Tag Archives: Corruption

Citizen K (2019) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4): The rise and fall of one Russian Oligarch

Posted on January 23, 2023 by kaist455

Alex Gibney’s documentary “Citizen K”, which is available on Amazon Prime, presents the rise and fall of Mikhail Khodorkovsky, who was once one of the most prominent Russian oligarchs in the early 2000s. While never overlooking a number of questionable … Continue reading →

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Honest Candidate 2 (2022) ☆☆(2/4): She is back – with less laugh

Posted on September 25, 2022 by kaist455

Surprise is always crucial for comedy, but there is not much surprise for me in South Korean comedy film “Honest Candidate 2”, a sequel to the 2020 South Korean remake of Brazilian comedy film “The Honest Candidate” (2014). I could … Continue reading →

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Action Hero (2021) ☆☆☆(3/4): A little goofy college action comedy

Posted on July 25, 2021 by kaist455

South Korean independent film “Action Hero” is a little goofy mix of action and comedy which turns out to be more likable than I expected. While I often shook up my head as observing all those silly moments generated among … Continue reading →

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Collective (2019) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4): A sobering Romanian documentary on massive systemic corruption

Posted on March 29, 2021 by kaist455

Romanian documentary film “Collective”, which was nominated for Best Documentary Oscar as well as Best International Film Oscar early in this month, is often sobering in its phlegmatic but angry chronicle of outrage and frustration toward alarming systemic corruption. It … Continue reading →

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The Kingmaker (2019) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4): Rotten, superficial, and powerful

Posted on April 15, 2020 by kaist455

If you are familiar with the notoriety of Imelda Marcos and her rotten family members in the Philippines, you will be often disgusted and horrified as watching documentary film “The Kingmaker”, which presents a very disturbing picture of how she … Continue reading →

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Loro 2 (2018) ☆☆1/2(2.5/4): The Great Banality

Posted on March 31, 2019 by kaist455

Italian film “Loro 2”, the second half of the latest work from Paolo Sorrentino, is not as tepid as the first half preceding it. While it still throws at us lots of debauchery and decadence as expected and that is … Continue reading →

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Loro 1 (2018) ☆☆(2/4): The Bonfire of the Banalities

Posted on March 31, 2019 by kaist455

I often found myself numb and displeased as watching Italian film “Loro 1”, the first half of another ambitious work from Paolo Sorrentino. As relentlessly pushing us into many gaudy moments of hedonistic debauchery, the movie attempts to present vividly … Continue reading →

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Crime + Punishment (2018) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4): Against a systemic injustice

Posted on September 17, 2018 by kaist455

Documentary film “Crime + Punishment”, which is currently available on Hulu, exposes and examines a serious injustice in the system which is supposed to protect and serve people. Mainly via a group of brave people determined to fight against this … Continue reading →

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Inside Men (2015) ☆☆☆(3/4): They are all together…

Posted on November 22, 2015 by kaist455

I watched South Korean thriller film “Inside Men” with bitter amusement on some of its darkest moments. Although it is a work of fiction as emphasized in its end credits, its dark, uncomfortable picture of power and corruption is not … Continue reading →

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Trash (2014) ☆☆(2/4) : Brazilian Slumdogs, so to speak

Posted on May 21, 2015 by kaist455

Somewhere between “City of God” (2002) and “Slumdog Millionaire” (2008), “Trash” has right elements required for its story to tell, but it somehow feels flaccid and uneven in its execution. The movie wants to take us to the bottom of … Continue reading →

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