Category Archives: Movies

The Devil and Daniel Webster (1941) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4) : A Faustian tale in New England

Posted on June 28, 2011 by kaist455

 Like many tales about the good vs. the evil, the evil mostly steals the show from the good again in “The Devil and Daniel Webster”(1941), a cautionary moral tale based on Stephen Vincent Benét’s short story which is sort of … Continue reading →

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Super 8 (2011) ☆☆☆(3/4) : A respectful homage to Spielberg films with nostalgia

Posted on June 18, 2011 by kaist455

 J.J. Abrams’ new movie “Super 8” turns out to be not as good as what it can be, but it is as good as what it sincerely wants to be, and I liked that. As a respectful homage with nostalgia … Continue reading →

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Re-encounter (2010) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4) : She can’t abandon her past – like her dogs

Posted on June 12, 2011 by kaist455

  No matter how much we try to leave behind, it seems inevitable that our past always comes back to us – to be picked up by us again. In case of Hye-hwa,  a young heroine of South Korean movie … Continue reading →

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Bleak Night (2010) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4) : “From where did it go wrong?”

Posted on June 12, 2011 by kaist455

South Korean movie “Bleak Night” evokes the memories of my high school years. Although I was a lot more comfortable at my science high school than the high school students depicted in the film, some boys I knew in the … Continue reading →

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In a Better World (2010) ☆☆☆(3/4) : In two lesser worlds

Posted on June 6, 2011 by kaist455

 “In a Better World” presents us a question which cannot be easily answered in our imperfect world: how should we response to the violence and accompanying injustices? Yes, we usually say we can solve the problems with the communication and … Continue reading →

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The Illusionist (2010) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4) : A magician, a girl, and bittersweet melancholy

Posted on June 4, 2011 by kaist455

 Sylvain Chomet’s new animation “The Illusionist” deals with the gloomy subjects rarely told in the blockbuster animations. It is about the decay of one era, the desperation behind that, and the sorrowful acceptance and resignation in the end. The time … Continue reading →

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Fresh (1994) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4) : A dangerous game between him and his world

Posted on June 3, 2011 by kaist455

  In the middle of Boaz Yakin’s “Fresh”(1994), there is the crucial scene that gives us the insight into its hero’s plan. While playing chess with his father, he learns a lesson. And then, he applies its logic to the real … Continue reading →

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Inside Job (2010) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4) : Here’s what happened

Posted on May 21, 2011 by kaist455

  Regardless of how much you know about the global financial crisis in September 2008, you will be outraged while watching “Inside Job”, Charles Ferguson’s incisive documentary which explains in detail why and how this complex incident happened. It was not … Continue reading →

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The China Syndrome (1979) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4) : It can happen – and we know that

Posted on May 16, 2011 by kaist455

 While I heard the alarming reports keeping coming from the Fukushima I nuclear power plant, that unforgettably intense sequence from “The China Syndrome”(1979) immediately came to my mind. The earthquake occurs without warning. The power plant is automatically shut down. … Continue reading →

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Certified Copy (2010) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4) : Are they copying a relationship?

Posted on May 10, 2011 by kaist455

 What are they doing? After watching the interactions between two characters for a while, you will be bound to have that question at the certain point in “Certified Copy”. While being deceptively simple, the movie shows us the ambiguous but … Continue reading →

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