Wuthering Heights (2026) ☆☆1/2(2.5/4): A cheeky but ultimately hollow adaptation

Posted on February 12, 2026 by kaist455

Emerald Fennell’s new film “Wuthering Heights”, the latest adaptation of the 1847 classic novel by Emily Brontë, attempts to be wild and cheeky, and I appreciate that to some degree although the result turns out to be hollow and superficial on the whole. Despite all those bold and idiosyncratic touches, the movie somehow does not reach to that dark and tumultuous passion swirling around the two different main characters in Brontë’s novel, and I was just mildly amused without being really engaged in the story and characters.

The first 20 minutes of the film shows enough promise at first. During the amusingly grim and vicious opening scene, we are introduced to Catherine “Cathy” Earnshaw (Charlotte Mellington) and her companion Nelly Dean (Vy Nguyen), and we get some little dark fun as these two young girls become thrilled and fascinated as watching the hanging of some criminal along with many other people in the village.

Cathy and Nelly live along with Cathy’s father Mr. Earnshaw (Martin Clunes) in a house named, yes, “Wuthering Heights”. Located at some remote spot in the middle of the barren field outside the village, this house, which often feels like being built from the leftover materials from Derek Jarman’s production design in Ken Russell’s “The Devils” (1971), looks pretty ugly and hostile just like its surrounding environment or Mr. Earnshaw, who often terrorizes others around him as your average raging alcoholic.

On one day, Mr. Earnshaw brings a little boy from the village, who was abandoned by his biological father before taken by Mr. Earnshaw. He is soon named Heathcliff (Owen Cooper, who recently won an Emmy for acclaimed Netflix miniseries “Adolescence”) by Cathy, and we see them gradually befriending each other despite their awkward first encounter. As they grow and endure the frequent abuses from Mr. Earnshaw together, they become more emotionally connected with each other, and we get a little sensual moment of flesh as the story eventually moves forward to several years later.

When a rich man named Edgar Linton (Shazad Latif) and his younger sister Isabella (Alison Oliver) happen to move into a house not so far from Wuthering Heights, Cathy, who is now played Margot Robbie, is quite excited as looking forward to getting invited by Edgar sooner or later, but Heathcliff, who is now played by Jacob Elordi, is not so pleased in contrast – especially when it seems that Cathy considers marrying Edgar for solving the current financial problem of her family caused by Mr. Earnshaw’s drinking and gambling.

In the end, due to a moment of misunderstanding caused by Nelly, who is now played by Hong Chau, Heathcliff eventually leaves not long after Cathy accepts Edgar’s proposal, and Cathy certainly regrets, but she marries Edgar anyway. Edgar expectedly throws a lot of luxury onto Cathy as her wealthy husband, and the movie gleefully throws many deliberately anachronistic touches onto the screen as accompanied with the modernistic score by Anthony Willis and the cheeky songs by Charli XCX.

Of course, Heathcliff eventually returns a few years later, and now he becomes affluent enough to buy Wuthering Heights from Mr. Earnshaw, whom he keeps in the house just for bringing more misery to his old tormentor along with more alcohol. Needless to say, Cathy soon finds herself enthralled by the presence of Heathcliff again, and it does not take much time for them to have a series of carnal moments between them.

Around that point, the movie begins to deviate more from Brontë’s novel, and it does not hesitate to expose the sexual aspects inside the story and characters with some kinky details. However, it unfortunately fails to generate enough romantic heat between Cathy and Heathcliff mainly because of the serious lack of chemistry between its two lead performers. Robbie is no stranger to being wild and spirited as shown from her enjoyable performance as Harley Quinn in several recent DC Extended Universe flicks, and she is convincing as Cathy frequently goes up and down with her bumpy matters of heart along the story, but her good efforts are sadly not matched well by her co-star. I must point out that he is a good actor as shown from his recent Oscar-nominated turn in Guillermo del Toro’s “Frankenstein” (2025), but Elordi, who also previously appeared in Fennell’s previous film “Saltburn” (2023), somehow looks flat and bland without much intensity here in this movie, and that is the main reason why several carnal moments between Cathy and Heathcliff feels rather cold and tepid to our disappointment.

