In this episode of #HeroicPurgatory, John @jmhimara.bsky.social and Jason @filmnohito.bsky.social talk about standout films watched over 2026, like The Odyssey and Backrooms, Kolchak: The Night Stalker and 28 Years Later: Bone Temple. Check it out here: www.heroic-purgatory.com/2026/09/spec...

Special - Midyear Catch Up (2026)

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Season 6 Ep 10: John @jmhimara.bsky.social and Jason @filmnohito.bsky.social discuss Tsai Ming-Liang’s REBELS OF THE NEON GOD, a story of Taipei youth experiencing ennui and dissolution of traditional values in the liminal spaces of a modernising city. www.heroic-purgatory.com/2026/08/s6e1...

S6E10 - Rebels of the Neon God (1992)

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Season 6, ep 9 of #HeroicPurgatory explores PAST LIVES (2023) Celine Song's debut feature was the biggest indie movie of 2023 and a work John @jmhimara.bsky.social and Jason @filmnohito.bsky.social revisited with delight as they analysed this antiromance. www.heroic-purgatory.com/2026/08/s6e9...

S6E9 - Past Lives (2023)

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For #HeroicPurgatory, @jmhimara.bsky.social and @filmnohito.bsky.social discuss Jang Joon-hwan's idiosyncratic 2003 South Korean black comedy SAVE THE GREEN PLANET! and discuss its fantastic art direction and acting and how it became a cult hit www.heroic-purgatory.com/2026/07/s6e8...

S6E8 - Save the Green Planet! (2003)

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If you go down in the woods today, You're sure of a big surprise, because it's Studio Ghibli's My Neighbor Totoro! Join John @jmhimara.bsky.social and Jason @filmnohito.bsky.social as they analyse Hayao Miyazaki's beloved children's film on #HeroicPurgatory www.heroic-purgatory.com/2026/06/s6e6...

S6E6 - My Neighbor Totoro (1988)

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The latest "gateway movie" discussed on #HeroicPurgatory is MY SASSY GIRL (2001), the South Korean rom-com that was a global phenomenon. John @jmhimara.bsky.social and Jason @filmnohito.bsky.social discuss the gags, the romance, and its legacy in the show. www.heroic-purgatory.com/2026/05/s6e5...

S6E5 - My Sassy Girl (2001)

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The latest #HeroicPurgatory episode covers Edward Yang's Yi Yi (2000). John @jmhimara.bsky.social and Jason @filmnohito.bsky.social analyse the multigenerational family drama and its Taiwanese context to explore why this movie is considered a classic. www.heroic-purgatory.com/2026/05/s6e4...

S6E4 - Yi Yi (2000)

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In this #HeroicPurgatory, @jmhimara.bsky.social and @filmnohito.bsky.social go into CITY ON FIRE Ringo LAM's 1987 heroic bloodshed classic features a taut story, compelling acting, vicious action, and social commentary that adds meat to its tragic storyline www.heroic-purgatory.com/2026/04/s6e3...

S6E3 - City on Fire (1987)

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John @jmhimara.bsky.social and Jason @filmnohito.bsky.social continue season six of #HeroicPurgatory with Park Chan-wook’s mystery thriller JOIN SECURITY AREA (2000). They discuss JSA’s story, its place in Korean cinema and how it might be Park’s best film. www.heroic-purgatory.com/2026/04/s6e2...

S6E2 - Joint Security Area (2000)

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Season Six of #HeroicPurgatory sees John @jmhimara.bsky.social and Jason @filmnohito.bsky.social return to the idea of gateway films, those titles that get people into Asian cinema. They open by looking at Akira Kurosawa’s seminal jidaigeki SEVEN SAMURAI. www.heroic-purgatory.com/2026/03/s6e1...

S6E1 - Seven Samurai (1954)

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Time flies! It's already February 2026 and with the new year comes a new season of #HeroicPurgatory. Before then, John @jmhimara.bsky.social and Jason @filmnohito.bsky.social look back on 2025 and list their favourite films of the year. www.heroic-purgatory.com/2026/02/best...

Best Films of 2025

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With awards season in full swing, #HeroicPurgatory looks at Park Chan-wook’s 2025 feature NO OTHER CHOICE. The podcast covers the genesis of this critically-acclaimed satire of the dog eat dog nature of capitalism, Lee Byung-hun's compelling performance... www.heroic-purgatory.com/2026/01/awar...

Award Special - No Other Choice (2025)

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John Carpenter's THEY LIVE (1988) is #HeroicPurgatory 's 2025 Xmas Special John @jmhimara.bsky.social and Jason @filmnohito.bsky.social look at this bro-tastic action/romance's critiques of Reagan-era America, iconic lines, and influences. MERRY CHRISTMAS! www.heroic-purgatory.com/2025/12/xmas...

Xmas Special - They Live (1988)

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The film selected for the 2025 #HeroicPurgatory Halloween special is John Carpenter's Halloween (1978). @jmhimara.bsky.social and @filmnohito.bsky.social discuss slasher genre standards, themes of women vs patriarchy and sequels! HAPPY HALLOWEEN! www.heroic-purgatory.com/2025/10/spec...

Special - Halloween (1978)

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The #HeroicPirgatroy podcast took a bit of a break over the summer because Jason @filmnohito.bsky.social was in Japan for Osaka Asian Film Festival's Expo edition / #OAFF2025. Stay tuned for a podcast special with director interviews and views on upcoming and award-winning Asian films!

For episode 8 of season 5, which is dedicated to historical martial arts films, #HeroicPurgatory’s John @jmhimara.bsky.social and Jason @filmnohito.bsky.social return to Jackie Chan’s body of work with an episode dedicated to Project A (1983). www.heroic-purgatory.com/2025/07/s5e8...

