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+

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

 

Perfect Blue (Japan 1997)

It's certainly not the first anime film to do so, but Perfect Blue (パーフェクトブル) is a perfect (pun intended?) example of how animation can convey very real subject matter in an effective way. It's also a pretty good example of not all cartoons being suitable for children. Duh.

Mima (Junko Iwao) is a member of the J-pop trio CHAM! and enjoys a certain amount of success from being arguably the most popular of the group. However, fame and success isn't always as satisfying and fulfilling as it appears to be for us outsiders, and such is the case for Mima. What she really wants to do is to quit singing in an idol group and be taken seriously as an actress. We've all seen that happen with plenty of stars, but it turns out things aren't that easy and making that transition proves to be quite the challenge for Mima and her manager Rumi (Rica Matsumoto). Nevertheless, Rumi gets Mima a small part on a crime-drama called, "Double Bind", and through her perseverance and general likability, she eventually secures herself a larger role. So while things are starting to look good on Mima's end, not everyone is happy about her leaving CHAM! She receives a fax labeling her a traitor and on occasion we see a rather homely looking individual who appears to be stalking Mima. This dude is everywhere she is! The biggest issue coming from those labeling her as a traitor seems to the be the fact that Mima's taken on a complete image overhaul. Her role in, "Double Bind", puts her in provocative situations and I suppose they're angry that her innocence is lost. Listen, I'm trying to think like one of these lunatics okay? Anyway, Mima stumbles across a website (which, keep in mind, was the early days of the internet), called, "Mima's Room", and it eerily details her day-to-day activities in journal format. The only problem, and this is a biggie, is that Mima's not doing the writing. Yeah, creepy stalker alert! As you can imagine, Mima's anxiety and general paranoia of obsessive fans escalates ten-fold and she's constantly looking over her shoulder when she steps outside. She tries her best to keep up with her work responsibilities, which include seductive photo-shoots and questionable acting scenes. The next thing you know, the people associated with tarnishing Mima's image start turning up dead. This just puts Mima in a more vulnerable position, mentally and emotionally and pretty soon she finds herself not being able to differentiate between reality and fantasy. The girl is losing her mind...rightfully so. Is there anyone left that Mima can trust? Who else will turn up dead? Can she find away to snap out of her spiral of madness before it's too late!?

If you couldn't tell by now, Perfect Blue, from renowned anime director Satoshi Kon (may he R.I.P.) is a straight-up psychological thriller that doesn't pull any punches with how it presents it's content. Some have said it's "graphic" at times, I would simply tell those people to stop being sissies. Sure there are some edgy scenes best meant for the 17 and over crowd, but it's nothing you probably haven't seen before in an R-rated movie. The animation itself is top-notch in my opinion. I'm a big fan of Satoshi Kon's style and if I'd seen this movie back when it was released in 1997, it probably would've made my head explode. I mean that in a good way. This movie is all about Mima for the most part and for better or worse the film has a bit of tunnel vision. Meaning that she is the focal point and the movie doesn't really branch out from her. For me, she's not a particularly engaging character, but thankfully the circumstances around her are. Kon and company also do a good job at creating a frightening world of paranoia and a feeling of isolation and just how unsettling that can be. However, when Mima starts to lose her mind, things don't only get a bit muddled for her, but they did for me as well. It's bit difficult trying to follow exactly what's happening, what's real and what's not. If you don't pay attention, you could easily get lost. To their credit though, this confusion doesn't go on for too long before things get clear again. While I didn't find anything to be particularly surprising in terms of story-telling (including the ending), I did find the revelations, and the way in which things played out, satisfying.

Perfect Blue might not seem like anything revolutionary these days, but I imagine that for it's time it was pretty extreme. Fourteen years later I'd have to say that it holds up quite well as a complete package. It's dark, edgy, not without it's flaws, but most importantly it's fairly well-executed. Check this one out, but I wouldn't recommend it for family movie night. (Lee)

Grade: B

Guilty Akuma to Keiyakushita Onna (J-Drama 2010)

Well hello again boys and girls, I've returned with a review for the Japanese drama series, Guilty Akuma to Keiyakushita Onna (ギルティ 悪魔と契約した女 ). It's dark, over-the-top at times, people are killed and hearts are broken. Wow, sounds like everything I'm looking for in a J-drama, yet it somehow still misses the mark. Sad face.

For the sake of this review, I'm going to proceed by referring to this drama as just Guilty because the title is too darn long. Airing on Fuji TV from Oct 2010 to Dec 2010, Guilty is 11 episodes of fairly engaging television. Nogami Meiko (Kanno Miho) is a dog groomer at an upscale pet-salon. Her life seems ordinary enough...hell, she seems ordinary enough, however reality is never as clear-cut as it appears to be. Meiko has a dark side in which she seeks revenge against those responsible for falsely imprisoning her when she was 19. She "allegedly" killed her brother-in-law and nephew with a poisoned chocolate cake, which in turn made her mother practically disown her. The chick is a total loner as a result. Now we also have Detective Mashima Takuro (Tamaki Hiroshi), who constantly walks around with a look on his face like, "I cannot be bothered". He's on the hunt for his boss, Miwa Shuhei (Moro Morooka), a man that Mashima looks up to, who has disappeared without a trace. His new boss, Ukita Hajime (Yoshida Kotaro), is pretty hard on Mashima and wants him to get his act together. Mashima also has a co-worker/ex-girlfriend, Kichise Michiko (Enomoto Mari), on his case about him returning to his former self. So why is Mashima so down? Well, turns out that his younger, inexperienced partner from years past was murdered by a madman named Mizuguchi (Kanai Yuta), while the two of them were hunting him down. He's never forgiven himself for letting his junior die while he stood by helplessly. Makes sense.

