Ghost in the Cell (2026) ☆☆☆(3/4): A gruesome Indonesian prison horror film

Posted on November 8, 2026 by kaist455

Indonesian film “Ghost in the Cell” distinguishes itself well with its gruesome concoction of horror, action, and a bit of goofy elements. While it will definitely jolt you more than once with numerous gory moments along the story, it will alternatively amuse and excite you as busily bouncing among several different genres, and you will probably enjoy its violent but electrifying genre mix more than expected.

At first, the movie seems to be mainly about Dimas (Endy Arfian), a passionate young journalist who has been investigating on a serious case of corruption and environmental destruction in some rainforest area of Borneo Island. When he finally submits his eventual article at the last minute, he is unjustly lambasted by the owner of his newspaper company, and that makes him quite frustrated to say the least.

However, not long after Dimas leaves his office, his boss is suddenly murdered by someone in quite a horrific way. He is soon sent to a big prison, and we get to know about a bit about a number of prisoners before his arrival. One of them is Anggoro (Abimana Aryasatya), and we gather that he is one of relatively more decent prisoners compared to many other violent and dangerous criminals in his cell block. When Dimas happens to share a cell with one of the most unpleasant and dangerous prisoners in the cell blook, Anggoro senses something suspicious, and it soon turns out that somebody wants Dimas to get killed as soon as possible.

Anggoro and his fellow prisoners try to protect Dimas as much as possible, but something really strange and horrible begins to happen around them and Dimas. Whatever killed Dimas’s boss came into their cell block along with Dimas, and this mysterious supernatural entity is quite eager to kill anyone to draw its attention in a certain specific way.

Needless to say, everyone in the cell block is thrown into fear and panic, and that actually exacerbates their ongoing problem more. One of Anggoro’s fellow prisoners happens to be able to see a sort of aura from others, and they soon come to learn that they must maintain their aura as positively as possible, instead of letting it become negative enough to be detected by that horrible supernatural entity in question. Considering their incarcerated status, it is certainly difficult for most of them to keep themselves less stressful and more stable, and we get a little absurd moment when they have to choose the only other option for calming themselves besides their prayer room.

Meanwhile, their mighty supernatural opponent continues its reign of terror over them, and the movie accordingly serves us a series of very disturbing moments of extreme violence drenched in a lot of blood. Besides killing its targets in truly gruesome ways, this diabolical entity also has some nasty fun with turning the bodies of its victims into sanguinary pieces of installation art, which will surely impress Dr. Hannibal Lector or those hellish supernatural entities of “Hellraiser” (1987).

As cornered more and more by their supernatural problem, Anggoro and many other prisoners come to see that they must stick together for any chance to survive this increasingly perilous circumstance of theirs. While gradually increasing the level of tension along the story, the movie also catches us off guard with unexpected moments of goofy humor, and you may chuckle a bit when Anggoro and his fellow prisoners must keep their aura safe even while fighting a lot with several opposing prisoners standing on their way.

The movie sometimes stumbles more than once due to its rather thin storytelling and broad characterization, but its overall result is intense and engaging enough for us to overlook its several weak aspects. Under director/writer/editor Joko Anwar’s skillful direction, the movie immerses us more into the stuffy environment inhabited by its prisoner characters, and its several action scenes are mixed well with enough sense of fun and thrill even though they are quite violent from time to time.

Most of the characters in the story are inherently your average stereotype figures from the very beginning, but some of them are imbued with enough life and personality to hold our attention. While Dimas remains a rather bland plot element, Anggoro and his fellow prisoners function as more colorful counterparts to Dimas, and the same thing can be said about several other prisoner characters including a fastidious gay dude who works as a dance instructor.

As his character gradually takes the center of the story, Abimana Aryasatya’s strong performance carries the film to the end. Endy Arfian steps aside due to his relatively less significant role, and several other main cast members including Yogo Pratama, Mike Lucock, Danang Suryonegoro, and Lukman Sardi have each own moment to shine along the story. 

On the whole, “Ghost in the Cell” is certainly not for everyone due to its sheer intensity and brutal violence, but it is still a commendable genre exercise at least. Yes, I winced more than once during some of its most violent moments, but they are handled with enough amount of style, mood, and personality nonetheless, and I soon let myself entertained more while also appreciating its technical competence more. Therefore, I conclude that the movie works well enough for recommendation, but please do not complain to me later, because I already warned you enough about what and how it is about.

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SCTV: The Greatest Show You’ve Never Heard Of (2026) ☆☆☆(3/4): When they were young and funny

Posted on November 8, 2026 by kaist455

Netflix documentary film “SCTV: The Greatest Show You’ve Never Heard Of”, which was released several days ago, looks back at Second City TV (SCTV), a legendary Canadian TV comedy sketch show which was a big breakthrough for its several notable comedians such as Eugene Levy and Catherine O’Hara. At that time, they were ready for anything funny or amusing, and the documentary did a good job of presenting that exciting time of theirs as some of them fondly reflect on that.

I must tell you that I did not know much about SCTV before watching other recent Netflix documentary “Marty, Life is Short” (2026), which informed me a bit on SCTV as looking into the early career years of Martin Short. He was another prominent member of SCTV during its later seasons, and, as far as I could observed from the archival footage clips presented in that documentary, he and his fellow SCTV members were pretty hilarious thanks to their zany wit and irrepressible comic spirit.

