The Choral (2025) ☆☆1/2(2.5/4): A chorus during wartime

Posted on May 2, 2026 by kaist455

“The Choral”, which is currently available on Netflix in South Korea, is a mildly somber period drama about one little choral performance during wartime. Although it feels meandering at times due to its rather thin and unfocused narrative, the movie works to some degree at least when it eventually arrives at the expected finale where the efforts of its main characters are finally and dramatically demonstrated in front of others.

Set in a fictional town in Yorkshire, UK, 1916, the story begins with a big trouble in the local choral society in the town. When its choirmaster happens to join the army due to the ongoing war in Europe, its members quickly look for someone to replace their former choirmaster, and that happens to be Dr. Henry Guthrie (Ralph Fiennes). Although he is deemed rather problematic due to several reasons including atheism, they eventually agree to recruit him because he seems to be the best option for them right now.

While he is not so willing to take the job at first, Dr. Guthrie accepts the request, and he surprises the elder members of the choral society a lot right from his first day. Once it is clear that the choral society needs more male voices due to the absence of many former male members who went to the war, he willingly recruits more male singers besides a number of new female singers. In addition, he does not care much about class background from the very beginning, so the choral society is packed with various figures from the town ranging from a young Salvation Army lady to a middle-aged woman of some seedy reputation.

And then there comes the matter of what the chorus will perform for the upcoming local concert. They initially chose a certain famous work by Johann Sebastian Bach, but they later decide that it is inappropriate just because Bach is a German. Eventually, they choose “The Dream of Gerontius” by British composer Edward Elgar instead after it is suggested by Dr. Guthrie.

Because they have a rather short time for their practice, Dr. Guthrie and his chorus members must do their best, but then he becomes quite frustrated as his chorus members often do not reach his standard. Fortunately, they come to show some improvement as time goes by, and Dr. Guthrie also comes to have an idea on how to elevate their performance more. He wants the performance to reflect the horror and sadness of the ongoing wartime, and he subsequently has a number of injured soldiers join the chorus.

Meanwhile, we get to know a bit more about Dr. Guthrie along the story. Although he is a quiet and reserved man, it has been known well that he is gay, and some people in the town often regard him with suspicion just because he lived in Germany for many years before the war began. Nevertheless, he keeps focusing on his job as usual, and this professional dedication of his is appreciated more by the chorus members.

The movie also pays some attention to several subplots involved with a number of key members of the choral society. In case of a wealthy local Alderman, his private life has been desolated after he lost their only son to the war, and we observe a lot of estrangement between him and his grieving wife. In case of a young woman whose boyfriend went to the war several months ago, she has been quite worried as he was possibly dead, but then her heart is drawn to one of the chorus members, who is soon conscripted to the army just like many other lads around his age.

The screenplay by Alan Bennett, who previously collaborated with director/co-producer Nicholas Hytner in “The History Boys” (2006) and “The Lady in the Van” (2015), tries to juggle these and many other story elements together, but the result is superficial and scattershot at times as not providing enough narrative momentum to engage us more. As simply moving on from one episodic moment to another, the story frequently struggles to hold the center, and it also fails to provide enough depth and substance to its several subplots, all of which are conveniently resolved around the finale as expected.

At least, Ralph Fiennes is engaging in his quietly sensitive performance, which speaks volumes even when his character does not seem to express much on the surface. While being mostly unflappable throughout the story, Fiennes gradually conveys to us his character’s thoughts and feelings without showing them off at all, and one of his best moments in the film comes from when Dr. Guthrie has an honest private conversation with his accompanist at one point in the middle of the story. The accompanist, who is incidentally gay just like Dr. Guthrie, decides to be a conscientious objector instead of getting conscripted to the army, and Dr. Guthrie is saddened because there is no possible way for him to help his accompanist at all.

On the whole, “The Choral” is a bit too mild to hold my attention, and I wish it did more groundwork before eventually arriving at the expected finale. Yes, the finale will not disappoint you at all as its main characters give a choral performance to remember, but the movie is often hampered by its weak storytelling, so I ended up admiring their performance from the distance. They surely did a good job, but the movie itself is rather underwhelming in my inconsequential opinion.

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The Devil Wears Prada 2 (2026) ☆☆1/2(2.5/4): She returns – but things have changed

Posted on April 30, 2026 by kaist455

“The Devil Wears Prada 2” has a fair amount of fun and style while showing some surprisingly melancholic aspects. As things have surely changed a lot during last 20 years since “The Devil Wears Prada” (2006), the movie becomes a bit more serious than its predecessor as recognizing this considerable change in the world inhabited by its main character. However, it also feels like a redundant epilogue as being one or two steps below its predecessor, even though it is still entertaining to see a sort of homecoming among its four principal performers.

At the beginning, the movie quickly establishes the current status of Andrea “Andy” Sachs (Anne Hathaway). Since she quit working for Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep) at an enormously famous fashion magazine named Runway around 20 years ago, Andrea has steadily established her journalism career, and now she is about to have one of the finest moments in her career, but, alas, she and several colleagues of hers suddenly found themselves unemployed as a part of the aggressive downsizing of their newspaper company right before that moment. Considering how this has often occurred in numerous major newspaper and magazine companies around the world during last several years, this moment surely comes closer to many audiences who have been well aware of this alarming decline of journalism industry.

As Andrea subsequently tries to find any job opportunity, there comes an unlikely offer. Her emotional public speech at that moment happened to draw the attention of the owner of Runway, and, what do you know, she soon finds herself getting employed as a new editor there. She is now going to work along with Miranda instead of working under her as before, and she is certainly delighted to meet her imperious mentor again, though Miranda seems barely moved while not recognizing Andrea that much.

