Tag Archives: Mystery

Mississippi Burning (1988) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4): Flawed but incendiary

Posted on August 20, 2020 by

One of my friends often mentions the last places he wants to visit in US, which are usually the ones reported on the media for infuriating cases of blatant racism. I felt same about Mississippi when I revisited Alan Parker’s … Continue reading →

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Innocence (2020) ☆☆☆(3/4): A daughter who returns to her shady hometown

Posted on June 12, 2020 by

South Korean movie “Innocence” is a compelling mix of detached courtroom mystery drama and heated family melodrama. Although the mystery at the heart of the film is a bit too easily solved, the movie still holds our attention as its … Continue reading →

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The Lovebirds (2020) ☆☆☆(3/4): I’ve seen it before – but it’s okay anyway

Posted on May 25, 2020 by

“The Lovebirds” is so predictable and familiar to the bone that my mind kept experiencing moments of déjà vu when I watched it at last night. Right from the very beginning, I clearly discerned what I was going to get, … Continue reading →

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Motherless Brooklyn (2019) ☆☆☆(3/4): An offbeat neo-noir film from Edward Norton

Posted on February 1, 2020 by

“Motherless Brooklyn” often frustrated me but engaged me enough at least. Although I sometimes struggled to gather what is exactly going on around its inherently flawed detective hero throughout most of its running time, I enjoyed a number of offbeat … Continue reading →

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Knives Out (2019) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4): A deliciously entertaining whodunnit

Posted on December 5, 2019 by

Rian Johnson’s latest film “Knives Out” is a deliciously entertaining whodunnit which will delight any devoted fan of mystery novels like me. While I could see through its wily, dexterous handling of plot elements at time, I was really caught … Continue reading →

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Knife+Heart (2018) ☆☆☆(3/4): Who’s killing her gay porn actors?

Posted on October 7, 2019 by

French film “Knife+Heart” is a cheerfully gaudy and goofy mix of cheap gay porn flicks and campy giallo horror movies of the 1970s. Although it is a bit shame that the movie does not try to be something more than … Continue reading →

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Strange But True (2019) ☆☆1/2(2.5/4): When she comes into their life

Posted on October 1, 2019 by

“Strange But True” starts with an absurd but interesting mystery but then it is turned into something less engaging as eventually arriving at a resolution too easy and contrived to say the least. While I am still reluctant to recommend … Continue reading →

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Under the Silver Lake (2018) ☆☆(2/4): A messy and insipid neo-noir piece

Posted on September 25, 2019 by

David Robert Mitchell’s second feature film “Under the Silver Lake” bored me a lot. While I surely understand that it tries be a quirky neo-noir film as juggling so many different things together during its 139-minute running time, this messy … Continue reading →

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Crooked House (2017) ☆☆(2/4): A pedestrian Agatha Christie mystery flick

Posted on September 20, 2019 by

Watching “Crooked House” is one of the most joyless movie experiences I have ever had during recent years. Thoroughly flat and tedious in terms of storytelling and characterization, the movie bored me from the beginning to the end, so I … Continue reading →

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Long Day’s Journey Into Night (2018) ☆☆☆(3/4): Confusion amid dreams and memories

Posted on July 17, 2019 by

Chinese film “Long Day’s Journey Into Night”, which is not associated at all with Eugene O’Neill’s classic play of the same name (Its original title is “Last Day on Earth”, by the way), is often frustrating and confusing for good … Continue reading →

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