Song Sung Blue (2025) ☆☆1/2(2.5/4): The story of a singing couple

Posted on February 10, 2026 by kaist455

Craig Brewer’s latest film “Song Sung Blue” is a bit too conventional to my little disappointment. Probably because I am already familiar with its dramatic real-life story, the movie often felt to me like being no more than a merely dramatized version, and that is a shame considering the good efforts shown from its two engaging lead performers. 

The movie is based on the 2008 documentary of the same name by Greg Kohs, which incidentally won the Jury and Audience Awards for Best Documentary at the Sundance Film Festival but has somehow been forgotten since that. I had a fortunate opportunity to watch this little but special documentary at the 2010 Ebertfest, and I still remember how much I and many audiences enjoyed it and then were entertained by the following Q&A and the singing from Claire Sardina, who is the main human subject of the documentary with her late husband Mike (She is still alive at present, by the way).

The story begins with how these two singers happened to come across each other in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 1987. At that time, Mike (Hugh Jackman) worked as a Don Ho impersonator, but he was not so happy about his current impersonation job, and then he met Claire (Kate Hudson), who was doing a Patsy Cline impersonation at that time. Despite their first brief encounter, they quickly become close to each other, and then Claire suggested that he should try on Neil Diamond, mainly because many of Diamond’s songs mean a lot to him.

While initially being reluctant because he has respected Diamond a lot, Mike gradually comes to see the potential of success, and he and Claire soon find themselves clicking with each other a lot more than expected. While he nicknames himself “Thunder”, Claire becomes “Lightning”, and we subsequently see how they and several colleagues of his including Mark Shurilla (Michael Imperioli) prepare together inside the stuffy garage of Mike’s house.

Needless to say, their first attempt to present themselves in public is a disaster to say the least, but Mike and Claire are not daunted at all. After some more advice from her, Mike agrees to make a bit of compromise for making their performance a little more accessible, and then, what do you know, they become more and more popular as days go by.

Meanwhile, we get some glimpse into their rather complicated private life. Both Claire and Mike married once, and it takes some time for Claire’s two kids to get accustomed to a man who will be their new daddy. When Claire’s daughter later meets Mike’s daughter, they naturally feel rather awkward, but then there comes an amusing moment as they find that there are a lot of common things between them as two girls who had to grow up faster due to the human flaws of their respective parents.

Thanks to their growing popularity in Milwaukee, Mike and Claire are asked to do the opening for Eddie Vedder and his rock band Pearl Jam, they certainly feel like being at the top of the world, but then, of course, there comes an unexpected accident not long after they did that opening. Shocked and devastated by her consequent injury and disability, Claire tumbles into the downward spiral of depression and drug addiction, and Mike tries to support her as much as possible along with their kids, while hiding his worsening heart problem behind his back.

Around this narrative point, you can easily see where Brewer’s screenplay is heading, and it will probably not surprise you that much. Yes, there come several dark personal moments as Mike, Claire, and their kids struggle more and more due to Claire’s medical problem. Yes, there eventually comes the point where Claire manages to pull up herself and then comes to have a surprising moment of catharsis and healing via a truly incredulous happening (Believe or not, this really occurred in real life). Yes, she and Mike subsequently get back in business and then there comes another high point for their career as expected.

We are supposed to be moved more along the story, but, alas, the movie does not go further than all these and other conventional moments in the story. In addition, the movie also feels rather superficial in case of its several supporting characters around Mike and Claire, and it under-utilizes a number of notable performers Michael Imperioli, Fisher Stevens, and Jim Belushi.

Nevertheless, its two lead performers are fairly engaging as carrying the film together to the end. While Hugh Jackman, who has been one of the best musical actors of our time, is certainly dependable during those well-executed musical performance scenes in the film, Kate Hudson, who finally has a role as juicy as her Oscar-nominated role in Cameron Crowe’s “Almost Famous” (2000), ably complements her co-star besides having her own moments to shine, and she was recently Oscar-nominated for that.

On the whole, “Sing Sung Blue” is less satisfying compared to Brewer’s previous works such as “Hustle & Flow” (2005) and “Dolemite Is My Name” (2019), and I must confess that my mind kept going to a number of genuine human moments in Kohs’ documentary – including that intensely painful scene between Claire and her son. In this very typical musician biographical film, there is nothing as raw and honest as that unforgettably emotional moment, and maybe you should look for that documentary instead.

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The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4): The end of an ambitious trilogy

Posted on February 9, 2026 by kaist455

Peter Jackson’s 2003 film “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King”, which was re-released in selected South Korean theaters a few weeks ago, did almost everything it was expected to do as the end of its ambitious trilogy. Besides being the aptly grand finale to follow its two predecessors, the movie provides more awe, wonder, and spectacle to engage us for more than 3 hours, and we gladly forgive its rather overlong ending.

At the beginning, the movie follows the ongoing journey of its two hobbit heroes, Frodo Baggins (Elijah Woood) and his loyal companion Samwise Gamgee (Sean Astin). As shown at the end of “The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers” (2002), Gollum (Andy Serkis), a wretched creature who once owned that powerful magic ring currently possessed by Frodo, seems quite willing to help Frodo and Samwise’s increasingly perilous journey toward the destruction of that ring, but, not so surprisingly, he soon begins to show his treacherous sides again, and that certainly makes Samwise more watchful than before.

However, Frodo gradually becomes more fragile and unstable as being more burdened by the growing power of that ring, which he must destroy for saving his world. Despite Samwise’s constant support and devotion, he comes to listen more to Gollum instead, and he eventually makes an unwise choice of distancing himself from his ever-dependable companion.

