Tag Archives: Kidnapping

Deliver Us From Evil (2019) ☆☆(2/4): Deliver Me From Mediocrity

Posted on August 13, 2020 by

South Korean film “Deliver Us From Evil” brings almost nothing to its genre territory without enough sense of fun or entertainment. Despite lots of efforts put into the screen, the overall result is so flat and pedestrian that I quickly … Continue reading →

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

Extraction (2020) ☆☆☆(3/4): A tense and brutal action flick as good as intended

Posted on May 1, 2020 by

When I saw the trailer of Netflix film “Extraction” a few weeks ago, I immediately had a pretty good idea on what and how it would be in terms of story and characters, and it turns out that my guess … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Everybody Knows (2018) ☆☆☆(3/4): An engaging letdown by Asghar Farhadi

Posted on January 6, 2019 by

The opening scene of Asghar Farhadi’s new film “Everybody Knows”, which opened the Cannes Film Festival early in last year, summarizes well what I felt during my viewing. In the inner space of a church clock tower, the camera looks … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

All the Money in the World (2017) ☆☆☆(3/4): All he cares about is money

Posted on February 4, 2018 by

What a piece of work J. Paul Getty is. While being the richest man in the world, he was also probably the cheapest guy in the world, and Ridley Scott’s new film “All the Money in the World” is compelling … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Split (2016) ☆☆☆(3/4): Shaymalan and McAvoy going way over the top

Posted on February 24, 2017 by

Among a bunch of books I have kept since my elementary school years, Daniel Keyes’ nonfiction book “The Minds of Billy Milligan” is one of more notable ones I still remember quite well. Its real-life story of a man struggling … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Missing Woman (2016) ☆☆☆(3/4): Her babysitter is missing…

Posted on December 1, 2016 by

South Korean film “Missing Woman” begins as a seemingly conventional mystery thriller and then reveals darker elements which later turn the story into a sort of social horror tale which is often frighteningly realistic to me and other South Korean … Continue reading →

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

The Clan (2015) ☆☆☆(3/4) : A double family life

Posted on May 14, 2016 by

A real-life criminal story dramatized in Argentine film “The Clan” is both disturbing and compelling to say the least. Here is the man who is not only a ruthless criminal but also an ordinary middle-class father, and we cannot help … Continue reading →

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

Hail, Caesar! (2016) ☆☆☆(3/4): There is no business like movie business

Posted on April 5, 2016 by

The Coen brothers have never been boring throughout their long, illustrious career. For instance, after a gripping cold-blooded neo-noir thriller in their terrific debut film “Blood Simple” (1985), they went all the way for cheerful wackiness in “Raising Arizona” (1987), … Continue reading →

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

Room (2015) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4): Inside and outside their small room

Posted on January 10, 2016 by

Beginning with one very grim human condition, “Room” takes us into a small isolated world of its two main characters who have depended only on each other for years. While we are horrified by the darkness of their terrible circumstance, … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

The Classified File (2015) ☆☆☆(3/4): A police investigation assisted by fortunetelling

Posted on June 27, 2015 by

I remember when my parents asked a Buddhist monk to tell my fortunes in the future. I do not remember well what he told me and my parents after he checked some book and then did some sort of calculation … Continue reading →

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