Monthly Archives: November 2015

Tangerines (2013) ☆☆☆(3/4): His house as a neutral zone

“Tangerines”, a Georgian-Estonian film which was Oscar-nominated for Best Foreign Language Film early in this year, is a small war fable accompanied with some humanistic messages to deliver. While its intention is apparent right from the beginning, it takes its … Continue reading

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Virunga (2014) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4): Guarding their park from human greed and violence

My fellow film critic Michael Mirasol often uses a phrase when he informs me and his other Twitter followers of some infuriating cases of how people ruin nature for greed or other despicable reasons: F*cking humans. Oscar-nominated documentary “Virunga” will … Continue reading

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The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 (2015) ☆☆1/2(2.5/4): So it ends here

So it ends here. After the intermission of one year, we finally get “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2”, which starts right from the point where the first part was over. While the end of the war is indeed … Continue reading

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Red Army (2014) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4): The rise and fall of Soviet ice hockey

Simultaneously amusing and compelling, documentary film “Red Army” tells us a dramatic story about the rise and fall of Soviet ice hockey. Mainly through some of its best players, the documentary looks around their best and worst times during the Cold … Continue reading

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Taxi (2015) ☆☆☆(3/4) : A taxi ride with a defiant Iranian filmmaker

Some of you have probably heard about Iranian director Jafar Panahi’s ongoing plight – and his defiant acts against his oppressive government. In December 2010, this internationally acclaimed filmmaker who has been critical about the Iranian government was sentenced to … Continue reading

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Spectre (2015) ☆☆1/2(2.5/4) : Mr. Bond’s another personal problem to deal with

After all those bitter tough journeys he went through, James Bond still has other things to brood over. While serving us with a number of spectacular action sequences as well as many of its familiar conventions including pretty ladies, fancy … Continue reading

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The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (2015) ☆☆1/2(2.5/4): So they come to work together…

“The Man from U.N.C.L.E.” shows some potentials for better things to come, but, though it is not wholly without entertainment, it ultimately fizzles in the end due to its mediocre plot and weak characterization. The whole movie feels like being … Continue reading

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Bridge of Spies (2015) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4) : The Lawyer Who Came into the Cold

Steven Spielberg’s new film “Bridge of Spies” is a compelling Cold War story deftly balancing itself between several different factors just like its no-nonsense lawyer hero who came into the Cold. Although it can be said that the movie is … Continue reading

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The Priests (2015) ☆☆☆(3/4) : Two South Korean priests against a force of evil

Since the big success of “The Exorcist” (1973), there have been lots of horror movies about exorcism, but, like those zombie movies, many of them were not particularly scary to me. Although “The Exorcist” may be not that shocking any … Continue reading

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Amy (2015) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4) : A painful look into Winehouse’s downward spiral

Amy Winehouse’s tragically short life is a cautionary show business tale to say the least. She was young and talented with undeniable star quality, and she was lucky enough to be elevated to stardom within a few years, but, sadly, … Continue reading

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