I Saw The Devil (Korea 2010)

Are you willing to become the very thing that you're trying to stop? In the case of, I Saw The Devil that thing would be a vicious, cold-blooded killer. I can not believe it took me so long to finally see this movie but here we are and I might be slightly traumatized. 

NIS agent Soo-hyun (Lee Byung-hun), is on the phone with his fiance Joo-yun, who happens to be stranded on the side of the snowy road with a flat tire, waiting for a tow-truck. He's a man that is always busy with work but naturally, he's concerned about Joo-yun's well being. An older man in a school shuttle van drives up and offers to help Joo-yun in her situation, but after being told that his help wouldn't be needed, he attacks Joo-yun and takes her back to his, for lack of a better word, lair. What takes place here is pretty much horrific and shows us that this killer is next level crazy. As the police begin the search for Joo-yun, her father, retired police chief Jang (Jeon Gook-hwan) and Soo-hyun arrive to the scene and are overwhelmed at the reality of what has happened to their Joo-yun. Soo-hyun takes some time away from work and together with chief Jang, compile a list of suspects. One-by-by, Soo-hyun begins to hunt these individuals down, coming up empty-handed until he learns about Kyung-chul (Choi Min-sik), a school academy bus driver that's estranged from his parents and his own son. Kyung-chul takes women, who tend to be alone, and brutally rapes and murders them. When police Section Chief Oh (Chun Ho-jin) and his team also catch on to Kyung-chul, they try to bust him as he drives a shuttle full of school girls home. Kyung-chul knows that he's been discovered and before he can assault a young schoolgirl, Soo-hyun shows up and the two have an intense confrontation. Seemingly getting the upper hand, Soo-hyun doesn't kill Kyung-chul and doesn't hand him over to the police, but instead shoves a tracker down his throat, leaving him to ponder why he's still alive. From here, we have a game of cat-and-mouse where the protagonist is doing the torturing and the chasing deliberately, just to show Kyung-chul that he can get to him anytime he wants. However, as you can imagine when dealing with someone so dangerous, Soo-hyun get's a little too confident and prey gets away, leaving his loved ones exposed and at risk.

I'm a big fan of director Kim Jee-won (A Tale of Two Sisters, A Bittersweet Life), and I honestly don't know why I never watched I Saw The Devil until now. I think it was just a matter of, "I'll get around to it" and then life got in the way. I'm so glad it came across my radar again because I Saw The Devil is one of those films that reminds you of how hard Korea can go. I'm not easily shocked by films but there were moments here where I thought, "My God, this is hardcore." So yeah, it's not for the squeamish but if you can stomach it, there is so much pleasure in watching the tables turn on a villain as evil as Kyung-chul. It turns into a situation where you know that what Soo-hyun is doing isn't morally right and quite frankly, illegal. But you look past it (at least I did) because the movie does such a great job of putting you in the middle of his pain both in large part of Lee Byung-hun's fantastic and subdued performance and in the graphic nature of Kyung-chul's behavior. You want this monster stopped almost as much as Soo-hyun does. At 141 minutes, I never felt like the movie was dragging and the pacing keeps you glued to the screen the entire time. The only moments where I felt like maybe the film was going too far in trying to shock was when Kyung-chul meets up with his friend Tae-joo (Choi Moo-sung), who has a cannibalistic nature. He was a bit over-the-top for me and that whole scene tried dragging the movie more into the surreal and almost felt comical. 

I definitely think I Saw The Devil is a polarizing movie. Some will say, "How can you even watch a movie like that?" and there will be those that love it because it's extreme. More than that however, the performances by our two leads are amazing, the tension is real and how things play out will really keep you guessing. Yes, the content is graphic but it shouldn't be defined by it and to be honest I was only half-joking about being traumatized. (Lee)

Grade: A

Phantom (K-Drama 2012)

What we have here is the closest thing to a really good Korean drama that I've personally seen. Phantom (유령), is a suspense-thriller that does a lot of things right, but of course, it also does a handful of things wrong. What were you expecting? Perfection?

The Seoul cyber-investigation team is on the hunt for a mysterious hacker that goes by the handle of Hades (Daniel Choi). Leading the team is Woo-hyun (So Ji-sub), and he's an emotionless, stone-faced figure who loves what he does and does it well. Hades seems to be one-step ahead of Woo-hyun and his team and when popular actress Shin Hyo-jung (Esom), turns up dead, the stakes certainly seem to be raised. What appears to be a suicide that no one could have imagined, ends up being much more complex as the team discover her laptop was hacked by Hades. Woo-hyun and Detective Yoo Gang-mi (Lee Yeon-hee), are sure there is more to her death then meets the eye. Also on the case is Detective Kwon Hyuk-joo (Kwak Do-won), a larger-than-life type who gets what he wants by intimidation. Woo-hyun eventually catches up to Hades after some slick surveillance and when he finally meets Hades face to face, he's shocked to discover the person in front of him is someone from his past. Hades explains to Woo-hyun that, of course, not everything is as it appears to be and that he isn't responsible for Shin Hyo-jung's death. Due to their history, Woo-hyun is inclined to give Hades the benefit of the doubt and in turn imparts some shocking truths about himself. Naturally, after he confesses his sins to Hades, an accident occurs, taking Woo-hyun's life and leaving Hades severely burned beyond recognition. Hades, filling in Gang-mi to the words Woo-hyun left him with, asks for her help in having doctor's surgically rebuild him with Woo-hyun's appearance so that he can go undercover. Whoa...let that sink in. Someone is responsible for Shin Hyo-jung's and Woo-hyun's death and to top things off, there are some shady cats working within the cyber-investigation team. All for what though? When the mysterious Jo Hyun-min (Uhm Ki-joon), finally shows his face, you just know this guy is up to no good, but who is the real villain here?

Phantom is a real whodunnit in every sense of the word. It's just one of those series that has you pointing the finger at pretty much anyone that pops up on screen. Aside from having a plot device straight out of 1997, (Face/Off), there is enough here to keep things fresh. There are plenty of twists and turns to keep you interested in the proceedings, although there is a sub-plot involving a girl's school and Yoo Gang-mi starting around episode 7 that is so terribly out of place, it's baffling. It breaks up the flow of everything you saw in the first 6 episodes, has nothing to do with the overall story and just spoils what could have been a great series. Watching So Ji-sub is like watching a statue come to life. The man is expressionless throughout, yet somehow it feels appropriate for his character. Daniel Choi is definitely the more lively of the dynamic duo, but he doesn't have as much screen time after the face switch. I have to point out Lee Yeon-hee and her abysmal acting ability. It's beyond clear that she was cast in this role because they needed a pretty face, otherwise we'd be left with a total sausage fest. Jokes aside, her delivery is flat to the point where you feel like you're watching some amateur auditions. She really stinks up every scene she's in. Couple that with her schoolgirl sub-plot and you'll feel that even the writers struggled to think of how to use her. Okay, now that we've sunk a bit, Kwak Do-won is there to bring us right back up. His performance is what you're looking for in a great character. He's incredibly charismatic and lights up the screen whenever he pops up. A true scene-stealer. Sure, he's a bit over-the-top at times, but you still love to watch him act and that's what counts. Uhm Ki-joon's performance is another stand-out. This guy just oozes sleaze and you really just want to punch him in the face every time you see him. Don't get me wrong, with the type of character he's playing, that's a good thing. It's a strong performance. There's a whole host of supporting actors in Phantom, from the cyber-investgation team (with only Kwon Hae-hyo being of note), to the spunky little reporter friend of Hades/Park Gi-young, Choi Seung-yeon (Song Ha-yoon), who manages to avoid being completely annoying...but only just.

Phantom gets things right by have mostly capable actors in a story that at times is overly-complicated but still intriguing. Also, they don't force a love story in where it's clearly not needed. Just because you have a male and female lead doesn't mean they have to be a couple. So kudos to those responsible for not following that tired cliche. Those interested in watching something a little different in the stale, all-too-similar K-drama landscape should give this one a shot. (Lee)

Grade:C+

A Better Tomorrow (Korea 2010)

A remake of the 1986 Hong Kong film of the same name, A Better Tomorrow (무적자), is probably better off viewed as a it's own movie. After all, if you were to compare the two, you'd be sorely disappointed.

