Sam Kench
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The 2018 Brickwall Film Awards
The Oscars get it wrong pretty often. In fact, they rarely get it right. To set the record straight (and really just for a bit of fun), I’m looking back at past years and re-picking the nominees and winners for the major Oscars categories and a couple of new categories of my own. This time… Read more
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The Lone Wolf and Cub Film Series is Essential Cinema
I love samurai films, from “Sanjuro” and “Yojimbo” to “13 Assassins” and “Blade of the Immortal.” Even if you aren’t well-versed in the samurai genre, as long as you’re a movie lover, there’s a high likelihood that you’re well acquainted with the many samurai films of Akira Kurosawa. These classics deserve all of the love… Read more
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The 2016 Brickwall Film Awards
The Oscars get it wrong pretty often. In fact, they rarely get it right. To set the record straight (and really just for a bit of fun), I’m looking back at past years and re-picking the nominees and winners for the major Oscars categories and a couple of new categories of my own. This time… Read more
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The Director Who Best Picture, then Immediately Destroyed his Career
The story of Michael Cimino and Heaven’s Gate. After making The Deer Hunter, which won five Oscars including best picture, Michael Cimino’s follow up, Heaven’s Gate, became Hollywood’s biggest disaster, ruined his career, and forever changed the American film industry. Read more
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Big Hops is Big Fun
“Big Hops” is a 3D platformer that was crowdfunded via Kickstarter in May of 2025 where it surpassed its initial goal by a decent amount but without hitting all of its stretch goals. The game subsequently released in January of 2026, in a stable state no less that was largely free from glitches and jank… Read more
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The 2017 Brickwall Film Awards
The Oscars get it wrong pretty often. In fact, they rarely get it right. To set the record straight (and really just for a bit of fun), I’m looking back at past years and re-picking the nominees and winners for the major Oscars categories and a couple of new categories of my own. This time… Read more
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Slay the Spire II early access Impressions
“Slay the Spire II” in early access is far from being the biggest or flashiest title of 2026, but it was one of my most eagerly anticipated games of the year. I wouldn’t necessarily call the original “Slay the Spire” one of favorite games, but it is almost certainly the game that I have put… Read more
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The Films of 2025, Ranked
It’s that time of year: It’s time to look back at and rank every 2025 film that I saw. Instead of doing a top 10 or bottom 10 or anything like that, I’m ranking absolutely everything. And this year, I saw a whole bunch. I’ll say up front that I don’t bother with movies that… Read more
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No Other Choice Finds Park Chan-wook at the Top of his Game
“No Other Choice” is South Korea’s submission to the best international feature film category at the 2026 Academy Awards, and I’ll tell you right now, it’s a lock for one of the five nomination spots. If you want my predictions, I’ll call it now that the real International Oscar category is a race between “The… Read more
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Ball x Pit brings the juice – review
“Ball x Pit” is a 2025 release published by Devolver Digital and developed by Kenny Sun, who spent the prior decade making mobile games. That background in the mobile space can be seen and felt in “Ball x Pit,” but it luckily comes without the shallow gameplay and sleazy monetization practices that are so often… Read more
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