Tag Archives: Romance

Fallen Leaves (2023) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4): A deadpan romantic comedy from Aki Kaurismäki

Posted on December 22, 2023 by kaist455

Aki Kaurismäki’s latest work “Fallen Leaves”, which was chosen as the Finnish entry for Best International Film Oscar in this year and then was recently included in the shortlist, is a seemingly bleak but ultimately heartwarming romantic comedy to remember. … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Strange Way of Life (2023) ☆☆☆(3/4): A little western tale by Pedro Almodóvar

Posted on December 19, 2023 by kaist455

Pedro Almodóvar’s short film “Strange Way of Life”, which is incidentally his second English-language work after his previous short film “The Human Voice” (2020), is a little gay western as colorful and melodramatic as you can expect from its genre … Continue reading →

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

Joyland (2022) ☆☆☆(3/4): A queer drama from Pakistan

Posted on December 17, 2023 by kaist455

Pakistani film “Joyland”, which was selected as the Pakistani submission to Best International Film Oscar in last year (It was subsequently included in the shortlist, by the way), is a sensitive mix between family drama and queer story. Although the … Continue reading →

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

Bottoms (2023) ☆☆☆(3/4): Figthting Girls

Posted on December 6, 2023 by kaist455

Emma Seligman’s second feature film “Bottoms” is decidedly outrageous for laughs, and I enjoyed that. As a high school comedy movie, it is often blatantly artificial in terms of mood and details, but it literally does not pull any punch … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Single in Seoul (2023) ☆☆☆(3/4): Publishing and Romancing

Posted on December 3, 2023 by kaist455

South Korean film “Single in Seoul” is a romantic comedy which turns out to be more distinctive and intelligent than expected. Right from when its Meet Cute moment, you can clearly see through where it is going along with its … Continue reading →

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

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (2023) ☆☆1/2(2.5/4): How he came to rise

Posted on November 21, 2023 by kaist455

“The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” is totally unnecessary but fairly watchable at least. As a redundant prequel to The Hunger Games trilogy in the early 2010s, it will not give you much substance in terms of … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Fingernails (2023) ☆☆(2/4): Can true love be measured?

Posted on November 7, 2023 by kaist455

“Fingernails”, which was released on Apple TV+ on last Friday, starts with an intriguing story promise. What if being truly in love can be actually measured? What if the result of such a measurement is different form what one is … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies | Tagged , | Leave a comment

The Dream Songs (2022) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4): Two girls on one day

Posted on October 29, 2023 by kaist455

The emotional power of South Korean film “The Dream Songs” mainly depends on how much you know about a certain disastrous incident which shook the whole South Korean society on April 16th, 2014. I think the story itself will still … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Past Lives (2023) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4): Scenes from an “In-yun”

Posted on October 25, 2023 by kaist455

Good human drama films can not only interest but also energize me sometimes, and Celine Song’s remarkable debut feature film “Past Lives” is one of such fantastic examples. When I watched it, I was not so sure about whether I … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Love Reset (2023) ☆☆(2/4): Love after divorce – and amnesia

Posted on October 3, 2023 by kaist455

I am not an ideal audience for South Korean film “Love Reset”. To be frank with you, I do not like comedies simply resorting to cheap gags and apparent jokes instead of being driven by genuine personalities and absurdities, and … Continue reading →

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