Category Archives: Movies

Phantom Detective (2016) ☆☆☆(3/4): An offbeat noir from South Korea

Posted on May 8, 2016 by kaist455

South Korean film “Phantom Detective” is an amusing mixed bag stuffed with different genre elements which do not seem to fit together at first but somehow work on the whole in its offbeat concoction. After all, not many movies have … Continue reading →

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Spa Night (2016) ☆☆☆(3/4): A somber, tentative gay drama in Koreatown

Posted on May 7, 2016 by kaist455

“Spa Night” puts itself in the middle of an ethnic community area in LA both familiar and foreign to me. As this small exceptional independent movie let me assess its specific, intimate details with curiosity and amusement, I was involved … Continue reading →

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Rabin, the Last Day (2015) ☆☆☆(3/4): When Israel failed itself

Posted on May 5, 2016 by kaist455

As with other infamous political assassination incidents, the assassination of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin has devastating historical resonance over its aftermath. Despite the increasingly difficult domestic situation following the Oslo Accord I, which could have been the real first … Continue reading →

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Hitchcock/Truffaut (2015) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4): Two great filmmakers, one monumental book

Posted on May 1, 2016 by kaist455

When I was young and wild during the 1990s, I began to be more serious about movies, and it was fortunate for me to have two wonderful things to boost my growing interest on movies around that time. First, a … Continue reading →

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Captain America: Civil War (2016) ☆☆1/2(2.5/4): The Avengers 2.5

Posted on April 30, 2016 by kaist455

I remember when I grumbled to myself while watching one certain action scene in “The Avengers” (2012). Watching its two superhero characters clashing with each other over something trivial, I felt the urge to say something to them: “Hey, guys, … Continue reading →

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Chinese Take-Away (2011) ☆☆☆(3/4): When things happen to him

Posted on April 24, 2016 by kaist455

The opening scene of Argentine film “Chinese Take-Away” looks so absurd that you will not believe that, as shown during the end credits, this darkly comic moment is actually inspired by a truly bizarre real-life incident. Yes, such incidents like … Continue reading →

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Chronic (2015) ☆☆1/2(2.5/4) : Living through his sick people

Posted on April 23, 2016 by kaist455

It is always interesting to observe human behaviors from movies. “Chronic”, which received the Best Screenplay award at the Cannes Film Festival in last year, engaged me because of its calm observation of curious human behaviors, but I was also … Continue reading →

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Seymour: An Introduction (2014) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4): On his duet of life and art

Posted on April 18, 2016 by kaist455

The first minutes of documentary film “Seymour: An Introduction” was more than enough for me to become interested in its remarkable human subject. As a man who has happily maintained his own balance between life and art for many years, … Continue reading →

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Steel Flower (2015) ☆☆☆(3/4): Working and living alone by herself

Posted on April 16, 2016 by kaist455

While it may often frustrate you because of its dry, clinical storytelling, South Korean independent film “Steel Flower” has several things good enough for recommendation. As it never goes that deep into its young desolate heroin, the movie occasionally feels … Continue reading →

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10 Cloverfield Lane (2016) ☆☆☆(3/4): Three below the ground

Posted on April 11, 2016 by kaist455

As the opening sequence of “10 Cloverfield Lane” is unfolded, we know that something bad will happen sooner or later. Everything looks mundane on the surface as its young heroine leaves her place, but the ominous score on the soundtrack … Continue reading →

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