Detective Mashima. (Yes, he always looks like this)

Throughout the series, Meiko plays Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by having her normal life at the pet salon and eating her revenge-seeking cake too. She contacts the guilty parties one-by-one and basically demands that they atone for their crimes with their lives. So technically she's not a murderer if they kill themselves right? Well, she finds a way in each case to make suicide seem like the best option for these unsavory individuals. Eventually, Mashima runs into a pattern with these suicides and deduces that Meiko seems like the most likely of suspects. He's assisted by this crazy, homeless, fallen-from-grace journalist Dojima (Karasawa Toshiaki). The guy may look like he's in need of a shower, but that's because he knows how to dig up some dirt. Yeah, that was clever. Sure, focusing on Meiko takes his attention away from the search for Miwa, but they have to stop this string of suicides. It's making the police look bad! Mashima buddies up, undercover-style with Meiko by leading her to believe he's a software engineer. The two of them eventually develop a nice friendship in which they start to feel as if they each, finally, have someone they can confide in. Meanwhile, chief Ukita is up to shenanigans and isn't exactly the upstanding officer we all thought he was. Could it be he knows more about Miwa's disappearance than he's leading on? Where the hell is Miwa anyway? Will Mashima discover the truth about Meiko and will it make a difference in how he feels for her? Can Meiko finally find peace after years of distrust and anger (rightfully so) and will she find out Mashima's true identity? Oh the questions!

Meiko Nogami. (I'm going to kill you! I mean...make you kill yourself!)

Believe you me, you'll find out the answers to all of these questions. Are you going to like how everything plays out? Well, that depends on how picky you are. I personally had a few issues with the way things played out in Guilty. I'm a huge fan of Miho Kanno and she was my main motivation for watching this series. Not surprisingly, I found her performance to be as spot-on as she always is, but most importantly, I enjoyed seeing her play a darker role than I'm used to. Having her as a scorned, fragile woman seeking revenge was pretty sweet. Tamaki Hiroshi's Mashima character was alright I suppose, but he was really dramatic most of the time. I know that sounds strange, because this is a drama, but I mean this guy just seemed bothered by everything, and I do mean everything. After a while his constant brooding and inability to smile got on my nerves. The hobo-journalist Dojima, while being interesting to look at and amusing at times, seemed a bit out of place in the dark, serious world of the drama. Ukita is a solid villain and certainly has a face and personality that make you want to punch him. The real focal point throughout the series though is the relationship between Mashima and Meiko and watching how it develops as she continues on her quest for revenge and he tries to sort out his feelings. Sure, you want to find out who really set up Meiko all those years ago and figure out where Miwa is and why he disappeared in the first place. That's all interesting enough. However, by the time you get to the final episode you'll probably just want to see what's going to happen between Mishima and Meiko.

Detective Enomoto and Meiko. (Judgmental eyes!!)

At this point you may be wondering, "well, did he like it"? My honest answer is, it was alright. There are some horrible musical choices, including this Eminem-style rap song that sounds completely out of place. Mashima is incredibly one-note as a character and his journey to overcome his sadness by confronting the man who killed his partner left me unsatisfied. Not surprisingly (as portrayed in many dramas), the cops seem incredibly incapable. God how I hope the portrayal of police in Japanese dramas is a major exaggeration. I'm sure it is, but there are times where you scratch your head and think, "really!?". The big reveal, in who was responsible for setting up Meiko starts veering into, "wait, who are these people?", territory, meaning they're introduced way too late in the series, but I let it slide because I had a feeling they'd be getting what was coming to them anyway and that was satisfying enough. I liked that Guilty was dark and wasn't afraid of getting gritty (content-wise), and the mysteries were engaging enough up till the end. So there you have it, a complete mixed bag. Miho Kanno, this was all for you. (Lee)

Grade: C

Liar Game: The Final Stage (Japan 2010)

Another movie based off of a manga-turned-television drama, Liar Game: The Final Stage (ライアーゲーム　ザ・ファイナルステージ) aims to wrap up the long-running storyline in theatrical fashion, albeit with mixed results. You're either going to love or hate this (the movie that is...and possibly the review).

