Category Archives: Movies

Yankinku Dragon (2018) ☆☆☆(3/4): Nowhere but here in Japan

Posted on August 15, 2020 by kaist455

Japanese film “Yankinku Drangon” is a corny but heartfelt drama mainly revolving around one colorful Korean Japanese family. While you can instantly discern that it tries to pull our heartstrings as hard as it can, the movie has a big … Continue reading →

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Tiny Light (2018) ☆☆☆(3/4): Memories of his family

Posted on August 15, 2020 by kaist455

South Korean independent film “Tiny Light” is simple and earnest in its tentative approach to story and characters. While it slowly reveals the growing concern of its ordinary hero on a certain serious matter of his, the movie thankfully does … Continue reading →

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The Journalist (2019) ☆☆☆(3/4): A journalist against the power that be

Posted on August 15, 2020 by kaist455

Japanese film “The Journalist” steadily and diligently follows the lonely struggle of one determined female journalist and a government official who may help her more than he is willing to do. Although it is mostly fictional, the movie is still … Continue reading →

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Vertigo (2019) ☆☆☆(3/4): A woman on the edge

Posted on August 15, 2020 by kaist455

South Korean film “Vertigo” is a quietly harrowing melodrama about one woman on the edge. While this is not a remake of Alfred Hitchcock’s 1958 masterpiece, it is worthwhile to watch as a painful reflection on what many South Korean … Continue reading →

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Okay Madam (2019) ☆☆☆(3/4): A woman with a particular set of skills

Posted on August 13, 2020 by kaist455

South Korean comedy action film “Okay Madam” flies all the way for our entertainment, and I appreciate that even while recognizing how silly and preposterous it actually is in many aspects. Sure, it is often a bit too goofy for … Continue reading →

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Deliver Us From Evil (2019) ☆☆(2/4): Deliver Me From Mediocrity

Posted on August 13, 2020 by kaist455

South Korean film “Deliver Us From Evil” brings almost nothing to its genre territory without enough sense of fun or entertainment. Despite lots of efforts put into the screen, the overall result is so flat and pedestrian that I quickly … Continue reading →

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True History of the Kelly Gang (2019) ☆☆☆(3/4): An unconventional bushranger film

Posted on August 11, 2020 by kaist455

Justin Kurzel’s new film “True History of the Kelly Gang” is an unconventional bushranger film which tries some different things in its decidedly fictional account of the life of Ned Kelly, one of the most notorious Australian bushrangers in the … Continue reading →

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Work It (2020) ☆☆1/2(2.5/4): A mild underdog movie with predictable movements

Posted on August 10, 2020 by kaist455

Netflix film “Work It” is a mildly enjoyable underdog movie with predictable movements which will not surprise you much especially if you are familiar with its genre territory. As a high school comedy movie about dance competition, it is fairly … Continue reading →

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Los Lobos (2019) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4): Wolves Don’t Cry

Posted on August 10, 2020 by kaist455

Mexican film “Los Lobos”, which won Grand Prix of the Generation Kplus International Jury in addition to the Peace Film Award at the Berlin International Film Festival early in last year, is a modest but undeniably extraordinary film mainly revolving … Continue reading →

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Les Misérables (2019) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4): Two days in Montfermeil

Posted on August 10, 2020 by kaist455

French film “Les Misérables”, which was nominated for Best International Film Oscar early in this year, is often quite compelling as a vivid examination on race and class in the commune of Montfermeil, a suburban ghetto area on the east … Continue reading →

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