching tenderness, the film captures both the terror and fragile beauty of survival. It’s gritty, heartbreaking, and unforgettable—a father-daughter odyssey destined to leave audiences shaken.
Despite its glaring flaws, First Girl I Loved is not entirely undeserving of a watch. For people who can handle the more difficult aspects of the story and graphic scenes, it is worth looking into. It’s not a film worthy of rewatch, but it may still resonate somewhat with those who need a story like this. It is a genuine, if flimsy attempt at a coming-of-age tale. Were the film to be directed by someone with experiences more similar to Anne, it would likely be more powerful--as it is, it feels like a man’s perspective of what it means to come to terms with your identity as a lesbian.