Anyway, the documentary, which directed by Jason Hehir, begins with how SCTV was formed in Toronto, Canada in 1977. After the Second City, a renowned improvisation theater troupe in Chicago, became quite popular in US, more demand for new talented comedians followed, and that eventually led to the foundation of another Second City troupe in Toronto. As its several prominent members including John Candy looked for any possible way for more public recognition, there came an idea of creating a TV comedy sketch show, and that was how SCTV was started.

As reflected by its very title, SCTV presented itself a mock TV broadcast company, and its main cast members and a bunch of writers led by Harold Ramis steadily provided a series of comedy sketches packaged as mock TV programs. After almost 50 years, these old comedy sketches look quite old and tacky on the surface, but this glaring weak aspect actually works as a part of their charm and wit, and I must point out that some of them are still hilarious enough to make me laugh more than once (I particularly enjoyed a comedy sketch featuring O’Hara gleefully parodying Katharine Hepburn, by the way).

For the documentary, Levy, Short and O’Hara, who unfortunately passed away early in this year, gather together along with their several old SCTV colleagues, and there are some poignant moments as they watch some of the highlights from their SCTV era, which surely bring back a lot of good old memories from each of them. They remember how nice Candy, who sadly died too early in 1994, was to everyone in SCTV, and they also recollect about how valuable Ramis, who passed away in 2014, was as the head writer of SCTV. Besides being a talented comedian, Ramis also often made a good judgment on whether a comedy sketch would work or not, and every SCTV member was eager to make him laugh and then get his approval.

As SCTV became very popular in not only Canada but also US within a few years, the production team of “Saturday Night Live” (SNL) certainly became interested in recruiting some of the SCTV members, and that caused some unwelcomed tension and uncertainty inside SCTV. In the end, several SCTV members including Candy did an audition for SNL, but the SNL production team eventually decided not to recruit them, and Candy felt quite hurt when he was flatly told not to give up his “day job” after the audition.

Anyway, SCTV advanced more during next several seasons as Rick Moranis joined its main cast in 1980. In addition to working as one of its main writers, Moranis also created one of its most famous comedy sketches along with Dave Thomas, which turned out to be a far bigger success than they expected at first. They simply played two dim-witted Canadian brothers in front of the camera, but something clicked so well between them as they did more improvisation along the process, and, what do you know, the following huge success made them quite more famous and recognizable than the other SCTV members.

Unfortunately, this unexpected success of Moranis and Thomas caused some discord between them and the other SCTV members. Moranis eventually left SCTV not long after SCTV was moved to New York City as a NBC program in 1981, but there is no hard feeling between him and the other SCTV members, who do not say anything bad about him in front of the camera.

Around that point, Short joined SCTV, and we see how often his inspired comic performance enlivened the show. Just like the other SCTV members, he was willing to push him and others further for more laugh and amusement, and they all had a pretty jolly time together as diligently and zealously reaching for any comic possibility out there.  

However, despite its critical success accompanied with two Emmy awards, SCTV was eventually shut down after its last season in 1983 as its production team and cast members came to have far less freedom than before. At least, many of its main cast members subsequently enjoyed considerable career success during next several decades, and their achievements in SCTV are still cherished by their various junior comedians ranging from Conan O’Brien to Kathryn Hahn.

In conclusion, “SCTV: The Greatest Show You’ve Never Heard Of” presents an informative presentation on the short but undeniably remarkable history of SCTV. I wish it could tell and show more about its main subject, but it did its job as well as intended at least during its rather short running time (88 minutes), and you will probably want to check out some of the best SCTV comedy sketches after watching it.

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Paralyzed by Hope: The Maria Bamford Story (2026) ☆☆☆(3/4): Her own neurotic sense of humor

Posted on November 8, 2026 by kaist455

Netflix documentary film “Paralyzed by Hope: The Maria Bamford Story”, which was released a few weeks ago, looks into the life and career of Maria Bamford, a singular American female comedian who deserves some more attention in my trivial opinion. While she often amuses us with her own neurotic sense of humor, she is also quite frank about what she has struggled with for many years, and that will certainly come close to anyone having ever coped with mental problem.

The early part of the documentary focuses on her early years in Duluth, Minnesota. While her parents provided a mostly stable domestic life for young Bamford and her older sister, young Bamford’s mind often could not help but become overwhelmed by rather dark and morbid things such as suicide, and that was the main reason why she became interested in performing arts, which helped her a lot in coping with her worsening mental issues.

Around the time when she subsequently went to the Minnesota State University, Bamford came to find her natural talent in stand-up comedy, and a series of archival footage clips show how funny and weird she was even during that period. She never seemed to be ashamed of looking odd and strange at all, and she was even willing to make comedy from her dark struggles with mental illness as well as her personal episodes (She was pretty good at imitating her parents and older sister to their reserved amusement, by the way).

After her college years, Bamford did a number of various things including doing some voice performances for several TV animation series including Cartoon Network’s “Adventure Time”, and then there came an unexpected breakthrough in 2005. She happened to get a chance to appear in the Comedy Central TV documentary series “The Comedians of Comedy”, and the excerpts from “The Comedians of Comedy” clearly show how she often held her own place well among several more prominent comedians including Zach Galifianakis.

However, she still could not help herself in case of her longtime mental issues even at that point. While many of stand-up comedians surely have each own anxiety and insecurity, Bamford is a particularly neurotic case, and she was certainly not so easy to be approached by the crew of “The Comedians of Comedy”. In the end, they decided to hire a camerawoman for making her feel a bit more comfortable, and that worked pretty well mainly because the camerawoman herself had struggled with her own mental problems not so different from Bamford’s.

