D: Kim Sang-chan.
S: Lee Mun-sik, Bae So-eun, Kim Na-mi.
Funny disturbing weird sad. Wounded, traumatised souls seek shelter at a nutty parlour. Humanistic, yet quietly angry.
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KARAOKE CRAZIES ★★★½☆
D: Kim Sang-chan. S: Lee Mun-sik, Bae So-eun, Kim Na-mi. Funny disturbing weird sad. Wounded, traumatised souls seek shelter at a nutty parlour. Humanistic, yet quietly angry. Out to own today: The Family Fang
THE LEGO BATMAN MOVIE ★★★½☆
D: Chris McKay. S: Will Arnett, Ralph Fiennes, Michael Cera, Rosario Dawson, Jenny Slate, Zach Galifianakis. Funny and energetic, but far less inventive than progenitor. Rapid gags give way to sentimentality. HARMONIUM (FUCHI NI TATSU) ★★★☆☆
D: Kôji Fukada. S: Tadanobu Asano, Mariko Tsutsui, Kanji Furutachi, Taiga, Momone Shinokawa, Kana Mahiro. Starts so promisingly: Understated wry humour and poignancy. They give way to coincidence and histrionics. I was skeptical when I saw the trailer for SPLIT. Am pleased that the movie returns director M. Night Shyamalan to former glories.
(For fans of his best film, the closing is a doozy.) THE WORLD OF US (U-RI-DEUL) ★★★★½
D: Yoon Ga-eun. S: Choi Soo-in, Sweol Hye-in, Lee Seo-yeon. Cross between TREELESS MOUNTAIN and LET THE RIGHT ONE IN. No revenge climax, bullying story is empathetic and thoughtful. GOSANJA: THE MAP AGAINST THE WORLD ★½☆☆☆
D: Kang Woo-suk (Fist of Legend, Public Enemy trilogy). S: Cha Seung-won, Yu Jun-sang, Nam Ji-hyun, Kim In-kwon. Tonal mess, broad japes to suddenly torture. Rare shiny vistas sit uncomfortably beside weak CGI. THE AGE OF SHADOWS (MILJEONG) ★★½☆☆
D: Kim Jee-woon (The Last Stand, I Saw the Devil, The Good the Bad the Weird, A Bittersweet Life, A Tale of Two Sisters, The Foul King, The Quiet Family). S: Song Kang-ho, Lee Byung-hun, Han Ji-min, Gong Yoo. Bizarre tonal choice from Kim. Throws out his brand of kinetic forcefulness for convoluted, plodding spy flick. Will this be a different kind of boxing flick? Too often the subgenre feels tired. THE SALESMAN (FORUSHANDE) ★★★★½
D: Asghar Farhadi (The Past, A Separation, About Elly, Fireworks Wednesday). S: Shahab Hosseini, Taraneh Alidousti. Like Kenneth Lonergan, Asghar Farhadi is a filmmaker creating drama at the highest level. It seems effortless, but it obviously isn’t. |
This website is written by Hemanth Kissoon.
Filmaluation is dedicated to arts culture, with a particular focus on film. I care about intelligence, quality and entertainment. Need some movie and TV show recommendations? See the drop down to the right of the Home tab. Enjoy. The vital ambitions of art and entertainment: - Perceptiveness - Illumination - The unexpected - Innovation Brains and soul are key; but adrenaline junkies do not fret, there is also much love for an experience that delivers a sucker-punch to the guts via stunningly delivered thrills. Noun, “filmaluation”: The evaluation of a film Verb, "to filmaluate”: To evaluate a film I am well aware how difficult it is to make a film, put on a stage play, create a television show, write a novel, let alone make something of note. (That appreciation doesn’t stop me from having high standards though.) This online magazine is edited by Hemanth Kissoon. Filmaluation is owned by Filmaluation Limited (Company number 8549302. Registered in England and Wales) Archives
May 2024
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