Tag Archives: Thriller

Plane (2023) ☆☆(2/4): As plain as it sounds

I know it sounds like a cliché, but “Plane” is sadly as plain as it sounds, and that is a big disappointment for me. As your average B-action flick, it does not provide much fun or surprise as earnestly following … Continue reading

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Knock at the Cabin (2023) ☆☆☆(3/4): The Cabin at the End of the World

M. Night Shyamalan’s new film “Knock at the Cabin” is a modest but tense thriller surrounded by one grim possibility of apocalypse. While it sometimes feels like an extended episode of “The Twilight Zone”, that is what we usually expect … Continue reading

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Missing (2023) ☆☆☆(3/4): Another desperate online searching

“Missing”, a standalone sequel to “Searching” (2018), is a solid thriller flick mainly revolving around another desperate online searching. Although it is not exactly fresh as mostly sticking to the storytelling format of the previous film, the movie steadily engages … Continue reading

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Phantom (2023) ☆☆☆(3/4): Catch the Spy

South Korean film “Phantom” surprised me more than expected. At first, the movie presents itself as a taut mystery mainly unfolded within a limited background, but then it suddenly shifts itself onto a very different genre mode later in the … Continue reading

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The Point Men (2023) ☆☆(2/4): A hollow hostage thriller flick

It was hard for me to care that much about what was going on in South Korean film “The Point Men”, which is incidentally inspired by the true events of the 2007 South Korean hostage crisis in Afghanistan. Sure, I … Continue reading

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The Menu (2022) ☆☆☆(3/4): They surely won’t forget this dinner, you know

You may have some ideas on what “The Menu” is going to serve, and it will occasionally surprise you as serving as much as you can expect. After all, this is a pungent satire on class and culinary business, and … Continue reading

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The Night Owl (2021) ☆☆☆(3/4): He saw what he was not supposed to see…

South Korean film “The Night Owl” is a well-made period drama thriller which mixes fact and fiction a bit better than I expected. While its story and characters are inherently limited by the story from the beginning, the movie still … Continue reading

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Remember (2022) ☆☆1/2(2.5/4): Isn’t he too old for this?

When I watched South Korean action thriller film “Remember” at last night, my mind was often more occupied with wondering how old its hero actually is, instead of being engaged in the film itself. As far as I could see … Continue reading

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Orphan: First Kill (2022) ☆☆1/2 (2.5/4): A little killer coming into US

“Orphan: First Kill”, a belated prequel to “Orphan” (2009), attempts to present the backstory of that little creepy but compelling villain of the 2009 film. Although it unfortunately stumbles more than once during its second half after steadily building up … Continue reading

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I Came By (2022) ☆☆1/2(2.5/4): Competent but ultimately flawed

I must confess that I found it rather challenging for me to talk about Netflix film “I Came By”, which was released a few days ago. Because many of crucial moments in the film depend on unexpected narrative turns, I … Continue reading

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