However, Bamford later chose to walk away from all the public attention drawn at her after the considerable success of “The Comedians of Comedy”, and that was the beginning of another long struggle with her mental illness. While things surely went up and down for her many times, she could fortunately get help via medication and therapy, and she also got supported well by her parents and older sister, who came to have more understanding on what she coped with for many years.

Not long after she married her husband Scott in 2015 (They recently divorced not long before the documentary came out, by the way), things seemed to be going well again for Bamford. Thanks to the critical success of Netflix comedy series “Lady Dynamite”, she became more prominent than before, and she was happy to ride on another unexpected success of hers for a while.

However, her life was subsequently struck by some big downturns. Bamford soon found herself frequently getting quite exhausted due to the demanding shooting schedule of her Netflix show, and it was eventually canceled after its second season. In the early 2020s, she lost her parents, and then there came a catastrophic incident of wildfire in 2024, which burned down almost everything in her neighborhood in California.

Nevertheless, Bamford tried to keep going as usual while also being in peace with her mental issues more than before, and her interview scenes with co-director/co-producer Jud Apatow, who directed and produced the documentary with cinematographer Neil Berkeley, are often funny and sweet as they cheerfully and casually poke fun at each other in front of the camera. She does not mind at all talking about the continuing struggle with her mental issue, and we later see her attending a convention for many different people who have struggled with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) just like her. While she makes some joke about their mental illness, she is also quite open and frank about what they have coped with day by day, and that surely reminded me of how we should handle mental illness with more honesty and compassion.

Overall, “Paralyzed by Hope: The Maria Bamford Story” did a fairly good job of presenting its interesting human subject with enough humor and respect, and I must tell you that I often felt close to Bamford’s life story during my viewing. As an autistic guy who has often coped with a lot of depressive things including some suicidal thoughts for many years, I came to have my own odd sense of humor, but people around me are usually baffled as wondering whether I am totally serious or just kidding. I guess I am not that funny, but my little macabre sense of humor has helped myself a lot, and that is surely enough for me.

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Wild Horse Nine (2026) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4): Two CIA agents in Easter Island, 1973

Posted on November 8, 2026 by kaist455

Martin McDonagh’s latest film “Wild Horse Nine” is a familiar but undeniably compelling stuff. While we can easily recognize those typical themes and elements observed from McDonagh’s previous works such as “In Bruges” (2008) and “The Banshees of Inisherin” (2022), the movie is often captivating because of his own distinctive mastery of story and characters, and we become more engaged in its melancholic mix of comedy and drama while occasionally amused by its darkly absurd sense of humor.

The story, mainly set in Easter Island, Chile in the middle of 1973, is about Chris Carlisle (John Malkovich) and Lee Chesterfield (Sam Rockwell), two CIA officers who have covertly worked on the upcoming coup d’état which is going to overthrow the Chilean government led by President Salvador Allende. Because he is dying due to his terminal cancer, Chris begins to consider writing a memoir on his life and career, and he also becomes rather careless about their current operation. Needless to say, this does not look that good to Lee and their bureau chief MJ (Steve Buscemi).

Anyway, as he supposedly wishes, Chris travels to Easter Island along with Lee for what may be the last vacation before his impending death. While not so impressed much by those big stone statues placed here and there on the island, the tranquil atmosphere of the island somehow soothes Chris, and he becomes more reflective about his life and career as trying to remember and then gather any interesting material for his memoir.

As instructed by their supervisor in advance, Lee has steadily watched on his friend/mentor just in case, but, not so surprisingly, he only finds himself becoming more conflicted than before as observing Chris getting closer to his impending mortality day by day. Due to not only his deteriorating physical condition but also occasional shots of morphine, Chris’s mind becomes rather foggy at times, and the movie has some naughty fun with whether we can believe whatever comes out from his mouth (Was he really involved with what happened in Dallas, Texas on that day of November 1963, for example?).  

McDonagh’s screenplay takes its time in building up tension while also fleshing out its main characters more along the story. At one point, Chris comes to befriend a couple of young local ladies, and what subsequently happens between him and one of them is one of the most dramatic points in the story. Because he comes to care about her more than he seems on the surface, he flatly tells something inevitable to her shock and bafflement, and that consequently leads to another plot turn later in the story.

And we observe more of the deep bond between Chris and Lee. Just like the two lead characters of “In Bruges”, they care a lot about each other despite a complicated circumstance between them, and we are not so surprised to learn later that Chris already made a little personal request to his protégé in advance. No matter how much Chris makes him frustrated and exasperated at times, Lee tries to do his best for his friend/mentor, and there comes genuine poignancy from how far he is willing to go just for protecting Chris as much as possible.

The overall pensive mood of the movie, which is often enhanced by all those gorgeous landscape shots vividly captured on the camera of cinematographer Ben Davis, is eventually disrupted by what inevitably occurs among its main characters during the last act. Nevertheless, the movie continues to focus more on the main characters even when we are jolted by sudden moments of violence, and you will admire how neatly it pulls out its somber but utterly powerful finale (I was not so surprised when an audience sitting next to me shed a bit of tear).

The emotional power of the movie depends a lot on what can be regarded as one of the best duo performances of this year. John Malkovich, who deservedly won the Best Actor award when the movie was premiered at the Venice International Film Festival a couple of months ago, is simply superlative, and I will not be surprised at all if he gets Oscar-nominated along with his co-star early in the next year. While being as detached and sardonic as you can expect from him, Malkovich deftly mixes a right amount of wit and pathos into his subtly nuanced acting, and the result is one of the best works in his long and illustrious movie acting career.