Set in the southern, port city of Busan, South Korea, Kim-hyuk (Joo Jin-mo), is a fairly high-ranking gangster, up to gangster shenanigans. His right-hand-man is Young-choon (Song Seung-heon), and these two, together, get the job done.While Kim-hyuk is climbing up the corporate ladder, so to speak, he's haunted by the memory of his younger brother Kim-chul (Kim Kang-woo), who he left behind (along with their mother), in North Korea. Kim-chul is still very much alive and well, and has been apprehended by the authorities. When Kim-hyuk gets wind of this, he is naturally overcome with emotion and wants nothing more than to make things right with his younger brother. This, as you can imagine, isn't so simple as Kim-chul, understandably, harbors a lot of resentment towards his older brother for leaving him and his mother behind. Kim-hyuk still has a job to do however, so he tells Young-choon that he'll be heading to Thailand with new gang recruit, Jung Tae-min (Jo Han-sun), in order to complete a deal that has been in the works. When the boys arrive in Thailand and get to the meeting point, things immediately don't feel right. Needless to say, things don't go as plan, a shoot-out occurs and ultimately, Kim-hyuk is left alone and thrown in prison for three years by the Thai police. During this period of time, Young-choon, refusing to look weak to others in their "business", seeks revenge on Kim-hyuk's behalf. He walks away from the experience, but just barely. Kim Chul, meanwhile, has enlisted in the police academy, with his motivation being that the killer of his mother was never found. Time keeps passing, Kim-hyuk continues to write his younger brother letters, and little bro continues to rip them up and toss them in the trash. Young-choon, having been out of the game for a minute, has been reduced to a cripple doing measly little jobs just to make a quick buck. To make matters worse, an unexpected individual with ties to these gentlemen and their past, has come to power and boy does he abuse the hell out of it! When Kim-hyuk finally gets out of prison, he returns to Korea under the promise that he'll lead an honest life. This turns into a case of easier-said-then-done once the aforementioned past acquaintance decides to ruin the brothers' lives. Kim-hyuk and Young-choon aren't the type to just lie down and take it, so they go after him with full force and together with a reluctant Kim-chul, the ports of Busan turn into a war-zone.

File this one under, yet-another-remake-that-didn't-need-to-happen. However, since it did happen, I'll talk about it as objectively as possible. The acting in A Better Tomorrow is fairly solid, especially from Joo Jin-mo, as Kim-hyuk. This dude delivers in a mostly convincing way and you do start to feel that he's emotionally tortured, being pulled between his present and past, the life he should lead and the life he's led, and so on. Part of me thought, "oh, this is going to be a hardcore action movie!", and it wasn't. Granted, the climax is pretty balls-to-the-wall action, but more an hour and thirty minutes, you're stuck with some pretty dry melodrama. I suppose there's too much focus on the pained Kim-hyuk trying to make things right with his younger brother. Kim-chul has been dealt a poor hand, but he comes across as a real whiner that at first you're sympathetic to, but that sympathy quickly turns into annoyance. Song Seong-hoon as Yoong-choon is an awesome character that you feel is just incredibly underused until the end. He has one great moment to shine when he seeks revenge for Kim-hyuk, but I suppose the filmmakers wanted to use him sparingly, which is a shame. Talking about the small amount of action that does take place, well...it's over-the-top, especially at the end. Nothing wrong with that really, but these dudes are shooing grenades and machine-guns on the docks and there's not one cop around for like 20 minutes. Suspend disbelief people...you just have to. The ending is different from the original Hong Kong film (which I promised I wouldn't talk about), but somehow you still see it coming from a mile away regardless.

After reading all of that you're probably thinking I came away from A Better Tomorrow mostly underwhelmed. Fair assessment smart guy (or gal)! A bunch of GQ Korean dudes posturing with weapons and over-the-top emotional scenes does not a good movie make. Chow Yun-fat reportedly said the same thing. (Lee)

Grade: D+

Lie To Me (K-Drama 2011)

Okay, I promise I'm going to stop complaining about the number of episodes in Korean dramas...after this review. Lie To Me (내게 거짓말을 해봐) tells the story of how a small, seemingly innocent, lie can spiral wildly out of control, with inevitable chaos ensuing. Shenanigans, here we come!

Kong Ah-jung (Yoon Eun-hye), is a single woman, living with her widowed father Joon-ho (Kang Shin-il), and working for the Culture and Tourism board. She seems quite content in life, until she starts having one too many unfortunate run-ins with her "friend", Yoo So-ran (Hong Soo-hyun), a spoiled braggart who just so happens to be married to Ah-jung's school crush, Chun Jae-beom (Ryu Seung-soo). It pains Ah-jung's heart to see the two of them together and the love that never was, and it angers her to no end to hear So-ran boasting about her luxurious lifestyle (Jae-beom's a well-off attorney). However, something happens at Ah-jung's workplace which doesn't end well and she's to blame. She feels terrible about this incident and feels it might just be best to submit her resignation. She goes to drink her sorrows away, sloppily writing a resignation letter on a cocktail napkin. A young man by the name of Hyun Sang-hee (Sung-joon), is intrigued by Ah-jung's drunken behavior in the club and decides to strike up a conversation with her. Even through her slurred speech and unsightly demeanor, he's a bit taken with her and decides to keep her company. Meanwhile, Hyun Ki-joon (Kang Ji-hwan), is living on the other side of the spectrum as a wealthy, good-looking, young president of the World hotel group. It turns out that Sang-hee, the young man keeping Ah-jung company at the club, is Ki-joon's younger brother. Sang-hee had just returned to Korea from a stay overseas and Ki-joon hasn't seen him in years. You can imagine, he's a bit eager to see his younger brother again and by circumstances only a drama can create, he spots his younger brother at the club with Ah-jung. Sang-hee leaves before his older brother can get to him, but Ki-joon notices a drunken, passed-out Ah-jung in front of the club and, being the gentleman that he is, makes sure she gets to the hospital. Wanting to know as much about his younger brother as he can, he decides to stay by Ah-jung's side while she recovers at the hospital. It doesn't lead to much, but his actions leave a lasting impression in Ah-jung's mind.

After another chance meeting with So-ran and Jae-beom, (you have to understand, coincidence's are a dime-a-dozen in the world of dramas), at the hair salon, the topic of conversation turns to relationships. Ah-jung, feeling fed up with how she's pitied for still being single, lies and says she's married. So-ran can't believe it and is determined to expose this little white lie. Ah-jung then heads to the World hotel to pay Ki-joon back for his kindness in staying with her overnight at the hospital, but nothing in this world can ever go as smoothly as that, can it? She makes a fool of herself, spilling tomato juice all over the floor, but Ki-joon is there to keep her from slipping and cracking her head open. This all seems fine and dandy, but wouldn't you know it, Ah-jung's group of girlfriends just so happen to be at the hotel to see all this and thus, the rumor of her being married to the young president are off and running!

There's your rundown in a nutshell. Ah-jung's lie about being married turns into a much bigger thing because Ki-joon has a status and professional profile to maintain. His Aunt Hyun Myung-jin (Oh Mi-hee), can't believe her nephew would do such a thing, potentially hindering his role as president and complicating their relationship, and Sang-hee, having developed a small crush on Ah-jung himself, feels his older brother has, yet again, stolen love away from him! To complicate matters even further, let's introduce Oh Yun-joo (Cho Youn-hee), Ki-joon's former love, whom he was engaged to three years prior. Sang-hee was also in love with Yun-joo, and in a true sign of bro's before ho's, Ki-joon let his love go because these brother's stick together and have since their parent's passed. Yun-joo returns to Korea from time spent in Paris and yeah, she wants Ki-joon back. I mean, this guy looks good in a suit. I get it. See how messy things are getting? Well, Ki-joon annoyance with Ah-jung's marriage lie eventually turns into acceptance, only because the lie turns out to be a necessity. You'll have to check the show out if you want to know what I mean by this. Oh, and why can't Sang-hee find a girl his brother isn't involved with?