Just as a quick rundown for those not in the know, Liar Game is a competition that pits contestants against one another in an attempt to win money by using lies and deceitful tactics. There were two, 9 episode seasons of the television show that focused on Nao Kanzaki (Erika Toda), a ridiculously naive and honest college student who comes home to a package of 100 million yen and an invitation to participate in the Liar Game Tournament which consists of a number of rounds. She ends up working with an intelligent con-man (technically speaking, but debatable), Shinichi Akiyama (Shota Matsuda) who runs riot on the competition through various trials and slowly befriends the innocent Nao. That's the nuts and bolts of the series but I'm here to focus on the movie, which if you've seen, or read, any of the series, you'll know what to expect here. However, the film serves as a means to wrap up the story of the Liar Game Tournament and those responsible for it...or so I thought. Nao and Shinichi are back to put the final nail in this coffin and arrive at an island, dubbed the Garden of Eden, where the final stage (hence the title) of Liar Game will take place. Our two protagonists are once again thrown into a room with other contestants and are competing for a 5 billion yen prize. The twist this time around is that instead of using lies and deceit in order to win, the contestants must trust each other and work together in order to walk away with some cash and/or without debt. Some familiar faces return for the Final Stage, such as mushroom-head Yuuji Fukunaga (Suzuki Koysuke), and the LGT employees we've seen from the start, Eri (Michiko Kichise) and Mitsuou Tanimura (Ikkei Watanabe). The contestants feel that the game should be easy enough if they can all agree to work together for the sake of beating the LGT office, but a traitor, X, hides amongst them and begins to sabotage the group's plans. Can Akiyama, in true Akiyama fashion, outsmart the mysterious traitor, or will he and the others have finally me their match?

Defensive shields up! Now I felt the need to do that because Liar Game has a hardcore-nerd following and I definitely don't fall in that group. To be honest, I really disliked the first season of the show. I couldn't stand the far-too-many-to-count cuts in the filming style and the over-the-top acting and over-dramatics of how things would unfold. I understand that the show was based off of a manga, and the show is incredibly stylized, but this is ridiculous. Not to mention the fact that Nao Kanzaki is basically brain-dead. I understand she's supposed to be naively stupid because of her belief in being honest, trustworthy and generally believing in the best in people. However, this girl is just plain stupid and never appears to learn anything. Even when she does, the next thing she does tosses her prior knowledge out the window. I also wasn't a fan of the fact that each episode had enough substance to sustain probably 15 minutes of television with the remaining 30 minutes being comprised of reaction shots and Akiyama explaining to the other contestants (and the audience at home) how he figured out the game and out-smarted the others. That being said, there's nothing I can do to change the style, and being the masochist I am, I felt the need to see how they wrapped Liar Game up. On to season 2, considerably better based on the fact that the Ryou Katsuragi (Rinko Kikuchi) character was an interesting villain. I even learned to find Fukunaga amusing. Also, the games were more interesting. So I crawled my way to the movie with the mind-set that I honestly wanted to see who was behind the LGT and get some closure that the very existence of the movie aimed to provide. Alas, disappointment smacked me dead across the face. The closure I was looking forward to was met with what felt like a 2 hour episode of the show. They're honestly just trying to work together and figure out the identity of X for 2 hours and when the game is finished, the reveal, if I can even call it that, is quite disappointing. I also felt that Nao's character, who had appeared to have taken a page out of Akiyama's book, so to speak, in the smarts department for season 2, had regressed to her former, stupid self in the movie. As usual, Shota Matsuda, as Akiyama, is the most interesting character to watch and listen to. Here he's as compelling as he ever was. Suzuki Koysuke as Fukunaga is also a highlight, albeit briefly, because he's quite amusing, with his flamboyant outfits and over-the-top reactions, but he's really underused here and his existence seems to be more out of fan-service than anything else.

If it were a stand alone movie you'd probably think, "ah, well that's a bummer", but as a film that exists as a conclusion and extension of 2 seasons of a show, the ending is beyond disappointing. It felt as if it were not even a thought in the minds of those making the film. Now I don't know how the manga ended, having not read it, but if the ending is similar, I'm fine never reading it. I'd probably toss the book out the window. That being said, if I were a hardcore-fan of the series, I'd be all the more disappointed and upset at how they wrapped things up. I can only recommend Liar Game: The Final Stage for hardcore-fans (late to the party) or people curious to see what the talk was about. (Lee)

Grade: C

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

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-

 

Voice of a Murderer (Korea 2007)

Based on a true story, and serving as one of the most heart-wrenching films I've seen in years, Voice of a Murderer (그놈 목소리) is a fictional account of the very real disappearance of nine-year old Lee Hyung-ho in 1991. Stories like this stay with you for a long time.