Nevertheless, there is not much tension between Andrea and Miranda from the beginning, because we know too well that Miranda recognizes and cares about Andrea more than she can possibly admit on the surface. After all, she actually helped Andrea a bit start her journalism career despite being quite disappointed with Andrea’s eventual choice at that time, and Andrea remains grateful to Miranda as before.

And Miranda really needs some help from Andrea this time, because her magazine is facing a disastrous public relation problem due to a major article praising a well-known fashion industry company which turns out to profit a lot from oversea labor exploitation. Andrea subsequently writes a piece for public apology, and that seems to help the magazine recover from this messy public scandal, though Miranda remains not so impressed while being more occupied with the upcoming promotion promised by the owner of Runway.

Meanwhile, we meet two familiar figures: Nigel Kipling (Stanley Tucci) and Emily Charlton (Emily Blunt). Although he has suffered and endured a lot as working under Miranda for many years without receiving any recognition or appreciation at least, Nigel continues to stand by Miranda as her trustful right-hand guy, and he also remains kind and supportive to Andrea as before. In contrast, Emily left Runway some years ago, and now she works as a senior executive at Dior in addition to being engaged to a very wealthy suitor.

Leisurely rolling its main four characters along the story, the movie gradually shows seriousness as Miranda and her magazine face another unexpected big problem later in the story. Needless to say, Andrea is willing to do anything for saving Runway and helping her mentor, but the situation becomes a bit more complicated as her well-intentioned plan goes wrong later, though it is rather hard to believe that she is so naïve like that despite being your average seasoned journalist.

While it is relatively less fun than its predecessor, the movie wields its glamour and beauty as much as it can across the screen. We surely see a lot of gorgeous and colorful clothes throughout the film, and the mood becomes more lovely when Miranda and Andrea go to Milan, Italy for attending a big fashion show to be held there. At one point, they have a dinner with a small group of guests right in front of a certain famous work of art, and that reminds us more of the luxurious aspects of Miranda’s life and work, though, to our little amusement, she has to step back a bit in case of her travel budget (I will not deny that I chuckled a little as observing this silly but funny moment).

The four principal performers diligently carry the film on the whole. Meryl Streep, who was deservedly Oscar-nominated for the previous film, certainly brings a touch of class to her character as expected, and Anne Hathaway demonstrates that she still can be as charming and likable as she was in the previous film. In case of Stanley Tucci and Emily Blunt, both of them have each own moments to shine, and Tucci is particularly poignant when his character is finally asked to do something very important on behalf of his boss around the end of the story.

Overall, “The Devil Wears Prada 2”, which is directed David Frankel (He directed several comedy films such as “Marley & Me” (2008) after “The Devil Wears Prada”, by the way), thankfully did not bore me, but it is not as enjoyable as its predecessor. Mainly because I gave the previous film 3 stars out of 4, I gave the movie 2.5 stars, but you still want to watch it anyway if you enjoyed its predecessor, and you will probably have a fairly good time just like the audiences around me did during last evening.

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The Super Mario Galaxy Movie (2026) ☆☆(2/4): Bland and uninspired as before

Posted on April 30, 2026 by kaist455

I felt depressed as phlegmatically observing how my mind was frequently turned off as watching animation film “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie”, the sequel to “The Mario Bros. Movie” (2023). I did try to focus on its barebone plot and cardboard characters, but there was nothing I could really hold onto during my viewing, and I was merely amused a bit by a meaningless stream of silly gags and superficial jokes along this expensive but ultimately mediocre product.

As watching the beginning of the film, I struggled to remember anything from “The Super Mario Bros. Movie”, but I could only remember a very few things. As far as I can recall, 1) the story was more or less than your average hero origin story for Mario (voiced by Chris Pratt) and his younger brother Luigi (voiced by Charlie Day), and 2) they eventually saved the day for Princess Peach (voiced by Anya Taylor-Joy) and her kingdom, and 3) their villainous opponent, Bowser (voiced by Jack Black), was defeated and then got imprisoned in his literally downsized status.

 The main villain of “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” is Bowser Jr. (voiced by Benny Safdie), the son of Bowser who has somehow established his own powerful army somewhere in the galaxy and has been quite determined to accomplish his two main goals. First, he wants to liberate his father who is currently a captive in the palace of Princess Peach, and then he is going to dominate the universe along with his father with his planet weapon which is virtually a cartoonish version of the Death Star in the Star Wars movies.   

 As a part of his diabolical plan, Bowser Jr. kidnaps Princess Rosalina (voiced by Brie Larson), who is the gentle but powerful protector of little orphan stars. He is going to use her power for that weapon of hers, and, needless to say, the Mario brothers and Princess Peach soon get involved into this situation along with Bowser, who seems to be sort of rehabilitated as trying to suppress his evil side in front of the Mario brothers.

As its main characters bounce from one narrative point to another, a lot of recognizable stuffs pop up here and there throughout the film. If you have ever played or encountered that famous Nintendo video game on which the film is based, you will certainly notice many different figures and backgrounds from that video game, and you may be also delighted a bit by how these elements are colorfully presented in digital animation.

However, this fun does not last that long as there is not much development in terms of story and characters. The plot is virtually non-existent as merely moving its main characters along its utterly predictable narrative, and there is not much depth in case of characterization. While Mario and Luigi are simply defined by their broad appearance and attire, the hidden connection between Princess Peach and Princess Rosalina is perfunctory without much interest, the same thing can be said about Bowser’s little inner conflict, which is quickly discarded once he sees how much his son has tried to impress him (Is this a spoiler?).

