Tag Archives: Filmmaking

The Four Daughters (2023) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4): The reenactment of a family pain

Posted on March 31, 2024 by kaist455

Kaouther Ben Hania’s latest work “The Four Daughters”, which was recently nominated for Best Documentary Oscar (It was also selected as the Tunisian submission to Best International Film Oscar, by the way), presents one painful family story via a plain … Continue reading →

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No Bears (2022) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4): Another interesting work from Jafar Panahi

Posted on January 14, 2024 by kaist455

Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi’s latest film “No Bears”, which won the Special Jury Prize when it was premiered at the 2022 Venice International Film Festival, is fascinating for how the director willingly pushes his artistic vision further despite lots of … Continue reading →

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Leap of Faith: William Friedkin on the Exorcist (2019) ☆☆☆(3/4): How he made it

Posted on October 17, 2023 by kaist455

William Friedkin, who sadly left us a few months ago, has always been associated with “The Exorcist” (1973), one of the iconic classic horror films in the 1970s. To be frank with you, I was not so scared when I … Continue reading →

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8 1/2 (1963) ☆☆☆☆(4/4): A filmmaker in chaotic crisis

Posted on October 8, 2023 by kaist455

Federico Fellini’s “8 1/2” is your average navel-gazing piece of work, but it is surely one of the best ones of its kind in addition to being the groundbreaking one. While having been emulated so much by numerous subsequent films … Continue reading →

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Cobweb (2023) ☆☆☆(3/4): One crazy filmmaking day

Posted on September 28, 2023 by kaist455

South Korean film “Cobweb”, which finally arrived in South Korean movie theaters yesterday after being shown at the Cannes Film Festival early in this year, is about one crazy filmmaking day to watch. Although it stumbles from time to time … Continue reading →

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In Water (2023) ☆1/2(1.5/4): In Blur (or Bullsh*t, perhaps)

Posted on April 15, 2023 by kaist455

When my late mentor/friend Roger Ebert was going to review Ingmar Bergman’s great film “Persona” (1966) not long after he became the film critic of Chicago Sun-Times, he did not know what to write first, but then he simply began … Continue reading →

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Irma Vep (1996) ☆☆☆(3/4): One troubled movie production

Posted on February 4, 2023 by kaist455

Olivier Assayas’ 1996 film “Irma Vep”, which happens to be released in South Korean theaters in this week, baffles me in enjoyable ways. Mainly revolving around one very troubled movie production, its story freely and unpredictably flows from one interesting … Continue reading →

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Babylon (2022) ☆☆1/2(2.5/4): Excessive to the extreme

Posted on February 2, 2023 by kaist455

Damien Chazelle’s latest film “Babylon” is a relentlessly excessive piece of work which quickly made me feel distant and exhausted even before its first hour passed. While I appreciated some admirable efforts from its crew and cast members shown from … Continue reading →

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The Fabelmans (2022) ☆☆☆1/2 (3.5/4): So he goes for filmmaking…

Posted on December 16, 2022 by kaist455

Steven Spielberg’s latest film “The Fabelmans” is a gentle and intimate drama which is incidentally inspired by the early years of his life. While you may wonder how much the movie is overlapped with Spielberg’s childhood and adolescent years, the … Continue reading →

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Is That Black Enough for You?!? (2022) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4): A sincere and enthusiastic presentation of the African American movie history

Posted on November 13, 2022 by kaist455

Netflix documentary film “Is That Black Enough for You?!?”, directed and written by African American critic Elvis Mitchell, is more than a quick and useful guide for the African American movie history. Besides being enlightening as well as entertaining, the … Continue reading →

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