A personal journal of film and documentary reviews, and reviews of anything else that intrigues me.
Dome Karukoski, “Tom of Finland” (2017) As a general introduction to the life of gay icon Tom of Finland, real name Touko Laaksonen, for a general…
North American Films, Southeast Asian Films
Phillip Noyce, “The Quiet American” (2002) A beautifully made film with much atmosphere, even if it is slow and unassuming in style, and its acting uneven,…
Jeff Chan, “Adam Ruins Everything (Season 2, Episode 12: Adam Ruins Conspiracy Theories)” (2017) An enjoyable if not very substantial episode in this educational comedy series,…
Denis Villeneuve, “Blade Runner 2049” (2017) In its own leisurely way, “Blade Runner 2049” is a very absorbing, even hypnotic film with stunningly beautiful sets that…
British Films, French and French-language Films
Stanley Tucci, “Final Portrait” (2017) Best seen as a character study and a superficial investigation into an artist’s creativity and what motivates him, “Final Portrait” is…
“Adam Ruins Everything (Season 2, Episode 11: Adam Ruins the Economy)” (2017) Explaining economic concepts and measurements of how well economies are performing to the general…
Jeff Chan, “Adam Ruins Everything (Season 2, Episode 10: Adam Ruins the Suburbs)” (2017) Dedicated as it is to overturning comfortable assumptions and stereotypes about everyday…
Erik Poppe, “Kongens Nei / The King’s Choice” (2016) As a straight history lesson or even as a conventional war-time drama, this film doesn’t succeed: audiences…
Australian and New Zealand Films, Korean Films
Alex Apollonov and Aleksa Vulovic, “The Haircut” (2017) Two Sydney undergraduate students’ desire to travel to North Korea to see if they can get hipster-style haircuts…
Jeff Chan, “Adam Ruins Everything (Season 2, Episode 9: Adam Ruins His Vacation)” (2017) At last didactic comedian Adam Conover has something in common with most…