Kyung-bae Han (Kyeong-gu Seol) is a successful news anchor who is recognized and admired the nation over. He seems to be on top of the world, with his beautiful loving wife Oh Ji-sun (Kim Nam-joo), and nine-year-old son Sang-woo. The families wonderful world is suddenly torn apart when Sang-woo doesn't come home after playing outside. Immediately, Ji-sun begins to panic and wants to alert the police, but Kyung-bae keeps a level head and feels it would be better if they just waited a bit to see if he returns. A short time later, the telephone rings, and when Kyung-bae picks up the line, the person on the other end explains that Kyung-bae needs to get 100 million won together if he ever wants to see his son again. The kidnapper explains that Kyung-bae needs to get a phone installed in his car, and that when he calls, either Ji-sun at home, or Kyung-bae in the car, that he'll only let the phone ring three times. As you can imagine, if any of the demands or rules aren't met, Sang-woo will be killed. Ji-sun panics and calls the police, much to the disappointment of her husband and the kidnapper. The kidnapper is infuriated that the police are involved, and the couples chances of getting their son back begin to diminish. The phone calls, demands, and meaningless tasks continue for more than a month, and the only thing keeping Kyung-bae and Ji-sun's hope alive is a few seconds of hearing Sang-woo's voice over the phone, pleading for help. The police are completely stumped as to who the kidnapper can be, and are running out of answers to give the worried couple. As the days slowly pass, everyone begins losing hope that Sang-woo will come home.

Voice of a Murderer is a re-telling of actual events that took place in 1991, and even though director Park Jin-pyo changes some of the details, the story at it's core remains the same. If you really do the research, you'll see how this story ends, but for the sake of this review, I promise not to spoil anything for you. I always have a hard time with movies that are based on true stories, especially when the subject matter is so dark and depressing. It's hard for me to find any entertainment value when dealing with such subjects based on reality, and if you're like me at all in that respect, watching this film can be difficult. It's not that the movie is bad by any means, in fact, the story is told in a manner that really places you in the nightmare that these parents are going through, and being engaged in the story like that is what filmmakers generally strive for. The acting is really top-notch. Kyeong-gu Seol, and Kim Nam-joo, as the victimized parents, put in stellar performances that looked absolutely draining for them emotionally. It's possible that people might have issues with the film being slow at times, and that's because it takes you through this harrowing journey that lasts nearly 45 days. I can understand the directors intention with showing the daily process of the investigation, but it can be a bit much for less patient viewers. It really just depends on how engaged with the proceedings you are. I have to point out that the ending is easily one of the most haunting things I've seen or heard in a movie and will stick with me for quite some time.

Again, Voice of a Murderer is the type of film that doesn't exist to entertain and won't easily be forgotten after viewing. It exists to tell a story, that whether you like it or not, is real. I recommend this film for that very same purpose, because this is a story that deserved to be told and should most definitely be seen. (Lee)

Grade: B+

 

The Chaser (Korea 2008)

A battle of the wits, cat-and-mouse style Korean thriller, The Chaser (추적자), has it's moments of real suspense, but the relationship of it's characters seems underdeveloped thereby making the proceedings feel somewhat unwarranted. Above-average entertainment awaits.

Jung-ho (Kim Yoon-seok), is an ex-cop turned pimp who finds that his new career choice isn't without it's problems when his girls start to go missing. Determined to find out who or what is responsible for this mess, he begins to connect the dots by matching up the phone number with the corresponding nights when these girls seem to disappear. The problem is trying to figure out who's making the phone calls and requesting these women. Once the suspect calls in again for another woman, Jung-ho sends Min-jin to service his needs, but this time Jung-ho orchestrates a plan so that he can catch the caller. He instructs Min-jin to text him the caller's address upon arrival and that he'd be in there to handle business shortly thereafter. The problem is, the man responsible for these women disappearing has already planned ahead. Min-jin is now trapped in this house with Young-min (Ha Jeong-woo), the psychotic who's been kidnapping and murdering these call girls, and she has no way of contacting Jung-ho. Thanks to retaining some of his detective skills, Jung-ho eventually finds out that Young-min is the prime suspect, and Young-min actually confesses to his crimes almost immediately. However, when the police chief comes in to hear his story, Young-min stays quiet and acts as if he never admitted to anything at all. He knows that the police can only hold him for a certain amount of time without any evidence, so the police and Jung-ho are in a race against time to find Min-jin and possibly more bodies.

The Chaser is a really interesting movie in the way that it's story is told, because it doesn't take very long at all for Jung-ho and the police to catch Young-min. While I was watching it, I wondered where the story was heading because all of this was happening so fast. However, I soon realized the real intensity of the story happens when Young-min begins toying with the police and playing the oblivious card. It's a fairly unique method of story-telling, when you realize who the bad guy is instantly, and having him get caught right away, you wonder what's left to show. That's where The Chaser really shines. The suspense created by having this impending time constraint, with how long the police can hold Young-min and trying to find Min-jin during these few hours, is really intense. There are definitely some edge-of-your-seat moments to be found here as you follow the search for Min-jin. The problem is the incredible desire Jung-ho has in finding Min-jin, as if he has this strong emotionally connection with her. Don't get me wrong, I can understand him wanting to find her because they might share a bond or a strong relationship, but as a viewer I never really felt that and during the climax of the movie, Jung-ho's reactions seem a bit over-the-top. The use of Eun-ji (Kim Yoo-jeong) as Min-jin's daughter, as an attempt to connect Jung-ho to Min-jin, felt unrealistic to me, regardless of how cute the kid was. The character development with the protagonists just aren't that strong, but Ha Jeong-woo as Young-min is the star of the show. He has the frightening calm about him, where you truly wonder what he's thinking and what he'll do next. He can turn his emotions from zero to eleven at the drop of a dime. The ending is also a strong part of the film, because by the time I got there, I honestly didn't know what to expect, and what I saw was intense (there's that word again) to say the least.

