A Penny For *My* Thoughts

[Review]

In September, it will mark 10 years since the Colombian peace process between the Government and the biggest guerrilla group in Latin America, FARC. It would also be 10 years since the Colombian people voted No to implement the peace agreement pacted between both sides, and the start of an endless discussion around the concept of impunity and the importance of the truth.

One of the main points in the agreement was the creation of a Truth Commission in charge of finding the perpetrators and reasons behind the crimes committed by the guerrilla group in an attempt to bring closure to the victims. It was part of the Truth, Justice, Reparation, and Non-Repetition cycle, defined to put an end to years of armed conflict that left thousands of victims in the country.

[Review]

I always believed that competing for parents' love and attention was the only possible dynamic between siblings, at least based on my own experience and conversations with friends, which is probably why I cried so much after seeing the genuine love and care between Nora and Agnes.

I can't recall sisterhood being portrayed in such a beautiful, unproblematic, yet realistic way in a film or series, and I can't recall the last time I left a movie theater feeling both broken and soul-warmed at the same time.

[Review]

Biggest Fan is IRENE's first full album after 2024's mini-album Like a Flower. I read somewhere that the last song selected for the album was I Don't Wanna Get Up because she liked it "even though it could be a bit boring," and that tells you everything you need to know about what works, and doesn't, on this album.

Irene's tone is warm and delicate, sometimes even a bit breathy, which works perfectly for R&B, as evidenced by the sub-unit with SEULGI's latest release TILT (Heaven hello??), or disco/synth pop. However, her catalog as a soloist goes in a different direction with most songs in the spectrum between happy pop (Ka-Chin, Biggest Fan, Best Believe), slow dance pop (Like A Flower, Wasteland, MTV), and empowering rock/pop ballads (Start Line, Winter Wish, I Feel Pretty, Love Can Make A Way). This is neither good nor bad; there is a genre for everyone, but after hearing the potential in TILT's R&B songs and the clearly not-boring-at-all I Don't Wanna Get Up, you can help but feel a bit disappointed with the final tracklist and album's direction. She tries a darker style in Black Halo, Spit It Out, and Face to Face, falling a bit short in conveying the songs' power and emotion. But, it's in A Million Miles Away (her first choice to be the single), and I Don't Wanna Get Up, where she truly excels and showcases her vocal strengths, and it's a shame the album didn't include more gems like these.

[Review]

I've always found Murakami's characters to be so fascinating and after reading this book, I finally realized why: they turn the most awkward and bizarre conversations into casual interactions between ordinary people.

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Seulgi is a self-proclaimed pink-blooded (in allusion to her company's logo color) who has finally decided to impose her artistisity and Accidentally on Purpose perfectly displays the confrontation of both sides: old-fashioned mentality vs a sensitive artist trying to break free from stereotypes and her comfort zone. The result? an album lacking cohesiveness and the quality of her first mini-album, but a necessary first step towards the real version Seulgi envisions for her idol persona.

Seulgi's a hard-worker who likes to trust the process, and on Accidentally on Purpose she exudes confidence only achieved by experience and patience. Her delivery in the lead single, Baby Not Baby, is her best one yet. The lyrics, the choreography's difficulty, and her overall performance are what all-time fans have been asking for her. The song might not be an instant hit for casual listeners, but judging the entire project on the likebility of the single misses the point completely.

[Review]

Like most Eastern Asian thrillers I've watched, there's a dose of ambiguity that's both confusing and exciting. Sometimes I attribute this ambiguity to cultural differences with Western countries, which make it difficult to distinguish between normal behavior and bad acting or poor storytelling, and other times I blame the subtitles for what I perceive as an unnatural translation that fails to properly adapt cultural nuances. Nevertheless, all these movies have managed to awaken my inner detective/film critic, and I find myself overanalyzing every little aspect of the story as well as trying to find connections with everyday society.

[Review]

The movie tells the story of an incredibly shy and introverted girl whose parents have no patience for her condition, so they send her to some distant relatives for the summer. Here, the little girl will see the power of actions speaking louder than words and the beauty of the unspoken ways to show how much you love: someone: a warm breakfast, a hug, or a goodbye kiss before going to bed.

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Sarcasm, irony, and dry humor dominate this otherwise simple history. It's the kind of history where you have no choice but to laugh instead of cry, but as it moves forward, it leaves a warm feeling in your heart.

[Review]

If someone ever asks you what patriarchy is, you can show them this movie.

The Seed of a Sacred Fig tells the all-too-familiar story to women around the world about man's systematic power and the perpetuation of traditions, no matter how dated or out of touch they may be.

Women can't go against traditions, question a man's authority, or think for themselves because that's not how the rules were written. Friendship and family ties mean nothing when patriarchy is a danger, even if it means killing the ones you're supposed to cherish.