Monthly Archives: March 2025

The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare (2024) ☆☆1/2(2.5/4): A middling WWII action flick

Posted on March 21, 2025 by kaist455

Guy Ritchie’s latest film “The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare” is a middling copy of many similar World War II actions flicks ranging from “The Dirty Dozen” (1967) to “Inglourious Basterds” (2009). While it surely attempts to have some fun as … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Snow White (2025) ☆☆(2/4): Not that fair, shall we say

Posted on March 20, 2025 by kaist455

“Snow White”, which is another re-packaged live action product from Walt Disney Pictures, does not have much reason for its existence in my trivial opinion. Probably because I have seen numerous movie adaptations of that famous fairy tale by the … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Megalopolis (2024) ☆1/2(1.5/4): Coppola’s disastrous folly

Posted on March 19, 2025 by kaist455

Francis Ford Coppola’s comeback work “Megalopolis” frustrated and baffled me a lot more than once. Here is a legendary filmmaker reaching for another chance for greatness, but the result only shows that he merely wasted a lot of the talents … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

All We Imagine as Light (2024) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4): Three women in Mumbai

Posted on March 18, 2025 by kaist455

“All We Imagine as Light”, which won the Grand Prix award at the Cannes Film Festival early in last year, is a haunting character drama about three different women in Mumbai. While phlegmatically illustrating their daily lives in the middle … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Hard Truths (2024) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4): This bitter woman

Posted on March 17, 2025 by kaist455

Mike Leigh’s latest film “Hard Truths” gives us one of the most abrasive characters in his filmography since “Naked” (1993). While this is definitely not a pleasant experience at all, Leigh presents this troubled human figure with a lot of … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies | 2 Comments

White Bird (2023) ☆☆(2/4): A Holocaust tale to reform him

Posted on March 16, 2025 by kaist455

Marc Forster’s new film “White Bird” presents its well-intentioned tale in a way so rote and manipulative that I felt like shaking my head more than once during my viewing. As another typical Holocaust drama flick, it does not bring … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

I’m Still Here (2024) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4): A family under the dictatorship in Brazil

Posted on March 13, 2025 by kaist455

Walter Salles’ latest film “I’m Still Here”, which recently won a Best International Film Oscar, calmly but powerfully observes a real-life personal struggle under the dictatorship period in Brazil during the early 1970s. While never overlooking the grim and horrific … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Exorcism Chronicles: The Beginning (2024) ☆☆1/2(2.5/4): The passable first chapter

Posted on March 11, 2025 by kaist455

South Korean animation film “Exorcism Chronicle” is a modest genre piece simply doing some warm-up exercise for whatever may follow next. Probably because I remember too well the first entry of the short story series it is based on, there … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

No Other Land (2024) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4): “We have no other land”

Posted on March 10, 2025 by kaist455

Documentary film “No Other Land”, which won the two awards including the one for Best Documentary at the Berlin International Film Festival early in last year and then won a Best Documentary Oscar in last week, calmly and thoughtfully follows … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Porcelain War (2024) ☆☆☆(3/4): Artists in the middle of the ongoing war in Ukraine

Posted on March 10, 2025 by kaist455

Documentary film “Porcelain War”, which won the U.S. Documentary Competition Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival early in last year and then was recently nominated for Best Documentary Oscar, looks at the activities of several Ukrainian artists in … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment