Author Archives: kaist455

Share (2019) ☆☆☆(3/4): After that night

Posted on August 4, 2019 by kaist455

HBO TV movie “Share”, which was bought by HBO shortly after it was shown at Sundance Film Festival early in this year, is a restrained but undeniably harrowing drama about one adolescent girl whose normal life is suddenly turned upside … Continue reading →

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Ray & Liz (2018) ☆☆1/2(2.5/4): On his two lousy parents

Posted on August 4, 2019 by kaist455

“Ray & Liz” is a melancholic family drama which observes its human subjects and their squalid living environment with considerable emotional detachment. While this is surely not something you can casually watch on Sunday afternoon, it works to some degree … Continue reading →

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One, Two, Three (1961) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4): A wild Cold War farce from Wilder and Cagney

Posted on August 4, 2019 by kaist455

Billy Wilder’s “One, Two, Three” is often breathtaking for how relentlessly it drives its plot and characters for a barrage of laughs and chuckles from the beginning to the end. When I watched it for the first time in early … Continue reading →

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The Dead Don’t Die (2019) ☆☆1/2(2.5/4): A slow, languid zombie flick by Jim Jarmusch

Posted on August 1, 2019 by kaist455

Jim Jarmusch’s latest film “The Dead Don’t Die” is as slow and languid as many of his previous works. Although I have no problem with that at all, the movie feels like a one-joke movie stretched a bit too long, … Continue reading →

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EXIT (2019) ☆☆☆(3/4): They must find a way out…

Posted on August 1, 2019 by kaist455

South Korean film “EXIT” is better than I expected. When I watched its trailer a few weeks ago, it seemed to be no more than another silly comedy action flick, but the movie does its job fairly well as bouncing … Continue reading →

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Glassland (2014) ☆☆☆(3/4): This young man’s hard daily life

Posted on July 30, 2019 by kaist455

Irish independent film “Glassland” is a dry, somber character drama revolving around the daily life of one young man who has been driven to lots of frustration and desperation. He has tried to make things better for himself and a … Continue reading →

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Skin (2018) ☆☆☆(3/4): His struggle to erase his racist identity

Posted on July 29, 2019 by kaist455

“Skin” is engaging whenever it focuses on its troubled hero’s inner struggle against his racist identity. Although I must point out that the movie is often hampered by its rather heavy-handed storytelling especially during its second half where it makes … Continue reading →

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Hail Satan? (2019) ☆☆☆(3/4): An amusing documentary on certain Satanists

Posted on July 28, 2019 by kaist455

I often chuckled while watching “Hail Satan?”, an amusing documentary film about the rise of a group of certain decent (!) Satanists. While they certainly look silly and weird at times with their rather unorthodox religious belief, it is interesting … Continue reading →

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The Great Hack (2019) ☆☆☆(3/4): The rising digital threats to democracy

Posted on July 28, 2019 by kaist455

Netflix documentary film “The Great Hack” gives us a closer look into a frightening social change driven by the swift advance of digital technology in our time. Sure, I have been well aware of how seriously most of us have … Continue reading →

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Shusenjo: The Main Battleground of Comfort Women Issue (2019) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4): A sobering guide to the disputes surrounding the comfort women issue

Posted on July 27, 2019 by kaist455

As a South Korean guy, I must say that I cannot look wholly impartial to the subject of documentary film “Shusenjo: The Main Battleground of Comfort Women Issue”, which, as reflected by its rather long subtitle, focuses on that sensitive … Continue reading →

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