While these three main characters get closer to the realm of darkness dominated by the mighty evil force looking for the ring to regain his absolute power, the movie expectedly throws a lot of gloomy horror and despair onto the screen. There is a striking scene where the massive army of darkness is unleashed under the leadership of a truly terrifying evil entity, and then we later get an intensely creepy scene involved with a big and gruesome creature as nasty as Gollum.

Meanwhile, the movie also pays attention to what several other members of the Fellowship of the Ring try to do for helping Frodo and Samwise’s journey. Although the big victory achieved by them and their valiant allies threw a major blow to their opponent, their opponent is now preparing for the ultimate battle to determine the fate of their world, and Gandalf the White (Ian McKellen) and Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen), who becomes more prepared for his eventual destiny of becoming the new king to open the new era of their world, are all the more determined to try hard for distracting their opponent as long as possible.

What follows next is a series of spectacular moments worthwhile to watch from big movie theater screen. When Gandalf the White and his hobbit companion Peregrin Took (Billy Boyd) arrive at a big old city which will soon be the inevitable battleground between good and evil, the camera of cinematographer Andrew Lesnie, who won an Oscar for “The Lord of the Rings: the Fellowship of the Ring” (2001), gives us several breathtaking shots to behold for small and big details in this big old city, and we get more accustomed to this new background before the battle eventually begins.

During this battle sequence, the movie does not disappoint us at all. While a lot of things happen here and there amid frequent crashes and bangs, we seldom get confused thanks to Jackson’s skillful direction, and the movie also often takes some time for developing its story and characters more. While Ian McKellen and Viggo Mortensen have several showy moments as expected, Billy Boyd and Dominic Monaghan ably balance their Hobbit characters between humor and drama, and John Rhys-Davies, Orlando Bloom, Bernard Hill, Miranda Otto, John Noble and David Wenham also have each own moment as the other crucial parts of the story.

In the end, everything in the story culminates to the eventual end of Frodo and Samwise’s journey, and that is where the movie shows more heart and soul than before. As Elijah Wood and Sean Astin diligently carry this big expected part together, Andy Serkis often steals the show again as before, and there is a brief moment of ironic poignancy when his loathsome but ultimately pitiful character is finally liberated from his longtime obsession with that ring.

I must point out again that the ending of the film still feels like sort of overkill, but I guess Jackson can indulge himself a bit during its last 20 minutes, considering what he and his cast and crew gloriously and passionately achieved in the trilogy. After deservedly winning three Oscars for this film (It won no less than 11 Oscars including the ones for Best Picture and Best Director, by the way), he has never reached to this level of achievement during last 23 years except “King Kong” (2005), and he only came to disappoint us with that unnecessarily bloated Hobbit trilogy in the 2010s, though I wholeheartedly forgave him later for his critically acclaimed documentary film “They Shall Not Grow Old” (2018).

In conclusion, “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” remains quite engaging and thrilling just like its two predecessors. Although they all look a little dated in terms of technical aspects at present, they deserve to occupy their own place in the cinema history right next to many other memorable epic films such as “Ben-Hur” (1959) or “Titanic” (1997), and I am glad to report to you that they still work as well as before.

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Mr. Nobody Against Putin (2025) ☆☆☆(3/4): A little but defiant personal chronicle from Karabash, Russia

Posted on February 8, 2026 by kaist455

Documentary film “Mr. Nobody Against Putin”, which won the Special Jury Award when it was shown at the Sundance Film Festival early in last year and then received an Oscar nomination a few weeks ago (It was also the Danish submission to Best International Film Oscar, by the way), presents a little but defiant personal chronicle from a small Russian town. Mainly via the viewpoint of one plain local schoolteacher, the documentary observes how things became absurd and alarming around him and many others due to the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian War, and we are alternatively amused and disturbed by many of its darkly absurd moments.

That local schoolteacher in question is Pavel Talankin, and the early part of the documentary gives some background information on his hometown. While it is a rather remote town located in the middle of the Ural Mountains region of Russia, Karabash has actually been one of the most important industrial cities in Russia for many years, and, as shown from a series of YouTube clips, it has also been quite notorious due to its considerably polluted environment.

Nevertheless, life has kept going in Karabash as reflected by what Talankin recorded with his digital camera at a local primary school for many years. Besides teaching his students, he also worked as the videographer and events coordinator of the school, and he was pretty popular around many of his students and former pupils, who gladly dropped by his little office from time to time.

However, Talankin’s good time at the school was gradually disrupted after the Russian government and its president Vladmir Putin decided to invade Ukraine in early 2022. At first, the Putin administration simply tried to control public perception, but this eventually became all the more insidious and oppressive. As the war was continued much longer than expected, Talankin and his teachers and students were ordered to show more support and compliance by the federal government, and they had no choice but to follow whatever was demanded to them from the power that be.

Because he often recorded a lot of stuffs here and there in the school, Talankin did not have much trouble in recording how things changed among the teachers and their students bit by bit. At first, he and other teachers were instructed to emphasize more patriotism onto their students, and we see how frequently the students in the school were exposed to government propaganda day by day. In addition, they also often had to participate in numerous extracurricular activities for more patriotism and compliance, and nobody in the school administration dared to defy against this – even when it seriously affected the average grades of their students.

