Tag Archives: Crime

Confession (2014) ☆☆☆(3/4): A friendship cracked by noir

Posted on July 13, 2014 by kaist455

 They have been close friends to each other since they were very young, but now their long friendship is threatened by a devastating incident which shakes them all. Calmy observing the guilt and torment resulted from that incident, South Korean … Continue reading →

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

The Raid 2 (2014) ☆☆1/2(2.5/4) : More of the same relentless extreme violence

Posted on July 12, 2014 by kaist455

Breaking legs, twisting arms, slashing throats, smashing heads, stabbing bodies, shooting anyone, crashing one car into another, burning face on hot plate, and, above all, kicking and punching hard each other. All of these acts of violence and mayhem are … Continue reading →

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

A Hard Day (2014) ☆☆☆(3/4) : It is indeed a very hard day for him

Posted on June 1, 2014 by kaist455

 It is indeed a very hard day for him. His wife has left him, and his mother died recently, and his career is tumbled into a big jeopardy, and now he also gets himself into another serious trouble which is … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Narco Cultura (2013) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4) : Bloody culture of drug, violence, and ballad

Posted on May 8, 2014 by kaist455

 One of the memorable scenes in the American TV series “Breaking Bad” was a music video opening scene for one of its episodes. While three musicians, who are the members of Los Cuates de Sinaloa, perform a cheerful Spanish ballad, … Continue reading →

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

Point Blank (2010) ☆☆☆(3/4) : Passable but efficient

Posted on April 27, 2014 by kaist455

As revisiting French action thriller film “Point Blank”, I thought about how familiar a certain thriller premise is. In many thriller films like this one, an ordinary guy suddenly finds himself being blackmailed to do something not so good while … Continue reading →

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

Only God Forgives (2013) ☆1/2(1.5/4) : The stylish dud of this year

Posted on April 27, 2014 by kaist455

 As I became depressed during my viewing of “Only God Forgives”, my mind was transported to when I read one of those entertainingly scathing movie reviews included in my late friend/mentor Roger Ebert’s book “I Hated, Hated, Hated This Movie”. … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Nymphomaniac: Vol. II (2013) ☆☆1/2(2.5/4) : ….and her therapy will end.

Posted on April 20, 2014 by kaist455

 Now we arrive at “Nymphomaniac: Vol. II”, the second part of Lars von Trier’s another challenging work to talk and discuss about. As its exhausted heroine warned us previously, this is a darker territory compared to its first part which … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

A Touch of Sin (2013) ☆☆☆(3/4) : Anger and despair below rapid social change

Posted on April 15, 2014 by kaist455

 Through its sad, bleak stories, Jia Zhangke’s “A Touch of Sin” shows anger and despair below a rapid social change China has been going through. While their society is certainly changing, the main characters in the movie hardly receive any … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies | Tagged | Leave a comment

Owning Mahowny (2003) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4) : His eyes are fixed on his next gamble

Posted on March 17, 2014 by kaist455

  If I have to choose one definite moment in “Owning Mahowny”(2003), it is the one which shows its hero’s face in a close-up shot when he is going through his another gambling. His face looks blank on the surface, … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

The Wolf of Wall Street (2013) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4) : Goodfellas on Wall Street

Posted on January 11, 2014 by kaist455

“You sharpen the human appetite to the point where it can split atoms with its desire; you build egos the size of cathedrals; fiber-optically connect the world to every eager impulse; grease even the dullest dreams with these dollar-green, gold-plated … Continue reading →

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