Author Archives: kaist455

Naked Lunch (1991) ☆☆☆(3/4): Welcome to Interzone

Posted on June 27, 2025 by kaist455

David Cronenberg’s 1991 film “Naked Lunch”, which happens to come to South Korean theaters shortly after the local theatrical release of Luca Guadagnino’s “Queer” (2024), tackles on an impossible task, and the result is alternatively interesting and baffling. Loosely based … Continue reading →

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Saving Private Ryan (1998) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4): Just for one private

Posted on June 26, 2025 by kaist455

Steven Spielberg’s 1998 film “Saving Private Ryan”, which happens to be re-released in South Korean on this Wednesday, definitely earns its own place in the pantheon of war movies via its stupefyingly stunning opening battle sequence, but it is much … Continue reading →

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Alphaville (1965) ☆☆☆(3/4): A literally distant SF noir from Godard

Posted on June 25, 2025 by kaist455

It is ironic that Jean-Luc Godard’s 1965 film “Alpaville”, whose 4K remastered version is being shown in South Korea at this point, is quite dry, distant, and abstract to the end without much feeling to sense. While the story itself … Continue reading →

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Queer (2024) ☆☆1/2(2.5/4): That frustrating object of lust

Posted on June 25, 2025 by kaist455

Luca Guadagnino’s latest film “Queer”, which came out not long after his previous film “Challengers” in the same year, often frustrated and baffled me. While this is another distinctive work of Guadagnino which is packed with an ample amount of … Continue reading →

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Queen of Katwe (2016) ☆☆☆(3/4): An unlikely chess player in Uganda

Posted on June 24, 2025 by kaist455

Mira Nair’s 2016 film “Queen of Katwe”, which is currently available on Disney+ presents a remarkable story about one extraordinary female chess player in Uganda. She was born in a slum neighborhood of Kampala, Uganda, but she and several other … Continue reading →

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Young Woman and the Sea (2024) ☆☆1/2(2.5/4): A passable biopic about one remarkable woman

Posted on June 21, 2025 by kaist455

“Young Woman and the Sea”, which is currently available on Disney+, is a biographic film about one remarkable woman who showed that women can do anything as much as men. While her extraordinary achievement certainly deserves to be known more … Continue reading →

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28 Years Later (2025) ☆☆☆(3/4): Danny Boyle back in Zombieland

Posted on June 20, 2025 by kaist455

Danny Boyle’s latest film “28 Years Later” reminds me again that he is a filmmaker who has rarely repeated himself. Yes, he is back in that post-apocalyptic world explored in “28 Days Later” (2002), and we are surely served with … Continue reading →

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Elio (2025) ☆☆☆(3/4): A boy’s little cosmic adventure

Posted on June 18, 2025 by kaist455

“Elio”, the latest animation feature film from Pixar Animation Studios, is a modest but sweet SF fantasy tale which often amused me for good reasons. While it will be fairly enjoyable to young audiences thanks to its bright and colorful … Continue reading →

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Predator: Killer of Killers (2025) ☆☆☆(3/4): Three Predator tales

Posted on June 18, 2025 by kaist455

Animation feature film “Predator: Killer of Killers”, which was released on Disney+ early in this month, tries an interesting variation on what we have seen from “Predator” (1987) and several films from its franchise. This time, we get three different … Continue reading →

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Deep Cover (2025) ☆☆☆(3/4): Improv squad

Posted on June 17, 2025 by kaist455

“Deep Cover”, which was released on Amazon Prime in last week, generates laughs from its outrageous story premise as much as possible, and I enjoyed that. While this is another typical “fish-out-of-water” comedy film, the movie shows more wit and … Continue reading →

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