Overall, The Chaser earns big points by presenting it's story in a somewhat original fashion. It's a suspense-thriller and it lives up to that genre definition. I would have loved some more character development, but other than that I would definitely recommend the film to anyone looking for a fun, nail-biting time at the movies. (Lee)

Grade: B

 

Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance (Korea 2002)

"Part one" of the unofficial vengeance trilogy, Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance (복수는 나의것)  is as every bit affecting and haunting as you may have heard. It's dark, gritty, emotionally-charged, and will leave you feeling with a new appreciation of just how good a movie can be when all the pieces fit. For those who expect more from their movies, Mr. Vengeance delivers in almost every way.

Deaf mute Ryu (Sin Ha-gyoon), is working at a smelting plant for a meager wage, yet saves every penny of his money in order to save so that his sister can have a kidney transplant. When he finally gets enough money, the only thing standing in his way is having to wait for a donor to come forward. As his sisters condition worsens, Ryu becomes increasingly desperate. To make matters worse, he gets laid off from his job because he was taking too much time off to care for his ailing sister. Ryu remembers an ad he saw in the men's restroom advertising a black market for organs and decides to call the number. He then meets with two questionable individuals that take him to an isolated and abandoned parking garage where upon he meets the woman behind this shady operation. The woman informs Ryu that she'll get him the kidney he needs in exchange for 10,000 won (which just so happens to be the amount Ryu had saved). Awakening the next day on the floor of the same building, which now shows no signs of anyone having been there, Ryu is lying naked on the floor with a horrendous scar signifying that his kidney has in fact been removed. With all of his money gone and no new kidney in which to save his sister, irony comes into play as the doctor informs him that they now have a donor.

Running out of options, Ryu seeks the help of his girlfriend Cha Yeong-mi (Bae Doona), and the two of them devise a plan to kidnap the daughter of Ryu's former employer Park Dong-jin (Song Kang-ho). The plan is to get enough from the ransom money to cover the cost of his sisters surgery. Yeong-mi and Ryu have no intentions of hurting the girl, but things don't go exactly as planned and the child's life is cut tragically short. The young girls death causes Dong-jin to pursue his child's kidnappers with no concern for his own safety and well-being. Once he confronts both Yeong-mi and Ryu, the two are are both apologetic and sympathetic towards Dong-jin for what's happened, but at the same time, his daughter would still be alive if she'd never been taken and Dong-jin won't just let it go.

It's almost difficult to put into words how great Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance is. Without being incredibly unique in premise, it still manages to feel otherwise. The acting is simply stellar. I'm a huge fan of Song Kang-ho and I'm impressed with him as always. However, Sin Ha-gyoon is unbelievably impressive as the deaf mute Ryu and his performance is really a show stealer. The story of Mr. Vengeance is told in such a way that you don't really know who to root for, and whether or not you should rooting for either to be perfectly honest. There are no good guys or bad guys per se, but rather just human beings that ultimately make the wrong choices by letting their emotions take them down the wrong path.

I won't tell you that Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance is revolutionary or "the best movie ever!", but it's got all the right ingredients (acting, story, pacing, etc.) that work perfectly together because they're all executed wonderfully. The extreme content and lack of backing-down where others would makes this film a hard sell for all crowds, but if you can look past the blood and dark subject matter, you'll find a movie with a powerful story to tell that you won't soon forget. (Lee)

Grade: A+

 

2LDK (Japan 2002)

2LDK (meaning two living rooms, dining room, and a kitchen in Japan real estate terms), is an ambitious film that has only two stars, one setting, and a lot of clever, witty dialogue that spans a mere 70 minutes in length. All of these elements combine to create an incredibly fulfilling viewing experience that feels wholly unique and inspired.

Nozomi (former gravure idol Eiko Koike) and Rana (Maho Nanami) are two aspiring actresses living together in Tokyo, and both are up for the same part in a major motion picture called Yakzua Wives. Nozomi is a low-key individual who comes from the tiny Sado Island and has a background and appreciation for theater. Rana on the other hand is the complete opposite as high glitz and glamour, looks, and being a household name is her ultimate goal. The two girls are living in an incredibly nice high-rise apartment, all the while waiting anxiously for the phone call that could change one of their lives. As the night progresses, the two of them start make small talk in a cordial manner, but soon find themselves getting into arguments over matters such as using stuff that isn't yours, boys, acting skill and ambition, and so on. The arguments eventually take a turn for the physical as the two girls let loose in an all-out brawl that has the two using anything they can get their hands on to unleash damage.

