TheaterByte

5 days ago | theaterbyte.com | Brandon DuHamel

Estimated reading time: 8 minutesSet against the smoggy, polyester-clad backdrop of 1977 Los Angeles, The Nice Guys is a riotous cocktail of slapstick chaos and hardboiled detective tropes. Director Shane Black (Kiss Kiss Bang Bang) crafts a world where disco balls spin alongside grimy alleyways, and every corner hides a new absurd threat.

1 week ago | theaterbyte.com | Brandon DuHamel

Estimated reading time: 7 minutes Jean Rollin’s 1973 film The Iron Rose (La rose de fer) – marketed in English at one point as The Crystal Rose — marks a fascinating pivot within the director’s distinctive filmography. Known predominantly for his ethereal vampire tales, Rollin here trades fangs for a more grounded, yet profoundly unsettling, exploration of existential dread and psychological unraveling, all while retaining his signature dreamlike, poetic visual style.

1 week ago | theaterbyte.com | Brandon DuHamel

Estimated reading time: 9 minutesJacques Demy, the luminous voice of the French New Wave, declared his 1964 masterpiece Les Parapluies de Cherbourg (The Umbrellas of Cherbourg) a “film in music.” This description captures its essence perfectly. Transcending the traditional musical format, the film unfolds as a continuous, sung-through operetta. Every line of dialogue is set to Michel Legrand’s vibrant, jazz-inflected score, transforming ordinary conversation into soaring melody.

1 week ago | theaterbyte.com | Brandon DuHamel

Estimated reading time: 9 minutesAlex Proyas’ Dark City (1998) remains a singular, atmospheric masterpiece, blending the shadowy aesthetics of 1940s film noir with mind-bending science fiction. Starring Rufus Sewell as the profoundly lost John Murdoch, the film plunges us into a perpetually nocturnal metropolis where nothing is as it seems. Murdoch awakens in a hotel bathtub with complete amnesia, immediately finding himself the prime suspect in a series of ritualistic murders.

2 weeks ago | theaterbyte.com | Brandon DuHamel

Estimated reading time: 6 minutesDirected by Naoko Yamada (A Silent Voice, Liz and the Blue Bird) and animated by Science Saru (Devilman Crybaby), The Colors Within (2024) is a poignant exploration of human connection, blending Yamada’s signature sensitivity with the studio’s bold visual experimentation. The film follows Totsuko, a high schooler who perceives people as swirling hues—a metaphor for emotional depth—and becomes entranced by the enigmatic “color” of her classmate Kimi.