After getting more disgusted and frustrated with what was happening around him, Talankin decided to resign, but then there came an unexpected little news for him. He previously tried to contact anyone who might be interested in what he had been documenting from his school and its teachers and students, and that is how he got in contact with American documentary filmmaker David Borenstein, who served as the co-director of the documentary. Talankin subsequently withdrew his resignation, and he became much more motivated than before, even though he had to be a lot more careful due to this secret private project of his.

Needless to say, things only became all the more absurd and disturbing for him and many others in the town during next several months. While there were some anti-war demonstrations in big cities like Moscow, showing any opposition against the Putin demonstration in a small town like Karabash was pretty dangerous to say the least, and Talankin came to notice more of how many people in the school were far less willing to talk in front of his camera than before.

And we also observe how the school became more militarized in one way or another. Getting more brainwashed with the government propaganda as well as doing some elementary military trainings, its students became more like little soldiers ready to go to the war sooner or later, and we are quite chilled as observing many of them wearing military uniforms at one point later in the documentary.

Naturally becoming more exasperated and daunted, Talankin occasionally showed a bit of defiance, but he knew that he could not change anything at all while only making his circumstance riskier than before. After he noticed that he might have been watched by the local police, he became all the more cautious than before, and then there eventually came the point where he must escape as soon as possible.

As mostly sticking to Talankin’s personal viewpoint from the beginning to the end, the documentary is limited by its rather narrow perspective at times, but we come to sense that he really cares a lot about his town and many people living there including his librarian mother. There is a genuine sense of affection when he and his several former pupils hold a little party for one of these former students who got recently drafted for the war, and there is also a very limited but undeniably devastating moment from what Talankin secretly recorded from the funeral of one of his close friends who was also sent to the war. Even right before he escaped from his country, he tried his best for his dear students and teachers attending the graduation ceremony, and this poignant moment will make you hope that he may be able to return to Karabash someday.

Overall, “Mr. Nobody Against Putin” is another interesting documentary associated with the Russo-Ukrainian War. Yes, as Talankin phlegmatically points out, what has been happening in his hometown as well as the whole country is certainly incomparable to what Ukraine and its people have suffered everyday, but the documentary vividly illuminates another dark and disturbing side of that ongoing war, and that makes it worthwhile to watch in my humble opinion.

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The King’s Warden (2026) ☆☆(2/4): A king comes to his village…

Posted on February 7, 2026 by kaist455

South Korean film “The King’s Warden” often tries too hard for laughs and then tears, and I do not like that much. Based on the real-life relationship between one plain common man and a tragically deposed king of the Joseon Dynasty in the 15th century, the movie attempts to try both broad comedy and sappy melodrama, but, alas, the result is too jarring and blatant for my inconsequential taste.

The movie opens with how King Danjong (Park Ji-hoon) got stripped of his title and then exiled to a remote mountain region far from the capital in 1457. Not long after he succeeded his father in 1452 at the age of 10, King Danjong was forced to abdicate by one of his uncles who led a coup d’état against him, and his ruthless uncle, who would be King Sejo, eventually decided to banish his helpless nephew when a number of court officials attempted to restore the deposed king to power.

And then the movie shifts its focus to Eom Heung-do (Yoo Hae-jin), the chieftain of a small village located in the aforementioned remote mountain region. After he comes to learn that a nearby village got some economical boost thanks to an exiled nobleman who happened to stay there for a while, Heung-do does not hesitate at all when he hears about some exiled noblemen being sent from the capital, and he surely tries his best for making that exiled nobleman in question sent to his village.

Of course, that exiled nobleman in question turns out to be King Dangjong, and it does not take much for Heung-do to realize that he and his fellow villagers are stuck in a very serious situation. While he and his villagers must treat the deposed king as well as possible, Heung-do must be watchful about whatever may happen around the deposed king, because, well, there can be any other attempt to put him back on the throne.

However, of course, this task of his turns out to be a bit more difficult than expected. Quite devastated and depressed by his miserable current status, the deposed king does not eat much, and he even considers killing himself at one point despite his devoted court lady who has always stood by himself since he was very young.

Nevertheless, the deposed king gradually opens himself more to Heung-do and his fellow villagers once he sees how much they depend on his welfare at present. He begins to enjoy the daily meals provided by them, and he also gladly lets Heung-do and the villagers have a bunch of offerings he receives from numerous people still sympathetic to him. In addition, he teaches Heung-do’s son how to read and write, and Heung-do’s son becomes a bit more motivated about his possible future while also teaching several village kids for himself.

Because I and many other South Korean audiences have enough background knowledge on the historical subject of the movie, I guess you should also know in advance that the story becomes more serious and tragic during its second half. King Sejo and his powerful supporters keep watching on whatever is happening around King Danjong, and there subsequently comes an inevitable moment it is decided that the deposed king should be eliminated as soon as possible for solidifying their power.

Around that point, the screenplay by director Jang Hang-jun and his co-writer Hwang Seong-gu becomes quite heavy-handed to say the least. For example, a subplot involved with another attempt to restore King Danjong to power is unnecessary and distracting in my humble opinion, and Heung-do’s growing conflict along the story feels glaringly contrived as the story hurriedly pushes its main characters toward its pre-determined finale.

Above all, I was frequently annoyed with how uneven the movie is as clumsily going back and forth between comedy and melodrama. While many of its comic moments are often too silly for generating real laughs, most of its main characters are more or less than broad caricatures, and that is the main reason why the melodramatic parts of the story are superficial without enough gravitas. Furthermore, the movie becomes all the more blatant as trying to pull our heartstrings and extract more tears from us during its finale, and I must confess that I rolled my eyes again as watching this moment.

In case of the main cast members, they try to sell the materials as much as possible. Yoo Hae-jin is surely one of the most dependable character actors in South Korean cinema, but the movie unfortunately pushes him into Overacting 101 more than once, and he is not complemented that well by his co-star Park Ji-hoon, who does not have much to do except looking regal or forlorn throughout the film. In case of several notable cast members in the film, Yoo Ji-tae and Ahn Jae-hong are totally wasted due to their respective thankless supporting roles, and I was also distracted by the appearance of Oh Dal-soo, who recently seems to make an impertinent comeback via several recent films including Park Chan-wook’s “No Other Choice” (2025) despite being accused of sexual harassment several years ago.

In conclusion, “The King’s Warden” is disappointing for failing to generate real humor or pathos from its potentially interesting story and characters. Considering that it is released here not long before the upcoming Chinese New Year holiday season, it will probably draw a substantial number of audiences, but I sincerely recommend you to check on your streaming services instead of watching it at movie theater.

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Eternity (2025) ☆☆☆(3/4): A choice for eternity

Posted on February 5, 2026 by kaist455

“Eternity” is alternatively amusing and touching as a human comedy about afterlife, eternity, and love. While surely reminiscent of several other movies ranging from Albert Brooks’ “Defending Your Life” (1991) to Hirokazu Kore-eda’s “After Life” (1998), the movie distinguishes itself to considerable degree via the smart and thoughtful handling of the very complicated afterlife situation among its three main characters, and their respective human choices around the end of the story will leave you something to reflect on later.

At the beginning, we are introduced to an old couple going to a little family meeting of theirs. As the husband drives their car, he and his wife bicker a lot with each other, but we sense how much they have been accustomed to each other for many years, especially when the wife requests her husband not to tell anything about her current medical condition to their children and grandchildren waiting for them,

However, ironically, the husband dies first at a very unexpected point, and then he finds himself on a train going to a sort of middle point between life and eternity. To his surprise, Larry (Miles Teller) now becomes as young as the happiest time in his life, and he also meets his Afterlife Coordinator (AC) Anna (Da’Vine Joy Randolph), who is ready to guide him on his current situation. While temporarily staying in a huge place which looks like a mix between hotel, train station, convention building, he must choose a world where he will live for eternity, but, to his confusion and frustration, there are too many various options out there, as reflected by a big hall full of promotional booths respectively representing these numerous options.

Because the ultimate consequence of not making a choice is pretty dire to say the least, Larry must be really serious about what he really wants for eternity, but, just like many of us, he does not have any exact idea on his real wish and desire except missing his wife more than before. At least, he gets some consolation and support from a bartender named Luke (Callum Turner), who has remained there for more than 65 years just because he hopes to reunite with the woman he married not long before his untimely death.

Anyway, when Larry makes a decision and then is about to enter the realm of eternity, there comes another surprise for him. He instantly recognizes his wife even though she looks much younger now just like him, and Joan (Elizabeth Olsen) is certainly happy to reunite with him, but, alas, it turns out that she is also the one Luke has been waiting for. As briefly shown to us around the beginning of the movie, she married and then lost Luke shortly before meeting and marrying Larry, and, despite her long and enduring relationship with Larry, she still loves Luke even though many years passed since his unfortunate death.

Now this is surely a familiar case of romantic triangle, but the screenplay by director David Freyene and his co-writer Pat Cunnane steadily maintains a delicate balance among its three main characters. Larry and Luke sincerely try to win Joan’s heart in the end, and Anna and her close colleague Ryan (John Early), who is incidentally an AC assigned to Joan, generously provide Luke and Larry a chance to persuade Joan more. They are going to show Joan each own chosen eternity, and then Joan should make a choice between these different two options.

Because both Luke and Larry have each own pros and cons, we can clearly discern why Joan feels so conflicted between these two men in her life. In fact, we are not so surprised when there comes what can be regarded as the possible third option later in the story. Maybe this is a more sensible (and practical) one than the two other ones, but she only becomes all the more conflicted than before.

While you may have a pretty good idea on what will happen in the end, the movie keeps us engaged as deftly swinging back and forth between drama and comedy. Just like Joan, Larry and Luke are really sincere about their respective feelings, and there is some poignancy in how they and Joan come to learn more about love and acceptance along the story. The gravitas of their complicated situation is complemented well by a number of small but witty comic moments to notice, and I was particularly amused by the silly promotions on those various kinds of eternity.

The movie surely depends a lot on the good comic chemistry between its three main performers. While Elizabeth Olsen ably holds the middle ground, Mile Teller and Callum Turner smoothly go up and down along the narrative as demanded, and they are all convincing as flawed but complex human figures we can care more about. Around these three main performers, John Early, Olga Merediz, and Da’Vine Joy Randolph have each own little comic moment to be savored, and Randolph, who has been more prominent thanks to her recent Oscar-winning supporting turn in “The Holdovers” (2023), certainly steals the show whenever she appears on the screen.

In conclusion, “Eternity” does earn its laughs and tears in the end, and it made me muse more on life and whatever may exist beyond that. To be frank with you, I usually find eternity rather dreadful while also not believing that much in afterlife, but the eternity presented in this funny film does not seem that bad, and I will probably be really serious if there is an option of living forever in my several special days at the 2010 Ebertfest.

