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Inkoo Kang
Tomatometer-approved critic
Movies reviews only
| Rating | T-Meter | Title | Year | Review |
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The Contestant (2023) |
It’s the story of Nasubi’s post-TV life that elevates “The Contestant” from a chronicle of exploitation to a tale of resilience and reinvention. - New Yorker
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| Posted May 09, 2024
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Wish I Was Here (2014) |
Those Big Moments can represent catharsis, however, only to a viewer already on Braff’s wavelength. Otherwise, they merely strike audience members (including myself) as self-indulgent, even silly. And that’s probably all right with Braff. - TheWrap
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| Posted Mar 14, 2023
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Leave No Trace (2022) |
If the pacing occasionally slacks, “Leave No Trace” makes up for it in narrative twists and turns that shock without ever feeling exploitative. - Washington Post
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| Posted Jun 16, 2022
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Jerrod Carmichael: Rothaniel (2022) |
As Carmichael visibly strives to be okay with the vulnerability that comes with his new candor — a rare spectacle in itself that manages to fascinate rather than drag down the hour — the audience adapts itself into part of the act... - Washington Post
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| Posted May 09, 2022
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Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street (2021) |
There's nothing less necessary than a gratuitously dirt-digging "exposé" of "Sesame Street." But "Street Gang" isn't too far behind in its inessentialness... - Washington Post
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| Posted Dec 14, 2021
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Attica (2021) |
It's a worthy - and sadly timely - remembrance of a singular event whose ghosts continue to haunt us. - Washington Post
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| Posted Nov 05, 2021
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The Many Saints of Newark (2021) |
It's a tray of Carmela's ziti piled high with cannoli and gabagool, then drenched in espresso and red wine - a waste of its ingredients. - Washington Post
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| Posted Sep 30, 2021
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Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy vs. the Reverend (2020) |
Kimmy vs. the Reverend isn't wholly essential as an epilogue to Tina Fey and Robert Carlock's comedy, but it's also much more substantial and satisfying than most fan-service-oriented post-series projects. - Hollywood Reporter
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| Posted Aug 09, 2021
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Fear Street Part One: 1994 (2021) |
Deena and Sam's romance is a push-pull between two paper-thin characters whose relationship never gains the contours that make you care about its survival. - Washington Post
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| Posted Jul 30, 2021
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Fear Street Part Two: 1978 (2021) |
So much of the trilogy is dedicated to expositional scenes laying down the foundations of Shadyside's history, there's too much that's admirable in theory and flat on screen. - Washington Post
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| Posted Jul 30, 2021
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Fear Street Part Three: 1666 (2021) |
The trilogy's final scenes... feel more like an iteration of "Home Alone," with mindless stabbers taking the place of Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern. Those two might not have had any brains, either, but at least they had some personality. - Washington Post
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| Posted Jul 30, 2021
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America: The Motion Picture (2021) |
The gulf between stupid-smart and just plain stupid feels immeasurably vast when watching "America: The Motion Picture," which is clearly aiming for the former but lands squarely in the latter. - Washington Post
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| Posted Jun 30, 2021
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Lady Buds (2021) |
Lady Buds is the kind of film whose raison d'être isn't immediately obvious, but whose storytelling is engaging enough that we're ready for wherever the journey takes us. - Hollywood Reporter
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| Posted May 11, 2021
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WeWork: Or the Making and Breaking of a $47 Billion Unicorn (2021) |
The documentary is just as notable for the cultural and social analysis that it lacks as it is for its contents. - Hollywood Reporter
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| Posted Mar 26, 2021
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Who We Are: A Chronicle of Racism in America (2021) |
Frequently moving, but never transcends its lecture format. - Hollywood Reporter
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| Posted Mar 24, 2021
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On These Grounds (2021) |
Well intentioned but messy... its impact undermined by its hazy focus. - Hollywood Reporter
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| Posted Mar 23, 2021
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Islands (2021) |
A familiar tale about learning to embrace life again is revitalized by cultural specificity in Islands, Martin Edralin's first film. - Hollywood Reporter
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| Posted Mar 17, 2021
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Introducing, Selma Blair (2021) |
Introducing is a remarkably moving portrait of a 40-something woman forced to reevaluate her relationships and her sense of self in the face of a chronic illness that leaves her sometimes unable to speak or control her movements. - Hollywood Reporter
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| Posted Mar 17, 2021
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Kid 90 (2021) |
Frye's desire to learn what she can from her unusual childhood in the spotlight is unquestionably sincere, but the recollections and reflections she's willing to impart perhaps belong more in a diary than a documentary. - Hollywood Reporter
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| Posted Mar 15, 2021
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Operation Varsity Blues: The College Admissions Scandal (2021) |
The script's skillful tension makes it easy to forgive Operation Varsity Blues its occasionally clunky missteps. - Hollywood Reporter
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| Posted Mar 11, 2021
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Boogie (2021) |
Boogie's got personal vision and swaggering flair to spare - Huang wouldn't have it any other way. - Hollywood Reporter
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| Posted Mar 04, 2021
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Moxie (2021) |
It's the kind of movie that needs a feather-light touch or plenty of humor to avoid feeling overly parental. Moxie has neither. - Hollywood Reporter
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| Posted Mar 01, 2021
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Raya and the Last Dragon (2021) |
This is a film that knows how to soar. - Hollywood Reporter
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| Posted Mar 01, 2021
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R#J (2021) |
