Category Archives: Movies

1987: When the Day Comes (2017) ☆☆☆(3/4): That eventful year in South Korea

1987 was quite an eventful year in South Korea. After the tragic death of a young college student/activist named Park Jong-chul on January 14th, 1987, the public demand for democratization in South Korea became bigger, wider, and fiercer than before … Continue reading

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A Brighter Summer Day (1991) ☆☆☆☆(4/4): A great movie never too long

Edward Yang’s “A Bright Summer Day”, which recently happened to be released in South Korea, is a singular masterpiece to be admired for numerous reasons. On one level, it is a tragic adolescent drama inspired by a notorious real-life incident … Continue reading

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SoulMate (2016) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4): Two girls’ dynamic friendship

While it seems to be another typical female tale of love and friendship, Chinese film “SoulMate” works thanks to its sincere storytelling and engaging performance. It looks predictable at first, but then it comes to hold our attention as vividly … Continue reading

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Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4): It’s certainly not the last one

“Star Wars: The Last Jedi” is a big entertaining surprise. Fully developing the potentials glimpsed from “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” (2015), this ambitious piece of work not only excited me with numerous memorable sights but also intrigued me with … Continue reading

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The Third Murder (2017) ☆☆1/2(2.5/4): A frustrating exercise in ambiguity

Hirokazu Kore-eda’s new film “The Third Murder” is a frustrating exercise in ambiguity. At first, everything seems pretty simple in a murder case at the center of the story, but then it turns out that the case may be a … Continue reading

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Merry Christmas Mr. Mo (2016) ☆☆☆(3/4): A deadpan filmmaking tale of one barber

South Korean film “Merry Christmas Mr. Mo” is advertised as a ‘black comedy stranger than paradise’, and that description is correct to some degrees. While I was a bit disappointed to find that it is not as uproarious or edgy … Continue reading

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The Other Side of Hope (2017) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4): Another deadpan film from Kaurismäki

I remember well when I watched Aki Kaurismäki’s “Le Havre” (2011) during one cold evening of 2011 December. I watched it at a local arthouse theater which was as freezing as the outside, and I remember well when the theater … Continue reading

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Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie (2017) ☆☆☆(3/4): Silly but uproarious

While being as silly as its title suggests, animation film “Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie” is often quite funny as gleefully and knowingly embracing its sheer goofiness. When I watched its trailer early in this year, I thought it … Continue reading

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Whose Streets? (2017) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4): A vivid, close look into the Ferguson uprising

Documentary film “Whose Streets?” gives us a vivid, close look into the Ferguson uprising, and there are several raw, intense moments which will captivate you first and then linger on your mind for a long time. While it is definitely … Continue reading

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Abacus: Small Enough to Jail (2016) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4): A small decent bank under crisis

As watching documentary film “Abacus: Small Enough to Jail”, I could not help but roll my eyes at the absurd legal injustice shown in the documentary. Here is a small decent bank which has provided a considerable financial help to … Continue reading

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