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Us and Them (2018) ☆☆☆(3/4): Now and Then

Posted on February 5, 2026 by kaist455

Taiwanese filmmaker Rene Liu’s 2018 film “Us and Them”, which is currently available on Netflix, is a bittersweet romance drama between two different people looking back on their flawed but precious love in the past. At first, their past seems to remain as a distant memory with some bitterness, but then it is apparent that they still love and care about each other despite that, even though their paths are diverging again as before.

The story begins with your average Meet Cute moment between its two youthful lead characters, Lin Jianqing (Jing Boran) and Fang Xiaoxiao (Zhou Dongyu). It is the eve of Chinese New Year’s Day in Beijing, and they and many other people get on a train to their hometown. When Xiaoxiao happens to lose her train ticket, Jianqing helps her a bit to her relief, and she soon comes to join him and his several friends as the train is going to their hometown.

Although her parents do not live in their hometown anymore, Xiaoxiao simply goes there for an old time’s sake, and Jianqing gladly invites her to a dinner party at his father’s little local restaurant. Although they still feel a bit awkward to each other as total strangers, they become more friendly to each other as enjoying the party along with others including Jiangqing’s father, and they continue to stay in touch with each other even after they eventually go back to Beijing.

And we see how much they struggle for earning their meager living in the city day by day. Jianqing has aspired to become a successful video game developer someday, but his dream remains out of his reach as he remains stuck in a menial job along with his several colleagues. In case of Xiaoxiao, she simply hopes for having a good life with someone she can love, but, alas, she is not so wise in her choices of men, and she often comes to lean more on Jianqing.

Of course, Xiaoxiao and Jianqing still simply regard each other as merely close friends, but then the situation is changed a bit later when Xiaoxiao moves into Jianqing’s shabby little apartment. Although it looks a bit too small and stuffy for them, they get more accustomed to each other as days go by, and, what do you know, there eventually comes the point where they cannot ignore their growing romantic feelings anymore.

However, we already know from the beginning that their romantic relationship does not last that long. The movie occasionally moves forward to around 10 years later, and this part, which is incidentally shot in black and white, revolves around an accidental encounter between Jianqing and Xiaoxiao, who happen to be on the same airplane on the eve of Chinese New Year’s Day. When the flight is later canceled due to heavy snow, they stay at a nearby hotel, and they certainly have a lot of things to talk with each other.

The mood certainly becomes a bit romantic as they talk more and more with each other, but both Xiaoxiao and Jianqing are also reminded of how they became distant to each other in the end. During their first several years, they happily supported each other as sticking to each other, but then they often clashed with each other a lot due to their personality differences. They still pretended to be all right with each other in front of Jianqing’s father whenever they came to their hometown for the Chinese New Year’s Day, and Jianqing’s father came to have more expectation on his son’s possible marriage in the future.

And they also see how much they have been changed since their breakup. Both of Jianqing and Xiaoxiao are now having each own fairly good life, and they are not that willing to get closer to each other again. Nevertheless, they also cannot help but rekindle the memories of their romance relationship in the past, and it is poignant to see when they admit their remaining feelings to each other while also accepting what has been lost forever between them.

The movie surely depends a lot on the romantic vibe generated between its two appealing lead performers. While Jing Boran steadily holds the ground along the story, Zhou Dongyu, who has been one of the most engaging Chinese actresses during last several years thanks to her stellar turns in “Soul Mate” (2016) and “Better Days” (2019), often shines as effortlessly exuding her own natural charm and presence across the screen. As these two wonderful performers deftly revolve around each other, we get to know more of their characters’ personality and humanity, and the movie also pays some attention to Jianqing’s father, who has his own moments later in the story as discerning a lot of what is going on between his son and Xiaoxiao despite getting older and blind.

In conclusion, “Us and Them”, which is recently followed by the South Korean remake version, is often familiar and predictable in terms of story and characters, but it still engages us thanks to not only its two good lead performers but also Liu’s competent direction. Although this is her first feature film (She has been mainly known for her acting and music career, by the way), the overall result is fairly slick and solid on the whole, and she and her crew members including cinematographer Mark Lee Ping-bing, who did a marvelous job in Wong Kar-wai’s great film “In the Mood for Love” (2000), bring enough mood and sensitivity to the film. In short, it succeeds as much as intended, so I will not grumble for now as preparing to watch the South Korean remake version.

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The Housemaid (2025) ☆☆☆(3/4): Her tricky employment

Posted on February 2, 2026 by kaist455

“The Housemaid”, which was one of the two films from Paul Feig during last year, is a slick genre film packed with enough pulpy fun to compensate for a few glaring narrative hiccups. As your average seasoned moviegoer, I instantly saw through most of its plot machination right from the start, so there was not much surprise for me even in the end, but I still had enough entertainment for recommendation at least.

At the beginning, we are introduced to Millie Calloway (Sydney Sweeney), a young woman who has struggled to recover from her problematic past. She has been homeless and unemployed for a while, and she does not expect much when she comes to some big suburban house for having a job interview with an affluent housewife named Nina Wincester (Amanda Seyfried), but, to her surprise, she is subsequently notified that she actually gets hired.

When Millie returns to that house, she is wholeheartedly welcomed by Nina, but, of course, we soon begin to notice several small but disconcerting signs. Everything looks fine and comfortable inside the house, but there is something really odd about Nina’s overtly cheerful attitude, and we also observe how her little daughter often looks a bit too cold and distant in her mostly quiet appearance.

Above all, mainly for usually being at service for Nina and her daughter and husband, Millie is required to stay inside the house. When Nina gladly shows a room in the attic where Millie will sleep, it looks mostly clean and fine on the whole, but Millie quickly notices a few little strange things. For example, it seems totally isolated from the outside, though Nina assures that Millie can have some real privacy for herself there because of that.

