Hwayi: A Monster Boy (Korea: 2013): Joon-Hwan Jang Returns with A Vengeance

Posted on March 20, 2015 by Peale

Yun-seok Kim educates Jin-Goo Yeo

Ten years after his flamboyant debut, director Joon-Hwan Jang steps out with a much tighter and straightforward crime saga. While it isn’t Save the Green Planet II, Hwayi stacks up well against other Korean vengeance thrillers. In a genre crowded with first rate films over the past decade, Hwayi shows that there can always be room for another.

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Crazy, Beautiful You (Philippines: 2015): Princess Selfish meets a Cinderfella

Posted on March 15, 2015 by Peale

A romantic comedy that probably was designed to cash in on the popularity of the “KathNiel” pairing, Crazy, Beautiful You doesn’t stray much from the Poor Boy/Rich Girl love story formula. However, the leads do produce a certain amount of warmth together that may make it worthwhile for fans of the RomCom genre and not just the couple.

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Cinderella (USA: 2015): In case you haven’t heard, the shoe fits and she marries well

Posted on March 15, 2015 by Peale

As a children’s film, Kenneth Branaugh’s live action Cinderella is probably worth a visit for the high production values, lush sets, gorgeous costumes, and magical CGI. For adults, however, the movie offers nothing more than Disney’s take on the story from 1950 with no noteworthy changes that might offer a new perspective on the same old story.

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Children:

Adults

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Four Moons (Mexico: 2014)

Posted on March 15, 2015 by Peale

Sergio Tovar Velarde weaves together four short films covering the major phases of the lives of gay men in Mexico City in his second feature, Four Moons. With so many unconnected stories, it feels more like a condensed TV drama than a film.

Rating

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Tell No One (Italy: 2012): Coming Out, Italian Style

Posted on March 11, 2015 by Peale

A classic Italian-style comedy, Ivan Silvestrini’s Tell No One focuses on contemporary attitudes toward homosexuality through one man’s attempt to either come out to his family on his last night in Rome or risk having his lover do it for him. While it is consistently funny, there isn’t enough new to the story to push the film out of the average zone.

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Silent Youth (Germany: 2012): The start of something big, or just a bad date?

Posted on March 7, 2015 by Peale

Martin Bruchmann and Josef Mattes

What would happen if two people started a journey of discovery and just didn’t want to ever talk to each other? As far as “first encounter” movies go, Silent Youth is very low key, but audacious in its own way, creating awkward silences where we normally expect bonding.

Rating

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Kundo: Age of the Rampant (Korea: 2014)

Posted on March 6, 2015 by Peale

Jung-woo Ha: the clear-eyed, incorruptible, horse-hung butcher for justice.

Jung-woo Ha and Dong-won Kang shine in this period-action film about a clash of two men cast aside by Joeseon society. Director Jong-bin Yoon pulls Kundo together from a mix of styles, heavy on the Spaghetti western, but true to contempory Korean martial arts action. Overall, the film stays light and fun, but the slow exposition over the 137 minute run time keeps this good film from greatness.

Rating

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Kingsman: The Secret Service (USA: 2015): Guess who wins the tournament? Yeah, it’s the hero.

Posted on March 1, 2015 by Peale

Colin Firth and Taron Egerton

Matthew Vaughn returns to familiar territory with Kingsman. With violence and a sexual reference guaranteed to earn an R-rating, but a story clearly aimed a teens, one wonders if the whole project was worth the effort.

Rating

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What we do in the Shadows: (New Zealand: 2014): Five Vampires and a Guy Named Stu

Posted on February 15, 2015 by Peale

Winner of the People’s Choice Award at last year’s Toronto Film Festival, Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi’s Vampire mockumentary, What We Do in the Shadows, is finally making the rounds in the US. It answers some pressing questions we’ve had about the prospects for the undead since terrorizing peasants from haunted castles is no longer in fashion. Surprisingly, they are doing just fine in Wellington, New Zealand, repairing their love lives and arguing about household chores.

Rating

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In Bloom (USA: 2013): Summer breakup film for the cold winter evening.

Posted on February 5, 2015 by Peale

Tanner Rittenhouse & Kyle Wigent

Youth really does seem wasted on the young in CM Birkmeier’s drama about the end of a two year relationship. In Bloom starts slowly, but gets more lively after the separation. It makes me wish they’d ended it earlier and had some fun moving on.

Rating

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Category Archives: movie reviews

Hwayi: A Monster Boy (Korea: 2013): Joon-Hwan Jang Returns with A Vengeance

Crazy, Beautiful You (Philippines: 2015): Princess Selfish meets a Cinderfella

Cinderella (USA: 2015): In case you haven’t heard, the shoe fits and she marries well

Four Moons (Mexico: 2014)

Sergio Tovar Velarde weaves together four short films covering the major phases of the lives of gay men in Mexico City in his second feature, Four Moons. With so many unconnected stories, it feels more like a condensed TV drama than a film.

Tell No One (Italy: 2012): Coming Out, Italian Style

Silent Youth (Germany: 2012): The start of something big, or just a bad date?

What would happen if two people started a journey of discovery and just didn’t want to ever talk to each other? As far as “first encounter” movies go, Silent Youth is very low key, but audacious in its own way, creating awkward silences where we normally expect bonding.

Kundo: Age of the Rampant (Korea: 2014)

Kingsman: The Secret Service (USA: 2015): Guess who wins the tournament? Yeah, it’s the hero.

Matthew Vaughn returns to familiar territory with Kingsman. With violence and a sexual reference guaranteed to earn an R-rating, but a story clearly aimed a teens, one wonders if the whole project was worth the effort.

What we do in the Shadows: (New Zealand: 2014): Five Vampires and a Guy Named Stu

In Bloom (USA: 2013): Summer breakup film for the cold winter evening.

Youth really does seem wasted on the young in CM Birkmeier’s drama about the end of a two year relationship. In Bloom starts slowly, but gets more lively after the separation. It makes me wish they’d ended it earlier and had some fun moving on.

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Sergio Tovar Velarde weaves together four short films covering the major phases of the lives of gay men in Mexico City in his second feature, Four Moons. With so many unconnected stories, it feels more like a condensed TV drama than a film.

Share this:

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What would happen if two people started a journey of discovery and just didn’t want to ever talk to each other? As far as “first encounter” movies go, Silent Youth is very low key, but audacious in its own way, creating awkward silences where we normally expect bonding.

Share this:

Share this:

Matthew Vaughn returns to familiar territory with Kingsman. With violence and a sexual reference guaranteed to earn an R-rating, but a story clearly aimed a teens, one wonders if the whole project was worth the effort.

Share this:

Share this:

Youth really does seem wasted on the young in CM Birkmeier’s drama about the end of a two year relationship. In Bloom starts slowly, but gets more lively after the separation. It makes me wish they’d ended it earlier and had some fun moving on.

Share this: