Category Archives: Movies

Hayao Miyazaki and the Heron (2024) ☆☆1/2(2.5/4): Miyazaki’s long return

Posted on April 16, 2026 by kaist455

Documentary film “Hayao Miyazaki and the Heron” closely follows Miyazaki’s rather long process behind his recent Oscar-winning animation film “The Boy and the Heron” (2023). While I came to admire more of all those painstaking efforts behind that acclaimed comeback … Continue reading →

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Noah Kahan: Out of Body (2026) ☆☆☆(3/4): What’s next for him?

Posted on April 16, 2026 by kaist455

Netflix documentary film “Noah Kahan: Out of Body”, which was released on this Monday, is the earnest presentation of one famous musician trying to find whatever may be next for him after his sudden big breakthrough. As he sincerely and … Continue reading →

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Salmokji: Whispering Water (2026) ☆☆☆: A reservoir of horror

Posted on April 14, 2026 by kaist455

South Korean horror film “Salmokji: Whispering Water” is ready to unnerve and then scare you from the very beginning, and it did its job as well as intended. While this is a very typical horror movie about your average haunted … Continue reading →

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We Live in Time (2024) ☆☆☆(3/4): Scenes from their romance

Posted on April 13, 2026 by kaist455

“We Live in Time”, which belatedly arrived in South Korean theaters in last week, looks around the ups and downs in the relationship between its two main characters. While we get the overall picture of their relationship in advance via … Continue reading →

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Orlando (1992) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4): As a man and then a woman…

Posted on April 12, 2026 by kaist455

Sally Porter’s 1992 film “Orlando”, whose 4k remastered version recently came to South Korean theaters, is a distinctively poetic work on gender identity and individuality. Based on the 1928 novel of the same name by Virginia Woolf, the movie freely … Continue reading →

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Crime 101 (2026) ☆☆☆(3/4): Heist 101

Posted on April 12, 2026 by kaist455

“Crime 101” attempts to bring some personality and substance to its familiar crime thriller plot. Although the overall result does not surpass its countless seniors such as, yes, Michael Mann’s “Heat” (1995), the movie has a number of solid individual … Continue reading →

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Paris, Texas (1984) ☆☆☆☆(4/4): A haunting road movie by Wenders

Posted on April 8, 2026 by kaist455

Wim Wenders’ 1984 film “Paris, Texas”, which was shown along with his several other works at selected South Korean theaters during last two weeks, initially drew my attention with all those haunting shots distinctively American in my humble opinion. We … Continue reading →

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Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair (2004) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4): The wholesale fun from Tarantino

Posted on April 7, 2026 by kaist455

Quentin Tarantino’s “Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair” gives us the complete version of what he envisioned from the very beginning. While both “Kill Bill: Volume 1” (2003) and “Kill Bill: Volume 2” (2004) are quite fun to watch individually, … Continue reading →

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Nuremberg (2025) ☆☆☆(3/4): The relevant dramatization of a historical trial

Posted on April 5, 2026 by kaist455

“Nuremberg” reminds me that the Nuremberg trials after the World War II were not merely perfunctory at all. This was absolutely necessary for illuminating one of the greatest atrocities ever committed against the humanity of all time, and the dramatization … Continue reading →

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Two Prosecutors (2025) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4): A historical drama of chilling inevitability

Posted on April 5, 2026 by kaist455

I found myself overwhelmed by the gradual sense of grim inevitability in “Two Prosecutors”, a moody but undeniably captivating historical drama film from Ukrainian filmmaker Sergei Loznitsa. Once its idealistic hero crosses the line at one point, we can instantly … Continue reading →

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