Tag Archives: Comedy

Matinee (1993) ☆☆☆(3/4) : A premiere to remember

When I went to Jeonju International Film Festival in this April, I was reminded again that the old theaters at the downtown of my hometown were gone. Most of them are now replaced by a bunch of multiplex theaters, but … Continue reading

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Quick (2011) ☆☆(2/4) : Slow delivery of bombs, actions, and cheap gags

The most interesting part of “Quick”, the latest South Korean action movie, is the behind-the-scene footage shown to us at the end credit. I understood they tried to make good action scenes, I saw how much the stunt men and … Continue reading

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Super 8 (2011) ☆☆☆(3/4) : A respectful homage to Spielberg films with nostalgia

 J.J. Abrams’ new movie “Super 8” turns out to be not as good as what it can be, but it is as good as what it sincerely wants to be, and I liked that. As a respectful homage with nostalgia … Continue reading

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Certified Copy (2010) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4) : Are they copying a relationship?

 What are they doing? After watching the interactions between two characters for a while, you will be bound to have that question at the certain point in “Certified Copy”. While being deceptively simple, the movie shows us the ambiguous but … Continue reading

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Sunny (2011) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4) : Seven Girls – Now and Then

 Probably my dreadfully gregarious older cousin sisters can identify with the characters in “Sunny” far more than me because most of them were high school girls around the 1980s. Even though it was one of turbulent chapters in South Korean … Continue reading

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Leaves of Grass (2009) ☆☆☆(3/4) : Crime and Philosophy – and also Marijuana

 As far as I know, “a mixed bad” is a negative expression, but I think that is an appropriately positive one in case of “Leaves of Grass”(2009) for its seemingly disjointed combination of crime story and philosophy. The movie throws … Continue reading

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The Last Godfather (2010) BOMB : A new kind of 3D – Dated, Dull, and Disgraceful

 I once said in one of my reviews for Korean movies that 2010 was a good year for South Korean movies because of those wonderful movies made by talented directors. And I also pointed out that we had a considerable amount … Continue reading

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Bad Santa (2003) ☆☆☆ (3/4) : A very naughty santa

  In my Korean review written in December 2008, I warned to my blog readers: “If you don’t want alcoholism, robbery, urination, lecherousness, R-rated words, Santa fetish, sex, homophobia, stalking, groin-kicking, blackmail, treachery, and some bizarre way of playing a … Continue reading

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The President’s Analyst (1967) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4) : The loneliest (and the most paranoidal) analyst in the world

While it is one or two steps behind “Dr. Strangelove”, “The President’s Analyst”(1967) is a very good black comedy sniggering at Cold War paranoid. Maybe it is not as ruthless as that great comedy, but the movie romps cheerfully on its subjects with a take-no-prisoner attitude. And during this loony joy ride, we eventually discover that the movie foretold something very accurate more than 40 years ago.
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The Kids Are All Right (2010) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4) : Everybody all right?

“The Kids Are All Right” is quite conventional inside in contrast to what it seems on the surface. We see a unconventional family at the beginning, but we begin to see the dynamics within this family is not so different from the one within conventional families. The family has problems familiar to us, the drama of conflicts and hurts is unfolded in a way we expected, and, in the end, everyone is almost all right as we have seen in many family dramas. However, the movie is more than that. It is not just conventionally unconventional; it is also emotionally honest story with lots of heart.
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