However, these minor weird things turn out to be nothing compared to what Millie experiences once she begins her first day in Nina’s house. Although she initially looks like a fairly generous employee for a while, Nina frequently becomes quite neurotic for no apparent reason, and this certainly perplexes Millie a lot. No matter how much Millie tries to tolerate her employee’s erratic behaviors, Nina goes further and further in her increasingly hysterical behavior, and Millie finds herself depending more on Nina’s husband Andrew (Brandon Sklenar), who seems to have tolerated a lot from his wife just because he still loves her despite that.

And Millie comes to hear more about how deeply troubled Nina has been during last several years. Nina actually went to a mental hospital more than once, and there was also a very disturbing incident involved with her daughter some time ago. When her mother-in-law visits the house at one point, it is quite apparent that this old but indomitable lady does not like Nina much, and her silent but cold disapproval certainly adds more tension to the screen.

Things become all the more complicated when Millie comes to lean more on Andrew. Considering how fragile her current status really is, that is something she should not do at any chance, but she only gets more attracted to Andrew as he shows her more heart and kindness in contrast to his wife, who continues to harass and confuse her in one way or another.

Around that narrative point, Rebecca Sonnenshine’s screenplay, which is based on the novel of the same name by Frieda McFadden, goes for more pulpy craziness, and you may easily discern some of the following plot turns in advance even if you have not read McFadden’s novel yet. At least, thanks to Feig’s competent direction, I gladly went along with several wild plot turns during the second half, and I got really engaged in what is being at stake for the main characters during the rather predictable climactic part.

Most of all, the movie works mainly thanks to the game efforts from its two engaging lead actresses. Regardless of all those recent unpleasant troubles associated with her, Sydney Sweeney, who has been more prominent thanks to her Emmy-nominated supporting turn in HBO TV drama series “Euphoria”, is clearly talented enough to hold the ground for her co-star’s showier performance, and Amanda Seyfried surely has a ball as ably swinging back and forth between cheeriness and craziness as demanded. These two wonderful actresses effortlessly generate a lot of uneasiness together on the screen, and their good chemistry on the screen also overcomes several plot contrivances to some degree.

In case of several notable main cast members, they dutifully fill their respective spots as required. While Brandon Sklenar is convincing during his several key scenes with Sweeny, Indiana Elle and Michele Morrone bring some extra nervousness to the story, and Elizabeth Perkins is suitably frigid during her brief but striking appearance.

In conclusion, “The Housemaid” is not entirely without weak points, but I must admit that it is relatively more entertaining than Feig’s other recent film “Another Simple Favor” (2025), which is incidentally the sequel to Feig’s previous film “A Simple Favor” (2018). Considering its very last scene, “The Housemaid” may also be followed by a sequel, and I can only hope that it will be as enjoyable as its predecessor at least.

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The Wrecking Crew (2026) ☆☆1/2(2.5/4): A generic buddy cop action flick with some Hawaiian flavor

Posted on February 2, 2026 by kaist455

“The Wrecking Crew”, which was released on Amazon Prime in last week, is a generic buddy cop action flick spiced with some local flavor. While it has some personality besides being supported well by its two seasoned lead performers, the movie is conventional and predictable to the core, and I simply followed the story and characters with a mild degree of interest and amusement during my viewing.

The two seasoned lead performers of the film are Jason Momoa and Dave Bautista, who also participated in the productions as co-producers. They play Jonny and James Hale, two estranged Hawaiian brothers who come to investigate together on what happened to their recently murdered father, a seedy private investigator who turns out to be onto something big and serious before he got killed during the opening scene.

When he hears the news of his father’s death, Jonny, who is a US Navy SEAL soldier working in Hawaii, is not particularly sad, and neither is James, who left Hawaii some years ago and has worked as a cop in some Native American reservation area in Oklahoma. However, Jonny begins to sense something suspicious about their father’s death, and so do James, after he is suddenly attacked by a trio of Japanese mafia gangs who want to get something his father sent him right before his death.

Although the mood is certainly awkward between Jonny and James when they meet each other again at the following funeral of their father, both of them become more interested in investigating their father’s death as observing who come to the funeral. Besides the governor of Hawaii who is incidentally a close relative of their family, there also come a bunch of local criminals, who may know why Jonny and James’ father was killed.

Of course, it does not take much time for us to have a pretty good idea about the answer. Right from when the movie introduces a certain big company which is going to build a lot of hotels in Hawaii, we can instantly discern that the company and its rich and powerful owner are involved with the case, and we are not so surprised to see later that the governor has been closely connected with this wealthy person in question (Is this a spoiler?). Furthermore, there are also a group of Japanese mafia gangs eager to eliminate Jonny and James, and that naturally leads to a couple of big action sequences filled with lots of bangs and crashes.

Needless to say, Jonny and James keep clashing with each other due to their old personal resentment toward each other, but we all know too well that 1) they will eventually let out all of their anger and resentment as punching and kicking each other a lot, 2) they are reminded again that they are still, well, brothers, and 3) they subsequently stick together more when their main opponent goes further for eliminating a certain incriminating piece of evidence.

While the screenplay by Jonathan Tropper faithfully follows every footstep of many senior buddy cop action flicks out there such as, yes, “Lethal Weapon” (1987), director Ángel Manuel Soto, who previously directed “Charm Street Kings” (2020) and “Blue Beetle” (2023), competently mixes action and comedy along the story. In case of the busy action sequence unfolded along a highway, we are expectedly served with a fair amount of fun and excitement as lots of things happen on the screen, and you may forgive its rather unrealistic digital special effects for a while at least.

