Author Archives: kaist455

Piece by Piece (2024) ☆☆1/2(2.5/4): Merely pleasant and amusing

Posted on January 12, 2025 by kaist455

Morgan Neville’s new documentary film “Piece by Piece” is merely pleasant and amusing despite some novelty in the presentation of its main human subject. As that figure in question suggests early in the documentary, it surely sounds cool to present … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies | Tagged Animation, Documentary, Musician, Real-life figure, Real-life story | Leave a comment

Dahomey (2024) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4): The return of stolen artifacts

Posted on January 5, 2025 by kaist455

Mati Diop’s documentary film “Dahomey”, which won the Golden Bear award when it was premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival early in last year, mainly revolves around a number of stolen artifacts finally returned to their home country. As … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies | Tagged Artifact, Documentary, Real-life incident, Repatriation | 1 Comment

Lust, Caution (2007) ☆☆☆(3/4): A spy caught between lust and caution

Posted on January 5, 2025 by kaist455

Ang Lee’s 2007 film “Lust, Caution”, which is currently being shown again in selected South Korean theaters, is a slow but sensual period drama which works best whenever it focuses on the guarded psychology of the two very different main … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies | Tagged Assassination, Espionage, Spy, World War II | Leave a comment

Heretic (2024) ☆☆☆(3/4): A twisted test on faith

Posted on January 5, 2025 by kaist455

“Heretic” is a modest but effective horror thriller film about religion and faith. Now it may sound solemn and ponderous to you, the movie does a fairly commendable job of balancing itself between humor and suspense, and it will keep … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies | Tagged Faith, Horror, Religion, Thriller | 1 Comment

Millennium Mambo (2001) ☆☆☆(3/4): Looking back at her messy life

Posted on January 4, 2025 by kaist455

Hou Hsiao-hsien’s 2001 film “Millennium Mambo”, whose 4K restoration version was released in South Korean theaters on the first day of this year, is an acquired taste for me just like many of Hou’s films, but it somehow engaged me … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies | Tagged Romance | Leave a comment

Armand (2024) ☆☆1/2(2.5/4): At her son’s school

Posted on January 4, 2025 by kaist455

“Armand”, which was selected as the Norwegian entry for Best Internation Film Oscar in last year, attempts a sort of high-wire stunt between the chamber drama films of Ingmar Bergman and the psychological thriller movies of Roman Polanski. While I … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies | Tagged Parents, School, School Violence | Leave a comment

The Apartment (1960) ☆☆☆☆(4/4): A definite comic masterpiece by Billy Wilder

Posted on December 31, 2024 by kaist455

Billy Wilder’s 1960 film “The Apartment” is about two desperate people who come to reflect more on what they really want during one particularly melancholic Christmas season. This is surely a gloomy story in many aspects, but the movie did … Continue reading →