J Hurtado
Contributing Writer;
Dallas, Texas
J Hurtado is Twitch's connection to the world of Indian cinema. Located in the South Asian diasporan capital of Dallas, Texas, J is able to keep tabs on Bolly, Kolly, Tolly, Molly, Sandal, and Lollywood for your reading pleasure. In addition to being among the only mainstream writers focusing on South Asian cinema, he is an avid supporter of independent and cult home video.
Review: GO GOA GONE Goes Great Guns, Gets Gasps And Giggles
Color me genuinely shocked. I went to to Bollywood's first zombie comedy with very low expectations and came out completely enthused about the finished product. Directorial team Raj & DK took a lot of very broad references and influences and...
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Buster Keaton on Blu-ray: COLLEGE Review
This is kind of a sad piece to write. For the last two years, I've been following Kino as they released their collection of Buster Keaton classics on Blu-ray, and College marks the end of these wonderful discs. In December 2012,...
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Exclusive Clip From Creeptastic Horror Flick GUT, Out On DVD May 28
Elias Ganster's super tense and creepy indie horror film, Gut, comes to DVD on May 28. To help you prepare for the intense unease you're destined to feel, we've been given an exclusive clip of the film. Here's a synopsis:Something...
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Now on Blu-ray: Rock N Roll With REPO MAN (MoC UK) and HARD CORE LOGO 1 & 2
Another delayed review makes for a great triple feature here at Twitch! Two of my favorite punk rock movies made the jump to high definition in late 2012: Alex Cox's masterpiece, Repo Man, and Bruce McDonald's breakthrough road movie, Hard Core...
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Now on Blu-ray: Stuart Gordon's FROM BEYOND Scream Factory US & Second Sight UK
Stuart Gordon's From Beyond has always been the stepchild when it came to his Lovecraft adaptations. The iconic gore fest Re-Animator is the elephant in the room, there's no two ways about that. While Re-Animator has gained an immense cult...
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NYIFF 2013 Review: FILMISTAAN Illustrates South Asia's Filmi Fanaticism Beautifully
I've made allusions to the absolute mania that follows Bollywood stars around the globe, but it's hard to truly express what that is like to someone who is completely unfamiliar with this singular phenomenon. In India and South Asia in...
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The World Is Less Fantastic Today. RAY HARRYHAUSEN 1920-2013
When I was a child my parents fought a lot. Screaming and yelling was pretty normal. The only place I found solace, even in those young years, was in movies on TV. I may have only been two years old...
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NYIFF 2013 Review: OONGA Is A Little Boy's Dream Made Real
No matter where you come from, children are all the same. Mischief is their main motivator, and it is everything for them to feel a part of something. When a young boy, Oonga, in a remote rural village discovers that...
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NYIFF 2013 Review: AATMA Gives Even Its Villains A Little Bit Of Soul
Suparn Verma's latest film, Aatma, is one that's been on my radar for quite some time. I was more than a little bit disappointed when it didn't open stateside as expected, but I'm happy to see it get its moment...
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Review: SHOOTOUT AT WADALA Is All Slo-Mo Aviators, Mustaches, And Blood.
It may have happened around the time of the second item number, I'm not quite sure. We'd just come back from the intermission when, seemingly out of nowhere, Priyanka Chopra appeared in an LED-lit bodysuit shaking her tail feathers like...
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Now on Blu-ray: THALE Delivers Nordic Chills In HD
Norwegian mythical thriller Thale was recently released on Blu-ray and we're now finally able to see what all the hubbub was about. There was a lot of noise in horror circles about Thale presenting a new kind of mythology as...
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Kustom Kulture Doc FLAKE & FLAMES Now Available On DVD!
Dirk Behlau & Jesper Bram's Kustom Kulture doc Flake & Flames is finally on DVD and available with some really cool swag! This is a film I've been following with some interest as I spent a lot of my youth...
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Review: KISS OF THE DAMNED Recreates Euro-Horror On A Grand Scale
There are few sub-genres of film quite as specific and instantly recognizable as '70s Euro-horror. Filmmakers like Jean Rollin, Jess Franco, Jose Ramon Larraz and a few others left an indelible mark on the international horror market. Their creations were...
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Full Trailer For Dhanush & Bharatbala's MARIYAAN Is Impressive
You may not know who Dhanush is, but you should. At the tender young age of 29, Dhanush K. Raja has already made a name for himself as one of the most talented actors in India, specifically in the Tamil...
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H.G. Lewis Needs Help To Make ZOMBIFICADOR A Reality
Herschell Gordon Lewis is one of the most polarizing figures in horror for a number of reasons.He, along with producer David Friedman, introduced the idea of the gore film to the drive-in masses and changed the face of modern horror....
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Now on DVD: MANBORG Brings Retro-Future Sci-Fi Into Your Home!
I believe my Manborg review from Fantastic Fest 2011 was the first one published online, and I'm republishing here with notes on Dark Sky's DVD release out today.Do you remember when Mortal Kombat first hit arcades? I do. We were...
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Dallas IFF 2013 Review: A COMPANY MAN Is A Bittersweet Life In A Wanted World
You know what, I'm not even sure that I still get excited about the appearance of new Korean revenge thrillers anymore. It seems as though that's all that anyone is interested in now. Sure, very few national cinemas have managed...
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Fresh Poster For Unforgettable Festival Favorite A BAND CALLED DEATH Tells The Truth
This year's SXSW had an amazing wealth of fantastic documentaries, three of which (Unhung Hero, I Am Divine, and Rewind This!) I reviewed back in March. One that I didn't review but managed to catch on my last day in...
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NYIFF 2013 Preview: Bringing South Asia To NYC For The 13th Year
Just as the door closes on the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles, the 13th annual New York Indian Film Festival is nearly upon us (both closely followed by the London Indian Film Festival in a few weeks time). This...
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Review: AN OVERSIMPLIFICATION OF HER BEAUTY Connects On A Visceral, Emotional Level
Terence Nance's An Oversimplification of Her Beauty teeters precariously on the border between unbearably pretentious and brazenly original. With a film as potentially divisive as this one, I often fall on the side of condemnation, branding pretentious films as full...
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