Author Archives: kaist455

The Seed of the Sacred Fig (2024) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4): A tense Iranian family/political drama

Posted on November 29, 2024 by kaist455

Iranian film “The Seed of the Sacred Fig”, which was recently selected as the German submission to Best International Film Oscar, is a masterful work which will hold your attention from the beginning to the end. Deftly balancing itself between … Continue reading →

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Moana 2 (2024) ☆☆1/2(2.5/4): A middling second chapter not sailing that far

Posted on November 28, 2024 by kaist455

Disney animation film “Moana 2” is a middling second chapter compared to its promising predecessor, and that is a big disappointment for all of us. Sure, it looks as terrific as you can expect from any decent Disney animation these … Continue reading →

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Delivery (2023) ☆☆1/2(2.5/4): A comedy about unplanned pregnancy

Posted on November 27, 2024 by kaist455

South Korean comedy film “Delivery” wants to generate some laughs from unplanned pregnancy, and that was fine with me at the beginning. Sure, it is true that anything can be comic material, but the movie does not work as well … Continue reading →

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Blitz (2024) ☆☆☆(3/4): A boy and his mother under the Blitz

Posted on November 26, 2024 by kaist455

Steve McQueen’s latest film “Blitz”, which is currently available on Apple TV+, tries to bring some new and interesting elements into its familiar genre territory. Although it does not always work, the movie often distinguishes itself with a number of … Continue reading →

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The Piano Lesson (2024) ☆☆☆(3/4): The family trouble with a piano

Posted on November 25, 2024 by kaist455

Netflix film “The Piano Lesson”, which was released on last Friday, is about a little but complex family issue surrounding one old piano. Although it feels rather contrived during its second half as veering off a bit from what has … Continue reading →

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Thanksgiving (2023) ☆☆☆(3/4): A gory Thanksgiving season

Posted on November 24, 2024 by kaist455

Eli Roth’s latest film “Thanksgiving”, which is currently available on Netflix in South Korea, is cheerfully gory and violent to our horror and amusement. While this is basically another typical slasher horror movie featuring a bunch of cardboard figures to … Continue reading →

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Mimang (2023) ☆☆1/2 (2.5/4): Three different meanings via three acts

Posted on November 22, 2024 by kaist455

South Korean independent film “Mimang” presents the three different meanings of its title via the three acts loosely connected together. Although I am not sure about whether it works as well as intended by its filmmaker, it is engaging to … Continue reading →

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Wicked (2024) ☆☆☆(3/4): When they were friends…

Posted on November 21, 2024 by kaist455

“Wicked”, which is actually based on the first half of the popular Broadway musical of the same name, is as colorful and spirited as expected. While this is your average bloated musical film, it is thankfully buoyed by the good … Continue reading →

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Occupied City (2023) ☆☆☆(3/4): The past and present of one European city

Posted on November 20, 2024 by kaist455

Steve McQueen’s documentary film “Occupied City” is an ambitious piece of work alternatively interesting and demanding. For more than 4 hours, the documentary simply shows and tells the old past of a heap of different spots in Amsterdam of the … Continue reading →

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The Voices of the Silenced (2023) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4): The chronicles of Zainichi Koreans

Posted on November 18, 2024 by kaist455

Documentary film “The Voices of the Silences”, which won the Mecenat Award for Best Documentary when it was shown at the Busan International Film Festival in last year, is about one defiant old Korean Japanese woman and her old but … Continue reading →

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