Tag Archives: Family

My Missing Aunt (2025) ☆☆☆(3/4): Her erased aunt

Posted on October 24, 2025 by kaist455

South Korean independent documentary film “My Missing Aunt” presents a modest but intimate personal story to tell. Looking into how one promising young woman was unjustly erased by her own family, it makes some sharp point on the sexist influence … Continue reading →

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Journeys in Math and Genetics (2025) ☆☆(2/4): Looking for his biological father

Posted on October 19, 2025 by kaist455

South Korean film “Journeys in Math and Genetics” is so formulaic from the beginning to the end that I hardly cared about its story and characters during my viewing. While this is certainly intended to be an earnest coming-of-age drama, … Continue reading →

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The Godfather (1972) ☆☆☆☆(4/4): A masterpiece you can’t possibly refuse

Posted on October 5, 2025 by kaist455

Francis Ford Coppola’s 1972 film “The Godfather”, which happened to be re-released in selected South Korean theaters several weeks ago, is a masterpiece you cannot possibly refuse. As compellingly illustrating the transfer of a criminal power from one generation to … Continue reading →

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The Ugly (2025) ☆☆(2/4): That face, that face, that face…

Posted on September 14, 2025 by kaist455

South Korean film “The Ugly” is willing to explorer the very, very, very ugly sides of the South Korean society during the 1970s, and I appreciate that to some degree even though I am not that sure about whether it … Continue reading →

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Homeward Bound (2025) ☆☆☆(3/4): Guess who’s coming to her home…

Posted on September 13, 2025 by kaist455

South Korean independent film “Homeward Bound” is a little family movie with secrets to be revealed in one way or another. As each of its main characters struggles to handle their rather tricky circumstance while hiding each own secret, the … Continue reading →

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Nobody 2 (2025) ☆☆1/2(2.5/4): A killer’s family vacation

Posted on September 7, 2025 by kaist455

“Nobody 2”, a sequel to “Nobody” (2021), attempts to generate more laugh and thrill from the one-joke promise of its predecessor. Although it is a fairly competent product, the result is more or less than a pointless rehash in my … Continue reading →

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Night Always Comes (2025) ☆☆☆(3/4): Desperate hours

Posted on August 17, 2025 by kaist455

Netflix film “Night Always Comes”, which was released a few days ago, is a relentlessly bleak mix between character drama and noir thriller, which is mainly driven by the sheer human desperation of its flawed heroine. You may not like … Continue reading →

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My Neighbor Totoro (1988) ☆☆☆☆(4/4): A simple but indelible country fantasy tale

Posted on July 21, 2025 by kaist455

As revisiting Hayao Miyazaki’s classic animation film “My Neighbor Totoro” (1988), I observed again how plainly simple it is in terms of story and characters. The story can be just described as a series of episodic childhood moments unfolded in … Continue reading →

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Queen of Katwe (2016) ☆☆☆(3/4): An unlikely chess player in Uganda

Posted on June 24, 2025 by kaist455

Mira Nair’s 2016 film “Queen of Katwe”, which is currently available on Disney+ presents a remarkable story about one extraordinary female chess player in Uganda. She was born in a slum neighborhood of Kampala, Uganda, but she and several other … Continue reading →

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Life Is Beautiful (1997) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4): As a clown as well as a father

Posted on June 15, 2025 by kaist455

I cannot help but marvel at what is so cheerfully, masterfully, and touchingly done in Roberto Benigni’s 1997 Oscar-winning film “Life Is Beautiful”, which was re-released in South Korean theaters early in this month. This is a very special film … Continue reading →

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