Furthermore, the main voice cast members of the film remain bland and uninspired on the whole. Chris Pratt’s voice performance is improved a bit compared to his utterly flat job in the previous film, but there is nothing much he can do except sounding cheery or heroic. Charlie Day has much more things to do compared to the previous film, but he is only demanded to throw a lot of silly lines just for making us a little amused. Anna Taylor-Joy and Brie Larson bring some pluck to their respective roles, but they are often limited by their limited thin characters, and the same thing can be said about Jack Black and Benny Safdie, who are just required to chew every line of theirs as much as possible. In case of the supporting voice performers including Glen Powell, Issa Rae, Keegan-Michael Key, Luis Guzmán, and Donald Glover, most of them are unfortunately under-utilized despite their game efforts, and that is another disappointment in the film.   

In technical aspects, the film shows some competence but remains seriously devoid of style and personality. Sure, directors Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic, who also directed the previous film, and their crew members did almost everything they could do for vividly presenting all those stuffs from that Nintendo video game on the screen, but there is not much sense of surprise or inspiration from the start. Sure, the story does try to expand its universe with several different worlds to be unfolded in front of Mario and Luigi, but there is not any particularly fresh style or substance to draw our attention, and we just come to follow a series of happenings and introductions without much care or interest. At least, the score by Brian Tyler, whose score for the previous film was one of a very few saving graces, tries its best for bringing some enthusiasm to the screen, and you may appreciate his efforts more considering he kept working on the score even when he was hospitalized for a while due to a mild stroke.    

In conclusion, “The Super Mario Galaxy” simply comes and goes without much impression just like its predecessor, and it is already fading away in my mind although no more than a half day passed since I watched it at last night. Because it earned more than 800 million dollars around the world at this point, there will surely be another sequel within a few years, and now I become all the more depressed as mulling on this daunting prospect.

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Lee Cronin’s The Mummy (2026) ☆☆1/2(2.5/4): A Mummy flick a la “The Exorcist”

Posted on April 28, 2026 by kaist455

“Lee Cronin’s The Mummy” is supposed to be one thing at the beginning but then turns out to be some other thing in the end, and I enjoyed that to some degree. While it does not bring anything particularly new to its real genre territory, there are several competent moments for dread and shock at least, and you may overlook its rather thin narrative and shallow characterization.

After the opening scene which becomes more disturbing than expected, the movie introduces us to an American TV journalist named Charlie Cannon (Jack Reynor) and his family. Mainly due to his work, he and his family have stayed in Cairo, Egypt during next several months, and things have been fairly good for them, but then there comes an unexpected incident. Their 8-year-old daughter Katie, played by Emily Mitchell, is suddenly vanished for no apparent reason, and Charlie and his wife Larissa (Laia Costa) are quite frustrated and devastated as the following investigation by the local police is going nowhere.

8 years later, Charlie and Larissa are now living in Albuquerque, New Mexico with their two other children in the house belonging to Larissa’s mother. Although they remain haunted by Katie’s disappearance as reflected by a room still ready for her possible return, the family looks fairly fine on the whole, and it seems they can move onto the next chapter of their life at last.

Of course, there soon comes an unexpected news for them. An old mysterious sarcophagus was recently found from an airplane crash site in Egypt, and, what do you know, it contains the barely living body of Katie, who is now 16 years old and played by Natalie Grace from this point. Quite baffled to see their daughter again, Charlie and Larissa eventually take their regained daughter to their home in Albuquerque, and their two other children certainly feel awkward about this sudden change in their daily life.

As Larissa tries to help Katie’s recovery along with her mother, we surely begin to get a series of bad signs popping here and there. While looking mostly catatonic on the surface, Katie frequently shows erratic behaviors to the confusion of her parents, and their two other kids find themselves more disturbed by the increasingly ominous presence of their older sister. As things gets worse in their household day by day, Charlie tries to find any clue to what really happened to Katie at that time, and Detective Dalia Zaki (May Calamawy), a young local female cop who handled Katie’s case, is willing to help him as much as possible.

Even before they come closer to discovering the unspeakable secret behind Katie’s disappearance, you will get a pretty good idea of what is really happening to Charlie and his family – especially if you are a seasoned moviegoer like me. After all, Katie’s appearance looks as dirty and ragged as that young unfortunate girl in “The Exorcist” (1973), and she is surely capable of doing several nasty things such as suddenly vomiting a lot of gooey stuff on the floor.

It can be rather frustrating for some of you to see how the main characters in the film often behave as if they had never watched “The Exorcist” or any other similar horror films out there. Rather than following common sense, Charlie and Larissa keep doing one unwise thing after another along the story, and we are accordingly served with the ghastly consequences from these foolish actions of theirs. Even after a certain main character dies in a very gruesome way later in the story, they still try to maintain their status quo in the house, and that logically leads to more moments of terror and disgust for us.

These and many other horrific moments in the film are handled fairly well by director/writer Lee Cronin, who previously gave us “The Hole in the Ground” (2019) and “Evil Dead Rise” (2023). As the movie surely pulls all the stops during its expected climax, we are naturally bombarded with a lot of bangs and crashes, but this is imbued with some sense of dark fun even though it is clearly influenced more by “The Exorcist” and “The Evil Dead” (1981) than those numerous mummy movies such as that dull 2017 film starring Tom Cruise.