For the story of 2LDK, that's it in a nutshell. It's an incredibly simple premise, shot in a raw indie style that only took director Yukihiko Tsutsumi eight days to shoot (day and night mind you). Definitely an impressive feat, but more than that, the film has a great look and feel to it all and the dialogue exchanged between the two girls, including what the girls are really thinking about one another, is really clever and often times amusing. As we go deeper into these characters, we begin to understand the flawed nature of them and how deceptive one's appearance really can be. The acting from both Eiko and Maho are really exceptional and the sheer fact that they can anchor an entire film is proof of that. Some of the arguments between Nozomi and Rana may seem petty, but I feel there's a deeper meaning to the film and in particular Japanese society. The Japanese, by most accounts, are a people who exist and thrive by subduing emotional urges (including anger), with the greater goal being to maintain the harmony within any given situation. Sure, I may be looking into things way too much, but get out of it what you will. There's definitely more being said here than just two girls acting catty towards one another. 2LDK feels like an experiment in showing how things, even if seemingly exaggerated, can get out of control when you do in fact let your emotions get the best of you.

Some of the over-the-top violence may offend and turn-off a lot of viewers, but the creativity shown in the concept of 2LDK is enough to warrant a viewing. The acting and writing can simply serve as icing on the cake. A definite must-see. (Lee)

Grade: A

Oldboy (Korea 2003)

I've been asked, "why are you even bothering to review that movie?", when I mentioned I'd be taking on Park Chan-wook's already classic Oldboy (올드보이). I was asked this because the movie is considered that good amongst nearly everyone whose seen it. It is as good as you've heard, and almost defies the need to be reviewed. However, almost leaves me just enough room to voice my opinion.

Oh Daesu (Min-sik Choi) is a drunk and belligerent man whose been brought into police custody while on his way home to be with his daughter for her birthday. Once his friend Joo-hwan (Dae-han Ji) comes to pick him up, he makes a call to his daughter to let her know he's on his way home...or so he thought. The next time we see Daesu, it's been months since he went missing on his daughters birthday and he's been imprisoned in a small room with nothing but a bed, TV, toilet, shower, and a regular diet of the same fried dumplings on a daily basis. Daesu is literally a prisoner of this room, with no idea who his captors are. Watching the news, he learns of his wife's murder, with him as the prime suspect as things taken from his "new" home are placed at the scene of the crime. All he can do is watch helplessly. Months turn in to years, fifteen to be exact, and as the years go by, Daesu fills his time by digging an escape tunnel behind his bed, training his body and mind, and watching television; his only contact with the outside world. Just as his escape tunnel is near completion, Daesu is surprisingly released from his prison and awakens on a rooftop in the outside world. As you can imagine, the world he once knew has changed significantly. As he begins to explore this new world, he is intercepted by a homeless man in front of a sushi restaurant who hands him a wallet full of money and a cellphone. Just because he's been released, doesn't mean he isn't being watched. After going into the sushi restaurant, he meets a beautiful young woman by the name of Mido (Hye-jeong Kang) preparing the sushi. When she reaches to touch Daesu's hand, he passes out, later awakening in her apartment. The two seem to be taken with one another, and Mido, after learning of Daesu's tale, agrees to help him on his quest to find out who's responsible for killing his wife, what happened to him and where his daughter could possibly be after all these years. Eventually Daesu confronts the person responsible for his capture, Woo-jin Lee (Ji-tae Yoo), but instead of exacting his revenge on the man, he decides to play Woo-jin's game in order to find out the why instead of the who.

Oldboy is considered to be part two in Chan-wook Park's "vengeance trilogy", with parts one and two being Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance and Sympathy for Lady Vengeance respectively. That being said, this is in no way a sequel and is a stand-alone film that simply shares vengeance as the central theme that ties the films together. With that out of the way, I can say that Oldboy is a movie that puts an entirely new spin on the desire to seek revenge. The story is smart, in the sense that it has you guessing from the very beginning as to who's responsible for ruining Daesu's life and as to why they're doing it. It's done in such a strong, well thought out way that when everything is finally revealed to the viewer, you'll genuinely be shocked at the end. There is a lot of shocks to be had in this movie, and it can be graphic at times, but none of it seems contrived. The way in which Oldboy is filmed wonderful, and I hate to mention the hallway hammer scene as everyone seems to, but it's a sight to behold and the shot is outstanding. The acting is award-winning stuff, and the Grand Bell Awards in South Korea seemed to agree as Min-sik Choi was awarded best actor and Chan-wook Park was given the best director award. Seriously, Min-sik as Oh Daesu is simply amazing and shows a range that couldn't be described as anything but professional. Ji-tae Yoo is also superb as the emotionally drained Woo-jin. Both actors make all of the pain expressed seem absolutely real.

So is Oldboy worth all of the acclaim it's received? Absolutely. If you disagree or don't "get" the movie, than I'd honestly be surprised. Do yourself a favor and see what all the fuss has been about. With an American release courtesy of Tartan (r.i.p.), the film is now more accessible than ever, so you definitely have no excuse. (Lee)

Grade: A+

 

Seven Days (Korea 2007)

I know what you're thinking, "Hey! I recognize that lady in the poster! Isn't she in that show Lost?". Why yes...yes she is. Seven Days (세븐 데이즈) stands as Yoon-jin Kim's return to Korean cinema after becoming a break-through star with the previously mentioned hit television series. Sure it's another movie about child abduction, and we all know that's nothing new, but it's still somehow entertaining.

