Category Archives: Movies

The Brand New Testament (2015) ☆☆☆(3/4): God lives in Brussels

What if God really exists somewhere? What if he is merely a mean cranky guy with the absolute power on our world? And what if things can be changed for us? Belgian comedy film “The Brand New Testament” is cheerfully … Continue reading

Posted in Movies | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

The Little Prince (2015) ☆☆1/2(2.5/4): A mild animation film with few magical moments

Inspired by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s classic novella of the same name, animation feature film “The Little Prince” has few magical moments, but, unfortunately, it does not leave much impression after it is over. While its first half is often buoyed … Continue reading

Posted in Movies | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

The Peanuts Movie (2015) ☆☆☆(3/4): You’re still a good man, Charlie Brown

Charlie Brown and his gangs in late Charles M. Schulz’s classic newspaper comic strip “Peanuts” have been cultural icons around the world since when it was started in 1950. Like many of you, I came to encounter these simple, broad, … Continue reading

Posted in Movies | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Our Little Sister (2015) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4) : Four sisters in a Seaside Town

The characters in Hirokazu Kore-eda’s new film “Our Little Sister” are always gentle and courteous with lots of smiles except during a few little rocky moments in their mild daily life. This could be pretty mellow or tedious, but the … Continue reading

Posted in Movies | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015) ☆☆☆(3/4): The Force is brought back in action

“Star Wars: The Force Awakens” attempts to bring the Force back in action, and it did a mostly successful job with its entertaining mix of old and good things. While it does not reach to the groundbreaking level of the … Continue reading

Posted in Movies | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Another Woman (1988) ☆☆☆1/2 (3.5/4): And then she listens to the voice…

Among a bunch of books on movies I have kept at my family home for years, there is an old movie guidebook I bought in 1996. Some of its contents later turned out to be inaccurate or questionable, but that … Continue reading

Posted in Movies | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

The Tiger: An Old Hunter’s Tale (2015) ☆☆1/2(2.5/4): One last hunt

While some of its parts are good enough to interest us, South Korean film “The Tiger: An Old Hunter’s Tale” is ultimately hampered by its incoherent and disjointed plot. At first, it seems to focus on its weary hero and … Continue reading

Posted in Movies | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Kahlil Gibran’s The Prophet (2014) ☆☆☆(3/4): Eight different styles inside one package

“Kahlil Gibran’s The Prophet” is a lovely animation feature film decorated with eight different styles in one package. Supervised by Roger Allers, the co-director of “The Lion King” (1994), eight different animation artists freely wield each own cell animation style … Continue reading

Posted in Movies | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

The End of the Tour (2015) ☆☆☆(3/4) : An Interview between two Davids

First, I have to admit in advance that I am not very familiar with two real-life authors whose meeting inspired “The End of the Tour”. Although his second novel “Infinite Jest” was cited by Times as one of the 100 … Continue reading

Posted in Movies | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

99 Homes (2014) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4) : Daily horrors of foreclosure and eviction

Ramin Bahrani’s “99 Homes” chilled me during its several key scenes which reflect the gloomy reality of many American people after the global economy crisis in 2008. They were evicted from their homes just because they could not make their … Continue reading

Posted in Movies | Tagged , , | Leave a comment