Directed by Bong Joon Ho You can feel the desperation on Mother's (Hye-ja Kim) face, in her eyes and consuming her whole person when it comes to clearing her son's name of murder.  Her son, Do-joon (Bin Won) is very clearly mentally challenged to some degree, but the world takes advantage of him, and his mother … Continue reading Mother (2009)

Directed by Jim Jarmusch At first glance, Ghost Dog just seems like a silly movie, one you wouldn't expect to find under Jim Jarmusch's filmography, but the movie is ultimately perfectly Jarmuch-ian.  It's a story about self-expression, taken to the extreme, and about tribes and modes of living that aren't long for this world.  The plot … Continue reading Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (1999)

Directed by David Cronenberg Most movies have three acts in which the status quo changes slightly (or dramatically) so that the characters have to react accordingly.  In A History of Violence, each of those acts might as well be its own movie.  They each feel so incredibly unique both in terms of the story but also … Continue reading A History of Violence (2005)

Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson Boogie Nights follows the same template as many other biopics, but everything feels amped up a level, probably because of the amount of drugs and the type of star our hero becomes.  It's a story that's ultimately about unlikely (even if unsustainable) families, and the speed and absurdity with which … Continue reading Boogie Nights (1997)

Directed by Anna Rose Holmer The Fits is a very personal film, a coming of age story set entirely in or around a local community center where 11 year old Toni (Royalty Hightower) trains as a boxer alongside her brother before aspiring to join a dance troupe, whose music calls to her through the walls of the … Continue reading The Fits (2015)

Directed by Charles Laughton The Night of the Hunter is a horror movie, I'd say, and what's so fascinating about horror films is that when analyzed years later, you can get a sense of what scared audiences (and thus the greater social world) at a certain time in history.  For example, monsters used to be … Continue reading The Night of the Hunter (1955)

Directed by Joon Ho Bong The Host isn't just a monster movie.  It's a collection of horror and comedy as well as a personal drama between family members growing apart but who are suddenly pushed close together. The main character, Park Gang-Doo (Kang-ho Song), is a struggling father who needs as much growing up to do … Continue reading The Host (2006)

Directed by Yasujiro Ozu "Isn't life disappointing?" "Yes, it is." Tokyo Story is a very melancholic film that deals with the generational gap between a small handful of adults and their visiting elderly parents.  There is a pretty big divide between the two generations (and a third, the grandchildren), but at first this feels one-sided until … Continue reading Tokyo Story (1953)

Directed by Sang-ho Yeon Train to Busan is an extremely entertaining zombie movie.  It's like Snakes on a Plane meets Snowpiercer meets zombies.  While the movie starts off a little stale, setting up the characters and the obligatory failed father who needs to redeem himself, once the zombies show up the film kicks it up a notch. … Continue reading Train to Busan (2016)

Directed by Trey Edward Shults Krisha is a blend of Terrence Malick, John Cassavetes and horror.  It both celebrates and agonizes over the mundane, ordinary moments on a particular day, reflecting the natural beauty of a family in motion while focusing on a woman's guilt and struggle with knowing what she's lost, even as it's … Continue reading Krisha (2015)