Superstar attorney Ji-yeon Yoo (Yoon-jin Kim) never loses a case and has become something of a media sensation because of it. Her lawfirm takes on all the big cases because their confidance in Ji-yeon is unwavering. Seeing as how she takes on so many cases and is almost always working, this leaves her very little quality with her seven year old daughter Eunyoung (Ra-hye Lee). Eunyoung really wants her mom to particpate with her in her schools mother-daughter relay race, and Ji-yeon promises to be there. On the day of the event, everything seems to be going according to plan, until Ji-yeon finishes her winning run only to find that Eunyoung is nowhere to be found. Ji-Yeon, naturally, contacts the police and prepares a large sum of money as payment for what she assumes is a ransom situation. However, the kidnapper interestingly enough isn't after money, but makes a demand for Ji-yeon to use her outstanding skills as an attorney to free someone on death row. Not understanding the details of the case she's dealing with, it doesn't take Ji-Yeon long to agree to the terms as she only has seven days (hence the title) to prove the inmates innocence. She gets her detective friend Seong-yeol Kim (Hee-soon Park) to help her in her quest to find her daughter while she tries to focus on the court case as well. As you can imagine, it's a race against time to get her daughter back before the case is closed for good.

My interest to see Seven Days stemmed from the fact that I'm a big fan of Lost and I wanted to see Yoon-jin Kim's return to the movies as the main star. I'm pleased to say that she puts in a wonderful performance, showing a gamut of emotions I can only imagine one goes through when faced with a nightmare scenario such as this. In fact, I don't appear to be the only one that feels this way as Yoon-jin later went on to win the Best Actress award at the 45th annual Daejong (Grand Bell) festival in South Korea. Hee-soon Park, her "sidekick" for most of the movie, is just one of those guys that you really love to stand behind because he means well in his intentions and looks cool while doing it. The child-abduction formula is given a mild breath of fresh-air thanks to an interesting plot-twist that doesn't have anything to do with money. However, there's not all praise to be given here as writer Je-goo Yeon, while doing alot of things right, also tries to cram way too many story elements into a movie that's based around limited time. This can be annoying when you wish the film would just focus on the main plot of Ji-yeon and Seong-yeol getting Eunyong back. Director Sin-yeon Won does an excellent job at making everything look incredibly polished, in a Hollywood blockbuster way, and that look fits the bill just nicely.

So if nothing else, Seven Days proves that Yoon-jin Kim really is a great actress that is more than capable of being an engaging lead and that Korean audiences will embrace her with open arms. After this performance, I'll be more than happy to join them. (Lee)

Grade: B-

 

Paradise Murdered (Korea 2007)

What can I say about Paradise Murdered (극락도 살인사건)? It's definitely a who-dunnit-murder-mystery, but it's also an incoherent mess with questionable acting and direction. Watching this movie was no walk through paradise. Sorry, I couldn't resist.

1986; two officers make their way towards Paradise Island to investigate the disappearance of seventeen people inhabiting the island. When we first meet the villagers living on the island, which by the way was voted number one remote island by the Korean government, the village is celebrating the 80th birthday of Grandpa Cheol-yong's (Kim In-moon), the sole surviving member of his family who owns the island. After the good times, and even a near death incident, everyone retires for the evening except for two engineers and Deok-su (Park Gil-soo), who head off to the engineers place to do a little gambling. The next day, Woo-sung (Park Haeil), the doctor on the island, is awaken to Tae-gi, the resident little boy, banging on his door. When he runs to see what all the commotion is, he sees the bodies of the two engineers from the previous evening, brutally murdered, but Deok-su is nowhere to be found.

The villagers all get together to figure out what they're going to do next. During the initial search, Deok-su's shoes, and the knife use to kill the engineers were found by the ocean cliffs. This causes imaginations to run wild, and they eventually begin to think that Deok-su has been killed as well. Woo-sung throws out the idea that maybe he committed suicide in an attempt to calm the panic stirring amongst the others. However, it has the reverse effect of what he intended and the mayor (Choi Joo-bong), and others, begin to suspect the doctor. The mayor locks up the doctor under the premise that if another murder is committed while he's locked up, then it obviously isn't him. With the knowledge that patrol boats will be at the island within the next few days, the doctor agrees to being locked up in order to keep the peace. Meanwhile, Gwi-nam (Park Sol-mi), the island school teacher who arrived with the doctor, is spending her time trying to find out who the murderer is in an attempt to clear the good doctor's name. In the middle of the night, a masked man breaks into the mayor's home looking for something specific. The mayor and his two sons, Sang-ku and Jong-ku, wake up and attempt to stop the man they assume is the murderer. In the process Jong-ku is killed, and when the killer makes a run, another resident of the island, Yong-bong, tries to stop him. Gwi-nam witnessed the entire scene and believes that it's the work of Choon-bae (Seong Ji-roo), resident wacko, that's behind the murders. Gwi-nam heads to the doctor to tell him about what she saw, and Tae-gi and Bong-soon, Deok-su's daughter, are also on their way to see the doctor. During their trip, Tae-gi's ankle is grabbed by a dying Yong-bong, but when Tae-gi looks at him, it appears to be the young boy's dead father. Strange things are brewing on the island. After an unfortunate incident involving Tae-gi and the seaside cliffs, everyone on the island seems to be losing their minds and pointing the blame at each other. So what's behind the madness on the island?

