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.
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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Texas Frightmare Weekend 2013 Brings Lunacy To The Lone Star State Once Again
2013 marks the ninth anniversary of the southwest's biggest horror convention, Texas Frightmare Weekend, and while we at Twitch don't typically do a lot of convention coverage apart from San Diego Comic Con, TFW rates as an exception due to...
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Now on Blu-ray: Don Coscarelli Double Feature - PHANTASM II, JOHN DIES AT THE END
Don Coscarelli isn't a name that sends studio heads scrambling for their checkbooks, but if you're a fan of esoteric and bloody horror films, you know the guy's work. Coscarelli's largest contribution to the world of horror cinema in undoubtedly the...
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Review: EK THI DAAYAN Is Better Than It Deserves To Be
It's been a strange few years for Bollywood's kissing bandit, Emraan Hashmi. The actor became prominent in the last decade for his willingness to plant his lips on anything that moved on screen, an action still not entirely common in Hindi...
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Dallas IFF 2013 Review: SANITARIUM Is So Bad It Doesn't Deserve A Clever Headline
We're told over and over again as children that if we can't say something nice, that we shouldn't say anything at all. Thankfully the realm of film criticism is immune from this rule. If I were forced to review Sanitarium...
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Calvin Lee Reeder's THE RAMBLER Rambles Into Theater June 7th, Onto Blu-ray/DVD June 28th
Never thought I'd see the day when a Calvin Lee Reeder film would end up on Blu-ray, but here we are. On June 25, Anchor Bay will release Reeder's Sundance and SXSW audience-dividing nightmare, The Rambler, on Blu-ray and DVD. I...
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IFFLA 2013 Review: SHIP OF THESEUS [De]Constructs Identity Biologically
The ship of Theseus, also known as Theseus' paradox, is a paradox that raises the question of whether an object which has had all its component parts replaced remains fundamentally the same object. The paradox is most notably recorded by...
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Now On Blu-ray: Violence! DRAGON, THIS MUST BE THE PLACE, KILLING THEM SOFTLY
Violence comes in many flavors, and over the last several weeks, some really solidly violent films have come to Blu-ray in the US. Here we take a quick look at these releases and whether or not they are worth your...
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Watch Allu Arjun Stab The Crap Out Of Some Ninjas In IDHARAMMAYILATHO
Our latest AMAZING Tollywood trailer comes to Twitch courtesy of the hardest working director in Andhra Pradesh, Puri Jagganadh. This time around, Jagganadh has taken on the challenge of turning pretty boy Allu Arjun into a cold blooded killing machine,...
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Fernando DiLeo's SHOOT FIRST, DIE LATER Premieres On Blu-ray/DVD From Raro Video USA May 28th
Raro Video USA has been amassing a virile and potent collection of Italian genre classics on US home video since their release of Federico Fellini's The Clowns back in 2011. In the two years since they've also dedicated themselves to...
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IFFLA 2013 Preview: India In The Spotlight Again!
The Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles is nearly upon us with an April 9th opening looming, so we thought we'd give you a little preview of the awesome films coming to the City of Angels. Unfortunately, I won't be...
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Review: BAADSHAH - Formula, Familiarity, And Fan Service In Telugu Cinema
Something happened around the twenty minute mark of Sreenu Vaitla's new Telugu masala entertainer, Baadshah, that I wasn't entirely expecting. I had been watching intently, attempting to decipher the text without subtitles, hoping to get a firm grasp on the...
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Bollywood Superhero KRRISH Headed For The Small Screen In New Animated Films Due This Summer
Cartoon Network India announced overnight that it is partnering with Rakesh Roshan to create a new series of animated features starring one of Bollywood's most recognizable homegrown superheros, Krrish. The character originates from a pair of films from the early...
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Coming Soon On Home Video: Well Go USA Delivers THE FOUR. Check Out Our Exclusive Trailer!
Coming to Blu-ray/DVD from Well Go USA on April 9th is Gordon Chan's fantasy action film, The Four. We've covered the film a bit, but haven't managed to give it a full review yet. I hope to remedy that in...
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Win A Pair Of Tickets To TAI CHI HERO At Dallas IFF From Twitch & Well Go USA!
Twitch and Well Go USA would like to invite you to enter a drawing for one of five pairs of tickets to the North American premiere of Stephen Fung's steampunk kung fu epic, Tai Chi Hero, at the Dallas International...
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That Was Quick: Bollywood's GHANCHAKKAR Answers TRANCE In Record Time!
I'm only half joking here. It would be quite a logistical feat if Bollywood had managed to adapt Danny Boyle's upcoming amnesia thriller before it even hits theaters, but the similarities between that film and Rajkumar Gupta's upcoming Ghanchakkar are...
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Sandalwood's Action Lady Malashri Is Back In VEERA!
English language cinema doesn't have female action heroes like Malashri.Looking outward from a culture obsessed with thin women, it's very refreshing to see a star like Sandalwood's Action Lady Malashri kicking ass and taking names, all while looking kind of...
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Simians, Sumos, & Sikhs! YAMLA PAGLA DEEWANA 2 Has It All!
This trailer is fucking bonkers.Back in 2010, the Deol family had a bit of success with their crazy masala comedy Yamla Pagla Deewana. Dad Dharmendra and his sons Bobby and Sunny Deol played a family of con artists trying to...
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