>
Grace Han
Tomatometer-approved critic
Grace Han is a Bay Area-based freelance critic and PhD student at Stanford University. She's been previously selected for Sundance Press Inclusion Initiative, Telluride Student Symposium, and Cineuropa's GoCritic! workshop at Animafest Zagreb. Find Grace @gracehahahan.
Movies reviews only
| Rating | T-Meter | Title | Year | Review |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
Layla (2024) |
Al-Kadhi hits all the marks: from script to cast to costume, “Layla” is a delectable spectacle, offering up a joyous assortment of sensorial delights. - Asian Movie Pulse
Read More
| Posted Feb 21, 2024
|
|
|
|
The Summer (2023) |
Like a TV-film, “The Summer” is short and sweet, with only 88 minutes of runtime. If anything, it would be a delight if it were to run longer – but perhaps that just makes room for another future feature by Han Ji-won. - Asian Movie Pulse
Read More
| Posted Feb 19, 2024
|
|
|
|
Silver Bird and Rainbow Fish (2022) |
For a short, this makes for a lovely aesthetic, but – for 104 minutes, one's attention is prone to ebb and flow. Altogether, however, “Silver Bird and Rainbow Fish” is certainly a noteworthy homage to one's lineage. - Asian Movie Pulse
Read More
| Posted Feb 19, 2024
|
|
|
|
The Boy and the Heron (2023) |
“The Boy and the Heron” is largely self-indulgent. If this does end up being his last film – and touch wood if so! – then the film would mark a masterful capstone to Hayao Miyazaki's career. - Asian Movie Pulse
Read More
| Posted Feb 19, 2024
|
|
|
|
In the Land of Brothers (2024) |
There’s no dignity in death as an Afghan immigrant in Iran. For a first-time feature, “In the Land of Brothers” showcases a promising directorial debut for Amirfazli and Ghasemi, and an even more impressive debut for Hamideh Jafari. - Asian Movie Pulse
Read More
| Posted Feb 19, 2024
|
|
|
|
Dìdi (2024) |
Guaranteed to be a good time, especially for millennials who spent any amount of time online. - Asian Movie Pulse
Read More
| Posted Feb 19, 2024
|
|
|
|
Agent of Happiness (2024) |
What does it really mean to be happy? The film raises more questions than it does answers. While the film is not particularly grand in any manner, it is sure to at least provoke some introspection. - Asian Movie Pulse
Read More
| Posted Feb 19, 2024
|
|
|
|
Black Box Diaries (2024) |
Like many other #MeToo documentaries, this is not just Shiori Ito's story, but the story of women in Japan. - Asian Movie Pulse
Read More
| Posted Feb 19, 2024
|
|
|
|
To Kill a Tiger (2022) |
An empowering documentary. The dark subject matter is difficult to swallow, but Pahuja’s optimism is clear in the production. - Asian Movie Pulse
Read More
| Posted Feb 21, 2023
|
|
|
|
A Man of Reason (2022) |
“A Man of Reason” is simply bland. This formless appeal to visceral stimulation reveals an innate, naive clumsiness in Jung Woo-sung’s direction — perhaps signaling that the man is perhaps better-suited to simply being in front of the camera. - Asian Movie Pulse
Read More
| Posted Feb 21, 2023
|
|
|
|
Aurora's Sunrise (2022) |
One of the more compelling productions on the Armenian Genocide of 1915 to date. - Asian Movie Pulse
Read More
| Posted Feb 21, 2023
|
|
|
|
This Place (2022) |
VT Nayani's attempt to find similarities across cultures is admirable – but for a character cast this complex, she needs to allow herself more time to tell her story. - Asian Movie Pulse
Read More
| Posted Feb 21, 2023
|
|
|
|
Walk Up (2022) |
This delightful film is not so much a crowdpleaser than it is a sly peephole; it wonders at the sheer simplicity of everyday life. A delightful addition to the prolific auteur’s oeuvre. - Asian Movie Pulse
Read More
| Posted Feb 21, 2023
|
|
|
|
The Stranger (2021) |
“The Stranger” takes a while to steep. “The Stranger” definitely is not a crowdpleaser, but it is most certainly a sober meditation on the current situation in Golan Heights. - Asian Movie Pulse
Read More
| Posted Feb 21, 2023
|
|
|
|
The Swimmers (2022) |
It is just a shame that the human should be so easily translated into Euro-American codes of filmic legibility. “The Swimmers” ends up – strangely enough – as a feel-good refugee movie. - Asian Movie Pulse
Read More
| Posted Feb 21, 2023
|
|
|
|
A Gaza Weekend (2022) |
Basil Khalil’s tight scriptwriting and seamless direction has branded himself as a filmmaker to watch.
