Monthly Archives: April 2026

Dust Bunny (2025) ☆☆☆(3/4): So this little girl hires a hit man…

“Dust Bunny” is a whimsical fantasy adventure film about a young little girl who happens to hire a professional killer for taking care of a monster under her bad. Now this sounds pretty preposterous to you to say the least, … Continue reading

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Silent Friend (2025) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4): Across the time of a gingko tree

W.G. Sebald once said: “Men and animals regard each other across a gulf of mutual incomprehension.” As watching Hungarian filmmaker Ildikó Enyedi’s latest film “Silent Friend”, I wondered whether that can be also applied to our equally longtime relationship with … Continue reading

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Kiki’s Delivery Service (1989) ☆☆☆(3/4): This plucky delivery girl 

Hayao Miyazaki’s 1989 animation film “Kiki’s Delivery Service”, which is being shown at selected theaters in South Korea, flies on a substantial amount of charm and beauty to be savored. Although it is relatively less engaging compared to Miyazaki’s more … Continue reading

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Dear Juhee (2025) ☆☆1/2(2.5/4): Uneven but sincere anyway

South Korean independent documentary film “Dear Juhee” sincerely attempts to juggle a number of different subjects together, and I appreciate that to some degree. Although its result is a bit too uneven and unfocused at times, it has several genuinely … Continue reading

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Hayao Miyazaki and the Heron (2024) ☆☆1/2(2.5/4): Miyazaki’s long return

Documentary film “Hayao Miyazaki and the Heron” closely follows Miyazaki’s rather long process behind his recent Oscar-winning animation film “The Boy and the Heron” (2023). While I came to admire more of all those painstaking efforts behind that acclaimed comeback … Continue reading

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Noah Kahan: Out of Body (2026) ☆☆☆(3/4): What’s next for him?

Netflix documentary film “Noah Kahan: Out of Body”, which was released on this Monday, is the earnest presentation of one famous musician trying to find whatever may be next for him after his sudden big breakthrough. As he sincerely and … Continue reading

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Salmokji: Whispering Water (2026) ☆☆☆: A reservoir of horror

South Korean horror film “Salmokji: Whispering Water” is ready to unnerve and then scare you from the very beginning, and it did its job as well as intended. While this is a very typical horror movie about your average haunted … Continue reading

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We Live in Time (2024) ☆☆☆(3/4): Scenes from their romance

“We Live in Time”, which belatedly arrived in South Korean theaters in last week, looks around the ups and downs in the relationship between its two main characters. While we get the overall picture of their relationship in advance via … Continue reading

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Orlando (1992) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4): As a man and then a woman…

Sally Porter’s 1992 film “Orlando”, whose 4k remastered version recently came to South Korean theaters, is a distinctively poetic work on gender identity and individuality. Based on the 1928 novel of the same name by Virginia Woolf, the movie freely … Continue reading

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Crime 101 (2026) ☆☆☆(3/4): Heist 101

“Crime 101” attempts to bring some personality and substance to its familiar crime thriller plot. Although the overall result does not surpass its countless seniors such as, yes, Michael Mann’s “Heat” (1995), the movie has a number of solid individual … Continue reading

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