Category Archives: Movies

Beyond Utopia (2023) ☆☆☆(3/4): Away from North Korea

Posted on February 6, 2024 by kaist455

Documentary film “Beyond Utopia”, which won the Audience Award when it was premiered at the US Documentary Competition section of the Sundance Film Festival early in last year, is alternatively chilling and harrowing in its close observation of several North … Continue reading →

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Club Zero (2023) ☆☆1/2(2.5/4): Teaching “conscious eating”

Posted on February 5, 2024 by kaist455

Jessica Hausner’s new film “Club Zero” coldly unnerves us with a series of increasingly disturbing moments. While these very uncomfortable moments are presented with artistic precision and control, the movie merely feels distant and hollow in terms of story and … Continue reading →

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Wild Tour (2019) ☆☆1/2(2.5/4): A modest early work from Shô Miyake

Posted on February 4, 2024 by kaist455

Japanese film “Wild Tour” is a small early work from Shô Miyake, who recently drew my attention for his latest film “Small, Slow but Steady” (2022). While it occasionally feels like a short film extended a bit to long, “Wild … Continue reading →

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Badland Hunters (2024) ☆☆1/2(2.5/4): A post-apocalyptic flick starring Ma Dong-seok

Posted on February 4, 2024 by kaist455

Netflix film “Badland Hunters”, which was released in last week, is a redundant sequel to acclaimed South Korean film “Concrete Utopia” (2023), which was incidentally one of my best South Korean films of last year. While “Concrete Utopia” is a … Continue reading →

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Ballerina (2023) ☆☆1/2(2.5/4): For her best friend

Posted on February 2, 2024 by kaist455

South Korean Netflix film “Ballerina”, which was released several months ago, is an intense action thriller film which distinguishes itself to some degree. While it lacks substance in terms of story and character, that weak aspect is compensated at times … Continue reading →

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Wonka (2023) ☆☆☆(3/4): When Wonka was young and innocent

Posted on February 1, 2024 by kaist455

“Wonka” is a sweet lightweight piece of entertainment which made me less cranky than usual. Sure, this is another redundant character origin story like “Joker” (2019) and “Cruella” (2021), but it is packaged with enough humor, spirit, and heart, and … Continue reading →

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The Greatest Night in Pop (2024) ☆☆☆(3/4): One Night Only

Posted on January 30, 2024 by kaist455

Netflix documentary film “The Greatest Night in Pop” does not disappoint us at all as looking closely into a major event of American Pop music in the 1980s. On January 25th, 1985, a bunch of renowned American musicians were somehow … Continue reading →

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Ms. Apocalypse (2023) ☆☆☆(3/4): The unlikely relationship of two unhappy women

Posted on January 29, 2024 by kaist455

Some good movies can make us care a lot more about their characters than we expected at first, and South Korea film “Ms. Apocalypse” is one of such cases. Mainly revolving around two different women who are not exactly likable … Continue reading →

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Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (2023) ☆☆1/2(2.5/4): The passable last product from DCEU

Posted on January 25, 2024 by kaist455

“Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom”, which is the last product from DC Extended Universe (DCEU), is not a catastrophe at all to my relief even though I was not so impressed by its overall result. While it does not surpass … Continue reading →

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The Kitchen (2023) ☆☆1/2(2.5/4): The Boy Who Follows Him

Posted on January 23, 2024 by kaist455

Netflix film “The Kitchen”, which was released in last week, takes some time for building its shabby dystopian world, and I admire that to some degree. Although it often feels like a warm-up for whatever will come next from its … Continue reading →

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