In case of the two lead actors of the film, they easily slip into their respective roles, and they certainly look believable in its action scenes as expected. While Momoa, who has shown more of his potential since “Aquaman” (2018), has a lot of fun with his character’s edgy aspects, Bautista, who looks leaner than before but remains as engaging as he was in several various films ranging from “Guardians of the Galaxy” (2014) to “Dune” (2021), is an effective straight counterpart to his co-star, and their solid chemistry often lifts the film whenever it becomes a bit too bland.

Around Momoa and Bautista, the movie assembles several various cast members, whose main job is no more than bringing a bit of local touch to the story and characters. Despite their functional supporting parts, Maia Kealoha and Frankie Adams hold each own small place well around the story, and Morena Baccarin, who has been mainly known for her Emmy-nominated supporting turn in American TV drama series “Homeland”, imbues her thankless role with some pluck later in the story. While Stephen Root, Temuera Morrison, and Jacob Batalon are suitably cast in their respective substantial supporting parts, Claes Bang willingly goes over the top at times as the main villain of the story, but his grand attempt is often outmatched by the sheer overacting by Japanese entertainer Miyavi, who goes a little too far as he previously did in “Unbroken” (2014).

Overall, “The Wrecking Crew” is just another passable product from Amazon Prime, but it is not wholly without fun and entertainment at least. I do not recommend it mainly because my mind kept going somewhere instead of getting really engaged and entertained, but you may watch it instead of that recent documentary film about the despicably superficial wife of that orange-faced prick in the White House.

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The Lovers on the Bridge (1991) ☆☆☆(3/4): A shabby but bold tale of romance

Posted on February 1, 2026 by kaist455

Leo Carax’s 1991 film “The Lovers on the Bridge”, whose recent 4K restoration version happened to be released in selected South Korean theaters a few days ago, is a seemingly shabby but undeniably brash tale of romance. While simply rolling along with its two main characters who happen to be thrown into their seedy but passionate love affair, the movie serves us a series of stunning visual moments mainly driven by its unabashedly romantic heart, and you may admire that even if you observe its many flaws.

During the opening part, the movie, which is mainly set in Paris during several months of 1989, gives us a gritty variation of Meet Cute. First, we meet a young street vagrant named Alex (Denis Lavant), who occasionally works as a street performer. And then we are introduced to a young female artist named Michèle Stalens (Juliette Binoche), who comes across Alex at one late night when his unconscious body is lying in the middle of a wide street. Even after he seriously gets injured in one of his legs due to some reckless driver, she does not give him much attention, and his unconscious body is eventually picked up and then sent to one of those shelters for vagrants in the city.

After spending some time there for the recovery from his physical injury, Alex returns to where he stayed before the accident, which is one of those many bridges over the Seine River. Because this bridge happens to have been under renovation for a while, he and his fellow vagrant Hans (Klaus Michael Grüber) have been able to stay there without much problem, and Alex has also depended a lot on the drug from Hans just for sleeping more easily on the bridge.

However, their daily life on the bridge is interrupted by the appearance of Michèle, who comes to the bridge for no apparent reason but decides to stay there for a while. Hans is not so pleased about this, but Alex willingly lets Michèle stay along with him just because, well, he falls in love with her after his second encounter with her, and Hans respects Alex’s choice despite being still quite annoyed about her.

As Michèle comes to spend more time with Alex, we get to know a bit more about why she became a vagrant just like Alex and Hans. Although she is from a fairly affluent family, she has been quite distraught as she began to lose her eyesight due to some unspecified illness and then her boyfriend suddenly left her, and she has desperately been looking for him just because she wants to see him for the last time before totally losing her eyesight.

Nevertheless, Alex still yearns for getting closer to Michèle, and she comes to open herself a bit more to him as time goes by. When the city and its citizens become quite excited because of the French Bicentennial celebrations, Alex and Michèle willingly let themselves swept by the festive atmosphere surrounding the city and its people, and the movie accordingly gives us several impressive scenes including the one where its two main characters dance a lot on the bridge as the night sky over the city is filled with a lot of fireworks.

As some of you know, the production of the film was rather notorious as Carax went further than what was allowed by the initial production budget at that time. As a matter of fact, the bridge in the film is not the real one but a replica specially built for its production, and you may be amused a bit as musing on how much money and effort were actually spent on making the bridge in the film look realistically ugly and shabby on the screen.

Nevertheless, the bridge in the film works fairly well as the main background of the wild and desperate romance between Alex and Michèle. Although they are more or less than archetypes, the romantic feelings developed between them along the story make a striking contrast with the bridge and some other gritty locations around them, and we come to understand more of how they cannot help but stick to each other more despite a lot of difference between them.

Around the third act, Carax’s screenplay stumbles more than once as making several contrived plot turns, but the movie keeps going with its distinctive mood and romanticism at least, and it is also supported well by the modest but precious chemistry between its two undeniably charismatic lead performers. While Juliette Binoche, who previously collaborated with Carax in his second feature film “Bad Blood” (1986), exudes her charming presence even during her seediest moments in the movie, Denis Lavant, who has frequently worked with Carax since he appeared in Carax’s debut feature film “Boy Meets Girl” (1984), ably complements his co-star, and they steadily carry the film to the end as frequently pulling or pushing each other along the story. As another crucial part of the story, Klaus Michael Grüber has his own small moments around Binoche and Lavant, and he and Binoche have a wonderful moment together when his character kindly gives Michèle a little special moment to watch and remember.