It is a shame that Cronin’s screenplay does not provide much depth to its main characters, who are more or less than plot elements to be manipulated along the story. While Jack Reynor, who is no stranger to horror films considering his effective supporting turn in “Midsommar” (2019), is merely required to look baffled or unnerved without anything else to do, Laia Costa and May Calamawy are often stuck in their bland parts, and the same thing can be said about the young performers playing Charlie and Larissa’s children. Shylo Molina, Dean Allen Williams, Billie Roy, Emily Mitchell manage to leave some impression despite their thankless supporting roles, and Natalie Grace looks admirably committed during several intense scenes assigned to her.

In conclusion, “Lee Cronin’s The Mummy” is thankfully less terrible than I worried, but it is still not good enough for recommendation due to several reasons including its deficient storytelling. Although it is relatively more enjoyable than that Tom Cruise mummy flick, the movie does not distinguish itself much in that familiar genre region belonging to “The Exorcist” and other countless movies about demonic possession, and my mind is already ready to move on from this passable experience.

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Ran 12.3 (2026) ☆☆1/2(2.5/4): The day when South Korean democracy was ambushed

Posted on April 28, 2026 by kaist455

South Korean documentary film “Ran 12.3” has a number of raw moments which still disturb me and many other South Korean citizens a lot even at this point. On December 3rd, 2024, President Yoon Seok-yeol suddenly declared the martial law on TV just for eliminating all those political opponents of his once for all, and it is really dreadful to imagine what could have happened if his impulsive (and possibly drunken) coup d’état attempt had not been quickly prevented by a lot of brave citizens and politicians several hours later.

I must confess that, because I happened to sleep rather early on that day, I belatedly came to learn about everything when I woke up early in the very next day. I was certainly perplexed as checking on several news outlets and social media services, and I and many other South Korean citizens have been reminded again and again of how fortunate we and our country were at that time.

Therefore, the documentary interested me right from when I heard about it a few months ago, but, alas, it does not satisfy or enlighten me much on the whole. While what is at the center of the documentary does have enough emotional power to hold our attention, it does not present anything new or revealing about that shocking day. Moreover, it is occasionally quite distracting due to its heavy-handed approach to the main subject, so I ended up feeling more distant instead of getting more engaged during my viewing.

The early part of the documentary hurriedly hurls at us a lot of background information about how President Yoon planned a coup d’état along with a bunch of his cronies. Many of them were in his cabinet, and these rotten people did not object to his dangerous plan at all mainly because of their cowardice and incompetence. In fact, many top figures in the South Korean Department of Justice including the Chief of the Supreme Court were ready to go along with him without any hesitation right from the very beginning.

It was really lucky for us that many members of the South Korean Parliament could respond to Yoon’s sudden martial law declaration gather at the National Assembly within a few hours. Besides the chairman of the parliament, more than 150 congressmen and congresswomen, nearly all of them were incidentally the members of the opposing parties, managed to enter the National Assembly in one way or another despite the considerable interference from the South Korean police and military under Yoon’s command, and hundreds of citizens and reporters also quickly came to the spot for not only supporting their politicians but also protesting against those police officers and soldiers.

Needless to say, President Yoon and his cronies knew well that those congressmen and congresswomen gathering inside the National Assembly would stop his martial law under their due process. He directly ordered those soldiers and police officers to stop those parliament members by any means necessary, and several raw footage clips in the documentary chillingly show us how urgent and perilous the situation was at that time.

Around that point, South Korean democracy could have been irrevocably destructed at any chance. For example, if those helicopters carrying a bunch of special force soldiers had been allowed to fly over the National Assembly a few minutes earlier, President Yoon could actually have succeeded in overthrowing South Korean democracy once for all. In addition, the chairman of the parliament and his fellow members of the parliament did their best as firmly sticking to their due process despite the accumulating pressure and anxiety upon them, and their dedicated staff members were determined to hold their ground for protecting South Korean democracy to the end.

And there were numerous ordinary citizens who were also ready to fight for South Korean democracy no matter how long their righteous fight would be. Once the martial law was officially overturned by the South Korean Parliament early in the morning of December 4th, they were certainly overjoyed, but this was just the beginning as President Yoon and his cronies attempted to get away with many serious legal offenses during next several months. In the end, this truly deplorable figure got impeached early in April 2025, and then he and his cronies were recently found guilty of a bunch of charges against them, but the South Korean society is still not so totally free from their crimes and influences.

The documentary may be worthwhile to watch for that reason, but I must point out that it has several glaring flaws to notice. Maybe you can overlook the frequent utilization of AI images and animation throughout the documentary, the overall result is still very clumsy and juvenile to say the least, and director/co-producer Lee Myung-se, who has mainly known for his notable films such as “ Nowhere to Hide” (1999) and “Duelist” (2005), uses too much music and editing for manipulating our emotions in one way or another. Furthermore, I was also bothered by its misogynistic attitude to President Yoon’s wife, who is equally despicable regardless of whether her past before marrying her husband is as checkered as, say, Eva Perón’s.

In short, “Ran 12.3” is a well-intentioned but overcooked documentary which is not good enough for compensating for its several negative aspects including its controversial executive producer, a vile and superficial man who does not deserve to be regarded as a journalist in my trivial opinion. I guess Lee wants to make his documentary “cinematic”, but it could deliver its relevant points more calmly and soberingly just with those powerful raw footage clips in the documentary. You know, they are certainly more than enough for us to get alarmed and then infuriated, and we really do not need all those bells and whistles at all.

