Category: Blog

2026 Movie Preview

April 16, 2026

We’ve had a lot of movie news pouring out lately, apparently because of CinemaCon, something I’m only vaguely aware of. A high-profile exhibition for movies, in an age where movie theaters and international industries are dying and we don’t even have E3 anymore? Sounds made-up. But anyway, it looks like the rest of 2026 is pretty jam-packed, which I was not expecting. I already got The Bone Temple; I was good for the year. Also, 2025 was quite jam-packed itself, with representatives from my favorite brands and directors — Alien, Predator, Jurassic Park, Park Chan-wook, Bong Joon-ho, James Cameron, Kathryn Bigelow, Alex Garland, David Cronenberg, and on and on. What could possibly be left? … More 2026 Movie Preview

This Wasteland

April 2, 2026

On the most recent episode of QNA, Donovan and I spoke with the hosts of Comic Timing about the comics industry, which like Hyman Roth, has been dying of the same heart attack for the last twenty years. I think it’s easy to hit the panic button in situations like these, as Korean luminaries recently have with regards to the local film industry. On the press tour for No Other Choice, Director Park described a “state of great danger.” It was only the blockbuster release of The King’s Warden that would appear to course-correct from the COVID slump, but there are perhaps deeper, systemic problems. … More This Wasteland

There Are No Female Kamen Riders

March 21, 2026

“Cool! Where’s the girl version?” has been my reflex with pop culture for as long as I can remember, and surely for longer than I was able to admit. I was into a lot of things – genres, subject matter, etc. – which were not, in turn, interested in women. Funny how that came to a head during my own coming-of-age, with #GamerGate and Star Wars and everything. Not “funny” ha-ha, mind. Anyway, Kamen Rider was one of those examples of pop culture, and same with Ultraman. Godzilla less so, because I’d heard that the one in Godzilla Raids Again was female, and that was good enough for me, parthenogenesis or not. I like Kamen Rider, but my ideal version – ‘90s, Keita Amemiya – never made it past a pilot or two. And truthfully, my ideal version is “girl Kamen Rider,” so I was heartbroken to discover that, out of the one-thousand-and-one Kamen Riders to ever don the motorcycle, none have been women. And even when they sort of were, they wouldn’t wear the helmet! That’s, like, a totally different thing, man. So, imagine my surprise – and confusion – when this popped up in my algorithm … More There Are No Female Kamen Riders

9294* Saga: Return of the Hur Sisters

February 1, 2026

Man, I’d been missing Youngji’s sister Song-yeon, as the Hur Sisters YouTube Channel seemed to be supplanted by Youngji’s own solo channel – which itself ceased updating after that fateful, never-subtitled video with Hyojung and Seulgi, from October 2024. That’s crazy. If I had a YouTube channel, I’d never stop uploading content. NEVER! That video was back when I was desperate for any ‘94 Line content. How things have changed. Anyway, it turns out that Hur Song-yeon was probably just busy, having gotten married in late 2025. It was apparently a star-studded ceremony, though I only saw it through Youngji’s eyes – Jiyoung was there, say. And despite sharing a name with one of the Kara members, Song-yeon is not an idol, but a TV announcer and MC. Ironically, I encountered her again via Oh My Girl, for her appearance with Youngji on Hyojung & Binnie’s Sweet Home. Very funny. And now she’s back, with the most recent upload being a surprisingly melancholy hangout in what I assume is their old apartment? Like, maybe Song-yeon is moving in with her husband, so they’re sending it off? Again, no subtitles. … More 9294* Saga: Return of the Hur Sisters

