Tag Archives: Espionage

Kingsman: The Secret Agent (2014) ☆☆1/2(2.5/4) : Prim and violent

Posted on February 12, 2015 by kaist455

“Kingsman: The Secret Agent” is an over-the-top spy action film going wildly between casual ultra-violence and occasional self-conscious humor. It is prim and violent while giving us a little wink with its self-aware attitude, but I only observed its story … Continue reading →

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Penguins of Madagascar (2014) ☆☆☆(3/4) : Penguins back in action

Posted on January 4, 2015 by kaist455

  The penguins are back, and they take the spotlight in this time. “Penguins of Madagascar”, which is a spin-off sequel of the Madagascar series, is as busy and crazy as you can expect from a standard animation product packed … Continue reading →

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A Most Wanted Man (2014) ☆☆☆(3/4): It’s still cold and melancholic out there

Posted on August 10, 2014 by kaist455

“Spying is waiting.”   – from “The Russia House” by John le Carré When I read John le Carré’s “The Spy Who Came in from the Cold” for the first time around 1993, I was not very impressed by that novel. … Continue reading →

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Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014) ☆☆☆(3/4) : A fish in the new water

Posted on March 27, 2014 by kaist455

 While you may have to watch previous Marvel Comics movies before watching it, “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” is a surprisingly entertaining entry packed with fun, thrill, and a considerable dose of intrigue, and that was good enough for me … Continue reading →

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The Gatekeepers (2012) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4) : Their secret jobs and their serious concerns

Posted on October 25, 2013 by kaist455

The interviewees of Oscar-nominated documentary “The Gatekeepers” have fascinating stories to tell. They worked behind the scenes as the soldiers of a long, messy conflict still continuing at this point, and they are quite willing to talk about those turbulent … Continue reading →

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The Berlin File (2013) ☆☆☆(3/4) : A Cold War espionage in the 21th century

Posted on February 1, 2013 by kaist455

“The Berlin File”, a gritty action film from South Korea, is a respectful homage to those cold, gray espionage films made during the 1960-70s. With its melancholic mood reminiscent of John le Carré’s novels(one of his books briefly appears in … Continue reading →

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Zero Dark Thirty (2012) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4) : Terror, Torture, Soldier, Spy

Posted on January 13, 2013 by kaist455

 As far as we know, Osama(or Usama) bin Laden was officially dead in May 2011. That is a major ‘spoiler’ to Kathryn Bigelow’s “Zero Dark Thirty”, but the movie is a gripping espionage thriller about a long, exhausting journey its … Continue reading →

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Argo (2012) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4) : Believe or not, it really happened

Posted on November 1, 2012 by kaist455

“Argo” is about one improbable CIA operation as unreal as a fake movie they used as a main cover, and you may not believe that the movie is really based on a real-life operation unless you stay during its end … Continue reading →

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Skyfall (2012) ☆☆☆1/2 (3.5/4) : James Bond returns to his root on a gloomy day

Posted on October 27, 2012 by kaist455

After I walked out of the screening room at last night, one audience wondered whether “Skyfall” was a Halloween movie. I was not so surprised about that reaction, because “Skyfall” is probably the gloomiest chapter in the fascinating series which … Continue reading →

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The Bourne Legacy (2012) ☆☆1/2(2.5/4) : By the way, where is Bourne?

Posted on September 9, 2012 by kaist455

One major problem of “The Bourne Legacy” is that the movie is not so much about Jason Bourne, whose precarious quest for his identity was well told and shown in three previous films “The Bourne Identity”(2002), “The Bourne Supremacy”(2004), and … Continue reading →

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