Several substantial main cast members in the film including Shazad Latif, Alison Oliver, and Martin Clunes are mostly under-utilized as often limited by their shallow supporting roles, but Chau manages to leave some impression as suggesting a bit of her character’s complex feelings toward Cathy. In case of young performers Charlotte Mellington, Owen Cooper, and Vy Nguyen, they are the best part of the film, and it is a shame that the movie does not focus more on the little but dynamic emotional drama among their characters.

Overall, “Wuthering Heights” does not regrettably delve that deep into the dark romantic heart of Brontë’s novel, and I would rather recommend some other versions such as William Wyler’s 1939 film and Andrea Arnold’s 2011 film, which are relatively more interesting in my inconsequential opinion. In fact, when the movie was over, my unimpressed mind was already determined to check out either of them sooner or later, and I may admire more of what they respectively achieved.

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Humint (2026) ☆☆1/2(2.5/4): A slick but bland genre product

Posted on February 12, 2026 by kaist455

South Korean filmmaker Ryoo Seung-wan’s latest film “Humint” is a slick but deficient genre product. While there are a number of well-executed scenes to entertain us, the movie also feels a bit too trite and bland in terms of storytelling and characterization, and I merely followed its predictable plot turns without really caring about its story and characters during my viewing.

The movie begins with the latest operation of Manager Zo (Zo In-sung), a South Korean National Intelligence Service agent who has tried to track an international crime syndicate involved with drug and human trafficking. The opening scene shows him trying to get an important piece of information from an unfortunate North Korean woman he is willing to help in exchange for her information. However, because of her rather unstable condition, his operation gets botched at the last minute, and that leads to a devastation moment for him and his team.

Anyway, based on what that North Korean woman said to him, Zo comes to learn more about that international crime syndicate in question. Its main operation site is Vladivostok, a port city which is located near the border between Russia and North Korea. After reporting more about his investigation to the chief of his agency, he immediately goes to Vladivostok, and we soon see him working on getting anyone suitable enough to be a human intelligence, or “humint”, for him.

When Zo encounters a North Korean restaurant employee Seon-hwa (Shin Se-kyung), nothing much is exchanged between them on the surface at first, but, of course, she is later recruited by him due to a desperate personal reason. Thanks to her, Zo gets more information on that crime syndicate and how closely it has been associated with some corrupt North Korean officials.

Meanwhile, things become more complicated with the arrival of Park Geon (Park Jeong Min), a North Korean State Security official sent for investigating on the human trafficking across Russo-North Korean border. While he quickly arrests a North Korean broker, Park instantly senses something fishy about Hwang Chi-seong (Park Hae-joon), the North Korean consul general who certainly looks suspicious right from his very first scene in the film. Because of Hwang and his men, Park is frequently blocked in his investigation in one way or another, and it also turns out that he was once in a relationship with Seon-hwa, who is not so pleased when she comes across him at her workplace.

As she is taken by that crime syndicate for getting sold to somewhere just like many other unfortunate North Korean women, the movie expectedly follows the footstep of many other similar action thriller movies such as, yes “Taken” (2008). Both Park and Zo become all the more determined to find and then save Seon-hwa by any means necessary, and that certainly leads to a lot of actions to be unfolded across the screen.

Around this narrative point, we are supposed to care more about the main characters, but Ryoo’s screenplay often stumbles due to its thin characterization. While Zo looks quite dedicated to his work and protecting his informant, we never get to know more about him besides that, and the same thing can be said about Park, who mostly looks stoic and firm as required even when Seon-hwa is in grave danger right in front of him at later in the story.

