Category Archives: Movies

Are You Lonesome Tonight? (2021) ☆☆☆(3/4): A humid noir set in Guangzhou, China

Posted on April 25, 2022 by kaist455

Chinese film “Are You Lonesome Tonight?” will haunt you with its gritty noir tale drenched in lots of palpable summer heat and humidity. I must tell you that you may often get quite confused due to its rather convoluted plot … Continue reading →

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The Slug (2020) ☆☆☆(3/4): You will certainly cheer for her

Posted on April 24, 2022 by kaist455

You may really want to hug the heroine of South Korean independent film “The Slug”, which is much more intimate and heartfelt than its rather slimy title suggests. While life remains hard and uncertain for her even at the end … Continue reading →

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The Novelist’s Film (2021) ☆☆☆(3/4): How they come to make a film

Posted on April 24, 2022 by kaist455

As I said many times before, my history with Hong Sang-soo’s films has been rather complicated. During the time when I became a bit more serious about films, “Tale of Cinema” (2005) and “Woman on the Beach” (2006) felt like … Continue reading →

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The Lost City (2022) ☆☆☆(3/4): A novelist’s unexpected adventure

Posted on April 23, 2022 by kaist455

“The Lost City” gives us as much as we expected from its trailer. Clearly influenced by Robert Zemeckis’ “Romancing the Stone” (1984), the movie tries a little comic adventure tale while playing a bit with its genre conventions, and the … Continue reading →

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The Anchor (2022) ☆☆☆(3/4): An anchor in crisis

Posted on April 23, 2022 by kaist455

South Korean film “The Anchor” is another typical woman-in-crisis flick, but it did the job a bit better than expected. Although the story becomes a little too contrived during its last act in my humble opinion, the movie mostly works … Continue reading →

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Awoke (2020) ☆☆1/2(2.5/4): Have some compassion on him…

Posted on April 15, 2022 by kaist455

I feel rather conflicted about South Korean independent film “Awoke”. Although it is surely serious about its main subject which has become quite a relevant issue in the South Korean society, the movie is not recommendable enough because of its … Continue reading →

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Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore (2022) ☆☆(2/4): Not much secret or wonder

Posted on April 15, 2022 by kaist455

There was a time when we eagerly waited a new Harry Potter movie. Although many of us were well aware of what we would get, we were still enthralled and excited as watching many wondrous details of the fantasy world … Continue reading →

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Ambulance (2022) ☆☆(2/4): Another usual stuff from Michael Bay

Posted on April 14, 2022 by kaist455

Hollywood blockbuster action films need more than being loud, busy, and bombastic these days, and Michael Bay’s latest film “Ambulance” fails to do that despite all the sound and the fury hurled at us. While it is a little better … Continue reading →

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The Girl on a Bulldozer (2021) ☆☆☆(3/4): Who can stop her?

Posted on April 14, 2022 by kaist455

South Korean film “The Girl on a Bulldozer” is about one feisty girl who cannot be possibly stopped at all. While she is not a very nice person at all, we cannot help but admire her will and determination as … Continue reading →

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The Outfit (2022) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4): The Cutter of Chicago

Posted on April 12, 2022 by kaist455

To be frank with you, it is not that easy to describe how much I enjoyed “The Outfit”, a small but undeniably dexterous thriller film which engaged me much more than expected. Because of many of its pleasures come from … Continue reading →

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