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Apex (2026) ☆☆☆(3/4): A standard survival thriller driven by Charlize Theron

Posted on April 27, 2026 by kaist455

Charlize Theron is one of the most singular star actresses working in Hollywood. After she earned her own spot around the top of Hollywood with her great Oscar-winning performance in Patty Jenkins’ “Monster” (2003), she steadily and boldly rolled her career along a number of various genre films ranging from George Miller’s “Mad Max: Fury Road” (2015) to several recent Fast and Furious flicks, and Baltasar Kormákur’s Netflix film “Apex”, which was released a few days ago, shows us again what a charismatic action movie performer she is. Although the movie itself is quite typical to the bone, Theron’s undeniable physical presence diligently carries it to the end with considerable commitment, and that is something worthwhile to watch in my trivial opinion.

The movie opens with the prologue scene where Theron’s rock climber heroine, Sasha, is trying hard on her latest challenge along with her husband and fellow rock climber played by Eric Bana, who probably agreed to accept his thankless role just for working with Theron a bit in front of the camera. Not along after their another attempt to scale the Troll Wall in Norway is failed, a big heavy snowstorm is approaching, so they have no choice but to rappel down the Troll Wall as soon as possible, but, alas, an unexpected accident happens to them in the middle of that process.

Several months later, Sasha comes to a vast wildlife region in Australia, and she remains haunted by that unfortunate incident, which consequently made her give up rock climbing. Nonetheless, she is still drawn to other challenging outdoor activities besides that, and her main purpose of visiting is kayaking along the rapids in the region alone by herself.

Needless to say, there are several alarming signs right from her arrival. For example, Sasha is told that there have been a number of visitors who got vanished for no apparent reason during last few years, and then she encounters a couple of rather unpleasant lads at a gas station shop. At least, she gets some help from some other dude, who later gives her a bit of advice on which rapid is more challenging for her.

Once Sasha begins her journey along that rapid in question, everything feels fine for her for a while. The rapid surely turns out to be quite challenging to say the least, but she feels alive again as going through one tricky spot after another along the rapid, and the movie did a good job of making us brace ourselves more than once.

And then the situation becomes gradually disconcerting for our heroine. Not long after she happens to have an unexpected trouble, Sasha comes across that guy who helped her a bit early in the story. She appreciates another help from him at first, but it does not take much time for her to sense that there is something odd and suspicious about him.

Of course, this dude has a diabolical plan behind his back, and this certainly tests our heroine’s survival skill and instinct a lot. While running away from him as much as possible, Sasha also must cope with the unforgiving aspects of the wildlife area surrounding them, and it goes without saying that she must use her particular set of skills more than once for saving herself.

I have no idea on how much Kormákur, who previously directed “Everest” (2015) and “Beast” (2022), and his crew members including cinematographer Lawrence Sher actually shot the film at those real wildlife locations in Australia, but the numerous wildlife scenes in the film look quite believable on the whole. While I could exactly notice where they use CGI from time to time, these wildlife scenes are packed with enough verisimilitude, and this makes several intense moments of action look realistic enough on the screen.

And Theron, who also served as one of the co-producers of the film, looks convincing as her character goes through one challenge after another along the story. Although the screenplay by Jeremy Robbins is rather thin in terms of narrative and characterization, Theron’s committed performance fills the gaps and holes in the story as well as her character, and we become more engaged in her urgent struggle for survival.

On the opposite, Taron Egerton goes way over the top with his deliberately unhinged performance, which deserves to be compared with Jai Courtney’s equally deranged turn in Sean Byrne’s “Dangerous Animals” (2025). As his loathsome character viciously corners our heroine in one way or another, Egerton brings some twisted sense of humor to his several key scenes including the grisly one involved with a certain “homemade” product of his character. As watching that scene, I could not help but think of that unforgettable line from Kevin Connors’ deliciously nasty B-horror film “Motel Hell” (1980): “It takes all kinds of critters to make Farmer Vincent Fritters.”

In conclusion, “Apex” does not exceed my expectation much as predictably going from one predestined point to another, but the overall result is still entertaining enough for recommendation thanks to Theron’s commendable efforts as well as Kormákur’s competent direction. It could have more substance in terms of storytelling, but it compensates for that weakness with considerable skill and commitment, so I will not grumble for now.

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The General (1926) ☆☆☆☆(4/4): Stone-faced and great as usual

Posted on April 26, 2026 by kaist455

1926 silent black and white film “The General” is simply a great comedy. Although it is 100 years old at this point, the movie is still capable of amusing and entertaining us a lot with many inspired comic moments to remember, and it is certainly one of the finest moments in the career of its legendary star Buster Keaton, who has been regarded as one of the best comedians/filmmakers of the silent film era during the early 20th century along with Charlie Chaplin.     

Although it is indubitably one of the last great works from the silent film era, “The General” was actually as a commercial dud when it came out. The movie was not so welcomed by both the audiences and the critics, and its disappointing box office returns compared to its big production budget ($750,000) led to the long career downturn for Keaton. As being consequently forced to make a restrictive deal with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, he irrevocably lost his artistic independence, and then he saw his status gradually diminished during next several decades, before his significant achievements in “The General” and his several other comic masterworks were belatedly recognized and admired around the 1950s.