- Asian Movie Pulse
Read More
| Posted Feb 21, 2023
|
|
|
|
Four Samosas (2022) |
Is “Four Samosas” funny? To a degree, it is. Though the mismatch between theatrical performance and camerawork fall apart, Kapoor’s cultural references shine. “Four Samosas” is not a life-changing movie, but it is good time. - Asian Movie Pulse
Read More
| Posted Feb 21, 2023
|
|
|
|
Kim's Video (2023) |
Forget love letters to cinema. Remember Kim's Video!
- Asian Movie Pulse
Read More
| Posted Feb 21, 2023
|
|
|
|
Fremont (2023) |
The very quirk that defines “Fremont” is distracted by the production’s other idiosyncrasies. “Fremont” sidesteps the deep-seated feelings of drama and trauma, presenting – like a nicely-packaged fortune cookie – a quick watch to consume and forget. - Asian Movie Pulse
Read More
| Posted Feb 21, 2023
|
|
|
|
AUM: The Cult at the End of the World (2023) |
“AUM” reads as a glorified Wikipedia article. It is as informative as it is uninspiring. - Asian Movie Pulse
Read More
| Posted Feb 21, 2023
|
|
|
|
Shortcomings (2023) |
One could say that “Shortcomings” is just tailored for Asian Americans, for Bay Area residents, for graduate students, or so on — but in the end, it’s ultimately about the human condition. - Asian Movie Pulse
Read More
| Posted Feb 21, 2023
|
|
|
|
Nam June Paik: Moon is the Oldest TV (2023) |
“Nam June Paik: Moon is the Oldest TV” repackages the video artist’s legacy neatly, but not personally; it relishes his career more than his person... It just presents the obituary more than it does the man. - Asian Movie Pulse
Read More
| Posted Feb 21, 2023
|
|
|
|
Return to Seoul (2022) |
“Return to Seoul” provokes more questions than it does answer. Chou masterfully steers his production into open-ended conversation... There is more to the Self, Chou insists, than what first meets the eye.
- Asian Movie Pulse
Read More
| Posted Feb 21, 2023
|
|
|
|
Escape From Mogadishu (2021) |
Escape from Mogadishu breathes fresh air into the age-old story of domestic conflict. - KoreanScreen.com
Read More
| Posted May 26, 2022
|
|
|
|
Islands (2021) |
A stunning debut. “Islands” releases just enough snippets and twists to spice up the humdrum of the everyday. For a film that is so deliberately motionless, each scene reverberates with the juiciness of untold drama. - Asian Movie Pulse
Read More
| Posted May 25, 2022
|
|
|
|
The Paper Tigers (2020) |
“The Paper Tigers” is an entertaining watch — one that is uniquely pan-Asian, but sharply American in character. Though this feature may not keep you on the edge of your seat, it at least will make you laugh — and maybe even cry. - Asian Movie Pulse
Read More
| Posted May 25, 2022
|
|
|
|
Madame Freedom (1956) |
The cinematic innovations found in “Madame Freedom” test not just ethical, but filmic propriety to the extremes... “Madame Freedom” is still as invigorating a watch today as it was back then. - Asian Movie Pulse
Read More
| Posted May 25, 2022
|
|
|
|
Chilsu and Mansu (1989) |
For those intimate with the city of Seoul, the movie presents a charming amble through the city’s older streets’ for those familiar with its moment, this epitomizes an icon of its era. - Asian Movie Pulse
Read More
| Posted May 25, 2022
|
|
|
|
Earwig and the Witch (2020) |
Goro Miyazaki misses the point of what makes Ghibli, well, Ghibli. - Asian Movie Pulse
Read More
| Posted May 25, 2022
|
|
|
|
New Gods: Nezha Reborn (2021) |
“New Gods: Nezha Reborn” thus revolves more around the details than the big picture. Ji Zhao shows off more of his ability to innovate than he does to animate, and it shows. - Asian Movie Pulse
Read More
| Posted May 25, 2022
|
|
|
|
Lily Topples The World (2021) |
Workman’s blind praise makes the film read more as a saccharine promotional video than it does an intriguing backstory doc. Perhaps the online premiere suits this film, after all: it is just a longer Youtube video of Hevesh5, not of Lily Hevesh herself. - Asian Movie Pulse
Read More
| Posted May 25, 2022
|
|
|
|
Inbetween Girl (2021) |
While Lara Jean wins over Peter through her virtuous nature, Angie Chen is a tormented temptress. - Asian Movie Pulse
Read More
| Posted May 25, 2022
|
|
|
|
Wuhan Wuhan (2020) |
In light of the blatant anti-Asian violence across the Western hemisphere, “Wuhan Wuhan” achieves what it was going for: to give face to the virus’ epicenter. - Asian Movie Pulse
Read More
| Posted May 25, 2022
|
|
|
|
The Stranger by the Shore (2020) |