In case of Seon-hwa, she also remains to be more or less than a plot element just like several other minor female characters in the story. The movie also feels rather uncomfortable when it depicts how she and several other unfortunate North Korean women are cruelly handled by the members of that international crime syndicate, and it only shows a bit of consideration when they are thrown into more danger during its climactic part.

If you have seen any of Ryoo’s previous works such as “The Berlin File” (2013), you know that he is a skillful action movie director, and he surely provides several good action scenes to impress you. In case of an intense physical action scene, the two performers on the screen look fairly believable as their characters fight along the staircase of some shabby building, and you may overlook for a while that their characters did not need to fight with each other from the very beginning. When the story eventually arrives at the finale, Ryoo pulls all stops as expected with lots of bangs and crashes to rattle us, but we seldom get confused as closely following the busy actions among its several main characters.

The four main cast members of the film try to fill their broad archetype roles as much as possible, but they are all limited by their superficial roles in one way or another. While Zo In-sung does not have much to do except looking serious or frustrated throughout the film, Park Jeong-min manages to bring a bit of personality to his part, and Park Hae-joon often goes over the top with his cartoonish villain character. Although she brings a bit of tenderness to the film, Shin Se-kyung is sadly stuck with her thankless role, and that reminds me again of how many of South Korean genre films have been seriously flawed in terms of female characters.

In conclusion, “Humint” is dissatisfying mainly because it does not have enough substance and personality to carry its competent actions, and the overall result is one or two steps below “The Berlin File” and several other better works from Ryoo. Although it is not wholly without entertainment, Ryoo could do better than this as recently shown from “Escape from Mogadishu” (2021) and “Smugglers” (2023), and I can only hope that I will be more entertained in the next time.

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Marty Supreme (2025) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4): Timothée Supreme 

Posted on February 11, 2026 by kaist455

Josh Safdie’s new film “Marty Supreme” is an ambitious mix between absurd comedy and intense sports drama. Quite willing to go all the way along with its increasingly obnoxious and incorrigible hero during its rather long running time (150 minutes), the movie bounces from one tense moment to another without any excuse or compromise, and we are all the more captivated even though we wince more than once for good reasons.  

The story, which is mainly set in New York City, 1952, is about Marty Mauser (Timothée Chalamet), a young aspiring table tennis player quite determined to win the title of the world of champion again in the upcoming world competition to be held in London. However, he needs some money to buy an airplane ticket right now, but his uncle, for whom Mauser works at a local shoe store, is not so willing to give the money, and Mauser is not someone who easily gives up. In the end, he virtually steals the money from his uncle’s safe, while not thinking at all about the consequence of his action.

That is just the beginning of many recklessly thoughtless actions of this very unlikable lad, who is constantly driven by the idea of becoming the No.1 player in the world again without any consideration on others around him. For example, Mauser is having an affair with a married woman who was a childhood friend of his, but it is clear that he does not care that much about her except when he wants to have some fun with her. In case of his aging mother, he does not give a damn about her either, and, considering that his mother is no better than him, we can only guess how problematic their relationship has been. 

Anyway, Mauser eventually comes to London for participating in the world competition, and he continues to behave like your average jerk. He remains rude and arrogant to anyone around him, and he surely enjoys all the attention upon him when he is about to have the final match with an unexpected challenger from Japan. However, when this Japanese dude beats him in the end, he becomes quite, uh, emotional, and that certainly does not leave a good impression on those influential figures in the International Table Tennis Association.       

Needless to say, Mauser becomes determined to beat his opponent in the next time, but the chance to go to Tokyo for the next world competition seems to be out of reach for him. Nobody is willing to sponsor him as he has already manipulated or insulted too many people around him, and things get more complicated for him when it turns out that his married lover has been pregnant because of him.    

Nevertheless, Mauser still thinks only about going to the next world competition, and the screenplay by Safdie and his co-writer/co-producer/co-editor Ronald Bronstein generates a lot of exasperating fun from how pathetically self-serving its hero can be. Relentlessly and ruthlessly trying to get enough money for his goal here or there, he unwisely causes a lot of damage or annoyance to several people who unfortunately get themselves associated with him, and that certainly leads to more and more troubles for him.   