Being the honest guy that I am, I'll tell you flat-out that I only watched this series because I love Yoon Eun-hye. I told myself that after, "The Coffee Prince", that I would check out anything else she does, so that's what I'm doing here. Get it out of your mind now that this was anywhere near as good as, "Coffee Prince", because it's not. You should never even think to make comparisons. However, Yoon Eun-hye is still very charming in her role as Ah-jung, although, my God is she a total crybaby in this. I counted at least six awkward scenes where you just sit at watch her ball uncontrollably for seconds that feel like minutes. Very long minutes. I rather enjoyed Kang Ji-hwan's performance as the confident, but not cocky, Ki-joon. The way he played it made him quite easy to like. Watching Ah-jung and Ki-joon together is when this drama really shines. However, there are a lot of side characters in Lie To Me that are obnoxious and uninteresting and take away from the main two. I really can't stand So-ran, regardless of how attractive she is and her husband, Ah-jung's first love, Jae-beom, comes across as so bumbling and incompetent, you wonder how he's even a lawyer. Maybe there's a lawyer joke in there somewhere. Anyway, Ah-jung's group of "friends", also come across as possibly the worst, most-gossipy friends, you could ever hope to not have. Seriously, if these are her friends, I'd hate to see her enemies. Yun-joo also annoyed me every single time she had a scene because all she did was mope. We get it, you want Ki-joon back but Cho Youn-hee, haven't not seen her in anything else, pursued her goal of re-obtaining love in the most boring performance possible. Her face expressionless and her delivery emotionless. Basically, a difficult character to watch. Sang-hee is slightly interesting at first, when he's getting to know Ah-jung, but then he gets written off towards the second half of the series as a jealous, cry-baby who does nothing but sulk and paint all day. It's almost as if the writers ran out of ideas for him once the ball got rolling with Ki-joon and Ah-jung. I just thought there would be more to him. Oh well. I would like to point out that Hwang Suk-bong (Kwon Hae-hyo), turns in another amusing performance as the restaurant owner. I always get a kick out of him.

Lie To Me is mediocre drama that I suppose you want to be better than it is because of the two stars, but the pacing is off and the supporting cast is obnoxious. The side-stories, anything deviating from Ah-jung and Ki-joon, are simply annoying and uninteresting. The soundtrack is mind-numbing (especially that ice cream song - enjoy below!), and really, just how big is Seoul? These same characters bump into each other at every turn. I'm nitpicking on that last point, but I guess it's my semi-clever way of saying: let's try harder next time guys. (Lee)

Grade: D+

You Are My Pet (Korea 2011)

You are a piece of...okay, you get the idea. You also probably get my feelings about this movie. You Are My Pet (너는 펫), is a gimmicky, romantic-comedy that somehow manages to forget to add any romance or comedy. Oh, but they beat that gimmick into the ground and back again.

Fashion magazine editor, Eun Yi (Kim Ha-neul), is incredibly hard-working, to the point of having little, to no, free time. She doesn't have a boyfriend, she's not married, and in fact, her younger brother, Eun-soo (Choi Jong-hoon), is the only man she has in her life; and he lives with her. Basically, she's just been unlucky in love. Her brother, working as a bartender, decides to let a friend of his, In-ho (Jang Keun-suk), crash at his sister's place, unbeknownst to her. In-ho doesn't have a place to stay and Eun-soo looks at it as an opportunity to earn some cash off a friend. Eun-yi comes home to find a complete stranger making himself comfortable in her place and after some begging and pleading from Eun-soo, she decides to let In-ho stay...albeit with some stipulations. For whatever reason, In-ho reminds Eun-yi of her dog Momo, which has passed away. With this in mind, she agrees to let In-ho stay at her place as long as he's willing to be her new Momo; her pet. In-ho decides to go along with it, keeping things light and jovial, and the longer he stays at her place, the more they actually get to know each other. Turns out In-ho used to be a talented and renowned dancer, but has since given up the art due to an incident years back where he dropped a fellow dancer, injuring her. Guilt, being what it is, keeps him from performing. Eun-yi really starts warming up to In-ho, as he does to her, all the while keeping up the creepy, "master/pet", relationship, and things start looking like they could grow into more than just friendship...until Eun-yi's first love, Cha Woo-sung (Ryu Tae-joon), comes back into her life.

Hmm, what must you be thinking after reading that synopsis? If the word, "ridiculous", popped into your mind, I certainly wouldn't blame you, because let's face it; that's exactly what this movie is. Not in the, "oh, that's silly, but it's also so cute and charming so I can overlook it all", kind of way. More of a, "really? come on...really?", kind of way. You Are My Pet forces the "pet" angle down your throat at every available opportunity. It get's to the point of just being awkward and beyond fathomable. In-ho acts like a dog, so much so, that he's hopping in her bed like a pet, resting his head in her lap, calling Eun-yi master, and just about everything else aside from pissing on the floor. For me, it was just silly, in a stupid way. Not funny in the comedic sense that was probably intended by the filmmakers. I felt practically zero chemistry between Kim Ha-neul and Jang Keun-suk, which really kills the romantic side of the film, and I know it's been said before, but Jang Keun-suk couldn't look more like a woman unless he had breasts. Seeing these two on screen together, it often looked like two women in a relationship...not that there's anything wrong with that. I'm sure all of his female fans will love his performance here though. Seriously though, I don't get the appeal but I don't think I'm supposed to. However, Kim Ha-neul looked as amazing as ever, even if her performance in this movie felt dialed in and quite uninspired. That pains me to say, as I'm a huge fan of hers. So if I'm looking for anything nice to say about You Are My Pet, I guess it would be that it looked good. The film itself looks sharp, as does all the players involved.That's it...that's all I've got.

The gimmick goes too far and for way too long in You Are My Pet, making the 1 hour and 50 minute run-time extra painful. By the time it all winds down, you'll never want to hear the word, "Momo", again. Definitely not worth your time unless you're a big fan of the two stars. (Lee)

Grade: D

My Black Mini Dress (Korea 2011)

Seemingly obnoxious and shallow from the outside looking in, things aren't what they appear to be as My Black Mini Dress (마이 블랙 미니드레스), actually has a meaningful story to tell. Trust me, I'm probably as surprised to say that as you are to read it. 

Four close friends, Yoo-min (Yoon Eun-hye), Hye-ji (Park Han-byeol), Soo-jin (Cha Ye-ryeon), and Min-hee (Yoo In-na), have just graduated college and are ready to celebrate a new chapter in their lives. It's time to grow up, leave behind the partying lifestyle and find real jobs right? Well, maybe not for everyone and reluctantly so for others. These girls are used to living a very free lifestyle; going to the club every other night, partying and just having a good time. Time has passed since graduation and our girls are now 24 year old women. Yoo-min is trying her hand at being a broadcasting writer; Soo-jin is tutoring teenage students while secretly attending auditions because her dream is be an actress; Hye-ji is wealthy so she's content just partying and Min-hee, also from a family of wealth, chooses to take an English course, complete with her own puppy-love storyline, so that she can study abroad. It would appear that Hye-ji and Min-hee are the only ones content with their lives, while Yoo-min and Soo-jin are struggling to keep up an optimistic front when they're all together. Hye-ji introduces Yoo-min to the young and wealthy Seok-won (Lee Yong-woo), because she worries that her friend is struggling in love. At the club, just by chance, a guy spots Hye-ji and offers her the opportunity to star in a Levi's jeans commercial, an opportunity that will change the direction of her life. The other girls find out about it while buying tickets for a movie as it plays on a giant monitor overhead in the lobby. Naturally, they're all shocked to see their best friend starring on TV with a new-found entertainment career that seemed to come out of nowhere. However, not everyone is as happy as they appear to be, or possibly should be, and it's not long before the green-eyed monster starts to show itself. Soo-jin, and her secret struggle to become an actress, isn't shy about expressing her feelings of irritation about how Hye-ji, the girl with everything, is yet again given more. Meanwhile, Yoo-min is trying to have a relationship of sorts with Seok-won, and is dealing with an unbelievable boss (Jeon Soo-keyong), who constantly makes unrealistic demands. She does begin to find some comfort when an old schoolmate, Young-mi (Choi Yoon-young), comes into her life with friendly advice, as she too is working in the same field. When an incident involving Hye-ji brings the girls together again, Soo-jin and Hye-ji get in a huge argument in which their true feelings come to light. This is the tipping point that sends all four girls in different directions, forcing them to evaluate the friendship they've had all these years and if they all know each other as well as they had thought. Will Soo-jin and Hye-ji be able to let bygones be bygones in order to be friends again? And can Yoo-min figure out what love is while at the same time trying to find her place in a professional world where she struggles to fit in? 

