Author Archives: kaist455

Focus (2015) ☆☆☆(3/4) : Romance or Con game?

Posted on March 2, 2015 by kaist455

As a comedy movie about con artists, “Focus” is entertaining enough to overlook its several weak points. Mainly because there is always a possibility that its main characters are holding something behind their back, we come to look at them … Continue reading →

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Citizenfour (2014) ☆☆☆1/2 (3.5/4) : A close, gripping look into one big expose

Posted on February 25, 2015 by kaist455

 Thanks to the rapid development of communication and information technologies, we can freely exchange or share information and opinions with many other people around the world, but then there are also dark possibilities in this technological advance. Through its close … Continue reading →

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My prediction on the 87th Annual Academy Awards

Posted on February 21, 2015 by kaist455

 We used to complain that the Oscar season became too predictable, but now we are grouching about how the Oscar season in this year has become the most unpredictable one compared to previous seasons. In the beginning, Richard Linklater’s masterpiece … Continue reading →

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The Tribe (2014) ☆☆☆1/2 (3.5/4) : A tribe of deaf criminals

Posted on February 20, 2015 by kaist455

Ukrainian film “The Tribe” attempts its audacious storytelling experiment right from its very first scene. While there are sounds on its soundtrack, there is no spoken dialogue in the film as it observes the interactions between its main characters who … Continue reading →

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Finding Vivian Maier (2013) ☆☆☆(3/4): A nanny who was also a photographer

Posted on February 20, 2015 by kaist455

The photos shown in Oscar-nominated documentary “Finding Vivian Maier” are something to watch and appreciate for the mood and feelings they evoke. Mostly shot in black and white, they vividly capture the places and people of bygone eras, and then … Continue reading →

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Jodorowsky’s Dune (2013) ☆☆☆(3/4) : It could have been awesome, maybe

Posted on February 15, 2015 by kaist455

 One of my fond memories involved with an arthouse movie theater near my KAIST campus, which is gone now, is involved with a double feature showing of Alejandro Jodorowsky’s “El Topo” (1970) and “The Holy Mountain” (1973). The promotional leaflet … Continue reading →

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A Most Violent Year (2014) ☆☆☆(3/4) : A gloomy, fateful pastiche of crime movies

Posted on February 15, 2015 by kaist455

 In “The Godfather” (1972), crime comes to look more like business at the end of its story. In case of “A Most Violent Year”, a dark, tense drama about an ambitious New York business man trying not to lose everything … Continue reading →

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Winter Sleep (2014) ☆☆☆1/2 (3.5/4) : Dormant in his own hypocrisy

Posted on February 14, 2015 by kaist455

 The first thing to draw my attention in Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s new film “Winter Sleep” is the rocky, mountainous landscape of Cappadocia, Turkey. While making wonderful sights for tourism in their weathered appearances, those soft rocks, which were formed from … Continue reading →

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Kingsman: The Secret Agent (2014) ☆☆1/2(2.5/4) : Prim and violent

Posted on February 12, 2015 by kaist455

“Kingsman: The Secret Agent” is an over-the-top spy action film going wildly between casual ultra-violence and occasional self-conscious humor. It is prim and violent while giving us a little wink with its self-aware attitude, but I only observed its story … Continue reading →

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Selma (2014) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4) : A March to Equality

Posted on February 11, 2015 by kaist455

Focusing on one of the monumental moments during the 1960s Civil Rights Movement, “Selma” instantly takes us to that turbulent era viewed from Martin Luther King Jr. and other civil rights activists. While being a complex portrayal of its hero, … Continue reading →

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