Hello Summer!! 🌞
Glad the summer season is here, and it’s getting quite hot here in Minnesota. I came back from Japan on Memorial Day weekend, and it’s already sweltering hot there even in mid-May. My hubby and I went to Tokyo and Kyoto, and we absolutely loved our Japan trip, perhaps one of the most memorable vacations we’ve ever had. We spent the majority of our time in Kyoto, and it was amazing. Let’s connect on Instagram, and you can see some of the pics from my Japan holiday.
The cuisine alone was undoubtedly the best out of all our overseas trips from the past decade; even the food from their ubiquitous 7-Eleven in Japan is amazing. As many Japanese travelers have said, the convenience store is truly a culinary and cultural phenomenon. I’m obsessed with their egg salad sandwich!
One of the highlights in Kyoto was stumbling upon a Studio Ghibli store tucked behind a souvenir shop! I love this huge Totoro plushie that I wish I could take home with me, ha!
I didn’t get a chance to visit some of the iconic Tokyo locations in movies, i.e., the bar at the Park Hyatt Tokyo in Lost in Translation. But we were able to visit two of the public toilets featured in Perfect Days! Only in Japan are public toilets worthy tourist attractions! The transparent one at Yoyogi Fukamachi Mini Park is really cool. The walls are transparent when the toilet is empty, but the glass becomes opaque when locked. We definitely want to go back to Japan one day!
MAY VIEWINGS ON LETTERBOXD
I didn’t get to see too many films in May because of my Japan trip, though I was able to watch quite a few movies on the plane. In fact, I got to see five in-flight movies on the way to Tokyo, which was a record! I saw The Dinner (La Cena), a Spanish dark comedy; a French period/modern drama Colours of Time, and three rewatches: The Devil Wears Prada, Notting Hill, and Beauty & the Beast.
(What I watched in May in the order of my rating)
FULL REVIEWS
I also made a list of 10 Memorable Japanese Films to commemorate my Japan Trip
REVIEWS COMING SOON:
Power Ballad, Tuner, Masters of the Universe, Toy Story 5
TV WATCHES
SPIDER NOIR (Prime Video)
Glad that this series was released on Prime Video when we’re back from Japan. I love the noir style of this superhero detective series, where Nicolas Cage had the time of his life combining his two passions—classic cinema and comics. Cage is fun to watch as Ben Reilly, a seasoned private investigator who’s down on his luck in 1930s New York.
This groundbreaking Marvel series is the first TV show that lets viewers choose to watch episodes in either “true hue color” or “authentic black & white.” I went with the black and white version, of course, since the show draws a lot from classic noir films, and Cage even based his performance on Humphrey Bogart’s. He’s not as unhinged as we expect Cage to be, but Rilley sure is the most eccentric Spider-Man I’ve ever seen on screen.
Brendan Gleeson is great as an Irish crime boss, though his thick accent is a bit tough to discern at times. Shout out to a pair of actors I’ve never seen before who are memorable as two prominent characters in the series: Li Jun Li as femme fatale lounge singer Cat Hardy and Lamorne Morris as a determined reporter Robbie Robertson who wants to work for the Daily Bugle.
I’m really into the 30s vibe and the gritty detective tales packed with twists, creatures, and fascinating backstories. The cinematography is definitely the standout feature, mainly shot by Darran Tiernan (who also did amazing work for The Penguin). The camera work in every episode is absolutely breathtaking, especially in black and white. The production design, costumes, and everything else are just fantastic; I really hope this show gets a bunch of Emmy nominations! I’ve still got three episodes to go, but I’m really enjoying it so far, and I hope there’ll be more seasons of Spider-Noir.
52 Films By Women – 2026 Challenge
I am once again participating in this challenge. Per Women In Film (WIF) organization, the basic rules are simple: watch 52 films directed by women within one year and share what you watched on social media, using the hashtag #52FilmsByWomen to spread the word and get more people talking about the women filmmakers that don’t always get attention.
I managed to watch 4 new movies #directedbywomen this month, one of them is a documentary. So that brings the tally so far to 28 out of 52, so only 24 more to go until I hit my goal!!
Anyhoo, I ranked the movies on Letterboxd; you can follow my #52FilmsByWomen list as I will be updating it regularly. I have no doubt I’ll be able to at least meet the 2025 tally of 62.
MAY MOVIE(S) OF THE MONTH
Two of my favorite films this month couldn’t be more different from each other, but both turned out to be such a pleasant surprise! I adore The Sheep Detectives. I actually can’t wait to rewatch it when it arrives on streaming.
As for Tuner, it’s a unique original story that combines heist thriller and music-themed drama from Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker Daniel Roher, featuring a fantastic performance from Leo Woodall. It’s in theaters today, and I highly recommend it. Stay tuned for my review later this week!
FLIXCHATTER FILM BLOG 
Other than a Mother’s Day short film Pixar and a Charlotte Wells-directed conversation between Paul McCartney and Paul Mescal. Not much except a few re-watches while I’m nearly half-done with my review of The Last Emperor which I had not seen in years.