I wasn't in a hurry to see My Little Black Dress because quite frankly I thought it was going to be a chick-flick, and in many ways it is. However, my crush on Yoon Eun-hye wouldn't allow me to avoid it and I'm glad I didn't. Things start off a little bumpy as our four main characters aren't introduced in a flattering light, and it takes a while to warm up to them and take notice of their individuality. Yoo-min is your straight-shooter, Hye-ji is the spoiled, live-life-with-no-consequences type, with Soo-jin being the serious one and Min-hee being your slightly air-headed comic relief. Yes, I realize these characters are all representing different character-types, but they do it well. Yoon Eun-hye, regardless of my feelings about her, really does a nice job at showing the difficulties in transitioning into adulthood and the responsibilities young people face. Hye-ji was a tough character to warm up to for me, but she's meant to be that way because she's spoiled and comes from a background that most of us can't relate to. I personally enjoyed Cha Re-yeon's performance and her character's actions because even though, as a viewer, you know she's just jealous of Hye-ji, it comes across as believable and you can even understand it. Many of us have been in similar positions. As for Min-hee, well...she's just cute and her moments were amusing. There's a story told here about friendship and trying to define just what exactly a friend is. The girls begin to realize they they may not know each other at all when their own lives start falling apart and they look for a shoulder to lean on. I found the story-telling to be a smart, true-to-life tale serving as food-for-thought in many ways, regardless of the movie being geared toward a female audience. I know I've had times where I felt I couldn't tell even my closest friend things and wondered why that was. There's a dark twist in the third act, a plot device that tends to anger me in most films, but here it seems to work. I will also say the ending had a bad case of, "this isn't over yet?", syndrome, in which you thought the scene you were watching was the last, only for there to be another scene and yet another. Silly filmmakers, you got me!

A story that rings true and strong performances that sell the story all the more are what help to put My Little Black Dress into recommended viewing territory. I love when a movie can make you feel introspective and that's how this one left me. Plus, that Yoon Eun-hye is just too darn cute. (Lee)

Grade: B

Howling (Korea 2011)

Is it action, drama, suspense, or supernatural thriller? Howling (하울링) certainly feels like all of the aforementioned at times, which leads me to my point; this is a mixed bag on so many levels. You can't win 'em all Song Kang-ho.

Detective Sung-gil (Song Kang-ho), has been around the force for quite some time. There's not a lot he hasn't seen or dealt with and quite frankly he's ready to move up in the world and is looking for his big promotion to captain. However, his movement to the top appears to get sidelined when his boss sticks him with Eun-young (Lee Na-young), a driven female rookie detective who simply wants to do the job right. They're assigned to a case in which a man catches fire spontaneously while sitting in his truck in a parking garage. They find out that the fire stemmed from his belt-buckle, which was fitted with a timer and a chemical to ignite at a specific time. Pretty elaborate stuff. The coroner, upon examining the body, informs the detectives that he found deep bite marks, from what appears to be a dog, on the man's leg. We find out the victim was into gambling and drug-use which leads Sung-gil and Eun-young into following the drug trail. The drugs lead them to a low-life's home in which they discover a secret area where young girls are being pimped out. What had appeared at first to be a case of accidental death has lead these two to much darker places. Meanwhile, someone is attacked on the street by the dog and the police now know that the first victims bite marks are more than coincidental. Things seem to be moving forward in the investigation but Sung-gil decides to keep his and Eun-young's findings to himself and not report it to the Captain or the other officers, much to Eun-young's dismay. Sung-gil feels that if he can solve this case without assistance, then he'll surely be promoted. As you can imagine, this selfish style of police-work backfires on him and both Sung-gil and Eun-young are reprimanded, with their credibility taking a hit in the process. As if things weren't bad enough with her coworkers, Eun-young has to deal with being the only female in the group and these guy's stop at nothing in making her life as uncomfortable and inconvenient as possible. Sung-gil eventually starts warming up to his partner but does his best not to show it. We learn that Sung-gil isn't such a bad guy when we get a look at his family life. He doesn't exactly have it easy himself. So with this second victim, dead from an attack by what forensics are now saying could be a wolf, the team are trying to figure out where to find this animal and where it could possibly strike next. A connection begins to develop between the victims, as they all appear to have ties to child prostitution and drugs. The wolf is taking them out one by one! Sung-gil and Eun-young begin to question private dog trainers, as well as officers that work with dogs in order to find a suspect but their search comes back empty. Eun-young get's a bright idea in her search and comes back with the name Kang (Jo Young-jin); a name that changes their investigation completely. Who's using this wolf-dog as a murder weapon and why? What is their connection? Can Sung-pil and Eun-young find this animal before it kills again?  

A dog as a murder weapon. I personally can't say I've seen that before in a movie, but now that I have, I can say that there's probably a reason for that. It's all a bit silly. Howling gives us this fairly unique concept and delivers it in a muddled, overly melodramatic way. I have problems with the execution of how the story unfolds here because there are times where I wondered if the dog was some sort of supernatural being. That's how amazing this animal is or is at least presented. It seemingly comes out of nowhere and it seems to be able to do things even Lassie would be envious of (I'm thinking mostly of the movie's ending for that reference). To me, it all just rang a bit too fantastical and I never really felt a connection with the dog, as other characters in the movie clearly did. Now I love Song Kang-ho, he's my favorite Korean actor, and he's as sharp as ever here, even if his character isn't exactly the most likeable. Therein lies another problem for me with this film; I had a hard time liking any of the characters, aside from Eun-young. Lee Na-young does a great job at conveying the struggle her character goes through in being the sole female on the force, the adversity tied in with that and in general, just being a sympathetic character to root for. However, the police force, Sung-gil and Eun-young's coworkers if you will, are completely deplorable, detestable characters. I didn't care about any of them, one bit, other than to see them humiliated. In true Korean cinema fashion, these guys are made to look buffoonish, irresponsible and incapable, as well as immature and over-the-top sexist. The way they treat Eun-young was quite shocking for me, making me hate them and I found them to be almost villains for Eun-young's character. Yeah, that bad. As much as I liked Eun-young's character, I found some glaring inconsistencies with her behavior. Look no further than the scene where she goes to investigate Kang's home. This is a by-the-book, straight-shooter detective that breaks all of her own rules just by being at that house. It bothered me. The story-telling is quite intriguing in the first half of the movie, especially as you unravel clues with the detectives, but for me, the end result and the big reveal just didn't do anything for me. I felt it just lost that spark of intrigue from the first half and didn't have any impact.

Howling was a disappointment for me because it felt like a movie that didn't know what it wanted to be. The crimes within are horrible and incredibly dark, yet there are moments where the proceedings just seemed laughable. Check it out if you're a fan of the main stars (as I am), but it was a little too campy for my taste. (Lee)

Grade: C

Blind (Korea 2011)

I'm going to try and stay as unbiased as possible in reviewing Blind (블라인드), because yes, it has my favorite Korean actress Kim Ha-neul in it. Not factoring that in though, what we have here is a pretty good suspense-thriller that asks the audience to suspend some disbelief in order to achieve maximum entertainment. I was able to do that and walked away fairly entertained. 