 When I happened to get a chance to watch “The General” at a local movie theater thanks to a little special event for Keaton’s several notable works, I observed again how effortlessly Keaton, who also served as its co-director/co-writer/co-producer, handles those numerous amusing moments in the film. No matter how silly and absurd things become for his everyman hero on the screen, the movie sticks to its straightforward tone to the end, and so does his performance – with that famously phlegmatic, or stone-faced, attitude and a bit of earnest sense of bafflement. Usually occupied with what is the most important to him without noticing any absurdity of the situation surrounding him at all, his character comes to function as an oddly calm ground to support everything in the film, and Keaton accomplishes his mission with graceful agility even during its most frantic moments. 

At the beginning, the movie, which is set in an American Southern region in the early 1860s, quickly establishes the two most important things for Keaton’s character, who is a plain train engineer working for Western & Atlantic Railroad. One is his locomotive named “the General”, and the other one is a young Southern lady played by Marion Mack. Early in the film, we see how Keaton’s character tries to win this young woman’s heart, and we are amused by how oblivious his character is to the accumulating comic momentum on the screen. At first, he is simply followed by two little boys imitating his gait, and then he is also followed by that young lady, but he does not notice this at all before he eventually arrives at her family house. We are more amused as this scene becomes more absurd later, but Keaton and the movie maintain their deadpan attitude as before, and this certainly tickles us a lot.

When the Civil War begins, Keaton’s character tries to enlist in the Confederate Army mainly for impressing that young lady more, but, to his disappointment, he gets rejected as being told that he is more useful as a train engineer than a soldier. He is understandably disappointed, but there comes an unlikely chance for proving himself one year later. When a bunch of Union Army soldiers take away his locomotive for their latest military operation, that young lady happens to be on a boxcar connected with that locomotive, and he naturally becomes quite determined to save her by any means necessary.

What follows next is a series of inventive comic moments shining with sharp creativity and precise timing. We are gradually amused as Keaton’s character trying one vehicle after another before eventually driving a locomotive for chasing after those Union Army soldiers, and then there comes a hilarious chase sequence along the railroad. While this is basically one-dimensional chase, Keaton and his co-director Clyde Bruckman, who wrote the screenplay with Al Boasberg and Charles Smith (Their screenplay was based on William Pittenger’s 1863 memoir “The Great Locomotive Chase”, by the way), steadily doles out unexpected comic obstacles for Keaton’s character, and one of the biggest laughs in the film comes from a big cannon clumsily handled by him at one point. As this cannon is slowly pointed toward him and the locomotive, there seems to be no escape for them as the cannon is moving straight along the same railroad just like them, but then there comes a sudden comic turn which still amuses me a lot for considerable ingenuity.

It is known well that Keaton threw himself into all of these and other action scenes in the film like he always did in his other notable works. In case of one certain scene early in the story, he had to sit on one of the coupling rods of a moving locomotive without any safety measure, and he could have got himself seriously injured at any point as shooting this scene. When he performed a very dangerous stunt as placing himself right on the front end of a locomotive moving at a considerably high speed, he had to take a lot of chance despite the sheer peril of this stunt, and you will admire his professional dedication more as appraising this moment.

Amid all these dangers and silliness, Keaton remains calm and earnest, and we come to laugh and then care more about his character’s bumpy quest for winning the heart of that young lady. During one particular key scene in the middle of the film, his character happens to hide under a big table surrounded by his opponents, and the movie has some little visual fun as he gets a chance to look at her via a little accidental hole in the sheet covering the table, which comes to function as an “iris shot” to our little amusement. As sensing more of his sincere love toward her, we come to root for him all the more than before, and the ending feels both sweet and hilarious as we gladly put aside our modern perspective on the Civil War for a while at least.

Overall, “The General” remains fresh and interesting mainly thanks to Keaton’s ingenious unflappable presence and talent. If you have not seen any of his movies, this great film will be a suitable beginning for you, and then you will probably want to check out his other excellent works such as “Our Hospitality” (1923) and “Sherlock Jr.” (1924). They may look quite old to you at first, but their timeless comic qualities will linger on you for a while, and you will appreciate more of his significant contribution to cinema.

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My Name (2026) ☆☆1/2(2.5/4): As her painful past returns

Posted on April 25, 2026 by kaist455

South Korean independent film “My Name” tries two different things together. On one hand, it is about an old woman who comes to face the repressed pain and sorrow from her hidden past. On the other hand, it is about her adolescent son who has his own personal issues to handle. While the former often shows considerable emotional power, the latter is quite rote and redundant to say the least, it is a shame that the movie stumbles more than once in its bifurcated narrative setting.

After the prologue part set in Jeju Island at present, the movie goes back to 1998 and focuses on the daily life of Jeong-soon (Yeon Hye-ran) and her high school student son Yeong-ok (Shin Woo-bin). While they have lived happily together in Jeju Island, Yeong-ok hopes to change his name someday just because it feels too girly for him, but his mother does not allow that – even when he prepares a document for officially changing his name.

Meanwhile, it turns out that Jeong-soon has been medicated for years due to some anxiety problem. When her new psychiatrist wants to delve more into the origin of this mental issue of hers, Jeong-soon is understandably reluctant, but then she begins to remember more of her almost forgotten past, and both her mind and body become more unsettled for good reasons. Nevertheless, she is still willing to regain those repressed memories of her past, so she starts to look around here and there around the island for finding any clue for that.

Because I and other South Korean audiences knew well from the beginning that the repressed memories of her past are involved with the Jeju Uprising in 1948, I guess I should tell you a bit about that tragic historical incident in question. In 1948, the South Korean government under the control of the US Army was about to be established via its first national election as opposing to the North Korean government under the Soviet Army, many people in Jeju Island protested against this because they did not want to see their country divided in half, and this eventually led to the brutal clash between them and the local police. Around the point where both US and South Korean Army got involved later, numerous incidents of killings happened on both sides, and this massive tragedy was cruelly suppressed during next several decades before the South Korean government eventually recognized it and then gave a public apology in the early 2000s.