That is indeed the ultimate question you'll be asking yourself when you watch Paradise Murdered but you'll probably also be asking, "what the hell is going on in this movie?". When I finally found out what the twist was at the very end of the movie, it felt like it came out of nowhere and there was nothing in the movie that really hinted at what was going on. The acting is almost not worth mentioning because it's really just a bunch of people screaming at each other for two hours. These are definitely all major problems, but the real annoyance was the feeling that the movie didn't know whether it wanted to be a serious thriller or an at-times dark comedy. Some scenes are so strange and out of place that I literally laughed out loud.

When all is said and done, I was happy when Paradise Murdered came to an end. I felt so lost watching it that I didn't really care about the big explanation at the end, and it ended up just irritating me more than surprising me. A good story should engage the viewer and leave clues along the way in hopes that they feel like they're interacting with the story. That feeling is completely missing here and so was the entertainment value. (Lee)

Grade: D-

 

Kidnap AKA Chain Game (Hong Kong 2007)

A not exactly by-the-numbers thriller, Kidnap may be a lot like the cat-and-mouse movies you've all seen before, but it puts enough of it's own unique spin on things to keep the experience entertaining and engaging without feeling stale.

The film starts immediately with Inspector Ho Yuan-chun (Rene Liu), who is in charge of finding the kidnapped brother of theater actress Lam Hiu-yeung (Karena Lam), in the middle of staking out the suspect(s) involved in the kidnapping. Her partner Chi (Siu-Fai Cheung), tails the man responsible for the kidnapping to the roof, where everyone is shocked to see that Lam's brother is also there and is assisting the kidnapper in securing the ransom money. Chi attempts to talk the kidnapper into turning himself in, but things take an unexpected turn for the worst and both the kidnapper and Lam's brother fall to their deaths. Flash forward three years later, and it appears that Lam has moved on from her brother's untimely passing, and is back to teaching young theater students, aided by her husband Qian. Even Chi has remained a figure in their lives for the past three years, trying to help Lam move on with her life in any way that he can. However, it turns out that things aren't so wonderful after all, because Lam's husband is stricken by a terminal illness and his only hope for survival relies on a new treatment in Switzerland which will cost a fortune to undergo. Things aren't so great for Inspector Ho either, as she's divorced from her husband Siu-Chi (Julian Cheung), who was awarded custody of their son Ho-yin, and is finding it difficult not being able to see her child whenever she wants to. To top it off, her ex has already begun seeing another woman by the name of Shirley (Ella Koon), and it's a chance encounter with her son's best friend Jiaming, and his wealthy father Wang (Tao Guo), that will change everything.

Little did everyone realize, Lam hadn't gotten over her brother's death and has been holding a grudge over Inspector Ho and the rest of her team, blaming them all this time for his passing. Also unbeknownst to everyone was the fact that Lam had been meticulously plotting the kidnapping of Mr. Wang's son in order to use the ransom money for her husbands incredibly expensive medical treatment. Lam knew that Inspector Ho would be the one assigned to the case and she was looking forward to making Ho look incompetent. When the time finally comes for Lam to strike, things don't exactly go as planned and the outcome of her actions change the "game" completely.

From the beginning I thought to myself, "If you've seen one ransom movie, you've seen 'em all", and for the most part that's true. If only because they all share the same core premise and goal is always the same: get back the person that was taken. That being said, I'm incredibly pleased that Kidnap had, at least for me, a few new tricks up it's sleeve. A lot of the ideas are well thought out and it gives the viewer the impression of being "smart" in it's execution; which is partially true. It does suffer from a couple of loopholes, the biggest being in regards to a bloody shirt, but you know I can't give you all the details. Also, when the action is taking place, it's fairly engaging stuff, but when it's not, the movie tends to drag. The story tries to redevelop the relationship between Ho and her ex-husband and while the intentions are good, the display itself isn't all that interesting. However, these elements aside, as a whole, Kidnap is above-average stuff. The acting, from the two female leads anyway, is pretty much top-notch stuff, with Rene Liu exercising some serious acting chops. Her performance is Golden Horse worthy if you ask me, even if the movie itself might not be. The stages her character goes through show a lot of range and her performance was enjoyable to watch.

If anything, and like most films of this kind, Kidnap is an exercise in what people are willing to do for their loved ones. The person you are, seemingly becomes a person you never knew you had inside you. How would your character change when faced with such desperation and uncertainty? I'm glad we have movies like Kidnap to answer that question for us. (Lee)



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