Category Archives: Movies

By the Grace of God (2019) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4): Against unjust silence

Posted on January 19, 2020 by

French film “By the Grace of God”, which won the Jury Grand Prize at the Berlin International Film Festival early in last year, shook me hard with its sobering and harrowing tale loosely based on a real-life sexual abuse scandal … Continue reading →

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Harriet (2019) ☆☆1/2(2.5/4): Erivo dominates as Harriet Tubman

Posted on January 18, 2020 by

Kasi Lemmons’ new film “Harriet”, which is inspired by the dramatic life of Harriet Tubman (1822-1913), is a biographical film which is formulaic to the core but is not entirely without good elements to be appreciated. Although it frequently stumbles … Continue reading →

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The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open (2019) ☆☆☆(3/4): Their one day

Posted on January 18, 2020 by

Canadian film “The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open” presents a series of continuous moments between two different female characters who happen to encounter each other on one day. As austerely but sensitively focusing on strained and tentative interactions … Continue reading →

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Secret Zoo (2019) ☆☆☆(3/4): These ‘animals’ won’t hurt you…

Posted on January 16, 2020 by

When I watched the trailer of South Korean comedy film “Secret Zoo”, I seriously wondered whether its outrageous comic premise could work on the big screen. Several moments glimpsed from the trailer seemed so silly and unrealistic to me that … Continue reading →

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Bacurau (2019) ☆☆1/2(2.5/4): An odd mixed bag of genres from Brazil

Posted on January 15, 2020 by

Brazilian film “Bacurau”, which received the Jury Prize along with French film “Les Misérables” (2019) at the Cannes Film Festival early in last year, is an odd mixed bag of genres which did not click that well with me. While … Continue reading →

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Western Stars (2019) ☆☆☆(3/4): Springsteen presented by Springsteen

Posted on January 15, 2020 by

Documentary film “Western Stars”, which is directed by Bruce Springsteen and Thom Zimny, often engaged and impressed me via not only Springsteen’s songs but also wisdom and meditation inside them. As a solid companion piece to his nineteenth album “Western … Continue reading →

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Pain and Glory (2019) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4): As he strolls in his creative crisis

Posted on January 13, 2020 by

Pedro Almodóvar’s latest work “Pain and Glory”, which was Spain’s official submission to Best International Film Oscar in last year, is a somber but undeniably poignant exploration of that fascinating interaction between life and art. I must confess that I … Continue reading →

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