Tag Archives: Illness

A Monster Calls (2016) ☆☆☆(3/4): A typical but solid fairy tale of grief and anger

Posted on September 10, 2017 by kaist455

“A Monster Calls” is a fairy tale which knows how to engage and enchant its audiences. While its story may be typical and predictable in terms of narrative and characterization, it impresses us with a number of nice fantasy elements … Continue reading →

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Other People (2016) ☆☆☆(3/4): As his mother is dying

Posted on September 3, 2017 by kaist455

If you are a seasoned moviegoer like me, you will instantly see that “Other People” is filled with many typical elements you can expect from a bittersweet family comedy drama involved with terminal illness, but, fortunately, the movie is better … Continue reading →

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Certain Women (2016) ☆☆☆(3/4): A trio of haunting human dramas set in Montana

Posted on December 20, 2016 by kaist455

Looking over a train passing by a vast, remote landscape, the main title sequence of “Certain Women” hauntingly sets the tone for three stories to be unfolded one by one in a rural area of Montana. While not all of … Continue reading →

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Concussion (2015) ☆☆1/2(2.5/4): An inconvenient medical truth

Posted on May 27, 2016 by kaist455

Around late 2011, I read a series of disturbing articles from New York Times. The articles were about a young professional hockey player named Derek Boogaard, and that was the first time I heard about chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). While … Continue reading →

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Chronic (2015) ☆☆1/2(2.5/4) : Living through his sick people

Posted on April 23, 2016 by kaist455

It is always interesting to observe human behaviors from movies. “Chronic”, which received the Best Screenplay award at the Cannes Film Festival in last year, engaged me because of its calm observation of curious human behaviors, but I was also … Continue reading →

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Cake (2014) ☆☆1/2(2.5/4) : Broken Body, Broken Mind, and Cake

Posted on February 3, 2015 by kaist455

  There are good parts in “Cake” which almost make it look like a film worthwhile to watch, and then there are also bad parts which could have been discarded or modified without any serious problem. The movie wants to … Continue reading →

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A Late Quartet (2012) ☆☆☆(3/4) : A quartet at its late turning point

Posted on July 20, 2013 by kaist455

 “A Late Quartet” plays a familiar life drama in a deep, somber tone with its reliable instruments. Using one famous classic piece as the metaphor of life, the movie observes the harmony and disharmony between the human characters who have … Continue reading →

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