The film truly is eye-candy; it is rare to find such an explicitly queer anime film on such a high budget... [but it's] a drama made for the sake of drama – and without, paradoxically, any of the gut-wrenching drama that it was written to come with. - Asian Movie Pulse
Read More
| Posted May 25, 2022
|
|
|
|
Lumpia With a Vengeance (2020) |
From vigilantes to drug wars to a long-awaited marriage, the film incorporates enough disparate elements to keep up the energy — but one has to wonder if it’s an adrenaline worth keeping for almost 2 hours of your life. - Asian Movie Pulse
Read More
| Posted May 25, 2022
|
|
|
|
A Sexplanation (2021) |
If Khan Academy needed a sex educator for hire, they need not look any further than Alex Liu’s “A Sexplanation.” - Asian Movie Pulse
Read More
| Posted May 25, 2022
|
|
|
|
Snakehead (2021) |
Leong does well to coordinate his moving parts into a smooth-running machine, even if it isn’t a sexy one. “Snakehead” ultimately reads more like a book than it does a film: it leaves more to the imagination than what meets the eye. - Asian Movie Pulse
Read More
| Posted May 25, 2022
|
|
|
|
Blue Bayou (2021) |
“Blue Bayou” does not simply pull at your heartstrings; instead, it leaves a gaping hole. - Asian Movie Pulse
Read More
| Posted May 25, 2022
|
|
|
|
Steamboy (2004) |
“Steamboy” is just as much a masterwork as “Akira” — only with better technology and a stronger sense of morality. It’s truly a shame to think of how this feature has somehow eluded the attention of Western viewers for so long. - Asian Movie Pulse
Read More
| Posted May 25, 2022
|
|
|
|
From Up on Poppy Hill (2011) |
Poppy Hill” is beautiful, but more dull than expected. It would be nice to see Goro Miyazaki engage in stories that actually resonate with him, rather than to follow his father’s script (or footsteps). - Asian Movie Pulse
Read More
| Posted May 25, 2022
|
|
|
|
Rickshaw Girl (2021) |
"Rickshaw Girl” feels like a mediocre attempt at self-exoticization. Tongue-in-cheek class critique makes it difficult to describe this film as a “love letter” per se... underwhelms more than it impresses – making it a wholly average watch. - Asian Movie Pulse
Read More
| Posted May 25, 2022
|
|
|
|
One for the Road (2021) |
Baz Poonpiriya’s youthful voice jazzes up the typical Wong Kar-wai melancholy, making a delightfully feel-good movie speaking to the times. - Asian Movie Pulse
Read More
| Posted May 25, 2022
|
|
|
|
Costa Brava, Lebanon (2021) |
Through a single set, a compelling cast, and a canny knack for legibility, Akl devised a story that will appeal to all audiences. I, for one, am intrigued to see what Akl directs next. - Asian Movie Pulse
Read More
| Posted May 25, 2022
|
|
|
|
Klondike (2022) |
Gorbach successfully devises an ambivalent war film. Here, to the civilians subject to war, who wins or dies does not matter much. Instead, simply living on is a matter of utmost significance. - Asian Movie Pulse
Read More
| Posted May 25, 2022
|
|
|
|
The Rescue (2021) |
The Rescue successfully weaves in archival, interview, and re-enactment footage to deliver a glossy, but real feel for saving the boys in the Thai caves. - Asian Movie Pulse
Read More
| Posted Feb 22, 2022
|
|
|
|
A Hero (2021) |
Loaded with a beautifully subtle storyline and an irresistible cast of characters, this film is sure to see more accolades throughout the rest of the fest season... Farhadi, as usual, cuts deeper than the surface. - Asian Movie Pulse
Read More
| Posted Feb 22, 2022
|
|
|
|
Gift of Fire (2020) |
Thematically, Gift of Fire touches upon rhetorical questions surprisingly resonant today. How should we, for example, think of Japanese nationalism today? ... for a historical drama about World War II, this film remains engaging from beginning to end. - Asian Movie Pulse
Read More
| Posted Feb 22, 2022
|
|
|
|
Marvelous and the Black Hole (2020) |
...a mildly entertaining watch. It is certainly not a must-see movie or even an innovative one. It is charming, however. - Asian Movie Pulse
Read More
| Posted Feb 22, 2022
|
|
|
|
Anita (2021) |
Anita aptly captures Muis brilliant life of forty years: of excitement, loss, and change, but most importantly of hope. - Asian Movie Pulse
Read More
| Posted Feb 22, 2022
|
|
|
|
Rhapsody of Love (2021) |
Watching Rhapsody of Love is akin to eating cotton candy. It looks like it has potential, but each bite results in cheap, tasteless regret. - Asian Movie Pulse
Read More
| Posted Feb 22, 2022
|