Police cadet Soo-ah (Kim Ha-neul) is an angry woman when we first meet her. Why? Because her younger brother Dong-hyeon (Park Bo-geom), is at the club again preparing to enter a B-Boy dance competition with his friends. See, he promised to stop this hip-hop dancing and yet here he is about to shake his groove thing again and Soo-ah ain't havin' it! She drags him out of the club, going so far as to handcuff him to the handle on the inside of her van so he doesn't try to run off. The two are arguing during the drive home, with Dong-hyeon reaching for the handcuff keys and Soo-ah trying to stop him. You get the picture...this is not what you should be doing while driving. Sure enough, they get in a pretty horrible accident, where the van is left teetering on the side of the freeway overpass and Soo-ah thrown from the van, laying bloody in the road. Dong-hyeon cries out for his sister's help, but she's unable to make her way to him, her vision horribly impaired. The van tips over the side and a truck crashes into it, ensuring Dong-hyeon's death. The two were family, but not by blood, as they were both raised in the same orphanage. Time passes and we see Soo-ah trying to adjust to her new life as a visually impaired person, with her seeing eye dog Seul-ki. The police station can't employ Soo-ah again, and they claim it has nothing to do with her eyesight, or lack thereof, but more of the fact that she used handcuffs on her brother, resulting in his death. Basically, life is pretty bad for her right now. We oversee/overhear on the news that there is a killer on the loose, taking young woman at night and doing unspeakable things to them. When Soo-ah is waiting for a taxi home one night, she gets in the cab and soon realizes that the driver's (Yang Yeong-jo), behavior is quite abnormal. He says he'll take Soo-ah home even though she doesn't have enough money for the deluxe cab fare. Nice, but a little sketchy. He's persistent on giving her a complimentary coffee and having her drink it. Weird and suspicious. The cab smells like sterilizer. Just weird. While trying to get Soo-ah to drink the coffee, he's not watching where he's going and hits a woman crossing the road. He tells Soo-ah he hit a dog, but when he gets out of the cab, he puts the woman's body in the trunk. Soo-ah is certain he didn't hit a dog and the driver becomes aware that she's onto him. He tries to attack her but Soo-ah is able to fight him off long enough, because another car starts to show up and the crazy dude drives off, leaving Soo-ah on the side of the road.

Soo-ah speaks to the police and tries to convince them that just because she's blind, it doesn't mean she can't give them valuable information. Inspector Cho (Jo Hee-bong), decides to give her the benefit of the doubt and hears her out. Also, a young man Gi-seob (Yoo Seung-ho), comes forward claiming that he saw the accident that night but the information he gives Inspector Cho conflicts with the information provided by Soo-ah. Meanwhile, this killer is still on the loose, taking young women, torturing and killing them. To make matters worse, he's aware that Gi-seob saw him that night and he also has Soo-ah's contact information from that fateful night in the taxi. Soo-ah and Gi-seob can't seem to get along, but they both need to work together because the killer is out there and knows how to find them. Can Inspector Cho help these two get along and put all the pieces together in order to catch this psychopath? 

How about that for a premise!? A visually impaired young woman, with some police training, has to work alongside a young punk and a somewhat bumbling inspector in order to catch a deranged killer. Blind gives us a far-fetched premise but presents it in a way that seems somewhat plausible. That's something I can always appreciate in a film. Even if I'm expected to not believe what's going on, try and make me believe it. I tend to appreciate the effort. Take your material seriously and I'll try to take it seriously. You get what I'm saying. You know I love Kim Ha-neul at this point, and for me, she doesn't disappoint here. She does quite a respectable job playing someone with a visual handicap. It never comes across as phony or laughable, so kudos to her for that. She's proven time and time again that she has great range and isn't just the comedic actress she started off as. Jo Hee-bong, I found out, wasn't always an actor and got his start as a stuntman. I have to say, he does quite well here as a goofy, but charming, detective that you root for. Yang Yeong-jo, as the nutty killer Myeong-jin, is excellent at playing an angry, demented lunatic. This guy is really intense and does at a great job at creating that intense air in a scene where you have no idea when or how he's going to snap. You see this dude, you know something's going down. Speaking of which, there are some really intense scenes in Blind, especially one involving the subway system and what felt like a great commercial for the use of Apple's iPhone. Soo-ah and Gi-seob use their iPhone's in this scene involving Myeong-jin and it's not only intense, but pretty darn cool too. That being said, I did have some gripes with Blind. My biggest problem was that while Myeong-jin was great at playing this incredibly driven killer, he was also damn-near unstoppable. I mean this guy was like the Terminator at times and it had me thinking on more than one occasion, "ummm, what the...? how is he not dead!? He is just human right?" I was also annoyed at how, yet again, the police force come across as incompetent nitwits. I find this more of a problem with Korean films as-of-late, more than as a problem with just this film.

Blind is a suspense-thriller that hits all the marks in most cases. The characters are likeable, the villain is detestable and there are some real nail-biting moments. Some ideas are far-fetched, but this is a movie for crying out loud. Suspend some disbelief, sit back and firmly grip the side of your chair. Now you're ready to watch! (Lee)

Grade: B

 

Haunters (Korea 2010)

Oh man. You know those times when you read about a movie and start developing expectations for it and then the cold, hard hand of reality smacks those expectations to the dirt? Well I really set myself up for disappointment with Haunters (초능력자) aka Psychic (which is ridiculous because his abilities aren't even psychic abilities). However, if I were psychic, I could've seen beforehand what a pile of garbage I'd soon be watching. Sorry, I couldn't help myself.

1991. Cho-in (Yang Kyeong-mo), a boy with a wooden leg and gauze over his eyes, is being dragged through the rain by his mother. His mother explains that he isn't to take the gauze off of his eyes and that he should just trust her. The boy's insanely abusive father comes home swearing and starts beating the boys mother. Fed up, the boy removes his gauze and suddenly we see the man under the boy's control and he deals with his father accordingly. This kid is anything but normal. 2010. Im Gyoo-nam (Ko Soo), is working at a junkyard with his best friends Ali (Enes Kaya) and Boba (Abu Dod), but soon finds himself out of work after he's involved in an accident which lays him up at the hospital. Looking for a new job, Gyoo-nam answers a help-wanted ad at Utopia, a pawn shop run by Jeong-sik (Byeon Hee-bong). Happy in his new position at Utopia, Gyoo-nam seems to be without a care in the world until Cho-in (Kang Dong-won), walks through the door and puts everyone in freeze-mode with his magic eyes...everyone but Gyoo-nam that is. Cho-in can't believe that he's finally run into someone invulnerable to his abilities after all these years. Seems our super-powered figure has been using his ability to rob various shops of their money. He's abnormal and not a good guy. Double whammy. Gyoo-nam tries to fight off Cho-in but during the melee, Gyoo-nam's boss Jeong-sik is killed. Gyoo-nam feels like he's let his boss down and is having a hard time forgiving himself, so with the help of his two goofy, foreign friends, he aims to hunt down Cho-in and bring him to justice.

Well, that was certainly one of the shorter synopsis' that I've written up for a movie. That's probably because almost nothing happens in Haunters. I could tell you that this movie is chock-full of spoiled potential but that would probably just depress you even more. The opening of the film, showing a bit of Cho-in's back-story, looks really good and you think you're in for a really cool, sci-fi/fantasy film with a sharp, glossy look to it. However, after the movie places us in 2010 that all goes out the window. Suddenly the movie looks incredibly low-budget, as if it were made in the 1990's. Not only does it all look different, but everything feels different as if you're watching a completely different movie. The acting is very comedic, which I'm sure was unintentional, but Haunters feels like something you'd catch on a cable network at 2:30 in the morning. We all know that Kang Dong-won is better than this (see: Secret Reunion, Jeon Woo Chi), but here it seems that he's simply dialing it in and collecting that paycheck. His character has zero depth and we really don't ever get to find out what his motivation is for being "evil". Ko Soo and his cohorts are fine enough characters...in a different movie, but here they just feel out of place and Ko Soo's heroics seem to come out of nowhere because he's never perceived as anything but bumbling beforehand. I place a lot of the blame on writer/director Kim Min-suk for Haunters being as big of a mess as it is. Everything feels so unbalanced, from the acting, to the score, down to the abysmal dialogue and inconsistent look. I have to also point out that either Cho-in is terrible at being a villain and using his abilities, or Gyoo-nam is just this insanely lucky guy that can't be brought down. The latter being a bit of a spoiler, but it never gets explained. I always keep my reviews spoiler-free but I have to go on record as saying the ending to Haunters makes zero-sense. Just another hash-mark in the tally of missteps this film goes through.

