| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Sean |
Posted - 23/02/2007 : 01:50:52
Thought I should plug this one, as I just added it to fwfr so I assume few (if any) have seen it.
It's a dark, bleak, mystery / psycho-thriller set in Korea in the '80s. It's similar in atmosphere and quality to Silence of the Lambs or Se7en; anyone who liked those should like this. I gave it 9/10 anyway. Gripping and refreshingly non-Hollywood, it has high-quality cinematography and an excellent score that I've come to expect from the Korean film industry these days. 
Salinui chueok (2003)
Edit: Thread now includes any Korean movies anyone wants to talk about. |
| 15 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| demonic |
Posted - 18/10/2007 : 00:47:41
How right you are.  |
| Sean |
Posted - 16/10/2007 : 23:00:16
Ah, I suppose so. But one laugh does not a movie make.  |
| demonic |
Posted - 16/10/2007 : 15:36:50
Did you not find the excessive grief turning into slapstick at the daughter's memorial funny? I thought that was hilarious. |
| Sean |
Posted - 16/10/2007 : 11:30:56
OK, I finally saw The Host. All I'll say is that I was underwhelmed. Marginally better than Godzilla (and that's not saying much), I got the feeling I'd seen it all before. And I mean seen it ALL before. The monster, the movement, it's reason for existing, the loud noises when the monster jumps out from behind ya', the family in a personal battle with the beast, the useless officials in denial etc. No tension, humour or scares.
6/10, barely a passing grade, and the least entertaining Korean movie I've seen to date. I'm not trying to start an argument (I've read everyone else's comments above), but that's just my prognosis. |
| Airbolt |
Posted - 20/04/2007 : 22:59:53
quote:
Originally posted by damalc
doesn't that picture of Cho Seung-Hui with the hammer remind you of "Oldboy?"
The media are in a frenzy to link the " depraved " film OLDBOY to the Virginia Tech Murders - showing the killer's pose next to the hammer pose from the film. Also put together are the gun to the head shot - compared to a still from the film.
One uninformed article suggested that OLDBOY was a typical liberal Hollywood film! Others sneered that " Quentin Tarantino liked this film ".
Now i found OLDBOY to be very strong indeed and at times it was almost sadistic ( esp the tongue cutting ) . However it was miles away from a schlock-horror sadism fest as suggested by some lazy critics. This happens after every major incident - the killers at Columbine liked Natural Born Killers ( or the Matrix ).
It is possible that the killer got some imagery from films. After all , this was a very modern massacre in which the killer sends a package to NBC prior to his mass murders ( echoes of " 15 minutes " ).
However to suggest that OLDBOY contributed to the killer's state of mind is extremely tenuous. |
| demonic |
Posted - 20/04/2007 : 12:12:48
I liked it a lot more when I read how the whole film was a sort of penance for the director, who'd explored all manner of cinematic excess up to that point and was trying to find some kind of balance and forgiveness.
*minor spoiler*
After all he's actually playing the monk who's dragging the stone up the mountain - and he did it for real. |
| MisterBadIdea |
Posted - 19/04/2007 : 17:08:27
I liked Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter and Spring. But I have issues with it.
They're mostly my issues with Buddhism. I dislike how the movie equates love with murder. I dislike the very idea of emptying my mind to find peace. I like what's in my head. The movie's very well-done, but I can't help but find it simple-minded and obvious.
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| damalc |
Posted - 19/04/2007 : 16:45:04
doesn't that picture of Cho Seung-Hui with the hammer remind you of "Oldboy?" |
| Shiv |
Posted - 22/03/2007 : 10:47:57
quote:
Originally posted by Se�n
I can't think of any. The closest one I can think of is Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter... and Spring, (read the plot outline). It's not really what you're after but it's such an excellent film I'd see it anyway.
Ta
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| Sean |
Posted - 21/03/2007 : 23:51:58
quote:
Originally posted by Shiv
I would be interested in any Korean films that deal directly with teenage rebellion or questioning of authority/elders. Or that explicity tackle changing values in society. Any of the recommendations so far deal with that kind of theme?
I can't think of any. The closest one I can think of is Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter... and Spring, (read the plot outline). It's not really what you're after but it's such an excellent film I'd see it anyway. |
| Shiv |
Posted - 21/03/2007 : 22:23:52
Reporting back on my Korean cinema experiences so far. I won't give away any spoilers since this thread has avoided them (for these two films) so far.
Oldboy
I would call this Shakespearian in the way it is used now to talk about bold dramatic and tragic plot mechanics and reveals. The idea of revenge consuming someone to the extent that it becomes who they are is of course part of ancient stories from many cultures. And yes, it is very gory in places.
In many ways it is more than possible to work out where this film is going to end up - but for me at least I didn't guess. For those of you who have seen the film you will know that the way the plot is played out, it requires thinking about the lowest man can go to punish someone else to get to the truth. The ending is both sad - but also enigmatic.
