Category Archives: Movies

Blackhat (2015) ☆☆☆(3/4) : Style over keyboarding

Posted on July 23, 2015 by kaist455

At some point during my viewing of “Blackhat”, I began to focus on how it looks rather than what it is about. As a ‘cyber-thriller’, it surely has an interesting topic which has been more relevant along with those frequent … Continue reading →

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Phoenix (2014) ☆☆☆1/2 (3.5/4) : The past is still there for her and others

Posted on July 19, 2015 by kaist455

The war is over, but the past is still there for her and others. Christian Petzold’s “Phoenix”, a quiet but compelling period drama revolving around disguise and manipulation with a touch of film noir, is reticent about the dark period … Continue reading →

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Big Game (2014) ☆☆1/2 (2.5/4) : No game is too big for this kid

Posted on July 18, 2015 by kaist455

One of many entertaining parts in late Roger Ebert’s memoir “Life Itself” is the story about how he participated in the production of Russ Meyer’s “Beyond the Valley of the Dolls” (1970) as its screenplay writer. While Ebert’s screenplay was … Continue reading →

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Beyond the Reach (2014) ☆☆1/2(2.5/4) : A survival game in the barren wilderness

Posted on July 16, 2015 by kaist455

“Beyond the Reach” works best when it focuses on a deadly cat-and-mouse game between its two contrasting main characters. While one ruthlessly pushes the other into an extreme condition, it is compelling to watch both of them trying to outwit … Continue reading →

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Inside Out (2015) ☆☆☆☆(4/4) : Inside the state of mind

Posted on July 12, 2015 by kaist455

Pixar has done it again. Their new animation film “Inside Out” is a simple but sublime work which not only delights us with its boundless imagination but also touches us with its dexterous storytelling. At first, you will be amazed … Continue reading →

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The Guest (2015) ☆☆1/2(2.5/4): A piper comes to the village

Posted on July 11, 2015 by kaist455

On one day during my miserable graduate school years, one of the seniors in my advisor professor’s biology laboratory told me about his personal aversion to rodents. As a guy who grew up in a farming village, he had vivid … Continue reading →

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Rudderless (2014) ☆☆☆(3/4) : Coming out of his grief through his son’s music

Posted on July 10, 2015 by kaist455

“Rudderless” plays familiar tunes we have heard before. Devastated by a sudden tragedy which turns his life upside down, its hero lets his life drifted away aimlessly as trying to look away from his personal grief, but then he gets … Continue reading →

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Woman in Gold (2015) ☆☆1/2(2.5/4) : A family history behind one famous painting

Posted on July 8, 2015 by kaist455

“Woman in Gold” tells us a story behind one of the most famous artworks from the 20th century. Painted by Gustav Klimt, “Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I”, which is also known as “Woman in Gold”, was one of the most … Continue reading →

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Madonna (2014) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4) : The Passion of Madonna

Posted on July 5, 2015 by kaist455

South Korean film “Madonna”, which was shown at the Cannes Film Festival in this May and is now currently being shown at South Korean theaters, is a tough stuff packed with stark power and harrowing emotions. It is often very … Continue reading →

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Timbuktu (2014) ☆☆☆1/2 (3.5/4): A sad, graceful tale of nature, people, and religion

Posted on July 1, 2015 by kaist455

Serenely beautiful and heartbreakingly tragic, “Timbuktu” gives us a somber but ultimately compassionate look into the world most of us are not very familiar with. As our eyes are drawn to its vast, beautiful desert landscapes to behold, we come … Continue reading →

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