If the previous paragraph didn't give away my thoughts on Haunters, well then let me make myself even more clear; this is a terrible movie. It can be viewed as amateur at best, but even that would be generous as there are no redeeming qualities to be found here. I never bash movies just for the sake of bashing, but goodness me, I can assure you these harsh comments are not without warrant. (Lee)

Grade: F

71 Into The Fire (Korea 2009)

I've said it time and time again (but who's listening), war is hell, and 71 Into The Fire (포화 속으로) is yet another film that drives that point home. What's different this time around is the perspective in which we view the atrocities of war; through the eyes of teenagers. That can't be right...can it?

It's 1950 and the Korean war is in full effect with the North making it's advances. A unit of South Korean soldiers, led by Kang Seok-dae (Kim Seung-woo), are feeling the pressure and are in constant retreat. With limited resources at their disposal, Seok-dae recruits as many fresh bodies as he can which is where our 71 teenage students come into picture. The 71 students are thrown right into the mess of things (hence the title of the film), with Oh Jang-beom (Big Bang's Choi Seong-hyeon), put in place as the acting commander of his fellow students, because he's the only one with actual battle experience. Reluctantly left in charge of a varied group of misfits and troubled, inexperienced youth, with Koo Kap-jo (Kwon Sang-woo) being the biggest pain in the butt and murderer no less, Jang-beom must muster up the courage to hold down the fort at an abandoned middle school with his comrades to keep the North from advancing. Sounds like a pretty tall order for any of us, let alone being a teenager and having never really handled a rifle before. The group of North Koreans pushing forward are led by General Park Moo-rang (Cha Seung-won), who is as cool as can be and seems completely battle-hardened. Jang-beom tries against all odds to keep his troop together, but Seok-dae and his two goofball buddies have their own agenda and refuse to take orders from our young commander. So with limited weaponry and unruly subordinates, will Jang-beom be able to rally the troops in time to effectively stop the advancing North Korea troops? Or will General Park's men be far too much for these kids to take on? And where the hell is Seok-dae with the backup!?

Premise alone, 71 Into the Fire might sound like a campy, almost comedic take on the war-film genre. However, don't be fooled dear reader as this is indeed a serious film with plenty of blood sprayed across your screen. I suppose it just seems unheard of to most of us to picture teenagers having to lock and load and go to battle with basically no battle experience. However, desperate times call for desperate measures and the Korean war was certainly such a time for many. That being said, let's get down to business. The first half of the film left me mostly unimpressed for a number of reasons. The story is super basic stuff. Northern troops on the move, but Southern troops, teenagers mind you, block their path. However, director Lee Jae-han said, "hey, let's stretch this premise out to two hours shall we?", unnecessarily. Let's shorten some of these scenes...tighten it up people! The action really looks amazing though, I will say that much. If you love explosions, gunfire, slow-motion and people catching rounds with their bodies, then 71 Into the Fire delivers the goods.

Try as I might, I couldn't get past the fact that our young commander was played by a singing and dancing pretty boy, Big Bang's T.O.P., as he's known. Smudging a little mud on the cheeks doesn't exactly make him look like a tough guy. I didn't want to just write him off and as the film went along I did enjoy the journey his character took, from quiet and intimidated to a guy that could lead his fellow men into battle. I warmed up to him but ultimately Choi Seung-hyeon lacked the charisma that takes a lead to another level which made him feel one-note. Oh, what's this!? Another pretty boy, Kwon Sang-woo, playing the bad-boy role yet again? Alas, I really had issues with his character. He's introduced to us as a murderer on his way to juvenile detention but they keep him around because hey, he has a bone to pick with the North Koreans that killed his parents and the South needs soldiers. Sounds like a deal! Add the fact that he's as difficult as can be and altogether obnoxious and you have a character that you roll your eyes at everytime he's on screen because you know what to expect from him. There was some retribution for him later on in the film but it felt like a case of too-little, too-late. The real stand-out performance for me was the North Korean General, Park Moo-rang. This guy was hardcore the minute you saw him and remained that way throughout. Nothing ruffles his feathers and he just made being a bad guy look cool. Job well done I say. The cast of young soldiers were very affecting and there were times where I was genuinely moved by the madness they were all experiencing and the sadness they were conveying. This supporting cast, far too numerous to credit here, were effective and helped in creating a realistic atmosphere.

Let's be honest, the really touching thing about 71 Into the Fire is that it's based on a true story and the actions of these 71 kids that slowed down the North for eleven hours, thus giving the US and South Korean troops an advantage with a counterattack. With that in mind, I believe the filmmakers succeeded in making the importance of that fact clear and while I question some of the casting choices and felt they could've snipped a few minutes here and there, the end result is a mostly successful and ultimately touching look at the unlikeliest of heroes. (Lee)

Grade: B -

Hansel & Gretel (Korea 2007)

One of the best examples of wasted opportunity, Hansel & Gretel (헨젤과 그레텔) is by and large one of the biggest cinematic disappointments for me in recent memory. What could have been, never was and the end result is a flat-out boring film. Shame really.

Eun-soo (Cheon Jeong-myeong) is on his way to visit his mother when he takes his eyes off the road and ends up wrecking his car into a ditch. When he awakes, he finds himself wandering lost into a forest where no one is around and the sun is starting to go down. Out of nowhere a young girl, Yeong-hee (Sim Eun-keyong), comes out of the darkness and greets him warmly, inviting the injured Eun-soo to her home. Once at the home, Eun-soo meets the Yeong-hee's parents and two siblings, Man-bok (Eun Won-jae) and Jeong-soon (Jin Ji-hee). The family lives in an incredibly charming home that appears to be straight out of a fairy tale. However, Eun-soo starts to become skeptical about his new hosts after the parents nervously comment about how they have no phone service for him a call. Eun-soo stays the night and takes notice of other strange things around the house, such as the fact that they only eat sweets and that the television seems to be working without even being plugged in. He tries to leave the home but the family keeps making excuses as to why he shouldn't, all the while the parents act as if they're afraid of their children and what they may do. The children begin to take a liking to Eun-soo after their parents go missing and ask for him to stay and take care of them. Eun-soo resists and continues his snoop around the premises and struggles to escape. He eventually discovers that every adult that has ever come into this home has met a terrible fate and he's afraid that he'll be next. These innocent-looking children aren't what they appear to be and Eun-soo fights to keep them happy while working to discover the secret to this home and these children.

So what you can gather from my quick synopsis is that the house and the children are big red flags in Eun-soo's life, however, unlike every other site, I refuse to tell you exactly what is going on with these kids in this house. That's the big secret of the movie and I refuse to ruin that for you. Suffice to say, it's a pretty cool premise once you find out what it is. Let me get this out of the way, Hansel & Gretel is one of the most visually-stunning Korean movies I've seen in a long time. Director/actor Park Hee-soon (who also plays the horrible Deacon in the film) does a great job in creating this fantastical looking environment within the home, it's grounds and the style of the children. It truly does look like something out of a children's book. I do enjoy the fact that they take a bright and colorful world and spin it in a very dark direction as it makes for an engaging contrast. However, the problem is with the pacing of the story. This is a big problem because the movie is around the 2 hour mark and to be honest, not a lot happens and when it does it's too few and far between. The film follow Eun-soo on a daily basis, keeping the viewer informed with on-screen text (day 1, day 2, etc.), and at times it feels like you've been watching the movie for days. I guess the biggest problem for me was that I was under the impression this was an actual horror/dark remake of the traditional Hansel & Gretel story, so if you thought that, get the idea out of your head because it simply borrows ideas here and there. The story they come up with is alright and the villains (Park Lydia and Park Hee-soon) are truly evil and are also the most engaging characters in the movie. On another note, I typically hate child actors in television, movies, etc., but the three siblings in this film are actually quite good and were very convincing in their roles. However, Eun-soo's character annoyed the crap out of me. There was nothing remotely endearing about his character and I didn't find myself rooting for him to get out of that house. Not a good thing if you're the protagonist of the film. I know a lot of people enjoyed this movie, got high marks and was generally highly-regarded in Korea, but my God I simply don't see it.

