Category Archives: Movies

Official Secrets (2019) ☆☆1/2(2.5/4): A whistleblower charged with treason

Posted on November 29, 2019 by kaist455

“Official Secrets” is a well-intentioned but ultimately mild drama based on the true story of Katharine Gun, a British woman who was an employee of Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) around the time when she decided to leak a secret memo … Continue reading →

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Bring Me Home (2019) ☆☆1/2(2.5/4): Desperately looking for her missing son

Posted on November 28, 2019 by kaist455

Watching South Korean film “Bring Me Home” is an experience not only unpleasant but also stressful in many aspects. Relentlessly pushing the story and its increasingly desperate heroine into sheer cruelty and brutality from the beginning to the end, the … Continue reading →

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Hustlers (2019) ☆☆☆(3/4): The Vixens of Wall Street

Posted on November 27, 2019 by kaist455

“Hustlers” is a sexy and engaging crime drama film to be savored and appreciated for good reasons. While wisely avoiding pitfalls of sensationalism and exploitation, the movie is buoyed by a bunch of colorful performances to admire, and it is … Continue reading →

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Crawl (2019) ☆☆☆(3/4): Against a hurricane – and alligators

Posted on November 27, 2019 by kaist455

“Crawl”, which belatedly arrives in South Korean theaters at the end of this autumn, is a modest but effective genre piece which handles its rather preposterous premise better than expected. Although I could instantly see from the beginning how it … Continue reading →

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Burning Cane (2019) ☆☆☆(3/4): Southern lives stuck in anger and despair

Posted on November 25, 2019 by kaist455

“Burning Cane”, which won two awards including the Founders Prize when it was shown at the Tribeca Film Festival early in this year, is a small but remarkable work to be appreciated. Although this is the first feature film of … Continue reading →

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The Nightingale (2018) ☆☆1/2(2.5/4): A brutal revenge drama set in Tasmania, 1825

Posted on November 25, 2019 by kaist455

There are a number of brutally remorseless moments of physical violence in Jennifer Kent’s second feature film “The Nightingale”, which won the Special Jury Prize when it was shown at the Venice Film Festival in last year. As a matter … Continue reading →

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Brittany Runs a Marathon (2019) ☆☆☆(3/4): Running for her body, mind, and life

Posted on November 24, 2019 by kaist455

“Brittany Runs a Marathon”, which won the Audience award when it was shown at the Sundance Film Festival early in this year, is a genuine crowd-pleaser packed with lots of wit and heart. While generating a number of sharply humorous … Continue reading →

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Dora and the Lost City of Gold (2019) ☆☆☆(3/4): Silly but entertaining nonetheless

Posted on November 24, 2019 by kaist455

“Dora and the Lost City of Gold” is an unabashedly lively entertainment product which provides a fair share of silly fun for its target audiences. While it is as broad and goofy as you can expect from a live action … Continue reading →

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The Irishman (2019) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4): A dry, long gangster elegy presented by Martin Scorsese

Posted on November 24, 2019 by kaist455

Martin Scorsese’s latest film “The Irishman”, which was released in South Korea a few days ago and will be available on Netflix on next Wednesday, is a dry, long elegy to a cold, mean, and violent criminal world in the … Continue reading →

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Frozen 2 (2019) ☆☆☆(3/4): A watchable sequel with several good things

Posted on November 22, 2019 by kaist455

When Oscar-winning Disney animation film “Frozen” (2013) came out six years ago, I was not as enthusiastic as many other audiences and reviewers, but I did appreciate a number of good things in that unexpectedly popular animation film. Besides its … Continue reading →

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