Witness the Qing invasion of Joseon-era Korea alongside John @jmhimara.bsky.social and Jason @filmnohito.bsky.social as the boys takes on Kim Han-min’s historical actioner THE WAR OF THE ARROWS for Season 5 episode 7 of #HeroicPurgatory www.heroic-purgatory.com/2025/07/s5e7...

S5E7 - War of the Arrows

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John @jmhimara.bsky.social l and Jason @filmnohito.bsky.social ky.social are joined by Jack Eason @jackeason.bsky.social ocial of Optimism Vaccine to discuss Hideo Gosha's 1965 nihilistic chanbara THE SWORD OF THE BEAST for #HeroicPurgatory. www.heroic-purgatory.com/2025/07/s5e6...

S5E6 - The Sword of the Beast (with guest Jack Eason)

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Continuing their Wuxia wanderings, John @jmhimara.bsky.social and Jason @filmnohito.bsky.social drop by Dragon Gate Inn, the 1967 movie directed by King Hu, and also pay a visit to Raymond Lee's 1992 remake, New Dragon Gate Inn, for #HeroicPurgatory. www.heroic-purgatory.com/2025/05/s5e5...

S5E5 - Dragon Inn

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I was wary about a remake to Akira Kurosawa film but this review has sold it to me. "[Spike] Lee has taken “High and Low” to new highs, delivering a soul-searching genre movie that entertains while also sounding the alarm about where the culture could be headed." variety.com/2025/film/re...

‘Highest 2 Lowest’ Review: Spike Lee’s Kurosawa-Inspired Kidnapping Drama Isn’t So Much a Remake as a Manifesto

Denzel Washington plays a music mogul who faces a series of big moral choices in a film whose sensational third act justifies remaking Akira Kurosawa.

variety.com

This episode of #HeroicPurgatory features John @jmhimara.bsky.social and Jason @filmnohito.bsky.social examining Zhang Yimou's 2002 wuxia film, Hero. Zhang's first wuxia, this is a visually sumptuous and epic tale of assassins and the forging of a nation. www.heroic-purgatory.com/2025/05/s5e4...

S5E4 - Hero (2002)

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In a double-bill, John @jmhimara.bsky.social and Jason @filmnohito.bsky.social cover 13 Assassins via the 1963 Eiichi Kudo black-and-white original and the 2010 Takashi Miike action-packed and bawdy remake. #HeroicPurgatory www.heroic-purgatory.com/2025/05/s5e3...

S5E3 - 13 Assassins

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John @jmhimara.bsky.social, Jason @filmnohito.bsky.social, and Paul Quinn of hangulcelluloid.com go to Korea, 1978, for the film Once Upon a Time in High School: The Spirit of Jeet Kune Do 말죽거리 잔혹사 (2004), the Yoo Ha high school romance action drama. www.heroic-purgatory.com/2025/04/s5e2...

S5E2 - Once Upon a Time in High School

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Season 5 of #HeroicPurgatory focuses on historical martial arts films and it kicks off with Bruce Lee's Fist of Fury (1972). @jmhimara.bsky.social and @filmnohito.bsky.social discuss the historical and cultural backdrop, action, acting, and more here: www.heroic-purgatory.com/2025/04/s5e1...

S5E1 - Fist of Fury

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In a tribute episode to David Lynch, #HeroicPurgatory's @jmhimara.bsky.social and @filmnohito.bsky.social celebrate the life and works of the filmmaker, musician, and artist, and talk about what he and his works meant to them and wider cinema culture. www.heroic-purgatory.com/2025/02/spec...

Special - Remembering David Lynch

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Hello 2025! But not so fast! In this special, John @jmhimara.bsky.social and Jason @filmnohito.bsky.social talk about their favourite films of 2024 and cover social dramas, dystopian sci-fi, arthouse indies, documentary, body horror, and lots of beavers... www.heroic-purgatory.com/2025/02/spec...

Special - Best of 2024

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Major news for fans of great cinema - it looks likely that classics from Hong Kong's golden age of the 80s and 90s are going to be given lavish new releases in the west. variety.com/2025/film/ne...

John Woo, Chow Yun-fat Classics Among 156-Film Golden Princess Library Acquired by Shout! Studios (EXCLUSIVE)

Shout! Studios acquires 156 Hong Kong action classics from Golden Princess, including John Woo, Chow Yun-Fat hits like 'Hard Boiled' and 'The Killer.'

variety.com

Season 4 of #HeroicPurgatory covered female action heroes. As it ends, @jmhimara.bsky.social and @filmnohito.bsky.social head to Texas for a story about ethnicity, identity, and fraught family history in John Sayles' 1996 neo-noir western Lone Star www.heroic-purgatory.com/2024/12/spec...

Special - Lone Star (1996)

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An utterly fantastic film! Check out the Heroic Purgatory episode covering it! bsky.app/profile/film...

Radiance Films@filmsradiance.bsky.social · 2y ago

UK/US: It’s a Blu-ray world premiere for THE EEL, which won master filmmaker Shohei Imamura (Vengeance is Mine) his second Palme d'Or. A transfixing drama starring Koji Yakusho (Perfect Days), this release features new interviews and booklet with art by @timetomorrow.bsky.social

Season 4 is all about female action heroes and THE INSPECTOR WEARS SKIRTS fits in neatly. This could be part of a double-bill episode but the question is... what to pair it up with...? Maybe @jmhimara.bsky.social might have some ideas... bsky.app/profile/film...

Jason M@filmnohito.bsky.social · 2y ago

The Inspector Wears Skirts starts and ends with stellar action with Hong Kong comedy in the middle. It's about young women training to be female commandos. It's a battle between the sexes as they overcome relationship woes, frisky men, a so-so musical sequence and casual sexism to beat the bad guys