Maybe my expectations were shot because they were so unrealistic, but expectations aside, Hansel & Gretel was still a bore. Two thumbs up for the look of the film, which I guess is only worth something if you watch it on mute. (Lee)

Grade: D-

Rough Cut (Korea 2008)

The line between reality and fantasy are crossed in Rough Cut (영화는 영화다), a film that really asks it's audience to suspend disbelief in order to be entertained. That being said, if you can keep that in mind, this film can be quite entertaining indeed.

Gang-pae (So Ji-sub) is a rough-around-the-edges gang boss who's real dream in life has always been to be an actor. He admires the work of one of the biggest leading men in the industry, Soo-ta (Kang Ji-hwan), who fills every stereotype you can imagine pertaining to a stuck-up, entitled celebrity. Soo-ta is having a difficult time as of late because of his short-temper which resulted in him actually hitting one of his fellow co-stars. Now he has the paparazzi all over him and he's even beginning to lose some of his sponsorships. A chance encounter, where Gang-pae requests Soo-ta's autograph results in Gang-pae getting an idea of the type of person Soo-ta really is: a jerk. However disrespected, Gang-pae remains professional (whatever that means in the world of gangs) and shrugs off the encounter with Soo-ta. However, as things get worse for Soo-ta on the set of his movie, he realizes that the film isn't going to come out nearly as realistic as he'd like it to be, so he remembers Gang-pae's desire to become an actor. Gang-pae agrees to help out Soo-ta in his desperate time of need, but as his new official rival in the film he requests that all of the action must be real, including the fights. Soo-ta reluctantly agrees, much to the dismay of director Bong (Ko Chang-seok), because he realizes how much he needs this movie to succeed in order to become favorable with the studio and his audience again. As filming progresses however, the line between reality and film making begin to cross as Gang-pae's dangerous world refuses to take a back seat for his new hobby. Is it too late for Soo-ta to rebuild his image? And can Gang-pae really leave his life as a gangster behind him?

First things first, the premise of this film is quite absurd, because in what reality would a movie studio be willing to employ a "real" gangster in their film for the sake of realism? I'm sure it would not happen here in Hollywood, but I'm accepting the fact that it's a movie, or maybe I don't understand the behind-the-scenes aspect of Korean film making that well. Regardless, it just seems silly in a movie where everything is taken quite seriously to having such an odd element for the story. Premise aside, the acting in Rough Cut is actually quite excellent. Set aside the fact that Soo-ta is the biggest jerk you'll ever see, because that is the nature of his character, but Kang Ji-hwan plays it excellently. I particularly enjoyed So Ji-sub's performance as a man caught between the world he lives in and the world he dreams of. His desire is a great underlying piece in the film that brings out the most emotion in Rough Cut, because you really get a sense of how much he wants to act, but his circumstances don't seem to allow it. There are also some genuinely tense moments when you know that all of the action is "real" and you wonder how far the parties involved are willing to go.

There is a lot of good things going on in Rough Cut, and the performances are what help put it above the "average" label. Again, the story is a little bit out there but manages to be intriguing at times, and the general seriousness of the character's surroundings make it all worth watching. Well worth your time. (Lee)

Grade: B+

Venus and Mars (Korea 2007)

With a name referring to just how different men and women are, Venus and Mars (싸움), shows us the extremes people are willing to go to when relationships don't work out as planned. The world of marriage and divorce has never looked so ugly.

Jin-ha (Kam Tae-hee), and Sang-min (Seol Keyong-gu), have officially called it quits after two years of being married. It's safe to assume that things didn't work out between them, and in their case, it really didn't work out, because these two simply cannot stand each other. Sang-min is working at a university teaching entomology, and Jin-ha is working as a glassblower, trying to start her own line of glassware products with her best friend Hyang-mi (Jeon Soo-kyeong). With the distaste these two have for one another, there would be no other reason for them to come into contact, except for the fact that Sang-min has obsessive compulsive disorder. After the seperation, they decided that it would be best to just split everything 50-50, and Jin-ha ended up with the pendulum for the clock that Sang-min bought while on vacation in Europe. Sang-min's OCD about his missing pendulum drives him insane to the point where he meets with Jin-ha in order to get it back. However, their reunion doesn't go so well and soon the two are screaming at each other, with Jing-ha refusing to give him back the pendulum because she knows it means so much to him. Sang-min can't stand Jin-ha for her stubbornness, and the fact that she won't give his pendulum back, and Jin-ha hates Sang-min because he can never admit he's at fault and refuses to apologize for anything. Clearly, there is a lot of pent up resentment here. When Jin-ha get's her big break marketing her products on the Korean Home Shopping Network, Sang-min ruins the opportunity by faking his involvement in a car accident. These two go back and forth with their screaming matches, and attempts at hurting one another, with Jin-ha even going so far as to run Sang-min's car into an oncoming train. So fed up with the behavior she's exuding, Jin-ha finally agrees to give Sang-min his pendulum back. Before they meet, so she can give it to him, the two are speaking on the phone when Jin-ha yells out that her workplace is on fire. Sang-min assumes that she's pulling a fast one on him, as he did to her, but her situation is all too real. When these two meet again, face-to-face, they finally have a chance to let out of their emotions, but is it enough to mend the history, and the relationship they once shared together?

Venus and Mars shows the ugliness of people coping with a divorce. It obviously isn't a pleasant thing to experience, and it can make even the best of people show their worst side. The general theme of the movie is pondering the question, "how can two people that love each other so much, end up hating each other to the point where they'd do anything to hurt them?". I can understand having feelings of resentment towards the person you split with, but Kim Tae-hee and Seol Kyeong-gu are absolutely insane in this movie. These two are so psychotic, they make marriage look like the last thing you would want to do simply because of the possibility of divorce. All that aside, there are some entertaining parts in the film, mostly when these two are trying to kill each. The problem is, that's pretty much all these two do the entire time. It's basically an hour and a half of screaming, fighting, and not much more. There is a lot of emotion on display, and both actors definitely deliver it, but it all gets really old after awhile.

I can't say I recommend Venus and Mars, mostly because there isn't a lot that happens. I'm not saying you have to have a busy story to keep things entertaining, but you have to have something. There simply isn't enough meat on these bones to keep it satisfying. Fine performances, but nothing more. (Lee)

Grade: D

 

Truck (Korea 2008)

An edge-of-your seat, high-suspense thrill ride...OK, maybe that's being a little too "Hollywood" in it's description, but Truck (트럭), aside from the ridiculously bland name, actually does a good job of fitting that description.

Truck driver Jeong Cheol-min (Yoo Hae-jin), leads a simple life as a single, widowed father to his seven-year old daughter Da-yeong (Lee Joon-ha). His daughter is his whole world, and it appears that he wouldn't have it any other way. Sadly, his daughter has a hereditary heart defect that ensures that she can't over-exert herself in a physical manner. It's work as usual for Cheol-min until he gets a phone call from his mother saying that Da-yeong had collapsed on the playground and is now in urgent care at the hospital. The doctor, unfortunately, has no good news for Cheol-min, as he informs him that he'll need to come up with $60,000 so that they can go forward with the heart surgery she so desperately needs. Immediately, Cheol-min does everything he can, from cleaning out his savings, to borrowing from loan sharks, in order to collect the money he needs. Still coming up short, an acquaintance of his tells him about a high-stakes poker game that he can get in on, and that he'll also help Cheol-min win big by giving him signals to let him know when to bet more. The game doesn't end up as planned and Cheol-min loses all of his money, chasing after the man who took it all. He ends up busting in on a gang boss (Kim Joon-bae), who murdered a room full of people. The bosses thugs explain the situation with the poker game and the boss gives Cheol-min an opportunity that will let him keep his truck and the winnings. Cheol-min must dispose of the corpses that the boss and his gang load into the back of the truck. Reluctant and afraid, Cheol-min begins his drive to a lake in the middle of the country where he hopes the bodies will never be found. Along the way, he sees a police transport vehicle wrecked, laying on it's side on the side of the road, and everyone inside is dead. It turns out the police were transporting serial killer Kim Yeong-ho (Jin Goo), and now he's nowhere to be found. After picking up Yeong-ho, disguised as a police officer, Cheol-min is unaware that he's assisting a serial killer in his escape. It's not long before Cheol-min discovers the true identity of his passenger, but due to the contents of his truck load, involving the police isn't an option. What does Yeong-ho want with Cheol-min? And will Cheol-min complete his mission in order to save his daughters life?