On the opposite, Sam Rockwell, who won a Supporting Actor Oscar for McDonagh’s previous film “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” (2017), is an effective counterpoint to Malkovich’s performance, and they always click together well whenever their characters push or pull each other along the story. In case of several other main cast members surrounding them, Steve Buscemi, who replaced Mark Ruffalo at the last minute due to the latter’s schedule conflict, Mariana di Girolamo, Ailín Salas, Parker Posey, and Tom Waits are all solid in their respective supporting roles, and Posey and Waits bring some extra humor during their brief but crucial appearances.

In conclusion, “Wild Horse Nine” is not so different from what McDonagh has steadily demonstrated to us since “In Bruges”, but it is still very entertaining thanks to its top-notch mood, storytelling, and performance. Although he does not excel himself here, McDonagh does not disappoint us at all, and that is more than enough in my inconsequential opinion.

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Journey There (2025) ☆☆☆(3/4): Her unexpected alternative family

Posted on November 7, 2026 by kaist455

My late mentor/friend Roger Ebert once said that he likes movies about good people, and South Korean independent film “Journey There” is one of such cases in my humble opinion. Calmly and sensitively observing how its old heroine comes to have a sort of alternative family, the movie gradually engages us via her genuine decency and kindness, and we are often touched by what slowly happens between her and two good strangers unexpectedly coming into her life.

The movie opens with a big change in the life of an old lady named Choon-hee (Kim Hye-ok). Since her husband’s recent death, she has been left alone in their house incidentally designed and built by her husband, and now she decides to move out of the house due to a personal reason to be revealed later in the story. After putting the house on sale, she promptly moves to a nearby apartment complex along with several personal stuffs including her husband’s car and grand piano, and we get a little amusing moment from how she is transferred to her new residence along with her husband’s car. Although she does not know how to drive at all, the car feels important to her as much as the grand piano, and we later see her pay some attention to its maintenance day by day.

However, Choon-hee faces a trouble in case of moving the grand piano into her residence, which happens to be on the first floor of one of the apartment buildings in the complex. Due to a tree blocking the balcony of her apartment, the grand piano cannot be moved into her residence at any chance, unless she has that tree cut right now. She does not like that option that much, but, fortunately, there comes an unexpected offer from Min-joon (Justin H. Min), a Korean German lad who has lived on the 15th floor of the same apartment building. He gladly takes the grand piano into his apartment, and he and Choon-hee soon befriend each other as new neighbors while she frequently visits his apartment for taking care of the grand piano.

As they come to spend more time with each other, Choon-hee and Min-joon get to know each other more. Min-joon, who was adopted by his German foster parents many years ago, came to South Korea for finding his biological mother, and he even put his promising musician career in suspension just because of that. Choon-hee’s husband, who was a prominent architect, actually had hearing impairment, but that did not stop him at all from pursuing his own passion toward music, and that is why his grand piano has been such a precious reminder of him to Choon-hee. Although she does not know that much about playing music, she comes to learn bit by bit from Min-joon, and she certainly feels happy as remembering her husband more.

Meanwhile, there comes another figure to draw our attention. It turns out that Min-joon has been teaching a shy but promising adolescent piano prodigy named Seong-chan (Park Dea-ho), and Choon-hee comes to regard Seong-chan and Min-joon as a son and a grandson she never had (She and her husband did not have any child between them, by the way). When she later learns that Seong-chan really needs some help and support for his possible future career, Choon-hee does not hesitate to step forward for that, and that is certainly appreciated a lot by both Min-joon and Seong-chan.

Wisely preventing itself from becoming too sentimental, the movie leisurely takes some time in developing its story and characters more. As Choon-hee goes through her daily life as usual, we observe more of her inner goodness, and the story keeps sticking to its calm and restrained attitude even when we get to know more about a serious personal matter behind her casual appearance. Although the story does not spell them out at all, it subtly lets us sense more of Min-joon and Seong-chan’s respective personal issues, and we are accordingly moved by how they come to find love and comfort from their growing relationship with Choon-hee.

Later in the story, there is a tenderly touching scene where Choon-hee encourages Seong-chan more when they have a little airport picnic along with Min-joon. She just talks about what she and her husband wished to do right before his death, but both Min-joon and Seong-chan get her point nonetheless, and that is followed by a lovely poetic moment which accentuates the deep emotional bonds among these three good people.

The main performers of the film are effective in their humble low-key acting. While Kim Hye-ok, a wonderful veteran actress who has been active for more than 30 years, gently holds the center as required, Justin H. Min, who has been more prominent thanks to his breakout supporting turn in Kogonada’s “After Yang” (2021), ably goes back and forth between humor and drama in his likable performance, and he and Kim constantly complement each other well throughout the film. Despite his rather under-developed role, Park Dae-ho holds his own small place mostly well between Kim and Min, and several other supporting performers in the film including Gong Min-jeung, Kim Jong-goo, and Kwon Hae-hyo are also well-cast in their respective parts.

Overall, “Journey There” is another commendable work from director/co-writer Kim Jin-yu, who previously made a solid feature film debut in “Bori” (2018). While it may require some patience from you due to its rather slow narrative pacing, the movie will engage you and then touch you with its gentle and thoughtful heart, and its poignancy will linger on your mind for a while after it is over.