As we wonder more about what exactly happened to Jeong-soon at that time, her mind comes to remember more of her past as it gradually goes back toward what she is still struggling to remember. It turns out that there is also some other painful private memory involved with not only another tragic incident in the South Korean history in the late 20th century but also her son, but she is still not so willing to tell him anything about that.

Nevertheless, Jeong-soon becomes more determined to get to the bottom of her issues, and there eventually comes a point when all the pains and traumas hidden somewhere inside her mind vividly come back upon her. This is quite a harrowing moment, and we are all the more touched as she attempts to sublimate all those painful feelings of her in her own way around the end of the story.

However, this intimate human drama of Jeong-soon is unfortunately interrupted by the other narrative associated with her son, who lets himself associated with some bad classmates who frequently bully the other students in the class including his best friend. Not so surprisingly, there inevitably comes a point when Jeong-ok betrays his best friend, and the following consequence is clumsily intercut with Jeong-soon’s narrative, which could be more effective if it were just presented alone by itself.

At least, Yeom Hye-ran, who recently gave a scene-stealing supporting performance in Park Chan-wook’s “No Other Choice” (2025), gives a strong performance to carry the film to the end. Besides being convincing in her character’s slow but steady personal quest along the story, Yeom ably brings a lot of life and personality to her role, and Jeong-soon eventually comes to us as a dogged survivor has managed to go on despite a lot of pain and sorrow inside her.

The rest of the cast members in the film are unfortunately flat and bland compared to Yeom’s strong lead performance. Shin Woo-bin is merely required to fill his thankless role, and you may also notice that many of the performers playing his classmates in the film look a bit too old to play high school kids. In case of Yoo Jun-sang, who plays older Yeong-ok in the present part, his scenes are mostly perfunctory except the obligatory epilogue which will surely remind you again of why that immense tragedy of the Jeju Uprising should be remembered more.

On the whole, “My Name”, directed by Chung Ji-young, is a well-intentioned but inherently flawed drama film. Although I appreciate its strong elements including Yeom’s admirable acting, it is relatively less successful than O Meul’s “Jiseul” (2012) and Ha Myung-mi’s “Hallan” (2025), and I would rather recommend these two films which did a better job of presenting the same historical subject in my humble opinion.

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The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas (2008) ☆☆☆(3/4): A Holocaust fable

Posted on April 24, 2026 by kaist455

Mark Herman’s 2008 film “The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas”, which happens to be released in South Korean theaters in this week, works as a fable rather than a realistic Holocaust drama. While its story premise is no more historically accurate than, say, Roberto Benigni’s “Life Is Beautiful” (1997), the story and characters are engaging enough to hold our attention up to its devastating finale, and the main subjects of the movie still feel relevant even at this point.  

The story is unfolded mainly via the viewpoint of Bruno (Asa Butterfield), a young boy living in Berlin, Germany in the middle of the World War II. For him, everything looks fine and well as he freely hangs around with his school friends, but, of course, we cannot help but notice a number of disturbing things besides many soldiers and Nazi flags shown here and there in the city.

 And his affluent family turns out to be closely associated with the Nazi German government. Bruno’s father Ralf (David Thewlis) is a high-ranking SS officer, and his family is now about to leave Berlin because Bruno’s father happens to be assigned to some important position outside Berlin. Needless to say, both Bruno and his older sister Gretel (Amber Beattie) are not so pleased about this change, but their mother Elsa (Vera Farmiga) assures them that they will have a good time over there.

Needless to say, we gradually sense a number of disconcerting signs as Bruno and his family arrive at their new place to live. Their new house looks fairly big and nice while being located in the middle of some rural region, but then Bruno notices something odd. There seems to be a “farm” not so far from their new house, and he is baffled as wondering why the people in this “farm” are wearing “striped pyjamas”. As he later meets one of those “farm” people later, he becomes all the more curious, but both of his parents still do not tell much about the “farm”.

 Unlike him, we all know too well from the beginning that the “farm” is one of many concentration camps under the Nazi Germany government and Bruno’s father is its new commandant, but the movie firmly sticks to his innocent viewpoint. As he becomes more bored in the house, he eventually decides to explore the backyard of the house and the area beyond it even though his parents do not allow that all, and he finally beholds the concentration camp for himself, though he cannot enter there due to the electric wire fence surrounding it.

Still not perceiving the grim human atrocity right in front of him at all. Bruno soon encounters a young Jewish boy around his age. His name is Shmuel (Jack Scanlon), and he also wears “striped pyjamas” just like all others in the concentration camp. Just because he has no other boy to hang around with him, Bruno attempts to befriend Shmuel, and that is the beginning of their unlikely friendship.

Needless to say, as getting to know Shmuel bit by bit, Bruno becomes gradually conflicted along the story. While his older sister willingly absorbs and follows whatever is told to them about Jewish people, he begins to have questions and doubts in contrast, but that sadly does not prevent him from committing an act of cowardice later in the story. Nevertheless, he becomes more conscious of what his parents are hiding from him especially after his parents clash over that issue, and this consequently leads him to making a choice which will affect not only him but also his family a lot.