On the whole, “The Lovers on the Bridge”, whose original French title is “Les Amants du Pont-Neuf”, is not so satisfying at times due to its rather thin narrative and characterization, but I appreciated the considerable amount of skill and ambition behind it, while also reflecting a bit on Carax’s idiosyncratic career. After this film and “Pola X” (1999), Carax’s filmmaking career seemed to be hitting the bottom, but he made a superlative comeback with “Holy Motors” (2012), and his very next film “Annette” (2021) confirmed to us that he is still one of the most interesting filmmakers in our time. Although it is less impressive compared to these two aforementioned works, “The Lovers on the Bridge” has some admirable aspects to observe and enjoy, and that is enough for recommendation in my trivial opinion.

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The Chronology of Water (2025) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4): The remarkable debut work by Kristen Stewart

Posted on February 1, 2026 by kaist455

As many of you know well, Kristen Stewart has proven a lot of her undeniable talent during last two decades. Sure, she has often been remembered for those commercially successful but utterly disposable Twilight flicks, but her acting career subsequently advanced a lot once she was totally free from them, as shown from a series of stellar performances including the Oscar-nominated turn in Pablo Larraín’s “Spencer” (2021).

In case of “The Chronology of Water”, Stewart demonstrates another surprising side of her talent. This time, she serves as a director/writer/co-producer here, and the result is often very astonishing for not only the considerable skill and competence shown from its technical aspects but also a lot of emotional power from its sensitive and thoughtful handling of the story and characters. As I gradually gathered what it is about, I was often struck hard by how it is about, and now I can gladly declare that this is definitely one of the most interesting movie experiences during this year.

Stewart’s screenplay is based on the 2011 memoir written by American writer Lidia Yuknavitch. During the first act of the story, which is unfolded in a rather non-chronological fashion as said by the occasional narration in the film, we get the random glimpses on the painful memories of abuse from its heroine’s childhood and adolescence period, and we come to interpret as the emotional reflection of how she struggles to examine and then process all those pains and traumas remaining inside her rather messy adult mind.

The main source of pain and trauma in Yuknavitch’s childhood and adolescent years was none other than her parents. Her father was not only harshly stern but also quite abusive to his two daughters, and her mother did not do anything at all for her daughters, though she probably knew about what her truly deplorable husband did to them behind his back.

At least, young Yuknavitch, who is played by Anna Wittowsky and then Angelika Mihailova, found some solace and comfort from swimming, though that did not always make her happy. As shown from several brief flashbacks, she was often physically abused along with several other members of her female swimming team by their unforgiving male coach, and this certainly added another trauma to her abused mind.

While never overlooking the traumatic effects of physical/emotional abuse on its heroine’s mind, the movie thankfully prevents itself from becoming too blatant or exploitative, and Stewart and her crew did a superlative job of immersing us more into the heroine’s psychologically damaged state of mind. Shooting the film with Arriflex 416 camera on the Super 16mm format, Stewart and her cinematographer Corey C. Waters deliberately add grainy and tarnished visual texture to the screen, and the movie feels more like a disjointed but somehow coherent stream of consciousness swirling inside its heroine’s mind.

After establishing its heroine’s background so well during its first act, the movie observes her bumpy struggle toward emotional stability during next several chapters. Thanks to her swimming skill, adult Yuknavitch, played by Imogen Poots, leaves her parents and then goes to a university in Texas, but, alas, she subsequently gets herself expelled as wildly enjoying her sudden freedom too much. In addition, she also comes to develop a serious addiction problem, and this certainly pushes her down further to the bottom.

Fortunately, after a period of eventual recovery and the heartbreaking end of her first marriage, Yuknavitch becomes interested in writing. Thanks to a close friend of hers, she comes to study and write along with several young aspirating writers under Ken Kesey (Jim Belushi), an acclaimed novelist mainly known for “Sometimes Great a Nation” and, yes, “The One Who Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest”. Although Kesey seems to become more interested in getting a bit closer to her, he gives Yuknavitch a lot of advice as well as some emotional support, and this helps her a bit in not only writing but also processing her old pains and traumas associated with her father.

Nevertheless, Yuknavitch’s road toward emotional stability remains messy and confusing as before, and the movie wildly bounces along with her as she recklessly throws herself into a lot of experiments with drug and sex. As before, the movie firmly sticks to its heroin’s frequently wandering emotional status, and we come to feel more of the cri de coeur from her deeply conflicted mind.

Yes, this is surely not something easy to watch, but the movie keeps us engaged while never losing any of its deep compassion and empathy on its heroine, and it is also supported well by the strong lead performance by Imogen Poots. Besides deftly handling a number of emotionally intense moments in the film, Poots presents her character as a flawed but complex human figure to observe and empathize with, and she is also flawlessly connected with Wittowsky and Mihailova. In case of several main cast members in the film, Thora Birch, Susannah Flood, Tom Sturridge, Esmé Creed-Miles, and Charlie Carrick are well-cast in their respective supporting parts, and the special mention goes to Jim Belushi, who steals every minute of his brief but crucial appearance as ably supporting Poots.

In conclusion, “The Chronology of Water” is a harrowingly powerful female drama film to be admired for many good reasons, and Steward made quite an impressive start for her nascent directorial career. I do not know whether she will advance further, but I will certainly have some expectation on what she will make next after this significant cinematic achievement.

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