Tag Archives: Addiction

Naked Lunch (1991) ☆☆☆(3/4): Welcome to Interzone

Posted on June 27, 2025 by kaist455

David Cronenberg’s 1991 film “Naked Lunch”, which happens to come to South Korean theaters shortly after the local theatrical release of Luca Guadagnino’s “Queer” (2024), tackles on an impossible task, and the result is alternatively interesting and baffling. Loosely based … Continue reading →

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Queer (2024) ☆☆1/2(2.5/4): That frustrating object of lust

Posted on June 25, 2025 by kaist455

Luca Guadagnino’s latest film “Queer”, which came out not long after his previous film “Challengers” in the same year, often frustrated and baffled me. While this is another distinctive work of Guadagnino which is packed with an ample amount of … Continue reading →

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Master Gardener (2022) ☆☆1/2(2.5/4): The Gardener in the Room

Posted on May 7, 2023 by kaist455

Paul Schrader’s latest film “Master Gardener”, which was recently shown at the Jeonju International Film Festival in South Korea, is another typical drama of his which sadly does not work as well as intended for several glaring bad reasons. Again, … Continue reading →

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All the Beauty and the Bloodshed (2022) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4): Inside her extraordinary art and life

Posted on March 5, 2023 by kaist455

Laura Poitras’ latest documentary film “All the Bloody and the Bloodshed”, which received the Golden Lion award at the Venice International Film Festival in last year and then garnered an Oscar nomination early in this year, looks into the art … Continue reading →

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To Leslie (2022) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4): Can she really start over?

Posted on February 1, 2023 by kaist455

“To Leslie” is about the hard and difficult struggles of one messy human being to observe. She once felt like being on the top of the world, but she has hit one bottom after another due to her serious personal … Continue reading →

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Malcolm and Marie (2021) ☆☆1/2(2.5/4): One bad night between them

Posted on February 11, 2021 by kaist455

“Malcolm and Marie”, which was released on Netflix shortly after having a limited theatrical release in US around the end of last month, trusts its two main performers but only ends up having them stuck in its frustratingly repetitive narrative. … Continue reading →

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Hillbilly Elegy (2020) ☆☆(2/4): Looking back at his messy hillbilly upbringing

Posted on November 26, 2020 by kaist455

Netflix film “Hillbilly Elegy”, which was released on Netflix on this Tuesday after being released in theaters a few weeks ago, is so mild and bland that you may feel sorry for its several main cast members whose efforts are … Continue reading →

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DOSED (2019) ☆☆☆(3/4): Going through alternative addiction therapies

Posted on July 4, 2020 by kaist455

Documentary film “DOSED” observes a bumpy and difficult personal quest to sobriety via alternative addiction therapies. While some of you probably have some reasonable doubt on those alternative addiction therapies, the documentary still engages us as glimpsing into a series … Continue reading →

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Rachel Getting Married (2008) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4): As her sister is about to marry

Posted on April 8, 2020 by kaist455

To be frank with you, I usually get bored whenever I attend a wedding ceremony. Usually held at those big halls, weddings in South Korea are pretty much same in terms of routines and procedures, and I must confess that … Continue reading →

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Pain and Glory (2019) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4): As he strolls in his creative crisis

Posted on January 13, 2020 by kaist455

Pedro Almodóvar’s latest work “Pain and Glory”, which was Spain’s official submission to Best International Film Oscar in last year, is a somber but undeniably poignant exploration of that fascinating interaction between life and art. I must confess that I … Continue reading →

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