It's hard to keep track of the plot's machinations where the supporting characters are involved, and the script - and pacing - are further hampered by the film's liberal borrowing from Shakespeare's own dialogue... - Hollywood Reporter
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| Posted Feb 16, 2021
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There is No I in Threesome (2021) |
A cerebral yet soul-searching tribute to a relationship that might have been too crowded long before it was opened up. - Hollywood Reporter
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| Posted Feb 11, 2021
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Superior (2021) |
Superior feels like Diet David Lynch: an unsatisfying substitute. - Hollywood Reporter
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| Posted Feb 10, 2021
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Sabaya (2021) |
Impressively exciting and strikingly novel. - Hollywood Reporter
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| Posted Feb 03, 2021
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Writing with Fire (2021) |
Insightful and inspirational. - Hollywood Reporter
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| Posted Feb 03, 2021
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My Name Is Pauli Murray (2021) |
The sequential, numbers-heavy structure can make for plodding viewing, especially in the film's first half. But the doc is ultimately a thoughtful and sensitive tribute to a luminary who should be a household name. - Hollywood Reporter
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| Posted Feb 01, 2021
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Try Harder! (2021) |
A solid, if not fully satisfying, portrait of a specific high-school experience. - Hollywood Reporter
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| Posted Jan 30, 2021
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Side Effects (2013) |
Dr. Banks' battle against evil lesbian scheme-hatchery sculpts him into a perfect husband, father, and doctor. It's surprising there isn't an epilogue to the film of him undergoing yet another transformation-this time into a saint, or maybe Superman. - Bitch Media
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| Posted Jan 14, 2021
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The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air Reunion (2020) |
A quarter-century after it went off the air, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air is still tackling thorny issues. - Hollywood Reporter
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| Posted Nov 20, 2020
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La Madrina: The Savage Life of Lorine Padilla (2020) |
A lively portrait of a woman who's lived several lifetimes' worth. - Hollywood Reporter
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| Posted Nov 19, 2020
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Between the World and Me (2020) |
Closer to a visual essay than a documentary, with actors in quarantine reciting Coates' words while often looking straight into the camera, the 79-minute film further enlivens source material that already feels written in blood. - Hollywood Reporter
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| Posted Nov 17, 2020
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Citizen Bio (2020) |
The film never really gets inside Traywick's head, though it probably doesn't need to - his actions speak for themselves. - Hollywood Reporter
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| Posted Oct 30, 2020
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No Ordinary Man (2020) |
Deeply compassionate and intellectually heady. - Hollywood Reporter
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| Posted Sep 18, 2020
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Unpregnant (2020) |
A charming and heartfelt if uneven ride. - Hollywood Reporter
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| Posted Sep 10, 2020
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Mulan (2020) |
Liu has enough charisma for a lead performance, but the script gives her no depth and no meaningful relationships to work with. - Hollywood Reporter
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| Posted Sep 03, 2020
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Yusuf Hawkins: Storm Over Brooklyn (2020) |
Regrettably, Storm Over Brooklyn is only a rudimentary primer on the case, rather than a particularly comprehensive or insightful one. - Hollywood Reporter
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| Posted Aug 12, 2020
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Stockton on My Mind (2020) |
A pedestrian portrait of an exceptional subject. - Hollywood Reporter
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| Posted Jul 28, 2020
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In Deep with Ryan Lochte (2020) |
[It's] most interested in restoring Lochte to a state of Wheaties wholesomeness, which he and NBC might view as more conventionally appealing, but which misses out on the intriguing messiness that gave the bro-tastic swimmer his unique celebrity cachet - Hollywood Reporter
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| Posted Jul 14, 2020
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Ahead of the Curve (2020) |
Zippy, insightful and deeply moving. - Hollywood Reporter
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| Posted Jul 06, 2020
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The F**k-It List (2020) |
I'm not sure who this remarkably tone-deaf, cynical-for-the-wrong-reasons film is supposed to be for, other than maybe college-hating gajillionaire Peter Thiel. As the kids used to say, thanks, I hate it. - Hollywood Reporter
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| Posted Jul 03, 2020
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Freedia Got a Gun (2020) |
The tragedies within the city's borders keep mounting, but this ultimately hopeful portrait of New Orleans suggests the solutions may be found within it, too. - Hollywood Reporter
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| Posted Jun 30, 2020
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The Walrus and the Whistleblower (2020) |
Bibeau takes too much at her subject's word, seldom pushing him when her film needs it most. - Hollywood Reporter
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| Posted Jun 18, 2020
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Spelling the Dream (2020) |
Spelling the Dream is the kind of lighthearted but smart escapism you don't have to feel guilty about. - Hollywood Reporter
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| Posted Jun 03, 2020
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Hannah Gadsby: Douglas (2020) |
If Nanette demonstrated Gadsby's mastery of tone and command of the audience, Douglas is an even richer showcase for the comic's technical prowess. - Hollywood Reporter
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| Posted May 26, 2020
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AKA Jane Roe (2020) |
If AKA Jane Roe is a fascinatingly humanizing tale of the life behind the lawsuit, it also suffers greatly from Sweeney's narrow focus on his subject's theatrical bent and "deathbed confession." - Hollywood Reporter
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| Posted May 22, 2020
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The Half of It (2020) |
Smart, charming and endlessly refreshing. - Hollywood Reporter
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| Posted May 01, 2020
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Tigertail (2020) |
Drowsy, shambolic, underthought. Its structure is so meager it's downright skeletal. - Hollywood Reporter
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| Posted Apr 10, 2020
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