Writing up that "synopsis", I realized just how much is going on in Truck. It seems like almost enough just to have Cheol-min transporting countless dead bodies to be dumped in order to save his daughter, but that wasn't enough for the filmmakers. They threw in a serial killer storyline just to amp things up, and it actually works. There is genuine suspense in the interactions between Cheol-min and Yeong-ho. Unfortunately, sometimes inconvenient things happen for the main characters a little too conveniently. There's always a cop at the wrong time, or a roadblock with police checking out vehicles for instance. But it all makes for some intense moments and can be easily overlooked by simply wanting to see what happens next. The acting is excellent, especially from Yoo Hae-jin, and Jin Goo plays a suitably creepy serial killer in convincing fashion. It has to be said, young Lee Joon-ha is absolutely adorable.

I honestly didn't expect much from Truck, mostly because of the title. However, in a movie where the name is about as unimaginative as it gets, the actual imagination shown in the storyline is surprisingly good. Truck really is a great suspense-thriller that will have you engaged until the very end. (Lee)

Grade: A-

 

Almost Love (Korea 2006)

The super-duo from My Tutor Friend, Kim Ha-neul and Kwan Sang-woo, are back in Almost Love (청춘만화). Is it as good as their first pairing together? Of course not, and not many Korean romantic comedies are. A sharp turn into the melodramatic keeps this one from being a complete success...oh so close.

Ji Hwan (Kwan Sang-woo), is an aspiring stuntman who emulates his lifestyle, and look, after that of the legendary action-star Jackie Chan. His best friend since childhood, Dal-rae (Kim Ha-neul), also aspires to enter the world of entertainment as an actress. The two friends know more about each other than anyone else in the world and it shows. They have the best times together and they also can get on each others nerves better than anyone, and Ji Hwan definitely loves driving Dal-rae crazy. The textbook definition of best friends. Dal-rae begins dating Young-hoon (Lee Sang-woo), who is a friend and fellow Taekwondo teammate of Ji Hwan. It's soon apparent that three can definitely be a crowd when they all hang out together, because Young-hoon can't help but notice that no matter how hard he tries, he will never know and understand Dal-rae as good as Ji Hwan does. It isn't all bad though as Dal-rae, after countless failed auditions, lands her first acting gig, and Ji Hwan finally gets his big break pulling off the main stunt in a major film. Things couldn't be better for the two in a professional sense, and naturally they look forward to telling each other about their success. However, they aren't able to savor their achievements when personal tragedy strikes Ji Hwan. What happens is so incredibly huge that Ji Hwan can't even bear to face his friends and family and disappears on a year-long soul search. Dal-rae, Young-hoon, and Ji Hwans father (Jeong Gyoo-soo), are frustrated at his disapperance, but try their best to understand what he's going through. Ji Hwan must come to terms with the new life that awaits him if he wants to see his loved ones again. Is his bond with Dal-rae strong enough to bring him home?

Make no mistake about it, the on-screen pairing of Kim Ha-neul and Kwan Sang-woo is cinema gold. These two have proven they have entertaining chemistry together and it's clearly evident in Almost Love as well. That being said, the issues I have with the movie have nothing to do with the competency, or quality, of the actors, but more so in the brick wall of melodrama that the story crashes into. The first half of the movie is romantic-comedy all the way, and it does that just fine. After the personal tragedy for Kwan Sang-woo's character, the second half of the movie turns into a melodrama, thereby making the movie feel like two separate genres, and almost two separate movies...almost. However, the relationship between our two protagonists is so strong, and so well built, that even through the sudden change in the story, they manage to keep things entertaining, engaging, and even very touching.

Almost Love is an unbalanced affair, but still a very worthwhile viewing experience. Most will watch this one for it's two main stars, and that's really who this film is for. That target audience of fans should be more than pleased. (Lee)

Grade: C+

 

My Wife Is A Gangster 2 (Korea 2003)

The sequel to the highly-enjoyable My Wife is a Gangster, My Wife is a Gangster 2: The Return Fable (조폭 마누라 2 : 돌아온 전설), sadly, isn't nearly as entertaining as the first. However, Sin Eun-kyeong, as our beloved protagonist, is still interesting to watch. It's everything you would expect from a sequel...which isn't much.

Gang boss Cha Eun-jin (Sin Eun-kyeong) is up to her usual activity when the film kicks off with a major rooftop brawl with her gang mixing it up with another group of thugs. During the melee, Eun-jin is knocked off the roof of the building and is, understandably, knocked senseless. A very drunk Yoon Jae-choi (Park Joon-gyu), notices Eun-jin laying in the gutter and ends up carrying her off to his neighborhood where he runs a small Chinese restaurant. Eun-jin's crew assume the worst, and every attempt to contact their boss doesn't seem to pan out, yet they continue to search for her. Why the police aren't involved in the search is anyone's guess, but I imagine gangsters don't work with the police on any level. Regardless, the story picks up months later, and Eun-jin is working as a delivery girl for Jae-choi at the Chinese restaurant with no memory of her former gangster life. Jae-choi is aware of the fact that she doesn't remember a thing, but she's so good at deliveries, even going so far as to invent a delivery box for serving, that he is in no hurry to help her regain her memory. Eun-jin genuinely seems to be happy with her new life, working and living with her new boss and his teenage daughter. However, little-by-little, Eun-jin begins to piece parts of her former life together, not to mention the fact that she really knows how to fight, when new situations in her life bring out that side of her. White Shark, the gangster whom I believe is from part one, returns, albeit it with a new wig and vocoder on his throat. He plans to finally seek revenge against Eun-jin, and even though she can't remember who he is, White Sharks threats against her and her bosses family prove enough in getting her to take action.

Sequels...what can I say? Love 'em or hate 'em, they can either be seen as a genuine extension of a story created in part one, or simply as a way to cash in on the name. My Wife is a Gangster 2 unfortunately falls into the latter category. As much as I enjoyed certain aspects about this film, it just couldn't match up to the level of it's predecessor. The biggest smack in the face comes from the fact that Eun-jin's husband from part one is nowhere to be found in this film, and they don't even mention him, so you're left wondering what became of his character. Park Joon-gyu, serving as the male comedy relief this time around, does an admirable job filling those shoes, but it definitely isn't the same feeling that Park Sang-myeon provided. It's a shame he was written off. The relationship of the characters is completely different this time around, and when you have a character as cool as Eun-jin is, that isn't necessarily a good thing. She's definitely more amusing in part two, but I missed her character from the first film. That isn't to say that everyone will feel the same as I do, because these changes might please a lot of viewers out there, but it just wasn't my cup of tea. For example, White Shark, while feeling like an actual villain and threat in part one, was portrayed as an incompetent goofball in the sequel. It's creative decisions like this that take away from the feeling and overall vibe created in the first film, ultimately making it feel like an unbalanced sequel.

There are laughs and good times to be had in My Wife is a Gangster 2, but like most sequels, as a whole, it isn't as good as the first. It feels more light-hearted than it's predecessor and that could be an intentional move by the filmmakers, but for me, it took the series in the wrong direction. If you loved the first one, by all means check part two out, but by all means, lower your expectations. (Lee)

Grade: B-

 

My Wife is a Gangster review

My Wife is a Gangster 3 review