Sidenote: Like “Bori”, which is incidentally about a little girl who wants to have hearing impairment just like her family members, the movie is presented with the subtitle for audiences with hearing impairment. I sincerely hope that more South Korean movies will show such consideration like that.

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The Table: Day and Night (2026) ☆☆☆(3/4): At a coffee shop

Posted on November 7, 2026 by kaist455

South Korean film “The Table: Day and Night” presents four different vignettes unfolded inside one little cozy coffee shop. While they are loosely connected with each other via the owners of the coffee shop, each of these vignettes are interesting with each own different mood and personality, and it surely helps that they are supported well by a group of good performers assembled here in this movie.

The first part, which is titled “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”, alternates between two separate conversations at the coffee shop. At first, we meet two young women having some talk with each other, and then their cheerful evening conversation is intercut with an afternoon conversation between two young men at the same spot. On the surface, it seems that there is not any connection between these two different narratives, but then they get connected with each other a bit to our little amusement.

The second part, which is titled “People Who Are Still Me”, develops a rather absurd happening between a man and a woman supposed to be an old school friend of his. When she suddenly approaches to him, the man is surely baffled and surprised even though he can recognize her, and then it soon turns out that she is under a sort of paranoia as they talk more with each other. According to her, many of others around her may not be what they seem on the surface, and, not so surprisingly, he regards her with reasonable doubt, even when she frantically insists that he should believe her.

Although we can easily anticipate a punchline moment to be delivered later, this increasingly tense vignette keeps holding our attention as its two main characters constantly push and pull each other for around 15 minutes. The two performers on the screen steadily click well with each other from the beginning to the end, and you may come to smile a bit when that punchline moment in question eventually arrives.

The third vignette, which is titled “Yi.Soon.Bull.”, is equally amusing as providing some nice amusement along with a bit of stylish touches to be noticed. This time, the mood inside the coffee shop is heightened a little with the effective utilization of light and shadow, and this little stylish approach accentuates the overall comic tone of this vignette.

At first, we watch the conversation between some prominent female web novelist and her female agent, who eagerly insists that the novelist should meet a certain prominent male independent filmmaker supposedly interested in making a move based on one of the novelist’s recent works. Although the novelist is not particularly willing to meet that dude, she eventually agrees to meet that filmmaker dude, and it does not take much time for her (and us) to notice that this dude is more interested in getting closer to her.

While we are not so surprised by what is happening between these two main characters, we are frequently amused as they toy with each other in one way or another, and the comic tone of this vignette is buoyed further by the nice comic chemistry between the two performers on the screen. It is really fun to watch them effortlessly swinging back and forth across several different modes, and then we get a little unexpected moment of possible romance right after their story is over.

The fourth vignette, “Autumn Story”, shines with bittersweet poignancy to be savored as calmly observing the separation of a plain young couple. While the young woman has been enjoying a modest success in her entertainment career, the young man has embarked on a new professional career for him since he finished his mandatory military service period, and you may get a little amused when he talks about how he came to decide to pursue that professional career in question during his military service period.

It is undeniable that their paths will be parted from now on, but they cannot help but feel bitter and regretful as they still care about each other even at this point. Considering their courteous breakup under mutual agreement, they may remain as good friends for a while at least, but it is apparent to us that they will be more distant to each other as time goes by.

Right before the end credits, the movie throws a little epilogue part which emphasizes its artificial aspects to some degree, but all of its four vignettes are handled well under the competent direction of director/writer Kim Jong-kwan, who previously made “Worst Woman” (2016) and “The Table” (2017). Like “The Table”, which also consists of several individual vignettes unfolded at one same spot, the movie depends a lot on the presence and talent of its main cast members including Kim Min-ha, Joo Jong-hyuk, Han Sun-hwa, Chang Ryul, Shim Eun-kyung, Lee Hee-jun, Jeon So-young, and Kim Dong-hwi, and they all have each own moment to shine in the film.

In conclusion, “The Table: Day and Night”, which was premiered at the Busan International Film Festival early in last month before being eventually released in South Korean theaters a few days ago, is a fairly engaging work to be cherished for its good mood, storytelling, and performance, and its rather short running time (79 minutes) will easily pass by as you enjoy each of its four vignettes one by one. In my humble opinion, it is one of the more interesting South Korean films of this year, and I think you should give it a chance someday.

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Poetry (2010) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4): An old senile lady and poetry

Posted on October 30, 2026 by kaist455

South Korean filmmaker Lee Chang-dong’s 2010 film “Poetry”, which was re-released in selected South Korean theaters in this week, is a somberly sublime character drama about poetry and morality. Leisurely and patiently following one plain senile old lady struggling to reach for poetry while also facing a difficult ethical situation, the movie lets us sense whatever her fading mind feels and thinks along the story, and it often shines with subtle poetic moments before she eventually makes a moral decision resulted from her little artistic journey.

After its quiet but ultimately disturbing opening scene, the movie introduces us to Mi-ja (Yoon Jeong-hee), a poor and meek 66-year-old woman who has lived her adolescent grandson since her daughter left for her second marriage some time ago. We see her visiting a local hospital for a minor physical problem, but then she turns out to have symptoms of the early state of Alzheimer’s disease. However, she keeps this bad news to herself, mainly because she needs to support herself and her grandson via working as a caregiver for some ailing old dude day by day.

However, it is clear to us that there is not much love between Mi-ja and her grandson, who is your average disaffected teenage boy. Except when he has breakfast or dinner with his grandmother, he does not interact much with Mi-ja, and Mi-ja often feels quite frustrated even though she keeps trying to make more connection with him.

Meanwhile, Mi-ja begins to take a poetry class at a local community center, probably because that can help her in slowing down the inevitable deterioration of her mind. Although the class teacher, who is incidentally an active poet, generously lectures on where one can get any kind of poetic inspiration from daily life, Mi-ja cannot help but feel baffled and confused, and the movie becomes a bit humorous as she clumsily searches for any possibility of poetic inspiration here and there in her mundane daily life.

And then something starts to disrupt Mi-ja’s daily life. She later comes to learn that her grandson committed an atrocious sex crime along with his several schoolmates, and she soon finds herself being with the fathers of the other perpetrators besides her grandson. Despite the recent tragic death of the victim, everyone ranging from the school to the local police is willing to cover up the case as much as possible, and it seems that the victim’s family is willing to agree on an unofficial settlement via a fair amount of damage.

While Mi-ja certainly becomes more conflicted along the story, Lee’s screenplay does not overplay its heroine’s inherently melodramatic status at all, and it continues to pay attention to her gradual artistic journey. As she tries more for getting any kind of poetic inspiration, she attends a little local meeting for poetry recitation, and there is a little amusing moment when she is not so amused by some guy making some lewd jokes after his poetry recitation. He seems really sincere about poetry, but Mi-ja cannot help but feel displeased because she believes poetry should be about beauty and life.

However, things get only uglier in her daily life. When that ailing old man requests a sexual experience from her, Mi-ja is certainly repulsed, but she later agrees to provide that to him, and what happens next between them is pretty cheerless to say the least. In case of her grandson, he does not show much of guilt or regret even when Mi-ja does a sort of little test on his conscience at one point, and the fathers of the other perpetrators keep urging her to pay her part of that settlement money, though she is virtually penniless right now.

I will not go into detail on what happens next in the story, except that there are several unforgettable moments of subtle dramatic power. There is a crucial scene where Mi-ja tries to approach to a certain supporting character and then gradually senses more of how devastating her grandson and his friends’ crime really is on personal level, and this eventually leads to her own poetic inspiration as well as her important moral decision around the end of the story. Although the movie does not spell out anything at all, we somehow gather not only how she becomes artistically inspired but also how she also become more morally enlightened during that artistic process, and that is why the following finale lingers on our mind for a long time after the movie is over.

Yoon Jeong-hee, who came out of her longtime retirement for this movie, is very poignant in what turned out to be the last performance in her renowned movie acting career (She died in 2023 after struggling a lot with Alzheimer’s disease just like her character, by the way). Even though her character feels distant from us at times, Yoon’s unadorned natural acting keeps holding our attention to the end, and the delicate details of her performance effortlessly convey to us whatever is happening in her character’s increasingly fading mind.

In conclusion, “Poetry” is still a very impressive work which can engage and then touch us even at present, and it is surely one of Lee’s best works. Although I have some reservation on “Oasis” (2002) and “Burning” (2018), I agree with many others that he has been one of the best South Korean filmmakers for many years, and his latest film “Possible Love” (2026) shows us that he has not lost any of his talent yet. It is a shame that he has made only seven films during last 30 years, but it looks like he can still keep going despite being over 70 at present, and that is really fortunate for us.

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Kung Fu Hustle (2004) ☆☆☆(3/4): A goofy but spirited martial arts comedy film

Posted on October 30, 2026 by kaist455

Stephen Chow’s 2004 film “Kung Fu Hustle”, which was re-released in selected South Korean theaters in this week, willingly and unabashedly goes all the way for its goofy but undeniably spirited entertainment. At first, you may roll your eyes at times because of its numerous moments of silly comedy and exaggerated action, but then you will find yourself gladly going along with that thanks to its infectious fun and excitement, which incidentally remain fairly intact even after more than 20 years.

The story, which is set in a sort of fantasy version of Shanghai during the 1940s, begins with how a powerful criminal organization, which is called the Axe Gang, takes control over the city. As its vicious leader and his countless gangs do some aggressive expansion for their criminal organization, this process is cheerfully intercut with a big dance sequence to behold, and the overall comic tone of the film is quickly established thanks to that.

It seems that no one can possibly stop the Axe Gang, but then there comes an unexpected trouble for them to deal with. Outside the city, there is a slum neighborhood named Pigsty Alley, and a small-time criminal named Sing, played by Chow, tries to extort some money from the residents of Pigsty Alley on one day, but he and his bumbling sidekick miserably fail to our little amusement. Eventually, he only ends up getting himself sandwiched between the residents of Pigsty Alley and the Axe Gang after inadvertently causing a big conflict between these two groups.

At first, the residents of Pigsty Alley look quite helpless in front of those Axe Gang members, but, surprise, it turns out that some of them are actually martial arts masters who have hidden themselves for many years. Needless to say, these hidden masters quickly overpower many Axe gangs on the spot, and the leader of the Axe Gang is certainly not so amused about that. Soon, he recruits several other masters who may be able to defeat his mighty opponents, and this surely causes more threat to the residents of Pigsty Alley.