He does not hesitate at all when he sees a slim but possible chance via a certain wealthy business and his actress wife, who incidentally had a little affair with him when he was in London. Although he initially rejected the offer from that rich businessman, Mauser later came to change his mind, and he surely shows his potential sponsor and his wife that he is willing to do *anything* for getting what he wants so desperately and intensely.

This bumpy quest of his is definitely not something you can casually watch, but the movie keeps us engaged thanks to Safdie’s skillful direction. He and his crew members including cinematographer Darius Khondji and production designer Jack Fisk did a splendid job of bringing a lot of intensity and verisimilitude to the screen, and we get immersed more into the increasingly messy circumstance surrounding its hero, even while observing him from the distance with more disgust and annoyance. In case of those key table tennis match scenes, they are quite effective thanks to Safdie and Bronstein’s dexterous editing, and the resulting intensity is all the more amplified by the electronic score by Daniel Lopatin, which imbues the cold and aggressive ambiance to Mauser’s troubling quest instead of merely glorifying it. 

As the electrifying center of the movie, Timothée Chalamet, who has quickly risen as one of the most promising actors in Hollywood since his Oscar-nominated breakthrough turn in James Ivory’s “Call Me by Your Name” (2017), gives a totally uncompromising performance which surely deserves a recent Oscar nomination (The movie received the total 9 nominations including the ones for Best Picture and Best Director, by the way). Never making any excuse on his truly deplorable character, his strong acting keeps things rolling on full-throttle mode to the end, and you may have some relief when his character eventually arrives at the end of the story, though the last scene somehow takes me back to that famous line in Orson Welles’ great film “Citizen Kane” (1941): “If it was anybody else, I’d say what’s going to happen to you would be a lesson to you. Only you’re going to need more than one lesson. And you’re going to get more than one lesson.”

Around Chalamet, Safdie assembles a bunch of various performers here and there. While Gwyneth Paltrow and Odessa A’zion ably hold each own small place, Kevin O’Leary, Tyler Okonma, Fran Drescher, Géza Röhrig, Sandra Bernhard, and David Mamet are well-cast in their respective supporting parts, and the special mention goes to Abel Ferrera, who brings a little but surprising amount of extra intensity later in the story.

On the whole, “Marty Supreme” supremely works as a fascinating examination on male arrogance and toxic masculinity, which has incidentally been the undeniable origin of many social/political problems in our world. Yes, you may wonder whether you need to watch another case of male arrogance and toxic masculinity even though we have suffered many detestable male politicians and billionaires out there during last several decades, but the movie and Chalamet will captivate you from the beginning, and you will also get some lesson on a certain type of person you should stay away from at any chance.

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Hamnet (2025) ☆☆☆(3/4): Shakespeare in Grief

Posted on February 10, 2026 by kaist455

Chloé Zhao’s latest film “Hamlet”, which received the People’s Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival in last year and then recently garnered 8 Oscar nominations including the ones for Best Picture and Best Director, is a curious mix of blatant melodrama and restrained sensitivity. While there are occasions of raw and intense emotions beneath its calm and phlegmatic appearance, the movie also goes a bit too far for extracting tears from us especially during its second half, and the result is a rather mixed bag to admire for its strong aspects.

The story mainly revolves around Agnes Shakespeare (Jessie Buckley), who was the wife of, yes, William Shakespeare (Paul Mescal). The opening scene shows Agnes freely spending her private time along with her pet hawk in a forest near her village, and the movie somberly conveys to us her strong spirit and personality as she quietly rests at her favourite spot in the forest.

When Agnes later meets William, they are instantly drawn to each other even though he does not have much to distinguish himself as an eligible young dude to marry. While he was born to a glove-making family, this sensitive lad studied to become a scholar instead, and he meagerly earns his living as a local tutor whenever he does not assist his family business.

