Tag Archives: Real-life story

Citizen of a Kind (2024) ☆☆☆(3/4): Ra Mi-ran rules again

It seems to me that South Korean actress Ra Mi-ran is one of the rare performers who can sell almost anything to audiences. Although I did not like her recent comedy film “Honest Candidate” (2020) and its following 2022 sequel … Continue reading

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Beyond Utopia (2023) ☆☆☆(3/4): Away from North Korea

Documentary film “Beyond Utopia”, which won the Audience Award when it was premiered at the US Documentary Competition section of the Sundance Film Festival early in last year, is alternatively chilling and harrowing in its close observation of several North … Continue reading

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Dumb Money (2023) ☆☆1/2(2.5/4): How they beat those Wall Street guys

“Dumb Money” tries to present the absurd aspects of the GameStop short squeeze incident in 2021, but it somehow fails to intrigue and engage me enough despite some entertaining moments. Sure, its main subject is certainly an interesting example showing … Continue reading

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Albert Brooks: Defending My Life (2023) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4): Brooks on Albert

I must confess that it took some time for me to appreciate more of that immense talent of Albert Brooks. When I was just a young South Korean moviegoer a long time ago, he seemed to me like a merely … Continue reading

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Little Richard: I Am Everything (2023) ☆☆☆(3/4): Beyond his legendary flamboyance

Documentary film “Little Richard: I Am Everything” looks around the life and career of Little Richard, who has been regarded as the ground-breaking pioneer of American Rock and Roll music. As looking beyond his legendary flamboyance, the documentary illuminates an … Continue reading

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Nam June Paik: Moon Is the Oldest TV (2023) ☆☆☆(3/4): The Father of Video Art

I remember an old local TV commercial featuring Nam June Paik and one of his artworks. Although I was just a little boy when I came across it in the early 1990s, what was shown from that local TV commercial … Continue reading

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Beyond the Visible: Hilma af Klint (2019) ☆☆☆(3/4): A hidden female artistic pioneer

Documentary film “Beyond the Visible: Hilma af Klint” focuses on one exceptional female artist who definitely deserves a lot of attention and appreciation for her pioneering artistic achievement. Although it has been almost 80 years since she died, many of … Continue reading

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Home Ground (2022) ☆☆☆(3/4): Welcome to Lesvos (No, not that island)

South Korean documentary film “Home Ground” introduces us to one extraordinary figure who deserves to be known more to not only thousands of LGBTQ+ people out there in the South Korean society but also many other South Korean citizens. Here … Continue reading

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Maestro (2023) ☆☆☆(3/4): More about his wife, actually

Netflix film “Maestro”, which was released in South Korean theaters a few days ago and then will be available on Netflix a few weeks later, is supposed to be about the life and career of Leonard Bernstein, but he is … Continue reading

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Napoleon (2023) ☆☆(2/4): Napoleon dully in love and war

Ridley Scott’s new film “Napoleon” is surprisingly flat and bland despite its ambitious intentions. While it tries to be an epic historical drama revolving around one of the most prominent figures in the 19th century Europe, the movie curiously lacks … Continue reading

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