Memories of Murder
I loved this film for all sorts of reasons. I think the fact it was set in the 80s prior to computers and mobile phones was a bonus for me too - I don't really know why! It's got a classic storyline - city cop goes to country 'backwater' and is confronted with a different type of 'policing'. It is of course very funny in places - particularly the situations set up by the relationships between the characters. The historical background is interesting too - both the war with the north, and the use of 'new' techniques from the FBI, like DNA. The explanation that the FBI have to use their heads because America is such a big country but Korean police can use their feet is basically the 'detecting conflict' set up here.
I am trying to find out more about the true story.
So, that's three movies from Korean cinema I've seen now (Bittersweet Life being the other one) and I'm certainly interested in more. I'm trying to track down as many of the recommendations from everyone as I can.
In a very generalised way (I'm basing this on three movies and I know that's naff) there is a different feel about society in general so far. Japanese influences and shared cultural practices are apparent, but it is true that the notion of obedience and loyalty to social structures is not a strong theme, as it is in Japanese movies (even the horrors).
I would be interested in any Korean films that deal directly with teenage rebellion or questioning of authority/elders. Or that explicity tackle changing values in society. Any of the recommendations so far deal with that kind of theme?
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| BaftaBaby |
Posted - 09/03/2007 : 07:30:39
quote:
Originally posted by demonic
Seeing Scott Wilson as the US scientist was a pleasure too -he's one of those actors I love to see working (In the Heat of the Night, In Cold Blood, The Ninth Configuration, Exorcist III, Monster etc).
Dem -- am SO glad you noticed Scott. He's not only a wonderful actor, but a truly delightful person. I got to know him when he came over to England to play the cuckolded George Wilson in The Great Gatsby in the mid-1970s. He'd already been tipped as a big star when he and Robert Blake played Richard Hickock, one of the two killers in In Cold Blood [which is the film of the book that Truman Capote was researching in both Capote and Infamous]. While he was over here he met a lovely young Chinese lawyer whose name translates as Heavenly; they fell in love and eventually got married after she passed the US bar.
I've never been able to figure out that, although Scott does work pretty steadily, he's never been elevated to the star status he deserved after that early success. Ah, well ...
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| Sean |
Posted - 09/03/2007 : 03:00:39
Looking forward to The Host. It's a bit early to get it in NZ though  , it might make a festival appearance before the DVD arrives.
Of the other recommendations made above I've only been able to find The Isle and The Quiet Family and A Bittersweet Life, and I've now netflixed them. |
| demonic |
Posted - 08/03/2007 : 16:12:32
I must say one of my favourite moments was the excessive family grief - just because it went on and on I started giggling and by the end was pretty much wiping away the tears. I love slapstick when it's properly timed and I think Bong nailed it there. Some of the other funny moments missed their mark for me.
I loved the daughter trying to escape the pit past the sleeping mutant. That scene sticks in my mind. Great tension!
Seeing Scott Wilson as the US scientist was a pleasure too -he's one of those actors I love to see working (In the Heat of the Night, In Cold Blood, The Ninth Configuration, Exorcist III, Monster etc).
Otherwise there were some very odd choices in the plot and I felt the end was a big letdown for me; just not very satisfying. |
| rabid kazook |
Posted - 08/03/2007 : 12:22:37
THE HOST SPOILERS
quote:
Originally posted by BaftaBabe
Oh, yeah - just wanted to say this is one of the few films I went into 'almost cold' - having only the seen the trailer - which is repro'd on YouTube which implied lots of Korean people were very scared because something very scary was chasing them.
Ahhh, that's too much... you obviously knew when there would be... rampage. Salopian was more lucky. 
quote:
Originally posted by BaftaBabe
it's genuinely funny when it can be. Which is to say it uses humour the way Shakespeare does in Hamlet. Not cheap gags, not making gore or fear or random death amusing - but deriving humour from character, and not just as an arbitrary relief from tension. There is, for example, a scene of family grief that's one of the funniest I've seen -- but that's because in light of both the circumstances and the dynamic between the family members, it makes perfect sense for emotions to be OTT.
Family shouting and fighting at the funeral ... hmmm that was too much... didn't laugh. Funny bum... hmmm... they were too much trying to chuck out laughs... didn't laugh. Some black humor in Memories worked so much better.
quote:
Originally posted by BaftaBabe
The monster itself - after so many decades of so many monsters - proves there's always room on the monster shelf for another brilliant example of the species. The first glimpse we get of it, it's mistaken for something inanimate, then for something benign, and then -- well, there's no mistaking it after that. It's front end owes a lot to Alien, and threat comes from it's tail, too. But here's something new: it lollops like a friendly dog, even while it acts like Cerebus the Hellhound of myth. And I can't help thinking that's part of the political metaphor.
Cool, wousy yes, it's a fantastic monster, but how contrived it is to see it had kept the girl alive... this we've seen all before folks, so many times... also though the political metaphor was "too much in your face". |
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