Author Archives: kaist455

Riceboy Sleeps (2022) ☆☆☆(3/4): A Korean immigrant mother and her son

Posted on April 23, 2023 by kaist455

“Riceboy Sleeps”, which won the Rogers Best Canadian Film Award at the Toronto International Film Festival in last year, is a simple but sensitive drama about a Korean immigrant mother and her son. Calmly and thoughtfully following their little personal … Continue reading →

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Bruiser (2022) ☆☆☆(3/4): A young black man between two fathers

Posted on April 23, 2023 by kaist455

“Bruiser”, which is currently available on Disney+ in South Korea, is a familiar but engaging coming-of-age drama to be appreciated for good reasons. Although it stumbles a bit during its last act, the movie still holds our attention thanks to … Continue reading →

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A House Made of Splinters (2022) ☆☆☆(3/4): They still have hope, though

Posted on April 22, 2023 by kaist455

Documentary film “A House of Made of Splinters”, which was Oscar-nominated early in this year, simply but closely observes the children and staff members of a special orphanage in Lysychansk of eastern Ukraine. As following how they live day by … Continue reading →

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Money Shot: The Pornhub Story (2023) ☆☆1/2(2.5/4): A mild, neutral documentary on Pornhub

Posted on April 22, 2023 by kaist455

Like many of you, I know a bit about Pornhub and several other online service companies associated with pornography. Although I did not use Pornhub much, I must confess that I have often used a certain well-known gay pornography production … Continue reading →

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Kill Boksoon (2023) ☆☆1/2(2.5/4): It is hard to be both a killer and a mother…

Posted on April 22, 2023 by kaist455

South Korean film “Kill Boksoon”, which was released on Netflix at the end of last month, often seems to be confused about how it is about. While it looks like a violent black comedy about a strong heroine who struggles … Continue reading →

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Furies (2022) ☆☆1/2(2.5/4): A violent and lurid prequel

Posted on April 22, 2023 by kaist455

Vietnamese film “Furies”, which was released on Netflix in last month, is a solid but ultimately redundant prequel. As the origin story of the main villain character of “Furie” (2019), the movie shows us how that character was hardened and … Continue reading →

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Saloum (2021) ☆☆☆(3/4): An impressive genre film from Senegal

Posted on April 21, 2023 by kaist455

Senegalese film “Saloum”, which belatedly comes to South Korea in this week via a local streaming service, is a little but competent genre film packed with goodies to be savored. Because I did not have much knowledge on what it … Continue reading →

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Tetris (2023) ☆☆☆(3/4): A business competition at the end of the Cold War

Posted on April 20, 2023 by kaist455

“Tetris”, which was released on Apple TV+ at the end of last month, gives us a fun mix of comedy and thriller which is incidentally based on a real-life story about one of the most popular video games in the … Continue reading →

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Sharper (2023) ☆☆1/2(2.5/4): Predictable step by step

Posted on April 20, 2023 by kaist455

“Sharper”, which was released on Apple TV+ a few months ago, assumes that its audiences have not seen many thriller flicks, and that is not a very sharp assumption to say the least. If you saw its trailer or its … Continue reading →

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Ghost World (2001) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4): A quirky girl and her unexpected friend

Posted on April 17, 2023 by kaist455

I am fascinated with how Terry Zwigoff’s “Ghost World” has grown on me since I watched it for the first time around 15 years ago. At that time, I was a graduate student who was socially awkward but had been … Continue reading →

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