As the masters of the Pigsty Alley and their opponents clash with each other in one way or another, the movie gleefully bounces among many different modes including drama, comedy, and horror. While the movie apparently uses a lot of CGI for those preposterously exaggerated actions unfolded across the screen, it competently handles them with enough wit and energy, and you can clearly sense that it is really eager to try anything for more amusement and excitement for us. I particularly like the scene featuring a couple of masters who can be quite lethal with their certain Chinese instrument, and I am still amused by a little homage to Stanley Kubrick’s “The Shining” (1980) around the middle point of the story.

Meanwhile, the movie also focuses on how Sing clumsily attempts to show others around him that he can be a hardcore criminal. No matter how much he tries, he always comes to make a fool of himself instead, and one of his funniest moments in the film comes from when he and a certain character do an outrageous chase scene not so far from Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner.

Sing looks quite pathetic at times, but Chow’s likable presence steadily holds our attention, and the movie even tries a little possibility of romance between his character and a young mute woman who still remembers what happened between them many years ago. This feels rather redundant in my humble opinion, but I appreciate a brief but nice touch during these two characters’ certain key scene at least.

During the last act, the movie takes a predictable turn involved with something which has been hidden inside Sing for years (Is this a spoiler?), but it does not lose any of its bountiful sense of fun even at this point. In fact, it dials up the level of goofiness to the level of 11, as reflected by when a lot of real and CGI extras are hurled or kicked across the screen in the middle of its climatic action sequence. Of course, we later get a big duel of fate between two very powerful masters, and this eventually culminates to a literally impactful moment of sheer comic gusto.

Just like any other good comedy films, the film is often brimming with a lot of personality thanks to its broad but undeniably colorful characters surrounding Chow’s character, and he is supported well by a bunch of good supporting performers, many of whom are incidentally known as not only performers but also martial artists. While Danny Chan Kwok-Kwan and Leung Siu-lung are effective as the two main villain characters in the story, Yuen Qiu and Yuen Wah have a lot of fun as a bickering couple who has been the de facto leading figures of Pigsty Alley, and Xing Yu, Chiu Chi-ling, Dong Zhihua, and Lam Chi-chung are also solid in their respective supporting parts.

On the whole, “Kung Fu Hustle” is a breezy piece of entertainment which entertained and energized me enough when I watched the movie at a few hours ago. It is a shame that I was the only audience in the screening room at that time, but I could instantly forget that while getting amused and excited as much as I did when I watched it for the first time in 2006. This is surely a silly little comedy film as before, but its goofy charm and bouncing spirit are still irresistible, and I gladly recommend it even if you have already seen it.

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Heart of the Beast (2026) ☆☆1/2(2.5/4): In the Alaskan wilderness with his loyal dog

Posted on October 28, 2026 by kaist455

David Ayer’s latest film “Heart of the Beast” did not surprise me that much. Being your average seasoned moviegoer, I have watched a fair share of survival drama flicks, and this movie does not bring anything particularly new or fresh to its genre territory on the whole, so I merely observed its earnest plot progress with occasional mild interest.

After the brief prologue scene, the movie introduces us James Belmont (Brad Pitt), a retired US special veteran who has been exploring along with his combat German Shepherd in the middle of some remote wild region of Alaska. After he lands his little seaplane at a riverside spot, he decides to stay there for a while, and we come to sense that both he and his dog, named Odin, have struggled with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) due to their brutal combat experiences in the past.

Needless to say, Belmont prefers to be alone with his loyal dog, so he is not so pleased when he comes across an bearded old guy incidentally played by J.K. Simmons. The mood becomes a bit tense between them at first, but it soon turns out that the old man has been simply exploring the same area just like Belmont. Belmont eventually allows the old man to have a little drinking night along with him, but he does not reveal much to the old man except talking a bit about his military background, and the old man understands that while showing a bit of gratitude before his subsequent departure.

As the old man correctly predicted in advance, there comes a serious rainstorm in the next morning. Belmont seems to be fully prepared as he flies his seaplane through that rainstorm, but, alas, there comes an unexpected medical problem, and his aircraft consequently crashes onto somewhere in the Alaskan wilderness shortly after he becomes unconscious.

Fortunately, both Belmont and Odin survive the crash, but their situation is still quite grim to say the least. From the crashed aircraft, he manages to retrieve a number of necessary stuffs such as a map and a compass, but it turns out that he must walk along a rather risky trek, which is 93 kilometers (58 miles) at least, within several days for any chance for their survival.

What follows next is a series of perils and risks with which Belmont and his dog cope in one way or another. Yes, Alaskan wilderness is certainly harsh and dangerous at times, and there are several tricky passages where they have to be really careful for good reasons. Yes, the movie does not disappoint us at all in case of those local wild animals out there, and that may take you back to several other similar survival drama movies such as “The Edge” (1997) and “The Grey” (2011).

While doling out one expected thing after another, the screenplay by Cameron Alexander, who also participated in the production as one of the executive producers, mostly stays focused on the emotional bond between Belmont and his dog, and that is where the best parts of the films come from. As their circumstance expectedly becomes direr for them, they come to depend more on each other than before, and their relationship is believable enough to hold our attention, though Alexander’s screenplay can be a bit too blatant as reflected by an obvious nod to one of the famous novels by Cormac McCarthy.

Anyway, the movie is fairly competent in technical aspects. Thanks to Oscar-winning cinematographer Mauro Fiore, we are often served with plenty of crisp landscape shots (The movie was mainly shot in New Zealand, by the way), and the score by Jack Michael Fry, who previously collaborated with Ayer in “The Beekeeper” (2024) and “A Working Man” (2025), functions as an effective accompaniment to that while occasionally wielding some ethnic touches to be appreciated.

In case of the two characters at the center of the movie, their engaging presence steadily carries the story to the end, though I wish there were some more personality and substance in their relationship drama. Brad Pitt is certainly a good actor, but his character is a rather flat and broad archetype from the beginning, and I must point out that those occasional flashbacks showing the traumatic military past of Belmont and his dog are redundant without any help in fleshing them out more along the story.

However, I also must recognize that Pitt wisely stands aside for those four dogs who played Odin during the shooting. As far as I can see, the performances of these four dogs are seamlessly blended together to create a convincing character in the film, and their good overall efforts always click well with Pitt’s humble acting on the screen in addition to stealing the show from time to time.

In conclusion, “Heart of the Beast” is relatively milder and gentler compared to many of Ayer’s recent works, and that is sort of refreshing change, but it did not engage me as much as I expected. Yes, as some of you know well, I usually prefer cats to dogs, but any good dog character can instantly attract my attention, and Odin is surely one of such cases. It is a shame that his movie is not interesting enough for recommendation, but you may like it more if you are a dog lover, and you will not easily forget him after it is over.

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Silent Light (2007) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4): A triangle drama immersed in patience and silence

Posted on October 25, 2026 by kaist455

Carlos Reygadas’ 2007 film “Silent Light”, whose recent 4K restoration version came to South Korean theaters in a few weeks ago, is a singular experience to admire for its considerable sublime qualities. While it is basically a typical triangle drama, it instantly draws our attention with the specific details of a distinctively ethnic religious community located in the norther part of Mexico, and then it gradually and patiently immerses us into the universal matters of heart among its several main characters

The movie, which was shot in a Mennonite community close to Cuauhtémoc, Chihuahua State, Northern Mexico, opens with a very slow but ultimately breathtaking moment to behold. After looking around the dark sky filled with numerous stars for a while, the camera of cinematographer Alexis Zabé eventually settles on one spot where it steadily observes the beginning of another day, and the subtle dramatic effect of this long-take scene is quite awe-inspiring to say the least (I am still wondering how they actually shot it, by the way).

And then we are introduced to a Mennonite farmer named Johan (Cornelio Wall) and his wife and children. Under utter solemness, they sit around their dining table while silently saying grace, and we soon see them beginning their breakfast time. At first, things seem to be going well among them, but we slowly sense something strained between Johan and his wife Esther (Miriam Toews) as they talk with each other in Plautdietsch, a local German dialect which is also called Mennonite Low German.

When Johan visits a local garage belonging to a close friend of his for some private conversation, we get to know more about what has been tormenting him. He has actually been having an affair with a local woman named Marianne (Maria Pankratz), and he sincerely believes that he found his real soulmate from Marianne. However, as a devout conservative Christian, he is also well aware of his family duty, and, above all, he still loves and cares about Esther even though his heart continues to yearn for Marianne.

When Johan later has a little private meeting with Marianne, it is apparent that they love each other quite passionately. As the camera lingers on their romantic interaction, we come to sense more of their undeniable emotional bond, and it seems that he can simply leave his wife for his happiness, but then we also observe how close Johan and Esther are as a couple devoted to each other for many years. They instantly sense each other’s thoughts and feelings even when they just exchange a few words between them, and Esther has certainly known everything because her husband did not try to hide his extramarital affair from her at all from the very beginning.

As the circumstance among him, Marianne, and Esther remains unresolved to everyone’s frustration, Johan seeks for any advice from his pastor father, who does not judge his son at all while also showing some understanding and compassion. As a wise old man who clearly had a fair share of life experiences throughout his lifetime, he simply advises Johan that, regardless of whether he likes it or not, he should make a choice between Esther and Marianne sooner or later.

This is certainly a familiar melodramatic situation, but the movie takes its time in its deliberately slow narrative pacing as thoughtfully handling the complicated relationships among its three main characters with admirably restrained sensitivity. When Johan and Marianne happen to meet again, the movie somberly but tenderly observes their another moment of passion and love, and we are not so surprised when it later turns out that Johan fails again in overcoming his ongoing yearning toward Marianne.

I will not go into details on what occurs next among the main characters in the film around its last act, but I can tell you instead that this part, which is clearly influenced by Carl Theodor Dreyer’s great film “Ordet” (1955), absolutely captivated me again just like it did when I watched it for the first time in 2009. The movie does not seem to reach for any emotional response from us on the surface, but then it effortlessly pulls out a genuinely poignant moment of forgiveness and redemption under Reygadas’ confident direction, and then we are served with one of the best closing shots I have ever watched during last three decades.

Most of the cast members of the film are non-professional performers who are also local Mennonites, and their unadorned natural acting certainly brings considerable authenticity to the story and characters. In case of its three main performers, Cornelio Wall’s low-key performance diligently holds the center as required, and Maria Pankratz and Miriam Toews, who is a Canadian author who wrote several novels including “Women Talking” (Yes, this is the novel on which Sarah Polley’s 2022 Oscar-winning film of the same name is based), are also effective in complementing Wall’s earnest acting in one way or another.

In conclusion, “Silent Light” is still capable of mesmerizing us even though almost 20 years have passed since it came out. Sadly, Reygadas has never reached the level of artistic achievement shown here in this film, but the movie remains alive and well with its emotional power quite intact, and I am glad to experience this terrific work from a big movie theater screen along with local audiences today.

Sidenote: However, it should be mentioned that there were sexual abuse allegations on Reygadas in 2019. Please check out this article.

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