Were you born to run? Or born to kill? Yeah…that’s not a rhetorical question, because Yuki was born for the sole purpose of avenging her mother. So there’s going to be just the slightest bit of emotional baggage in this movie. Adapted from a manga of the same name, Lady Snowblood presents us with tale about the true cost of revenge. Likewise, I’d also be interested to know the true cost of the “blood geyser” practical effects technology in this film.

There can be only one!

Wait, this is the second female-lead character in a Japanese flick we’ve watched named Yuki?

Okay, two then.

Sometimes a guy just can’t get a break. And sometimes a guy might also be a cat. Or a cat might be a metaphor for a guy. Do you follow? No? Well, let’s put it this way: Llewyn Davis isn’t exactly having the time of his life as a struggling folk musician, and we get to follow along as each of his bad decisions leads him deeper into a potentially bleak reality. Of course, life can often feel a bit cyclical and Llewyn may be suffering some deja vu. Grab your guitars and join us as we peer into the depths of the Coen brother’s Inside Llewyn Davis, where you’ll get a glimpse of what would happen had Poe Dameron and Kylo Ren decided to become musicians.

Spoiler: Weird songs galore!

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to live forever? Sounds great, right? Well, if you go by the example set by grandfather-turned-vampire Jesus Gris, you may be in for more than you bargained. His mottled white skin and brittle post-resurrection appearance is a far cry from the young, sparkly vampires we’ve grown accustomed to over the past ten years. In Guillermo del Toro’s Cronos we tackle the messy subject of human existence and what price is too costly for renewed youth. And as a bonus, we also get to see a very merry Ron Perelman Christmas! Also, “pardon our dust” as we experiment and work towards finding some permanent music for the Correction in the upcoming weeks.

So peace, love, and for gosh sakes, keep track of your magical golden scarab!

“Did it hurt? When you fell from Heaven?” If you’re David Bowie the answer is a strong…maybe. Crash landing in a pond on Earth can’t be pleasant, after all. So today we look at one of Bowie’s most striking roles. No, not Jared the Goblin King, but rather Thomas Jerome Newton: a Steve Jobs figure–if Steve Jobs was an alien creature almost entirely unfamiliar with the ways of earth yet carrying a slew of highly technological patents which he uses to attempt to raise enough money to build a ship to get back home to provide water from earth to save his dying world. So…yeah, he’s essentially Steve Jobs (minus the water thing). Join us this week as we pay tribute to Ziggy Stardust and take note of the fact that Rip Torn was consorting with aliens long before heading up the MIB.

Ever meet your dead wife while venturing through space to a planet with a sentient ocean? No? Well, if you had, would you immediately shove her into a rocket and jettison her into space? Also no? In that case, you might have some difficulty relating to our heroic dead-wife-murdering protagonist, Kris Kelvin. Join us as we launch deep into the heart of the cosmos in search of the mysterious planet Solaris. Be wary, for the visions you may see are no mere apparitions, but rather your innermost desires made manifest.

Do you feel like you’re drowning in a sea of bureaucratic nonsense–as though your life has no meaning outside the governmental paperwork that proves you exist? More importantly, does George Orwell’s 1984 sound like an idyllic escape from the day-to-day grind? You’re not alone! This week we follow the (quasi)heroic footsteps of paper-pusher Sam Lowry and heating-engineer-on-a-mission Harry Tuttle as they fight against the machinations of a society that only cares for efficiency and the preservation of the status quo. No, it’s not America as we know it, but rather Terry Gilliam’s Brazil.

You’ve probably never seen this movie. And overall, that might be a good life choice. Unless, you know, you secretly want to watch a cheesy knock-off of Pokemon-battling meshed with (soon-to-be-rebooted) Gamera-esque kaiju antics…and CGI. As the first-foray into cinema for Japanese pop-artist sensation Takashi Murakami, Jellyfish Eyes almost–but not quite–crosses into the territory of “so bad it’s good,” but we promise, you’ll love hearing about the insane antics of a group of young school-children exposed to the evil (but really not evil) F.R.I.E.N.D.S. created (we think?) by the shadowy Black-Cloaked Four. Join us for a discussion about one of the most-recent additions to the Collection!

Japanese Star Wars? Not quite, and fans might be a little irked about the incessant comparisons. But, this movie did contribute more than a few key elements to George Lucas’ vision of a science-fantasy future…past… Anyway, you get the drift. Join us as we delve into Akira Kurosawa’s The Hidden Fortress and learn how our intrepid heroes manage to get a stash of gold over a very unfriendly border through the power of love–err, the power of song.

In David Cronenberg’s 1983 classic, be careful not to succumb to the temptation of a media form that will turn you into a mindless pawn of the system–or worse: a half-man, half-kangaroo mutated killing machine. No, it’s not the internet. Beware the horrors of Videodrome.

Welcome to the inaugural episode of the Criterion Correction, with Ed and Dr. Z. Join us, two film buffs (well, one film buff and a film neophyte) as we look at the, in some ways, utterly bizarre Criterion Collection and try to make sense of what it says about film, art, and humanity as a whole. In this first cast, we’ll be taking a closer look at a movie that we first saw under…strange circumstances: Wes Anderson’s The Royal Tenenbaums.