Everybody Loves Apink

January 11, 2026

Eunji goes big with that “Oh, baby” and I experience something novel in my six years of K-pop fandom: nostalgia? Is that even possible? Their 2026 single “Love Me More” technically falls on the year of their 15th anniversary, but unlike with 2nd-gen contemporaries Girls’ Generation and Kara, Apink never really went away. I will admit that my interest lapsed around the time of Naeun’s departure in 2022, and I later assumed that they were simply nearing their end alongside 3rd-gen contemporaries Mamamoo, Red Velvet, and Oh My Girl. “Love Me More” and its EP Re: Love feels like a grand comeback, then, maybe because it’s so classical? Not only like it could’ve come from the middle of the catalog but because it’s got that throwback feel of the second generation, like ’90s American R&B. To clarify, people who were around and listening to K-pop in the 2010s would’ve known Apink as 2nd gen, but from my perspective, I can’t square Bomi and the gang as colleagues of Taeyeon and Tiffany. We’ve got a couple of liners here, with Chorong and Solar, and then Hayoung, Joy, and Yerin. … More Everybody Loves Apink

Top Ten Movies of 2025

December 31, 2025

Oh, believe you me, I was tempted to compile one of those “Top 25 of 2025” lists, but I was having a hard time striking a balance between personal favorites and movies I thought were the best regardless of my own opinion, and alas, it was turning into a collection of the movies I’m always talking about here and on other blogs (does anyone need to hear me discuss Ghost in the Shell 2 ever again?). I would’ve liked to have crowned Lady Vengeance number one (spoilers!), but I’ve never known where to start with that one. So, this is my top ten movies of 2025, and as far as the year goes, it was pretty solid, with a lot of interesting developments at the box office. A certain geeky strain of blockbuster would appear to be dying out (given the collapsing profits of superhero movies and the malaise around the most recent Jurassic Park) as another, even more cynical product continues its upward inferno-spiral (live-action Disney remakes). Meanwhile, we had headline after headline about the mid-budget blockbuster, from Sinners and Weapons to even Final Destination: Bloodlines. Specialty fare like KPop Demon Hunters and the rerelease of Revenge of the Sith – as well as the incursion of anime and high-profile foreign films – continue to blur the lines at the multiplex as we head toward the (next) end of cinema. … More Top Ten Movies of 2025

The Worst Television of the Year

December 23, 2025

I watch bad TV for a living, and I don’t mean the fun, “so bad it’s good” sort of material, but the hours and hours of mundane CBS procedurals and sitcoms that aren’t designed for one’s full attention – “brain-melting” content, which serves a purpose, sure, however encroached upon by TikTok. I say this because it takes a lot to shock me these days, and for whatever reason, 2025 was generous with truly terrible, offensively bad TV. Discussing the worst TV shows of a given year has not been a regular feature here, nor will it be – with any luck – but I had to make something of the experience of watching this dreck. … More The Worst Television of the Year

Mimi

December 16, 2025

Back by popular demand, “My Year in K-Pop: 2025” has actually been tricky to piece together. Damn that demand! Because I was anchored in this difficult year by Oh My Girl, I wanted to focus on their music in a special edition of the (theoretically) annual episode — a celebration, a thank-you. The plan was to count down their top five songs and, in between, introduce each member. The problem was twofold: one, a personal dissatisfaction with how I discuss idols, an issue I haven’t been able to resolve in six years in part because my enthusiasm had me barreling through any self-doubt. I may be reaching an age where other factors are competing with the enthusiasm, but whatever the case may be, I certainly can’t resolve this in the next few days, this episode being due before year’s end. Second, Oh My Girl is more complicated than I thought. I had two options: try to reconcile a celebratory episode with criticism, or do what I always do and ignore the problems. … More Mimi

How to Win ‘Physical: 100’

November 25, 2025

Be awesome. That’s how! I know there’s a cash prize and that’s technically the primary motivator, but these are athletes who bring their own sets of motivations to this new, weird game: they want to win, they want to prove themselves, and in the case of Physical: Asia, they want to do right by their team. Actually, and to the consternation of some, these athletes are also sometimes influencers, which brings an additional motivation. Now, I don’t begrudge anyone who’s made uncomfortable by the very concept of influencers, the worst of whom do immoral, even illegal things for attention and money, and once we reasonably assume that that doesn’t apply to the contestants of Physical: Asia, we may still be uncomfortable that these talented, determined people don’t make enough money with their day job and need a side hustle, one subject to the whims of the heartless algorithm and the court of public opinion (itself blunted by social media). … More How to Win ‘Physical: 100’