Author Archives: kaist455

The Secret Garden (2020) ☆☆1/2(2.5/4): An adaptation without enough magic

Posted on August 19, 2020 by kaist455

Frances Hodgson Burnett’s 1911 novel “The Secret Garden” is one of many memorable books in my childhood years. At that time, I simply absorbed its story and characters without much reflection, but then the novel came to grow on me … Continue reading →

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Project Power (2020) ☆☆(2/4): A flat genre piece without much power

Posted on August 17, 2020 by kaist455

Netflix film “Project Power” does not have much power and imagination to boost its supposedly intriguing story premise, and that is a big letdown to say the least. While initially beginning with considerable potentials, the movie eventually gets devolved into … Continue reading →

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Detention (2019) ☆☆☆(3/4): A historical horror based on video game

Posted on August 17, 2020 by kaist455

Taiwanese film “Detention” is an interesting piece of historical horror which is incidentally based on a popular video game of the same name. Although I do not have any particular experience or knowledge on the eponymous video game, I was … Continue reading →

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Driveways (2019) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4): The Old Man, The Boy, His Mother and Her House

Posted on August 16, 2020 by kaist455

Andrew Ahn’s second feature film “Driveways” touches me a lot with its deceptively simple but ultimately sublime presentation of ordinary good people. At first, nothing much seems to happen on the surface as it slowly rolls its modest promise, but … Continue reading →

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Balloon (2018) ☆☆1/2(2.5/4): A passable film based on one extraordinary real-life story

Posted on August 16, 2020 by kaist455

I was quite interested in watching German film “Balloon” for a personal reason. It is based on an unbelievable real-life story which was also the basis of 1982 Disney film “Night Crossing” (1982), and that movie was incidentally one of … Continue reading →

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Beanpole (2019) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4): Two women after the war

Posted on August 16, 2020 by kaist455

Russian film “Beanpole”, which was selected as Russia’s submission to Best International Film Oscar in last year, is a bleak and harrowing film about two women who are irrevocably damaged by their wartime experiences. While it is often quite difficult … Continue reading →

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In Fabric (2018) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4): A spooky cursed dress

Posted on August 16, 2020 by kaist455

Peter Strickland’s new film “In Fabric” is as odd and compelling as you can expect from the filmmaker who gave us “Berberian Studio Sound” (2012) and “The Duke of Burgundy” (2014). Like these two films, the movie is full of … Continue reading →

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Yankinku Dragon (2018) ☆☆☆(3/4): Nowhere but here in Japan

Posted on August 15, 2020 by kaist455

Japanese film “Yankinku Drangon” is a corny but heartfelt drama mainly revolving around one colorful Korean Japanese family. While you can instantly discern that it tries to pull our heartstrings as hard as it can, the movie has a big … Continue reading →

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Tiny Light (2018) ☆☆☆(3/4): Memories of his family

Posted on August 15, 2020 by kaist455

South Korean independent film “Tiny Light” is simple and earnest in its tentative approach to story and characters. While it slowly reveals the growing concern of its ordinary hero on a certain serious matter of his, the movie thankfully does … Continue reading →

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The Journalist (2019) ☆☆☆(3/4): A journalist against the power that be

Posted on August 15, 2020 by kaist455

Japanese film “The Journalist” steadily and diligently follows the lonely struggle of one determined female journalist and a government official who may help her more than he is willing to do. Although it is mostly fictional, the movie is still … Continue reading →

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