The movie, which is based on the novel of the same name by John Boyne, does not flinch from the horror of the Holocaust during its final act. Although the finale is blatantly melodramatic with more gravitas from the score by James Horner, we care about what inevitably happens at the end of the story, and we also come to reflect more on Bruno’s choice. Yes, he is quite naïve even at that point, but he does what he believes is the right thing to do, and that certainly makes a poignant contrast to most of the adult characters around him, who simply follow or conform to their evil government without much question or resistance at all.   

The two young performers at the center of the movie are effective in their earnest performances. Asa Butterfield, who would become more prominent as the young hero of Martin Scorsese’s “Hugo” (2011) and then went further as recently shown from the acclaimed Netflix series “Sex Education”, is convincing as his character slowly opens his eyes to the evil around his limited environment, and he and Jack Scanlon are effortless in their tentative interactions on the screen. In case of several other main cast members in the film, David Thewlis and Verga Farmiga ably handle their respective archetype characters without never toning down their characters’ association with the evil of the Holocaust, and Amber Beattie, Rupert Friend, David Hayman, Sheila Hancock, and Richard Johnson are also well-cast in their small supporting parts. 

On the whole, “The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas” does not reach the level of Steven Spielberg’s “Schindler’s List” (1993) or Jonathan Glazer’s “The Zone of Interest” (2023), but it is still worthwhile to watch thanks to the sensitive direction of Herman, who previously directed “Brassed Off” (1996). It is not great, but, considering what is happening in our world right now, this modest Holocaust fable will leave you something to muse on after it is over.

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Renoir (2025) ☆☆☆(3/4): Detached and confused

Posted on April 23, 2026 by kaist455

Chie Hayakawa’s latest film “Renoir” takes some time for letting us grasp what and how it is about. At the beginning, you may often be baffled about where the story and its quirky young heroine are going, but you will gradually grasp the emotional confusion behind her rather detached façade as the story leisurely moves from one episodic moment to another.

The movie, which is set in Tokyo around the late 1980s, mainly revolves around the viewpoint of an 11-year-old girl named Fuki Okita (Yui Suzuki), and the rather disturbing opening scene shows a bit of her odd but imaginative sensitivity. She recently wrote a story to be presented as a class homework of hers, and the story is about the sudden death of a young girl around age and its aftermath. While her teacher appreciates her good writing, he is a little concerned because she has frequently written such disturbing stories like that, and her mother is not so amused to say the least.

However, there is a good reason behind those dark stories of Fuki. Her father, who is your average company man, is dying due to his terminal illness, and there eventually comes a point where he really needs to spend his short remaining time at a hospital. Now Fuki’s mother has to take care of a lot more stuffs than before, and it seems that her resulting stress affects her job to some degree.

In contrast, Fuki looks rather detached compared to her mother. As her summer vacation begins, she has more free time for herself, and we observe her befriending a new girl in her private English academy. Although their first interaction is rather awkward, it does not take much time for them to get close to each other, though Fuki cannot help but notice how strained her new friend’s parents look. Although they are fairly affluent on the whole, there is some emotional distance between her new friend’s parents, and we are not so surprised when Fuki comes upon a little secret behind them later in the story.

In the meantime, things are getting worse Fuki’s father day by day. While he enjoys being with his daughter, he becomes more aware of his impending death, and he certainly wants to find any possible chance for survival. When his wife happens to come upon someone willing to provide them some special medicine which may cure him, he does not hesitate at all, but Fuki soon comes to notice something going on between her mother and that figure in question. Getting more frustrated with her ongoing struggle to maintain the status quo of her family, Fuki’s mother comes to lean more on that figure, but, of course, this eventually turns out to be a very unwise choice.

And we come to sense more of Fuki’s emotional confusion along the story. While both of her parents are struggling with each own issues, she becomes more isolated in her own little world, and the movie sometimes blurs the line between reality and her imagination. For example, her accidental encounter with a young female neighbor is overlapped a bit with her experience as well as that story written by her, and there are also several other scenes where we will have reasonable doubt on her viewpoint.

However, there are also a number of sobering moments which make us more concerned about her. When Fuki’s father goes to a racetrack outside the city along with her just for having what may be the last fun time for them, she is reminded again of how sick and helpless her father really is. After she comes across an advertisement for blind phone chatting, she decides to leave a little message for connecting with anyone out there, and that leads to a very unnerving scene between her and some questionable dude. As this guy approaches closer to her, we surely become all the more uncomfortable, and the movie subtly dials up the tension beneath the surface, while our young heroine seems rather oblivious to what may happen sooner or later.

During its last act, the movie blurs the line between reality and imagination a bit more, and we are not so sure about what actually occurs around the eventual death of Yuki’s father. Nevertheless, we also sense some growth and acceptance from her changed appearance, especially after she happens to have a moment of unexpected emotional support around the end of the story. While she remains oddly imaginative as before, things will probably get better for her as she continues to grow up more, and the last scene between her and her mother is quietly touching even though they do not say much to each other.

Young performer Fuki Okita’s unadorned performance diligently carries the film, and she is also supported well by several other solid supporting performers Lily Franky and Hikari Ishida have each own moments around Okita as Yuki’s parents, and Yuumi Kawai, Ayumu Nakajima, and Ryota Bando are also effective in their small but crucial supporting parts.

In conclusion, “Renoir”, whose title is incidentally associated with a replica of one of the notable works of Pierre-Auguste Renoir which appears later in the film, can be rather frustrating due to its occasionally opaque storytelling and slow narrative pacing, but it is worthwhile to watch for its competent handling of mood, story, and characters. It will require some patience for you just like Hayakawa’s previous film “Plan 75” (2022), but it is a bit more engaging with more care and sensitivity, so I recommend you to give it a chance someday.

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