Author Archives: kaist455

All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt (2023) ☆☆☆(3/4): A stream of her memories

Posted on March 23, 2025 by kaist455

“All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt” requires you to take your time for reflecting more on its many individual moments to be savored and cherished. Yes, this is surely one of those “slow movies” demanding some patience from you, and … Continue reading →

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Black Bag (2025) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4): Between marriage and espionage

Posted on March 23, 2025 by kaist455

Steven Soderbergh’s new film “Black Bag” is a slick and efficient genre piece to be savored for many good reasons. Although it may feel a bit too murky for you as you try to discern its rather twisty plot, the … Continue reading →

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Companion (2025) ☆☆☆(3/4): The Trouble with Iris

Posted on March 23, 2025 by kaist455

“Companion” is one of those solid thriller films which you can enjoy more if you do not know at all what it is about. Therefore, I will try to be very discreet about describing the story and character in this … Continue reading →

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The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare (2024) ☆☆1/2(2.5/4): A middling WWII action flick

Posted on March 21, 2025 by kaist455

Guy Ritchie’s latest film “The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare” is a middling copy of many similar World War II actions flicks ranging from “The Dirty Dozen” (1967) to “Inglourious Basterds” (2009). While it surely attempts to have some fun as … Continue reading →

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Snow White (2025) ☆☆(2/4): Not that fair, shall we say

Posted on March 20, 2025 by kaist455

“Snow White”, which is another re-packaged live action product from Walt Disney Pictures, does not have much reason for its existence in my trivial opinion. Probably because I have seen numerous movie adaptations of that famous fairy tale by the … Continue reading →

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Megalopolis (2024) ☆1/2(1.5/4): Coppola’s disastrous folly

Posted on March 19, 2025 by kaist455

Francis Ford Coppola’s comeback work “Megalopolis” frustrated and baffled me a lot more than once. Here is a legendary filmmaker reaching for another chance for greatness, but the result only shows that he merely wasted a lot of the talents … Continue reading →

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All We Imagine as Light (2024) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4): Three women in Mumbai

Posted on March 18, 2025 by kaist455

“All We Imagine as Light”, which won the Grand Prix award at the Cannes Film Festival early in last year, is a haunting character drama about three different women in Mumbai. While phlegmatically illustrating their daily lives in the middle … Continue reading →

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Hard Truths (2024) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4): This bitter woman

Posted on March 17, 2025 by kaist455

Mike Leigh’s latest film “Hard Truths” gives us one of the most abrasive characters in his filmography since “Naked” (1993). While this is definitely not a pleasant experience at all, Leigh presents this troubled human figure with a lot of … Continue reading →

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White Bird (2023) ☆☆(2/4): A Holocaust tale to reform him

Posted on March 16, 2025 by kaist455

Marc Forster’s new film “White Bird” presents its well-intentioned tale in a way so rote and manipulative that I felt like shaking my head more than once during my viewing. As another typical Holocaust drama flick, it does not bring … Continue reading →

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I’m Still Here (2024) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4): A family under the dictatorship in Brazil

Posted on March 13, 2025 by kaist455

Walter Salles’ latest film “I’m Still Here”, which recently won a Best International Film Oscar, calmly but powerfully observes a real-life personal struggle under the dictatorship period in Brazil during the early 1970s. While never overlooking the grim and horrific … Continue reading →

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