Category Archives: Movies

Uprising (2024) ☆☆☆(3/4): A bitter and brutal period drama

Posted on October 28, 2024 by kaist455

South Korean Netflix film “Uprising”, which was released a few weeks ago, is a bitter and brutal period drama about an intense class conflict in the background of a big historical war in Korea during the 16th century. While it … Continue reading →

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The Room Next Door (2024) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4): Being next to her dying friend

Posted on October 25, 2024 by kaist455

Pedro Almodóvar’s first English-language feature film “The Room Next Door”, which recently won the Golden Lion award at the Venice International Film Festival, is somber but elegantly compelling to work to be cherished. While it is an inherently elegiac melodrama … Continue reading →

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Venom: The Last Dance (2024) ☆☆(2/4): Until death does them apart

Posted on October 24, 2024 by kaist455

“Venom: The Last Dance”, what is supposed to be the last chapter of the trilogy started with “Venom” (2018), is a schizophrenic mess which fails to mix well its goofy parts with more serious plot elements. While it is occasionally … Continue reading →

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Smile 2 (2024) ☆☆☆(3/4): It’s going to smile again

Posted on October 23, 2024 by kaist455

“Smile 2” goes for more terror and fear in the same playground, and I enjoyed it more than expected. While it is not so different from its predecessor in terms of story setting, the movie gives us a wilder and … Continue reading →

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Woman of the Hour (2023) ☆☆☆(3/4): Appearing with a serial killer on TV

Posted on October 22, 2024 by kaist455

Anna Kendrick’s first feature film “Woman of the Hour”, which was released on Netflix on last Friday, chillingly examines sexism via an unbelievable story associated with one real-life serial killer in US during the late 1970s. Yes, as shown from … Continue reading →

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The Last of the Sea Woman (2024) ☆☆☆(3/4): The Women and the Sea

Posted on October 22, 2024 by kaist455

Documentary film “The Last of the Sea Woman”, which is currently available on Apple TV+, is about a group of South Korean women who have worked as “haenyeo”, which means “Sea Woman” in Korean. For earning their living via collecting … Continue reading →

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The Shadow Strays (2024) ☆☆1/2(2.5/4): Extremely violent and incredibly excessive

Posted on October 21, 2024 by kaist455

Indonesian action thriller film “The Shadow Strays”, which was released on Netflix on last Thursday, is extremely violent and incredibly excessive. While it continues the trend of those bloody and violent Indonesian action flicks mainly represented by “The Raid: Redemption” … Continue reading →

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Tokyo Twilight (1957) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4): A bleak family melodrama from Ozu

Posted on October 20, 2024 by kaist455

Yasujirō Ozu’s final black and white film “Tokyo Twilight” is quite bleak compared to many of his gentler movies. Yes, as I observed in my recent review on “Tokyo Story” (1953), there is always a subtle sense of sadness and … Continue reading →

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Saving a Dragonfly (2022) ☆☆☆(3/4): Painfully personal

Posted on October 20, 2024 by kaist455

South Korean documentary film “Saving a Dragonfly” is painfully personal at times. It initially looks like as an innocuous personal project recording what was the most important period in the director and her classmates’ last high school year, but it … Continue reading →

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Paper Man (2023) ☆☆☆(3/4): A life on cardboard

Posted on October 19, 2024 by kaist455

South Korean independent film “Paper Man” works best when it humorously focuses on its pathetically desperate hero’s efforts for restarting his life. While we are sometimes amused by his comic struggles along the story, we come to care about this … Continue reading →

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