Category Archives: Movies

Moonlit Winter (2019) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4): A letter from her first love

Posted on November 19, 2019 by

South Korean film “Moonlit Winter” reminds me that it is always more compelling to observe star-crossed lovers in agony and restraint. Here are two very unhappy women who have quietly yearned for each other since they were separated from each … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Good Boys (2019) ☆☆☆(3/4): Kids say and do darndest things

Posted on November 18, 2019 by

As far as I can remember, I was a pretty mild child before I officially entered adolescence in 1996. Sure, I was a rather nerdy and quirky boy whose mind was usually occupied with books and movies, but I usually … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Sub-Zero Wind (2018) ☆☆☆(3/4): Her bleak adolescent years

Posted on November 17, 2019 by

South Korean film “Sub-Zero Wind” is as bleak as its very title suggests. Like many of recent South Korean coming-of-age drama films, the movie is often shrouded in stark and gloomy realism, but its story and characters are thoughtfully handled … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

One Child Nation (2019) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4): Memories of Policy

Posted on November 16, 2019 by

Documentary film “One Child Nation”, which won the Grand Jury Prize when it was shown at the Sundance Film Festival early in this year, is often powerful and heart-wrenching in its sobering but intimate presentation of one brutal family policy … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Adopt a Highway (2019) ☆☆1/2(2.5/4): As he struggles to adjust

Posted on November 16, 2019 by

As watching “Adopt a Highway” at last night, I often become a bit reflective on the long, illustrious acting career of Ethan Hawke. At the time of “Dead Poets Society” (1989) and “Reality Bites” (1994), he initially drew our attention … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies | Tagged , | Leave a comment

The Dead Center (2018) ☆☆1/2(2.5/4): In the Mouth of Death

Posted on November 16, 2019 by

“The Dead Center” intrigued me at first and then came to frustrate me later. While it initially comes to us as an interesting mix of H.P. Lovecraft and Bill S. Ballinger, the movie unfortunately begins to trudge during its trite … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Zombieland: Double Tap (2019) ☆☆1/2(2.5/4): More zombies with less fun

Posted on November 14, 2019 by

I laughed often while watching the first half of “Zombieland: Double Tap”, but those funny moments in the film only reminded me that I laughed more and harder when I watched its 2009 predecessor ten years ago. Although it has … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies | Tagged , , | Leave a comment