Nevertheless, Agnes gets closer to William, and they eventually marry once Agnes becomes pregnant, but then she comes to notice more of how he often becomes frustrated for being stuck in their village without much prospect for his writing career. In the end, she has him move to London alone by himself, where he may have much more opportunity for his writing career.

As her husband comes to have some career success in London later, Agnes is certainly happy for him, but she chooses to remain in their village while raising their three children: Susanna (Bodhi Rae Breathnach), Judith (Olivia Lynes), and Hamnet (Jacobi Jupe). Although her husband can only visit them from time to time, he is always welcomed by her and their children, and there are a couple of humorous scenes which will surely remind you of two certain famous plays written by Shakespeare.

Because of the overwhelming ordeal from giving birth to Judith and Hamnet at the same time, Agnes is often worried a lot about Judith’s rather fragile physical condition, which is the main reason why she still does not move into London along with her children. However, she and her husband lose Hamnet instead due to his sudden illness, and both of them are quite devastated to say the least.

Around that narrative point, we are supposed to be more emotionally engaged in their grief and torment, but the movie sticks to its dry and restrained attitude as before. Usually observing its two main characters from the distance, it subtly suggests whatever is churning behind their desolate appearance, and this unfortunately clashes with the heavy-handed aspects of the screenplay by Zhao and her co-writer Maggie O’Farrell, which is based on O’Farrell’s 2020 novel of the same name.

As already announced to us at the beginning of the film, the final act of the story focuses on the creation of “Hamlet”, but I doubt whether it will give you any particular new or fresh insight, if you have some vague background knowledge on that classic play just like me. Although it is rather disappointing that the movie does not show much of Shakespeare’s creative process behind “Hamlet”, I will not deny that I enjoy a gloomy scene where he creates that famous monologue as standing at the end of a pier in London at one night (Thanks to cinematographer Łukasz Żal, the city in the movie often looks as dark, gloomy, and virulent as Gotham City, by the way).

In the meantime, Agnes surely struggles a lot for processing her immense grief, and it is touching to observe how her inner struggle is eventually resolved as she watches the stage performance of “Hamlet” for herself. In my trivial opinion, this part feels rather clichéd, but it works as alternating between the earnest stage performance and the whole gamut of emotions plainly but vividly observed from Agnes’ face, and you may gladly go along with the predictable utilization of “On the Nature of Daylight” by Max Richter, who also composed the original score for the film.

Jessie Buckley, who is deservedly Oscar-nominated for her soulful acting here in this movie, deftly handles a number of intensely emotional moments along the story, and she is supported well by several other good performers surrounding her. While Paul Mescal, who has been more notable thanks to his wonderful Oscar-nominated turn in Charlotte Wells’ remarkable debut feature film “Aftersun” (2022), is also solid in his low-key acting, Emily Watson, Joe Alwyn, Bodhi Rae Breathnach, Olivia Lynes, and Jacobi Jupe dutifully fill their respective spots in the story, and Jupe’s poignant performance is smoothly connected with the brief but crucial appearance by his older brother Noah Jupe around the end of the film.

In conclusion, “Hamnet” is less compelling compared to Zhao’s previous two acclaimed films “The Rider” (2017) and “Nomadland” (2020), but it is at least better than “Eternals” (2021), where she tried something different within the world of Marvel Cinematic Universe but ultimately dissatisfied us despite some interesting stuffs to observe and enjoy. I am still not so sure about whether “Hamnet” is one of the best movies of last year, but there are enough good things to compensate for some reservation of mine, so I recommend it for now.

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

Posted on February 10, 2026 by kaist455

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Posted on February 9, 2026 by kaist455

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Posted on February 8, 2026 by kaist455

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Posted on February 7, 2026 by kaist455

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Posted on February 5, 2026 by kaist455

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Posted on February 5, 2026 by kaist455

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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