Monthly Archives: November 2015

Youth (2015) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4): An idiosyncratic musing around youth and aging

“Youth” is amusing, baffling, and mesmerizing in its odd beautiful moments. It often feels uneven and random as juggling many various elements around its leisurely background, but then we are gripped by its fabulous moments, and its idiosyncratic musing around … Continue reading

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Snow in November (2015/11/26)

Suddenly, snow fell and everything looked quite different.

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Crimson Peak (2015) ☆☆☆(3/4): A creepy exercise in Gothic romance horror

In last month, I came across a New York Times article on Guillermo del Toro’s his private place called Bleak House, and it was one of the most entertaining articles I read during recent months. The article vividly described this … Continue reading

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The Boy and The Beast (2015) ☆☆☆(3/4): A boy and his beast master

Around the middle of the early morning screening of Mamoru Hosoda’s new animation feature film “The Boy and the Beast”, I became more conscious of its narrative flaws, but I was entertained in spite of that. While its plot is … Continue reading

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Steve Jobs: The Man in the Machine (2015) ☆☆☆(3/4): He knew where he was going

Alex Gibney’s new documentary “Steve Jobs: the Man in the Machine” is both baffled and fascinated with many contradictions inside Steve Jobs, and so are we. While he will surely be remembered as one of the giants in the history … Continue reading

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The Hunting Ground (2015) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4): An alarming presentation on rape in campus

Documentary film “The Hunting Ground” cheerfully begins with the montage of video clips showing young girls excited to be accepted by the colleges they applied to for admission. They are all full of hope and pride as expecting what they … Continue reading

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Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter (2014) ☆☆1/2(2.5/4): A doomed quest inspired by “Fargo”

On one cold day of 2001 November, a Japanese woman named Takako Konishi was found dead in a field outside Detroit Lakes, Minnesota. Around that time, it was widely rumored that she came to Minnesota to search for that famous … Continue reading

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The Second Mother (2015) ☆☆☆(3/4): When her daughter comes to the town

Can they possibly connect with each other after those long years of separation between them? “The Second Mother”, Brazil’s official submission to Best Foreign Language Film Oscar in the next year, is a calm, gentle family drama revolving around a … Continue reading

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Listen to Me Marlon (2015) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4) : Brando on Brando

Marlon Brando lived a curious life to amuse and baffle us. While this legendary Hollywood actor gave us a number of great performances to behold and admire, he often seemed to be drifted away with no particular interest in acting, … Continue reading

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Inside Men (2015) ☆☆☆(3/4): They are all together…

I watched South Korean thriller film “Inside Men” with bitter amusement on some of its darkest moments. Although it is a work of fiction as emphasized in its end credits, its dark, uncomfortable picture of power and corruption is not … Continue reading

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