Category Archives: Movies

Life Goes On (2021) ☆☆☆(3/4): As they hold up

Posted on April 14, 2024 by kaist455

South Korean documentary “Life Goes On” is often sad and heartbreaking in its intimate presentation of several different persons who have tried to go on despite tragically losing their loved ones to some of the most traumatic accidents in the … Continue reading →

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

Girls State (2024) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4): Girls can do anything indeed

Posted on April 14, 2024 by kaist455

Documentary film “Girls State”, which is currently available on Apple TV+, observes a bunch of American female teenagers going through a well-known week-long leadership and citizenship program. While they sometime find themselves limited by gender bias and inequality, these young … Continue reading →

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

Vengeance (2022) ☆☆1/2(2.5/4): An offbeat comedy mystery drama set in Texas

Posted on April 12, 2024 by kaist455

“Vengeance” baffled me with some amusement and disappointment. Languidly driven by a little investigative reporting process on the mystery surrounding one seemingly plain incident, the movie attempts to make some barbed points on the current social/cultural gaps and divides in … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Soft & Quiet (2022) ☆☆☆(3/4): Tense & Disquieting

Posted on April 12, 2024 by kaist455

“Soft & Quiet” is a small but striking genre piece you will not easily forget. As it pulls no punch at all in its increasingly tense and disturbing presentation of racism, you will probably wince more than once, but the … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Kung Fu Panda 4 (2024) ☆☆1/2(2.5/4): Enough is enough…

Posted on April 10, 2024 by kaist455

Animation film “Kung Fu Panda 4” is a passable product not bringing anything particularly new or surprising to its franchise, which was started with “Kung Fu Panda” (2008) and then continued in the two following sequels during next several years. … Continue reading →

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

The Goldfinger (2023) ☆☆(2/4): Murky and tedious

Posted on April 10, 2024 by kaist455

Hong Kong film “The Goldfinger” did not engage me despite lots of happenings during its 2-hour running time. While it wants to be a grand financial crime drama not so far from “The Wolf of Wall Street” (2013) on one … Continue reading →

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

Steve! (Martin): A Documentary in Two Pieces (2024) ☆☆☆(3/4): He did all…

Posted on April 10, 2024 by kaist455

Documentary film “Steve! (Martin): A Documentary in Two Pieces”, which was released on Apple TV+ a few weeks ago, shows us how Steve Martin has contained multitudes. At first, the documentary, which consists of two episodes as reflected by its … Continue reading →

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

The Beekeeper (2024) ☆☆1/2(2.5/4): They mess with a wrong beekeeper…

Posted on April 8, 2024 by kaist455

“The Beekeeper” is an oddly uneven action thriller flick. While its action scenes are uttermost serious and intense just like its tough guy hero with a particular set of skills, it is also often so ridiculous in case of story … Continue reading →

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

The First Omen (2024) ☆☆☆(3/4): A spooky prequel to enjoy

Posted on April 7, 2024 by kaist455

To my little astonishment, “The First Omen”, a prequel to Richard Donner’s well-known horror film “The Omen” (1976), is more entertaining and interesting than I expected. As a matter of fact, the movie is one or two steps above “The … Continue reading →

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

The Quiet Migration (2023) ☆☆1/2(2.5/4): The somber conflict of a Korean adoptee

Posted on April 6, 2024 by kaist455

To be frank with you, Danish film “The Quiet Migration” is alternatively interesting and frustrating to me. On one hand, the movie phlegmatically examines the inner conflict of its Korean adoptee hero who has always felt like an outsider in … Continue reading →

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